Chicken And Butternut Squash Bake

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Precook chicken

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large non-stick skillet and over a medium heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides and place it skin side down in a skillet. Cook for 4-5 minutes until skin turns light brown, then flip and cook for another minute. Transfer chicken to paper towel lined plate and remove skillet from the heat.

Arrange squash and chicken in a baking pan

1. In a large 13 x 9 inches baking pan arrange cubed butternut squash. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of thyme, ½ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper. Mix everything together. Top butternut squash with seared chicken and shallot wedges.

Make Maple-Balsamic vinaigrette

1. In a small bowl whisk together 2 tablespoon of Maple syrup and 2 tablespoon of Balsamic vinegar.

Roast

1. Roast butternut squash and chicken for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, brush chicken with Maple-Balsamic vinaigrette and drizzle the remaining of it over the vegetables. Roast for another 10-15 minutes until squash is tender and chicken is cooked (meat thermometer reads 165 F)

Optional - fry bacon

1. In a medium skillet and over medium heat add bacon and fry until fat is released and bacon is crispy.
2. Finish the dish
3. Remove chicken and butternut squash bake from the oven, sprinkle with crispy bacon and serve immediately.