Get Ready For It…Spaghetti Squash…Southwestern Style!
Ok, so by now, you might be sick of my spaghetti squash recipes. But I can’t help it. I absolutely love making this stuff, and finding new things to do with it so I don’t get sick of it. I love that it is so low calorie and high fiber and when you cook it, it looks like you have SO much food on your plate, when in reality, a half a squash is probably only about 60 calories on its own! (1 cup=31 calories).
Mexican food (Southwestern in this case) tends to be on the fattening side…lots of cheese, heavy on the starch…but NOT in this case. You can chose to add ground beef or turkey to this dish, and you can do salsa or sliced avocado as well. In the end I added some mozzarella I had left over from a previous recipe, but feel free to sprinkle cheddar or whatever you fancy as a garnish. I think I have mentioned before I am not a huge cheese person, but sometimes it adds that extra flair to a recipe, more as a garnish than the MAIN thing, in my opinion.
Southwestern Style Spaghetti Squash
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 medium sized spaghetti squash
1/2 red onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 Tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 Tablespoon oregano
1/2 Tablespoon chili powder
2 Tablespoons of salsa of choice
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup freshly torn cilantro, plus more for garnish
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 cup grated cheddar or mozzarella cheese (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Cut squash in half, de-seed and place in a baking pan filled with 1 inch of water ( to avoid burning the squash, also makes the squash cook better, in my opinion). Cook for about 40 minutes. Then remove and let them cook for at least 10 minutes, sometimes longer.
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion, garlic and red bell pepper. Sauté 2 minutes. Stir in cumin, oregano, chili powder, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté 1 more minute. Stir in beans, half of cilantro, salsa and lime juice until well combined. Add the “spaghetti” from each squash to the vegetable mixture and stir to combine. Taste and season as desired.
If you would like, sprinkle your cheese of choice all over the top of the spaghetti squash and put them back in the oven another 3-5 minutes.
Sprinkle with remaining cilantro and serve warm.
Enjoy!
