recipe

Sharing the bacon pasta recipe with you here today!!!! I think that this is a great base recipe, and you could totally add in some veggies like peas or asparagus if you wanted….or swap out the bacon for pancetta or prosciutto. Next time I am going to try pancetta. My favorite thing is that you literally cook everything in one large skillet. Less dishes makes me very happy.

Side note – You could also halve this recipe if you don’t want to have too much leftover. Why do I always feel like I am cooking for twenty people when I make pasta???

What You Need

16 ounce box of rigatoni pasta

8-10 slices of thick bacon

1/2 yellow onion, finely diced

3 cloves minced garlic

4 cups chicken broth

1 cup heavy cream

6 or 8 ounce package of shredded Parmesan cheese

3 teaspoons arrow root powder or cornstarch

fresh parsley, chopped for garnish (optional)

2 tablespoons of reserved bacon grease

What You Do

-Chop bacon and cook in a large skillet until crisp. Set aside and drain pan, reserving two tablespoons of the grease for flavor in the pan to cook the onions.

-Cook onions until soft and browning. Stir in garlic.

-Add pasta, chicken brother and salt/pepper to taste. Let the broth boil, then cover and cook noodles for 12-15 minutes, depending on how firm you like them. You want to stir the noodles two or three times while cooking.

–Stir in cornstarch/arrowroot powder, heavy cream and cheese. Stir until it has thickened and cheese is melted. Stir in bacon.

–Serve immediately with parsley sprinkled on top.

Enjoy!

I couldn’t decide what to call this chicken, and then kickin chicken came to mind! Chris wanted some chicken tenders on Sunday, but wanted to keep them low carb. Sometimes it is hard to find tasty low carb options, you know? I looked through several recipes but none really stuck out to me, so I decided to take a few things I liked from each and throw something together! Enter Kickin Chicken! This turned out awesome and will be entering regular rotation! Plus it’s easy and quick! Just the way I like cooking during the week.

What You Need

1 package skinless chicken tenders (about one pound)

1/2 stick butter

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon oregano

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

What You Do

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all your spices in one bowl.

Melt your butter in another bowl.

Dip the chicken tenders in the butter, then in the mix and place them on a tin foil covered baking sheet.

Cook for 30 minutest at 350 degrees.

You guys!!! I am happy to report that it is entirely possible to bake delicious cookies without flour! Who knew?? For some reason, flourless cookies sound more healthy right? Or at least in my head it does. Either way, these cookies smell like brownies when you bake them and are full of delicious flavor! Even if they don’t look like much….

What You Need

3 cups powdered sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 tsp salt

12 tablespoons of liquid egg whites or 4 egg whites separated

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

What You Do

–Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

–Whisk together powdered sugar, cocoa powder and salt.

–Stir in egg whites and vanilla.

–Whisk everything together until just moistened, then stir in chocolate chips.

–Drop batter by tablespoons onto parchment paper lined baking sheet. There will be spreading, so leave some space!

–Bake for 8-10 minutes and let cool for awhile on baking sheet before transferring to an airtight container.

(I didn’t wait long enough and my cookies stuck together, which is why there is  lack of pretty pictures of cookies.)

One of my favorite things to take for lunches during the week is Spicy Thai Noodles. This, of course, is when I am not doing Whole 30. I love that you serve it cold, so I don’t have to heat anything up. It makes a lot to last the entire week and is super easy.

What You Need:

1 tbsp red pepper flakes

1 box of linguine noodles (I try to use whole wheat when I can find them)

1/4 cup olive oil

6 tbsp honey

6 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup crushed cashews or peanuts

green onions

sesame seeds

What You Do:

–Cook noodles according to package, drain

–Heat olive oil and red pepper flakes in a small sauce pan, strain out red pepper flakes

–Whisk in honey and soy sauce and pour over drained noodles.

–Add in green onions and crushed nuts.

–Chill in refrigerator until ready to serve. I prefer to cook this a day ahead because the longer it sits, the better it gets!