Kitchen Adventures 14.1

During the summer, I try to look for light dishes for dinner. Heavy dishes are delicious, but when it's literally 110 degrees outside, cranking up the oven and making a casserole just doesn't sound appetizing.

Occasionally these light recipes come in unexpected forms. Take spaghetti. Normally spaghetti has a rich marinara sauce and can sit heavy in the stomach. When I found this particular spaghetti recipe, I was excited to try it out. It makes this traditional favorite a light and summery dish. The bacon is a nice touch, too, thought it can be left off for a vegetarian version. When I made it my boyfriend was a little wary, but after tasting it he was converted. I even shared the recipe right after making it with someone who had an excess of basil.

This recipe is from Every Day with Rachael Ray.

Summer Herb Spaghetti with Crumbled Bacon

Ingredients:

1 pound spaghetti
8 slices thick-cut bacon
1 c. flat-leaf parsley leaves
3/4 c. fresh basil leaves
5 T. olive oil
5 T. fresh lemon juice
1/4 c. finely chopped chives
Salt and pepper
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. In a large pot of boiling, salt water, cook the spaghetti according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water, and transfer spaghetti to a large bowl.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium-high heat until crisp, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels when done. When cool enough to handle, crumble into large pieces.
3. While the pasta and bacon are cooking, puree 1/2 c up parsley, 1/2 cup basil, olive oil, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons chives in a blender or food processor. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Add the herb oil, Parmesan cheese and reserved 1/2 cup pasta water to the pasta and toss. Chop the remaining 12 cup parsley and 1/4 cup basil and add to the pasta along with the crumbled bacon and remaining 2 tablespoon chives. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Kitchen Adventures 12.1

It's been about a year now since I first started sharing my recipes and cooking creations with others through this blog. Admittedly I am not the most faithful of bloggers, but it is something I enjoy and if people keep telling me they read my posts and want to try my recipes then it's worth it.

As usual, I am behind. I need to catch up with my May dishes before adding in my June endeavors. Life has been so busy and will only get busier, even though it's summertime. I always thought things were supposed to slow down when school got out, but it never happens that way. We, or at least I, save projects until it's summer because we somehow think we'll have more time to do things. Yet, inevitably, we have LESS time because we have so many things we put off and have to try to catch up before the summer months slip away. It's the never-ending circle of life I'm discovering as I settle more into my adult life.

Through all the craziness that life sometimes brings, I still find time to cook and bake. I have to eat, of course, and if you know me well you understand how important eating is to me. :) I get quite grumpy without sustenance, as my friends and co-workers can attest.

Something I had been wanting to try for some time is baked spaghetti. I'm a big pasta lover, but this was something I had yet to try. While flipping through my many cookbooks I found a baked spaghetti recipe and decided it was finally time to try it. This one comes from my Wheat State Manor cookbook my mom got for me a couple years ago and it was submitted by a lady from my church. I will have to tell her I tried it out the next time I go home!

One note about the recipe: I made the mistake of not browning my meat with the veggies or seasoning my meat while browning it, so the meat did not absorb as much of the flavor it could have. Just make sure you do this to get the best out of the dish.

Baked Spaghetti

Ingredients:

2 lb. hamburger
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 green pepper, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can tomatoes, mashed
1/2 lb. cheddar cheese, grated
spaghetti

Directions:

Brown the hamburger and fresh veggies, seasoning with dashes of the spices; drain. Cook the spaghetti as directed and drain. Add the spaghetti to the meat, and add the cream of mushroom soup, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce and spices. Make sure to not add in water to the soup. Mix all this together, then spoon into a baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, then top with cheese and return to oven until the cheese melts.