The actual title should be Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Butternut Squash, Bacon, Date & Hazelnut Deliciousness but since that was too long so I abbreviated 
Dont stop reading if you are a vegetarian or do not eat bacon, I give you an alternative below..see how nice I am!
If you read my about me you know I LOVE Brussels Sprouts, if I could eat them everyday I would, I probably eat them 3-4 times a week. You probably also read I do NOT LOVE Butternut Squash, I am however, slowly coming around to it, this dish helped tremendously!
I recently discovered a new spice, Chinese 5 Spice, have you heard of it? The smell alone is worth of sending you over the edge! Chinese 5-spice is a wonderful blend of cinnamon, star anise, anise seed, clove, and ginger and I know it sounds strange but it adds such a wonderful flavor texture to this dish, Im glad I gave it a try.
By the way all you Vegetarians who are still reading, you can make this without the bacon and sub either coconut oil or walnut oil.
Ingredients:
1pound Brussels Sprouts (about 15 sprouts) ends trimmed cut in 3rds (or in half is fine)
1 cup Butternut Squash, cut in cubes
3-4 pitted Dates
1/4 cup chopped Hazelnuts (you can sub Walnuts as well)
2 slices thick cut bacon chopped (if omitting see option in directions below (step 2))
1tbs Olive Oil (optional)
1 tsp Chinese 5 Spice
2 tsp Pure Maple Syrup (optional but recommended)
Salt
Pepper
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 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 & 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 tbs olive oil or coconut oil to the pan and cook the dates & hazelnuts as described above.
- Add olive oil to the same pan (if you have bacon dripping you can use that but I usually dont 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 over crowded and put the pan in the oven. Cook for 25-30 minutes, stirring once during this time.
- Pull Pan out of oven add Bacon, Date, Hazelnut mixture and toss to coat and rewarm
- Serve Immediately!
Im not eating dairy right now, but this would be really good with a little Shaved Parmesan on top!
Either way you decide to make it (vegetarian, or not) Enjoy!
Wendie – I made the brussels sprout and butternut dish tonight and I can say that I’ll be stingy with the leftovers for lunch tomorrow! I always try to leave well enough alone – and I ALMOST made it through to the end – but I did add more butternut squash (for quantity since I’m feeding four) and I also added shallots because I had some on hand and needed to use them. If I had had more sprouts on hand they would have gone in, as well. It is a full-bodied, fantastic dish and I’ve penned it in our family recipe book. Thank you and we look forward to more recipes from you!!
So glad you enjoyed!
This is a great idea. I found my way here via the Foodbuzz Project Food Blog competition. I relaly like your blog, You represent a unique point of view and corner of the market. I’ll be back to see what you feature for the next leg of the competition. I wish you good luck and hope you are having a great day. Blessings Mary[]