Spaghetti Squash and Roasted Squash Seeds

A few years ago I was introduced to spaghetti squash.  It is such a unique type of squash, has about 1/4 the carbs of regular pasta, and vitamin B-6. Once cooked and scraped it comes out in long strings and looks like spaghetti.  

Ingredients:

1 medium spaghetti squash

4 cloves garlic, minced 

2 TBSP EarthBalance

2 TBSP nutritional yeast

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 can (or 14 oz) of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed well

1/3 cup finely chopped parsley

Cook minced garlic over stove top medium low for 2 minutes. Make sure not to burn. Remove from pan and store in a bowl off to the side.

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut spaghetti squash in half. Scoop out seeds & guts and save seeds in a bowl. Place squash face down on baking sheet.  I like to pour 1/2 cup of water on the baking sheet so that it helps steam the squash and keep it moist.  Cook for about 50 minutes (check at 40 minutes).  Set aside to cool. When it has cooled down enough to hold but still warm, scrape out the squash flesh with a fork. In a bowl add squash, 2 TBSP of earth balance, cooked garlic, nutritional yeast, salt & black pepper, red kidney beans & parsley.

Roasted Squash Seeds:

These are so tasty! Athan loves to snack on these. He is a picky eater but will finish off a complete bowl of these if I give him the chance.

Ingredients:

squash seeds from one medium or large squash

pinch of salt

pinch of Penzey's black pepper

organic olive oil

Rinse gunk off seeds and allow to air dry overnight in a bowl or on a plate. (or if you don't want to wait all night, towel dry off the seeds)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a bowl, drizzle enough olive oil to coat the squash seeds. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the top and stir.

Place seeds on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for about 10-14 minutes total.  After 6 minutes of baking, stir seeds around.  Bake for 4-8 more minutes. Check the seeds at 10 minutes to make sure they are not over cooked. Take seeds out when golden brown. Allow to cool and enjoy!