Internet at Last!

For some reason, unknown to me, my laptop doesn't want to connect to the internet at my house.  So this is the first time in a while that I have been able to blog! 

For those of you who have been following my journey to skinny, "Hi!  How have you been?  I've missed you all so much!"  For those of you who have just stumbled across my blog, "Welcome!"

As many of you may remember I recently started Phase 2 of the SBD.  My carb to add back in was whole wheat pasta.  I like large servings when I eat so I came up with a yummy, healthy way to up my serving of pasta...Spaghetti Squash Toss. See recipe at the bottom.  It is basically a mixture of pasta and spaghetti squash.  On Monday, I served it to my husband underneath some chicken parmesan (for recipe see post entitled, "Half Way to Carbs" from Jan. 15).  He didn't know that it wasn't straight up pasta until I told him.  Which was after he cleaned his plate.  Here's how to make it:

Spaghetti Squash Toss

Ingredients:

1 large spaghetti squash
1 box of whole wheat pasta (my box said that it contained 4 servings)
Water to boil the pasta
2-4 T of margarine spray (I used I Can't Believe It's Not Butter)
1/2 C grated parmesan cheese
1 C grated mozerella cheese (I used my hand to measure out the cheese: one handful parmesan and two of the mozerella.  You can adjust these amounts to suit your tastes)
1 T garlic powder (again, I eyeballed it but I think this is about how much it was)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees Farenheit.  Scrub the squash and poke holes all over the outside.  Put the squash, un-cut, into the oven to bake.  I use a small baking pan to keep it from rolling around.  The squash will need to bake for one hour.

2.  While squash is baking bring a pot of water to a boil and add spaghetti.  Cook according to the directions on the box.  We like ours al dente.  But for this recipe I stopped just before it got to al dente.

3.  Drain the pasta when it is done, but leave just enough water to let the pasta soak in while the squash finishes.  I didn't leave enough to cover the pasta, I left maybe 2 or 3 cups. 

4.  When the squash was done cut it in half and scoop out the seeds and strings in the middle.  Then use a fork to shred the squash into spaghetti strands.  I use a spoon to finish scraping out the last few strands. 

5.  Put the squash strands and drained pasta into a large bowl and add:  I Can't Believe Its Not Butter Spray, garlic powder, salt, pepper, parmesan cheese and mozerella cheese.  I used a pasta server to combine all of the ingredients, but you could also use your hands.

This was really yummy and it reheated well.  I got about 10 servings out one box of pasta and one squash.  This week I am going to up my squash to pasta ratio from one squash to two.  I also am going to break the spaghetti in half before I cook it to see if this will help it to mix with the squash a little easier.  This recipe did take a little over an hour to put together, but once I finished I had a pasta base that lasted me an entire week!  I was also able to bake off the chicken parmesan and make a simple homemade pasta sauce while the squash baked.  This recipe would be great for anyone on Phase 2 or 3 of South Beach or for anyone trying to get more vegetables into their family's diet.  You could probably add extra cheese and sneak this past some kids.

I served this pasta toss with the Chicken Parmesan recipe that I posted during Phase 1.  The next experiment with this mixture will probably be another family favorite around our house, Baked Spaghetti!  Experiment with replacing pasta at your house with this mixture and let me know how it goes!  I'm always looking for new ideas!

Before I sign off for today I have some exciting news to share.  Over the past week and a half I have lost 5 pounds bringing my total weight lost up to ten pounds!  For a while I wasn't sure that the diet was working, but the other day I put on a pair of pants and the felt a little loose around the thigh and derriere!  I weighed myself yesterday to be sure and the scale said 155!

Happy Journey to You!

P.S.  Any recipes that you have that are Phase 2 friendly I would be glad to have.  Especially a mac and cheese recipe!  I really want some mac and cheese!