Crockpot Tri-Tip & Spaghetti Squash

I was taking inventory in my freezer and found a tri-tip roast from all of our summer BBQing. I guess it kind of got lost in there! So, I took it out and put it in the refrigerator to thaw over a few days.

I was really wanting to use my crockpot. I don't think I've used it since last winter. I felt sort of sad about that because I LOVE my crockpot. It's like magic. Dump in a bunch of ingredients, plug it in, and forget it. Sooo wonderful.

I was skeptical that I could cook a tri-tip in a slow cooker without searing it first. But, lo and behold, Google saved me again. I found this {recipe} on another food blog.

You can disregard all the wine bottles in the background. Ha!

The best part? I had nearly everything that the recipe called for. The only thing I was missing was Italian spice mix. I was going to just throw in some oregano or Italian herbs, some onion powder and paprika and chili flakes, but then I found a jar of Mexican Herb Mix that I got as a birthday gift, and I thought that would be a great substitute... it was!

I pulled the top part so you could see how  it looks before and after...

I cooked it as the recipe told me, 8 hours on low. It was pull-a-part perfect and the whole house smelled delicious all day.
I served it with some spaghetti squash with tomato sauce and parmesan cheese.
The spaghetti squash was a new cooking experience for me. I cut it in half (with a lot of muscle strength), and cleaned out the seeds.

Then placed them in a pyrex dish cut-side-down in about an inch of water.

Baked it at 375F for 40-45 minutes until tender. I used a fork to remove the noodle-like flesh out of the tough skin. Topped it with some warm tomato sauce and grated cheese.

The tri-tip was tender and juicy and SO flavorful - a little spicy too. The squash was sweet, light, and another nice carbless side dish. It was a hearty and super simple meal.  Can't get better than that.