Jun 28, 2012

Chicken Carbonara with Spinach


Oh Summer, you are kickin' my fanny. Kickin' it real good.

Some days it is a good kind of busy.

Then there are days I walk past a mirror at the end of the marathon struggle of putting four Little Men to bed after a rowdy day and see mascara streaks underneath a pair of very tired eyes.

How long has that mess been there? Oh probably long enough that the store clerk thought Alice Cooper was frequenting the local Walmart.

Well I guess I am just gonna have to embrace the crazy.

You know what helps the crazy?

An easy meal. A meal that is so good that the whole family loves it. A big bowl of pasta with creamy sauce and bacon.

My boys actually come running to the smell of bacon...you know that Beggin' Strip commercial with the dog...

Yes I just compared my boys to bacon lovin' puppies. I call it like I see it.

When they came in the door the last time I made this, first they cheered at the smell of bacon. Then when I told them what was for dinner (besides bacon), they pretty much all said, "YES! That is my favorite. We love that dinner!"

Pretty much.

I will have you know they don't even pick out the spinach. I am not gonna lie, I am not sure they even see it past the bacon.

Thank you again bacon for saving my crazy Summer day.


Chicken Carbonara with Spinach
adapted from Lovin' From the Oven


Ingredients:
10-12 oz linguine
2 chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces
4 strips of bacon, cooked and cut up
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups spinach, sliced
salt and pepper to taste

Cook bacon. Remove and set aside. Go ahead and cook up that chicken in the same pan the bacon just cooked in. Yup, cook up the chicken in the bacon drippings. Just trust me.

Cook the chicken for about 4-5 minutes and then add in the garlic. Cook until chicken is done. Set aside but keep it in the skillet.

Whisk together the yolks, cream, milk, and cheese.

Cook the pasta in boiling water. Cook until just before al dente. At this point put the skillet with the chicken bacon on medium heat and add the bacon. Then scoop out the pasta from the water with tongs or a pasta spoon, and add it to the skillet. Make sure some of the pasta water makes it to the skillet too. The pasta water will help thicken the sauce.

Pour the cream mixture over the pasta. Sprinkle the spinach over the top. Gently toss the pasta so that the sauce evenly covers all the pasta. Do not overheat the pasta and sauce will get thick and a little lumpy.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve and enjoy!

6 comments:

Niki said...

This is one of my favorite dishes. The addition of spinach would just make me love it more.

I actually just made the frozen yogurt from your post on Somewhat Simple and thank you because it is oh so yummy.

Larissa@Just Another Day in Paradise said...

Yay! I am glad you liked the frozen yogurt. I had a big bowl last night myself. YUM.

Maggie and Sheepie said...

Boy, do I hope we have parmesan in the fridge!

sunnie said...

Another of your recipes that I tried and loved! My 5 year old said he loved it more than pierogies which is a pretty big deal!

Larissa@Just Another Day in Paradise said...

Oh I am so glad! My boys love it too. Their favorite part...probably the bacon. They got it right!

Unknown said...

I want to make this, but I am nervous about not cooking the egg yolk. Ease my fears! 😀

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