Bacon Pasta

Two things you don't think of when you think of pasta. But, just be imaginative for a minute. Do you like bacon? Do you like pasta? Then you will probably like this easy and quick recipe.

I am always looking for pasta my husband will actually eat. It's not his favorite dinner choice, which is unfortunate, because it's always MINE. So, I figure he really likes bacon, and I really like pasta. Best of both worlds.

This recipe took about 30 minutes to pull together. As I was browning the bacon, I had the pasta water going. Plus, I made an herb and cheese foccacia, so that was in the oven.

The only thing that I was disappointed in was the fact that I had no green onion. I had every intention of using some from my garden, but my garden didn't produce enough this year. Dang this stupid Portland weather! I would highly recommend using green onion if you decide to make this. Notice there is also tomato in this recipe. You don't think I would actually make something without tomato do you?

If you choose to make foccacia also, it's super easy. I buy a pre-made foccacia in a package and jazz it up a bit. First, spread extra-virgin olive oil over the top of the bread. Then, sprinkle Italian seasoning on the top. Then, sprinkle fresh grated Parmesan over the top of that. Bake the loaf in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. You end up with a nice browned, crispy outside and a soft, warm inside. Pure heaven!

I don't have much else to say other than this was really good. Jason loved it, which is great, because he got the leftovers in his lunch the next day.

Peppered Bacon and Tomato Linguine

from: http://www.allrecipes.com/

1/2 pound peppered bacon, diced

2 tablespoons chopped green onion

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon salt

ground black pepper to taste

1 package (1 pound) linguine

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly browned. Drain, reserving drippings and set aside.

2. Saute green onion and garlic in bacon drippings over medium heat for one minute. Stir in tomatoes, basil, salt and ground pepper, simmer for 5 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

4. Toss hot pasta with sauce and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

People Stink

I had to set my blog to private because anonymous people (rude ones) were leaving nasty comments. So, maybe when I am more brave at some point in the future, I will make it public again. Instead, it's now invite only. Besides, this blog was more for me anyways to track my cooking progress.

So, here's to you stinky rude people! Take that!

Dijon Cluck Cluck

I made a Dijon Chicken last night. It was okay. Jason liked it better than I did. He actually requested I keep the leftovers to pack in his lunch. That is usually the sign of a success in our house.

The recipe was very easy to put together, so if you only have a few minutes, I would suggest making this. It takes ingredients you would probably have on hand, like flour, dijon mustard, and fresh mushrooms. Of course, if you aren't a fan of fungus, you could probably skip the mushrooms. I personally like them, so there.

This is a very rich dish, so I would suggest pairing it with something light, like a green salad or a green vegetable. We had broccoli with our's. I made rice also to soak up the sauce that the chicken is cooked in. It would also be good with egg noodles. This reminded me of beef stroganoff, except with chicken. And mustard. Oh, and whipping cream rather than sour cream. Okay, not like stroganoff at all.

I wanted to put the green onions in the recipe, I really did. However, with the issues my garden was having this year, I had no green onions. They all rotted in the garden before I could use them. Stupid rain and cold weather.

Oh, and if you are cooking for yourself, follow the recipe. If you are feeding two or more, you will probably have to double it.

Have fun taking out your aggression on the poor chicken.

Mushroom Chicken Dijon

from: http://www.allrecipes.com/

1 skinless, boneless chicken breast half

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 tablespoon butter

4 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced

2 ounces chopped green onions

salt and pepper to taste

1.5 cups heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon Dijon-style prepared mustard

1. Cut chicken breast in half, and pound until flat. Coat with flour. In a small skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat and saute the floured breast on one side for 4 to 5 minutes.

2. Flip chicken breast. Add mushrooms, green onions, salt and pepper to taste. Add cream and mustard, stir all together and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and serve.

Ode to the Cupcake

I got a new cake pan. I have wanted it for months and months, and finally broke down and spent the $34.95 to buy it. In my defense, I used a gift card.

What's so special about this cake pan? It's a cupcake! No, not a cupcake pan with individual cakes, but one single giant cupcake. It's super cool and I can think of a million uses for it (baby showers, birthdays, potlucks, molding ice cream). The pan is divided into two sections: The frosting top part, and the paper wrapper bottom.

Follow this link and you will understand: http://tinyurl.com/5qrn2b

This week, there will be no recipe. This is because I used a boxed cake mix. Hey, I needed to test it out and didn't want to spend a lot of money or time on something that could have been a disaster. Plus, the husband likes boxed cakes (I know, right?).

So, here goes the giant cupcake. I greased and floured the pan. Now, normally I would use all flour, but I wanted my bottom part of the cupcake not to have white dust. So, I used cocoa powder. I believe I learned to use cocoa from Martha Stewart.

Exhibit A:

The instructions on the pan say that for a boxed cake, you need more than one box to fill it. Each side of the pan needs to be two-thirds full. So, here is what it looks like. I think I filled them too much. Oh well, live and learn.

Batter in:

Bake! I had no idea how long they would need to bake for, so I kept checking after ten minutes. I think total, it took about 40 minutes to bake.

Yep, I filled them too much:

I ended up having to cut off some cake on each side, otherwise, the two pieces wouldn't have gone together right.

They are starting to look like a cupcake! On goes the frosting and the sprinkles. Yes, I bought sprinkles. What can I say? I was looking for presentation.

Now THAT'S a cupcake! I really don't want to cut into it. I have a feeling it's going to fall apart. But, at least it looked pretty for a little while.

