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I have a love / hate relationship with casseroles. I love eating them. But I really really hate making them. It annoys me that you have to cook all the components first, and then assemble your casserole, and then cook the whole darn thing again. It seems like so much work. But I ended up getting six servings out of this casserole, and it’s pretty delicious if I do say so myself, so it’s worth it I guess? I don’t know why I always seem to find myself talking you OUT of making the recipes that I post. I have a bachelor’s degree in marketing and I’ve been working full time in sales for over 8 years now. One would think that by now I’d be better at this, but alas, here I am. Take it or leave it.

What a WILD week of weather we’re having here in the U.S., huh? I moved my Valentine’s Day brunch with my mom and Dave from Sunday to Saturday, because we were supposed to get a snow storm Saturday night and Sunday morning. Brunch was fabulous, but we woke up on Sunday morning to ZERO SNOW. Then we were supposed to get a snow storm Monday night and Tuesday morning. Well, Tuesday morning we woke up to pouring RAIN and that was all we got. There is supposedly more snow in our forecast this week, but at this point it’s like the little boy crying wolf. I’ll believe it when I see it. Which is a huge bummer for me because I’d like to get in some more XC skiing and snowshoeing before the winter is over!

But forget about the northeast. Those who live in the Midwest and the south are so much worse off than us Nutmeggers right now. My sister lives in Houston and I swear they have the absolute craziest weather. I only visited her one time, but while I was there she probably lost power at least ten times in the span of six hours. It was pretty wild. I have no clue if this is true or not, but I just feel like so many people live in a relatively small area, that the grid gets overwhelmed really easily. It’s what happened when I was there, and it seems like that’s what happened again this week. This week it was due to extremely cold (for Texas) weather, but still. They weren’t up and running quickly like they should have been, and that just seemed weird to me. Times like this I feel lucky to live in New England. Yes we have snow, but I LOVE snow. I wish we got more of it. We don’t have to deal with hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, cyclones, any of that.

This blog post took a turn for the weird. But that’s nothing new, is it?

thehungryhungryhiker

BBQ Chicken and Bacon Winter Squash Casserole

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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Servings: 6 people
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 spaghetti squash, medium, approx. 3.75 lbs
  • ½ lb bacon, cut into lardons check labels for Whole30
  • 1 white onion, small/medium, diced small
  • ½ cup shredded carrots
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
  • ¾ cup BBQ Sauce check labels for Whole30, I use the recipe from my blog, plus more for serving if desired
  • ¼ cup mayo check labels for Whole30, I use Sir Kensington's avocado oil mayo
  • 2 eggs, whisked
  • 1 tbsp smoked paprika
  • pinch sea salt
  • pinch fresh ground black pepper
  • diced red onion, for serving, optional
  • sliced avocado, for serving, optional

Method
 

  1. Preheat the oven to 400° F and get out a medium sheet pan. Carefully cut the spaghetti squash in half along the length. Place each half cut side down on the sheet pan. Bake at 400° F for 30-40 minutes, until a finger pressed down onto the skin leaves an indent. Place the squash halves cut side up on a flat surface to help cool the squash. Once cooled, use a fork to make the spaghetti "strands" and place the strands in a large mixing bowl.
  2. While the squash cooks, cook the bacon using your preferred method. I use the Sauté function on my Instant Pot, but you could sauté the bacon on your stovetop as well. When crisped and brown, use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon and place on a paper towel lined plate. When the fat has drained off a bit, add the bacon bits to the large mixing bowl with the spaghetti squash strands.
  3. Place 2 tbsp of the bacon fat in a medium skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the onions, carrots, and garlic. Sauté, stirring occasionally for 8-10 minutes until softened and fragrant. Remove from heat and pour the mixture to the large mixing bowl.
  4. Add all of the rest of the casserole ingredients to the large mixing bowl. Use a spoon to mix the ingredients until combined completely.
  5. Grease an 8" x 8" glass baking dish with cooking fat of your choice. Pour the casserole ingredients into the baking dish and use a spatula to smooth it out.
  6. Bake the casserole at 350° F for 50-60 minutes until it is bubbly around the outside, and dry to the touch and set toward the middle. Serve with diced red onion, sliced avocado, and extra BBQ Sauce drizzled over the top of the casserole if desired. Serve hot and enjoy!