Zoodles for the Birthday Win

He's 5 and so pumped about it.  And also: he's now a SWAT member compliments of Mannah.

So we've had a busy couple of weeks counting down the days until my baby turned FIVE.  What the what.  I feel like we were just at the hospital (note: we were the ONLY ONES in the delivery wing of of Mercy in Manhattan, it was amazing and quiet).  Anyhow.  Everyday we counted down the days and discuss all the things he wants (ENTITLED MUCH?) and I think we nailed it and he had a great b-day.

Batman made it all the way from Gotham.  And so did eight thousand Legos.

We had plans to test his skills at mini golf but once he lined up all his lego sets, he wanted a "stay-at-home day."  So we stayed in jammies (or SWAT costumes, as the case may be) and built Legos ALL DAY.  It was awesome.  It was like Christmas morning, except for the fact that Elliott didn't get a gift and he was a tiny tyrant off and on all day long.

Owen took this picture.  Props to Aunt Katie and Uncle Zac because this has stayed by his side for a solid 48 hours thus far.

Ok, this is probs getting boring for everyone except my Mom (love you mom!) so I'll get to the food already!

For his birthday dinner we went to Brixx which is his #1 requested restaurant because they provide pizza dough for kids to play with at the table.  Winning.  So I told him I'd cook him whatever he wanted on Monday night as his birthday dinner at home; he chose shrimp (sometimes he calls them skrimps) and spaghetti because he wanted to try throwing the noodles on the ceiling to see if they stick.  They did.  (I distinctly remember my Auntie Val letting us throw noodles on the kitchen cabinets in their first house in Lafayette.  Cool aunt move that I need to tuck away for when my little lovies come to visit.)  So I made Greek Shrimp Scampi with Zoodles!

So zoodles were a total hit and we will be incorporating them regularly.

My cousins have been raving about zoodles and sending me links to recipes that I have yet to try.  I finally busted out my Gefu spiralizer and WHAT.  AWESOME.  It was a bit of a learning curve figuring out how much pressure I needed to use (esp'lly with little hands assisting me).  But our final product was awesome - one zoodle was about two feet long!  And the boys loved eating the left over zucchini pieces!  WIN!

 I married angel hair and zoodles for the winning birthday dish.

So I took the zoodles and tossed them in the last 15 seconds of cooking the angel hair (I detest the taste of uncooked zucchini.  Can't even handle it.) and the boys totally ate it.  Next time I'll add more zucchini and way less pasta.  Sneaky!  Next up: Chicken Zoodle Pho!

Greek Style Scampi with Zoodles
Recipe adapted from a dear law school friend Samantha Everette

{Ingredients}
1 t. olive oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided
4 (14 oz) cans whole tomatoes, drained and chopped (I acutally used 2 28 oz cans diced tomatoes and tossed the whole thing in)
1 1/4 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup (4 oz) crumbled feta cheese
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (just realized I forgot this one, but we didn't notice it!)
1/4 tsp fresh ground place pepper
4 cups hot cooked spaghetti (8 oz uncooked)
2 zucchinis, spirlaized (next time I will do 3 or 4)

{Instructions}
Preheat oven to 400*.  Heat oil in large dutch oven or skillet over medium heat.  Saute garlic 30 seconds.  Add 1/4 cup parsley and tomatoes.  Reduce heat, simmer 10 minutes.  Add shrimp, cook 5 minutes (I didn't do 5 minutes because I was distracted by little people throwing spaghetti on the ceiling and cabinets but the shrimp turned out fine because you pop it in the oven for 10 minutes).  Pour mixture into oven-safe dish (I skipped this since a dutch oven is oven safe), sprinkle with cheese and bake at 400* for 10 minutes.  Sprinkle with 1/4 cup, parsley, lemon juice and pepper.

Cook pasta to desired doneness.  In the last 15 seconds of cooking, toss in your zoodles for a light blanch.  Drain and empty into your serving bowl.  Toss with 1 tsp of olive oil to ensure nothing sticks!

Serve shrimp mixture over noodles and enjoy!

Hoondly, noondy, froondy, umm bork bork bork! (Swedish chef, anyone, anyone?)

Bon Appetit friends!

