As I have said before, I need to learn how to cook. One of my roommates, Sophie, happens to be quite talented in the kitchen. I decided to enlist her help with this week’s recipe!
Sophie is a huge fan of spaghetti squash so I asked her for her favorite spaghetti squash recipe. She sent it to me and it looked easy enough so I decided to give it a try.
The first and only issue I ran into while making my spaghetti squash was cutting it open! The skin is pretty tough so be extra careful when you open it. I struggled so much that Sophie eventually had to step in to show me how to properly cut it open.
After that, I did everything else on my own and was very successful! When you cut open the squash, the first thing you need to do is scoop out the seeds and the guts. While you are working on this, you can let the oven preheat to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Once you are done scooping out all the yucky stuff (don’t be afraid to use your hands!) you can start seasoning the squash. Coat the inside with a generous layer of olive oil. Sprinkle salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion flakes, and Italian spices. You can season your squash however you want, but I highly recommend trying this combination.
Then put the two pieces flat side down in a roasting pan and fill the pan with an inch and a half of water. Put it in the over for an hour. After an hour, take it out of the oven and let it cool down. Once it is safe to touch, pour the water out of the pan and let the squash sit some more.
Once the squash is completely cool you are finally ready to scrape out the insides. Hold the squash in one hand lengthwise while you use a fork in a scraping motion to make spaghetti like pieces (hence spaghetti squash).
I decided to top this yummy spaghetti squash with some marinara and parmesan cheese, but chef Sophie also recommends pesto!
Heres my verdict:
-Easy to make
-Delicious
-Not too labor intensive
– Not a very filling meal, but definitely good as a light meal or snack
Overall I would recommend spaghetti squash to a novice because even I, the incompetent college cook, could handle making this (mostly) on my own. Please let me know if you try it because I would love to hear your feedback! If you have any questions or feedback please leave a comment or contact me on Twitter @KristinaAzevedo
College Cooking for Dummies 
Thanks for sharing Kristina! I love Spaghetti squash but have never tried making it on my own. My mom usually makes it for me at home as a side dish. Will definitely give it a try now 🙂
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Kristina– I can relate to this post on a very personal level. I am incompetent in the kitchen as well and the only thing my roommate, who is also a naturally gifted chef, would let me do is making eggs. I also really love the photos, very comedic and descriptive at the same time. I can imagine you making me this meal as I read through and it seems really fun! One thing I would love to know is the total time that it takes you, from when you tried to cut open the squash, to when you were finally able to eat the spaghetti. Good luck and have so much fun on your future recipes!!!
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Hi Ashley, I am glad you could relate! Basically the total time was maybe 2 hours but most of that was an hour in the oven and around a half hour of the squash cooling down. It really wasn’t a lot of work at all.
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I found this post to be very informative, and might actually make the recipe this weekend. The visual aids for each step of the recipe were very helpful and add a lot to the content of the post. As a pretty talented chef myself (humble brag) I am a big fan of squash; it is a very versatile ingredient. If you are a fan of the taste I would recommend butternut squash soup or risotto. While these are slightly more advanced recipes they are definitely worth a try.
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Glad you want to give it a try! Maybe by the end of the semester I can work my way up to a risotto.
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