It's so funny, because as a young girl, I hated vegetables. My parents tried anything and everything to get me to eat my leafy greens, including pouring melted cheese over my broccoli. "Just one bite," they'd persuade me. Blech! Fine...I'd take one, tiny, minuscule bite to appease them and be done. I'd slowly lift that fork to my mouth and take the teensiest of bites from that cheddar-drenched piece of broccoli. No sooner had it hit my tongue, springing my tastebuds to life, then the gagging ensued, sometimes to be followed by a slight regurgitation. Oh, the drama surrounding a prepubescent child. My parents would whisk me away from the table as quickly as they could to avoid the onslaught of puke that sometimes follows a regurgitation. Whew! Safe from eating those disgusting veggies once again...
Twenty five years later...and I absolutely love vegetables ha! I typically prefer them oven-roasted but will eat them however they're prepared; popping them like candy. I have two children that will eat them as well, but I also have one that absolutely refuses..."disgusting" is her word of choice, to be exact. Karma is a real bitch. I'm truly raising a miniature version of myself. Sometimes I have to find alternate...<ahem sneaky>...ways to get them into her diet. Being that my husband is predominantly Italian, we eat a lot of pasta around here. Trying to disguise vegetables as spaghetti noodles was my motive behind this meal. Unfortunately, only one out of my three loved this as much I did, but that certainly won't stop me from making it again. It was healthy, fresh, and super tasty!
I'm excited, because once spring rolls around, we plan to tend to our yard and property, learn about what is already planted and growing out there, and begin preparations for our own garden. It'll be so much fun to be able to walk out to our own, homegrown vegetables, pick what we want, and toss it together in recipes like the one to follow.
Bon appetit, my friends!
Spaghetti Squash Primavera
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ready in: 45 minutes
Serves: 6
Ingredients
* 1 spaghetti squash
* 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 onion, chopped
* 1 large clove garlic, minced
* 1 large zucchini, cut into bite-size pieces
* 1 green bell pepper, chopped
* 1 tablespoon dried Italian herb seasoning
* fresh ground black pepper, to taste
* 1 1/2 cups chopped tomato
* 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
Directions
1. Pierce the shell of the spaghetti squash with a fork and place in a microwave-safe dish; cook in microwave on High for 12 minutes. Set aside to cook until cool enough to handle. Slice in half lengthwise; remove the seeds. Use a fork to pull the flesh of the squash away from the shell and place into a large bowl; fluff with the fork to separate the strands as much as possible.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir the onion in the hot oil until just tender, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and continue cooking and stirring another 3 minutes. Stir the zucchini and green bell pepper into the mixture; season with the Italian herb seasoning and black pepper. Pour the tomatoes into the skillet. Continue cooking just until the tomatoes are warmed, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the squash to the skillet and toss until evenly mixed. Sprinkle with the feta cheese and toss again and serve.
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