A Taste of Home

My very favorite place to eat when I go to my parents (other than the Northwood's Inn or Wahoo's Fish Tacos) is this little Mediterranean restaurant called Zov's Bistro. Not the restaurant though; I prefer the cafe side as it the food is more casual and I love the patio! I've celebrated several birthdays, passing the California Bar, my sister's impending nuptials, girlfriend get-togethers, and then my bridal luncheon (please disregard the blue tank and crappy capris - I was in a funk re: clothes as I was in the throws of military life and had/have no fashion sense) at Zov's and we have never been disappointed. One girlfriend weekend my friend Annabel indulged us with amazing pastries...YUM.

(Please pardon the crappy picture, this was pre fancy shmancy camera.) Anyfood, the point is, if you are in Tustin (why would you be there though, unless you live there?) you must, must, must make it a point of eating at Zov's!

For Christmas I got Zov's (that is the chef/owner's 1st name) most recent cookbook "Zov, Recipes and Memories from the Heart." The pictures and stories are amazing. But, even better, the recipes are DELISH and make me feel like we have a Zov's in the Little Apple! When my mom was in town this past week we made the Angel Hair Pasta with Tomatoes, Feta and Pine Nuts and my mom has declared it just as fabulous as when you order it at the cafe. I swear, if you try nothing from this blog, you need to reconsider just once and try this recipe. There is a bit of chopping involved, but other than that it is really simple and has a huge wow factor!!


Angel Hair Pasta with Tomatoes, Feta, and Pine Nuts
Serves 4 to 6 (My mom and I had it for left overs the next evening. I would say it only serves 6 if you aren't really hungry or your taste buds don't work.)

Ingredients
8 oz dried angel hair or capellini pasta
1 tbsp plus 1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
3 tbsps chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 tbsps minced shallots
1 1/2 pounds plum tomatoes (I didn't buy enough plum tomatoes and ended up throwing in some yummy yellow grape tomatoes - it is not critical to the success of the dish to use plum toms. Go crazy!)
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup coarsely crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/4 cup shaved (with a veggie peeler) Parmesan cheese

Instructions
1) Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Stir in the pasta and cook for just 1 minute - this is to soften the pasta slightly. (Okay, I cooked mine for 2 minutes and it was still a bit too al dente for me. Next time I will cook it just under the recommended time because I prefer mushy to crunchy pasta.) Drain the pasta in a colander reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid. Toss the hot pasta in a large bowl with 1 tbsp of oil to prevent it from sticking together. Set the pasta and reserved cooking liquid aside.


2. (Okay, this step goes fast, so have everything chopped, shredded, shaved, and toasted ahead of time!) Heat the remaining 1/3 cup of oil in a deep large nonstick frying pan over high heat. Add the basil, parsley, garlic, and shallots. Stir just until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add the tomatoes and saute just until they are heated through, about 45 seconds. Remove the skillet from the heat. Stir in the salt and black pepper. Stir in the feta cheese and the shredded Parmesan cheese. Add the pasta and toss gently to combine, adding some of the reserved cooking liquid to moisten, if necessary.

3. Mound the pasta on a large platter or atop individual plates. Sprinkle with pine nuts and shaved Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.


Oh wait, what's that you say? You are confused why the blades of my knives are white? Ah, I got some new FABULOUS knives that my mom brought from Sur la Table - they are ceramic! They are deceptively sharp and I love them! Alas, should I drop them in the sink or on the floor they might shatter. Thus the other cook in this house is not invited to use them as he is bit of a klutz...(He just informed me he will no longer be washing them as he is afraid he will drop them as well.)

Weeknight Gourmet

We had our first snow!! Well, first accumulation. Since there is no such thing as "local" news in the Little Apple, I have to rely on the ever fabulous Topeka news to determine now many inches we actually got - approximately 8". I wasn't able to measure it due to the fact that we have this lovely phenomena called "blowing snow" - super fun!

