Lynn's Kitchen Adventures » Pasta

Creamy Bacon and Tomato Pasta

Lynn — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 14:09:26 +0000

If you have read my site for long than you know I love quick and easy meals. Meals that can be prepared in thirty minutes or less are a must most nights in my house.

Pasta is one of our favorite quick and easy meals.

The other thing that you might know if you have read my site for long is that we love bacon. Bacon is the perfect addition to many recipes because it adds so much flavor.

This Creamy Tomato and Bacon Pasta contains not only bacon, but also cream cheese. The cream cheese gives the perfect amount of creaminess that goes so well with the smokiness of the bacon.

And the best thing about this meal is that it can be prepared in thirty minutes or less.

Creamy Tomato and Bacon Pasta

½ lb bacon, cut into pieces
1 onion, chopped
28 ounce can diced tomatoes
4 ounces of cream cheese, cut into pieces and at room temperature
1 lb pasta of your choice
salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet cook bacon pieces until crisp and browned. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Pour off all but a few tablespoons of the grease from the pan.
Add onion to the pan and cook until tender. This will take about 5 minutes. Add more bacon grease back to the pan if needed.
Once the onion is tender add tomatoes. Stir well and add bacon pieces back to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Cook on low for 10 minutes.
While sauce is cooking, cook pasta according to directions on the package.
After the sauce has cooked 10 minutes, stir in the cream cheese. Stir until cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth and creamy.
Serve the sauce over the cooked pasta and enjoy!

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Adapted from Paula Deen

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Tuna Pasta Salad

Lynn — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 17:23:45 +0000

Light meals like pasta salad are perfect for hot summer days. And this pasta salad works well for the pantry challenge that I am doing this month because it contains pantry staples. There is nothing fancy or gourmet in this, but it is really good.

Tuna Pasta Salad

1 lb of macaroni noodles, cooked according to directions on the package
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
chopped pickles or relish ( I used about 3 tablespoons)
sliced olives ( about 1/2 cup)
3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1-5 ounce can tuna drained (you can add more tuna if you want more of a tuna taste)
salt to taste

In a large bowl mix together cooked macaroni and remaining ingredients. Salt to taste.

You can either eat this right away or keep in the refrigerator for a few hours until you are ready to serve it.

Enjoy!

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Slow Cooked Macaroni and Cheese

Lynn — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 13:08:00 +0000

I began making this recipe for mac and cheese a couple of years ago when a friend brought it to a church dinner. My kids all loved it and one of my daughters requested it that year for her birthday. I have been making it ever since then.

I do have other macaroni and cheese recipes that I make from scratch, but this one is still a favorite. It is easy to put together and a great meal to take to a get together.

This does contain cheese soup which I have been trying to stay away from. In fact I made this last week for the first time in awhile and my kids were thrilled to see it again.

I hope you give it a try.

Slow Cooked Macaroni and Cheese

1 package (16 ounces) elbow macaroni
1/2 cup stick margarine, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cheddar cheese soup, undiluted
1 cup milk
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain. Place in a 5-qt. slow cooker; add margarine. In a bowl, combine the eggs, evaporated milk, soup, milk and 4 cups cheese. Pour over macaroni mixture; stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours. (this will vary by crockpot, mine takes about 3 hours)

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For more slow cooking ideas see Slow Cooking Thursday.

I am sorry there is no picture today. I try to post pics of all my recipes, but I could not find one for this version of mac and cheese.

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Rice Cooker Macaroni and Cheese

Lynn — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:09:00 +0000

Yes you read the title right, it says rice cooker macaroni and cheese. I love my rice cooker. I use it to make rice all the time. It makes great rice. It also steams vegetables really well. But did you know that you can cook other things in it. Well you can. There are several cookbooks that have been written for rice cooker cooking. You can also find quite a few recipes by searching the internet.

What I have found is that a lot of these recipes are slow cooking or have many steps. If I am going to slow cook I would rather use my crockpot. And I don’t mind recipes with lots of steps, but for me the whole point of using my rice cooker is to make it faster.

I have found however a recipe/technique for the rice cooker that I love. It is for macaroni and cheese. No boiling water, no stirring while cooking. This is a simple one pot meal.

Now this is no gourmet mac and cheese. I am not claiming that this will be the best ever, but it is good. It makes a great, quick lunch and my kids love it. It beats the stuff in the box with the powdered cheese any day.

Rice Cooker Mac and Cheese

1 can (14 ounce) chicken broth
2 cups elbow macaroni (uncooked)
3/4 cup milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese ( I like a cheddar/jack blend)
Place macaroni and broth in rice cooker. Secure lid and set to cook. When rice cooker switches to warm (about 15 minutes) add milk and cheese. Stir. Keep on warm close lid and let sit for about 5 minutes or until cheese is well melted. Serve.

These are the directions that work in my cooker. It took a couple tries to get the liquid right so the liquid may vary a little depending on your rice cooker. But the basic recipe should work.

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Have you ever used your rice cooker for anything besides rice? I would love to hear if you have.

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Homemade Rice A Roni

Lynn — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:38:00 +0000

One of the things that I have done in trying to avoid packaged food is cut out all packaged rice and pasta mix. We did not eat these very often, but I would keep them on hand for when I needed a quick side dish.

I have tried several recipes that I found online and could not find one that we liked. I was almost ready to give up on finding one when I saw on in the cookbook Dining On A Dime. It looked like it might be worth a try.

It was. This recipe was really good. I make up a big batch of it and store it in a Tupperware container. Then I always have it on hand when I want it. It is also cheaper than the store bought mixes.

I will warn you though this is not yellow or brown like the real “rice a roni”. The box mix has a lot of stuff in it to make it look like it should be chicken or beef flavored. This homemade version is much more appealing. It looks like rice and noodles should.

Homemade Rice A Roni

1 cup of spaghetti, broken into small pieces
2 cups rice, uncooked
1/4 cup dried parsley flakes
6 tablespoons instant chicken or beef bouillon powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon thyme ( I leave this out of the beef version)

Mix all ingredients together and store in an airtight container. To use, place 1 cup mix, 2 tablespoons of butter, and 2 cups of water into a saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until rice is tender.
Note: I like to heat my rice mix with the butter until the butter is melted and the rice and pasta are just slightly browned before I add the water. But either way will work fine.

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Parmesan Orzo

Lynn — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 23:47:00 +0000

I have seen several different recipes lately for Orzo with Parmesan. I decided to fix it for a side dish, since I had not made it in a long time. I really enjoy orzo. The first time I ever had it was at my in laws house. It was when my husband and I were dating. I really enjoyed the version my mother in law made. She gave me the recipe but I misplaced it and she can’t find her recipe either. Maybe someday I will come across it again. But this one is also very good.

Parmesan Orzo

1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
2 tablespoons butter
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese ( the real stuff from the dairy section, not the stuff in the green can)
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/8 teaspoon pepper

You can add other spices like basil if you would like. We like it pretty simple.

In a large skillet saute orzo in butter for about 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10 – 15 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed. Stir in cheese, parsley, and pepper. Serve.

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