Pasta! Pasta!

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amore! And I LOVE Italian food. In the last few weeks, I've whipped up a few pasta dishes; two of which I'm able to share with you. They're so simple and so delicious!

One recipe I borrowed from Melissa of Love at First Bite. It's a spaghetti pie! Who knew that spaghetti could be mixed with a few ingredients, smushed into a pie dish and topped with mozzarella? It's the perfect dish to make especially since most of your cupboards or pantries already have the ingredients. It's also great because it's something that can be put together at the last minute and stored as leftovers. I actually thought it tasted better the night after, when my friend Anna dropped me off from school (we carpool). Anna is an international student from Germany, but her father is Italian and a wonderful cook. I was actually nervous to hear what she thought of the dish. And she said it was great, so I must be! Here's the recipe (taken from the Good Housekeeping magazine), and thanks to Melissa for sharing!

Baked Spaghetti Pie

1/2 pound spaghetti

2 large eggs

1 container (15 oz.) part-skim ricotta cheese

3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

1 cup marinara sauce

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain.

2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 9-inch pie plate. In large bowl, with fork, beat eggs. Stir in ricotta and 3/4 cup Parmesan until blended.

3. Add spaghetti to ricotta mixture and stir until well coated. Transfer spaghetti mixture to prepared pie plate; top with marinara sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and remaining 2 Tbsp. Parmesan.

4. Bake pie 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes for easier serving. Cut into wedges to serve.

Then, this past Thursday, I was dying for something somewhat homemade, rather than the TV dinners (SmartOnes) I've been heating up in my microwave. So I whipped up a quick pasta dish, again, with a few ingredients already in my pantry. Malu and I have made this a few times before and it's very good! No official name, but I think I'll call it Bacon Pasta Toss.

Bacon Pasta Toss

6 to 8 slices of bacon, chopped into small pieces

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves of garlic

14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes (any kind)

6 oz. can of tomato paste

2 tbsp Olive Oil

1/2 bag of frozen peas

1 lb. farfalle (bowtie) pasta (or any pasta)

Sugar, to taste

1. Heat oil in a large skillet. Bring water to a boil in a large pot.

2. Saute garlic in oil for about 2-3 minutes and add onion. Saute until onion is transparent. Add bacon and saute for about 5 minutes.

3. Add pasta to boiling water and cook according to package directions. In the last two minutes add the frozen peas then drain.

4. Add diced tomatoes to onion mixture; then add the tomato paste and mix until well incorporated. I like my sauce sweet, so I added about 1 tablespoon of sugar.

5. Once sauce is heated through, add drained pasta and toss well.

Yummy in my tummy! This dish also tastes tons better the next day...or the next! Oh, and if you're wanting to make the dish sweet without adding sugar, then try maple bacon. I like it better that way!