ROASTED SPAGHETTI SQUASH WITH COLLARD GREENS | easy, healthy dinner idea

Hey guys, it's Dani. When I was growing up, pasta topped with dark leafy greens was a staple in our house. As a matter of fact, my dad would make it with spaghetti and broccoli rabe. So, for this Quick Byte, I wanted to give that whole dish a clean and delicious twist. So, I'm making spaghetti squash topped with collard greens and fresh parmesan cheese. You want to start by having your spaghetti squash all cooked up and ready to go. So, you can either pop it in the microwave, which I demonstrate at the end of my 101 video right over here, or you could roast it up, which I show you guys how to do right over here. Now, over here, I've got a large non-stick pan heating up over a medium-high heat. And to that, I'm adding one tablespoon of olive oil. Once that oil is hot, which will happen quickly because my pan was hot, I'm going to add in half of a diced onion, two cloves of minced up garlic, and then the stems from one bunch of collard greens. Now, you want to get the stems in before the leaves because they take a little longer to cook, and this is going to help them to get tender. Give all that a pinch of salt and a little black pepper, and then we're going to let this go six, seven minutes, or until all the veggies are nice and fragrant and beginning to get tender. Once you've got your veggies right where you want them, fragrant and tender, you're going to add in one bunch of collard greens that I've stemmed and then sliced into nice thin ribbons. And if you didn't have collard greens, no big deal. This would work with kale or Swiss chard. Any dark leafy green would be good. Give that one more tiny pinch of salt, a little more black pepper, and then if the kids aren't eating it, which mine are not, a nice big fat pinch of red pepper flakes. Bring that all together and finish it off with one cup of low-sodium veggie broth. Now, if you didn't have any broth on hand, not a big deal. You could just use some water and that would work just as well. Then let this go for about 10, 12 minutes or until your greens have wilted and are beginning to become nice and tender. Once you've got your greens right where you like them, we're going to toss in our spaghetti squash, and this was the squash from one 3-pound squash, a quarter cup of fresh-grated Parmesan cheese right over the top, and then, and this is a little trick I learned from Rachel Ray, a kiss of fresh-grated nutmeg. The fresh nutmeg loves the dark leafy green and it gives it this very unexpected nutty depth of flavor. Bring that all together. You really just want to work those greens into the spaghetti squash so you've got yourself a nice cohesive dish. And as soon as your squash is heated through, shut off the heat and this baby is ready to serve up. Now, you could serve this as a side dish or try bulking it up with a little bit of chicken or turkey or some extra veggies, but what I like to do is just eat it as is. I give it one extra hit of Parmesan cheese right over the top, and my friends, dinner is served. Mmm, the nuttiness of the Parmesan cheese and the nutmeg really give this dish a warm, comforting flavor, and I've got to tell you guys, this spaghetti squash definitely holds its own in place of pasta. I must try. For more simple and nutritious recipes, tips, and ideas, be sure you come on over and check out CleanAndDelicious.com where you can print out all my recipes, save your favorite right to your very own personal recipe box, and subscribe to my newsletter. Thanks so much for watching, guys. I'm Dani Spees, and I'll see you next time with another Quick Byte. So, for this Quick Byte, I wanted to share with you my Clean and Delicious version, which is... I'm Dani Spees.