Pasta with Peas and Bacon

Gemelli with Peas and Bacon

Ingredients

1 lb gemelli pasta*

6 slices bacon, chopped into 1/2" pieces

1 tsp olive oil

1 cup onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tbsp flour

2 cup milk*

1/4 c cream cheese

2 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed and drained

1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese, grated

1/4 cup basil, thinly sliced

salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt. Drain and set aside. 

2. While the pasta is cooking, heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Cook bacon until tender-crisp. Place the bacon in a large bowl  to drain on paper towels, then crumble into bite size pieces.

3. Heat oil in the same pan, add onion and garlic, sauté 7 minutes. Add the onion mixture to the bacon. Keeping pan over heat, add the flour. Cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Gradually add the milk, stir with a whisk until well blended. Cook until thick, about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add cream cheese, stir until the cream cheese melts. Stir in the peas, 1 cup of Parmesan cheese, basil, salt and pepper. Add the pasta to the cheese sauce then fold in the bacon mixture until well blended. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese.

* I use gemelli pasta, as it seems to hold the sauce in the tight twists of the tube noodle. I think ribbed tube noodles, like penne or rigatoni would work just as well.

*Milk, I use 2%, so if using less fat you may need to use less to avoid sauce becoming too thin, if using whole fat milk, then use less as the sauce will thicken too greatly and potentially cease up.