Spaghetti Carbonara

A slightly carb-y week, but there's nothing wrong with yummy pasta. Again, it's a regular dish in the house and it's gotten even better now that we use real bacon and not that stuff maple leaf calls bacon. The yummy smokiness, the subtly salty flavour and the pieces that turn into part pork-rind are a truly indulgent addition to what we call carbonara. I was watching a show the other day and the chef was like "it's not the dish if you add cream, true stuff lets the eggs make the silky sauce", but in lieu of Parmesan, whipping cream makes a luxurious sauce.

Spaghetti Carbonara

serves 4

350g spaghetti, cooked
3 eggs
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp bacon grease
1 lb bacon, diced and cooked
2 Tbsp whip cream
salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter with the bacon grease in a large saucepan.
Beat the eggs and cream together.
Add the pasta to the pan and toss to coat with the butter.
Reduce the heat and pour the egg mix over, stirring well to prevent scrambling.
Season with salt and pepper and toss well.
With the heat off, stir in the bacon.
Serve.

 Enjoy!

Turkey Tetrazzini

Leftover turkey is yummy, but you can get sick of it after a couple days. That's okay, because the meat takes to freezing pretty well. Of course, it's a little gummy when thawed, which might make something like a turkey salad sandwich not that appealing, but it's perfect in pies and casseroles.

So we had leftover turkey in the freezer and wanted something simple: turkey tetrazzini came to mind. It's been one of those things we discovered a few years ago when we wanted something different with our turkey leftovers. The veggies vary (mushrooms work quite well, the peas, broccoli or something different) but the cream sauce remains the same. Of course, you don't have to leftovers to do this. If you score turkey parts on sale and just cook them to put in the casserole, that would work too.

Turkey Tetrazzini


serves 4

350g pasta, went with spaghetti noodles snapped in half this year
2 1/2 cups cooked turkey, in 1/2 inch chunks
1 large onion, diced
14oz can of peas, drained
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup flour
a splash of sherry
1 can condensed mushroom soup
4 cans of milk
1/4 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Start prepping the pasta.
In a large saucepan (big enough to combine everything), heat the butter and oil over medium-high heat.
Add the onion and cook until soft, but not brown.
Add the turkey and cook about 1-2 minutes to start warming it up.
Sprinkle the flour over the turkey and onion and stir to get everything wet.
Add the mushroom soup and splash of sherry and combine. Cook a minute to burn off the alcohol.
Mix in the milk and spices and bring to a boil.
Add the peas and drained pasta and stir to coat.
Serve (or bake in a 350 F oven for 30 minutes up to an hour)

Filling and creamy, a nice alternative to a weekday default meal.

Enjoy!

Baked Macaroni and Cheese I

Yesterday for supper, I was feeling like something uncomplicated and one of the standard "don't think about it" meals is mac'n'cheese. But I didn't know when mom was going to be back from work, so it got some baking time.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese I


serves 4 or 5

400g elbow pasta
250g old cheddar cheese, grated
100g ricotta, extra firm
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1/4 tsp mustard powder
pinch of garlic
2 cups of milk (or more, for a creamier sauce)
salt and pepper to taste
1 large tomato, seeded and cut into slices

In a large pot, cook pasta according to directions and drain.
Preheat oven to 350 F and oil a 9" x 13" baking dish.
In empty pot, melt butter and then sprinkle in flour and spices. Whisk and cook about 1 minute.
Slowly add milk, making sure to whisk out the lumps.
Bring to a boil and add the cheeses.
Stir macaroni back into the sauce and check seasoning.
Pour into baking dish and put tomato slices on top.
Bake at least 20 minutes or up to an hour.

Cheesy, creamy and with a hint of freshness from the tomato on top. Yummy!

Enjoy!

Jazzed Tuna Casserole

Felt lazy today, and I got my early Christmas present of Sims 3 for Wii, so really didn't want to put too much effort into my supper. Kept saying for ages that I wanted tuna casserole, but it always turns into mac'n'cheese weekends instead, so I put my lazy butt in gear and did it.

Jazzed Tuna Casserole


makes 4-6 servings depending on the appetite

400g pasta, usually go with elbows
2 cans tuna. drained (if you use raw tuna, you are nuts, cuz this sooo ain't worth it)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
3 1/2 soup cans of milk (more or less depending on how creamy you like it)
2 shots Worcestershire sauce
diced green pepper
chopped mushroom pieces
salt and pepper to taste

Boil the pasta according to directions/preference, but in a large pot is a must, for easier stirring.
Drain.
Melt butter in pot and sweat veggies for a couple minutes.
Mix in flour, salt and pepper.
Stir in the mushroom soup.
Gradually add the milk to lessen the amount of lumps.
Add the tuna and pasta back in.
Heat through.
Serve with favourite toppings.

It's fine on its own, but extra shots of Worcestershire sauce and plain chips add to the yumminess if you want it richer. Can be heated in the oven for up to an hour, but I'd add extra milk to the recipe since it could dry out. Greasing whatever baking dish you put it in would also be a good idea, since it can stick fierce.

Enjoy!