Sun-dried Tomatoes, Bacon, and Goat Cheese Pasta

Sometimes my best dishes are the random ones I throw together based on my current favorite ingredients.  And you can be sure that that list always includes cheese and bacon! It makes me sad that I only started eating goat cheese as an adult. Think of all those wasted childhood years of not knowing the joy that is delicious goat cheese. Goats may freak me out with their scary eyes, but man they make some good cheese.

This pasta is a great cheesy dish with an added kick of the sundried tomatoes and bacon. I like to make this during the colder months because there's nothing more comforting (other than my beloved soups) than a nice creamy pasta bowl!

[Note: For most of my bacon dishes I use a thick cut turkey bacon from Trader Joe's. The texture is not so much the traditional crispiness you would get with regular turkey and instead is more like ham. I love regular bacon but will often use turkey bacon to cut back on the calories and fat. If you want to use traditional bacon, then cook it first, and let it drain on paper towels afterwards, and then once cooled crumble into the pasta at the end when you're mixing everything together. Or if you're feeling lazy like I always am, especially after coming home from work, then just cook it with the onions. And if you're looking for a vegetarian dish, just omit the bacon! I've done it before and it's still super yummy.]

Servings: 6 (which means it's a 3 mealer for me)

Ingredients:
16 oz dried pasta (I used a whole wheat penne here)
1 onion, diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 oz sundried tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
3-4 ounces goat cheese
2-4 slices bacon
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup reserved pasta water (optional)
Chives, chopped (optional topping)

Instructions:

• Cook pasta according to instructions. (Optional: reserve about 1/4 cup of the pasta water before draining for future use.)
• Cook 1 chopped onion, 1 tsp rosemary, 1 tsp garlic, 3 oz sundried tomatoes, and 2-4 chopped slices of bacon for 5-7 minutes, stirring often, until the onions are starting to brown and bacon is starting to crisp. 
• Add 1 can diced tomatoes to the onion mixture and let simmer for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Drain pasta and put the pasta back into the pot along with 3-4 ounces of goat cheese. Stir until the goat cheese covers all the pasta.
• Add the onion mixture to the pasta as well as the crumbled bacon and stir all together until well mixed. If you like a saucier sauce, add about 1/4 cup pasta water (which is what I did in the photos below).
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Optional: Top each bowl with some chopped chives.

Aaaaand cue the sad begging pugs. Sunny's taught Rosy the technique of uncurling the tail to look extra sad and pathetic.

I love using fresh herbs for toppings on my dishes. Normally it's parsley but today I decided to go with chives!

The girls want some bacon and cheese! 

Sniff sniff.

Closing in...

Getting closer!

And no the girls did not get any taste - there are onions and garlic in this dish! But I did give them a little topping of cheese with their carrot snack afterwards.

Adapted from SOS! The Six O'Clock Scramble to the Rescue.

Minestrone Soup with Bacon

I don't know why it's taken me so long to try a minestrone soup, because I made one today and it was awesome! Since this month has been so cold, I've been loving my soups. And while I have the tried and true, I am always searching for new recipes because I get bored easily. My taste buds demand new and yummy flavors and my tummy demands a hearty and satisfying meal. Well this soup meets all those requirements!

Lots of minestrone soups are made with pasta, but I omitted that to keep it lighter...and then I added in bacon! I am a bacon addict. This can easily be made vegetarian by omitting the bacon, and can be personalized with various vegetables. I've seen other recipes with celery, carrots, green beans, etc., but keep in mind that since this is a relatively quick cooking soup things don't break down as much as in longer cooking recipes (which is why I didn't add any celery or carrots).

This is definitely going into my permanent soup rotation! Sigh, why can't I just stay at home with my pugs during these cold winter days, making yummy soup and bread, instead of going to work? At least this is quick and easy enough that I can make it on any weekday once I get home.

Servings: 5-6 (though for me this is a 2-3 mealer)

Ingredients:
Cooking spray or olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2-4 slices bacon, chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons tomato paste
12-16 ounces kale, swiss chard, or collard greens, stalks removed and leaves chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 (15 ounce) cans of white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5 ounce) can of diced tomatoes
4 cups vegetable broth
1-2 cups water
Grated Parmesan and chopped parsley for topping (optional)

Instructions:

• Heat Dutch oven over medium heat and either spray with cooking spray or heat 1 tsp of olive oil.
• Add 1 chopped onion, 2-4 chopped slices of bacon, 2 tsp garlic, and a light sprinkling of salt and pepper. Cook for 6-7 minutes until onion softens and bacon browns.
• Add 2 tbsp tomato paste and stir into onion mixture until everything is well coated. 
• Add 12-16 oz of hearty greens, 1/2 tsp thyme, and 1 tsp of red pepper flakes.
• Stir everything together for 4-5 minutes as the greens should start to wilt.
• Add 2 cans of white kidney beans. If you like a thicker soup, either mash some of the beans before adding, or once in the Dutch oven use a spoon to mash some of the beans.
• Add 1 can of diced tomatoes, with juice, 4 cups of vegetable broth, and 1-2 cups of water (depending on how many greens you added and how hearty or brothy you like your soup).
• Bring the soup to a boil and then lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the greens are tender.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• For serving, sprinkle a little bit of chopped parsley and grated Parmesan on each bowl. This goes great with some nice crusty bread!

