Boyfriend cooking school, part 1

One of Daniel's New Year's Resolutions was to learn to cook more. And since home boy doesn't even know how to fry bacon, I figured that even someone with my level of culinary experience could give him a few pointers. I may not be Julia Child, but I love cooking. Food just tastes better when I've cooked it myself, and cooking with someone else just makes it twice as fun for me.

The first recipe we tackled was the salsa chicken casserole created by Budget Bytes. I accidentally messed Daniel up by giving him brown rice to use instead of white rice (did you know it takes WAY longer to cook in the oven?), and the spice measuring process was a little confusing, but the recipe tasting amazing and now Daniel can add one more dish to his recipe repertoire. I highly recommend this recipe, since it is easy and cheap--a winning combo! And it can easily be adapted to paleo by using riced cauliflower and omitting the beans. There are lots of ways you can make this dish your own!

Some new, weird behavior (and a recipe!)

Daniel and I are tackling two challenges at once this week: only eating out once a week (that counts avoidable work lunches. WORK LUNCHES.) and working out five times a week. I'm fully committed to upholding my end of the bargin, but let's be honest: I ate out every single day a couple of weeks ago, and unless I am taking a dance or yoga class, gyms (and their loud-breathing weightlifters) kind of terrify me. These two goals are causing some abnormal behavior for me.

But I love working on my discipline, especially since this is an area of my life that could always improve. So tonight, after I went to the scary part of the gym (my workout included lifting five-pound weights. look out, Arnold!) I came home and made myself dinner. I really liked it, so I thought I would include a recipe below.

Rotini with a Bacon-Tomato Sauce
Makes two servings

Ingredients:
2 strips bacon (I used Applegate Organic Sunday Bacon)
1Tbsp. coconut oil
1/4 medium size purple onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes
6-8 cherry tomatoes, halved
3 oz. of parmesan, finely grated
2/3 cup pasta of your choice (I used tri-colored rotini)

Instructions:
1. Fill a pot with water and salt it. Bring it to boil for your pasta. Meanwhile, place two strips of bacon in a medium sized skillet and cook until crispy.
2. After bacon is fully cooked, remove and place on a paper napkin to absorb grease. Drain most of the bacon grease, leaving a trace amount in the pan (it gives the dish some bacon flavor!). Add coconut oil and saute onion and garlic over medium heat until translucent.
3. Add pasta to boiling water and cover, cooking until al dente.
4. Cover bottom of pan with milk, stirring and scraping the bottom to incorporate the bacon flavor. Add diced tomatoes and allow mixture to combine in the pan, stirring occasionally for 4-5 minutes.
5. Add fresh tomatoes and parmesan cheese, stirring until melted. I added a little more milk to thin out the sauce at this point.
6. Drain pasta and add to sauce, stirring to coat completely. Smash up the bacon and add to dish, and serve.

Notes: I would definitely recommend using a nonstick pan for the sauce. The bacon got a little sticky in my pan, which was hard to clean up even though I soaked it immediately. Also, I want to add more green to this. I'm a big fan of broccoli, so I might add that to this recipe next time to give it a little more variety.

It wasn't a gourmet meal by any means, but it definitely hit the spot for my bacon craving without being too over the top. Plus I have leftovers for my new "not eating out" thing. Yay, me!