"Spasta Peas and Bacon"

One of my childhood favorites was "Pasta Peas and Bacon" night.  I'd come home starving from a softball game and my mom would have this delicious comfort food ready for me to devour.  Lately I've also been thinking of what I can make that the whole family would like.  I'm sure my kids would love Pasta Peas and Bacon, but my husband and I don't really want to eat all the empty carbs at night. Soooooo, I decided I'd try it with spaghetti squash!  This was SERIOUSLY good, comforting, easy, and made plenty for the whole family as well as leftovers.  It'll be added to the regular routine for sure. 

Ingredients:

1 large spaghetti squash

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 lb chicken breast tenders

1 small bag frozen sweet peas

6-8 slices bacon

1 packet Knorr brand primavera or creamy pesto sauce mix

1 cup unsweetened original almond milk (or any milk - I use almond milk to cut down on sugar)

1 Tbsp butter, margarine or olive oil

1/2 Cup shredded parmesan cheese

S&P

Method:

Preheat oven to 400F.  Slice spaghetti squash in half, lengthwise.  Scoop out seeds and drizzle olive oil over the flesh.  Place on a baking dish flesh side down and bake for 45-60 minutes until tender.  Shred with a fork and pour into a towel.  Squeeze to remove excess water and set aside.  

Cook bacon however preferred, cool and crumble.

Cut up chicken into bite size pieces and saute in a pan with some olive oil or coconut oil and season with salt and pepper.  Once cooked, add the peas to warm.  Turn off stove and set aside.  

Make the creamy pesto sauce according to the package instructions.  

In a large bowl, combine squash, chicken, peas, crumbled bacon, parmesan and sauce.  Pour into a casserole dish and before serving, bake at 400 for 30 minutes to heat.

Enjoy!