Spaghetti Squash

This is a photo-less post.
Until my camera is fixed or replaced,
please bear with me.

Last night's dinner was a yummy success.

Yesterday I went to a farm stand near work to see what they might have in terms of pumpkins. Nothing. Big fat zero. Well, that's a slight lie. They had some, but they were too giant, too marred and pitted, or just down right rotten. And you all know this right, the carving pumpkins are not ideal for cooking. They have had the flavor breed out of them, are tough and fiberous. So, no pumpkins.

But, they did have spaghetti squash and white sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoes I'm going to use on Friday night. I purchased two spaghetti squash, one for last night and another for later.

I also had some very lean pork chops. So...

Pork Chops with Spaghetti Squash and Tomatoes

Start prepping your squash. Cut off the bottom and top, discard those parts. Then, prop the squash up on its bottom and cut from the top to the bottom, giving you two large halves. Scoop out the seeds and discard. The seeds and fiberous inards of the squash are easily removed, they almost peel away in one large piece.

Drizzle a little olive oil on the inside of the squash and season liberally with salt and pepper. Place cut-side down on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and roast in the oven for 45 minutes at 375 degrees.

When roasting is complete, allow the squash to cool for a minute before taking a fork and scraping the spaghetti strands out of the fruit. Yes, fruit! Reserve the cooked spaghetti squash for use in a few minutes.

Season the pork chops with salt and pepper and other flavors you prefer. I've been using an old peppermill to grind fennel seeds and dried rosemary into a great seasoning for pork. It's equal parts of each and I used probably 1/2 tsp for four small chops.

Saute in one teaspoon of olive oil until they are golden brown and just cooked thru, about 8 minutes total--this depends on the thickness of your chops. When done, place on a warm plate.

In the same pan pour in one teaspoon of olive oil and when hot, toss in 2-3 finely chopped garlic cloves. Almost immediately (when you smell the garlic cooking), pour in 1/4 cup of dry white wine. Add 1/2 cup of diced tomatoes (I used canned tomatoes that I drained). Season with 1/2 teaspoon each of dried oregano and dried basil. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in any accumulated juices from the pork chops. Stir and simmer until most of the wine has evaporated. Carefully fold in the reserved spaghetti squash, heat thru. Serve with pork chops.

This was delicious and fairly fast; outside of the roasting of the squash. It was also pretty healthy. The pork chops were very lean and with the exception of about 2 additional teaspoons of olive oil, no fat. Lots of good fiber, lycopene, beta-carotene and other vitamins. And filling!!!