Baked Four-Cheese Pasta

Everyone really liked this.  Except me.  It tasted good, but I couldn't help think about what was in it every single bite.  I got this from America's Test Kitchen.  It is an adult version of macaroni and cheese.  

4 slices bacon, chopped fine

1 small onion, chopped fine

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups chicken broth

1 cup heavy cream

3/4 lb penne pasta  (about 4 cups)

salt & pepper

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1 cup shredded Italian 4-cheese blend.

1.  Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat over to 500 degrees.  Cook bacon, onion and garlic in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until onion is softened, about 5 minutes.  Add broth, cream, pasta and 1/2 tsp salt.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring frequently, until pasta is tender, about 15 minutes.

2.  Off heat, stir in Parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper.  Transfer to a 2 quart casserole dish and sprinkle with shredded cheese blend.  Bake until cheese is melted and spotty brown, about 5 minutes.

My notes:  chop the bacon very fine. I burned my onion waiting for my bacon to crisp, had I had the pieces chopped finer, that probably wouldn't have been a problem.

The recipe also called for Frozen peas.  I skipped that part because my one needing the pasta carbs would not have eaten it with the peas in it.  

Stuffed Tomatoes--Sunday

I had 8 tomatoes*(see note below) that I needed to do something with. Fresh salsa is about the only way my family will eat fresh tomatoes (except for a few of us) and since we've had fresh salsa so much in the last few weeks I really wanted to do something else with all of those tomatoes. They were quite ripe and needed to be used quickly. So I found this Stuffed Tomatoes recipe. I was really doubtful that most of my kids would eat it, but I shouldn't have been worried. It was quite well received. While it didn't instantly become a new favorite, everyone ate it quite well. I'll definitely make it again when I've got more tomatoes than I know what to do with. I followed the recipe fairly closely, however having the cheese throughout the stuffing would have been good. I'll mix a little in the stuffing next time as well as on top. I also added more bacon than called for because of my nervousness. Of course that made it better, but I think I could get away with less. The final thing I would change is to spray Pam on the bottom of the baking pan instead of covering with water. Stuffing and cheese fell out that would have been eaten had it not been sitting in a pool of water. We had rolls and corn on the cob with this.

For Sunday treats I made this Corn Chip Surprise. Mixed reviews. If you believe, as Tom does, that corn chips should be their own food group then this treat is for you. If you are like me and can completely live without corn chips, don't waste your time, money or calories!

*It probably seems weird that I would 'just have' certain fruits and vegetables on hand, but I order a Bountiful Basket every week and so my meals are planned around the fruits and vegetables that come in the basket.