Spaghetti squash spaghetti

I was an odd child growing up.  I preferred steamed vegetables over cake and candy.  I cried when it was pizza night but cheered when we were having brussel sprouts or squash.  Like I said, I was odd.  My dad was the cook in the family, and he loved vegetables.  I remember him making spaghetti, butternut, and acorn squash.  This morning I was reading the latest issue of Runners World Magazine, and I stumbled across instructions for cooking spaghetti squash.  Then I recalled that my mom told me she recently tried spaghetti made with the squash instead of pasta.  I decided I'd do that myself.  I actually had never tried spaghetti squash in spaghetti, so I was excited.  I captured the process in photos.

November 2010 issue

 

My squash.  After removing the sticker, I put several holes in it then baked at 400C for an hour.

Since my meatballs do not come close to Chris's mom's meatballs, I opted to buy the delicious Publix meatballs.  They come on a bed of spinach, which I tossed in the pan as well.  These really are delicious!  They do tend to run a little on the greasy side, so I cook them then pat them on paper towels.  I added mushrooms too after the picture.

Sauce.  These were on sale, buy-one-get-one-free at Publix.  Being on a budget, I love a good sale.

I wasn't sure how much of the squash would be edible, and Chris seemed hesitant to try the squash, so I decided to cook some pasta as well.  This tri-colored fettuccine has a whole serving of vegetables, and it was also on sale. 

 

While the meatballs and pasta were cooking, I let the squash cool before cutting it.

 

The cooked squash.

I scooped out all of the seeds.

Scraping out the deliciousness.

It looks like spaghetti!

 

 

I added some salt and pepper.  Delicious by itself!

I used a few noodles, but mostly the squash.  Then I topped with sauce (including meatballs and mushrooms) and some Parmesan/Ramona (?) cheese.

After mixing it all together.

DELICIOUS!!!!  The squash added a bit of a crunch which I enjoyed.  Chris even enjoyed it and had seconds (including squash!).  I will definitely make this meal again.  I also intend to cook butternut and acorn squash while they are in season.