Tag Archives: BACON

Popeye’s Pasta

Posted on by

0

I’ve realized it has been quite a while since I shared a non-dessert recipe! I’m not sure if I even want to know what you guys think of my eating habits. I swear I’m not addicted to sugar and butter! (at least that I know of)

PopeyesPasta-6

PopeyesPasta-2

So to give you a break from all the sweets, I’m sharing with you all one of my absolute favorite pasta dinner dishes. I have used many different types of noodles for this. Penne, fusilli, farfelle, are all great, basically whatever floats your boat.

PopeyesPasta-3

One of my favorite combinations in savory dishes is parmesan cheese, spinach, and bacon and this pasta dish combines all of those!

PopeyesPasta-4

PopeyesPasta-1

This is one of those easy and quick to prepare dinners that really satisfies and is comforting and warming in this winter season. So when you want to take a break from all the cookies and cupcakes, fix up yourself a nice dish of popeye’s pasta.

PopeyesPasta

Wondering why it’s called Popeye‘s Pasta? Click here! :)

Popeye’s Pasta

1 box pasta

1/4 cup unsalted butte or margarine

2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 (9 oz.) bag of spinach

1/4 cup bacon bits

  1. Prepare pasta as directed on box, drain, place pasta back into large pot. Add butter (or margarine), cheese, spinach, and bacon bits to pasta. Mix and stir over the lowest heat until cheese is melted, spinach is wilted, and everything is thoroughly combined. Serve and enjoy!

Random Fact of the Day: There are 92 known cases of nuclear bombs lost at sea.

Related articles

Potato Skins

Posted on by

2

Even if you have never been to T.G.I.Friday’s, I’m sure there is a good chance that you have heard of potato skins

Growing up I remember having these A LOT with our dinners. You can buy them in the freezer section and just pop them in the oven to go with dinner.

Little did I realize how incredibly simple and easy they are to make. Plus, since YOU are making them you can make them just the way YOU like! Let’s say YOU a little more. YOU. YOU. YOU.

So have fun with these. There are endless possibilities of variations you can make with potato skins! Mexican with black beans and salsa, italian with tomato sauce and sausage, greek with spinach and feta…. My mouth is watering thinking of all these different kinds. This go around I decided to just make the traditional bacon and cheese kind, but next time I know I for sure will try one of those (or all of those!) combinations I said before.

The instructions for these are super duper simple, so just look below for the recipe and get cooking!

Potato Skins

4 Baking Potatoes

about 3/4 cup shredded cheese

about 1/2 cup bacon bits

about 1/2 Tablespoon butter, melted

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Bake potatoes in preheated oven for 1 hour. When done baking, let potatoes sit until cool enough to handle.
  3. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out potato, using a spoon or scoop. Be sure to leave about 1/4 inch of potato lining the skin!! (I placed the potato that I scooped into a tupperware container for later eating!) Brush the entire surface of the hollowed-out potato halves with melted butter, be sure to get the inside AND outside. Place hollowed-out halves on baking sheet.
  4. Broil the potatoes on baking sheet on HI, cut side up, for about 6 minutes or until edges start to turn dark brown.
  5. Sprinkle 2-3 Tablespoons of shredded cheese on top of each skin and sprinkle about 2 teaspoons of bacon on each skin. Broil the skins for 2 more minutes or until cheese is completely melted. Take skins out of oven and let sit for about 5 minutes, then enjoy!

Random Fact of the Day: King George I could not speak english

Related articles

5 Bean Dish

Posted on by

1

Man. Beans really are NOT pretty.

These pictures do these beans no justice. I need you all to take my word on this. These beans are AHHHH-Mazing. Seriously, I could eat them anytime, any day.

These, like most crockpot recipes, are extremely easy to make. Pour everything in and win.

This dish is great for the summertime with all the Barbecues and what not going on. Then again, it’s great anytime during the year. It can be quite a comforting dish in the chilly winter months and equally awesome in the summer with a hot dog (but we had our beans with salmon).

So go ahead, make some ugly beans and love them.

5 Bean Dish

1 cup ketchup

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup bacon bits

1 small onion, chopped

1 can each of green beans (not french cut), butter beans, red kidney beans, black beans, ALL MUST BE DRAINED

1 large can Pork & Beans

  1. Pour all ingredients in crock pot. Set heat on low for 8-10 hours, or bake in 350 degree F oven for 1 1/2 hours. Enjoy!

