Pasta Amatriciana

We hit an eight year old benchmark this weekend. This little boy of mine was baptized. See that giant cookie shield with the CTR? CTR stands for "Choose the Right." Unless you ask my pesty brother, Roy. He'll tell you that it means "Cook the Rice." "Choose the Right" or "Cook the Rice." You can't lose. We took exactly 793.26 pictures. West with a cookie. West on the piano. West eating breakfast. West brushing his teeth. West taking out the trash. We couldn't help ourselves. I promise not to show you all of them. But, here are a few of my favorites. This is West with soon-to-be-eight years old cousin, Reeve. They look solemn, sane, and very holy in this picture. This is how they looked a few hours later. Wild, wacky, and totally normal. For eight year old, boys that is. Here's West with his Dad and my Dad. All in navy blue sportscoats. My handsome boys.Here is the Bishop with West and his neighborhood buddy, Aidan, who also got baptized that day. The Bishop is the one that made that giant cookie shield above. Needless to say, he's enormously popular with the recently-baptized crowd.

Here is one last shot of West, with those who know him best. He drives us crazy. He makes us laugh. He suprises us with his little acts of kindness. He stays up too late. He's impossible to wake up. He has a noisy voice. He goes crazy for his baby cousins. He wants to be a Jedi and a doctor when he grows up. We love him.

Now this past busy week was a true test of my fast dinner repertoire. I wanted to pick up quesadillas at Del Taco, I really did. But I also knew that next week, while we're on vacation, we'll be eating out nightly. I didn't think I could handle that for two weeks in a row, so I kicked it into gear and made dinner, chop-chop. I'm compiling a list of my favorite 30 minute dinners that don't require a trip to the grocery store. This baby is one of them. "Amatriciana" is a rich, smoky bacon and tomato sauce that is simply luscious over pasta. It's even better the next day, so plan on having leftovers for lunch. You've got time to make it for dinner tonight. Put your water on to boil before you start the sauce and you'll be eating dinner faster than you can say "Choose the Right." Or "Cook the Rice." Either way, you can' t lose.

Pasta Amatriciana

Estimated Cost: $7.00 for 6 large servings

Money Saving Tips: Check the price of bacon at the butcher counter; it might even be cheaper than bacon on sale. If you can't find a good price on bacon, the sauce is just as delicious-albeit not smoky-without it. When you do find a good price on bacon, buy a few pounds and pop them into the freezer.

1 lb. pasta (I used farfalle)

6-8 slices of bacon, diced

1 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 (14 ounce) cans of petite diced tomatoes, with juices

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

pinch of brown sugar

Optional for serving: grated parmesan cheese and chopped parsley or basil

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta. Cook according to package directions and keep warm. In a large skillet, cook diced bacon until cooked and crisp. Remove bacon to a paper towel with a slotted spoon. To same skillet with bacon fat, add onion and cook until softened. Stir in garlic and cook for thirty seconds. Add diced tomatoes with juices, pepper flakes, vinegar, and sugar. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss pasta with sauce and sprinkle the bacon over the top. Serve with parmesan cheese and chopped parsley, if desired.

Next Up:

