Chorizo Spaghetti Squash Skillet

New Year's 2025. Eight years sober. I am forty-five years old. Diego leaves for school on the fifteenth. These are the facts of this January. I write them down plainly because plain is how I process things that are large.

The eight-year mark lands with a specific quality this year: I can no longer remember, physically remember, what the alternative felt like. I know it intellectually. I know the events of 2016 and 2017 and what they cost. But the body-memory of wanting the drink has been replaced by the body-memory of the kitchen and the sobriety meetings and the morning runs and the practices and the late-night posoles and the tamale assembly lines. The body keeps the score and the body has updated its score. I am grateful beyond what I can express.

Annual review. 2024: four state championships at Eldorado Prep. Diego caught the winning touchdown in the fourth. Hector said "now I've seen it." Sofia set a state record. The twins turned ten and became genuinely interesting people with inner lives that they occasionally share. Lisa was promoted twice and has become the professional she always had the capacity to be. My father is smaller and more himself than ever, both at once. This year gave me everything. I am trying to be equal to what I was given.

Black-eyed peas. Green chile. Gloria's rule. Eleven-fifty AM. Lisa with her mother on the phone. The twins eating their peas with the speed of people who understand that tradition has its own momentum and they are glad to be caught in it.

After the black-eyed peas were gone and the twins had wandered off to argue about something ten-year-olds argue about, I stayed in the kitchen because that is what I do now — I stay. Gloria’s rule had been honored, the luck had been sent out into the year, and I needed something to do with my hands that wasn’t sitting still with all that gratitude pressing on my chest. This Chorizo Spaghetti Squash Skillet is the second act of that afternoon: smoky and filling, Southwest to its core, the kind of thing my kitchen has learned to make in the years my body has been relearning itself.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 45 min | Total Time: 1 hr | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 medium spaghetti squash (about 3 lbs)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 lb fresh Mexican chorizo, casings removed
1 small yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 poblano pepper, seeded and diced
1 can (14.5 oz) fire-roasted diced tomatoes, drained
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 lime, cut into wedges

Instructions

Roast the squash. Preheat oven to 400°F. Halve the spaghetti squash lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Brush the cut sides with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place cut-side down on a rimmed baking sheet and roast for 35–40 minutes, until the flesh is tender and easily shredded with a fork.
Shred the squash. Let the squash cool for 5 minutes, then use a fork to scrape the flesh into long strands. Set aside.
Brown the chorizo. Heat a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chorizo and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until browned and cooked through, about 5–6 minutes. Transfer to a plate, leaving 1 tablespoon of drippings in the pan.
Build the base. In the same skillet over medium heat, add the onion and poblano. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, and red pepper flakes; cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
Combine. Return the chorizo to the skillet. Add the drained fire-roasted tomatoes and stir to combine. Fold in the shredded spaghetti squash and toss everything together until evenly mixed. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Melt the cheese. Sprinkle the Monterey Jack evenly over the top of the skillet. Cover with a lid or transfer briefly under a broiler for 2–3 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
Finish and serve. Top with fresh cilantro and serve directly from the skillet with lime wedges on the side.

Nutrition (per serving)

Chorizo Spaghetti Squash Skillet — The Kitchen That Keeps the Score