Chicken Lo Mein

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It is no secret, I do not like Chinese food.  I never have.  It is far too greasy and salty for me.  Not to mention all the MSG in it.  And meat.  I am a vegetarian so I am not a fan of the meat.  Unfortunately, my husband is a carnivore who happens to love Chinese food.  I don't make Chinese food ever, and we eat it on New Years Eve, and that is it.  Because I really don't like it, and since I am in charge of meals, I get to say what we eat.

While perusing Pinterest a while back, Jeffrey happened to glance over my shoulder and saw a pin for some Chicken Lo Mein.  He begged for it, and so I decided I would try it.

It wasn't bad.  I am not a fan of any of the flavors of Chinese food, so I am not going to rave about this one, but Jeffrey really liked it.  It had far too much chicken. Said the vegetarian who is on a brief hiatus of being a vegetarian.

What you need:

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 TBSP brown sugar

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp minced ginger

black pepper to taste

2-3 TBSP vegetable oil

4-5 small packages of Yaki Soba noodles 

2/3 cup chopped celery (cut diagonally)

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

2 cups chopped cabbage

1-2 cups shredded chicken from a rotisserie chicken

What to do

• In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, and pepper.  Set aside.
• Remove the noodles from the packages and throw away the flavor packets.  Rinse the noodles and drain.
• Heat oil in a large wok.  Add the celery and the onion.  Saute for a few minutes or until the onions start to become soft and translucent.  Add cabbage and saute the mixture for another minute.
• Toss the noodles, chicken, and soy sauce mixture with the vegetables over medium high heat for another 2-3 minutes or until the noodles are heated through.

Jeffrey loved it.  I am glad, and may make it more than once a year.  We will see.

Baked Spaghetti

 

This is such a delicious dish and certainly a family favorite.  Yumm!

It is convenient because Jeffrey's favorite food is spaghetti, and I get tired of having it the same way over and over and over.  This way, I get some variation, and he gets his spaghetti.  

*Note* I leave out the meat.  Of course.  :)

 

 

Baked Spaghetti 

 

1 onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 lb. ground beef

28 oz diced tomatoes (w/liquid)

2tsp. oregano

6 c. cheddar cheese, shredded (i never measure this, i just buy the big cheddar and mozarella bags of shredded cheese from costco and put on as much as i want, i like it really cheesey!)

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1/2 c. water

4 oz. can mushroom (w/liquid)

1 c. shredded parmesian (same as other cheese, i don't really measure)

1 can olives, crushed (i break them up with my fingers as i put them in)

12 oz spaghetti, cooked

 

Boil spaghetti, set aside with oil drizzled to keep from sticking, sautee onion, bell pepper, and meat, drain. add tomatoes, mushrooms, olives, and oregano, simmer uncovered 10 minutes. grease pan (needs to be bigger than the standard pyrex baking rectangular dish, it will overflow in that one. i bought a bigger one from my specialty section at the grocery store. it's red, so cute, harmon's do have harmon's?). add 1/2 pasta, top with 1/2 veggie/hamburger mix, 1/2 of cheddar cheese (or as much as you want!), and repeat the steps again (pasta, veg/ham, cheese). then mix two cans of cream of mush soup with 1/2 c water, pour over top, spread evenly. top with parmesian cheese. bake 350* 30-45 minutes.

And there you have it.  A huge scrumptious meal, easily prepared.

National Macaroni Day or Pasta with Aurora Sauce

Today was National Macaroni Dayor something like that.  So I had to make something pasta-ish. 

Cruising through some cookbooks, I found a recipe I thought I might add... if I changed it up a lot.  We liked it, but I think the next time I make it, I will be going a little easier on the garlic.  Loved it though.

