Spaghetti Squash

In the New Year, everyone resolves to eat better and make better lifestyle decisions. And I'm one of them. In fact, this blog started as a result of a very successful New Year's Resolution a few years back. One thing that I have been wanting to try to make for a while is spaghetti squash. I've had it at various Vegan dinner parties in recent weeks, but I had yet to attempt it myself. Earlier in January I had made my homemade marinara sauce with meatballs. You can see that recipe here. Since it makes enough for a small, hungry army, I often freeze a large amount of it so I can enjoy it throughout the winter. So I decided to break it out for my first foray into spaghetti squash. I strongly believe that with a good topping, anyone can enjoy spaghetti squash as a healthy alternative to regular pasta.

Spaghetti Squash (serves 2-3 people, depending on size of squash)

Ingredients:

• Spaghetti Squash
• Olive oil
• Oregano, dried
• Sea Salt
• Pepper
• Your Favorite Sauce

Directions:

Probably the most difficult part about working with spaghetti squash (or any squash for that matter) is cutting it in half. Those suckers are hard to work with! It took a very large, sharp knife for me to cut these in half...and arm strength I just don't have. So...I elected to cook them for 10 minutes or so first in order to soften them up, and then cut them in half for the rest of the time. But hopefully you're stronger than me!

If you are able to cut these suckers in half, do that first. Then scoop out the pulp and seeds from the middle. You can elect to toast the seeds as a snack, or just toss these. They will not be needed for the dish. Once this is completed, sprinkle the insides with olive oil, oregano, sea salt and pepper. Then place them rind side up and bake in a 375 degree oven for 30-40 minutes, until they have softened on the inside. Then just take a fork and shred out the spaghetti squash. Toss with your sauce and serve!

Moroccan Chicken and Butternut Squash Soup

So it's been cold. Really cold. And what's the best thing to make for this type of weather? Soup. This flavorful soup is very simple to make and features a lot of great cold weather vegetables, like butternut squash. I actually made this soup in December, but froze a good portion of it for January. Perhaps I saw this winter vortex coming.

Moroccan Chicken and Butternut Squash Soup (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 1 TB olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3 (4-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 to 1/4 tsp ground red pepper
• 3 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash
• 2 TB no-salt-added tomato paste
• 4 cups chicken stock 
• 1/3 cup uncooked couscous
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced into 3/4-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
• 2 tsp grated orange rind

Directions:

Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion, and cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add chicken; cook for 4 minutes, browning on all sides. Add cumin, cinnamon, and pepper to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add butternut squash and tomato paste; cook 1 minute.

Stir in Chicken Stock, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes.

Stir in couscous, salt, and zucchini; cook 5 minutes or until squash is tender. Remove pan from heat. Stir in chopped basil and orange rind.