Around here, we believe in healthy, tasty meals. Whenever possible, we try to use our homegrown food, but occasionally we do have to supplement. When a friend gave me a couple spaghetti squash, I was thrilled. I’d seen this recipe floating around and wanted to try it.
After trying it, it’s a great weekday night dinner, although it does take about an hour total cooking time. Next time, I’m going to try cooking the squash in my instant pot to see if that speeds things up!
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 1-2 Medium spaghetti squash
- Olive oil
- 8 slices of bacon, cut in 1/2-inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 6-7 handfuls of fresh baby spinach
- Cheese
1. First, you’ll want to pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. While waiting for the oven to warm up, chop the spaghetti squash into about 1 inch rings horizontally. This makes the rings of squash more pasta like by leaving the strands together when you start peeling off the skins
3. Brush some oil onto a baking sheet pan (I make clean-up easier by using parchment paper and brushing the oil onto that), spread out the rings evenly and then brush a little more oil on top of each ring. Pop them into the oven.
4. While your squash is cooking, cook the bacon in a frying pan. When it’s done, set the it aside.
5. Add the red wine vinegar and maple syrup to the pan and scrape up all the bacon pieces that got stuck.
6. By now, your squash should be done, so take it out and let it cool off.
7. Back to the pan - add the spinach and cook it down enough to be slightly shriveled.
8. Put the bacon back in the pan and mix it thoroughly in with the spinach.
9. Once your squash is cooled, peel away the thick outside skin. Separate the strands just enough so it looks like spaghetti.
10. Add the bacon/spinach mixture to your bowl of squash “noodles” and mix well.
11. Top with cheese and mix in to taste. I used gouda, which was absolutely delicious, but goat cheese would also work, as would an extra sharp cheddar.
12. Enjoy!