Pasta with Aurora Sauce

What you need:

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 green onions, minced

1 can crushed tomatoes

1 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried marjoram

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup cream cheese

1 lb pasta of choice (I used the veggie bow tie pasta)

cheese (I had longhorn on hand, so we used that)

What to do:

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large saucepan.  Add the garlic and green onions, cooking until fragrant (1 minute).  Stir in tomatoes and spices.  Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While sauce is simmering, cream the cream cheese until smooth.  Add 1 cup of the garlic tomato sauce from your saucepan and blend with cream cheese until smooth.  Return to saucepan, stirring to blend.  Be sure you taste and fix with any seasonings if needed.  Keep warm over low heat while your pasta is cooking until al dente.  Transfer drained pasta to serving bowl.  Add the sauce and toss gently to combine and cover noodles.  Grate cheese over top, and toss again distributing cheese evenly.  Garnish with fresh parsley if desired.

To be completely honest, this recipe isn't anything to phone home about, but for a good home cooked meal, it hits the spot.  The next time I make it, I will be adding some zucchini and spinach (staples in every meal) and any other veggie that sounds good.  Love loading my pasta with veggies!

Again, sorry for the lack of photos.  By the time dinner is ready, I am busy getting my family fed and so forget to take a picture.  However, here is a photo of a vegan version, same recipe.  Only she didn't use cheese, and used tofu instead of cream cheese. 

Mine looked better.  :)

Baked Pasta Shells with Broccoli

I got a new cookbook on a date with my hubby last week. I finally made a recipe out of it last night. It was pretty good, but not what I was expecting. For some reason I thought that it would be a very elegant meal. I don't know why I thought that, but I did. At any rate, it was very much a home-style cooking kind of meal. But Jeffrey liked it a lot and requested I make it again, so that is a good sign. I forgot to take pictures of it, so you are going to have to use your imagination on this one. Also, I didn't follow the recipe exact as I didn't have all the ingredients it called for, but I think it turned out pretty well regardless.

What you need:

1 medium bunch broccoli, trimmed and cut into small florets (I would use two bunches of broccoli the next time I make this)
8 oz small pasta shells (I used curly noodles as I didn't have shells)
3 cups Mornay-Style Cheeze Sauce (recipe below)
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup dry unseasoned bread crumbs
1 tsp sweet paprika

What to do:

Steam the broccoli until just tender, about 5 minutes. Run under cold water to stop the cooking process and set aside. Preheat the oven to 375*F. Lightly oil a 9x13" baking dish and set aside.
In a pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta over medium-high heat until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain well and return to the pot. Add the steamed broccoli, the Mornay sauce, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix gently to combine, then spoon the mixture into the prepared baking dish and top with the bread crumbs and paprika.
Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until the top is lightly browned, about 10 minutes longer. Serve immediately.

*** I just mixed everything in the baking dish rather than return it all to the pasta pot and then mixing it before putting it in the baking dish. Also, we were impatient to eat so I baked it for 15 minutes with the foil on and about 10 minutes with the foil off.***

Mornay-style Cheese Sauce

What you Need:

1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/8 tsp turmeric (I didn't have any so I used worchestshire sauce. I don't recommend doing this )
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tbsp water
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp yellow mustard
1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk (I only had vanilla, so I used regular milk)

What to do:

In a small saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, cover, and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Stir in the broth and nutritional yeast, turmeric, and salt and pepper and simmer, stirring, until the mixture starts to thicken and bubble. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and cook, whisking, for 1 to 2 minutes to thicken.
Transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add the lemon juice, mustard, and milk and blend until smooth. Taste, adjusting seasonings if necessary. Return the sauce to the saucepan and heat over low heat, stirring, until hot. If not using right away, cool the sauce to room temperature, then transfer it to a container, cover, and refrigerate until needed. Properly stored, the sauce will keep for 2 to 3 days. Reheat the sauce in a saucepan over low heat.

Again, it was a very comforting meal, but I will definetly add more broccoli next time, and not try to replace the turmeric, because that gave it a really funny flavor. I also added some shredded cheese and mixed it in with the casserole. All in all, it was yummy but nothing to wow the Jones'. If you do decide to make this, let me know now it goes, and as always,

Buen Provecho!

