Thursday, January 6, 2011

Savor of "Sausage & Spaghetti Squash"

Here we were on a wonderful Wednesday, and just getting back into the school routine after a long holiday vacation.  Sophia and I went to the grocery store to pick up the items we needed for this night's recipe and she wanted to do some "scratch-off" Lottery tickets.  (Probably from all the hype recently regarding the $355 million jackpot!)  I told her that since the money to purchase them goes to help the schools, I would buy her a couple to see if she could win.  She of course said, "But Mommy, if you buy me a few more it will double my chance!"  To which I quickly quipped, "Um...that would be a NO."  Sure enough, she won $6.00 from her $1.00 scratch off so we turned to our right and went to the bank teller which is so conveniently located inside our supermarket, and we deposited it into her savings account.  I had given her a dime to use to scratch off the tickets, and she handed it to the teller and said, "Can you please add this dime?"  It was so cute, and I said, "Every little bit counts, sweetheart!"  How fitting for our blog project!  Every little bit of giving counts.

As we departed the store, there was a homeless man asking for donations, and I gave Sophia a dollar bill to put in his bucket.  As she placed it in his bucket, I heard her say, "God Bless You".   And I proudly repeated her words as I looked into his kind eyes.

This recipe is downright delicioso!  It is from the Food Network magazine and you can also find it on the Internet at "FoodNetwork.com".  It was so easy, but I have to warn you about how DIFFICULT it is to halve a raw spaghetti squash!!!  It is like cutting into a rock, and I don't think I could have done it without my husband's help.  It was not easy for him as he carefully hacked away!  Please be mindful of that if you decide to make this, because if you don't have the right knife perhaps you should throw the squash in the microwave for a bit to soften it.  I hope you enjoy this as much as we did!  We didn't need much on the ingredient list as we already had most of what was required, yet we are placing $2.00 in our Contribution Jar for this recipe's 10% cost contribution.

Buon Apetito!

Ingredients:

1 small spaghetti squash (about 2 pounds)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
8 links hot Italian sausage (pork, chicken or turkey; 1 1/2 pounds)
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for topping

Directions:
Halve the squash lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Put the squash, cut-side up, in a large microwave-safe bowl and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon water. Season with salt and pepper. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and microwave until tender, about 20 minutes. Scoop out the flesh into a colander (use a towel to hold the squash) and shred with 2 forks.
Meanwhile, heat a grill pan over medium heat. Grill the sausages, turning, until cooked through, about 20 minutes.
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bell pepper, onion and 1 teaspoon salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until the vegetables begin to brown, about 4 more minutes. Toss in the squash and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Serve with the sausages and sprinkle with Parmesan.

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