Poor Man's Carbonara

I expected election day to be a long night that wouldn't give me any time to cook. On the news they talked about the lines and all of the people who waited hours to cast their vote. Luckily for us we only waited for 5 minutes at the firehouse and that made me happy but I didn't have anything planned for dinner. After a quick rummage through the fridge I decided that I could make carbonara...without the bacon/pancetta. I never keep bacon on hand and I didn't have anymore pancetta so I figured, what the heck and made it anyway. Honestly, it didn't NEED the bacon in my opinion and considering that Steve finished off the rest of the pound of pasta, he didn't need the bacon either! So the next time you're looking to whip up something fast and don't have all the ingredients, it's okay. As long as the ingredients that you do have are fresh and can stand on their own you'll be okay.

It really doesn't get any easier than this and it's great for the vegetarians in your life!


Ingredients:

1 pound spaghetti
4 large eggs
2-3 tablespoons milk
1 handful chopped fresh parsley
1 cup parmigiano reggiano, grated
1/2 cup locatelli romano, grated
salt pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter

Directions:

1. Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water.
2. While pasta cooks scramble eggs in a bowl with milk (I used skim plus).
3. Drain pasta and add butter and a couple of tablespoons of oil to the pasta pot. Add cooked pasta and slowly add in eggs, tossing around to coat the pasta. Add the cheese, pepper and parsley. Toss until well coated.

Enjoy!

From the Pantry Dinner - What can YOU come up with?

It's been a long week and I'm truly exhausted. In fact, I have no idea how I'm awake and typing up this entry. Anyway, today is Friday...in our house that means pizza night. Growing up Friday was always my Mother's day off since she cooked dinner the other 6 days of the week. We usually ordered a pizza, brought home some Chinese food or in the wintertime we made our own pizza. Sorry to disappoint you but this is not a blog about pizza. I just wasn't in the mood for pizza tonight so I threw together a few things I had in the fridge and pantry and we had a delicious pasta dish. So delicious in fact, that I ate enough for two people...two very large people that is. :-)

So here is what I made. This isn't an exact recipe since things were just thrown together. I hope this will inspire you to come up with something new out of your pantry staples!

Saute 1 sliced onion in extra virgin olive oil. Add 3-4 cloves of sliced garlic. Let garlic lightly toast being careful not to burn it. Add crushed red pepper and italian seasoning. Add two chopped tomatoes that have been seeded. Let them soften. Add 1 can of tomato paste (I used some that I had in the fridge, about 3/4 of a can)and a handful of chopped mushrooms (use as much as you like. I had about 4 shitakes) deglaze pan with about 1/2 cup of white wine. Stir to combine. Add 1 can chicken broth a little at a time to create sauce. Add in one can of drained artichoke hearts (in water not oil) and some sliced kalamata olives. Throw in some torn basil, chopped parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Let cook while spaghetti is cooking. Don't bother to drain pasta, just pick it up with tongs and add to saucepan. Any water left on the pasta will help make a nice sauce.

That's it. Simple and delicious!

Something tells me that Nanny would definitely approve. Wish she was able to taste it!

From the Pantry Dinner - What can YOU come up with?

It's been a long week and I'm truly exhausted. In fact, I have no idea how I'm awake and typing up this entry. Anyway, today is Friday...in our house that means pizza night. Growing up Friday was always my Mother's day off since she cooked dinner the other 6 days of the week. We usually ordered a pizza, brought home some Chinese food or in the wintertime we made our own pizza. Sorry to disappoint you but this is not a blog about pizza. I just wasn't in the mood for pizza tonight so I threw together a few things I had in the fridge and pantry and we had a delicious pasta dish. So delicious in fact, that I ate enough for two people...two very large people that is. :-)

So here is what I made. This isn't an exact recipe since things were just thrown together. I hope this will inspire you to come up with something new out of your pantry staples!

Saute 1 sliced onion in extra virgin olive oil. Add 3-4 cloves of sliced garlic. Let garlic lightly toast being careful not to burn it. Add crushed red pepper and italian seasoning. Add two chopped tomatoes that have been seeded. Let them soften. Add 1 can of tomato paste (I used some that I had in the fridge, about 3/4 of a can)and a handful of chopped mushrooms (use as much as you like. I had about 4 shitakes) deglaze pan with about 1/2 cup of white wine. Stir to combine. Add 1 can chicken broth a little at a time to create sauce. Add in one can of drained artichoke hearts (in water not oil) and some sliced kalamata olives. Throw in some torn basil, chopped parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Let cook while spaghetti is cooking. Don't bother to drain pasta, just pick it up with tongs and add to saucepan. Any water left on the pasta will help make a nice sauce.

That's it. Simple and delicious!

Something tells me that Nanny would definitely approve. Wish she was able to taste it!