Where Winter and Spring Merge Spinach Salad

Barefoot Thursdays: Grown Up Mac and Cheese

Make sure you write up your last will and testament. It's Barefoot Thursdays and time for a naughty treat that's dangerously decadent.... Join in and live dangerously with the rest of us.
It's not quite cool enough here for cheesy baked casseroles, but that didn't stop the Barefoot Bloggers from making one of Ina's most scrumptious dinners yet. And as far as macaroni and cheese go, this one is only just bad for you. Not particularly-extra-supremely bad for you, especially with just a few itty bitty tweaks. I won't tell you it's health food, but if you make a batch and eat a patch your pants will still latch.
I used half the bacon called for in the recipe, and then caramelized some onions in a bit of the drippings. I had to do that since the Quiet Man thinks that macaroni and cheese is boring. Fortunately, caramelized onions and bacon make everything taste fun! exciting! thrilling! superlative! Next I used a wee bit less butter, low fat milk, and not so much cheese as dear Ina would have liked. I also switched my cheese choices up a bit, since I'm cooking on a budget here folks. I swapped out swiss for the gruyere, parmesan for the blue (not on sale this week), and kept the cheddar. One important boost for this dish- I baked it a lot less than the recipe suggests. Long bakes can dry out mac and cheese, so I cook it just until the sauce is bubbling, then heat the broiler to finish the top.
Our lovely guests for dinner declared it the most divine macaroni and cheese in all of creation and then held me down (see why this recipe is so dangerous?) and made me promise to post the recipe here. So here it is-now go update your will and then get baking.
Money Saving Tips: This dish can cost a little or a lot- depending on which cheese you choose to use. I opted for what I could find on sale this week at the store, but that can change from week to week. Stay flexible in order to save some money, and you might just discover a cheesy winning combination in the process.
Grown Up Mac and Cheese with Bacon and Caramelized Onions
Adapted from the Barefoot Contessa
Estimated Cost: $7.00 for six servings
Notes: If you take my fat saving suggestions, it works out to about 1/2 tablespoon of butter, 1/2 cup low fat milk, 2 ounces of cheese, and less that one slice of bacon per person. Pretty reasonable for a cheesy pasta dish.
1 lb. small shells pasta
4 slices bacon
2 large onions, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
3 cups hot milk
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1 cup shredded swiss cheese, divided
1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese, divided
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs (Japanese style bread crumbs) or regular white bread crumbs
1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Cook pasta according to package directions, taking care to not over cook. Place pasta in buttered 9 by 13 inch baking dish. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, cook bacon until crisp; drain on paper towels, crumble and reserve. Wipe out saucepan with a paper towel and add onions-there should still be a little teensy bit of bacon grease in the pan. Cook onions over medium high heat, until nicely browned and caramelized, about 15 minutes. In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook for two minutes. Add warm milk and whisk until thickened, about two minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 3/4 cup of cheese; season to taste with salt and pepper. Add cheese sauce and bacon to pasta in baking dish and mix well. Top with remaining 1/4 cup of each cheese, the bread crumbs, and basil, sprinkling evenly. Bake just until sauce bubbles, about 10 minutes. Turn on broiler and broil just until the breadcrumbs on top are nicely toasted, about 4 minutes.
Coming Tomorrow:
Cat's Pajama's Oven Baked Cajun Fries

Turkey, Bacon and Cheese with Chipotle Mayo

Attention lovely Readers: My friend and former roommate, the supremely talented Aunt Spicy is having a give away. By day she's a high-powered career woman, but by night she's an incredibly stylish and chic crafter. If she was giving away her old socks, I'd want them. Check out her blog and enter to win. I'm greedy for the blue fabric bag, the pendant, the cards, the fabric....
I'm also greedy for lunch. I didn't plan to post two sandwiches in a row, but I'm always on the lookout for fast-and-fun Saturday late lunches. Especially now that football season has started and the Quiet Man is perfectly pleased to offer the gift of time in support for his true blue favorite team. What takes this sandwich from pleasant to perfect is the spicy mayo that you're going to whip up. Now, judging from yesterday's comments, the world is equally divided between mayo lovers and mayo-nayo sayers. In this case again, yogurt is a perfect swap out, but you'll also need to mix in a little olive oil. Yogurt alone will sink into your bread, but with the addition of fat it will create a seal that will keep your bread from being soggy. To save time, I'll make my bacon in the micro by placing it between paper towels and zapping for a couple of minutes until crispy. It's not quite as good as pan fried, but works very well on a sandwich with other competing flavors. Have a great weekend! We've got a church activity, Nutcracker practice (for my Sailor girl) and parent's meeting, a friend's birthday and a technology class.... and that's just tonight. Oh, mama, sometimes the weekends are every bit as busy as the weeks!
Money Saving Tips: Be flexible at the deli counter by buying the meats and cheese that are on sale. This sandwich would be equally delicious with any variety of meats or cheeses. When buying deli sliced meats and cheeses, don't over do as they only keep for a couple of days. Also, leftover thinly sliced meat (and your own sliced cheese) would work just as well as deli sliced meats. Chipotle chili powder is very spicey, so swap out a different variety if you like your food a little tamer.
1/2 cup mayo, light works very well here (or swap our 1/3 cup plain yogurt plus 2 tablespoons olive oil)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder, or other chili powder
1 teaspoon lemon or lime zest
1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
4 rolls (I like hard rolls for this sandwich)
sliced turkey, from the deli
crisply cooked bacon
sliced cheddar cheese
sliced tomatoes
spinach or lettuce leaves
In a small bowl, combine mayo, chili powder, zest and juice. Spread onto rolls and top with turkey, bacon, cheese, tomatoes, and spinach.

