Now that it is officially fall, the weather decided to abruptly switch from upper 80’s to a chilly lower 70’s.  I decided to make a celebratory changing of the seasons dish.  That and I happened to impulsively buy a spaghetti squash last week when I didn’t even remember that fall was starting.  No wonder there were only a couple of squash rejects left in the bin.  Everyone else wanted to suddenly make fall food.  I bet the shelves of canned pumpkin and pumpkin spice were cleaned out too.

My husband and I have been eating low carb for over a year now.  He’s been very dedicated with this change in lifestyle and has lost 40 pounds.  My willpower has not been as strong, but I have not given up.  My cooking for the most part has been low carb, and it isn’t as difficult as people think.  Obviously it takes sacrifice and strength if you love your sweets, fruit, pasta, rice, and breads.  But in the end, we’re eating healthier and more wholesome foods, and our bodies will thank us in the long run.

Caprese salad is one of our low carb summer staples.  I have not met anyone who does not like the refreshing and satisfying combination of creamy mozzarella, fragrant basil, and sweet and tart tomatoes.  Since I was making a good bye summer and hello fall dish, I had a vision of a super cheesy spaghetti squash caprese.  It turned out really freaking good.  I’m actually salivating thinking about the dinner I had hours ago.  Reminds me of Pavlov’s dog.

This dish has several components that require their own preparation, but they are pretty simple.  Most of the time required for this dish is baking time.  You can also make the different components ahead of time and pre-assemble it.   Just pop the casserole into the oven to heat it up.

I got this here spaghetti squash.  It is not the prettiest specimen, but don’t be superficial.  Every squash needs a loving stomach.

They are very tough to cut, so please please please be careful.  I ended up getting my chef’s knife stuck, and using it as a wedge for another knife to cut through the middle.

Scoop the seeds out.  By the way, you can roast them like pumpkin seeds.  I drizzled some olive oil on the halves, and seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Then I turned them flesh side down on the cookie sheet and baked them at 400°F for about 40 minutes until it was easy for a fork to slide into the flesh.  Your cooking time may vary based on the size of your squash.

This is what the squash looked like after I shredded it up with a fork.

I had a gorgeous assortment of little tomatoes which I washed and halved.

I put them in a 9×13 baking dish and drizzled on olive oil and strawberry vinegar, and sprinkled on salt and pepper.  I put the tomatoes into the oven with the squash.  The tomatoes took about 20 minutes to roast, and I stirred them halfway.

These are the roasted tomatoes.  I roasted 2 lbs of tomatoes, but I didn’t use all of it for this dish.  I reserved about a quarter of it for future use.  I also drained most of the tomato juice because it was way too soupy.

After the oven cleared out, I baked a package of bacon.  You can cook your bacon however you want, but I like using the oven.  Just put them in at 400°F for about 12-14 minutes.  There’s a lot less mess and smoke compared to using the stove.

Yeeeah, sizzling bacon straight out of the oven.  Most of it made it into the casserole…

This is a cup of homemade pesto.  I made a large batch over the summer and froze little containers of it.  Go ahead and use store bought pesto if you want a mediocre tasting dish.  Just kidding, use whatever you want.  By the way, if anyone can recommend a really good store bought pesto, let me know!  I have yet to find one that I like.

This mess is the spaghetti squash, roasted tomatoes, torn up bacon (I used my hands to tear them up), cup of pesto, and 1.5 cups of shredded mozzarella.

Top the mess with sliced mozzarella, and fill in those crevices with more shredded mozzarella and shredded parmesan.

I put the dish back into the 400°F oven for about 20 minutes until the cheese bubbled and browned.

If you make this casserole ahead of time, and use a glass baking dish like Pyrex, I would let it sit out first to warm up.  I’ve heard of Pyrex shattering when the temperature changes too suddenly.  Heat the casserole at 375°F for about 30-40 minutes.  At the 30 minute mark, look for signs of bubbling sauce and cheese.  If you want to brown the cheese even more, use the broiler for a couple of minutes.

Sooo freaking good.  The spaghetti squash was sweet and savory mixed with the pesto and gooey cheese, and I really liked the sweet and tangy roasted tomatoes, and smoky bacon chunks.  This dish is a keeper.  The juice from the roasted tomatoes made the squash very soft, so if you are looking for more bite, then perhaps try sun dried tomatoes instead.  Also, note that the sliced mozzarella does not brown as well as shredded mozzarella, and the texture after baking is more rubbery.  So if you prefer a crustier and stringy cheese topping like on pizza, then forget the sliced mozzarella and stick with shredded mozzarella.

Spaghetti Squash Caprese
Ingredients
– 1 spaghetti squash 
– 1-1.5 lb small tomatoes
– 1 pack bacon
– 1 cup pesto sauce
– 2 cups of shredded mozzarella (or more if you want)
– Mozzarella ball, sliced
– 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
– olive oil
– strawberry vinegar (balsamic vinegar will also work)
– salt
– pepper
– garlic powder

Directions
– Wash, cut in half, and de-seed the squash.  Be careful of your fingers when cutting.  Keep the seeds for roasting.  Drizzle the flesh with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Turn the squash flesh side down on a cookie sheet, and bake at 400°F for 30-40 minutes or until the flesh is easily pierced.  Shred the squash flesh so it resembles spaghetti.
– Wash and cut the tomatoes in half.  Put in a 9×13 baking dish and drizzle with olive oil, strawberry vinegar, and season with salt and pepper.  Bake at 400°F for about 20 minutes, stirring halfway through.  Drain the tomato juice from the baking dish.
– Bake the bacon at 400°F for 12-14 minutes.  Chop into pieces.  (I used my hands and tore them into pieces)
– Mix the squash, tomatoes, pesto, bacon, and 1.5 cups of shredded mozzarella in the baking dish.
– Top the mixture with the sliced mozarella, 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella, and 1/4 cup of shredded parmesan cheese.  Bake at 400°F for about 20 minutes until the cheese bubbles and browns.