Butternut Squash Lasagna

Jeffrey simply adores Italian foods. If he could have married pasta, I think he would have. He really does have a love affair with carbs, though. If I cook lots of veggies for dinner, he will eat them, say he is full, and be back 20 minutes later for a sandwich because he has to have carbs to feel full.
So I try to make lots of Italian foods for him. Lasagna is one of his favorites, but finding a good vegetarian lasagna recipe is quite difficult. So we just don't eat lasagna often.

Until now.

I just found the most divine butternut squash lasagna recipe ever! We both absolutely loved it and I want to make it often. But you can't go into it expecting it to taste just like lasagna. For starters there are no tomatoes in it at all, so the marinara sauce taste wont be there. But as I was eating it I felt really good. Not heavy like I generally do after eating Italian. So, I hope you enjoy it, as it has become one of my faaaaaaavorite recipes.

Source

Butternut Squash Lasagna

What You Need:

2 medium butternut squashes

1 onion, chopped fine

1 1/2 cups apple cider

1/2 t. white pepper

3/4 t. ground sage

1 t. sea salt

1/4 t. grated nutmeg

3 cups ricotta cheese or cottage cheese*

1 egg

1 1/2 cups grated Parmesano-Reggiano

8 oz. fresh mozzarella, break up with your hands or grate

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 package of no-boil lasagna noodles

1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped

olive oil

What To Do:

Preheat the oven to 400*. Slice your butternut squash in half, scoop out the seeds and place cut side down on a oiled baking sheet. Alternately you can cook the squash in the microwave if you short on time (just microwave cut side down until tender). Roast the squash for 1 hour. When cool enough to handle scoop out the flesh into a large bowl.

While the squash is cooking, heat a skillet and then add a drizzle of olive oil. Cook the onion until beginning to brown, when the onion softens add the minced garlic. Add the cider to the skillet and scrape up the browned bits in the pan. Add to bowl that the squash has an appointment with as well. Add the white pepper, sage and sea salt. Mash it all up with the squash (just like potatoes). It should have a easily-spreadable consistency- think really soft mashed potatoes. If you need additional liquid add a bit of water.

Get your 9x13 baking dish and place all of the noodles inside. Cover with hot tap water and let sit while you prepare the rest (at least 5 minutes). This guarantees only perfect, non-crunchy noodles.

In a separate bowl mix the ricotta cheese, egg, 1 cup of the Parmesan, and nutmeg.

Adjust the oven temperature to 375*. Spread a thin layer of the squash mix. Place four noodles down, slightly overlapping each other. Layer squash, cheese mix and then some fresh mozzarella, noodles and repeat. End the final layer: squash, noodles, cheese mix, mozzarella and the remaining Parmesan.

Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Serve with toasted hazelnuts sprinkled over the top.

*If you are unable to procure ricotta cheese or just need to use up what is already in the fridge go for the cottage cheese; but (and this is important to fool the naysayers and get a better end product) pulse the cottage cheese with a hand blender, in a blender or a food processor until it looks just like ricotta. Ta-da.

Just a few notes, I accidently bought acorn squash instead of the butternut, but it still was great. I imagine you can use virtually any type of winter squash with great results. Also, I used a colby jack cheese because that is what I had on hand.

It is absolutely divine, and I am sure you will love it. Just give it a try!

Buen Provecho!

Tortellini a la Florentine

Tonight I went through my recipe index and thought I would try a new one. We made a pasta dish that isn't one of my favorites. I don't know if I will make it again. It was good enough, and possibly I didn't like it because i was so hot and the food was hot, and I had to cook it. That right there is enough to ruin any good food. Jeffrey wasn't a huge fan because he had a horrid day at work and that right there is enough to spoil even the best food. He wasn't a fan of the wilted spinach but I liked it. At any rate, here it is...

