Spring Pasta

I am a carbaholic for sure. I crave crusty bread and pasta weekly. Hubby is not as much as of a pasta fan as I am so I don't get to make it as often as I'd like to. So the other night I really want a bowl of pasta but I didn't want my usual spaghetti and meatballs or fettuccine alfredo. I thought, how about a BLT style of pasta. Of course the "l" wouldn't be lettuce but leeks. Could be tasty right? I knew my husband loved a BLT sandwich so why wouldn't he love BLT pasta? The pasta was absolutely delicious. The bacon gave a wonderful smokey flavor and the cherry tomatoes cooked down to make a really lovely sauce. It was great with a nice glass of Chianti and tossed green salad. Earlier in the day, I also was really craving something sweet but since having the baby I've been trying to curb my sweets and keep the weight off. Hubby suggested a low-cal frozen peanut butter pie. One of our neighbors had made one for us when we first came home from the hospital and we loved it. I tried to recreate it the best I could but make it my own at the same time. It was a nice way to finish the evening for sure.

BLT Fettuccine
Salt
1 pound fettuccine
Extra virgin olive for drizzling, plus a tablespoon
8-10 slices of bacon, chopped
2-3 leeks, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced then washed and dried
1/4 teaspoon red chili paste
2 pints ripe cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup chicken stock
Black pepper
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
A generous handful of grated Parmesan, plus some to pass at the table

Heat a large pot of water to a boil for fettuccine, season water with salt the cook pasta to al dente.

In a deep skillet or Dutch oven with a tight fitting lid heat a drizzle of olive oil over medium-high heat, add bacon and cook to crisp, remove with slotted spoon and reserve on a paper towel plate. Drain off some fat if pan has more than a couple of tablespoons of drippings. Add leeks and chili paste and saute 2-3 minutes then add tomatoes and stir to combine, cover pan. Shake pan occasionally and cook until tomatoes begin to burst, 6-8 minutes. Uncover pot and mash up tomatoes with wooden spoon, add chicken stock and stir 1-2 minutes. Season the sauce with some salt and black pepper to taste, then reduce the heat to low.

When the pasta is ready, add a ladle of starchy water to sauce along with parsley, bacon and fettuccine, toss 1-2 minutes with an extra tablespoon of olive oil. Turn off heat and toss in cheese, serve immediately.

Frozen Peanut Butter Pie


1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 8oz package low-fat cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons fat free half/half
1 container low-fat cool whip
1 9" packaged chocolate pie crust
hot fudge sauce for drizzling

Combine peanut butter, cream cheese, sugar, half/half, and 1 cup of cool whip until creamy. Pour into prepared pie crust and cover with the remaining cool whip. Drizzle the hot fudge sauce on top and freeze until pie is set.