Butternut Squash with Brussels Sprouts and Bacon

I actually had a dream about this recipe and when I woke up I couldn’t help but get a little excited about the idea of creating a recipe from my dreams. This turned out far better than I dreamed (ha! pun! but a TRUE pun!) and will make it’s way into regular rotation. My sweetheart grilled up a couple of pork chops to complete this meal (because apparently we like more pork with our bacon), but you could treat this as a vegetable-laden main course if you like.

Butternut Squash with Brussels Sprouts and Bacon

(I really would like to call this B-Cubed, but no one but me would know what the hell I was talking about.)

Makes 4 servings (as a side, makes 2 as a main course)

1 medium butternut squash
6 pieces of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound Brussels Sprouts (I counted 16 in my “pound”)
1 white onion, sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 can Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1-2 teaspoons salt
1-2 teaspoons fresh ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
Fresh Parmesan
Slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Peel and dice butternut squash into 1/2″ cubes. Spread onto rimmed baking sheet in an even layer, drizzle with olive oil and generously sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake, stirring halfway through, for 30 minutes until soft.

Rinse Brussels sprouts and remove any damaged outer leaves. Slice as thinly as possible with a very sharp knife or mandolin. Stop about 1/2″ from the butt of the sprout when you start to see more core than leaves. Slice the white onion as thinly as you can and then quarter each ring of onion.

Heat 1-2 tablespoons olive oil in large skillet. Add onion and garlic and stir a few minutes until translucent. Add Brussels sprouts and stir another 2-3 minutes. Add chicken or vegetable stock, turn heat to high, and cover for 4-6 minutes. Add the white beans, salt, pepper, and dry mustard and stir to combine. Remove from heat and keep covered.

When butternut squash is done spoon a small layer onto each plate, top with a little pile of the Brussels sprouts mixture, top with Parmesan, a spoonful of slivered almonds, and bacon crumbles. Serve hot.

*If you cook your bacon in a skillet (instead of in the oven or, my personal preference, on a George Foreman grill) you could saute the onion-garlic-Brussels-sprouts mixture in the leftover bacon grease instead of olive oil.