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Butterfly Pasta with Bacon and Goat Cheese

I would love to come up with a lyrical name for this kid-friendly pasta dish, but this is what my son calls it, and so it shall be. Do not omit the goat cheese, or if you do, don't tell anyone you got the recipe from me.

Course Main Course
Cuisine American, Italian
Keyword kid friendly pasta, pasta with bacon and goat cheese
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 8
Author Amanda

Ingredients

  • 1 lb short pasta any shape
  • 6 slices of thick-cut bacon chopped
  • 1 onion peeled and chopped
  • 1 yellow or orange bell pepper chopped
  • 1 pint whole cherry or grape tomatoes
  • 2 yellow summer squashed sliced in half moons
  • 2 zucchini sliced in half moons
  • 1 head of broccoli florets reserve stems for another use or discard/compost
  • 1/2 bag of frozen peas
  • freshly ground salt and pepper
  • 4 ounces goat cheese
  • 4 leaves of basil chiffonade (roll the leaves up and slice them thinly in ribbons)

Instructions

  1. Set a pot of salted water to boil.
  2. While it's boiling, in your largest skillet, heat bacon on medium high heat, stirring as the fat renders.
  3. Add pasta to boiling water and cook for 9-10 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, when the bacon looks browned and crisp, toss in the onion.
  5. Cook, stirring, until the onion is translucent and slightly browned.
  6. Add in all of the vegetables and stir until cooked.
  7. Season with salt and pepper.
  8. Check on your pasta.
  9. It should be almost al dente, and still firm between the teeth.
  10. Take about a half of cup of cooking water from the pasta and add it to the skillet.
  11. Drain the pasta over the sink and pour the pasta into the skillet.
  12. Stir it up and season to taste, letting the pasta cook a bit over low heat.
  13. Divvy it up among the dishes, adding about an ounce of goat cheese crumbled over each serving.
  14. Top with basil.
  15. Serve immediately.