Next Up:
Overnight Blueberry French Toast

BLTs with Garlic and Olive Oil Avocado

How can it really be August already??? I'm not ready for freshly sharpened pencils and new backpacks yet....

I have nothing against mayonnaise on a BLT. In fact, I may be Best Food's (Hellman's East of the Rockies) greatest customer, excepting of course, for my mayonnaise-loving Pop. But last Saturday afternoon, I spied a perfectly buttery, 100% natural, and very innocent avocado on my counter. It may seem counter intuitive to try to use healthy fats on a bacon sandwich, but I'm always of the theory that every little bit of good sense counts. Still, I have other reasons besides health for choosing avocados. Buttery, rich, and sensuous, their flavor alone is enough of a recommendation, especially mixed with some pungent garlic and fruity olive oil. It's ridiculousy delicious despite its simplicity. You may never want mayo on your BLTs again.
P.S. In a fit of Saturday afternoon indolence, I made the bacon in the microwave on paper towels. It's not quite as good as pan-fried, but the difference is minimal on a sandwich.
BLTs with Garlic and Olive Oil Avocado
Estimated Cost: $4.00
Notes: Use your best red ripe tomatoes here.
1 large avocado
1 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fruity olive oil
2 crusty whole wheat rolls (I use padhinas from Albertson's)
4-6 slices of cooked crisp bacon
2 red ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced
lettuce, arugula, or spinach leaves
In a small bowl, mash together avocado, garlic, and olive oil to form a smooth paste. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread on bottoms of rolls and top with bacon, tomatoes, and lettuce.
Coming Tomorrow:
Frozen Heaven
Raspberry Lime Sorbet with Raspberry Vanilla Ice Cream

Cranberry Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing

Last July, we moved to a quaint little small town in the southwest. It's the kind of town where neighbors congregate in driveways to chat about PTA meetings and the price of gasoline while the children eat Popsicles and race bicycles around the cul-de-sac. It's also the kind of neighborhood where if you have something extra, you pass it around. It could be extra tickets to the symphony, half open bags of fertilizer, gently used baby bibs, or it could be this....Spring Spinach.

So fresh, so green, so crisp that I couldn't even dream of cooking it. A simple salad was the only worthy choice. The hot-and-smoky, sweet-and-tart, bacon-and-onion dressing only slightly tames the greens, making it possible to eat vast quantities without feeling too much like Popeye the Sailor man before he socks it to Bluto. Although it helps to bring up the famous sea-faring spinach-lover if you're trying to convince a 5 year old boy about the virtues of iron and folate. It helps to remind grown-ups (38 year old husbands), too.

You're going to want seconds....

Cranberry Spinach Salad

Estimated Cost: $5.50

Notes: To make this salad more substantial, add a couple of hard-cooked eggs.

4-8 slices of bacon, chopped

1 red onion, cut into thin wedges

4 tablespoons apple cider or red wine vinegar

4 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Fresh spinach

sweetened dried cranberries

sliced fresh mushrooms

In a medium saucepan, cook bacon for five minutes over medium heat. Add onions and continue cooking till bacon is crisp. Add vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Cook until thick and syrupy. Meanwhile, layer spinach, cranberries and mushrooms on 4 separate plates. Pour HOT dressing atop salad and serve immediately. Makes four servings.