Cheesy Spaghetti Squash Bake Recipe

I made my very first spaghetti squash this weekend.  I have a small confession.  Up until now all winter squash that came to my house has only been fed to my children.  Usually as baby food.  I have never really appreciated winter squash.  I have vivid memories as a child shuddering and gagging when having to eat butternut squash for dinner.  Yuck.  But I digress.  I looked up how to make spaghetti squash for baby food and it wasn't exactly recommended.  Then I happened upon a version of this recipe on Pinterest the very next day and decided to go for it.

My husband and 4 year old had a bit of trepidation when they learned that the "pasta" was not in fact pasta but squash.  However, I am happy to announce that we all liked the cheesy spaghetti squash bake.  My husband kept remarking how surprised he was that it tasted good.  Ha.  Now that's a high compliment. ;)

To bake a spaghetti squash whole.
Pierce it several times with a fork and bake it at 375 deg F (190 deg C) for about an hour, until it’s nice and tender.  Once the squash is cooked, remove it from the oven, halve it lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Then run a fork down its length and the spaghetti-like strands will appear!

Don't throw out those seeds, you can bake them in the oven just like pumpkin seeds with a little olive oil and salt.  Delish!

I made my squash the day before and put it in a container in the refrigerator.  Much easier than trying to do it all in the same day.  Now that you have your squash here's the rest of the recipe.

Cheesy Spaghetti Squash Bake
Ingredients
About 2-3 cups cooked spaghetti squash (1 medium one)
2 large garden tomatoes sliced
Salt
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Dried Basil
Dried Parsley
6oz shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheese blend (or a bit of each)
Fresh Basil for Garnish (optional)

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 11 x 9 casserole dish with non-stick spray. Spread about 1 cup of spaghetti squash on the bottom. Top with a layer of sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and spices. Top with 2 oz of cheese. Add another layer of squash, then tomatoes, spices and cheese. Top with a final layer of squash. Top with the last 2 oz of cheese and sprinkle with the spices one last time. Bake for 30 minutes uncovered.

Feel free to be more liberal with the cheese if you want.  We also added grated Parmesan to the top after cooking.

I found recipe at greenlitebites.