Spaghetti Squash Crock Pot Style
This is one of those veggies that I just want to LOVE but instead, I find it to be sort of just, ok.
Maybe part of the problem is prepping the damn thing and taking your life in your own hands when you go to cut it.
Yeah. It's not pretty.
So then I found out I could cook it in the Instant Pot ... sweet!
But I still had to cut it. And then removing it while it was steaming hot was a little concerning.
I'm such a sissy sometimes.
And then came along the crock pot option.
Why not?
So I gave it a shot. And I'm impressed!
Impressed enough to share with you how I did it!
Ready to make some fake noodles and make your family roll their eyes??
Good, let's get to it!
1 medium size spaghetti squash. Ok, honestly I haven't the faintest idea how you pick a "good" one ... I look for one that's firm, heavy, pretty yellow and a nice stem end ... if you have tips, by all means, share with me! *Today's star was picked up at Trader Joe's. Organic. The whole thing cost $2.99. A whole dollar less than the dirty ones that were the same size. What's up with that?
1/2 cup water
Get ready for the frightening experience will you? *OH! I almost forgot the most important part! Wash that bad boy!*
Grab a fork or a knife. A sturdy dinner fork, preferably. A sharp knife, ideally. But that just sounds dangerous to me.
Stab that squash a few times all around. 10 times or so should be sufficient.
Unless you feel you need to vent a little more aggression, then by all means, add a few more stabs. Just try not to scare the little kids or animals in the house.
Oh, your spouse is watching? Just give him the side eye and he/she will slither out of the kitchen and leave you to your cooking.
Toss the water in the crock pot. Add the squash. Put a lid on it. Set it to low for the 6 or 8 hour setting, whatever you have.
Come back and check on it in 6 hours, giving it a little push with a fork or hot pad. You want it to be "soft" and give a little. If it's still firm, put the lid back on and let it go for another hour or so.
Once soft, grab your hot pads and a large dish. Pull out that soft squash and place in the dish. Leave it alone for about 10 minutes.
Don't worry it will be just fine. No one is going to mess with that bad boy right now.
Once it's sat for a bit to cool down, go ahead and cut it in half. Seriously, do be careful as it's going to be HOT and well, it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt. You already knew that, right? Note that I take the lazier way and just break it open at the end ... no need to make pretty food a requirement all the time!
Once cut in half, scoop out the seeds in the middle.
Then you get to have fun and run your fork through it, shredding it so to speak, scooping those stringy noodles out into the bowl. I find that if I start from the outside portion and work in I get much better results. *Want longer noodles? Cut the squash in half down the middle instead of long ways.
Wheee ... all you have left is 2 shells and a lot of stringy things. What fun cooking is!
Go ahead, try one of them noodles. Don't be disappointed that it doesn't taste like your favorite pasta, it's not supposed to. It is supposed to be blandish which is why you will NOW doctor it up! *Actually, it's very bland because it has ZERO seasoning at this point!
Sauce? Go for it. Add some meatballs to while you're at it!
A little ghee with garlic heated up? Oh yeah baby, keep them vampires away!
Toss those noodles back in each half and add some olive oil, top with some mozzarella cheese and broil til melted. Oh you could so easy change some one's mind with THAT!
Make a fake pizza ... lay out the strings in a shallow baking dish (line with parchment paper for easier cleanup!), top with pizza sauce (Trader Joe's is my favorite), add some mozzarella cheese and pepperoni and toss in the oven til melty like ...
Top with some cooked chicken and add some Alfredo sauce and have some Chicken Alfredo!
Ok, I'll stop now. I've only done the saucy stuff, and the ghee and garlic ... but the other 3 sound good too, don't you think??
Give me all your tips for spaghetti squash!
Maybe part of the problem is prepping the damn thing and taking your life in your own hands when you go to cut it.
Yeah. It's not pretty.
So then I found out I could cook it in the Instant Pot ... sweet!
But I still had to cut it. And then removing it while it was steaming hot was a little concerning.
I'm such a sissy sometimes.
And then came along the crock pot option.
Why not?
So I gave it a shot. And I'm impressed!
Impressed enough to share with you how I did it!
Ready to make some fake noodles and make your family roll their eyes??
Good, let's get to it!
1 medium size spaghetti squash. Ok, honestly I haven't the faintest idea how you pick a "good" one ... I look for one that's firm, heavy, pretty yellow and a nice stem end ... if you have tips, by all means, share with me! *Today's star was picked up at Trader Joe's. Organic. The whole thing cost $2.99. A whole dollar less than the dirty ones that were the same size. What's up with that?
1/2 cup water
Get ready for the frightening experience will you? *OH! I almost forgot the most important part! Wash that bad boy!*
Grab a fork or a knife. A sturdy dinner fork, preferably. A sharp knife, ideally. But that just sounds dangerous to me.
Stab that squash a few times all around. 10 times or so should be sufficient.
Unless you feel you need to vent a little more aggression, then by all means, add a few more stabs. Just try not to scare the little kids or animals in the house.
Oh, your spouse is watching? Just give him the side eye and he/she will slither out of the kitchen and leave you to your cooking.
Oops, the original post had THREE of these pics!
Toss the water in the crock pot. Add the squash. Put a lid on it. Set it to low for the 6 or 8 hour setting, whatever you have.
Come back and check on it in 6 hours, giving it a little push with a fork or hot pad. You want it to be "soft" and give a little. If it's still firm, put the lid back on and let it go for another hour or so.
Once soft, grab your hot pads and a large dish. Pull out that soft squash and place in the dish. Leave it alone for about 10 minutes.
Don't worry it will be just fine. No one is going to mess with that bad boy right now.
Once it's sat for a bit to cool down, go ahead and cut it in half. Seriously, do be careful as it's going to be HOT and well, it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt. You already knew that, right? Note that I take the lazier way and just break it open at the end ... no need to make pretty food a requirement all the time!
Once cut in half, scoop out the seeds in the middle.
Then you get to have fun and run your fork through it, shredding it so to speak, scooping those stringy noodles out into the bowl. I find that if I start from the outside portion and work in I get much better results. *Want longer noodles? Cut the squash in half down the middle instead of long ways.
Wheee ... all you have left is 2 shells and a lot of stringy things. What fun cooking is!
Go ahead, try one of them noodles. Don't be disappointed that it doesn't taste like your favorite pasta, it's not supposed to. It is supposed to be blandish which is why you will NOW doctor it up! *Actually, it's very bland because it has ZERO seasoning at this point!
Sauce? Go for it. Add some meatballs to while you're at it!
A little ghee with garlic heated up? Oh yeah baby, keep them vampires away!
Toss those noodles back in each half and add some olive oil, top with some mozzarella cheese and broil til melted. Oh you could so easy change some one's mind with THAT!
Make a fake pizza ... lay out the strings in a shallow baking dish (line with parchment paper for easier cleanup!), top with pizza sauce (Trader Joe's is my favorite), add some mozzarella cheese and pepperoni and toss in the oven til melty like ...
Top with some cooked chicken and add some Alfredo sauce and have some Chicken Alfredo!
Ok, I'll stop now. I've only done the saucy stuff, and the ghee and garlic ... but the other 3 sound good too, don't you think??
Give me all your tips for spaghetti squash!
I always scoop out the seeds before cooking. That way, you just eat without the seed mess.
ReplyDeleteI agree, but the purpose of cooking it this way is to avoid taking off a finger while cutting the raw squash in half ;-)
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