Spaghetti Carbonara

For dinner tonight, I decided to make something different. I came across a recipe for Spaghetti Carbonara and thought it looked like a great dish to try. It's delicious and simple to make.

Don't you love my pasta dish? I got it from Kohl's! I LOVE IT! :)

1 - 16 oz box spaghetti
(I used 3/4 a box)
2 - tablespoon olive oil, separated
8 - slices bacon or Italian bacon, diced
1/2 - small onion, chopped (I used 1/4 cup)
1 - clove garlic, minced
1/8 - 1/4 - cup dry white wine (optional)
2 - eggs, beaten
2 - tbsp heavy cream or milk
1/2 - cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 - pinch salt and black pepper to taste
2 - tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
extra grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook spaghetti pasta until al dente. Drain well. Toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and set aside. While the pasta cooks start on the bacon. In a large skillet, cook chopped bacon until slightly crisp; remove and drain onto paper towels. Reserve 2 tablespoons of bacon fat; add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, and heat in reused large skillet. Add chopped onion, and cook over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add minced garlic, and cook 1 minute more. Add wine if desired; cook one more minute.

Return cooked bacon to pan; add cooked and drained spaghetti. Toss to coat and heat through, adding more olive oil if it seems dry or is sticking together. To ensure a creamy, silky sauce, mix the cheese, cream and beaten eggs together then stir into the pasta, off of the heat. Tossing constantly with tongs or large fork until eggs are barely set. Add salt and pepper to taste (remember that bacon and Parmesan are very salty). Serve immediately with chopped parsley sprinkled on top, and extra Parmesan cheese at table.

New Things Monday

For today I picked up a 6 pack of Cold Stone Creamery's ice cream cupcakes. My brother told me about them so I figured they would be perfect for new things Monday. :)

They are a bit costly at $10 for a pack of 6. They are pre-packaged so you can't change them up. You get 2 of each of the Sweet Cream, Cake Batter Delux and Double Chocolate devotion.

We both chose to try the Double Chocolate devotion. It was good!! You can even eat everything, including the liner shell. It's chocolate!! :)

Here it is cut open so you can see what it looks like. :)

Lunch is served...

My brother picked up some little potato rolls from the grocery store yesterday. And then today he picked up some chick-fil-a nuggets and he made us little chick-fil-a, chick-n-minis. What a great lunch! :) Thanks bruder! :)

Bacon & Cheese Muffins

I was kinda bored sitting around and felt like baking something. I was reading thru random blogs and came across Mommy's Kitchen. I saw a recipe for Bacon & Cheese Muffins and looked at the ingredients. I was happy that I had everything on hand so I scratched the recipe down on a piece of paper and then headed to the kitchen and starting making it. :) My brother came in to see what I was doing and helped me. :)

2 - cups all purpose flour
2 - teaspoons baking powder
1/4 - teaspoon salt
1/4 - teaspoon black pepper
1 1/4 - cup.milk
1/4 - cup butter or margarine, melted and cooled
1 - egg
1/2 lb - bacon, diced, cooked and degreased
3/4 - cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. In a small bowl, mix together the milk, melted butter or margarine and egg. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Fold in the bacon and cheese just until combined. Scoop into greased or lined muffin tins. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until lightly golden brown.

They are good but they lack some flavor. I would add more black pepper next time. You could put your own spin on them. Maybe sprinkle some cheese on the top once you take them out of the oven. Or cook an egg sunny side up and eat with it. I would think maybe even a ranch dressing would be good to dip it in. Nate ate his with some sour cream. They are a quick little snack that you can eat on the go. :)

Nate suggested even adding some syrup to it. So, Billy did and we all tried it. It tasted just like a pancake. It was good!! haha :) You can do so many things with it.

Billy Philly Cheese steaks

Today is pretty much a lazy Sunday. I cleaned the house and did a bunch of other chores that needed to be done. I also went to the grocery store for a few items. My brother, came to the store with me. We were thinking about what to do for dinner and he suggested making Philly Cheese steaks. I was up for that. :)

My brother, Kirk (Billy) making the meat.

The meat cooking. Billy added season all to the meat. Season all is a blend with salt, savory spices, paprika, pepper, onion, garlic, and chili pepper. It's pretty good to flavor up your meats.

My 'Billy Philly' Cheese Steak! :) YUMMO! :)

Nate dressed his 'Billy Philly' with lettuce and mayo.

And I made us 'purple drink'. :)

My Kitty...

Harley being cute while dinner was being cooked. :)

LOVE!

I saw these little jars in the new issue of the Sur La Table Catalog. I fell in love with this cute little spice jar. Kristen also fell in love and was gonna go to the store and pick us both up one. I requested the eggplant purple. :) I'm thinking of keeping an Italian blend in mine to use in any homemade Italian dishes. :)

New Things Monday

I love ice cream!! Who doesn't? :) Sometimes you want to try new ice cream because you're bored of your favorite kind. So, I decided to try Breyers Waffle Cone Overload.

I love Smith's Waffle Cone ice cream but you can only get that in Ohio. :( Grandma Miller always stocks up when Smith's is on sale tho. They have really good ice cream!! :)

The good thing about Breyers, it was on sale at the store so that's a good thing. If I didn't like it then I only spent $2.50 on it. :) This Waffle cone overload was good!! If you like Carmel, waffle cone pieces and ice cream, well then you will like this. I found a new favorite! And so did Nate! YEY! :)