Now for the pics!  

Look at Rosy. She looks like she's thinking, "Mmmm that smells so good! I can smell the bacon!"

Rosy tries different begging tactics but Sunny always does the pathetic sit by the fridge.

Love the sprinkling of Parmesan and parsley! I hate chopping herbs but I find that chopped parsley is a fantastic topping on most soups and pastas.

Begging eyes and tails down!

I like negating any healthy benefits of my soups by adding bacon and cheese. Bacon and cheese on everything!!!

Now mix it all together. One of my favorite things about cheese in soup is how it gets stuck on the spoon and so when you scrape it with your teeth you get a nice saucy, hot concentrated jolt of cheese!

And there goes Rosy's tongue.

Ack and there goes Sunny's tongue! She was too quick for me this time! Luckily she didn't get any soup, just bowl. She was super disappointed afterwards that the smell of the soup didn't match with the taste of bowl.

Ok time for me to eat!

Hey leave it alone! This is for me!

I had dropped a little bit of the Parmesan on the floor and Rosy quickly licked it all up. Then as I ate, she would periodically return to the kitchen and lick the same spot over and over again, trying to get every last crumb and hoping that some more cheese would magically appear. She's a cheese monster!

Can't blame her. Cheese is gooooood.

Adapted from Martha Stewart.

Tomatoey Chicken Sausage, Bacon, Beans, and Bread Crumbs

Sometimes I get into a cooking rut because I get busy, lazy, and/or I'm tired of my seasonal dishes and waiting for the change of a season. I was loving my spring/summer dishes before, but as the months tick by and the heat and humidity persist, I get tired of them and want a change.  For the last two weeks I was going through that phase and ate mostly hot dogs and frozen food. By last weekend, I felt gross and was eager to start up my cooking again and this week the weather is finally starting to cool down enough that I can get excited for fall dishes!  

Anytime I see a recipe that involves sausage and beans I flag it as a possible future dish because those are usually easy and you can't go too wrong with that flavor combination. I liked that this one also had tomatoes (how much do I heart Trader Joe's canned diced tomatoes with no salt?) and the novelty of homemade bread crumbs (a first for me). And then I saw that this recipe had bacon and there was no question about it - I had to make this!  I tell you, bacon searches me out! Since I had some chard leftover from my other dish this week, Orzo with Caramelized Fall Vegetables, Bacon, and Ginger, I added some in as well. I love a nice colorful dish! I went a little too long in the broiler so my bread crumbs were almost burned. I panicked but luckily they still taste amazing and I managed to not set off my smoke detectors.  Ah fall, it's so good to have you back! Now just keep winter at bay for a while.

Servings: Original recipe says 6 but this is a 3-mealer for me (I basically need at least 2 normal person sized servings).

Ingredients:

4 slices of thick cut bacon, chopped (I used Trader Joe's peppered uncured turkey bacon)

1 large onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon thyme

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 14.5-ounce can of diced tomatoes

1 1/4 cup chicken broth

2 14.5-ounce cans of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

12 ounces sausage, cut in half lengthwise and in 1/2 inch pieces (I used Trader Joe's garlic chicken sausage)

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

1-2 cups kale or chard, chopped

3-5 cups bread, cut into 1-2 inch pieces (I used about 1/3 of a Trader Joe's sourdough baguette)

Pat of butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add 4 chopped slices of bacon and cook for a few minutes until browned and slightly crisp.
• Add 1 chopped onion to the bacon and cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender.
• Add 3 minced garlic cloves and 1 tbsp thyme and cook for an additional minute.
• Add 1/2 cup white wine and cook for 2 minutes.
• Add a can of diced tomatoes and cook for 2-4 minutes until sauce is thickened.
• Add 1 1/4 cup chicken broth and 2 cans of cannellini beans and bring the mixture to a simmer.

• Add 12 ounces chopped sausage to the mixture and stir everything together.

• Move skillet to the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
• While the skillet is in the oven, prepare breadcrumbs by either toasting them in a toaster oven or melt a pat of butter in a skillet over medium-high heat and then add 3-5 cups chopped bread. Stir the bread frequently until it browns, approximately 8-10 minutes.  I used my cast iron skillet and had to lower the heat halfway through as the bread was browning too fast.

• Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup chopped parsley into the bread crumbs and season with some salt.
• Remove skillet from oven and stir in 1-2 cups of chopped kale or chard.
• Heat broiler.
• Spoon the breadcrumbs evenly on top of the skillet mixture.
• Place the skillet back in the oven and broil about 6 inches from the heat source for 1 minute. I did 2 and ended up with my breadcrumbs almost burnt (still tasted good though!).
• Remove skillet from oven and add salt and pepper to taste. 

Mmm smells so good and tastes so yummy!

I may have almost burnt the breadcrumbs during the final broil stage, but I actually really liked them like this! They were more flavorful and crunchy. But oh man was my oven smoky when I first opened the door so watch it carefully if you want to broil more than 1 minute!

The bacon and sausage in this dish are just too much for Sunny and Rosy to resist.

No licks! This has onions and other things that wouldn't be good for you! But of course I did set aside itty bits of the bacon for them in the beginning as a treat afterwards. They've gotten really good at posing with my food because they know they'll get at least a tiny bite of something yummy!

Another recipe to add to my regular fall/winter rotation!

Adapted from Martha Stewart.

Orzo with Caramelized Fall Vegetables, Bacon, and Ginger

Sorry I've been neglecting this food blog! I had a bunch of great summer recipes I planned on posting but then I got really busy at work and lazy at home. Well, at least I know I'll have recipes to post next summer. 

October, where is all the cool and brisk weather we're supposed to be having??? It's been crazy warm the past few days and the girls and I are not pleased. I love fall and it just doesn't feel like fall yet! I'm craving some of my fall recipes (which are mainly soups and stews) but it's just too hot for those kinds of foods. So I was really excited to see this recipe pop up again on my favorite food blog, The Kitchn. It takes a bit of time to make but it's pretty easy and it has all those delicious fall flavors that I've been craving.  I made this dish with turkey bacon because in case you couldn't tell from my past recipes, I <3 bacon (of all kinds), but you can easily make this vegetarian by not adding any bacon, and it can even be made vegan if you omit the cheese at the end as well. Alternatively, I bet this would taste great with some sausage instead of bacon.

Servings: The original recipe says this serves 4 as a main dish and 6 as a side dish, but I think this is a 2-3 mealer for me.

Ingredients:

1 cup dried orzo

1 large sweet potato (or two small/medium ones), peeled and diced

2 medium onions, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

4 slices of thick bacon, diced (I used Trader Joe's peppered uncured turkey bacon)

6-8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and caps diced

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

2 cups chard or kale, stalks removed and chopped

Grapeseed, peanut, or vegetable oil

Shaved parmesan to top (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

• Cook 1 cup dried orzo according to instructions but only for 6 to 7 minutes until it's barely al dente. Drain orzo, stir in a little bit of oil, and set aside.
• Heat a very large pan over high heat and then heat up a little bit of oil in the pan if you're not going to add bacon. (Use an oil with a high smoke point, so that means no olive oil.) If you are making this with bacon, cook the bacon for a few minutes and then spoon the bacon into a bowl and set aside but leave the bacon grease in the pan. (If you're using turkey bacon or a low fat bacon, you may need to add some oil to the pan if there's not enough leftover in the pan.)
• Add the peeled and diced sweet potato to the pan and spread it out into one layer. Cook for about 4 minutes until the potatoes start to brown and then flip/stir the potatoes and cook for another 3 minutes.
• Lower the heat to medium, push the potatoes to one side and add two diced onions to the pan with a sprinkle of salt. Cook onions for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until they start to brown.
• Add 1 tbsp minced ginger and 4 minced garlic cloves to the onions.  Stir together and push to the side next to the potatoes.
• Add 6-8 oz diced shiitake mushrooms to the pan and let cook for about 4 minutes.  Flip/stir the mushrooms and then cook for another 4 minutes.
• Add back in the cooked bacon and stir everything together. All the ingredients should be browning nicely and the potatoes should be softened.
• Whisk together 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 2 tbsp soy sauce, and 2 tbsp oil (I ran out of my other oil and had to use sesame (love the taste of sesame oil!), which doesn't have a high smoke point but at this point most of the cooking is done and I didn't have too many problems so long as the vent fan was on high). 
• Pour the vinegar-oil mixture into the pan and mix everything together, scraping the bottom as needed.  Cook for about 3 minutes. (If the food is really sticking, you can add a tiny bit of water to help scrape.)
• Increase heat to medium-high and gradually add in the cooked orzo, continuing to scrape the bottom as needed. Cook for about 5 minutes. The orzo should be browning nicely, helping to deepen the flavor and color of the orzo with all the other ingredients.
• Stir in 2 cups of chopped chard or kale and cook for about 1 minute so that the greens are just wilted into the mixture.
• Remove pan from heat and salt and pepper to taste.
• Before serving, top each dish with some shaved parmesan (optional).

