Spaghetti Squash Aglio e Olio

Some people are bona fide Chocoholics, others are Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. I don't have much of a sweet tooth, vatsly preferring starchy, yummy, carby delights, such as pasta. If I had to pick just one pasta dish to stay with me on a desert island, it'd be Spaghetti Aglio e Olio (garlic and olive oil).

Back when I was hard-core carb-loading, I even finagled a recipe which took 20 minutes total from dry spaghetti to finished garlicky aglio e olio wonderfulness. It just takes a skillet large enough to hold  dry spaghetti. It’s really an amazing way to cook it. No more waiting 30 minutes for your huge pasta pot of water to boil.

But I digress. I've enjoyed finding substitutes for pasta. So far, I quite enjoy zucchini noodles and the stand-by, couldn't be simpler to prepare, spaghetti squash, which really works well in this recipe.

Spaghetti Squash Aglio e Olio

Ingredients:

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 1 T butter
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• granulated garlic
• red pepper flakes
• grated parm from a can
• fresh shredded parm or romano
• salt
• pepper
• fresh basil
• Fresh chopped parsley

Directions:

1. Prepare the spaghetti squash:
   • Preheat oven to 400 F
   • Cut squash in half and scoop out the seeds and stringy fibers.
   • Place cut side down in a roasting pan and add 1 inch of water.
   • Bake uncovered for 45 min to an hour until the flesh separates easily into strands when pulled with a fork.
2. Heat butter and olive oil over medium heat.
3. Add the minced garlic and cook until the garlic becomes fragrant, but not browned.
4. Add red pepper flakes, granulated garlic, stirring to incorporate.
5. Toss in the cooked spaghetti squash, stir to coat, turn up the heat, sprinkle some grated parm over, season with salt and pepper, stir through.
6. Serve, topped with fresh shredded cheese, fresh basil and chopped parsley.

Notes:

• You can easily add in some leftover cooked chicken for some protein.
• And how about some cubes of mozzarella and halved cherry tomatoes? They all work nicely.

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