Improvising

I had a dinner planned for Saturday and was really excited about it. When I looked more carefully at the recipes, I realized that I had forgotten to pick up some ingredients at the grocery store. My chili called for a 15 ounce can of tomato sauce, which I didn't have. I do quite a bit of cooking, yet I didn't have tomato sauce?!? I had spaghetti sauce, but knew that wouldn't be close enough. So, I improvised. In my pantry, I found a can of diced tomatoes. A few minutes in the food processor did the trick. It wasn't exactly sauce, but it was good enough.

So, I assembled my chili, and let it cook in the crockpot all day. Then, I went to make my jalapeno cornbread. Heaven help me, I had forgotten to buy buttermilk at the grocery store. I was going to use regular milk, but my innovative husband suggested some butter along with the regular milk. Guess what? It worked! Along with the butter, he suggested some cheese with the cornbread, so I added that as well.

The result was a tasty supper with some modifications. The chili could have used more spice. I should have chopped up a jalapeno from my garden and added it to the cooking chili. The cornbread was by far my favorite part though. It was moist, and had just enough cheese. I couldn't taste the jalapenos, but that's my fault. I didn't produce a very spicy crop of peppers this year.

Enjoy my improvisational meal (is that a word?) below. You probably are going to be more responsible than me though and make sure to have tomato sauce and buttermilk on hand.

Slow-Cooked Chili

from: Pillsbury One-Dish Meals Cookbook

1 pound lean ground beef

1/2 pound bulk Italian sausage (I suggest Hot)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 can (28 oz.) whole tomatoes, undrained, cut up

1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

1 to 1.5 teaspoons cumin

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 can (15 oz.) spicy chili beans, undrained

1 can (15 oz.) garbanzo beans, drained, rinsed

1. In large skillet, cook ground beef, sausage and onion until beef is browned and thoroughly cooked. Drain.

2. In crockpot, combine browned meat and onion with all remaining ingredients; mix well.

3. Cover; cook on low setting for 7 to 8 hours or until thoroughly heated.

Jalapeno Corn Bread

from: http://www.allrecipes.com/ with Pachey's modifications

1.5 cups cornmeal

1/2 cup flour

6 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs

2 tablespoons butter melted

3/4 to 1 cup of milk

1/4 cup olive oil

3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. In a bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In another bowl, whisk the eggs and oil. Melt the butter and add to a 1 cup measuring cup. Pour in milk until it fills the measuring cup. Add the milk/butter mix to the eggs and oil. Add to the dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Stir in jalapenos and cheese. Pour into a greased 9-inch square baking pan.

2. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cut into squares or wedges. Serve warm.

Spaghetti and Salad

These are usually two dishes that you would eat together. A nice spaghetti dinner with a green salad. But, what if they were actually together? The spaghetti and the vegetables. That is what this is. It's a pasta salad using spaghetti, and all kinds of fresh, crisp veggies. I usually don't like raw onions, but in this, if you use a nice sweet red onion, it's delicious. I can't get enough of this salad. I made it for a potluck a few weekends ago, and I was so glad that there were some leftovers. There were leftovers because half the people showed up at the potluck, not because it didn't taste good. I just had to clarify that for a few people.

Speaking of potlucks, this is a great recipe for one. You can chop the veggies and cook and chill the noodles the night before. Then, in the morning, throw everything together with the dressing. Or, you can make it the night before and let the flavors mingle. Either way, it still tastes fantastic.

This salad would be excellent as a vegetarian main dish, or a side with grilled burgers, chicken or steak. I have taken it as my lunch for a week in a row. That is how much I love this stuff.

Do not double this recipe. Why? Because, you will end up with pasta salad for weeks. Seriously, it makes a ton. The only time I would double it is if I was feeding an army. An actual army. The recipe by itself easily serves 8-10 people if everyone has at least a cup full.

I envy anyone that makes this. I would, but I may be pasta salad-ed out for a while.

Spaghetti Salad

from: http://www.allrecipes.com/

1 pound spaghetti
1 (16 ounce) bottle Italian-style salad dressing
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 cucumber, peeled and chopped

1. Cook spaghetti in boiling salted water until al dente. Rinse in cool water, drain.

2. In a large bowl place chopped tomatoes, green bell pepper, onion and cucumber. Add Cheddar cheese, and salad seasoning.

3. Add cooled pasta to large bowl with vegetables and pour salad dressing over top. Toss well to coat. Chill for several hours before serving.

Barbeque Season

It's the time of year for barbeque, and that means two of my favorite things: Hot dogs and potato salad. Although we aren't eating hot dogs for dinner, we are eating potato salad.

This is my aunt's recipe which I altered a wee bit. I added some green onions from my garden and some dill. I think it tastes better now, but I won't tell my aunt that. If you don't have dill pickle relish, that's okay. You can dice up some pickles instead.

Tonight, this potato salad is being consumed with cheeseburgers from the grill. I would prefer hotdogs, but I am weird after all.

Potato Salad
from: Pachey's aunt with some alterations

8-10 medium sized potatoes

3/4 cup mayonnaise

2 hard boiled eggs

1 tablespoon mustard (or more if you like mustard, which I do!)

2-3 tablespoons dill pickle relish

pickle juice

salt, pepper, dill, garlic powder to taste

3-4 green onion, sliced

paprika for garnish

1. Peel and cut potatoes into 1-inch cubes. Boil with 2 tablespoons vinegar until cooked. Drain and cool to room temperature.

2. Cut eggs with egg slicer, but do not cut any further.

3. Add all ingredients together and mix well. The eggs will break up while mixing. If mixture is too dry, keep adding pickle juice.

4. Sprinkle with paprika.