Sunny and Rosy volunteered to be tasters, but too bad they can't have onions! I did set aside two itty bitty bites of bacon for them after I cooked it.

You don't have to add the cheese at the end but it really adds a nice punch of flavor to the dish!

The girls are looking at the dish so longingly!

Hey, keep that tongue in check Rosy! No tasting!

Ok, enough torturing the girls. Now it's time for their well-deserved bacon treat!

This recipe does take some time to caramelize all the vegetables but it's such a fantastic fall dish! I'll definitely be adding this to my regular rotation of favorite recipes.

Adapted from The Kitchn.

Warm Lentil Salad with Bacon and Eggs

I've been missing my yummy lentil soups (Curried Lentils and Tomatoes Stew and Lentil Stew with Bacon and Greens) but not in the mood for hot soups.  I've seen a bunch of variations of recipes for lentils and eggs on the internet so I decided to throw something together based on random things I had in my fridge and I was pleasantly surprised.  This dish was super yummy and satisfying.  And I'm a sucker for a fried egg topper (mmm runny yolk!).  I think this is my new favorite comfort food and it's definitely a lot healthier than my standard comfort foods!

Servings: 2-4 (depends on if you want a big or small dish)

Ingredients:
1 cup dry green lentils
1 bag of baby spinach
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup carrots, chopped (you could add more; I'm just not a big carrot person)
4 slices bacon, chopped
4 eggs (or more if you want - the more eggs the merrier!)
1/4 teaspoon thyme
2 cups water
Red wine vinegar to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

• Bring 1 cup of lentils and 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium pot.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.  Drain well.
• Heat a pan over medium heat and cook 1 chopped onion, 1/4 cup chopped carrots, 4 slices chopped bacon, and 1/4 tsp thyme about 4-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender.
• Add the cooked lentils and a bag of spinach to the pan.  Stir everything together until the spinach leaves wilt.
• Add red wine vinegar, salt and pepper to the lentil mixture to taste.
• Fry or poach 4 eggs so that the whites are solid and the yolks are nice and runny.  
• Top the lentil mixture with the eggs (I do two for my dish because I'm an egg monster).
• You can season with more salt and pepper if needed.  Because my taste buds are warped from years of eating spicy Korean food I added a couple splashes of Tabasco sauce (mmm extra vinegar taste too!).

• Mash up the egg and enjoy!

 I hurriedly took these photos and then dug in.  Delish!

Curried Lentils and Tomatoes Stew

My sister was complimenting me on my food blog recently and she said, “Uh it’s pretty clear from your blog that you love bacon and soup.”  That I do, that I do.  I swear I decided to make this mainly because of the curry and lentils. The bacon just happened to be there.  I don’t even search out for bacon recipes anymore, bacon finds me!  


While I love my regular lentil soup recipe, this is a great change with all the healthy deliciousness of lentils but with a completely different flavor.  I added half and half at the end since I had the nonfat kind from Trader Joe’s handy but I think it would’ve been fine without it.  We’re nearing the end of soup/stew weather, and that makes me very sad because I have so many yummy ones like this that I’ll miss over the hot spring and summer months!

Servings: 6 (but I can totally make this a 2-3 mealer for me)

Ingredients:
4 bacon slices (I use turkey)
1 vidalia onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup dried lentils
½ cup carrots, chopped
½ cup celery, chopped
5 ounces mushrooms, chopped (I like baby bella)
2 teaspoons curry powder
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 (14.5 ounce) cans of no salt, diced tomatoes (undrained)
½ cup half and half
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (or 2 tablespoons of dry sherry)
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

• Heat Dutch oven over medium-high heat and spray with cooking spray.
• Add 1 chopped onion, 5 oz chopped mushrooms, 4 minced garlic cloves, and 4 chopped bacon slices.  Cook for 4-5 minutes.
• Add 4 cups chicken broth, 1 cup lentils, ½ cup chopped carrots, ½ cup chopped celery, 5 oz chopped mushrooms, 2 tsps curry powder, ½ tsp ground ginger, ¼ tsp ground cinnamon, and 2 cans of diced tomatoes.  Stir together and bring to a boil.  Then reduce heat and let simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.  
• Stir in ½ cup half and half and 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar (or 2 tbsps of dry sherry).

The girls are always lurking. But they weren't as intrigued by the curry aromas.

I always top of my bowls of soup and stew with extra black pepper.  Hey what are you girls doing down there?? 

Enjoy! But don't feed any sad pugs curry.  I opted instead to feed them baby carrots.  Everyone was pleased.

Adapted from My Recipes.