Happy November!
The one month a year where everyone is talking about FOOD!
Classic fall flavors that every family will surround themselves with the entire season, leading up to the feast of feasts, Thanksgiving day.
This scrumptious roasted spaghetti squash with quick and simple cheese sauce is the perfect around the table meal on dance free nights, meatless Monday’s or a side dish on turkey day!
Easy to prep & assemble, fun for the kiddos to help with in the kitchen and coated in tasty cheese sauce! What more could we ask for right?!
The thing I love most about this sauce is its main ingredient can be found in every grocery store in numerous flavors to make with multiple dishes.
For this recipe I used Merk’s Sharp Cheddar cheese spread. Its my favorite! Made in my home state of Wisconsin! However, if you can’t find this brand, any delicious spread your grocer carries will work for this recipe.
Merk’s flavors vary from Sharp Cheddar and Almond Swiss to Port Wine and Beer Cheese. Because it’s not Wisconsin without beer cheese! Lots of options for every family.
Any one of these flavors combined with fresh garlic, dried herbs and cream will make for one tasty topping your dancers will BEG for!
On to the magic of spaghetti squash!
I’ll never forget the first time I made this dish and the wonder of how a simple squash became a giant bowl of PASTA!
I live for pasta, so when I discovered this magical squash and the health benefits it contains, it quickly became a staple in my kitchen.
Packed with enough carbohydrates, proteins and vitamins in just 1 cup to keep your dancer fueled up and energized for a night of family fun!
Roasted perfectly at 400 degrees for 40 minutes, cooled, then using a fork to create those scrumptious squoodles.
My son loves helping me with this step and I encourage you to have your dancers help too! It’s so much fun for them to participate in the cooking process, especially when it comes to trying new foods. If they help prepare the meal, they are more excited to try something different because helped create it!
Recipe Below:
Ingredients:
- 2 medium sized spaghetti squash, cut length wise and seeded
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon dried sage leaves
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 4 teaspoons Merk’s Sharp Cheddar cheese spread or your favorite cheese spread
- 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sriracha (optional)
- 1 teaspoon salt & pepper
Instructions:
Start by prepping the spaghetti squash. CAUTION! Spaghetti squash is not easy to cut and you must be careful and take your time. Dancers should not help with this part of the recipe!
Slice the ends off each side of the squash, so you can stand it up vertically with a flat bottom. Find the center and begin slicing the squash, allowing the knife to do the work.
TIP: The sharper the knife the better!
Once you have successfully cut through the squash, scoop out the seeds & membrane. Coat with 1 tablespoon olive oil, a sprinkle of salt and place on a baking sheet face down. Bake at 400 degree for 40 minutes. Once cooked, remove and allow to cool.
While the squash is turning into squoodles, let’s make the cheese sauce!
Add the minced garlic, dried sage, 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a small sauce pan. Simmer over medium-low heat for 5 minutes until the butter is bubbling and the garlic sage is fragrant.
Next, add the heavy whipping cream, stir and simmer for 5-7 minutes until the cream reduces by half.
TIP: Cream tends to bubble up pretty quickly, so be sure to keep an eye on the sauce and stir if it starts to bubble over.
Once reduced, add the Merk’s cheese spread and combine with the rest of the ingredients in the pot until melted.
Remove from heat and add the remaining two tablespoons of butter, white wine vinegar, sriracha (if you like a little kick!) and finish with salt & pepper.
Once the spaghetti squash is cooled, flip over face up and with a fork have dancers fluff up the squash. Dragging the fork across gently will create the pasta noodles… or squoodles 🙂
Plate the squoodles and top with the delicious cheese sauce. I also added a little chopped fresh sage for extra herb flavor!
Hope you enjoy!
