Well, here we are at the end of another week’s recipes. I know it’s Monday, but for me, it’s the end. I finished this dish, the fourth, last night and found it very satisfying. And wouldn’t you know it, I just returned from doing a little grocery shopping. I have the ingredients for four new recipes this week. I’ll give you a hint that will help you guess what they are. How does cream of mushroom soup and an apple bundt cake sound? So much for guessing.
The Recipe
I really had no idea how this dish was going to turn out. And even if it did turn out well, I didn’t quite know how I was going to photograph it. As it ended up, it tasted pretty awesome and all I did to get some photos of it was lean it up against the edge of a dish (it rolls). It stayed put and I did what I had to do. There’s nothing fancy about this photography here. It’s all about the stuffed spaghetti squash.
Spaghetti squash is a wonder when it comes to eating. It’s very versatile and over the years, I’ve done a number of things with it. It makes a great pasta substitute, but really, I was very pleased with how it integrated with the other ingredients I used last night. It tasted great, had a nice texture and was quite filling. I couldn’t argue with that. And since I bought two squash the last time I went shopping, I’ll be preparing the very same dish again tonight. It was that good.
The flavors are there in this dish. What’s best about it is that you can really gear the taste towards what you enjoy. And really, you can gear the ingredients towards what you enjoy as well. This particular recipe calls for onions, black beans, some spices and the spaghetti squash. I could have easily added some celery, mushrooms and other interesting vegetables to liven things up. Also, as far the the spices go, I might get interesting tonight. While I had no issues with the garlic, cumin and chili powder that’s called for here, I think a little ginger would have been nice. So that’s what I’ll do. I’ll add some of that. Feel free to use your imagination with this recipe.
Ingredients
Serves: 2
1 Medium Sized Spaghetti Squash, Halved and Cleaned
1 Tablespoon Regular Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 Small Zucchini, Chopped
1 Medium Sized Red Onion, Chopped
1 14-Ounce Can of Black Beans, Rinsed and Drained
1 Bunch Scallions, Chopped
1 Teaspoon Cumin
1 Teaspoon Chili Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
1/2 Cup Cheddar Cheese, Shredded
1/4 Cup Cilantro, Chopped
1/4 Cup Salsa
1/4 Cup Sour Cream
1/4 Cup Guacamole
Step-by-Step Instructions
I’d like to thank Melanie from Nutritious Eats for this recipe. While she certainly has better pictures of her end result, I did manage to pull this one off rather nicely. I must give her full credit for the recipe. I did change a few things here and there, but my inspiration was found on her page.
Cook the Squash
Preheat your oven to 375. Cut the squash in half and spread the regular olive oil over the bottom of an oven safe pan or baking sheet. After the squash’s interior is cleaned out and the oven is warm, go ahead and roast the squash for 35 minutes. After that time, it should be soft and able to be worked with. Remove the pan from the oven, turn off the heat and let everything cool down.
Prep the Ingredients
While the squash is in the oven, go ahead and prep all the ingredients you can. When I did this, I first cut up the red onion.
Then, I chopped the zucchini and put the black beans into a bowl.
Finally, I cut up the scallions.
Scoop the Spaghetti Squash
When the squash is cooled enough to handle, scoop all the meat out of each half. Be sure to keep the skin in good condition because you’ll be filling that back up again later. Place the meat of the squash into a bowl and set aside.
Cook the Onion, Zucchini & Scallions
Warm a large skillet over medium heat. When the pan is to temperature, add the extra-virgin olive oil to it and then add in the red onion, the zucchini and the scallions. Let the ingredients cook, while stirring occasionally, for about eight minutes or until the onion softens a bit.
Add the Spices & Squash
Next, add in the cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, black beans and the squash you scooped out earlier. Stir these ingredients together and cook for another two minutes, to heat the squash back up, along with the beans.
Melt the Cheese
Divide the contents of the skillet and place it back into the squash shells. Use a spoon to push everything into place. Then, sprinkle the cheddar cheese over each one. Turn the broiler of your oven on and then, place the two squash halves back into a skillet or on a baking sheet. After putting the squash in the oven, let it broil just long enough to melt the cheddar cheese. Once that happens, turn off the heat and remove the contents of the oven.
Top the Squash & Serve
Top each squash half with some salsa, sour cream, guacamole and cilantro. Then, serve and enjoy!
The Final Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
This recipe turned out so well. I truly enjoyed it. If you decide to give this one a shot, please let me know your thoughts in the comment section below. Thanks for reading!
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