Alas, it was quite beautiful when the sun came out! But with the sun came an arctic blast - it was 5* (-10* with windchill) when J was shoveling the drive. Owen and I enjoyed watching from inside the warm house :)

Anyfood, we are on this "don't-eat-take-out" kick, or maybe you could call it a resolution to cook more at home and throw less away. I swear, I am the queen of buying a TON at the super market and then choosing to eat out every night. I have good intentions to make yummy wholesome meals all week long, but I have terrible follow through. So for the last two whole weeks, we've been making dinner :) And tonight was new-recipe-night - um, delish. I busted out my "Williams-Sonoma Weeknight" cookbook that we got for our wedding. I LOVE this book - super easy and quick! Generally I love really simple scallops, but these were fantastic with a little Chinese Five Spice - delish!

Five-Spice Scallops with Noodles
Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 Oranges
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 lb fresh Chinese egg noodles (I used udon noodles because that was what I had in the pantry!)
1 1/4 lb large sea scallops (as opposed to bay scallops - although I bet they would be just as good)
2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder (if you have trouble find this spice, try www.penzeys.com - on a totally different note, I had the BEST Five-Spice Gimlet at Mei N Yu in Georgetown about a year and half ago - they made it with Chinese five-spice simple syrup - amazing!)
4 tbsp Peanut or Canola oil
1 tbsp fresh ginger, finally chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/4 lb sugar snap peas (we used snow peas because we have a huge bag from our monthly run to Costco!)
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tbsp soy sauce
4 green onions, white and pale green parts chopped

Instructions:

1) Grate 1 teaspoon zest from the orange and squeeze 1/2 cup juice, and set both aside. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the noodles to the boiling water and cook, stirring occasionally, until the noodles are tender, according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.

2) While the noodles are cooking, sprinkle the scallops on both sides with the five-spice powder and season lightly with slat and pepper. In a large frying pan over high heat, warm 3 tablespoons of the oil. Working in batches if necessary add the scallops in a single layer to the pan and cook until well browned on the bottom, about one minute. Turn the scallops and cook until well browned on the outside and just opaque in the center, 1-2 minutes. Transfer the scallops to a plate (and I would add that you should cover them - while perfectly cooked, they were a bit on the cold side when I plated).

3) Add the remaining 1 tbsp oil to the same frying pan over high heat. Add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the sugar snap peas and stir fry just until tender-crisp, about 1 minute. Stir in the orange zest and juice, wine and soy sauce and cook until slightly reduced, 1-2 minutes. Add the cooked noodles and green onions and toss gently to combine. Divide the noodles and snap peas among 4 plates, top with the scallops and serve.

Bon Appetit!

Happy New Year!

O had a long night celebrating his first of many New Years! He was so tired, he tipped over during his photo shoot...How cute is his little 2011 outfit?? Alternatively, he was up all night because he is beginning the teething process - not because he was drinking champagne and playing Wii with his parents...

The days of ringing in the New Year at a big bash are gone - actually, I don't think I've ever really gone to a big New Year's bash - overrated. I think in the six years the J man and I've been together, we've only had one fancy shmancy New Year's. One of his college friends got married on New Year's Eve and had a right fabulous party. The rest of our New Year's we've either been alseep before the ball dropped or in Tahoe with the fam. This year, we rang in the New Year with champagne and Wii :) As parents of a 4 1/2 month old, I cannot believe we made it to midnight. But we did, and then watched an episode of the "Office" - best New Year's yet.

So the real reason for this post is to discuss the amazing meal I made for my hubby. My happy little monkey was my kitchen helper as I prepared our best meal yet! Who says everything changes with a baby?? It may have taken 4x the amount of time to make, but we still ate like kings. Little man actually made it to bed early and we *almost* ate a meal uninterrupted. He, of course, woke up in the middle of our romantic meal. Sigh.

So my sweet sister-in-law called me this past month to rave about three recipes in "Back to Basics" that she made for her girlfriends. So I decided to be wholly unoriginal, and make the same menu for our New Year's feast. To start we had Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad, followed by Tagliarelle with Truffle Butter and Garlic Ciabatta Bread. All three are DELISH and super easy - it would have taken no time at all if it weren't for our little miracle of life :)

The first and most important ingredient you will need is White Truffle Butter. I live in the smaller, lesser known, Manhattan and thus truffle butter, white or otherwise, is virtually nonexistent. In fact, I couldn't even find it in Kansas City at the Whole Foods. I found it at the Whole Foods in Boulder - yes, I traveled 8 hours for white truffle butter. And to visit with long time friends and family :) You can also order it online.


