Spaghetti squash

Spaghetti squash is a really weird plant. When you cook it, it gets all stringy. I suppose this would be gross if it weren't so cool.  Anyway, we had dinner with my friend Maddy the other day, and she served us spaghetti squash, mixed up with some sauce and stuff and topped with cheese.  It was so tasty! But, Maddy being vegetarian, my suggestion that sausage would have improved things didn't go over super well.  So, I decided to remake the squash, this time with some meat. Definitely improved, and definitely delicious. I may have eaten an entire half squash in one sitting.

First, roast the squash: Cut it in half lengthwise (this may take some effort), remove the seeds, and stick it in a 400-degree oven, cut side up.  20 minutes later, see if it creates ribbons when you drag a fork across it.  If so, take it out, and shred the meat of the squash into ribbons with a fork. Careful, it'll be hot!  Put the spaghetti strands into a big bowl, to mix with all the ingredients.  Definitely save the seeds and roast them, too, because they're delicious.

As the squash roasts, prepare the filling. I used two pans (what one-pot meal? not so good at that part), one to caramelize some onions, and one to cook up the ground beef.  Sausage would work well here, but I had ground beef.  I threw in a big pinch of rosemary, fennel seeds, and cumin seeds into the grease to flavor things, and this was a good move. Definitely flavor the heck out of that meat, because the squash itself is pretty bland.

Put the onions and the beef and spices into the bowl with the spaghetti squash. We also had like a cup or two of chopped herbs - basil and parsley. But you can really go wild, whatever you think would taste good.

I had some fresh mozzarella, and put half of it, torn into pieces, in the bowl. The other half I tore into pieces and sprinkled on top.  Plenty of salt and freshly ground pepper, and then put the filling back into your squash shells, top with more cheese, and return to the oven for another 10-20min, until the cheese on top is slightly browned and totally melted.

Serves two as a main dish, but you could probably stretch it to 6-8 people as a side.  Tasty, healthy, cheap - this one's a winner!