Asparagus Bacon Pasta

Since I neglected Tasty Tuesday for so long, you get a 2fer today including a recipe!

I love pasta. It's quick, easy, can be healthy and there are an almost infinite ways to make it. One of my favorites is a quick toss with bacon and asparagus. This is also great with spinach or peas, but really you could pick any of your favorite veggies. Here's how to do it.

Asparagus & Bacon Pasta

Pasta - I used thin spaghetti, but you can use whatever you have on hand
Bacon, cut into little pieces, 1-2 slices per person
Asparagus, cut into 1" pieces, I like a lot!
Garlic or garlic powder, to taste
Lemon
Parmesan cheese, grated, handful
Red pepper flakes, just a pinch
Salt

Bring a pot of water to boil and cook pasta according to package instructions

Cook bacon until almost crispy. Drain most of the fat and add asparagus and garlic. If your asparagus is really thick you will probably want to blanch them first - it's easy just add to the pasta pot about 2 minutes before pasta is set to be done

Add drained pasta to pan. Season to taste with lemon juice, parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes and salt. 

Eat! 

I love carbs so I like to serve my pasta with parmesan garlic bread. To make the bread, I just spread some butter on bread (any kind, but I like baguettes) and top with garlic powder and parmesan then stick in my toaster oven until golden.


Really, I'm embarrassed to even call that a recipe. It's more of a method that you could use with anything. Like I said I really like spinach or peas as well. It might also be good with something like tuna instead of bacon. Or left over chicken or ham. Oh and in the picture above, I topped my pasta with Onion Crunch. I'm kind of addicted to the stuff which is sort of like French's Fried Onions, but not exactly. It reminds me more of the fried shallots you can get at Asian markets. I bought a huge jar of Onion Crunch at Costco and add it to everything. So unhealthy lol.

Curry (kare) or Cream Stew Pan

And now for something completely different... a recipe!

My mom said she was making Japanese curry the other day and then suddenly I got a hankering to try and make homemade curry pan! Pan means bread in Japanese (from the French, pain) and curry (or kare) pan is commonly sold in bakeries across Japan. Usually it is fried, so it's really more like a donut stuffed with curry. I don't really like to fry things at home, so I thought I'd attempt an easier, healthier baked version. It was actually super simple if you have left over curry. I love curry pan, but I actually like cream stew more than curry, so I thought I'd try and make a bun version of that too. It was delicious! Both are best eaten fairly quickly as the outside doesn't stay crispy for long.

Curry (kare) or Cream Stew Pan

1 package refrigerated biscuits (I used Pillsbury Grands - Original)
1 1/2 cups (approx.) refrigerated, left over curry or cream stew
1 egg, beaten
panko bread crumbs
Pam or other oil spray
flour

Pre-heat over to 350 degrees.

Lightly flour your workspace and roll out each biscuit to about a 6" diameter circle.

Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of curry or cream stew into the center of each dough circle.

Fold over dough and pinch edges together to close. Pinch well to keep curry from leaking out.

Brush with egg wash and dredge in panko crumbs.

Spray cookie sheet and each pan with oil.

Bake for approx. 15 minutes until golden brown.

Enjoy!

I was really surprised by how crispy these turned out considering they aren't fried.  It's a great way to use up leftovers. If you're not familiar with Japanese curry, it's much milder and sweeter than Indian or Thai curries. At out house, we just make both curry and cream stew with the roux blocks that you can buy at any Asian store. In a pinch, if you just want to make the bread, you could probably also use the single serve instant packets.