Bacon Tomato Pasta (Homemade Pasta)

A few years ago when my husband and I met, I directed one of our many conversations to food, more specifically, his favorite foods. Like most men, bacon was on the list, along with pasta. Which got me working in the kitchen to create this recipe for him. In fact, this recipe even made it to our wedding, on the back of the seating cards for our reception. 

Nostalgia hits me each time I make this recipe. Remembering the insecurities and excitement of falling in love, recalling the first impressions and then a deeper knowledge of my husband, celebrating the years we have had since then.

I roll pasta and think of the first brush of fingertips and the comfort of a hand that still secretly squeezes mine when we are thinking the same thing and can't verbalize it. If happiness could be portrayed through food, Bacon Tomato Pasta would be one of my happiest dishes to create. I hope to pass some of that happiness to you.

Bacon Tomato Pasta

Source: original recipe

1    lb. bacon, chopped into small pieces

1    container cherry tomatoes, halved

1    teaspoon crushed red pepper

1    teaspoon Italian seasoning

2    teaspoons dried basil

2    tablespoons olive oil, more as needed

1    lb. cooked pasta, such as linguini, spaghetti, or angel hair

In a high sided pan, fry bacon over medium high heat, about 3-5 minutes. Add tomato halves, crushed red pepper, Italian seasoning, basil and olive oil. Cook for another 5 minutes until tomatoes have softened. Toss with cooked pasta, adding more olive oil, if needed.

Harmony's Thoughts
No need to use homemade pasta. The majority of the time I use Barilla dry pasta.

Harmony's Basic Pasta

Source: original recipe

1    cup high gluten flour (all-purpose or bread flour will work)

1/2 cup Semolina flour

1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)

2    eggs

2    tablespoons olive oil

1    tablespoon water

Combine flours and salt. Add eggs, olive oil and water. Mix to make a stiff dough. Knead dough 10 minutes or until dough is elastic. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let rest 30 minutes.

Using a rolling pin or pasta roller, roll out to desired thickness and cut as desired. 

 

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil; add pasta and cook until tender about 4 minutes. Pasta can also be dried and stored in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks.

Spicy Chicken Thighs

This past week the Air Force gave my husband a training assignment for five months. He will be on assignment from November to March. There will be a flurry of activity in our house for the next month, preparing for his departure. When circumstances come that cause us to be apart, I am thankful for our strong commitment and support that we provide one another. These past few days I have been reflecting on the beauty of our love and the strength he is to me. I remember the reading my Grandma read at our wedding ~

Love is patient. Love is kind. Love does not envy or boast. It is not arrogant. Love is not rude, it is not self-serving. Love is not easily angered, or resentful. Love rejoices not in evil but in truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. These three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.  ~ adapted from I Corinthians 13

 I hope each of you have a love like this in your life....and if you don't, make a point to give the gift of true love to your family and friends.

For the next few weeks, the recipes that I post will be some of my husbands favorites since I will be cooking and baking especially for him before he leaves. These spicy chicken thighs are requested by him often.

Spicy Chicken Thighs

Source: original recipe

Prep: 10 minutes   Bake: 30-40 minutes   Oven: 425 degrees F

2    tablespoons Kosher salt

3    tablespoons brown sugar

2    tablespoons chili powder

1    tablespoon hot smoked paprika

1    tablespoon paprika

1    tablespoon cumin

3    teaspoons pepper

1    teaspoon thyme

1    teaspoon herbs de provence

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

4-5 lbs. chicken thighs

Mix all spices and herbs together in a small bowl. Place chicken thighs in a 9x13 pan and rub all sides with the spices. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Bake for 30-40 minutes turning once about halfway through the baking time.

Harmony's Thoughts

To make ahead, mix spices and herbs, rub on chicken and place in the refrigerator until ready to use, up to 8 hours. 

I have also grilled these chicken thighs on medium high heat about 20-25 min. I rub the chicken with olive oil before coating with the spices when I grill them. 

If you don't have hot smoked paprika, substitute regular paprika. (although I suggest trying it :)

Announcing: Fall Baking Classes

One of the main reasons I started a blog was to share ideas and inspire others to have a passion for cooking/baking. This fall, I am offering baking classes in my home. You will find all the details below:

Fall Baking Classes

• You are the class! - One on one baking instruction in my home
• All ingredients/equipment provided - Just show up willing to learn
• Take home your creations - Share what you have learned with others
• Reduced Student Rates - ages 14 and up, college students
• Approximately 2 hour class - We won't watch the clock....just the oven timer

Adult Classes - $45       

Student Classes - $37   

Fall Baking Class will include making one pie and one candy:

 Choice of Carmel Apple Pecan Pie or Sour Cream Pumpkin Tart

 Choice of Pumpkin Fudge or Nutty Pretzel Candy

For more information or to schedule a class together please contact me at harmonystarh@yahoo.com or post a comment

Chili Wraps

Back in May, when my husband and I visited his family up in Washington State, a family friend brought over a plate of chili wraps for us to enjoy. They were delicious and lived up to all that I had heard of them. I quickly asked her how she made them and she mentioned a few spices and her basic method of preparation. Hoping to replicate these wraps, I kept the instructions jotted down on a scrap of paper. 

Skip forward to a few weeks ago, a friend that I Jazzercise with gave me some ground elk burger and I brainstormed what to make with it. The chili wraps came to mind. Since elk is so lean, I did mix ground beef in with it to give it extra flavor. I have written the recipe using ground beef. We ate these chili wraps watching the Broncos game on Sunday and it was the perfect football snack!

