I went to make Spaghetti Alla Carbonara from my meal plan and realized that I had accidentally used the evaporated milk I needed for the new recipe. Hmmm...I also didn't have the heavy cream or half and half as replacement items. I needed to improvise and I'm not one who improvises well!
I remembered a delicious recipe for "Buttered" Noodles in the Deceptively Delicious cookbook that used pureed squash in the "sauce." I combined the two recipes and it turned out delicious! The kids ate all of their dinner (of course, I told them we'd make Monkey Munch if they were still hungry after finishing their plates) and Mike went back for seconds. He was shocked when I told him what was in this meal. He was convinced it was a butter cream sauce that was really fattening! Here's what I came with...
Spaghetti Alla Carbonara (with hidden veggies)
1 - 16 oz. package whole wheat spaghetti or angel hair
6 oz. bacon, ham or panceta (I used turkey bacon)
2 eggs (I used 2 whites and one whole egg)
1 cup pureed squash (any variety - cook/steam it first, then puree in blender or food processor - I always have purees in the freezer b/c I use the D.D. book a lot)
1/4 cup milk
1 T. butter
1 cup parmesan cheese (grated or shredded)
1 t. black pepper
1/2 cup peas (optional)
- Heat bacon or ham in a skillet until done.
- Once it is fully cooked and cool enough to handle, dice into small pieces.
- Cook pasta per directions on package.
- In a bowl, beat eggs, squash puree, milk, butter, cheese, pepper, peas and cooked, diced bacon/ham.
- Drain pasta and return to pot. Immediately toss in the egg mixture. The residual heat from the pasta will cook the eggs, yet you can't taste the eggs on the pasta.
- Serve right away.
I know the idea of trusting that the "pasta heat" will cook the eggs may not appeal to some of you, so if you're weirded out by it, either eliminate the eggs or use pasteurized eggs as a substitute. I actually made more spaghetti to use for a recipe later this week and forgot to take 1/2 of the pasta OUT before adding the egg mixture (oops) so this recipe turned out a little drier than it should have. The good news is that it wasn't moist and slimy, making me question that the eggs were cooked. I figure: I'll eat raw cookie dough, so what's the big deal, right? Just don't sue me if you get salmonella. Deal?
- Heat bacon or ham in a skillet until done.
- Once it is fully cooked and cool enough to handle, dice into small pieces.
- Cook pasta per directions on package.
- In a bowl, beat eggs, squash puree, milk, butter, cheese, pepper, peas and cooked, diced bacon/ham.
- Drain pasta and return to pot. Immediately toss in the egg mixture. The residual heat from the pasta will cook the eggs, yet you can't taste the eggs on the pasta.
- Serve right away.
I know the idea of trusting that the "pasta heat" will cook the eggs may not appeal to some of you, so if you're weirded out by it, either eliminate the eggs or use pasteurized eggs as a substitute. I actually made more spaghetti to use for a recipe later this week and forgot to take 1/2 of the pasta OUT before adding the egg mixture (oops) so this recipe turned out a little drier than it should have. The good news is that it wasn't moist and slimy, making me question that the eggs were cooked. I figure: I'll eat raw cookie dough, so what's the big deal, right? Just don't sue me if you get salmonella. Deal?
Posts
3 comments:
Another yummy looking recipe! I made the banana bread and Crockpot enchiladas over the weekend and they were Fabulous!
Looks yummy. I will have to try it.
I make a squash soup with sausuage in it that tastes like in has a ton of cream it but has just a couple of tablespoons. I love how squash has the rich mouth feel. And so good for you too.
Wow, this sounds really good! Great way to hide the squash! I will let you know how mine turns out! Thanks for stopping by my blog, the frog WAS huge!
Post a Comment