Recipes

Creamy Spaghetti Squash Boats

Spaghetti squash is such a fun, underrated vegetable! 

Spaghetti squash is so healthy and versatile. You can simply enjoy it with some salt and pepper as a side dish, or drizzle it with melted butter or your favorite sauce.

Squash has little to no taste so it’s amazing the different flavor combinations you can come up with!  I wanted to do something a little different than just marinara so I thought it’d be fun to make individual squash boats tossed with a creamy sauce, broccoli and sausage. Chicken sausage that is.  Publix Greenwise Italian chicken sausage is DELICIOUS, but really you could use any type of sausage you’d like!  

Creating the “noodles” from this squash is so incredibly easy.  All you have to do is cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds, bake them (cut side down) for about 30-40 minutes in the oven then start scraping with a fork!

The cream sauce is so flavorful and seriously so simple to make. To bring the sauce up a notch, I added a drizzle of truffle oil  but you can skip it, if you are not a truffle fan. 

Toss the spaghetti squash in with the broccoli and sausage and transfer everything into the squash boats.  Top with cheese, broil in the oven and enjoy!

This recipe pairs beautifully with Scout & Cellar Chardonnay!

Click the link to purchase a Clean-Crafted™️ bottle from Scout & Cellar!
https://scoutandcellar.com/?u=whiskawaykitchen

Spaghetti Squash Ingredients

  • 1 medium Spaghetti squash
  • 2 tablespoons EVOO
  • 1 ½ teaspoon Italian Seasoning 
  • Salt & Pepper 

Stuffing Ingredients

  • 4 Italian chicken sausage, removed from casings
  • Head of Broccoli, chopped
  • 3 cloves Garlic, chopped
  • 1 large shallot, chopped 
  • 3 tablespoons of White wine

Cream Sauce Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 4 tablespoons flour
  • 1 cup White Wine
  • 3 ounces truffle oil (black or white), optional
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 8 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • 4 oz. shredded parmesan cheese
  • Salt and Pepper

Spaghetti Squash Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Slice the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and ribbing. Drizzle the inside of the squash with olive oil and sprinkle with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.

Place the spaghetti squash cut side down on the baking sheet and use a fork to poke holes. Roast for 30 to 40 minutes or until lightly browned on the outside, fork tender, but still a little bit firm. The time will vary depending on the size of your squash. 

Remove from the oven and flip the squash so that it’s cut side up. When cool enough  to the touch, use a fork to scrape out the strands from the sides of the squash. Do not toss the empty squash halves. 

Stuffing Instructions

While the squash is roasting, prepare the stuffing. 

In a skillet, brown the sausage crumbles. Once browned transfer to a plate and deglaze the pan. 

Pour in 3 tablespoons or so (enough to cover the bottom of the pan 1/4″ or less) of white wine, with the heat still on, and scrape the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spatula vigorously as the liquid comes to a boil. 

Add 1 tablespoon of butter to the same skillet, once the butter has melted saute the broccoli for 3-5 minutes. 

Move the broccoli to the sides of the skillet, creating a well to add the garlic and shallot. Saute for one minute and then combine broccoli, garlic and shallots- sauteing for an additional 3-5 minutes. 

Once the squash is done, scoop the strands into the skillet with the broccoli mixture. 

Add the cooked sausage to the skillet and stir to combine. 

Cream Sauce Instructions

Add butter to a sauce pot. Turn the heat on medium. 

Once the butter has melted, add 4 tablespoons of flour, whisk until combined.

Pour heavy creamy, wine and truffle oil into the pot, whisk to combine. 

Once the mixture is hot, slowly whisk in the cheeses. 

Let the mixture simmer for 2-3 minutes until it’s thickened, stir occasionally. 

Season to taste with salt and pepper and reduce the heat to low.

Assembling Instructions

Drizzle cream sauce into the bottom of the squash halves.

Divide sausage and broccoli mixture among the halves.

Drizzle Cream sauce over top.

Sprinkle it with mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese. 

Broil until cheese is browned and squash warmed through, 4 to 5 minutes. 

Serve hot with a glass of Scout & Cellar Chardonnay!

Shop for the perfect Chardonnay on my Scout & Cellar page

https://scoutandcellar.com/wine?u=whiskawaykitchen

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Recipes

Blackened Chicken Wings with Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing

These Blackened Chicken Wings are tender and juicy on the inside. The blackened seasoning spice mixture almost forms a crust on the chicken to seal in the juices. Of course, you have to serve the chicken wings with homemade Blue Cheese dressing! This easy homemade blue cheese dressing is better than anything you can buy at the store. 

My friend, Adam lives in Asheville, NC during one of this hikes he came across some Ramps, wild leeks. He dried and powdered the leaves and mailed Brian and I some to get creative in some of our recipes. I thought I’d sprinkle a 1/2 tablespoon into my Blackened seasoning, it was AMAZING! But don’t worry if you can’t find Ramps, the seasoning is still delicious!

I can not wait for football season so we can make these at our tailgate!

Thanks Adam for the special deviltry!

To make the blackened chicken, I mix all the spices together in a small bowl, and then generously coat the chicken wings with the seasoning on all sides, using my fingers to press the seasoning on to the chicken. 

The bright green seasoning is the Ramps from Adam.

Heat your skillet until it is searing hot skillet (use your cast iron skillet if you have one!). Drop 4 tablespoons of butter into the skillet and allow it to melt and bubble. Then place the chicken wings into the HOT skillet and cook until the chicken is blackened on each side and fully cooked inside. 

I used butter for this recipe to give the chicken a richer flavor, but you can certainly use a healthier oil, such as canola oil or coconut oil. I wouldn’t recommend olive oil because the skillet needs to be searing hot, and olive oil smokes at high temperature.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 pounds of chicken wings 
  • 1 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons blackened seasoning, divided

BLACKENED SEASONING

  • 4 tablespoons sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
  • 1 ½  teaspoon Garlic powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoon Onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 tablespoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

DIRECTIONS

Combine all the spices and herbs in a small bowl. Mix well. 

Place the chicken wings into the spice mixture on both sides to coat the chicken. 

In a large skillet heat 4 tablespoons of butter. 

Carefully place the spice-coated chicken wings into the butter, and cook over high heat for about 5 minutes on each side, or until the chicken is fully cooked. 

If the chicken is blackened but not fully cooked, just lower the heat and cover with a lid, cooking until the internal temperature reaches 165F.

Serve the blackened chicken wings with blue cheese dressing.

BLUE CHEESE DRESSING

INGREDIENTS

  • 3/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • 3 to 4 ounces Blue Cheese crumbles, chunky
  • Milk, buttermilk or water to thin out the dressing, optional

DIRECTIONS

In a bowl, combine all the ingredients except the blue cheese. Whisk until combined. 

Crumble in the blue cheese and fold together. 

Store in the refrigerator.