Quick Pasta Dinner

Some days the time for dinner arrives and you remember right then that you have forgotten to defrost something or even plan a meal. I had some unexpected appointments crop up, yesterday, and by the time I could catch my breath, hungry children were prowling the kitchen. Fortunately, I've come up with some quick meals over the years which saves my 'Mom' reputation and gets the family happily fed. This is always a favorite and the ingredients are usually on hand.

Quick Pasta Dinner
1 pound of spaghetti (any shape will work, however)
8 strips of bacon, diced
1/2 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons pesto
5 smashed and chopped cloves of garlic
5 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Salt & pepper to taste

First, get the bacon and garlic going in a large cooking pot. You want the bacon just crisp and the garlic softened. While this is cooking, have water boiling in another pot for the pasta.

Get the flavoring ingredients lined up and ready! Cook the pasta until just done. Drain and add to the pot with the garlic and bacon. The oil from the bacon replaces the need for butter so leave it there! Mix and then add the eggs and milk keeping the heat on low while you do this. Stir constantly until it gets creamy and add the rest of the ingredients. Heat through and serve with a salad or steamed vegetable. If you have garlic bread on hand, so much the better.

This recipe is a nice departure from the regular tomato pasta dishes. There is lots of room for creativity depending on your ingredients. You could even make it leaving out the pesto and Italian seasoning, using sharp cheddar and adding some onion powder.

Some Side Kick Dishes . . .

Here are a couple of pasta dishes that make great side dishes or can be a fast, light lunch on a hectic day. They are also great for Lenten meals and meatless Friday dinners. I like the fact that you probably have the ingredients on hand so it takes the worry out of too much planning ahead.

Buttered Poppy Seed Noodles
16 ounces spaghetti
1 stick butter (margarine won't work as well here.)
2-3 tablespoons poppy seeds

Prepare your pasta to taste. Drain thoroughly and place back into warm pot. Melt the butter and add the poppy seeds. Simmer very slightly for a moment or two to blend flavors. Pour over the pasta, toss gently and serve.

Walnut-Garlic Pasta
16 ounces spaghetti
2 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves fresh garlic, diced
½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts

While your pasta is cooking, melt the butter with the olive oil. Throw in the garlic and cook gently until softened. Toss with the chopped walnuts, cooking two or three minutes longer. Be careful not to burn the butter/oil mixture. Pour over now cooked and drained spaghetti, mix together and serve. A crisp, green salad goes well with this. And there is always your fresh bread to consider!

Pepper Pasta

This is a recipe for a saving moment in the kitchen - translation: You need to feed the hungry hordes and you have minimum time in which to do it! Bacon will bring in the youth and the gourmet touch with the fresh Basil will impress your husband. Your budget savings for this day will please you.

Pepper Pasta
4 slices bacon, diced
½ cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 (14.5 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
1 pound uncooked linguine
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil ( fresh makes a difference) or ½ teaspoon dried basil
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Cook diced bacon in a saucepan over medium high heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Drain all but 2 tablespoons drippings from the pan. Add onions, and cook over medium heat about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and red pepper flakes; cook 30 seconds. Add canned tomatoes, undrained; simmer 10 minutes, breaking up tomatoes. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of 4 quarts boiling salted water until al dente. Drain. Stir basil and cheese into the sauce, and then toss with cooked pasta. Serve with extra grated cheese.

Ideas . . .
Some people like to use diced ham instead of bacon.
Instead of linquine, use  shell or tube noodles for an elegant side dish at dinner.

A relatively easy Italian dinner . . .

Found this recipe in the Food Network Magazine. It was one used by Iron Chef Mario Batali for an Iron Chef competition. I feel rather 'special' that I actually made an Iron Chef dish!

Kosher salt
6 ounces or about 8 cups baby spinach
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for rolling the pasta
3 large eggs
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Bring three quarts of water to a boil and add one teaspoon salt. (I didn't have kosher so used regular salt) Set up a bowl with lots of ice and water right next to the stove. Blanch the spinach in the boiling water for about two minutes. Remove with tongs or a slotted spoon and put immediately into the ice water. Drain the spinach and squeeze dry. I used several sheets of paper towel and repeated it twice more to insure I got a good amount of water out. Set aside.

Combine the flour and spinach in a food processor and process until evenly green. With the motor running, add the eggs and cheese and process until smooth and forms a ball.

Dust a large board with flour, turn out the dough and knead a few times. Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Roll dough out and cut into thin strips. A pizza cutter works great on this. Dust well with flour and lay them on a baking sheet covered with waxed paper or parchment paper. Keep the strips lightly dusted to prevent sticking.

To cook, put pasta in pot of boiling water and cook about three or four minutes. Fresh pasta cooks fairly quickly. Drain, and serve. It goes well with regular pasta sauce or Alfredo sauce.

It's a good way to get lots of vegetables into the family, too!

A favorite, fast, meatless meal . . .

1 pound spaghetti
10 peeled cloves of garlic
1/2 stick butter
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 to 1 cup chicken broth
Freshly ground pepper
Fresh basil (optional), shredded in strips
Salt to taste
1 cup freshly grated Romano or Parmesan Cheese

Smash the garlic with the flat of a knife blade and finely chop. Smashing the garlic helps release the flavor. Very gently saute the garlic in the butter until the garlic is soft but not browned.

Meanwhile, boil the spaghetti until it is just barely done. It will cook a bit more in the final preparation and you don't want mushy pasta. Drain, and put spaghetti back in the pot. Add the garlic,/butter and mix thoroughly. With the stove set on a low flame, add the eggs and quickly stir them in so they cook and spread out evenly. Add the cheese, pepper, and basil and mix. Add salt and serve immediately.

This is a nice meal for a meatless Friday and goes well with a big salad and some sour dough bread, lightly toasted.

Interesting thing about Fridays and no meat. Everyone (I hope!) strictly observes them during Lent but seem to think that it does't apply the rest of the year. Unfortunately, many pastors have not been clear on this. Meatless Fridays have not exactly been changed but we are offered the option of choosing another form of penance for Friday. Too many Catholics I have talked to seem to view meatless Fridays as a thing of the past. The 'rule' is that unless you come up with a definite alternative, you should still refrain from meat. We have found it more of a penance and less of a strain on our brains to observe all Fridays as a meatless day.