1 spaghetti squash
1/2 stick of butter (4 Tbsp - real butter, not margarine)
10 cloves of garlic, minced
3/4 cup half and half (or you could use heavy cream)
8 oz. parmesan cheese, finely grated and divided into 2 4 oz. portions (grate your own if possible)
10 sprigs parsley, or 5 tsp. dried
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Wash and dry squash.
3. Cut in half and scrape out seeds and pulp from the inside. (If you have trouble starting the cut, you can cut the hard stem off. If you still have trouble, try the following steps.)
- Using a sharp knife, poke a few small slits in the squash skin; poke in a dotted line along where you plan to slice the squash in half.
- Microwave squash 5-6 minutes; cool slightly.
- Place squash on cutting board with the most-flat surface down. Slice along your ‘dotted line’ of slices.
- Since the squash will be hot, use a towel (or oven mitt) to hold the squash half.
5. Turn squash, flesh side up, and lightly spray or brush with olive oil. Then generously season with salt and pepper.
6. Turn the squash over, flesh side against the baking sheet. Bake for one hour in the oven.
7. Turn the heat off and let the squash cool in the closed oven for another two houirs.
8. Take squash out of the oven, and using a fork, scrape out the flesh into a mixing bowl. The flesh will separate into spaghetti-like strands.
For the Sauce
1. Prep remaining ingredients. Mince garlic, measure out half and half, prepare parsley, grate parmesan cheese.
2. Melt butter on low heat in a saucepan. When butter starts to bubble, add minced garlic. Let cook for a minute.
3. Pour in half and half and keep heat on low. Let simmer for ten minutes, stirring frequently.
4. Stir in 4 oz. of parmesan cheese. Stir frequently over low heat until everything is melted together.
5. Add parsley to the cheese sauce. Pour cheese sauce over the top of squash and mix together.
6. Transfer to a medium sized greased baking dish. Sprinkle remaining parmesan on top.
To Finish Baking
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees again.
2. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until cheese is melted on top. (Bake for 30 minutes or so if you refrigerated the squash to bake later.)
3. Serve hot and enjoy!
After cutting
After brushing with olive oil
Flesh side down for baking
After baking and cooling
After scraping out the flesh
Spaghetti squash flesh in the mixing bowl
After mixing in the cheese sauce
In the pan ready for baking
After baking
