Spicy Spaghetti Squash Curry with Roasted Chickpeas

Oh this recipe is delicious if you are into spices!

The recipe is as follows:
1 spaghetti squash
8 ounce can of plain tomato sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons mild curry powder
1 tablespoon of chili powder
2 teaspoons of sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons of cumin
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric 

For the roasted chickpeas
1 15.5 ounce can chickpeas
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon cracked pepper

Preheat the oven to 400F. Pierce the squash all around with a knife and roast for 1 hour to 1 hour and 20 minutes. Flip once around 30 minutes. The total time depends on the size of the squash. Once the skin is soft enough to pierce easily with a fork, it is done.

Turn the oven up to 450F for the chickpeas.

While the squash is cooking, combine well all the curry ingredients in a bowl.

Prepare the roasted chickpeas on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Drizzle with the oil, salt and pepper.

Roast in oven for approximately 10 minutes or until golden brown and slightly crispy. These are addictive!

Once the squash has cooled a little, slice in half and scoop out the seeds and that dark stringy stuff in the center.

Then scrape out all the spaghetti into a dish.

Combine everything and enjoy!

Yum, Yum!

Thank you for stopping by! ~Val

Spinach Artichoke Spaghetti Squash Recipe

This was so good to eat that it felt naughty!

I was looking around for something different to try with spaghetti squash and came across this savory recipe.

Below is my take on it. I have found it better to bake a spaghetti squash first then put it in a casserole dish for final baking. This way the filling goodness really gets into the "spaghetti". It is more cleanup than making them in the "boat" halves but is easier to divide up for future meals.

1 spaghetti squash
3 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup of chopped onion
1/2 cup light sour cream or plain yogurt 
3 ounces less fat cream cheese
3/4 cup grated parmesan, divided
3 cups packed baby spinach 
1 1/4 cups of marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

We happened to have the marinated artichoke hearts handy. If using non-marinated, you may want to add 3 cloves of minced garlic and salt and pepper to taste in the saute step.

First bake the spaghetti squash. I pierce the skin all over and bake at 425F for approximately 1 hour depending on the size. Once a fork easily pierces the skin, it is done.

Then let it cool for 10 minutes for so before cutting. 

While that is cooling, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 5-8 minutes until tender. If adding garlic, salt and pepper, this is the time to add it. Toss for 1 minute.

Then add sour cream (or yogurt), cream cheese, and half the parmesan. Stir in spinach and artichoke hearts. Cook until spinach wilts. Remove from stove top. 

Yes it is like a savory spinach and artichoke dip!

Then cut the squash in half and remove the seeds. 

Scoop out 1 halve of the spaghetti squash into a 9 inch square baking dish. Then mix in half the cheese/veggie mixture. I like lots of cheese so I sprinkled a little extra parmesan and mozzarella on top of this layer. Then repeat with other squash half. Top with the rest of the cheese.

Place under the broiler for 2-3 minutes until cheese is melted with a slight bit of brown coloring.

Enjoy!!! I was able to divide this dish up into 6 servings. Click here for the original recipe if you would like to make this in the boats.

I hope you feel inspired to try something new in the kitchen! Thank you for stopping by. ~Val

Asian Style Spaghetti Squash and a Panda

Panda Lanyard
Here's my newest handcrafted Peruvian bead!

This cutie has been added to a lanyard available in my Etsy shop!

Asian Style Spaghetti Squash
This is something I'd been wanting to try for a while! 

Using dehydrated peppers was also new to me! These are pasilla chilis which are medium on the hotness scale. These were finely chopped and hydrated in hot water which actually created nice broth.

Another first was cooking the squash whole and then slicing it. I personally can't cut a raw squash!!! Jim normally cuts them in half before baking.

I started with sauteeing half a head of cabbage chopped up, 1 diced bell pepper, mushrooms and sliced baby carrots in some veggie oil. Then I added the chopped dried peppers with its broth. 

No additional hot spices were needed. I just used some soy sauce and some dried green onions to taste. The flavor came out delicious. I was so proud since this was completely concocted in my head!

Everything was cooked to desired texture. Then I carved out the spaghetti squash (discarded the seeds) and mixed it all up. So healthy and really satisfies a craving for Asian food. Also less carbs without the noodles!

Jim wasn't with me when I made this but I mentioned it was missing something and I could not figure out what! He suggest nuts. That is exactly what it could use. Maybe chopped peanuts, cashews or almonds. Next time!!!

Business News
It was time! Time to open a second Etsy shop! 

This may actually take a month to complete. You will now see 2 Etsy Minis on the side bar. Eventually there will be 1 shop with my finished creations and 1 shop with findings and supplies. 

Since it is unacceptable to have the same listing in more than 1 shop I am slowly creating listings in the new shop while deleting them from the original shop. It is quite time consuming but well worth it for my future plans! 

Thank you for stopping by! I hope I've inspired you to cook something delicious! ~Val

Anniversary, Spaghetti Squash and A Black Onyx Necklace

Black Onyx Necklace
Here is my latest necklace. 

I used a pretty link to create the focal point. Available at Etsy.

Anniversary
So Jim and I just celebrated our 3 years of dating anniversary! Woohoo! He is my best friend and my rock. The fact that he can put up with me makes me know we will be together forever (since I won't let him go). We make each other laugh, read each other's mind and finish each other's sentences. It is a beautiful thing!

Anniversary Bouquet from Jim

I gave him this adorable card with a quote from a Lumineers song "I belong with you, you belong with me...you're my sweetheart". 

This is from The Staggering Truth on Etsy.  

Spaghetti Squash
I thought I never ate spaghetti squash before I met Jim but when I mentioned it to my mom it turns out I was wrong! My parents grew it in their garden when my brothers and I were young. She tried to pass it off as spaghetti. Apparently this did not go as well as planned!!!

Well now I love this squash. We have taken advantage of the season twice. Once was simply red sauce and mozzarella.

The other was a Pinterest inspired dish shared by Whole Foods. A Mexican take on the veggie!

For the filling we heated up black beans, canned tomatoes, jalapenos and corn. We added in to taste chili powder, dried cilantro, dried green onions and pepper.    

Of course shredded cheddar jack to top it off!

If you have never tried spaghetti squash before it can be really fun to work with! Once halved they need to bake in the oven at 375 F for approximately 50 minutes. Then the cooked toppings can be mixed in. It is totally low in calories too! I would love to try an Asian take on it treating the "spaghetti" like noodles. 

Thank you for stopping by! I hope you are having a fabulous Fall season! ~Val