Every Day with Janey Ray?

Yes, I am posting a Rachel Ray. It's one that I tried for the first time
this week, and it was easy, fast, and filling.
I usually try to avoid bacon, being the little strips of death that they are
(cardio-wise), but I figured in this case, it was permissible, and my
bacon fans agreed. Of course, they're the same people who think bacon is
a food group. I include dark chocolate in my nutritional pyramid, so I guess
I'm no better.

Anyway, for a fast and easy entree' on one of those hectic nights ahead,
I give you.....




Rigatoni with Bacon and Parmesan
(adapted from Every Day with Rachel Ray)

Ingredients:

1 1/3 pound rigatoni pasta
1/4 cup EVOO
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
3/4 pound bacon, fried crisp and broken into bits*
salt and pepper



Method:

In a pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain.
At the same time, heat chicken broth in large frying pan with high (not sloping) sides. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and add the pasta and toss.
Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in 1 cup of Parmesan and the bacon.
Season with salt and pepper; toss again. Place remaining Parmesan in a bowl to
serve on the side.


*I'm not sure where I picked up this idea, but I've been using this method for months now and would never go back to the old way of frying bacon.
I used to avoid recipes that used bacon or omitted it because of all the mess of frying it. It always left the stovetop an immense mess.
Now I spray an old cookie sheet (the ones I no longer use for cookies but let the kids use it for baking oven french fries or pizza rolls-don't worry, I don't eat the horrendous things) with Pam and place the bacon strips on the pan and cook it in the oven until it looks crispy.

One caveat: do not forget to spray the cookie sheet with Pam or a reasonable
facsimile thereof. Once I fused the bacon to the pan and had a devil of a time getting it off.


I'll be damned, but I forgot to take a picture of this one, too. In all fairness to me, though, the Mongol hordes were so hungry that they swarmed the kitchen and there really wasn't time for me to grab my camera, let alone focus and snap a pic.

Found It! Still Don't Have A Picture of It, Though!

Here is the elusive potato soup recipe that I mentioned in
my last post. As I was trying manfully to clear my desk
of the debris from the tornado (or maybe it just looked like
a tornado had swept through my bedroom) I finally unearthed
the copy I'd printed out from my Google Reader.
I'd love to give the originator credit for it,
if only I could remember whose site I found it on.
If it sounds familiar, let me know. I'd be glad to
print and credit the cook--and congratulate her/him.
It's a great soup!

Chunky Potato Cheddar Soup with Bacon
and Broccoli

Ingredients:

3 medium red potatoes
1 small onion
3 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
crushed red pepper flakes
ground black pepper flakes
3 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup cooked cubed Canadian bacon or ham or bacon, or meat of your choice
1 cup broccoli florets, chopped small

Method:

Put medium sauce pot of water on to boil. Meanwhile, peel potatoes and cut into 1 inch cubes. Cook potatoes in salted boiling water just until they are beginning to get tender. Scoop out 1 cup of the potato cooking water and set aside. Drain potatoes. Peel and finely chop onion. Melt butter in medium to large soup pot and add the onions, stirring frequently until they are tender and translucent. Add flour, red pepper flakes, and black pepper to onions and cook for a minute or two into a thick, pasty mixture. Add reserved 1 cup potato-cooking water and stir. Add milk, potatoes, and sugar to the pot, stirring well. Add cheese and ham. Add broccoli. Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Do not boil. Stir frequently and scrape bottom often. (that makes me giggle, dunno why).
Taste and adjust for seasonings. Serve with good homemade bread.


Okay, as near as I can remember, I used this as a starting point. First, I used about nine potatoes, left skins on, increased the amount of onion, doubled the
amount of milk to 6 cups (also threw in some leftover heavy cream-be still, my screaming arteries), omitted the meat, used frozen broccoli and doubled the amount. I put it all in my crockpot and left it on low for two, two and a half hours. Other than that, I followed the recipe as written. (joke)

This lovely stuff tastes even better the second day.