So remember when I made paninis and said you could use the turkey bacon for something else? Well the time has come. I was super lazy tonight and didn’t want to spend much money, so I decided to use what I had around the kitchen. What did I have to work with from my panini day?? Turkey bacon and cracked pepper deli turkey. Hmm, sounds odd right. Wrong! I turned it into a delicious pasta. Here’s how:

First – ingredients:

Farafelle Pasta – I use the grocery store brand. It’s super cheap, and does the trick. I think it was literally 98 cents. You can use any pasta you like. Bow tie just happens to be my favorite.

Alfredo Sauce – Your favorite type. I love this CLASSICO brand. Tonight I picked “Light Asiago Romano Alfredo” flavor, but any alfredo will do. I’m all about easy dinners because let’s be real, no one wants to cook after they have been working all day. #ick

Turkey Bacon – This is from the panini night. For this pasta, you need about 6 pieces (so still some to spare for breakfast!).

Deli Turkey – I had cracked pepper turkey from the panini night. There was about a 1/3 pound left of the pound I originally bought. Perfect amount.

Optional – Parmesean cheese or mozzarella cheese…your call!

DIRECTIONS:

Start your water boiling for your pasta. Fill your pot about 3/4 of the way full and salt your water. Put on high heat to bring to boil.

Start cooking your turkey bacon. Put a sauté pan on medium high heat and place 4 pieces of bacon in the pan (or as many will fit).

Once your water comes to a boil, pour in about half a box of pasta.

Your bacon should take about 7-10 minutes to cook. Once cooked, place on a paper towel to get any access grease off. **Turkey bacon is actually a lot less greasy then real bacon, which is a definite plus. I mean really, who likes grease?? Not me.**

While the pasta is cooking, cut the deli turkey into bite size pieces. Do the same with the bacon once it has cooled.

Once the pasta is done cooking, drain it and return it to it’s original cooking pot.

Pour the alfredo sauce on the pasta and stir to distribute. Then add in deli turkey and turkey bacon. Sprinkle some parmesan or mozzarella cheese on top (if desired). and BOOM! You’ve got dinner!! Like how easy was that?? Genius. AND you don’t even have to add salt or pepper, because the bacon is salty enough, and the cracked pepper deli turkey adds enough pepper to void out seasoning. It is literally one of the easiest things to make.

 

Have you ever made pasta from leftovers?? What have you made? Let me know!

❤