Often, but not always, we use our grocery store as an experimental zone; especially in the produce section where you will find a wide variety of fruits and vegetables available during certain seasons. This weekend my daughter was drawn to the large and diverse selection of squash. So, I let her pick one; she wanted one of each, but we kept it to one this week. I added a little influence in helping her decide as I hadn't had Spaghetti Squash in years, but remember my mom making it. My mom wasn't much of an experimental cook, but she was always great about introducing vegetables and fruits to our plates. In doing this little experiment in the produce section and encouraging my kids to try new things, we continuously find things we like and of course things we don't. Three out of four at the table liked the Spaghetti Squash, unfortunately my daughter wasn't one of them; but that's okay, she has her eye on next weeks selection to try.Here's what I found in cooking Spaghetti Squash with kids;
1. They were interested in the name alone.
2. Cutting the squash for prep was NOT a child friendly job & I highly recommend an adult stick to that part of the process.
How we cooked our Spaghetti Squash;
1. Cut the squash in half length wise.
2. Spoon out the seeds in the center and discard.
3. Place the squash into a large glass pan, at least (13 x 9), with the cut area facing upwards.
4. Add a little water to the bottom of the pan; approximately one inch.
5. Top the squash with a little bit of butter, salt, pepper & paprika.
6. Cover and bake on 375 degrees for approximately 45 minutes or until the center is soft and can be scooped out with a fork to get the spaghetti like strings.
How kids help;
Let your kids assist with discarding of the seeds, adding the water to the pan, sprinkling on the seasoning and covering the squash. You can also remove the squash from the pan when they are done cooking and with your help, so they don't touch anything hot, they can help scoop out the squash.
