Here’s another meatless option during Lent! You guys are going to be proud of me. I planned ahead for this one! Yeah, I was pretty impressed with myself. It would turn out that planning ahead makes things significantly easier, weird. My planning ahead paid off for this one, I think you are really going to like this, it’s like low carb comfort food. I got the spag squash idea from a Pin, and changed it up a bit, melding it with my Aunt Than’s homemade mac and cheese recipe (Dana or I will blog that recipe one day, its unbeatable!).
Here’s what I used, I also used dry mustard but failed to put in the picture:
The first thing you want to do is roast the spag squash. Cut it in half hotdog style, put it on a baking sheet, cut side up, and roast it in your oven at 400 for 50 minutes. Then take it out and let it cool. It is truly amazing how much easier it is to work with spaghetti squash when you give yourself enough time to let it cool!
I let mine cool for an hour or so because I had the time, when your squash is cool scoop out the seeds and throw them away. Now comes the cool part, use a fork to remove the meat of the squash. If you sort of comb the squash with the fork (this just reminded me of Ariel in the Little Mermaid) you’ll get strands of squash that resemble spaghetti. Scoop the spaghetti into a bowl and set aside.
I used roasted broccoli,, you could use either steamed or roasted. Roasted takes a lot longer than steamed, but in my mind tastes 1,000 times better. Either way you go, now is the time to prepare your broccoli and add it to your bowl of spag squash (you might want to through the broccoli in the oven when you take the squash out).
Meanwhile, melt the ghee (you could also just use butter, my Aunt Than’s recipe calls for 1/8 cup butter) in a medium sized sauce pan, then slowly whisk in the flour, then whisk in the milk, add the dry mustard, and finally dump in your cheese. Now you can turn down the heat a bit and continue to stir the mixture until it gets nice and thick. It took about 8 minutes for this to happen for me – whatever you do don’t let the mixture get too hot or boil or the cheese will break. When I make Aunt Than’s mac and cheese I do this step in the microwave, which in hind sight would probably be easier. If you choose to go the microwave route, once everything is added, microwave it in 30 second intervals, stirring in between for about 4 minutes (8 intervals).
Once your cheese sauce is ready, pour it over the spaghetti squash and broccoli, add some salt and pepper and stir until everything is coated with cheese. Sprinkle some red pepper flakes on top and you’re ready!
Like most everything I make, this holds up well and makes good left overs too.
- 1 spaghetti squash
- 1 head of broccoli (or 2 cups florets)
- 1 T ghee
- 1 T flour (I used whole wheat)
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
- ¼ t dry mustard
- Salt and pepper
- Red pepper flakes
- Cut the spaghetti squash in half, hot dog style, roast in a 400 degree oven for 50 minutes, allow to cool.
- Remove the seeds from the squash, use a fork to remove the meat from the squash, it should comb out like strands of spaghetti. Put these in a bowl and set aside.
- Add either roasted or steamed broccoli to the spaghetti squash strands.
- Melt the ghee in a medium sauce pan, whisk in the flour, quickly whisk in the milk, add the dry mustard.
- Add the cheeses to the sauce pan, turn the heat down a little, and stir often until the mixture turns thick, about 8 minutes.
- Pour the cheese sauce over the squash and broccoli, add salt and pepper, and stir until everything is coated with cheese sauce. Sprinkle on red pepper flakes and enjoy!
Leave a Reply