Spaghetti Squash Primavera Spectacular!

We got a little crazy around here last night! We're on the wedding diet bandwagon (sort of), so I'm trying to be a little creative when it comes to what we're eating. Instead of loading up on carbs, I made a "pasta" dinner with spaghetti squash last night. Dan named it one of his top 5 meals of all time! Hooray! I sort of winged it so the directions are a bit loose (yet again, I swear I'm totally a recipe girl, I don't know what's gotten into me!), use this as inspiration rather than strict instructions. Add extra EVOO and garlic to taste at any and all points throughout this recipe as you find necessary.

-spaghetti squash
- EVOO
- red onion, thinly sliced
- red pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 portobello mushroom, sliced
- 1 tomato, chopped
- fresh thyme (about a tsp)
- fresh basil, chopped (about a tbsp)
- salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat your oven to 375*. Now get yourself a spaghetti squash. Cut it in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Oil up the cut side with some EVOO and place it on a baking sheet (cover the sheet in tinfoil to save you some headache later) cut side down. Bake for about an hour. I actually made Dan do this part since I was stuck in traffic and he said he pierced the skin with a fork a few times, so do that, it worked well.

When there's about 15 minutes left, heat up a fairly large frying pan on medium with a couple tablespoons of EVOO in the bottom. Throw in some garlic (I love garlic, so put in as much as you prefer), and heat for about a minute. Now throw in your onion and peppers. Cook them until soft or however you like them, probably about 8 minutes. Reduce the heat on your stove a bit. Next it's time for the thyme, mushroom and tomato. If you do these for too long or on too high a heat they'll sort of disintegrate and be yucky, so put them in about 2 minutes before your squash comes out.

When your squash is done, pull it out of the oven, flip over the halves, and start shredding at the flesh with a fork. It should start coming away in strands (like spaghetti). Mmmmm!!!!

 

Dump all that yummy squash into your frying pan and toss it with your other veg. Throw in your basil. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Let it all heat up and meld together and it will be amazing! Top with freshly grated Parmesan.