There has been one Paleo discovery that has truly rocked my world… Spaghetti Squash. Now, aside from the carving of pumpkins on Halloween and the pumpkin pie that would follow on Thanksgiving, my experience with any member of the squash family had not left a good taste in my mouth (literally).
But all that changed the day I purchased my first spaghetti squash. And the rest…. is history! I want to shout it from the mountain tops… I love spaghetti squash.
You HAVE to try this recipe!
Ingredients:
One Spaghetti Squash
One cup of pre-cooked shrimp
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Cayenne Pepper
Old Bay Seasoning
Lime Juice
Frozen Peppers and Onion (Fresh would be preferred, but hey, I’m a poor college student, I make due with what I got!)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2.. Cut the spaghetti squash lengthwise with a large, sharp knife. Be careful, they can be stubborn, and “fingers” were not listed on the ingredients list.
3. Fill a 13x9 casserole dish with 1/2” to 1” water. Place both halves in the dish, with the cut side down. Cover with foil, and pop that bad boy in the oven for 45 minutes.
4. After the fore mentioned 45 minutes have expired, flip the squash over and bake for another 15 minutes.
5. Removed dish from oven, and scoop out the seeds found in the center. Discard seeds as you see fit.
6. With a fork, gently pull out (that’s what she said) the strands of the squash and place in a bowl. Keep the shell of the squash to use as a pretty serving dish for later and not to mention, it’s one less dish to wash, thank you very much!
From here, you have a few options. You can choose to just eat the squash like this with a paleo-friendly marinara or meat sauce (I’ll post a bomb recipe for one of those in a little bit!) or you can continue on with this recipe or as always, you can tweek it to suit your own individual tastes. The choice… is yours.
7. Warm a frying pan over medium heat. Then, toss in the shrimp and lime juice!
8. Add Old Bay seasoning to taste. I tend to add a pretty solid amount, probably around a tablespoon or so. Cook until the little shrimp guys turn pink. That means they are ready… ready to party.
9. Add frozen veggies to the frying pan to get them started cookin’ before shrimp is completely done.
10. Gently toss the spaghetti squash with a few tablespoons of olive oil as well as cayenne pepper. When veggies and shrimp are done, add squash to the pan. Increase heat from medium to high and continuously stir/flip/rotate squash so as to not burn. Don’t ever, ever, burn spaghetti squash. That’s just wrong.
11. Place your delicious meal back in the shells of the squash and enjoy!!
12. Don’t forget to smile, because this meal is 100% paleo and super low in fat and calories as well!
Have a great weekend everyone!!
Hannah Jane
