Spaghetti Squash with Spinach, Bacon and Goat Cheese

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Ingredients

1. One Medium spaghetti squash
2. Kosher salt
3. Freshly ground pepper
4. One tablespoon of olive oil
5. Six slices of bacon cut these in one inch pieces
6. One tablespoon of maple syrup
7. One tablespoon of red wine vinegar
8. Two ounces of crumbled, soft goat cheese
9. One five ounce bag of baby spinach

Preparation

• I first preheat my oven to 400°F after which I take a large rimmed baking sheet and line it with parchment paper.
• Next I cut around half an inch off of both the top and bottom of the spaghetti squash and throw those pieces away. Next the squash is cut crosswise into rings around one inch thick, I run my knife around the inside of each ring to remove the seeds. The olive oil is then drizzled over the baking sheets, and then I evenly place the squash rings over the baking sheet, I move them around a bit so that the entire bottom sides become coated evenly with a bit of olive oil. Season with the pepper and salt, flop the rings over and season once again.
• The squash is then roasted in my preheated oven for thirty minutes, or until it is tender. Once the squash is ready, I set it aside on the counter and move on to my bacon and spinach. I find that allowing it to cool for around ten minutes makes it much easier to handle.
• Over a medium heat, I heat up a large skillet to which I add my slices of bacon. Stir often as you cook over medium heat, what I look for is the very edges of the bacon to start to slightly brown, this takes around two minutes. The heat is then turned down to low and the bacon continues cooking until the fat has rendered out and it is crispy, this takes around five minutes.
• Once the bacon is ready, the heat gets turned back up to medium and as I stir and scrape the bottom of the skillet, I add the red wine. This deglazes the pan, that way all of caramelized bits of bacon actually makes it in the food and do not remain stuck to the pan. After around twenty seconds, I lower the heat to low once more and add the maple syrup. Just to combine everything is stirred together, then the spinach is carefully added, one handful at a time. After every handful I carefully stir, this allows for the spinach to wilt and makes room in my skillet for more. Once all the spinach has wilted, I turn the burner off under my skillet and as I finish the squash I allow everything to sit there.
• The next step is to peel the skin from the squash, I then use a fork, but hands are ok to and I pull the strands apart and as I do I add them to the skillet. Once all of the squash is in the skillet, I add the goat cheese and toss to make sure it is all combined.
• Plate up two plates equally and immediately serve.
• Enjoy!

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