squash mac & cheese

it’s mac & cheese sans mac. that’s right, folks. no-pasta mac & cheese. true story.

ever have one of those days when you’re really craving comfort food like mac & cheese, but that little voice in your head tells you that you should know better? well, you should know better… there are healthy options for mac & cheese. this is what i fondly refer to as ‘faux pasta’ — spaghetti squash! and it works great as a pasta substitute in this squash-infused ‘mac & cheese’…

the spaghetti squash:
- gently wash spaghetti squash since you’ll be cooking it with the rind
- cut spaghetti squash in half, along the vertical. gently scrape pulp and seeds using a fork.
- gently brush the squash w/ extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle w/ ground black peppercorns
- place squash halves in a microwave-safe dish (squash side down) with 1/2 cup of water and microwave squash for approx 12-15min
- allow to cool before handling. using a fork, the squash should ‘string’ out nicely just like spaghetti noodles. true story. :)

(tip: cooking time varies depending on your microwave. if the spaghetti squash is still firm to the rind and doesn’t easily ‘string’ out like spaghetti noodles, you’ll need to adjust the cooking time accordingly. if you’d rather roast your spaghetti squash in the oven instead, check out this recipe modification for roasted squash.)

prep ingredients:
- 1 link of landjäger smoked sausage (diced. this sausage was already cooked.)
- 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup queso fresco (grated, or use another variety of cheese that melts well, such as gouda, cheddar or gruyere)

make the mac:
combine the following ingredients in a microwave-safe dish:
- 1 cup leftover cooked spaghetti squash (divided)
- sprinkle panko breadcrumbs, landjäger smoked sausage and grated cheese (between layers of cooked spaghetti squash)
- season w/ ground black peppercorns
- sprinkle remaining grated cheese for a melted topping
- warm up the squash mac & cheese for approx 2min in a microwave-safe dish, until cheese is melted.

squash two-ways: spring bacon spaghetti squash & sundried tomato spaghetti squash

i’m not really one for dares. but a culinary challenge? count me in! perhaps it’s the competitive foodie in me. ;)

so i got a special request from two yumyumyummers readers — an ask for microwave-friendly recipes. while you might shudder at the idea of a microwave dinner (gasp!), sometimes convenience is the name of the game. in this case, the reason for the microwave-friendly recipe request is that the couple’s kitchen stove and oven are currently out-of-order (gasp!). so i thought i’d dig into the yumyumyummers archives and find some recipes that can easily be adapted for microwave cooking.

the result: two gluten-free ways to dish up spaghetti squash for dindins or lunch. using a microwave. true story.

and even better… spaghetti squash is a fantastic gluten-free substitute for traditional noodles and pasta. faux noodles. fake pasta. call it what you want; it’s pretty delish.

spring bacon spaghetti squash
sundried tomato spaghetti squash

note: below please see the microwave-friendly modifications for these recipes.

the spaghetti squash:
- gently wash spaghetti squash since you’ll be cooking it with the rind
- cut spaghetti squash in half, along the vertical. gently scrape pulp and seeds using a fork.
- gently brush the squash w/ extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle w/ ground black peppercorns
- place squash halves in a microwave-safe dish (squash side down) with 1/2 cup of water and microwave squash for approx 12-15min
- allow to cool before handling. using a fork, the squash should ‘string’ out nicely just like spaghetti noodles. true story. :)

(tip: cooking time varies depending on your microwave. if the spaghetti squash is still firm to the rind and doesn’t easily ‘string’ out like spaghetti noodles, you’ll need to adjust the cooking time accordingly.)

the bacon:
- evenly place 5 strips of country-style bacon on a microwave-safe dish
- cook bacon strips in microwave until bacon is slightly crispy on both sides (follow the microwave-cooking instructions for the bacon from the producer)
- remove dish from microwave & set aside to cool before handling the bacon
- pat bacon using papertowels to remove excess fat & oil before cutting the bacon into bacon bits

yummers. :)  hope you enjoy the faux pasta — er, spaghetti squash!

peppadew bison meatballs & spaghetti squash

i heart spaghetti squash. light & tasty. supereasy to prepare. and it goes well with so many different ingredients… including meatballs!

recently, i made some yummy bison meatballs with some leftover free-range bison mixture from a previous yumyumyummers recipe (sauerkraut bison sliders). here’s how…

meatball it up:
- roll leftover bison mixture into small meatballs (approx 1- to 1.5-inches in diameter)

(tip: a bit smaller than the size of a golf ball, and definitely smaller than a tennis ball!)

- arrange meatballs approx 1-2 inches apart on a plate to set

- heat 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (evoo) in large saucepan on medium heat
- cook 10-12 meatballs in saucepan on medium heat, for 7-8 min (turning from side to side) until golden brown all around and cooked through.

(tip: be careful not to crowd the meatballs in the saucepan, so they can cook evenly through. best to check if the meatballs are cooked by cutting one open to check for no pinkness inside.) 

- preheat oven to 375F

spaghetti squash:
- gently wash spaghetti squash since you’ll be roasting it w/ rind
- cut spaghetti squash in half, along the vertical. gently scrape pulp and seeds using a fork.

(tip: if spaghetti squash is too hard to cut in half, place in bowl with 1/2 cup of water and microwave whole for 5min to soften rind before cutting.)