Random Fact of the Day: The seed of the redwood trees are so small that 123,000 of them weigh scarcely a pound.

Related articles

BL(S)T Pasta Salad

Posted on by

5

Oh my goodness, does it ever seem like life is like zooming by like a train and your just trying to chase it down and jump on?

That’s kind of how I feel right now. I feel old. I’m in high school and feel old. Can you imagine how I’ll feel when I’m like actually old?! I can’t believe I’m going to be a senior in the Fall. I feel like I was just playing with my barbies and American Girl Dolls with my sister last week.

I was teaching a class of swim lessons last week and I actually really liked the kids I had. (Shoutout to Julie!) I actually sorta had a tiny taste of how she feels when she switches what grade level she teaches. I’m totally used to teaching the 3 and 4 year old how to walk in the water and blow bubbles and be cute and all….and then all of a sudden I was shoved in front of a bunch of big bad 8 and 9 year olds!!

I was seriously intimidated.

And then for some reason they thought I was some form of a rock star/celebrity because I was a high school girl. They were immediately obsessed with me. To be honest, it was slightly awesome. They all wanted the same swimsuit as me (a plain blue one piece…?), same earrings, same hairstyle, it was crazy. On the last day they all had their moms take pictures with me and I felt like I was on the red carpet or something! They were adorable and hugged me nonstop. It actually made me even consider going into a teaching career when I get older….but I don’t want to totally base my choice off of a two week swim class. So we’ll just see ;)

Anyways, I made some pasta salad. Pretty darn tasty and great for the summer! This would be a perfect thing to make and bring to any 4th of July BBQs you all may be attending next week!!!

BL(S)T Pasta Salad

(adapted from Skinny Taste)

about 2 1/2 cups pasta (I used Penne)

5 slices of bacon

1 cup chopped tomatoes (I used canned, diced tomatoes because it was easy and in the house. I believe this would be equal to about 2 or 3 large fresh tomatoes)

3 Tablespoons mayonnaise

salt and pepper to taste

2 1/4 cups fresh, washed baby spinach

  1. Prepare bacon as desired. I baked mine in the oven at 400 degrees F in a baking pan for about 8-10 minutes or until crispy. When bacon is done cooking, drain and pat with paper towel. Crumble into small pieces.
  2. While bacon is cooking, cook pasta according to directions on box. Meanwhile, prepare tomatoes and place them in a bowl with the mayo and combine them with salt and pepper to taste.
  3. When pasta is done cooking, drain well and rinse with cool water to cool it down. Combine pasta with tomatoes and spinach and mix well. Toss in bacon right before serving. I made mine the day ahead, covered with plastic wrap, then mixed in the bacon right before we ate. Enjoy! Store leftovers in air tight container in the fridge.

Random Fact of the Day: Wrestler Andre the Giant set the world record for the most alcohol consumed, he drank 156 beers in a single sitting.

Related articles

Week in Review (4/2-4/6)

Posted on by

1

Hey there April, welcome! This week on Beautiful Disasters…

Monday I showed you guys the High Protein Energy Balls. Super yummy and perfect for a quick bite. I loved having these around to just pop in my mouth before practice or have a couple before a big game. Great tasting, and pretty darn good for ya :)

Tuesday we had our first conference game of the soccer season and won 6-2. Awesome start to the season! Always fun to jump out with a big win to boost your confidence.

Wednesday I showed you guys the cheesy garlic drop biscuits I made. Super duper easy and pretty tasty. I love that you can totally change this basic recipe to whatever spices and ingredients you want in there. You can really spice these guys up by adding any herbs or spices you like, different cheeses, BACON, peppers, chocolate, you know…whatever works.

Thursday we had another soccer game…against the 3rd best team in the nation. We ended up losing 3-1, but hey, I think that’s an alright fight against 3rd in the country. It’s no win, but we did stop their shut-out streak!

Friday was a pretty great day! I had no school, I got to visit the wonderful kitchen of Red Hen and see where all the magic is made! My brother also came home for the weekend from LA!! Oh yeah, and I shared this yummy grilled honey chicken recipe with ya. Awesome for the grilling season, which is thankfully right about here! (hopefully I didn’t jinx myself there. You never quite know with this crazy Chicago weather)

Random Fact of the Day: A pregnant goldfish is called a twit.

Related articles