Spaghetti Squash Gratin

Familiar with spaghetti squash? Surprisingly, many people are not. And it's truly the coolest thing ever. It's a mild squash that is now in season, like most squashes are. It's round like a melon and yellow on the inside. So what makes it so special? Well, when you cook it, it turns into spaghetti. Crack open your squash, grab a fork, and pull up long strings of squash that seriously look like spaghetti. Healthy spaghetti!

Get creative with spaghetti squash and you can almost substitute it for noodles. Think of it - noodles that are actually a vegetable and therefore very good for you. Sure, it doesn't taste quite like spaghetti, but its appearance makes you want to dump on some tomato sauce and chow down. And you can. Here I combine it with a few other veggies, but then the familiar cheese and tomato sauce. Feel free to experiment as you get used to this (I know I'm a nerd) incredibly interesting vegetable. But, seriously, it looks like spaghetti!

Spaghetti Squash Gratin
Ingredients:
spaghetti squash
olive oil
garlic
black pepper
tomatoes
oregano
basil
crushed red pepper
zucchini
mushrooms
tomato sauce (can)
mozzarella cheese
breadcrumbs

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Pierce your spaghetti squash several times with a fork and then bake for 1 hour. Cool slightly so that you can cut it in half. Use a fork and scrape the insides of the spaghetti squash out into a bowl. This is when you'll discover the squash spaghetti strands!

Heat a small amount of olive oil (1 tsp-ish) in a large pan over medium heat. Dice two-three zucchini (about 2.5-3 cups total) and add them to the pan. Add sliced mushrooms - also 2.5-3 cups total. Saute, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes or until both are wilted and soft. They will shrink a fair amount in size as well.

Preheat oven to 450. Chop up 1-2 fresh tomatoes (2 small or 1 large) and add the tomato to the pan. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes. Add a small can of tomato sauce (or maybe even just part of it depending how it looks... you do not want a "sauce-y" meal but just a little for flavoring.) Add 2 cloves of minced garlic, black pepper, oregano, basil, and crushed red pepper. I used the black pepper, oregano, and basil liberally but very little crushed red pepper since I do not enjoy spicy food. Add more if you are a fan. Continue cooking and stirring for another 3-5 minutes.

Combine about 1/3-1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese with your squash. Place the squash/cheese mixture in a greased 9x13 (or similar) glass baking dish. Pour tomato/veggie mixture over top of the squash. Sprinkle another 1/2 cup or so of shredded mozzarella cheese over the top. Sprinkle about 1/3-1/2 cup of breadcrumbs over top. Bake at 450 for 15 minutes and then be amazed at how delicious this vegetable dish is!