Yummy. For the Caprese, you roast the toms for 2 hours at *275, SO DELISH. And the best part is that you can use crummy roma tomatoes that are about all you can get in the winter. The pan on the left is the deliciousness for the ciabatta - garlic, parsley, oregano and oil. Yummy!


Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad
Serves 6 ~ Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

12 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise, seeds (not cores) removed (I used roma because we didn't have plum in the Little Apple)
1/4 cup good olive oil, plus more for the drizzling
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
16 ounces fresh salted mozzarella
12 fresh basil leaves julienned

Preheat oven to 275*.

Arrange tomatoes on a sheet pan, cut sides up, in a single layer. Drizzle with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with garlic, sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. (I just kind of dropped lumps of garlic onto the tomatoes - I highly recommend spreading it like butter instead...) Roast for 2 hours until the tomatoes are concentrated and begin to caramelize. Allow the tomatoes to cool to room temperature.

Cut the mozzarella into slices slightly less than 1/2 inch thick. (My little trick is to freeze the mozzarella for about 30 minutes before you are ready to cut it - makes it SO MUCH EASIER.) If the slices of mozzarella are larger than the tomatoes, cut the mozzarella slices in half. Layer the tomatoes alternately with the mozzarella on a platter and scatter the basil on top. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Serve at room temperature.


Tagliarelle with Truffle Butter
Serves 2-3 for dinner, 4-5 for a side dish or appetizer ~ Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

Kosher salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 ounces white truffle butter
Freshly ground black pepper
1 (8.82 ounce) package Cipriani tagliarelle dried pasta or other egg fettuccine (Um, none of the above exists in the Little Apple - we settled on egg noodles made by the Amish...)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
3 ounces Parmesan, shaved thin with a veggie peeler

1) Add 1 tablespoon salt to a large pot of water and bring to a boil.

2) Meanwhile, in a large (12 inch) saute pan, heat the cream over medium heat until it comes to a simmer. Add the truffle butter, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, lower the heat to very low, and swirl the butter until it melts. Keep warm over very low heat.

3) Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook for 3 minutes, exactly. (If you're not using Cipriani pasta, follow the directions on the package.) When the pasta is cooked, reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water, then drain the pasta. Add the drained pasta to the saute pan and toss with the truffle-cream mixture. As the pasta absorbs the sauce, add as much of the reserved cooking water as necessary to keep the pasta very creamy.

4) Serve the pasta in shallow bowls and garnish each serving with a generous sprinkling of chives and shaved Parmesan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve at once.

Not a bad start to the New Year - eh?

Bon Appetit!

Lasagna to end eating of all other Lasagnas

I'm not even kidding. Cooking any other lasagna is just pointless. Much like the pumpkin chili, this lasagna has ruined me for anything else. It must be the "shower of cheese" (see the "J Man Cooks Too" post) that does me in...or the yummy spicy turkey sausage and fresh basil, or the fresh mozzarella, or the whole kit and caboodle (did you guys have have "caboodles"??? My sister and I totally had one and it was excellent. Especially when we needed to pack up all of our makeup in the 5th grade and head to grandma's house. Except we didn't use it for makeup really-we kept all of our beads in it! If memory serves me correctly, it still serves as a bead-keeper in the toy closet at my parent's house...)

Anyfood, this recipe is from my girl Ina out of "Barefoot Contessa Family Style." Get it already!!

Lasagna with Turkey Sausage

(Serves 8)

Ingredients

2 tbsps olive oil

1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 onion)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 pounds sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed

1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes in tomato puree

1 6-oz can tomato paste

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, divided

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 pound lasagna noodles

15 ounces ricotta cheese

3-4 ounces creamy goat cheese, crumbled

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling (I used Romano and it tasted great!)

1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten

1 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced (Tip: freeze the mozzarella for 30 minutes, it makes it easier to slice)

Instructions

1) Preheat the oven to 400*.

2) Heat the olive oil in a large (10-12 inch) skillet. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the sausage and cook over medium-low heat, breaking it up with a fork, for 8-10 minutes, or until no longer pink. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tbsps of the parsley, the basil, 1 1/2 tsps salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat for 15-20 minuets, until thickened.

3) Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with the hottest tap water. Add the noodles and allow them to sit in the water for 20 minutes. Drain. (Different - isn't it? Totally works great!)

