Wednesday, December 7, 2011

BLT pasta salad

I think I'm finally back in the swing of things cooking wise. I was so burnt out from all the holiday food we had been eating out quite a bit since Thanksgiving. I'm proud to tell you we had a great home cooked meal last night, one of my faves!  I made Spicy spinach stuffed chicken and roasted brussel sprouts for dinner and it sure did hit the spot :)  But on with my Thanksgiving menu recipes...with the BLT pasta salad!

I have to be honest with you and tell you that I didn't even get to try this. I made it for our first hosting Thanksgiving and we had over 30 people in the house, with enough food to feed 3 times that! I literally couldn't get everything on my plate, let alone into my stomach! It looked really good though, and I would probably make it again as everyone who tried it said they enjoyed it.

Ingredients

12 ounce corkscrew shaped pasta
1/2 cup milk
12 ounces lean bacon (could use turkey but I'm trying to get rid of Wilbur in our deep freeze)
3 medium ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 clove garlic, minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup mayo (I used the light olive oil mayo)
1/4 cup sour cream
4 tablespoons chopped chives
5 cups chopped romaine hearts

Directions

Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water as the label directs. Drain and toss with the milk in a large bowl; set aside.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Drain on paper towels. Discard all but 3 tablespoons drippings from the pan. Add the tomatoes, thyme and garlic to the pan and toss until warmed through; season with salt and pepper. Crumble the bacon into bite-size pieces; set aside 1/4 cup for garnish. Toss the remaining bacon and the tomato mixture with the pasta.

Mix the mayonnaise, sour cream and 3 tablespoons chives with the pasta until evenly combined. Season with salt and pepper. Add the lettuce; toss again to coat. Garnish with the reserved bacon and the remaining 1 tablespoon chives. Serve at room temperature. I didn't get a photo of this, but let's get real...the photo on pinterest from A Bird and a Bean is way better anyway...so this is why my mouth was watering for this salad!



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