TexMex Spaghetti Squash

Print Recipe

As fall hits our beautiful country we are blessed with all the fall and winter produce.  Of course pumpkins are everywhere this time of year but so are the many different squash and melons.  There’s just something special about using these amazing garden delights this time of year.  I know.  Living in Florida I can get most of these items year round due to our 2 or 3 growing seasons.  But I actually pass them all up till the fall.  It kind of keeps me in the spirit of the seasons as where I grew up northwestern Ohio.

So this past weekend I picked up some spaghetti squash at a local farmers market.  Now that I am trying to lighten up my diet I am making new choices and utilizing them in new recipes.  So tonight I remove the pasta or rice and replace it with spaghetti squash.   Its center contains many large seeds like a pumpkin and its flesh is bright yellow or orange. When raw, the flesh is solid and similar to other raw squash; when cooked, the flesh falls away from the fruit in ribbons or strands like spaghetti.

Cooking the spaghetti squash  can be done in a couple of ways.  You can either roast it in the oven for about 40 minutes or even utilize the microwave to cook it for about 15 minutes.  I do not care for the latter option.  I find it leaves the stands softer and even turns more to mush.  Besides, I’m not a big fan of cooking foods in the microwave.  But to each their own and the time they have.

Tonight also gave me the opportunity to continue my quest of new recipes not only for my new diet but utilizing my new Paula Deen multi-cooker as well.  Now if y’all don’t have this multi-cooker, you can simply use your oven and a good sized pan on the stove top.  Either way, I hope you all give this recipe a try and let me know what you think.

Ingredients:

• 1 large spaghetti squash
• 2 or 3 skinless-boneless chicken breasts (you could use thighs, shredded chicken, rotisserie chicken or any protein you like) – diced
• 1 large white onion- diced
• 1 each red and green pepper- diced
• 4 plum tomatoes (they have more meat and less seeds/juice) – diced
• 1 cup fresh or frozen corn
• 1 14.5 ounce can black beans – drained
• 1 jalapeno pepper – diced (optional)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper to taste and season

1. First off, make sure you have a very large sharp knife.  Spaghetti squash have a very hard outer skin.  So be careful when you cut the squash in half.
2. Remove seeds from squash
3. I now placed it cut side down in my multi cooker set on “Bake”at 350°.  You can do the same in an oven and use a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
4. Bake for 40-45 minutes and then remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes so you can safely handle it with burning your hands.
5. Use a fork and scrape in same direction as the squash strands to make sure your spaghetti strands are long like pasta.
6. While the squash finishes cooling add the diced chicken to the multi cooker set to stove top “high” or in a large pan on stove on medium high.  Season with salt and pepper along with the other spices and red pepper flakes.
7.  Cook on one side then stir to turn to other side and add the diced onion, peppers (red, green and jalapeno) and black beans.  Cook for 2-3 minutes to slightly soften onions and peppers.
8. Add the tomatoes and corn and stir to combine.  Continue to cook to reduce the liquid in the meat/veggie mixture.  You want as much of the liquid to cook off because you are going to get a lot of liquid out of the spaghetti squash when you add it.
9. Add the squash and 3/4 cup of the cheese.  Stir gently to combine. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper as needed.  Sprinkle remaining cheese over top and a few jalapeno slices if you like.  Cover and allow cheese to melt.  
10. Serve immediately.  Letting sit to long only allows squash to break down more.