Easy like Friday night

What with all the touch-up painting and home repairs in anticipation of selling the condo, meal planning has kind of taken a backseat. As in, it hasn't happened at all.

We've eaten leftovers, we've made bizarre concoctions, we've broken down and gotten Taco Casa out of desperation - but in an effort to stay healthy we decided to make baked spaghetti squash one Friday night.

If you've never had it before, the concept of a spaghetti squash is a little weird, but it's delicious. My only warning is - do not expect it to have the same taste or consistency as actual flour pasta. People complain about spaghetti squash, but if you're expecting it to taste like your favorite Italian restaurant, you're going to be disappointed all day long. Nothing, and I repeat nothing, can ever take the place of fresh, homemade pasta (

But if you acknowledge that it's different and embrace those differences, you're good to go. It's about the easiest thing in the world to cook. Cut in half, bake half an hour, scrape the insides (the "noodles) out, and top however you like. But I decided to ratchet things up a notch and make baked spaghetti squash.

It basically involves one extra step, so it's still a very convenient, timely dinnertime go-to. I have actually started craving spaghetti squash frequently - at least once every couple of weeks. It reheats beautifully, making easy leftovers. And what on earth could you possibly ruin by adding garlic, butter, and Parmesan cheese? Exactly. We highly recommend this dish - as well as spaghetti squash in any fashion.

xoxo,
E

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Baked spaghetti squash

Ingredients:
1 large spaghetti squash
1 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling on top
4-5 cloves garlic (to suit your tastes), minced
Oregano
Salt
Pepper
4 tablespoons Aldi Priano Rosso Pesto Sauce

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400.
Cut squash in half. This is the hardest part of the entire recipe.
Scoop out the seeds and loose guts.
Sprinkle the insides of the squash with salt and pepper.
Spray a foil-lined cookie sheet with an olive oil spritzer, or Pam, whatever you've got.
Place squash halves inside-down on the cookie sheet, and bake for 30 minutes, or until tender.
Scrape out the insides and place into a bowl. DO NOT throw out the squash shells.
Add butter, parmesan cheese, and garlic and mix well.
Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and oregano to taste, and mix again.
Scoop mixture back into squash shells. Sprinkle with a little more parmesan cheese and black pepper.
Bake for 8-10 minutes until desired tenderness.
This makes four portions - top each one with a tablespoon of the Rosso Pesto sauce.

Nutrition:
Spaghetti squash is ridiculously low in calories. Only the butter really adds a lot of calories. According to my calculations, this makes 4 servings, and each one has about 155 calories. Not too shabby.