A Recipe

The last few months I have been experimenting with new foods; adding to old favorites or mixing in new goodness to create fabulous leftovers! I'm happy to say that a few have been HUGE hits at our house. Kevin raves about this spicy-pasta dish I make with Orzo. He even told his mommy that she would have to try it. Since I know my terrific MIL reads my blog I figured I could post it here, this way she'll get it and if anyone of you are interested you can also give it a whirl!

Just a heads up I cook everything based on taste/eyeing the ingredients. Sorry this may not be super specific! I hope you try it and love it as much as we do!

Ingredients:

1 box (lb) Orzo pasta

4/5 stalks Green Onion

Frozen Peas

2/3 Gloves of Garlic

Shredded Parmesan cheese (aprox 3/4 cups)

4 Strips of Bacon

1 (or less) Tspn Crushed Red Pepper

Olive Oil

Salt/Pepper to taste

Garlic Salt to taste

Oregano (aprox 1.5 tbsp)

Mixed Italian Seasonings (aprox 1.5 tbsp)

I recommend cooking the orzo beforehand. I came up with this recipe the first time, because I had made too much Orzo for soup and it turned out great. The second time I made the pasta and dumped it straight into the sauté pan... it was ok but not as good!

Also precook the bacon, chop into small pieces and set aside.

Remove peas from freezer and set aside while you prepare the rest of your ingredients.
Get a large skillet hot coat the bottom with olive oil. Chop Garlic cloves and green onion, sauté once oil is hot. Toss pasta into oil, add seasonings, Parm cheese. *Note: 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper keeps this spicy, I say start slow and taste as you go. Make it as hot as you like. :) After all the spices are mixed in and everything is getting “happy” (as Emeril says) add ¾ bag of Peas. Lower heat (between low and medium) and let simmer for 10 mins, stirring occasionally.

Ideally we want enough oil to keep this moist, enough cheese to make it sorta sticky but not like glue. Peas should be tender; not mushy. :)

Enjoy!

Let me know if you try it, how you like it or if you have any questions!! :)

~***~

I'm kicking myself tonight. You see, I wrote a list of Xmas gifts for Kevin last week (possibly two weeks ago) but I can't find it and for the life of me I can't remember what was on it, or anything else to get my husband!

Crap!