Spaghetti Squash with an Italian Twist

Light the candles and get ready for something great. This dish is perfect for those nights where you want something filling, but not all the carbs. 

 Ingredients:


Spaghetti Squash
Olive oil
Vinegar 
5 slices of salami, shredded 
8 small leaves of Basil, shredded
1 teaspoon of goat cheese, crumbled
25 small cherry tomatoes, halved
20 Greek olives
8 artichoke hearts, sliced
Salt and pepper to taste

Step 1: Get 1 medium sized spaghetti squash and cut it in half horizontally. Note: This will be VERY difficult, so be careful.... these things are slippery!

Step 2: Next, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Step 3: Place the spaghetti squash, cut side down, in a deep casserole dish with an inch of water at the bottom. Once oven is ready, cook the squash for about 50 mins or until tender. You should be able to easily scrape the inside of the squash and create a spaghetti type string.

Step 4: While the squash is cooking, prep all the other ingredients that will be going into the dish such as cutting the salami, basil, tomatoes and artichoke hearts. For this recipe, I decided to use tomatoes, artichoke hearts, basil, salami, Greek olives and goat cheese. Once all is prepared, take squash out of the oven and let it cool. Once cooled, scrape the squash and put into a bowl. Gently toss with a little bit of olive oil, and vinegar to taste, along with all the other ingredients. Finally, serve and enjoy!!! 

     I was browsing in the grocery store, trying to come up with something for dinner when I happened to stumble upon a spaghetti squash. Now, every time that I have tried spaghetti squash in the past, I was never a fan, however, I thought I would give it another shot. I made it my personal mission to make a dish that was healthy and delicious, yet one that would incorporate this vegetable. So, knowing that this squash mimics pasta, I decided to do what I normally would have for a simple pasta dish. Naturally, spaghetti squash is a mild vegetable which has the ability to take on the taste of other ingredients within the dish. I was really craving Italian food but not really feeling like pasta, so I decided to use the squash. Overall, this dish turned out great! It is filling and delicious and I promise you won't be missing those carbs. So next time you are craving pasta, consider using spaghetti squash; you might actually surprise yourself. :D Enjoy