Pasta & Yummy Bean Dip

I feel like it's stupid to post recipes when most of the things I make are from other blogs that I could just link to. But I do like having all of the recipes I like in one place because it helps me plan out my meals. I didn't take any of my own pictures (they wouldn't look as pretty anyways) but at least I'm posting something to this neglected blog!

Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce
From: Pioneer Woman

(Picture from Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients:
* 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
* 2 Tablespoons Butter
* 1 whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced (I used dried)
* 4 cloves Garlic, Minced
* 2 cans (15 Ounce Each) Tomato Sauce Or Marinara Sauce
* Salt And Pepper, to taste
* Dash Of Sugar (more To Taste) (I had to use a little more than a dash since my tomato sauce was really acidic)
* 1 cup Heavy Cream
* Grated Parmesan Or Romano Cheese, To Taste
* Fresh Basil, Chopped (I used dried)
* 1-½ pound Fettuccine (I used Penne)

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta water.

Heat butter and oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute for a minute or so. Pour in tomato sauce and add salt, pepper, and sugar to taste. Stir and cook over low heat for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and stir in cream. Add cheese to taste, then check seasonings. Stir in pasta and chopped basil and serve immediately. (Thin with pasta water before adding basil if needed.)

I really enjoyed the flavor of this sauce and the best part is I have alot of tomato sauce from case lot sales since you can get it for a really good price so I'll be making this again. I also am going to try the PW Penne alla Betsy next week but it's really close to the same recipe as this but with the addition of shrimp and chicken broth.

Hot (and Healthy) White Bean Dip
From: Our Best Bites(Picture from Our Best Bites)

2 slices bacon (if you're like me you'll want to do extra)

4 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 can cannellini beans, drained (Great Northern beans work too)
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon crushed rosemary

Cook bacon in a small saucepan over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan with a slotted spoon; set aside. Add garlic to drippings in pan; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add broth and beans; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes.

Combine bean mixture, onions, and remaining ingredients in a food processor, and process until smooth. Spoon mixture into a bowl; stir in 1 tablespoon reserved bacon (or add to food processor and pulse a few times). At this point taste it and add more salt to taste, as well as hot sauce and lemon juice if desired. (I usually go heavy on both of those) Sprinkle dip with remaining bacon just before serving.

Serve with pita chips.

Storage: This works great to make ahead of time. Just store in the fridge and warm it up in the microwave before serving.

I loved this dip! I'm not usually a big fan of dips because they usually have stuff I don't like in them and they're not good for you but this was awesome. I have some precooked bacon from Costco so I used 4 slices cut up and I had to add about 1 T. butter since I didn't have any bacon grease. The butter also helped because I used a pinch of dried onions (since I didn't have green onions). I also didn't add hot sauce (don't have it) but I bet it would taste good with a little kick to it. I just put everything in the pan together to cook it, bacon and all. When I put everything in the food processor it was a little thick and wasn't mixing well so I added a little more chicken broth to it until it was the right consistency. I couldn't find Pita Chips so I ended up buying some whole wheat baked crackers and it was the perfect snack. Matt loved it too.