Who doesn't love Bacon? The saying goes "everything is better with bacon". This recipe is no different. I love this recipe and the bacon adds tons of flavor.
Chicken Bacon Alfredo
- 1 spaghetti squash, cut in half lengthwise, seeds removed
- 1 larger delicata squash, cut in half lengthwise, seeds removed
- 1 pound chicken tenders
- 4-6 slices bacon, diced
- ½ cup canned coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Preheat your 425 degrees.
Cut spaghetti squash and delicata squash in half and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and excess threads. Don’t be dainty.
Place open side down on a baking sheet (use aluminum foil or parchment paper for easy clean up) and cook for 20-25 minutes. You will know when they are done cooking when you can poke the outside skin and it ‘gives’ a bit.
Now you can either cook your chicken at the same time or after the squash is done cooking. Whatever you’d like. Just place chicken on a foil or parchment paper lined baking sheet, drizzle some olive oil over the chicken, salt and pepper it, and sprinkle just a bit of basil on top. I cooked my tenders for around 15-20 minutes, or until cooked through.
Once your squash is done cooking, pull it out of the oven; dethread the spaghetti squash into a large bowl with a fork. Go against the grain. I wonder if spaghetti squash actually has a grain.
Now throw your diced bacon into a skillet and cook until done. Use a slotted spoon to pull out your cooked bacon, but leave behind the grease.
Take your delicata squash and hollow it out. Use the insides and dump them into your warm skillet filled with bacon grease. Then add your coconut milk. You may need to add a little bit more coconut milk depending on how thin you like your sauce. Mix thoroughly with a ladle to break up the squash a bit.
Add seasonings to the mix and salt and pepper as needed. Mix thoroughly and cook on low for about 5 minutes to simmer.
Now dice up your cooked chicken.
Pour sauce over spaghetti squash and add your chicken to the mix.
Mix well & top with bacon.
I've used butternut squash a lot in this recipe. Since I usually double this recipe it works out great to use 1 butternut in place of 2 delicata squash. I mix everything together for more of a one dish meal. Plus by mixing in the bacon with the rest of the ingredients, I save myself from the bacon lovers in my family from serving themselves the 'top' portion of the meal and leaving others to a dish minus the bacon.
Enjoy good food,
Coach Nancy
