Spaghetti Amatriciana

Ease: 4/5     Kid-friendliness: 4/5     Taste: 4/5     Time: 3.5/6

Prep: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

We eat spaghetti a lot. It's kind of the go-to when we don't know what else to make. So I thought I would look around for alternate (but still relatively easy) spaghetti recipes to "spice" things up once in awhile. Everyone liked this one. The original recipe called for dry white wine. I used a little bit of apple juice instead.

This isn't a traditional amatriciana pasta sauce, because as wikipedia told me, amatriciana pasta sauce is made with dried pork cheek (I doubt my bacon is strictly made from the "cheek") and percorino cheese (never heard of it), but calling it "amatriciana" sounds like a more adult pasta sauce, so I left it in the title.

What you'll need:

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 90 g thick cut bacon, chopped
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 C apple juice (or dry white wine)
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2.5 C diced tomatoes, with juice
• salt
• 500 g (1 lb) spaghetti
• 1/2 C parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. In a large frying pan over medium-low heat, warm the oil. Add the bacon, onion, and red pepper flakes. Saute until the onion is softened and the bacon is lightly browned (~6 minutes). 

Stir in the apple juice, and tomato paste. Reduce the heat to low and cook about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and 1/2 tsp salt. Raise the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened, about 20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, add 2 Tbsp salt and pasta to the boiling water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente according to package directions (~8 minutes). Drain, reserving ~ 1/2 C of cooking water. 

Add the drained pasta to the sauce and toss to combine. Sprinkle with one-third of the cheese and toss again. Add cooking water until the sauce is a nice consistency. Top with cheese, and serve.

Recipe from Weeknight Cook

Pork Tenderloin and Bacon

Ease: 3.5/5     Kid-friendliness: 4/5     Taste: 5/5     Time: 4/5

Prep: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 8 minutes

I recently discovered tenderloin and think it might very well be my favorite meat right now. It's so, well, tender! And quite lean, too. This recipe was a crowd pleaser. I will definitely be making this one again.

For tips and tricks on selecting and preparing pork, see here.

What you'll need:

• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 pork tenderloins, about 1 pound each
• 12 slices thinly sliced bacon, about 3/4 pound

Trim any excess fat and silver skin from the tenderloins (see here to find out how).

Cut the tenderloin into 1 1/2 inch pieces (about the same width as a piece of bacon). Season with salt and pepper.

Wrap a piece of bacon around each piece of pork and secure with a toothpick. The bacon should overlap at the ends by no more than 1 inch.

Grill the pork over direct medium heat until the pork is barely pink in the center and the bacon is fully cooked (~12 - 15 minutes), turning once. If flare-ups occur, move the pork temporarily to indirect medium heat.

For another great tenderloin recipe idea, check out pork and apple pitas.