Gnocchi with Pancetta and Beans

Tuesday is turning into "pasta night" at my house and I've been on a quest to make it more than just a red sauce kind of thing.  I found some beautiful green beans and diced pancetta at the market today and thought the saltiness would pair well with a potato, so we ended up with gnocchi.  This is quick and easy and oh, so, delicious.

Here's what you'll need:

5 oz diced pancetta
1 pint green beans
17 oz pkg of gnocchi
2 TBSP butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Bring 4 quarts of salted water to boil in a large saucepan.  Trim the ends off the beans and cut into 1" pieces.

Cook the beans for 2 minutes.  Remove from the water with a spider or slotted spoon and immerse in ice water.  This stops the cooking and keeps the beans' green color.  Set aside.

Bring the water back to a boil.

Cook the pancetta in a large skillet, over low heat, until it's crisp.

Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels.  Set aside.

Add the butter to the skillet.  Over low heat cook the garlic just until fragrant.

Add the beans a saute lightly.

Meanwhile, add the gnocchi to the boiling water.  Cook 2-3 minutes or until they float.  Remove with a slotted spoon or a spider, and put into the skillet with the beans.

Add the pancetta and toss.

Add the Parmesan cheese and the pepper, stirring to coat all the gnocchi, adding 1-2  spoons of the pasta water, if needed, to form a sauce.

Serves 3-4.

Enjoy!

Rigatoni with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Bacon Alfredo

Pasta night has become a weekly occurrence at our house.  Even with all the variations available, it can still become a little old, so I'm always looking for new ways to freshen it up.  Tonight I settled on rigatoni with a creamy Alfredo sauce.  You can make your own Alfredo from scratch, but to make it quick and easy on a work night I used a jarred variety.  I had dinner on the table in under 30 minutes.

Here's what you'll need:

1/2 pkg Rigatoni pasta
5 strips of bacon
4-5 slices of sun-dried tomato, in oil
1 jar garlic Alfredo
1/4 tsp black pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions.  While it cooks, dice the bacon and brown it in a large saute pan.

Coarsely chop the tomatoes and set aside.

When the bacon is crispy, place on paper towels to dry. Drain the grease, leaving about 1 TBSP in the pan.

Add 1 TBSP butter, olive oil or oil from the tomatoes to the bacon drippings.  Add the tomatoes and cook until they soften a little.  Stir in the pepper and jarred Alfredo sauce.  I used the garlic kind to give it an extra kick of flavor.

Warm gently, but don't boil.

When the pasta is cooked, use a slotted spoon to transfer it into the skilled with the sauce.

Gently stir until the pasta is all coated with the sauce.

Fold in the bacon and serve.

Serves 4.

Enjoy!