Vegan Recipe Gold!

A few nights ago I was running out of ideas for dinner so I turned to my friends via Facebook for recipe ideas. Heather and I went back and forth. She suggested recipe after recipe because a lot of the dishes she suggested I already cooked. This went on for 38 comments until she struck vegan recipe gold!  She suggested a Greek Spaghetti Squash recipe. The recipe she suggested was vegetarian because of the feta cheese so I omitted it and put my own spin on it. I added basil to the tomato sauce and capers. I love the salty taste of capers.

  I've made spaghetti squash one before so I knew Keithon would love it. Last time I only picked up 2 small squash and Keithon and I almost killed each other or the leftovers, so this time I grabbed 1 large squash maybe a little too big, it came in at a whooping 3 pounds! ( We still have leftovers) I season it lightly with salt and pepper before putting it in the oven.

 While the squash was in the oven I set my sights on the sauce. I love the bright colors of tomatoes and basil.

Once the squash is cooled. I "spaghettied" it by pulling it from the shell with a fork. It is amazing that a vegetable can come off in strands.

 After all the squash was off the shell I made a well in middle and poured the sauce, capers and olives and mixed them well. I had to make the well because I had more squash than I made sauce for and I wanted to make sure it was mixed well.

 Needless to say this dish went over well and Keithon went in for seconds. He may have gone back for thirds there was so much left I couldn't tell. This is also a dish I feel good about giving my child because it is a whole food. We don't eat a lot of mock meats but sadly we do carb load and that's my fault, so I love when I can make a meal where you don't miss the starches.

Greek Spaghetti Squash

1 spaghetti Squash

1 onion, diced small

1 clove garlic, minced

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2-3 tomatoes, diced

2 Tbsp chopped  basil

1/2 cup chopped black olives, sliced

parsley, for serving

1 Tbsp chopped capers  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Cut squash lengthwise and remove seeds from each half. Place facedown on rimmed cookie sheet, sprayed with cooking oil. Bake for 45 minutes. 
2. In the meantime, heat oil in a large saucepan. Add onion and garlic and sauté until tender. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in tomato, basil and sauté until softened. 
3. When squash is finished, pull out of the oven and let cool for a few minutes. When cool enough to handle, flip squash over and scrape insides of each half with a fork. Little spaghetti-like strands will easily come off the squash. 
4. Stir squash with sautéed onion and tomato mix. Add capers and olives. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve and enjoy