Tortellini a la Florentine

What You Need:

1 Tbsp Vegetable oil
1/4 cup Chopped onion
1 tsp Chopped fresh garlic
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes in mixed herbs
slat and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 Tbsp Butter
2 Bags fresh baby spinach
3/4- 1lb fresh or frozen cheese tortellini, freshly cooked and drained
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

What To Do:

In a large heavy saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, until tender. Stir in the tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste; bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let simmer for 10 minutes.
Stir in the cream of mushroom soup and heat slowly. Remove and cover to keep warm.
In a large deep skillet, melt the butter over medium low heat. Add the spinaceh in batches, and cook, tossing until wilted. Season with salt and pepper.
Arrange the spinach and the tortellini on 4 heated plates. Coat with the mushroom sauce and sprinkle with parsley.

Buen Provecho!

A Perfect Dinner

Did you know I adore my husband? Well, I do. He is simply grand! Since today is a special day for him, I thought I would make him his favorite food in the world. He is a blueberry fiend! I am not exaggerating on that, he would live on blueberries alone if he could. I think he would be happy to have Violet Beauregarde's fate he loves them so much. So, to honor this big bluberry lover I call my husband, I am going to make him a fresh blueberry pie (well, I am going to use some fresh and some frozen blueberries) and surprise him with it when he gets home from work. A blueberry pie and a fresh lasagna... could life get any better? I submit that it cannot! I may even throw a lemonaid in there to, just to finish things off. It will be a very special dinner for my studious Darling!

To start off with, we will have a delectable lasagna with a side of veggies (made last night).

Miracle Lasagna

What You Need:

1 jar prego spaghetti sauce )any flavor you prefer)
6 uncooked lasagna noodles
16 oz ricotta cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

What To Do:

In a 2 qt baking dish, spread 1 cup sauce around to cover the bottom of the dish. Top the sauce with 3 uncooked noodles, ricotta cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese and the Parmesan cheese. Cover with 1 cup sauce. Top with remaining noodles and sauce. Cover dish and bake at 375*F for 1 hour. After it is done baking, top with remaining mozzarella cheese. Let stand for 5 minutes.

*My lasagna will look a lot tastier than this... still having camera problems*

We will enjoy this dish and the veggies with a little garlic bread, and some sparkling lemonaid (or juice, whatever I can find). Then, on to the dessert!

Fresh Blueberry Pie
recipe found here

What You Need:

1 1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
juice and grated zest from 1/2 medium lemon
5 cups fresh or frozen thawed blueberries, rinsed well
pastry for 2 crust pie
1 T butter, cut in small pieces

What To Do:

In a large bowl combine sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, lemon juice and grated rind, and blueberries. Roll out half of the pastry; line an 9-inch pie pan and trim edges. Pour berry mixture into pie crust and dot with small pieces of butter. Roll out remaining pastry to about 1/8 inch thick. Cover pie; trim, turn edge under and crimp. Cut a few vents in top of crust to allow steam to escape (didn’t think about it in time or I would have used one of my pie birds). Bake at 425° for 40 minutes, or until crust is nicely browned. For best slicing results, let the pie cool before slicing.

*This looks a lot better than my pie will because I don't know how to do the lattice crust.*

What a great way to end a long day of work, and to rev up the brain for all that studying that is
coming, don't you think? My sentiments exactly!

Buen Provecho!

Fettuccine Alfredo

Yesterday we tried the Fettuccine Alfredo. We didn't think it tasted much like alfredo at all, but it was still good. I didn't have any mushrooms in the house, so I added some spinach instead. The spinach was delicious and if I make it again, I will be adding the spinach plus mushrooms. If you make this, don't expect an exact duplicate of Alfredo, but expect a different, albeit delicious taste. Buen Provecho!

Fettuccine Alfredo

This is really, really, good be sure to give it a try!

