Pumpkin Bacon Ratatouille - #CIC

I was excited when I saw that pumpkin what one of the ingredients for this month's Crazy Ingredient Challenge.  I wasn't sure if I would have time this month to make my dish but luckily I did and it was AMAZING or at least I thought so.

Pumpkin Bacon Ratotouille

I love Pumpkin, it has to be one of my favorite ingredients.  I even like imitation pumpkin flavouring. Even though I do like pumpkin, I really don't like it in savory type dishes.  The second ingredient for this challenge is bacon and I did think of making some pumpkin muffins or cake and add bacon to the frosting.  That seemed to simple and not thinking outside of the box.   So, I set aside my thoughts of pumpkin being used in a savory dish and went with a Ratotouille type dish.  I am now a fan of pumpkin as a "vegetable".

Ingredients:
1/2 tsp oil
1/2 cup diced shallot
1 diced garlic
1 1/2 cup peeled, seeded and diced pumpkin
1/2 cup peeled, seeded and diced acorn squash
1/2 small zucchini diced
2 small tomatoes diced
1/8 tsp rosemary
1/8 tsp thyme
1/8 smoked spanish paprika
4 slices bacon - crumbled
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Add oil to pan (I used my cast iron frying pan) and heat. 
Once oil hot, add onions and cook on medium high for approx 5 minutes until they are golden brown.
Add garlic and cook for another minute.
Add pumpkin, acorn squash, zucchini and tomatoes.
Sprinkle rosemary, thyme and paprika over everything.  
Add salt and pepper to taste
Crumble bacon over everything.
Cover and cook on low until vegetables are tender about 30 minutes.  
Serve hot.

Cooks note:  I sliced my finger when attempting to peel pumpkin, so instead of cutting my finger again I decided to cook the pumpkin slightly before peeling.  I did this by cutting it in small pieces putting in dish and adding small amount of water and cooking in microwave for 2 minutes.. this made it much easier to peel.  For the acorn squash I made about 4 slices into the squash and placed in microwave on high for 4 minutes, this made it much easier to cut and peel... and no more bleeding. 

Last month I made an Apple Basil Chicken Panini.

Are you someone who likes to think outside the box?  Do you like to make your own recipes with ingredients that may not go together?  Then you belong in this group.  Once a month our group picks two ingredients to work with and then on the 20th of the month we publish our recipe.  

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