Tasty Tuesday- Spaghetti Squash

I got the idea to try making spaghetti squash from my friend's blog.  I am a picky eater when it comes to vegetables and I usually don't like squash, but I decided to put on my big girl panties and try something healthy and new.  So, I went to the grocery store and picked out the prettiest spaghetti squash I could find.

When it came time to cook dinner, I started by cutting the squash in half length-wise. This was a LOT harder than I imagined.  Maybe it was just the squash I ended up grabbing, or maybe I just have tiny baby-like arm muscles, but it took me a good 5 minutes just to cut the thing.  It was also a little awkward to cut since it was rolling around everywhere.  I was 96.2% sure that I was going to cut my finger off at one point, but I eventually got it done.  Once the spaghetti squash is cut, scoop out all the seeds and junk in the middle with a spoon. 

This part reminded me of gutting a pumpkin during Halloween, except it took 30 seconds rather than 20 minutes.  When you have gotten all the guts out, place the squash in the oven on a cookie sheet like this:

I baked it at 350 degrees for an hour.  You want it to be in there at least an hour to ensure it will be cooked enough to fork out the "spaghetti" part of the squash. 

While the squash was cooking, I decided to make some meatballs as part of the meal.  I like making my own meatballs with ground beef, but you could also use pre-cooked frozen ones too.

When the squash is done, it will be REALLY hot so let it cool a bit.  It will look something like this:

Next, take a fork and start raking through the inside of the squash.  I was surprised how easy this part was.  It really took little effort to get everything out, and it really did look like spaghetti.

You can use the spaghetti squash in place of spaghetti noodles, or you can add the squash to spaghetti noodles.  I wasn't sure how I would like the squash from the beginning, so I cooked some wheat spaghetti just in case as a backup.  I ended up mixing the squash and noodles together.

Finally, add your favorite pasta sauce to the meatballs and serve over the squash/spaghetti mixture.  My favorite sauce is Prego's marinara.  Serve with garlic bread.  We are really fancy at our house and use paper plates too.

We really liked this meal.  I really liked the pasta and squash mixed together, but my husband said he would have liked it better if they were kept separate.  I guess it just depends on personal preference.  I thought this meal was a great way to sneak in a vegetable for little kids who usually hate veggies.  I definitely plan on making this again.