4) In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, goat cheese, 1 cup of Parm (or Romano if you are me), the egg, the remaining 2 tbsps of parsley, 1.2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. (My cousin JJ and her hubby recommended adding a few pinches of red pepper flakes for some heat and few shakes of nutmeg - I'm not sure what it does, but it does something and it makes my taste buds sing.)

5) Ladle 1/3 of the sauce into a 9 x 12 x 2 inch rectangular baking dish, spreading the sauce over the bottom of the dish. Then add the layers as follows: half the pasta, half the mozzarella, half the ricotta mixture, and 1/3 of the sauce. Add the rest of the pasta, mozzarella, ricotta mixture, and finally, sauce. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of Parm. Bake for 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling. (You can totes make this one ahead and refrigerate it - buts be sure to bake a little longer, 35-40 minutes, or until bubbly.)

**The recipe doesn't say this, but I would advise showing some restraint and letting the lasagna sit for at least 5-10 minutes to let the cheese set. I showed absolutely no self-control when we ate this the other night and the cheese shower was a bit of a mess all over my cook top...lesson learned. Have a snack before dinner so you aren't ravenous, or plug your nose before you pull the lasagna out of the oven so you are tempted by the decadent scents emitting from the lasagna!!

An old family friend was in town from Nicaragua visiting schools and he joined us for a meal and a great snow storm! Good luck with grad school Brian!

The J Man Cooks Too!

It's true, he does.  (Doesn't he look cute?  I tried to get him to wear an apron but that was a no go.)  Lately the J Man has been dabbling in the kitchen and creating some absolute masterpieces!  This is just one of many delightful little treats he has whipped up for me.  Can you see the steam coming off the pasta?  And can you see the fabulous pasta bowl??  

This recipe is out of Tyler Florence's "Dinner at My Place."  My sister got it for the J Man as a birthday gift and inscribed it stating, "Jeremy, we thought it would be fun for you to invite Megan over to 'your place' for dinner."  And that he did!  Yummo!

Penne with Spicy Italian Sausage, Cream, Tomatoes, and Peas

Ingredients

4 links spicy Italian sausage (always on a quest to cut fat/calories but not flavor, we substituted the sausage for spicy turkey sausage)

1 pound dried penne

EVOO

1 mediume onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

1 28 ounce can crushed San Marzano tomatoes (do not skimp on this one - totally get the San Marzanos!!  They were delish!  I looked them up on Wikipedia and they are grown in the San Marzano valley in Italy and chefs swear by them - and I do too!  We got them at our local Italian store.)

1/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup heavy cream

2 cups peas blanched

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving (we used Romano cheese b/c that is what we have in the fridge...)

Fresh basil leaves, for garnish

Instructions 

1)  Preheat oven to 350*F.  Place the sausages in roasting pan and roast in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, until slightly golden and just cooked.  Cut sausage at an angle into bite-size pieces.  (We've never cooked sausage with casings this way before but it turned out fine.)

2)  Place a large pot of salted water over high heat and bring to a boil.  Drop the pasta into the boiling water and cook until tender yet firm (al dente).

3) Set a large, heavy-based pot over meidum heat and add a 2-count of olive oil (about 2 tbsps).  Add onion and garlic and saute until translucent and fragrant.  Add tomatoes and basil; season with salt and pepper.  Simmer for 15 minutes, then fold in cream and continue to simmer until rich and creamy.  Add sausage, blached peas (I LOVE PEAS), and Parm.  Fold together and cook for 2-3 minutes to allow the flaves to come together.  Serve topped with a shower of cheese (don't you just love that description: "a shower of cheese" - I want a shower of cheese), and garnish with basil.

TIP: To blanch the peas, submerge them into boiling water for 2 1/2 minutes (1 minute for frozen peas), then strain them and plunge them into ice water to stop the cooking process.  Strain them againad set aside.

The finished product.  Doesn't it look amazing?  J Man did an amazing job!  Bravo!  (And again, how cute is that pasta bowl??  Thanks Cindy!)

Restaurant Food...

