Alfredo...yum!

Doesn't this look like a big bowl of creamy pasta goodness?

 

Roasted Squash Seeds

Well it sort of is...except it's not pasta! This is a spaghetti squash that it cut in half then seeded and baked in the oven for about 1 hour. Then the inside of the baked squash magically shreds so easily with a fork...that was my favorite part! Then just pour on the creamy alfredo sauce and top it with some grated parm and parsley. Put it back in the oven to brown the cheese. Next you find yourself devouring this delicious veggie while feeling good about the fact that your eating something healthy! I even roasted the squash seeds with some seasoned salt and ate them shells and all! My new favorite roasted seeds...even better than regular pumpkin seeds because they have a stronger nutty taste. 

I found this recipe on a food site called The Comfort of Cooking, but I tweaked it slightly by adding more garlic and I seasoned the cooked squash with salt before topping it with the alfredo sauce because it really needed it. Just like you would add salt to the pasta water when cooking the pasta. I'm craving this again right now...yum! I think I'll try this next time with a creamy cheddar cheese sauce! And maybe again with a tomato sauce! There are so many variations that I know would work with spaghetti squash! Give it a try and let me know what you think!



Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

INGREDIENTS:
1 medium sized spaghetti squash
2 tbls. butter
4 large cloves garlic, minced
2 tbls. flour
1 1/2 cups milk - I used low fat
1 tbls. cream cheese - I used fat free
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus extra for topping
1/4 tsp. kosher salt, plus more for seasoning baked squash
1/8 tsp. pepper
2 tbls. fresh chopped parsley

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cut squash in half lengthwise using a very large knife.
With a spoon, scrape out the seeds and stringy pulp attached to the seeds.
Discard the seeds or save for roasting.
Place both halves of the squash, cut side down, on a baking sheet with about 1/2 inch of water in the pan. Bake on middle rack uncovered for about 1 hour or until very tender. Mine took 1 hour and 10 minutes. Then remove from oven and turn the squash over. Sprinkle the inside of each squash with about 1/4 tsp. of kosher salt. Then gently scrape the inside of the squash with a fork to shred the pulp into 'spaghetti' strands.
Keep the squash warm while you make the alfredo sauce.
In a small pot over medium heat melt the butter and add the garlic, stirring for about 1 minute. Then whisk in the flour. Cook the flour for about 1 minute. Then whisk in the milk. Keep whisking until all the flour is dissolved and the milk is heated through. Then add in the cream cheese, grated parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Keep whisking until the sauce thickens to your liking. The longer you cook it, the more thick it will become. Pour half the creamy alfredo sauce into each cooked and shredded squash half. Toss to coat. Top with extra grated cheese, sprinkle with fresh parsley and put it under the broiler for about 2-3 minutes to brown the cheese.
Serve warm and enjoy!
Serves 2

To roast the squash seeds...remove all the attached strands. You can run the seeds under water if needed. Pat them dry and lay the seeds on a parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle the seeds lightly with seasoned salt and bake at 350 degrees F for about 15 minutes or until the seeds are crunchy. Let seeds cool completely, then munch and enjoy!

Recipe adapted from The Comfort of Cooking website.
This blog post belongs to My Recipe Journey food blog