Chili Wraps

Source: adapted from family friend, Norma Colon

1     lb. ground beef

1/8  teaspoon garlic powder

1/4  teaspoon onion powder

1     teaspoon adobo seasoning

1/2  teaspoon hot smoked spanish paprika

3     teaspoons chili powder

1     teaspoon salt

2     cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

8     large flour tortillas

1-2 cups vegetable oil, for frying

In a large skillet, over medium heat, cook ground beef until no longer pink. Drain most of the fat from the meat. Add the spices and salt and cook on low heat, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. To fill the tortillas, place 1/4 cup of the meat mixture in the center of the tortilla; top with about 3 tablespoons cheese. Fold the two sides of the tortilla in toward the center; then fold the other two ends into the center.

Repeat with all the tortillas. In a cast iron skillet, add the vegetable oil until it is 1/2 inch deep; heat until rippling in the pan. Place one or two wraps in the pan and fry 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Harmony's Thoughts

Ground turkey can be substituted for the ground beef.

Use the largest tortilla wraps you can find. I used flour tortillas in wrap size.

A Giveaway on Melt's Facebook Page

A giveaway is happening over on Melt's facebook page. Like Melt on facebook and you will be entered to win a set of Crate and Barrel magnetic measuring spoons. I use these measuring spoons everyday! The drawing will be tomorrow, Wednesday September 21st. I will post the winner on our facebook page.

P.S. There is a link to like Melt's facebook here on the blog to your right. Just click the link and you should be set!

Peach Cobbler

Have you ever tried to recreate something you ate at a restaurant? Not just use their idea to make something that you end up liking even better, I mean actually trying to get it to be the same exact texture and flavor. Usually when I eat something noteworthy, I will play on the basic ingredients and do my own thing with the rest, but after eating a fantastic peach cobbler at a restaurant in the mountains of Arizona this past February, I was determined to recreate it exactly as I remembered. 

Not only did that require patience and careful note taking, it also required that my husband and I eat four peach cobblers in two weeks! But on the fourth try...success! Warm peach cobbler with spices and a biscuit topping is absolutely delicious, but it was not the cobbler I was trying to recreate. I knew it had a cake-like texture with an almond flavoring, but other than those details I had no direction. Thankfully the fourth try was it, or this post would not exist. Hopefully you enjoy it as much as I did!

Peach Cobbler

Source: original recipe

Prep: 20 minutes   Bake: 35 minutes   Oven: 350 degrees F

1/2    cup butter

1/2    cup all-purpose flour

2       tablespoons cake flour

2       teaspoons baking powder

1/4    teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cup sugar, divided

1       cup milk

1 1/2 teaspoons almond flavoring

3       cups ripe peaches, peeled and sliced (about 3 peaches)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Put butter in bottom of a 8x8 square baking dish and set in oven to melt. In a bowl, mix together flours, baking powder, 1 cup sugar, and salt. Combine the almond flavoring with the milk and add to dry ingredients. Pour batter over melted butter; do not stir. Arrange peaches on top of batter; do not stir. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup sugar over the top of the peaches. Bake until crust is light brown and puffy, about 35 to 40 minutes. Serve warm.

Harmony's Thoughts

Be careful not to brown the butter when melting in the oven. I try to take it out while a small amount of the stick still remains and let it sit until the heat from the pan finishes melting it.

If you don't have cake flour, substitute with all-purpose flour. I was trying to create the lightest texture possible.

Potato Leek Soup

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to spend the morning at the Denver Art Museum with a dear friend. We were going specifically for the Marvelous Mud Exhibit...which was exactly that! As I spent a few hours, basking in the creativity of artists and their works of clay (or more appropriately, mud), I was reminded that we all need a creative outlet. For some it is a paintbrush, for others it is words and writing. For me, creating in the kitchen is my delight.

The curator of the Marvelous Mud Exhibit beautifully displayed thought provoking quotes from literature about mud. One of my absolute favorites was the following quote from Lao Tzu:

 Do you have the patience to wait until your mud settles and the water is clear?  Can you remain unmoving until the right action arises by itself?

 Such a perfect quote to remind us in our busy lifestyles to take a step back and let life settle a little. To keep our minds and hands from interfering with what will happen naturally, if we let it. 

After viewing the exhibit, my friend and I shared a relaxing lunch at Palette's, at a small table next to big windows with lovely afternoon light. As we ate potato leek soup, a Caesar salad, and seared tuna, we talked of life, art, and the quotes that meant the most to us. I made my recipe for potato leek soup this week and reflected on my Saturday at the Denver Art Museum and Palette's for lunch.

Potato Leek Soup

Source: original recipe

Prep: 20 minutes   Cook: 30 minutes

3     leeks, sliced thinly and rinsed

1     onion, diced

3     tablespoons butter

5     cups potatoes, peeled and diced (about 1 1/2 to 2 lbs potatoes) 

4     cups chicken stock

1/2  cup heavy cream

       salt and pepper to taste

      Garnish with green onions, bacon, and cheese (optional)

In a large stockpot, melt butter. Add onion and leeks and cook until soft . Stir in potatoes and chicken stock and bring to a slow boil. Simmer until potatoes are tender. Remove from heat. Stir in heavy cream. With an immersion blender or in a food processor, puree soup to a smooth texture. 

Harmony's Thoughts

To rinse the sliced leeks, place in a large bowl of cold water and swish around to let the sand fall to the bottom of the bowl. 

Cleaning the leeks

I use my immersion blender to puree soup to a "partly smooth with a few chunks of potato" kind of texture. 

Feel free to add more heavy cream for a richer flavor.

The potato leek soup at Palette's was garnished with bacon, shaved leeks and a swirl of basil oil. A basil oil with this soup is delicious!