Craving Carbs - "Carbonara" Without The Eggs

I usually have a list of things I want to make but I don't always write them down so I tend to forget what I want to make - that is until I happen to see one of the ingredients when I meander down each aisle.  Yes, I am one of those grocery shoppers.  I will take my time and look at everything to see if I get any inspiration.  I came upon pancetta during a perusal session and one of my many trips to my local Trader Joe's a couple of weeks ago.  I became so excited that I picked it right up and brought it home with me.  What to do with these delightful pink cubes?  Hm, I looked in my pantry and found egg noodles.  Looked in my fridge and parmesan cheese and peas.  I also had eggs so I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to make carbonara.  However, those eggs were no longer at the stage where I'd even consider eating them without cooking them.  But my tummy was set on carbonara so I decided to make it anyway minus the eggs.  The dish turned out so well that I gladly helped myself to a second serving then a third...

This makes me think of spring and how I long for the season to come!

Pancetta "Carbonara"

1/2 bag of frozen peas

4 oz pancetta

4 servings of egg noodles

8 tb grated parmesan cheese

1 tb olive oil

salt & pepper, to taste

- Bring a pot of water to boil and add egg noodles and cook according to directions on the package.

- Drain the noodles, add the olive oil and toss until thoroughly coated.  This will prevent the pasta from sticking.

- In a separate pan, saute pancetta on medium heat until some of the fat melts, about 3-4 minutes.

- Add frozen peas, mix and cook until peas are done.

- Remove pan from stove, add noodles and parmesan cheese.  Add freshly ground pepper to taste.

- Toss everything together until well-combined and parmesan cheese is melted from the warmth of the pasta.

 

Almost Vegan Bolognese

I take my dog out a few times a day to allow her to eliminate and for us both to exercise but boy, it's been hard getting the time when it's just extremely cold out.  The photo above was taken during one of our daily walks.  When it's cold this cold, something hearty is always good for my tummy.  I've also been missing veggies over the holidays so I decided to try the "Bomb-Diggity 'Bolognese'" recipe I saw in the January/February 2011 issue of Women's Health magazine.  It looked like it had a large variety of veggies and they are all veggies that I absolutely love!  The recipe is actually vegan but I decided to forego tempeh and used egg noodles instead.  Yum for egg noodles!  This recipe is extremely easy to make and it tasted D-E-LICIOUS!  I just might have to put this recipe into my go-to recipe box. 

Vegan Bomb-Diggity "Bolognese" - Jan/Feb 2011 Women's Health Magazine

Makes about 4 servings.

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped

1/2 package tempeh, crumbled (I decided to forego this)

1/4 cup red wine

1/2 zucchini, diced

1 eggplant, peeled and diced

1 carrot, chopped

1 tb chopped fresh basil

1 tb chopped Italian parsley

12 oz tomato sauce

1 ts dried oregano

1 ts dried rosemary, chopped

1/4 ts red pepper flakes

- In a large skillet, heat olive oil on medium-high and saute onion and garlic for approximately 5 minutes.

- Add mushrooms and tempeh to the skillet.

- Add the red wine and add salt and pepper to taste.

- Add zucchini, eggplant, carrot, basil, and parsley; stir well to combine and cook about 10 minutes until veggies soften up.

- Add tomato sauce and stir.  Sprinkle in the remaining ingredients (oregano, rosemary and red pepper flakes).  Cook another 5 minutes or so.
- Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

It not only looked delightful, it tasted that way as well.  Thank you Olivia Wilde for sharing this recipe with Women's Health.