Spaghetti Squash with Chicken, mushroom and spinach Alfredo sauce

 Fall is here which is my favourite time of year for so many reasons, but one of my favourite things about fall is the food. That delicious, warm comforting food that I forget about all summer when its too nice to be cooking inside.

Fall meals to me are rich cream sauces and soups, roasts, casseroles and slow cooker meals. Last night was the first night in a long time that I have made a really rich and creamy tasting meal in a long time and was it ever good.

Spaghetti squash has to be one of my favourite veggies- all squash actually, but spaghetti squash is probably the most versatile in my opinion because you can use it instead of pasta and top it with your favourite sauce or you can use it in a casserole or just eat it plain with some butter, maple syrup, salt and pepper.

This meal was super easy to whip up and other than the cook time on the squash it took next to no time to throw together using all ingredients that I had on hand which is a bonus. The outcome was a delicious, creamy, savoury meal that didn't make me feel bloated because using the spaghetti squash is so much lighter than pasta. Even your picky eaters will enjoy this meal because who doesn't love a homemade Alfredo sauce?

Also- I want to share a really awesome tip that my sister told me about when cooking with spaghetti squash. I used to avoid cooking with it and using it in place of pasta until I learned about how to get all of the extra moisture out of the squash. Now- I look forward to using it as a pasta substitute because the squash is cooked perfectly every time with out all the excess water/moisture.

After you cut your squash in half and take out the seeds, sprinkle the squash liberally with salt. Let it sit for about 45 minutes and then dump out the excess liquid. You will be amazed at how much liquid comes out of the squash. You can repeat this process 1-2 more times to get even more liquid out- just make sure that you rinse and pat your squash dry before cooking or it will be overly salted. Your squash will look like this when it is cooked:

Recipe:
1 Spaghetti squash, cut in half lengthwise and de-seeded
2 cups chicken, chopped into bite size pieces (I used leftover chicken that I had in the fridge)
1/2 package cremini mushrooms, sliced,
3 cups fresh spinach, chopped
1/2 white onion, chopped
2 tbsp garlic
2 cups cream (use whatever you have- I used half & half)
1-2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup fresh parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp flour
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place squash face down on a parchment or foil lined baking sheet

2. Bake squash for 45 minutes until it is easily pierced with a knife

3. While your squash is cooking, start your sauce

4. In a large pan add olive oil and sauté onions, mushrooms and garlic on medium heat until cooked. Next, add the flour and mix well until it is coating all the veggies (this will make your sauce nice and thick)

5. Add the chicken and spinach heat until warm and the spinach is wilted

6. Add the cream and stir until it begins to bubble and thicken. At this point, start adding your chicken stock about 1/2 cup at a time until you reach the thickness you like- keep in mind you can always add more later if it is too thick.

7. Add parmesan and mozzarella cheese until it is melted- the cheese will thicken your sauce as well so you can always add more chicken stock if you want at this point too

8. Taste and season with salt and pepper. 

9. Simmer on low heat until your squash is cooked.

 10. Use a fork to scrape out your squash so that it forms nice little strands of "spaghetti"

11. Top with more cheese if you want and enjoy!