Simple Mac n Cheese
After the wild success of my Live Cook of my Simple Mac n Cheese, I decided to finally publish the recipe. Also, that was sarcasm – thank you to the TWO people who joined me… for those of you who couldn’t make it, I hope…
After the wild success of my Live Cook of my Simple Mac n Cheese, I decided to finally publish the recipe. Also, that was sarcasm – thank you to the TWO people who joined me… for those of you who couldn’t make it, I hope…
I don’t even know where to start with this dish, to be honest. I don’t think I’ve ever made anything so simple and yet so tasty (this is where you say to yourself, “Everything Laura makes is super simple and really tasty”). Not to toot…
Pumpkin and squash is are everywhere you look. So clearly, this Simple Spaghetti Squash is on the docket! Lucky for me, Ian brought home a cute little spaghetti squash for me recently. The weather has turned cold (I don’t know how I’m going to survive.. I have already worn the jacket that I wore all winter in Europe. It is only fall) and so warm, cozy, feel good meals like this Simple Spaghetti Squash are where it’s at! Speaking of feel good, have you had a chance to try out The Fancy Napkins’ Deep Fried Pickled Beets and Goat’s Cheese with Spicy Mayo yet? Add it to your to do list if you haven’t!
I love pasta as much as the next person, and in no way am I going to try and tell you that you can’t even tell the difference between carby, floury noodles and squash. BUT! Hear me out, because spaghetti squash is actually so tasty and keeps you satisfied! And I’m all about feeling satisfied after a meal… not feeling like I am going to proceed to eat enough to feed a small village. And if I am going to be honest with you.. sometimes I do eat enough for a small village after I’ve eaten my dinner. I used to be an athlete, what can I say.
My first time trying this out, I was coming down off of a prosciutto high from some meatballs Ian made the weekend prior. Naturally, I went back to the market and bought myself a massive piece of prosciutto. It didn’t work with the squash. I felt like I was eating spam; not because the prosciutto was bad, but just because of the way I cut it in chunks and put it in with the spaghetti squash. So until further experimentation, I have committed prosciutto from this recipe.
You have to bake the squash for 40 minutes and there really isn’t a ton of other work to do until the last ten minutes, which is pretty awesome if you’ve got some things around the house to accomplish.
After the squash is finished baking, you toss everything together and bake it for a little longer before serving. I served this with Caesar salad because even though it is basically just romaine lettuce and croutons, it’s the best salad around. I’ll post my dressing recipe one of these days, I swear it’s a game changer.
Something important to note, is that spag squash can be a bit watery. When I scooped it out of the frying pan and into the casserole dish, I used a slotted spoon in hopes that the liquid would stay behind. I also drained it from the casserole dish. THEN when I was reading the August issue of Bon Appetit Magazine (“The Simple Issue” and by far my favourite one so far) there was a suggestion to squeeze as much liquid as you could from shredded squash with a cheesecloth or clean kitchen towel, DUH! I was way too excited to even be ashamed that I hadn’t thought of it myself. And so, that’s what I did my next time trying this recipe and it worked like a top. Thank you, BA!
A few more things. First, this dish doesn’t have a lot of protein in it so I recommend the Fancy Napkins Oven Fried Chicken Thighs. Second, if you haven’t any garlic cloves to rub the squash with, just sprinkle on some garlic powder! And lastly, there is a lot of room here for extra veggies like mushrooms, peppers and asparagus. Chop them up and add them to the onion mixture – you will just need a little more than the last ten minutes, so start a bit earlier.
Please let me know what you thought of this dish! It’s great to get feedback so I know what you all like and dislike and also so I know whether my directions are completely insane or if they are easy to follow.
Happy cooking!