I’m not sure when it happened, but I now make dinner regularly without a recipe. To those of you who have done this for awhile or forever – congrats. I, however, have always followed recipes. Sure I might have changed the seasonings here or switched out some of the ingredients for items I had on hand, but in general, I followed the recipe.

I remember when I came up with my very first recipe on my own for baking, Random Cookie Recipe, I was so pleased. Now it happens without me even realizing it. I throw together quick breads like Peach Bread where I only whipped it up to use leftover items from the peach muffins I made. It turned out the bread was a million times better than the muffins anyhow. I now look into my fridge & pantry to see what needs to be eaten & make up dishes without even thinking about it.

Last night I wanted to use the last of my bacon. I had 4 slices & thought I would add it to pasta. I decided I would use the bacon grease to make a sauce so that there would be bacon tidbits & flavor throughout the whole thing. I also had a spaghetti squash that had been sitting in the pantry for a bit as well. This is how Bacon & Spaghetti Squash Pasta was created. So good on so many levels.

Bacon & Spaghetti Squash Pasta

• 4 slices bacon
• 1 spaghetti Squash
• 4oz spaghetti noodles
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp. flour
• 1 cup milk
• few dashes nutmeg
• few dashes cayenne
• 2 tsp. brown sugar
• oil for coating squash

1. Preheat the oven to 375F.
2. Cut the squash in half & coat all sides with olive oil. Bake for 1-1.25hrs cut side down until softened & tender. Shred the spaghetti squash into strands & set aside.
3. In a large skillet, pan fry bacon over medium to medium-high heat & remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain when crispy. Reserve grease.
4. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta & cook according to directions. Drain pasta & return to pot. Reserve some of the cooking water.
5. To the bacon grease, add the butter & then the garlic cloves. Sauté for 2minutes. Add the flour & stir until combined. Add the milk while whisking. Add the seasonings. Whisk continuously over medium-low to medium heat until thickened & bubbly.
6. To the pot of drained pasta, add the squash & the sauce. Add the cooking water as needed to adjust the consistency of the sauce.
7. Serve on two plates. Crumble the bacon & sprinkle on top. Sadly there are no pictures as it was eaten right away.