Delicious Abomination

So I set out this week to fix something new for dinner, and I did! I had bought a spaghetti squash at the farmer's market a long time ago, intending to fix it that week, but promptly forgot about it. But at a very opportune moment I saw it and had a stroke of genius. I'll get into that more later. First, here's how I prepared my spaghetti squash...

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Then cut your squash in half lengthwise.

Scoop out the guts! Just like a pumpkin!

I decided to toast the seeds, also like a pumpkin. There weren't very many and the end result wasn't bad but ultimately unsatisfying.

I did find a couple that had sprouted, so I looked up how to grow spaghetti squash, and it seemed pretty easy.

So I planted it in my weak-sauce window sill garden.

Anyway, then you grease a pan (I used a mixture of half olive oil and half water in a spray bottle) and set the halves face down on the pan.

Then bake it for 30-40 minutes. I did 30 minutes, and it was fine but I think next time I'll do it a little longer to get more mushy.

Then you start the stringing. Just take a fork and start raking the flesh. It's super easy.

Look how much I got off of one half!

Now here's where my stroke of genius comes in. Spaghetti squash is pretty tasteless by itself (like spaghetti noodles) so you could put all manner of toppings on it. I chose left-over turkey chili and low-fat cheese to make a delicious abomination: Spaghetti Squash Bean-less Turkey Chili Mac Supreme.

Everyone makes their chili differently. Here's my recipe:

1 lb. of ground turkey

1 can (19 oz.) of Progresso Tomato Basil Soup

1 can (12 oz.) of Hunts Tomato Paste

1 can (15 oz.) of Hunts Seasoned Diced Tomato Sauce For Chili

A bunch of random spices (You could do whatever you wanted, but throw in cinnamon, paprika, seasoned salt, Italian spices, red pepper flakes and chili powder)

Put it all in a crock pot on high for 8 hours

YUM.

How does this compare calorie wise to the classic Steak 'n' Shake chili mac supreme?

    1,080 calories

 378 calories!!!

That's just unbelievable. And it even tastes like your cheating! Also, this recipe is insanely versatile. Make the chili with just beans for a vegetarian option, or just the sauce, or without cheese for dairy-free! The possibilities are limitless. And spaghetti squash itself can be prepared many many ways as well. I put a little olive oil, parmesan cheese, and Italian spices on some and even that was great. Go and spread the word about spaghetti squash. Be my disciples.