Roasted Spaghetti Squash

You know what spaghetti squash is?  It's a big bunch of delicious magic. 

Raw, it's kinda gross.  When you cut it in half, it looks (and smells) like the inside of a warm pumpkin, and you have to scoop out the stringy flesh and slimy seeds into the garbage...ugh.  But after it cooks, it transforms into velvety soft goodness and when you scrape it with a fork, it looks like spaghetti.  WHAT??  I know, it's crazy.

So when you mix in some butter, garlic, and fresh grated parmesan cheese (if you wanna add a little cheddar I won't stop you) and top it with some cracked black pepper, you have a REALLY NICE side dish or...even better...served with a chilled pinot grigio and a simple salad, a super satisfying vegetarian meal. 

You won't go hungry with me...I gotcha  :)
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(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

serves 2 (each half serves one person)

spaghetti squash

1 spaghetti squash
butter
garlic powder
cracked black pepper
water
fresh parmesan, asiago, or pecorino-romano cheese
optional - grated cheddar cheese
roasting pan


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut squash in half.  Scrape out and discard seeds

Place cut side down in roasting pan, and add approx. 1 inch of water to the bottom of the pan so that it steams

Bake uncovered in oven for 45 minutes.  The squash is done when you can insert a sharp knife easily into the flesh

Place right side up and scrape with a fork--it will begin to look like spaghetti

Add a pat of butter to the squash, with a pinch of salt and garlic powder.  Mix well.  Grate cheeses on top and sprinkle with cracked black pepper

buttery, cheesy, garlicky goodness

Cottage Cheese Salad

Football season.  Here in the South we take our football VERY seriously.  In fact, my friend calls it "God's sport."  Friday night is filled with cross-town high school rivalries, Saturday is SEC/Big 10 heaven, and Sunday is betting day--both real and fantasy.

Down here we do a lot of tailgating, which means two things: drinking and grilling.  So while you're mixing your Maker's and Coke and heating up the Weber, I've made my favorite burger/hotdog/chicken/sausage/steak accompaniment--cottage cheese salad.

It's cottage cheese mixed with the freshest tomatoes, green onions, and cucumbers, chilled in Tupperware in the bottom of your cooler until it's time to eat.  I know...I know...you don't think that sounds delicious (or even appealing!) but you're wrong.  So wrong!

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(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

1  24 ounce container cottage cheese

2 large tomatoes (chopped)

1 cucumber (peeled, seeded, and chopped)

6 - 8  green onions, chopped

black pepper

cayenne pepper 

salt

Place first 4 ingredients, a few shakes of cayenne pepper, and some black pepper,in Tupperware bowl and mix together.   Keep cool in refrigerator or under the ice in your cooler until ready to eat.

When ready to serve, season with salt and some more black pepper to taste, and mix well.

mixed salad

I made this salad last weekend and served it with cheeseburgers and chips.  I like to put worcestershire sauce on my burger before I grill it so it soaks into the meat, as well as salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Then (almost) always:   2 pieces of cheese (both american and swiss), mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, tomato, fresh jalapeno pepper slices, and a slightly grilled bun.  If I also have an onion to grill, that too :)

Burger and chips

This is what my plate looked like before I ate the entire thing, drank 2 Corona's, and had a brownie for dessert...lol: