Brussels Sprouts and Bacon Pasta

Ingredients
1 pound pasta (I used a mix of penne and some other short pasta since I had two partial boxes.)
12 ounces center-cut bacon, chopped
1 pound frozen Brussels sprouts
2-3 cloves garlic, minced

Instructions
1. Bring pot of salted water to a boil. Cook and drain pasta as instructed.

2. Sauté bacon in large skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil if necessary to prevent from sticking. Cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp. 

3. While bacon is cooking, microwave Brussels sprouts for 3-4 minutes until thawed, but not fully cooked. Cut Brussels sprouts in half, quarters, or slice in a food processor.

4. When bacon is crisp, leaving fat and bacon in skillet, add garlic and Brussels sprouts. Continue cooking until Brussels sprouts are heated through. Season with salt and pepper. Add pasta to skillet, stir well to combine, check for seasonings and add more salt and pepper as necessary.

Comments
Thanks to a very positive Brussels sprouts experience in college, I love them.  However, not everyone else I live with does.  Everyone in the house does, however, love bacon!  So I devised this recipe based on many similar recipes that I read.  It’s super simple and pork fat really does make everything better.  I use frozen Brussels sprouts because the fresh ones here are very unreliable.  If you have access to fresh ones, feel free to use them! 

Shown here with Maple-Ginger Glazed Chicken.

Person - Gwen