Whole 30 Garlic Spaghetti Squash
Print the Whole 30 Garlic Spaghetti Squash recipe here!
Hello Monday and welcome back friends! How was your weekend?
It has been a real struggle over here to write a blog post, cook anything, heck...to even shower! Having a young puppy that shadows my every step and needs constant supervision feels ironically like what I would expect to be like having children...without the sharp teeth. Of course, motherhood is much more intense and difficult, no doubt. And I know in the coming months this puppy phase will be somewhat over whereas babies and children take much longer to grow. For that, I am grateful! Literally just in writing this paragraph I have had to get up twice for Lorenzo, his curious nose somehow managed to search for a movie on my computer’s (bottom left) search bar, and he's moved from his little bed sitting right next to me to rest against my leg instead. I say (write) all of this in light jest as clearly I'd take this "struggle" any day as the unconditional love and joy from a fur-baby knows no bounds.
So...moving on! I managed to cook only a couple of the scheduled recipes I wanted to try last week both because of Lorenzo and because the hubs had a last minute day trip for work which threw off that day's meal prep. The recipe I prepared is from Paleo Gluten Free and I followed it exactly. I would vote the original recipe as just OK, and so did my mom and hubby. However, it has easy room for improvement and is super flexible on flavor so I thought I'd share anyway and add my suggestions on how to make the recipe have flavor which is ultimately what we all thought it was lacking. All of the ingredients - I love, are healthy, and have potential.
I usually try a recipe and tweak it to make it my own version based on my taste preference or to convert it to Whole 30 or Paleo. However, this time I was just following step by step in between entertaining our puppy we brought home that day. As my mom reminded me, always follow my instinct when I'm cooking which I normally do...just not this time. Anyway, I've decided to share the recipe below as I would have prepared it had I tweaked it on my own.
Shopping List
- spaghetti squash (3-4 cups, cooked)
- 8 pieces bacon or turkey bacon (cooked, chopped)
- 1 1/2 cups broccoli (sauteed with minced garlic)
For the sauce
- 2 cans full fat coconut milk (flesh only, discard excess water)
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 3 tbsp garlic powder
- 3 tbsp onion powder
- ground black pepper to taste
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350* F. Cut the spaghetti squash in half, remove the strings and seeds. Coat the flesh with olive oil and place cut side down onto a foil lined baking sheet. Roast for a 45 minutes to an hour. Remove and use a fork to pull out the spaghetti squash. Set aside and turn the oven up to 400* F.
Saute the broccoli florets in a small saute pan with olive oil and minced garlic. I would suggest sprinkling some garlic powder and onion powder over the broccoli as well. Set aside.
While those are cooking, cook the bacon thoroughly. Chop it into small bits. Set aside.
Prepare the sauce in a medium saucepan on the stove over medium heat. Add all of the ingredient together and continue to whisk the sauce as it heats and thickens, about 5 to 8 minutes.
Once the sauce is finished you can assemble the dish. Add the spaghetti squash to a 9x9 baking dish along with the bacon and broccoli.
Pour the sauce into the dish and mix well. Place the dish into the oven to heat through, about 10 minutes or so.
I would opt to serve this as a side and not a main dish and I think it would taste excellent with some ground parmesan cheese! I paired the dish with my coconut crusted chicken recipe I've shared before.
Garlic Spaghetti Squash
Paleo & Whole 30
Have you tried any new recipes lately that you've loved or hated? What's difficult with cooking, and I'm sure you'll agree if you like to cook, is that making a recipe can truly turn out different than the original even if you make it more than once! There's so much room for creativity when cooking though, and I enjoy it as an outlet to get my mind off of everything else. Plus, the hubs and I like to eat. ;)
Wishing everyone a wonderful week ahead!
XOXO
