My sister, a stay-at-home mom, is staying with me a for a week or so. She arrived on Thursday with her own two-year-old; you can imagine how nutty our house is with two toddlers running around.
Anyway, the first thing she requested when she got settled was a pasta dish for which I have become semi-famous. And it was no problem to make, even though I’d spent the entire day working from home. See, I’ve developed a repertoire of quick, easy recipes I can whip up quickly with minimal mess. They’re not particularly heart-healthy–I’m working on improving that aspect of my culinary rep. But they sure do taste good.
This particular pasta dish started out, I think, as a Martha Stewart recipe, though I’ve since modified it into one of my favorite easy pasta recipes for the working mom lifestyle. It even has bacon in it!
Would you like to know how to make it? Here’s the skinny:
- Get a big pot. Get a half pound of bacon, or a whole pound if you really, really like the stuff. Cut the bacon onto inch-long pieces and toss them into the pot over medium-high heat.
- Let the pieces fry up until they’re crispy. While that’s happening, dice a medium onion and about eight pepperoncini peppers (more if you like your food extra spicy).
- Fish the crisp bacon pieces out of the fat and put them on a paper towel. Set ’em aside. Drain all but about a tablespoon of the bacon fat, and put the fat back on the stove.
- Dump in the onion and pepperoncinis. Sautee them in the fat until tender. (To make this dish healthier, you could get rid of all the bacon fat and sautee in olive oil instead, but I am in the bad habit of liking my food fully loaded. I know, I know, my poor arteries…)
- Open two cans of diced tomatoes. Dump them in with the onions and peppers. Add a pinch or two of salt.
- While that simmers, boil some penne pasta.
- When the pasta’s done, dump the crispy bacon into your tomato, onion and pepper sauce. Add the pasta and toss it all together.
That’s it! Quick, easy, yummy, and you need only dirty two pots, one cutting board, and one knife.
What about you? Share some of the quick, easy dishes you like to whip up after a long day of work. Show us how you bring home the bacon *and* fry it up in a pan.
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2 thoughts on “Easy Pasta Recipes with Bacon and Peppers”
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We make a very similar dish in hour household Sara! Except, take out the peppers, throw in some spinach and top with feta cheese when it’s done. Yum!
We also make what we nicknamed “The Dinner of Champions” or “Po’ Man’s Jambalaya.” You just need three things–skinless smoked sausage, black beans (Goya are best), and a bag of Jambalaya-style instant rice that cooks up in your microwave in like three minutes. Throw the smoked sausage in a pan with some water and cover. Put the drained canned black beans in a pot. Put the rice in the microwave. When the sausage is heated through, cut it up, toss it together with the beans and the rice, and voila–The Dinner of Champions. It’s not a fav. of mine, but Jason loves it. And it’s VERY easy. You could add some extra flavah with some spices–but who has time for that?
I love the Allrecipes.com Ingredient Search. I whipped up some great dishes quickly, just by entering in what items I know we have in the fridge or pantry.