1 Tablespoon olive oil
8 +/- fresh mushrooms, sliced or chopped
3-5 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 can coconut milk
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (don’t leave out)
½ -1 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
juice of half a lemon

2 Heaping Tablespoons whole wheat flour mixed with ½ cup rice milk

Saute the mushrooms and the garlic in a pan over med-low heat, for about 5 minutes or until the way you want them. Separately, bring the coconut milk to boil over a fairly low heat. As soon as it starts boiling, add the nutritional yeast, nutmeg, pepper, lemon and remove from heat. Mix it all together. Add the mushroom mixture to the sauce and simmer on low heat. While stirring slowly add the flour and milk mixture. Make sure to stir constantly or it will burn. Just stir until it come to a consistency that looks like alfredo sauce and serve immediately over noodles of choice. We use whole wheat spaghetti or fettuccine noodles. Would also be good with spelt noodles.

Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Garlic , Zucchini and Tomato

Whole Wheat spaghetti with garlic zucchini and tomato

This is a delightful summer dish, and easy to make!

I have to admit, this is another Nie specialty. She is an incredible cook. What can I say?


Whole wheat spaghetti
3 tablespoons olive oil
course salt and pepper
small red onion cut into thick slices
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large zucchini cut lengthwise into sticks
2 plum tomatoes cut lengthwise into strips
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Boil noodles in salted water
Sautee 3 garlic cloves in 2 tablespoons of olive oil for 3 minutes
Add zucchini and 1/2 cup water. Let sit on med. for 10 minutes
Add tomatoes, onions and 1 tablespoon of oil.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Add cheese.

Herbed Whole Wheat pasta with lemon butter

Jeffrey LOVED this one. Pasta is his favorite, and this is his fav. pasta. It's a good one.

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1/2 pound whole wheat pasta
  
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, tarragon, and chives
• crumbled feta

1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente according to package instructions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water. Return pasta to pot.
2. Stir in butter, lemon zest, juice, and herbs; season with salt and pepper. Add some of the reserved pasta water to adjust consistency, if needed. Top with crumbled feta.

Compliments of Nie

Whole Wheat spaghetti with garlic zucchini and tomato

I don't have pictures for most of these, but when I get them, meaning when I make it again, I will add them to the recipe it belongs to.

Ingredients:
Whole wheat spaghetti
3 tablespoons olive oil
course salt and pepper
small red onion cut into thick slices
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large zucchini cut lengthwise into sticks
2 plum tomatoes cut lengthwise into strips
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Boil noodles in salted water
Sautee 3 garlic cloves in 2 tablespoons of olive oil for 3 minutes
Add zucchini and 1/2 cup water. Let sit on med. for 10 minutes
Add tomatoes, onions and 1 tablespoon of oil.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Add cheese.

This recipe was found at Cuisine Nie

Tortellini Antipasto Salad

I forgot to take a picture of this divine dish.  It is so yummy that it dissappeared before I had a chance to pull out the camera.  At anyrate, I got this picture off of Kraft Foods and it is almost as good as mine was.  I found the recipe at Macey's and am loving it!  Thank you Macey's for having meal soultion cards out for free!  So, without further ado...

Tortellini Antipasto Salad

What you will need:
2 pkg Three Cheese Tortellini, cookes, drained, and rinsed
1 envelope Italian Salad Dressing & Recipe Mix, prepared using less oil directions
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 pkg. mozzarella cheese, cubed
1 large green pepper, chopped
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 can sliced pitted ripe olives, drained

Putting it all together:
Combine all ingredients; cover.
Refrigerate several hours or untill chilled

I actually shredded the cheese, and halved the olives, and it was so pretty and yummy.  It makes a great picnic or pot luck dish!

California Spaghetti

Before I go any further, I have to say I stole this recipe from Jenni Toller's blog. I made a few adaptations, and we had it for dinner last night. It was GREAT! Jeffrey loved it! He has been begging me to make spaghetti for a while, but I don't like spaghetti, so we rarely have it. At any rate, here it is with my adaptations. If you want the whole real recipe (which I am sure tastes a ton better than what I made) check out Jenni's cooking blog.