"It tastes just like restaurant food!"  If that isn't an endorsement from our friend Liz, I don't know what is!  Liz and her husband Walter joined us for dinner and we feasted on Shrimp with Red Cream Sauce - I got this little gem from www.thepioneerwoman.com (a fantastic website devoted to all things domestic on a working cattle ranch - Liz introduced me to it!  While I love being a Soldier/Army Wife, I would love to live on a working cattle ranch practicing the science of home economics!)  Anyfood, it was a delightful evening with great friends and yummy food!

Shrimp with Red Cream Sauce

Ingredients

1 pound uncooked shrimp, tail on

1 pound penne pasta

1 white onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup white wine

8 oz. can tomato sauce

1 cup heavy cream

fresh parsley, chopped

fresh basil, chopped

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp olive oil

Directions

1) Heat one tablespoon each of oil and butter (everything is better with butter), add shrimp and saute until just done.  Remove from pan and set aside.  Let cool; remove tails and chop.

2) Heat remaining oil and butter (while I stand behind butter, I recommend taking it easy at this step - the other ingredients have yummy flavor that you don't want to over-power), onion, and garlic.  Saute until onion is transparent.  Add wine, let evaporate.  Add tomato sauce and heavy cream - stir to combine.  When heated through, add basil, parsley, and shrimp.

So easy and so delish!  I garnished with some freshly grated romano cheese...just in case I didn't have enough calories...

Everybody Loves Bacon

And if you don't love bacon, you aren't American.  For reals.

I whipped up this divine dish for my man and me, and it took about 15 minutes.  My man is fat and happy!  Well, not really fat, but definitely happy :)  

Spaghetti Carbonara

Ingredients

8 ounces bacon (8 slices), cut 1 inch think crosswise

Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper

1 pound spaghetti

3 large eggs

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving (I used Romano...tasted great)

1/2 cup half-and-half

**1/2 bag of frozen peas

Instructions

1.  Set a large pot of water to boil (for the pasta).  In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp (or super, duper, extraordinarily crispy - like practically black), 8-12 minutes; transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate.

2.  Avoid eating said bacon as it stares back at you from the paper-towel-lined plate and invitingly calls your name.  (Jeremy did not read this instruction very carefully.)

3.  Salt the boiling water generously; add the past and cook until al dente according to the package instructions.

4.  Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, Parm, and half-and-half.  Set aside.

5.  Drain the pasta, leaving some water clinging to it.  Working quickly, add the hot pasta to the egg mixture.  Add the bacon; season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine (the heat from the pasta will cook the eggs).  Serve immediately , sprinkled with additional Parm.

**I added frozen peas the last minute of cooking the pasta - yummy!  I LOVE PEAS!!

It was so good, I forgot to take a picture until it was gone.  Literally, this is all that was left.

Quick and Easy

In college I lived above a convenience store called the "Quick and Easy" - we lovingly called it the Quick and Sleezy or just "The Sleeze."  At midnight the day of my 21st birthday, I bought my first Sudwurk 40 ouncer at the Sleeze.  Ah, the college memories are flowing these days!

My mom sent this recipe to my sister and I, and it is a keeper!  It is so easy, and you'll impress anyone you serve it to (even yourself :)  My mom's comments are as follows: "Its easy, cheap & tastes great."  If that isn't an endorsement, I don't know what is.

Penne with Tomatoes and Arugula

Ingredients

2-3 Tbs. olive oil

1 large onion

4 cloves garlic (if you haven't tried the Trader Joe's frozen garlic cubes - you must!  SO EASY)

3 cups diced canned tomatoes w/ juices

1 tsp. each: oregano and thyme

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. each: red pepper flakes*, sugar, & black pepper

12 oz penne pasta

6 oz arugula

3/4 cup grated Romano or Parmesan

* I add more red pepper b/c I like it spicy!

Directions

Heat oil in a sauce pan over medium heat.  Add onions.  Cook until tender, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and saute 1 minute.  Add tomatoes, herbs, & sugar.  Reduce heat & simmer for 45 minutes or until thickened.  (Sauce can be made a day ahead.  Cover & refrigerate.  Bring to a simmer before using.)

Cook pasta according to package directions. Place arugula in a colander.  When past is al dente, pour water over arugula to wilt.  Place drained pasta & arugula in bowl then pour in tomatoes.  Toss w/ cheese.

Enjoy!