Spaghetti with Sun-dried Tomatoes, Bacon, Pine Nuts, and Parmesan

Good evening, kids! I hope everyone had a marvelous Monday! I got home late tonight, so I needed to find something that I could throw together. I had some random things in my fridge and pantry, so I threw caution to the wind and created this masterpiece =) Pretty much anytime you can add pasta, bacon, and cheese, you should do it.

I had about half a pound of thin spaghetti, the last spoonful of a container of sun-dried tomatoes, 3 cloves minced garlic, 1/3 of a container of pine nuts, 1/2 a container of Parmesan, and 8 pieces of bacon. I also added 3 fillets of anchovies and 2 tablespoons of tomato paste.

If you don’t have a jar of anchovies in your fridge, I highly suggest you get one. If you think you don’t like anchovies, you are wrong. If you like Caesar Salad, you like anchovies. I am not suggesting you eat the anchovies whole. That would be an amateur move. I am letting you know that if you add 3 anchovies to a bit of bacon fat, olive oil, or butter, they will melt and make the base to the most delicious sauce you have ever had. So amazing. Trust me, please. Just don’t put your nose directly in the jar, ok? But if you don’t have any in your pantry, are going vegetarian on this dish, or you are allergic for some reason, you can totally leave them out. It is you meal and your life, so you can do whatever you want.

So while I was boiling the water for my pasta (add lots of salt), I made the bacon. I started cooking the pasta. I took out the bacon (cool and chop) and added the anchovies. They melted like butter and I added the garlic and 2 tablespoons of red pepper flakes (optional). I added 2 tablespoons tomato paste and stirred well. Then I added the sun-dried tomatoes (packed in olive oil, but add another drizzle if needed) and pine nuts. I cooked those for 3 minutes, then added the pasta (read time on box and follow minus 2 minutes). I added the pasta in to the mix plus a coffee cup full of starchy cooking water. I let this cook for a couple more minutes before I added the Parmesan. I mixed well then added my chopped bacon on top. 004

His and Her Breakfasts

I wanted a vegetarian omelet, so I made one with goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes.
003
004
008

My husband made himself a pretty yummy frittata. Of course, I had to have a taste. I am kind of like a hobbit; I eat first breakfast and second breakfast any time I can.

My husband’s breakfast- potatoes thinly sliced, chopped bacon, and American Cheese

009

011

Creamy sun-dried tomato spread

Most mornings I wake up just wanting coffee. Then by late morning, I start to get pretty hungry. I want a little snack or light lunch, and I want to make something easy, yet healthy. So this morning I was taking stock of what I needed to buy at the store later and found an unopened bottle of sun-dried tomatoes in the back of the fridge. I immediately opened them up and had one. I love the tart chewy taste of these little beauties. They are so versatile; you can chop them up and throw them in a salad, on top of a pizza, in a sandwich, or make them in to a spread. I decided to make a spread. All you need is a food processer and these…

001

003

You can make a batch of this and keep it in the fridge for future snacking. It would be a great dip for pita, bagel, or tortilla chips. You could spread it on a sandwich instead of mayo or mustard. It would be lovely on little toasted baguettes, like a tapenade. It would even be great for entertaining or bringing to parties. I spread mine on a piece of wheat toast for a healthy snack!

005

Do you have any easy snack ideas?