INGREDIENTS
16 ounces uncooked angel hair pasta
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
2 tablespoons dried basil
2 tablespoons Cajun-style blackened seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
2 cans of Garlic and Olive Oil diced tomatoes

2 zucchinis sliced
2/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

DIRECTIONS
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 5 to 8 minutes or until al dente. Drain.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken pieces, and cook, stirring until browned on the outside. Stir in the garlic, basil, Cajun seasoning, salt, and pepper, then mix in the tomatoes and zucchini. Cook until tomatoes are semi soft.

Toss with pasta, and serve with crumbled feta cheese on top. Also top with fresh basil if desired.
So I have to be honest, I added the canned tomato because I want to save my fresh tomatoes for tomato sandwiches, which are my favorite thing right now. I just couldn't part with them. However, like I said, Jeffrey LOVED it, and wants me to make it again. It makes quite a bit, and by evening, it was all gone!
Buen Provecho!

Summer Zucchini and Grilled Chicken Spaghetti with Leeks and Fire Roasted Tomatoes

Okay, so I got this great recipe from Picky Palate.  A delicious recipe blog with great food and what not, so... I have to add it to my blog, because it has become one of my favorite foods now.  I made a few alterations.  I am not a huge fan of spaghetti, so instead I used the curly colorful veggie noodles.  Another time I used tortellini.  Jeffrey liked it best with the tortellini, I liked it best with the veggie noodles.  Also, I didn't add any chicken.  Any way you make it, it is like a great celebration of food in your mouth.  Also, I didn't have the fire roasted tomatoes, so I used fresh.  Fresh is always great, right?  You can't go wrong there.
So, without further adu:

Summer Zucchini And Grilled Chicken Spaghetti With Leeks and Fire Roasted Tomatoes


1 lb whole wheat Barilla thin spaghetti noodles
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large zucchini, diced, about 3 Cups
½ Cup finely diced onion
½ Cup finely diced leeks (you can substitute onion, if desired)
pinch of kosher salt
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
2 Cups grilled chicken breast, about 2 medium breasts
1 14 oz can Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes
10 fresh basil leaves, stacked, rolled and thinly sliced into ribbons (chiffonade)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon garlic salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside. Place olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Saute zucchini, onion and leeks for 5 minutes, until softened. Season with a pinch of salt. Stir in garlic and cook for an additional minute. Add chicken, tomatoes, chicken, basil ribbons, cooked pasta, salt, garlic salt, pepper and olive oil. Toss to combine all ingredients and reduce heat to low. Taste and season according to your taste, I tend to like it a little salty! Enjoy!

Balsamic Tortellini

So I made this for dinner last night, and Jeffrey loved it! I don't think it is my favorite food, but then again, I really don't like vinegar, so there you go. I didn't even add as much as it called for, and it was still too strong, but Jeffrey sure loved it, so we will see if I make it again. Maybe just for him. But for those of you who like vinegar in your foods, here it is:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
5 slices bacon
1 (9 oz) package cheese-filled tortellini
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté onion and bacon until onion is translucent and bacon is brown; remove from skillet and drain on paper towel
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8-10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
3. Return onion/bacon mixture to skillet and add cooked tortellini. Toss with 2 tbsp olive oil and heat through. Place in serving dish or bowl, sprinkle with vinegar and cheese and serve immediately.

P.S. Just a few notes. First, you can use red pepper instead of bacon, and it is still delish. Also, a few healthy tips that if I had known about, I would have done, and if I make it again, I will do again: cook bacon first alone. Don't use oil to cook it, because it makes enough of it's own. When the bacon is finished drain the grease, and blot or soak up the excess grease on the bacon. Once you have drained as much of the grease as you can, add the onion and cook it in the same pan. Cooking them together causes the onion to soak up all the bacon fat, and the bacon didn't seem to cook to a crisp like it should. Also, you don't have to salt the water for the tortellini. True, it makes the water boil faster, but just be patient and leave out the extra sodium that you really don't need. Another tip, you don't need 2 tbsp of olive oil to add to the onion/bacon/tortellini mixture. 1/2 tbsp would suffice, and probably only 1 tbsp of vinegar. I used 1 1/2, and it was still too much. Other than those few changes, it was pretty good.