Growing a garden is something I’ve always dreamed of doing. A huge, extravagant, plentiful garden to enjoy the freshest ingredients, and get into canning to live off it’s bounty all year long. In my opinion, nothing tastes better than veggies straight from the garden that you’ve grown yourself! Since I’m a newbie to all things gardening, I started small this year with help from my Grandpa Dean, I planted my very own tomato plants, 3 to be exact. I didn’t have the slightest idea what I was getting into! The 3 plants were variations of cherry and grape tomatoes. They grew like weeds and sky rocketed into big beautiful plants in no time at all! I wish I would of kept track of exactly how many tomatoes those babies produced, as a rough estimate it was definitely somewhere in the hundreds! And, they are STILL producing! I love picking them with my almost two year old, who loves to help and eat them fresh off the vine like grapes! I’ve used them for lots of salads and salsa, throwing tomatoes into any dish I can think of as to not let any go to waste! Since the weather is getting cooler I thought it’d be a great time to share this delicious recipe with you, another great one for using some of our home grown tomatoes!
This makes a large batch, as I often do, I split it in half after it cooked and froze half for a yummy comfort dish in a pinch! This dish is savory, creamy, cheesy, and delectable! It’s perfect for cool and down right freezing days, sure to warm you and fill you up from the top of your head to the tips of your toes!
BLT Toss! Bacon, Linguine, Tomato Toss
Ingredients:
12 slices bacon, divided
4 cups chicken broth
2 cans (14.5oz) Italian style diced tomatoes
1 med. onion
4 garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
12 oz uncooked linguine pasta
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup loosely packed fresh parsley
4 oz cream cheese
1 oz Parmesan cheese grated
Halved grape tomatoes (optional)
Directions:
1. Slice bacon crosswise into 1/4 in. strips. Place into skillet; cook over medium high heat 8-9 minutes or until crisp. Remove bacon from Skillet; drain on paper towels. Drain skillet, leaving 1 tbsp drippings in skillet.
2. Meanwhile place broth and diced tomatoes in a microwavable-safe bowl. Microwave, covered, on high 6-8 minutes or until hot; carefully move remove from microwave. On clean cutting board, finely chop onion. Return skillet to heat; add garlic and pepper flakes if desired. Cook 10-20 seconds or until fragrant. Add onion; cook 2-3 minutes or until onion is tender. Carefully add broth mixture, pasta, half of the bacon and salt. Simmer, covered, 9-10 minutes or until pasta is almost cooked but still firm, stirring occassionally.
3. Finely chop parsely, reserve 1 tbsp for garnish. Cut cream cheese into cubes. Grate parmesan cheese. Cut grape tomatoes in half. Remove skillet from heat. Stir in remaining parsley, cream cheese and grape tomatoes. Let stand, covered, 5 minutes or until pasta is tender and sauce is thickened. Serve with remaining bacon, parmesan and parsley.
{Source: Pampered Chef Season’s Best Cookbook}
Have you ever made this? If not you need to, very soon! I’d love to hear from you and know what you think!
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