Sabaggy Squash

TUESDAY'S DINNER:

Super Savory Sabaggy Squash $0.62

When I was a little kid I couldn't say spaghetti. But since I have never been one to follow the crowd, I didn't call it pasketti. No, it was sabaggy.

I purchased a fairly large spaghetti squash--about the size of my forearm. I cut it in half (not lengthwise, simply because I don't have the strength/ability/sharp enough knife to hold it in place and slice on through the dang thing (it's not as hard as a butternut, but not as soft as a zucchini). So I sliced it at the middle and placed the two halves cut side down in a baking dish with about an inch of water. I baked it at 350, uncovered, for about an hour--until the squash was easily pierced with a knife. Drained the water from the dish (careful!!!), put the halves cut side up and cut them into quarters. Allowed them to cool and then scraped out the seeds. Then I began scraping out the "sabaggy". Spaghetti squash gets its name simply because of the way it looks when served. It does not have the same texture as pasta in any way--in fact it's almost crunchy--but it tastes great with all the things that taste great with spaghetti (marinara, olive oil, butter...). So I scraped out the squash into the baking dish. I added about 1/3 stick of butter (if you don't like using butter, well....my condolences). Then I mixed about a 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil with a clove of fresh minced garlic and several tablespoons of parmesan (I just used the lame "shaker cheese" since I didn't have enough fresh parm). I poured the stuff onto the squash, added a good amount of salt, and tossed it. I heated some simple marinara to put on top. I also grated a bit of leftover, lovely, pricey Whole Foods parmesan that my husband had bought me for my birthday (yes, my husband knows me well and buys me CHEESE on special occasions) and mixed it with a bit of chopped fresh flatleaf parsley. This made a lovely addition to sprinkle atop the mound of yummy, garlicky squash.This meal was delicious and healthy and the kids loved it too. Served some peas on the side and voila. Call it pasketti, sabaggy, or super yum yum. This made about 8 HUGE grownup servings, so it will make a great leftovers option too. I might get creative and fry up some squash patties! Ooh...wish me luck!