Last night I tried the recipe for spaghetti squash alfredo that I saw on the Low-Carb Revolution. First of all, why didn't anyone tell me that I might need a chainsaw to cut the thing in half? I'm telling you, I literally had to use a hammer to pound my knife all the way through the squash. Are they all like that, or did I pick out a dud?

Second, it turned out a little crunchy for my taste, although the flavor was good. I served it with homemade alfredo sauce that was also surprisingly easy to make. My question is, if I boiled the squash longer, would that make it mushier or more crunchy? I'm hoping for mushier — more like the texture of overcooked pasta, perhaps.

I boiled the two halves for 20 minutes, then spooned out the "spaghetti" and boiled that on its own for a few minutes.

This is how I make Spaghetti squash and although it tends to be a bit firm its a lot less crunchy than what you describe.

Yes, you need a very good serated knife to cut thru the thick shell of the squash. I cut in half, scoop out the seeds in middle. I get a cookie tray, lightly grease with olive oil. grease the entire squash..skin and flesh with it also. You can sprinkle some salt. Preheat oven to 375 F. Put the squash halves...down and bake for 50 minutes. Take out of oven, let cool for 10 minutes then scoop out the strands.

I personally think the taste is strong although I have poured Alfredo sauce on it and it was fine.

Don't cut the squash first. I poke a bunch of holes in it and stick it in the oven at 350. Some people microwave (about 15-20 minutes depending on the size) but you have to turn it over or it doesn't cook evenly and I tend to forget to turn it. If it was crunchy, you didn't cook it long enough. I forgot the squash in the oven this weekend and it collapsed in on itself. Looked terrible but it tastes just fine. It's better to overcook these things than under cook.

We ate Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai for dinner last night. So easy and tasted like the real thing. Guess that's easy since rice noodles don't have much flavor. Our skinny, teenaged daughter loved it.

I sauted a small onion and lots of garlic. Dumped in less than 1/4 cup of fish sauce with 2 packets of Splenda in it. Added two eggs and scrambled. Dumped in a bunch of peanuts (only had cocktail but they were great). Then I added in about 4 cups of the squash.

Should have added shrimp or some meat after the onions and garlic, but I was too lazy.

Barb

PS - I think over cooking it cuts down on the flavor but that can be a good thing depending on what you are making.

My first and only attempt at cooking the spaghetti squash was a dismal failure! It came out too crunchy, gross. I'll try again with the good suggestions you've put out.

thanks!

now that I'm thinking, I saw a cooking program where the chef julienned zucchini and sauteed it with some butter and oil, and he made a faux pasta dish!

Thanks, ya'll...I will have to try cooking it longer. I was afraid cooking it too long made it crunchy, but it appears I was wrong. It sounds less messy to do it in the oven, too.

I'm wondering if this would be good with a traditional marina meat sauce? The alfredo was not bad at all.

I don't like to use heavy, chunky sauces on my spaghetti squash, because it doesn't feel substantial enough to stand up to them. I was the same way about angel hair pasta, though, on which I always preferred light sauces. I usually do my spaghetti squash in the microwave, then brown some butter and sautee the cooked squash for just a minute before topping with parmesan. It's also good tossed with a little olive oil and herbs.

As for cooking, I chop mine in half using a cleaver (or get DH to do it!), put one half facedown on a plate with a little water, and microwave it 15-20 minutes depending on the size of the squash -- quicker than the oven, and less messy than the stove.

Hillary:

No, you didn't pick a dud. Spaghetti Squash is hard to cut! Its funny because when I saw how easy the LC Chef made it look to cut through, I looked at DH and said "I want that knife! If it cut through the squash like that its got to be good!" He laughed at me.

To cook it, I use a technique my grandmother taught me.
Once sliced in half, (which by the way, if you slice it the long way the strands are short, and if you slice it the short way, you get long strands more like spaghetti) I place it cut side down in a 13x9 pyrex dish, add about 1/2" of water and place in a 375 degree oven.
It's usually done in an hour. You will know because the shell is soft (real soft). Take it out of the oven and remove from water quickly (*take caution not to burn yourself). Let cool for a few minutes before you scrape the strands. Then you can:

*Toss with butter, salt and pepper and have traditional squash
*Top with alfredo sauce
*Top with actual spaghetti sauce - meat included (I love this option. YUMMY!)
*I have even used it to take the place of noodles in Chicken Marsala (Made LC of course) and with my Chicken Catchatori (sp?)

If you can't tell, I love this veggie! Its sooooo versatile!

Enjoy!
Sandy

I use a tool called a sparoolie I purchased at Big Lots. Learned about it on this forum as a matter of fact several months ago! It really works well. I have zucchini noodles all the time! Love them! But I too am dying to try the spaghetti squash. I loved the Low Carb Revolution and hope that make it a regular thing on Food TV.

Hugs and Blessings
Ellie

I use a tool called a sporoollie for zucchini. Makes great noodles from it. I can't wait to try the spaghetti squash!

Got my sporoolie at Big Lots. Heard about it on the forum. Anyone else have one. Only cost me $9.99.

Hugs and Blessings,
Ellie

I make spag. squash at least once a week
the easiest way is to cut in half (the hard part lol)
scoop the seeds out, put half cut side down in a glass casserole/corningware thing, add about 1/2 cup water. Cover and microwave 10 minutes
Perfect every time

Pad Thai using Spaghetti Squash....what a WONDERFUL idea!

Dana

There are some great tips here. DH was totally unimpressed last night by the way this turned out (I was just thrilled that he even tasted squash — he is NOT into trying new things). I'm eating again right now, leftover from lunch, and I'm thinking that with the flavor of the alfredo sauce, it's quite good. I would like to get it less crunchy next time, though. Hopefully I can get DH to try this with meaty marina, which sounds really good to me. He misses spaghetti!

I don't like it hard either, I've found if I microwave it covered for a full 10 minutes and then let it sit covered for a bout 10-15 min it gets nice and soft

For sauce I make a quick meat sauce out of a 1 pound tube of Jimmy Dean Italian Sausage (0 carbs)browned in a little olive oil, after its cooked I add a jar of a spaghetti sauce I found thats only 2 carbs. I add Parmesan and let it simmer. It comes really good, my kids eat it on pasta and I eat the Spag Squash.
With a Caesar Salad on the side its so good-We have this maybe once a week!

I made it tonight and I cut in half lengthwise. When cutting I used a serated knife and once you get it going then try to wedge the knife side to side, it helps. I cooked it face down on a pan for about 50 minutes then turned it over and forgot about it for a while. It was excellent and not crunchy at all.