Bacon and Asparagus Pasta

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Bacon and Aspargaus PastaWe can’t get enough of the gorgeous stalks of asparagus hitting the stores right now. The other night I had a blank space on our menu plan – and decided to have a “wing it” dinner. You know, one of those “clean out the fridge” kinda nights? This is what ensued, and it turned out to be superbly delicious!

And, it’s a quick one too – which is always a plus. Crisping up the bacon in the pan, then a quick cook of the asparagus in some of the rendered bacon fat (because really, why not?) and finally all tossed with some pasta and cream sauce. The healthiest? Surely not. But, it was probably better for us then the pizza or Chinese take-out we would have called in otherwise!


Bacon & Asparagus Pasta

8 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped
1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1″ pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb pasta (I used gemelli)
2 cups Alfredo sauce
kosher salt
black pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water before draining. Return the pasta to the pan that you cooked it in, and set aside.

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Cook the bacon until browned and crispy, about 5 minutes. Remove and place on paper towel lined plate to drain. Remove all but 2 Tbsp of grease from the pan, and return to the stove. Add the chopped asparagus to the pan, stirring occasionally. Cook until tender, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook for 1 minute more. Off heat.

Add asparagus to the pot with the pasta, and add in the bacon and Alfredo sauce. Toss to combine. If sauce is too thick,add a bit of the pasta water to thin it out. Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving.

Cajun Shrimp Pasta

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Cajun Shrimp Pasta

Shrimp. Pasta. Spicy cream sauce. What’s not to love here? This Cajun chicken pasta has long been one of our weeknight favorites. Comes together so quickly and easily, it’s a dish I know I can always turn to on those nights where I want something good and comforting – but I don’t feel like putting that much effort into dinner.

So, it was only a matter of time before I swapped out chicken for other proteins. Like, shrimp. All truths being told, I think I love this dish with shrimp, even more than the chicken. Think shrimp alfredo, but kicked up with the addition of cayenne pepper, sliced bell peppers, and onions that have been sauteed for a bit of a crunch amidst the tender pasta. Rich and decadent, with a bit of heat – it would be a perfect dinner for Fat Tuesday. Or, for Valentine’s Day for that matter. Dinner is ready in under 30 minutes, leaving you plenty of time to do “other” things with your Valentine :)


Cajun Shrimp Pasta

1 pound medium or large shrimp, peeled and de-veined
1 tablespoon Cajun spice mix
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
½ onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup cream
1/2 cup white wine (I use dry Vermouth)
1/2 cup chicken broth
Cayenne pepper, to taste
1 pound cooked fettuccine
2 scallions, chopped (for garnish)

Sprinkle 2 teaspoons Cajun spice over the shrimp, toss to coat. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp to skillet, and cook for about 2 minutes. Flip shrimp over and cook for 1 minute more. Remove to plate and set aside. Add remaining tablespoon of olive oil and heat until shimmering. Add peppers, onions, and garlic. Sprinkle on remaining Cajun spice, and add salt if needed. Cook over medium high heat until peppers and onions are tender. Remove all vegetables from the pan to a plate, and set aside.

With the pan over high heat, pour in the wine and chicken broth. Cook on high for 3 to 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Reduce heat to medium low and pour in cream, whisking constantly. Cook sauce over medium-low heat for a few minutes, until cream starts to thicken the mixture. Add cayenne pepper, salt and pepper to taste. Add the vegetables to the sauce. Stir and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until mixture is bubbly and hot. Add drained fettuccine and toss to combine. Serve spicy shrimp on top of pasta. Sprinkle with scallions for garnish.

Source: adapted from this Cajun Chicken Pasta recipe

BLT Carbonara

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BLT CarbonaraI feel like we’ve been crazy busy lately – it’s always something on our schedules one weekend or another. Poor Jon just got to brew beer for the first time in two months last week! Plus, we’d all been sick for pretty much the entire month of January. Stomach bugs? Check. Coughing up lungs? Check. Faucets for noses? Check.

