Southwestern Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

"Interesting" Yonetta said in the email including a link to this recipe. I'm not sure what that meant exactly, but I figured it didn't look half bad (but what Tex-Mexy sort of thing doesn't?) so I may as well give it a spin. At least it'd be super healthy. Most importantly, I think there's going to be lots of fiber in this so that'll help me get over all that cheese pizza I ate last week.

Southwestern Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
from Bev Cooks
click to print

1 spaghetti squash, about 3 pounds
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 red onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, minced (leave seeds in for more heat)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp oregano, Mexican if you have it
1 tbsp chili powder
1 14.5 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 c frozen corn, thawed
coarse salt
freshly ground pepper
1/2 c freshly torn cilantro, plus more for garnish
1 lime
1 c cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Roast squash on a baking sheet for 50 minutes.

Spaghetti squash, washed and placed on small baking sheet, baked 50 minutes.

Let cool 20-30 minutes, then cut in half.


Spoon out the seeds, then using a fork, scrape up the flesh, reserving about 1/2-1" against the skin.


Heat oil in a medium skillet. Add the onion, garlic, jalapeno pepper and red bell pepper. Sauté 2 minutes.


Add cumin, oregano, chili powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Sauté another minute.


Add the beans, corn, and cilantro. Stir to combine.


Squeeze in the lime juice and give one last stir.


Add in half the “spaghetti” to the bean mixture and stir to combine. Taste and season accordingly.


Stuff each squash half with the mixture and top with cheese.


Return squash to oven until the cheese melts and gets all brown and bubbly. Garnish with cilantro.




Yep, this tastes really good! The cumin is a little on the heavy side for me and next time I'd cut back on it. Otherwise the flavors were spot on. Half a 3.11 lb. squash is a lot for one person to eat, so make sure you are hungry or plan on dividing each half to serve two.

I was thinking this would be good with chopped chicken in it. Man, now that I think about it this might be a fantastic way to use chicken tenderloins. They are small, you only get two per chicken, and it'd be just enough to get the meaty fix without turning the recipe into a chicken-based dish. Why didn't I think of this before I started?

Cost:

• spaghetti squash: $2.77
• extra-virgin olive oil: $0.36
• red onion: $0.44
• garlic cloves: $0.12
• jalapeno pepper: $0.10
• red bell pepper: $0.91
• black beans: $0.71
• frozen corn: $0.67
• cilantro: $0.49
• lime: $0.27
• cheddar cheese: $1.25

TOTAL: $8.09 or about $4.05 for each of two GIANT servings or about $2.03 for each of four not-quite-enough-for-a-main-dish-if-eaten-solo servings.

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