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Foodie Friday: Kalyn's Kitchen
by Guest Writer, Valerie Whitmore Have you cooked with spaghetti squash? It's one of my favorite types of squash - not just because it's a tasty squash, but because it makes a fairly acceptable substitute for spaghetti pasta if you are following a low carb diet.
Now, you aren't going to fool anyone into thinking it's real pasta. But for those of us who have sacrificed those yummy carbs, it's a nice (and healthy) alternative.
If you aren't familiar with it, this is what it looks like:
On average, they are between 3-6 pounds, but really can vary in size. I've gotten some HUGE ones before
Side note: My dogs love bananas. They've become obsessed. Whenever they see a bunch in the kitchen they will sit and stare at them, ultimately until they get one. Widget, the female, had been eyeing the spaghetti squash since I bought it. I think she thought it was one ginormous banana. When I went to take the above photo I turned my back for a minute to grab something and came back to this:
Anyhoo... this is what the spaghetti squash looks like when you hack it open. And hack, you must. Cutting into them always makes me nervous. I'm afraid the knife is going to slip and I'm going to remove a finger or two
Once you scoop out the seeds you're left with a nice squash boat. However, this squash is different from others. When cooked, the flesh you see above turns into spaghetti like strands when you scrape it with a fork. Hence, its name.
Since spaghetti squash is considered a low carb secret weapon, I ventured over to Kalyn's Kitchen for a recipe. Kalyn follows the South Beach Diet and offers up lots of delicious recipes that can be used in the different phases of the diet.
The recipe I found on her blog is for roasted spaghetti squash with a homemade tomato-garlic sauce and chicken sausage meatballs. Now, I normally cook the squash cut side down in a pan with some water and covered with some foil. You can also do it in the microwave (covered with plastic wrap). In Kalyn's recipe, you lightly coat the squash with olive oil and roast it uncovered. I like the texture of it steamed a little better, but the flavor was richer when roasted. So, it's your choice for the cooking method.
In her recipe she uses purchased meatballs. I made my own chicken meatballs, and you could use whatever meatballs you like - frozen, your own recipe, beef, chicken, turkey, etc. The sauce is simply diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken broth and seasonings. If you like a thicker sauce you could give it a couple of quick zaps with an immersion blender to puree some of the diced tomato
A delicious and lower carb version of spaghetti and meatballs!
Get the recipe: Roasted Spaghetti Squash Recipe with Homemade Tomato-Garlic Sauce and Chicken Sausage Meatballs
Visit Kalyn's Kitchen: https://www.kalynskitchen.com/
Like on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kalynskitchen
Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kalynskitchen
Now, you aren't going to fool anyone into thinking it's real pasta. But for those of us who have sacrificed those yummy carbs, it's a nice (and healthy) alternative.
If you aren't familiar with it, this is what it looks like:
On average, they are between 3-6 pounds, but really can vary in size. I've gotten some HUGE ones before
Side note: My dogs love bananas. They've become obsessed. Whenever they see a bunch in the kitchen they will sit and stare at them, ultimately until they get one. Widget, the female, had been eyeing the spaghetti squash since I bought it. I think she thought it was one ginormous banana. When I went to take the above photo I turned my back for a minute to grab something and came back to this:
Anyhoo... this is what the spaghetti squash looks like when you hack it open. And hack, you must. Cutting into them always makes me nervous. I'm afraid the knife is going to slip and I'm going to remove a finger or two
Once you scoop out the seeds you're left with a nice squash boat. However, this squash is different from others. When cooked, the flesh you see above turns into spaghetti like strands when you scrape it with a fork. Hence, its name.
Since spaghetti squash is considered a low carb secret weapon, I ventured over to Kalyn's Kitchen for a recipe. Kalyn follows the South Beach Diet and offers up lots of delicious recipes that can be used in the different phases of the diet.
The recipe I found on her blog is for roasted spaghetti squash with a homemade tomato-garlic sauce and chicken sausage meatballs. Now, I normally cook the squash cut side down in a pan with some water and covered with some foil. You can also do it in the microwave (covered with plastic wrap). In Kalyn's recipe, you lightly coat the squash with olive oil and roast it uncovered. I like the texture of it steamed a little better, but the flavor was richer when roasted. So, it's your choice for the cooking method.
In her recipe she uses purchased meatballs. I made my own chicken meatballs, and you could use whatever meatballs you like - frozen, your own recipe, beef, chicken, turkey, etc. The sauce is simply diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken broth and seasonings. If you like a thicker sauce you could give it a couple of quick zaps with an immersion blender to puree some of the diced tomato
A delicious and lower carb version of spaghetti and meatballs!
Get the recipe: Roasted Spaghetti Squash Recipe with Homemade Tomato-Garlic Sauce and Chicken Sausage Meatballs
Visit Kalyn's Kitchen: https://www.kalynskitchen.com/
Like on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kalynskitchen
Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kalynskitchen