Bacon Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Butternut Squash

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Heat oven safe pan over medium heat on stove top.

Add chopped bacon to an oven safe pan and cook until it starts to brown (2-3 minutes). Add chopped dates and hazelnuts and continue to cook another 2-4 minutes until bacon is crisp, nuts have toasted and dates have soften a bit. Remove from pan and set aside. (If you choose not to use bacon, add 1 tablespoon olive oil or coconut oil to the pan and cook the dates and hazelnuts as described.)

Add olive oil to the same pan (if you have bacon drippings, you can use that, but I usually don’t have much in the pan). Add sliced Brussels Sprouts, butternut squash, Chinese 5-spice, maple syrup, salt, pepper and stir to cover the vegetables evenly.

Turn the heat off and let cook in the pan for 2-3 minutes to make sure everything is blended well. Make sure your pan is large enough so the vegetables aren’t overcrowded.

Put the pan in the oven. Cook for 25-30 minutes, stirring once during this time.

Pull pan out of oven. Add bacon, date, and hazelnut mixture and toss to coat and re-warm.

Serve immediately!