{"id":26338,"date":"2022-08-18T08:01:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-18T08:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mrhealthyalternative.com\/?p=26338"},"modified":"2022-08-18T08:01:00","modified_gmt":"2022-08-18T08:01:00","slug":"creamy-pasta-with-asparagus-and-bacon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mrhealthyalternative.com\/?p=26338","title":{"rendered":"Creamy Pasta with Asparagus and Bacon"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"63d509947b33dea96ed9a09b2482b63d\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:10px 0 10px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1554417\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n\n<\/div>\n<p>Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables especially when incorporated into a fabulous dish. My kids dislike asparagus but love Creamy Pasta with Asparagus &amp; Bacon \u2013 they say that bacon makes everything better!<\/p>\n<p>I am guilty of buying asparagus, putting it away in the refrigerator drawer, and finding it when it has only a day or so left. Fresh green beans are also really nice in this dish. If you have family with selective palates, this is a wonderful way to get them to eat vegetables \u2013 the creamy and flavorful sauce complements the vegetables well.<\/p>\n<p>I love to add extra garnish to complement the bacon and Parmesan. I grab some fresh herbs from my little herb garden, chop them, and sprinkle on top. Then I cut a lemon and squeeze a bit of juice over the pasta. The added color and freshness of the herbs mixed with the brightness of the lemon are lovely.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ingredients<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>8 slices bacon \u2013 chopped<\/p>\n<p>8 oz. Baby-Bella mushrooms \u2013 sliced<\/p>\n<p>4 cups low-sodium chicken broth<\/p>\n<p>3 cups milk, divided (2 cups and 1 cup)<\/p>\n<p>12 oz. Farfalle pasta (Bowtie pasta)<\/p>\n<p>1 lb. asparagus \u2013 trim the tough ends and cut into 1-inch pieces<\/p>\n<p>Salt and pepper to taste<\/p>\n<p>4 oz. cream cheese \u2013 softened<\/p>\n<p>2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour<\/p>\n<p>\u00bd cup Parmesan cheese \u2013 shredded or freshly grated<\/p>\n<p><strong>Directions<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Cook the pasta about 3 minutes less than the lowest minutes given on the package \u2013 not yet al dente. Drain the pasta, rinse, and set aside.<\/p>\n<p>In a 12-inch nonstick skillet or a cast iron skillet (my favorite), cook the bacon until crispy.<\/p>\n<p>Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Pour the bacon grease into a bowl \u2013 do not discard because you will need some later.<\/p>\n<p>Using the same pan from the bacon, heat to medium heat, add the mushrooms, and season lightly with salt and pepper.<\/p>\n<p>Cook the mushrooms until browned and the liquid is mostly evaporated \u2013 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to the same plate as bacon.<\/p>\n<p>In a larger pot, add the broth, 2 cups of milk, the pasta, \u00bd tsp. salt and \u00bc tsp. pepper.<\/p>\n<p>Bring the mixture to a vigorous simmer and cook for about 8-9 minutes, stirring occasionally and moderating the heat so the mixture simmers but doesn\u2019t stick to the bottom of the pot.<\/p>\n<p>Stir in the asparagus and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes \u2013 until the asparagus is tender and the pasta is al dente but still slightly firm (it will continue to cook). There will be a bit of liquid left; that is how it should be as it will help make the creamy sauce in the next step.<\/p>\n<p>In a blender, combine 1 cup of milk, cream cheese, and flour and blend until completely smooth.<\/p>\n<p>Slowly add the mixture to the pot while stirring quickly to combine. Simmer for a couple of minutes until the sauce has thickened.<\/p>\n<p>Remove the pot from the heat. Reserve a bit of bacon for a garnish and stir the rest of the bacon with the mushrooms into the sauce.<\/p>\n<p>Stir in the Parmesan cheese.<\/p>\n<p>Plate the pasta and garnish with bacon and more Parmesan cheese, if desired.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Notes<\/strong><br \/>\n\u2022\u00a0<strong>Pasta<\/strong>: Farfalle pasta is our family favorite, so I always have it on hand. If you prefer another type of pasta, it will work well unless the pasta is really small. Penne pasta is an excellent choice.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\u00a0<strong>Sauce<\/strong>: This is a saucy pasta which is how we like our pasta dishes. If you want slightly less sauce, consider adding only 3 \u00bd cups of broth and adding more at the end, if needed. Keep in mind that the sauce will thicken more as the pasta rests.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\u00a0<strong>Asparagus<\/strong>: If asparagus doesn\u2019t work for your family, substituting fresh green beans works beautifully.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\u00a0<strong>Garnish<\/strong>: I recommend adding a sprinkle of bacon and Parmesan for the added flavor. I highly recommend sprinkling chopped fresh herbs and adding a squeeze of fresh lemon juice over the pasta \u2013 it makes the dish pop!<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables especially when incorporated into a fabulous dish. My kids dislike asparagus but love Creamy Pasta with Asparagus &amp; Bacon \u2013 they say that bacon makes everything better! I am guilty of buying asparagus, putting it away in the refrigerator drawer, and finding it when it has only a &#8230; <a title=\"Creamy Pasta with Asparagus and Bacon\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/mrhealthyalternative.com\/?p=26338\" aria-label=\"Read more about Creamy Pasta with Asparagus and Bacon\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":26340,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[129],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-recipes"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrhealthyalternative.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrhealthyalternative.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrhealthyalternative.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrhealthyalternative.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrhealthyalternative.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26338"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mrhealthyalternative.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26338\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26341,"href":"https:\/\/mrhealthyalternative.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26338\/revisions\/26341"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrhealthyalternative.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrhealthyalternative.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrhealthyalternative.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrhealthyalternative.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}