Spaghetti with prawns in a tomato and bacon sauce

Wow. I haven't written anything in a while, but I had to blog tonights dinner.
The Infoxicated Man is at band tonight, Miss K is at school camp, so the only people I had to please were myself, Miss B and Miss M.

So, here goes.


Pasta to serve (I cooked leftovers for Miss B for school tomorrow)
1kg prawns from the freezer
Small onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tin tomatoes (whole. Dice them yourself. Tins of diced tend to be more fluid filled, and almost slimy)
2 rashers bacon, rind removed (cook it separately to eat yourself later ;) ) and diced.

Cook of the bacon, onion, garlic and a splash of olive oil in a frying pan.
Add the tin of tomatoes that you chopped in the tin with your knife.
Simmer, then throw in the defrosted prawns until they're warm.
Stir the whole lot through the pasta and serve with garlic bread.

Pasta night

Thursday nights are pasta nights in my house.

The reason is simple. Ian (that is, the InfoxicatedMan) doesn't like pasta (inorite? who doesn't like pasta?), and Thursday nights is Band Night.

This recipe is my standby, budget pasta recipe. I've added salami to it before, and fresh cherry tomatoes, and bocconcini, but as a general rule, this is it.

• Pasta of choice (I've been using rollini lately, but I imagine penne or spirali would work well, too)
• minced garlic to taste
• chili to taste
• sundried tomatoes
• olives (pitted are best, and I normally use kalamata)
• a tablespoon of tomato paste

1. Cook the pasta as per the instructions on the packet. Make sure it's al dente.
2. Heat a heavy based pan on the cook top.
3. Add in some of the oil from the tomatoes or olives (its generally olive oil anyways).
4. Gently fry the garlic and chili.
5. Add in chopped sundried tomatoes and the tomato paste.
6. Stir through the olives.
7. Allow all to heat through.
8. Add drained pasta.

If you are adding salami, fry it off in chunks with the garlic and olive oil.

Prosciutto and pancetta should be fried (or baked) until crispy, and crumbled through at the last minute.

Any mozarella or bocconcini should be stirred through at the same time as the pasta.

Pantry Tomato Soup

OK, the soup thing for me at the moment is two fold.
Firstly it's beginning to get a little cooler down here in the southern hemisphere, and secondly, I'm pregnant, and consequently can't keep anything heavier than soup down.
This soup recipe has to be one of the easiest ones I make, and most of the ingredients are in the average kitchen pantry.

Ingredients:
4 tins of chopped peeled tomatoes
2 tins of water (by this i mean after the tomato tins are empty, use them as measures)
1 onion, chopped finely
1 teaspoon chilli paste (optional)
1 teaspoon crushed garlic (optional)
4 teaspoons of powdered stock, flavour of your choice
Mixed herbs to taste.

Method:
Fry off the onion, garlic and chilli in a small amount of olive oil or butter.
Add the tins of tomatoes, and water, bring to the boil.
Once boiling add the stock powder and herbs.
Mix well, and then drop heat to a simmer for 30 minutes minimum. The longer you leave it, the more the flavours will develop.
Serve either as is for a rustic style soup, or liquidise.

Serves 4 to 5 people.