Spaghetti Squash Primavera

Are y’all getting bored with Cooking Through Stacy’s Stash? Cause I gotta tell you – we’re not even half-way there yet. Surprised? Yes, I might have a cookbook hoarding problem…but if you knew how many I had before we moved, you might change your mind. Ahem. There are lots of things that are worse than hoarding cookbooks…hoarding empty ketchup bottles…hoarding broken light bulbs…hoarding used q-tips. See, now I have justified myself.

I love spaghetti squash – no matter how you cook it: in the oven or in the crock, it’s one of my favorite vegetables. I like to buy several at the Farmer’s Market when they’re in season and keep them in my basement where it’s cool. I can keep them for 2-3 months this way. But I’ve had people tell me you can also store them in the fridge for extended amounts of time…but my fridge is usually crammed full with various things in mason jars.

We’re in another one of my Southern Living Cookbooks this month – today we’re tackling 1986…which you can still buy on Amazon, used. I love buying used books on Amazon! (Dear FTC, that’s an affiliate link, but I know you don’t buy cookbooks – you likely eat out every day on your meager income. Ahem.)

1986 was my last year as an only child – my sister was born in 1987, when I was 5 years old. Interesting fact – she used to beat me up. My parents told me it would happen…just like I’m telling Annie the same thing about her younger brother. My parents were right, so I’m probably right. Jamey doesn’t beat me up any more – we’re friends now. Cool, huh?

I chose Almost Pasta Primavera for this week…which I renamed to Spaghetti Squash Primavera – I like titles that tell me stuff or get my attention, like Cajun Chicken Pasta or Buffalo Crack Slaw. ALMOST Pasta Primavera? What does that even mean? This is almost cooked…this is almost ready…this is almost, but not quite Pasta Primavera. Lame name. So, I changed it…the name and the ingredients.

I didn’t want to use low cal margarine. Yuck. I actually just nixed that ingredient. Because really…it called for ¾ teaspoon low calorie margarine. Why even bother? Who even uses ¾ teaspoon butter for a whole recipe? I’ll tell you – a quack, that’s who.

I changed a lot of the stuff in this recipe – so it doesn’t resemble this one much at all. That being said, thanks for the idea, Southern Living!

This recipe didn’t call for any meat. But, I like meat. We’re good friends. I added 1 cup chopped, cooked chicken. I always try to make sure there is cooked chicken in the freezer – I make Crock Pot Baked Chicken a lot so I can always have cooked chicken on hand. You should too…come on, everyone’s doing it.

For this recipe you can steam or roast your veggies. Roasting is my method of choice for cooking veggies. Any veggies will do – whatever you have on hand. Just make sure it’s 4 cups worth. I used: snow peas, carrots, brussels sprouts, onions, and green peppers. It was delicious! I would have used zucchini, but I used all of them in Zoodles. Oops.

Make sure to season your veggies well. I used Seasoned Salt, because it’s what I use on almost everything. I’m a creature of habit.

You’re going to make a sauce, kinda like alfredo, in a small saucepan. It comes together really fast – like in less than 5 minutes. Don’t boil it unless you enjoy scraping burned dairy products off of pans. I don’t…but I somehow end up doing it regularly. Set a timer, for Pete’s sake!

When everything is ready, just mix it all together in a big bowl and then spoon it out on to plates. Or, if you’re home alone, you can stand at the kitchen cabinet and eat it straight out of the bowl. Put a movie on so your 4 year old will be occupied and won’t tell Daddy as soon as he gets home…someone around here has loose lips. GUESS WHAT MOMMY DID!?!

But really, this is just another fabulous way to eat spaghetti squash. And if you haven’t jumped on the spaghetti squash train yet, you better hurry. It’s leaving the station. All aboard!