Spagetti Squash - Pasta's Alternative

Lately I have been hearing more and more about spagetti squash.  This seasonal veggie when baked can be used instead of pasta, potaotes, or rice if you are trying to find a healthy alternative.  The perks of this vegetable is that it is available year around with it's peak season in the fall.   It also has a very mild flavor and can be pared with almost anything.  Here are step by step instructions that I found on about.com on how to cook and prepare spagetti squash: 

Step 1:  What you need

• 1 spagetti squah
• large sharp knife
• baking pan
• oven
• kitchen fork

Step 2:  Prepare

• Prick the spagetti squah all over with a skewer so it will not burst when baking or you can cut it in half.
• Place into a baking pan or cookie sheet pan.
• Bake 375 for one hour if you keep it whole or 35 mins if you cut it in half.

Step 3:  Let it cool down so it is easy to handle.

Step 4:  Scoop the seeds and strings from the center of the cooked squash.

Step 5:  Gently scrape the tines of the fork around the edge of the spagetti squash to shred the pulp into strands. 

Step 6:  Use the strands with whatever you are cooking.

We made pesto chicken with the spagetti squash, instead of the typical pasta.