13 Mar 2012

Homemade Macaroni

I LOVE cooking pasta. Its the easiest thing to make and conveniently, in Canada, almost everything is pre packaged, ready to make. I try to make things as close to "from scratch" as I can. This is one of my favourites. Bacon, mushroom, and chicken macaroni in mushroom-garlic alfredo sauce! Yes I am aware this needs a better name.
Fry up LOTS of bacon. I pre-cut them in small pieces before throwing them in the pan. Mind you, the bacon does shrink lots after its cooked and crispy so don't make em too small. I just used my scissors.. no need for exactly equal shapes.
After the bacon is cooked to my liking, I would add the chicken and mushrooms. The bacon fat sort of deep frys the chicken and adds saltiness so not need for extra seasoning!
After everything is cooked, strain all that extra bacon fat out. Then, I add some powdered garlic alfredo pasta sauce (about 1/4 package), canned cream of mushroom (also 1/4 can) and a couple splashes of milk. You'll get the hang of it once you start cooking this more often. If it's too thick, add more milk. Too thin, add more powder or soup. My trick to adding texture and last minute thickness is to add parmesan cheese. This evens everything out and gives the dish some cheesiness! Don't forget to mix the pasta in well. You want the sauce to be inside the macaroni, not just around it.
AAND viola! I like to add lots of dry parsley.. or fresh if you have it!
I used the same technique for this one using ground pork and lots of mushrooms.

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