This has been the first week this month where we’ve all felt good, and I’ve been playing catch-up with house chores that kind of got put by the way-side while I was sick myself, or playing nurse maid. Seriously, where does all this laundry come from? I’d swear I live in a house with 5 teenage girls the way these boys go through clothes! Anyways, with all the housework, I wasn’t feeling cooking dinner the other night. But, I wasn’t feeling anything out either. So, I mustered up some energy and went to the kitchen to make this quick pasta. A few ingredients, and a little bit of time – and you’ve got yourself one terrific and satisfying meal.

If you’re worried about using raw eggs in your pasta – hear me out. It’s not really raw eggs, because the eggs cook (more or less) in the pan with the hot pasta. It transforms into a thick and luxurious sauce that can’t be achieved with any substitutions. If you’re that worried about it, let it cook on the heat for a little bit longer than 2 minutes. But, there really isn’t anything to worry about – you don’t think anything about licking brownie batter off the spatula when you’re done baking, do you?

The original recipe just calls for bacon and tomatoes, but I happened to have a half a bag of baby spinach hanging out in the fridge that I needed to use – and thought that a green leafy component would make it a BLT, which is always a fun twist. I served it with simple green salads and focaccia bread.


BLT Carbonara

2 whole eggs
1/3 cup heavy creamy
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
12 ounces bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 small onion, chopped
3 Roma tomatoes, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup white wine
Fresh parsley, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups baby spinach leaves
16 ounces spaghetti

Whisk together the eggs, cream and Parmesan together in a bowl. In a large non stick pan, fry the bacon until crisp and set aside on a paper-towel lined plate to drain. Remove all but one tablespoon of the bacon grease; add the onion, tomatoes, and garlic and sauté over medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the white wine; stir in the parsley, salt and black pepper.

Meanwhile, prepare the pasta according to the instructions on the box. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Drain the pasta and while still warm, add to the onions and tomatoes. Add the baby spinach. Pour cream mixture into the spaghetti, and toss over low heat for one to two minutes using tongs. If it seems a little dry, add a splash of the reserved cooking water from the pasta. Serve in warm bowls, top with bacon and serve with additional Parmesan.

Source: adapted from So Tasty, So Yummy

Penne with Sausage & Olive Sauce

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Olive Sauce

It’s no secret that I love those dear Housewives of New Jersey. When my favorite matriarch of the Manzo family, Caroline, talked about an olive tomato sauce that her family always had on Christmas Eve – I immediately put that on my “to-do” list in the kitchen. Her recipe is top-secret of course, but in the scene it showed her slicing up fennel so I knew that went into the mix. So, I started there and just kind of winged it.

I added some sliced up Italian sausage, two kinds of olives, and fennel – as well as all the other standard tomato sauce fare. The brininess of the olives add such a different twist from a standard tomato sauce. Also, a greater depth of flavor. And, as most pasta dishes go, it didn’t take long to throw together. If you wanted to make this a vegetarian dish, it would be just as delicious without the sausage.

If you’re like me, and find yourself in a rut when it comes to new pasta dishes – give this one a try!


Penne with Sausage & Olive Sauce

1 lb Italian sausage links (I used hot)
1 can black olives, drained and roughly chopped
1 can green olives, drained and roughly chopped
2 (28) oz cans whole tomatoes, lightly crushed with clean hands
1 onion, diced
1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. penne pasta
olive oil
kosher salt
fresh chopped parsley, for garnish
Parmesan cheese, for garnish

Add 1 tbsp olive oil to a large, heavy bottomoed saucepan (I used a dutch oven) and place over medium-high heat. Add the sausage links, and brown well on all sides. Don’t worry if they’re not cooked all the way through, they’ll finish cooking in the sauce. Remove from pan to a plate, and set aside.

Add the onion and the fennel, and saute until starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook for an additional minute. Add in the tomatoes, and olives and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt, I add about 1 tsp.

Slice the sausage into 1-inch pieces and add slices to the sauce. Reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer for 40 minutes – stirring occasionally.

Cook pasta according to package directions, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water before draining. Add the drained pasta to olive sauce, stirring to combine. If it seems dry, add a splash of the pasta water to help loosen up the sauce a bit.

Garnish with chopped parsley and grated Parmesan cheese before serving.

Source: inspired by The Real Housewives of New Jersey’s Caroline Manzo