Bowtie Ballet!

Shout out to all of my Baylor loves out there... and an even bigger shout out to those Penland dining hall buddies... :)

Do any of you remember the bowtie pasta that was served on VERY SPECIAL occasions? I loooved this stuff and remember stuffing to-go boxes full and sneaking it out for an extra meal.  Well, I decided to try and recreate this dish at home and (to my surprise!) it tasted sooo much like the one from my BU days! It was very easy to make and made enough for leftovers (I usually hate leftovers but was Oh-so-excited about this one!) Those of you who have not heard of this you must try it!  My hubby hates peas and even he loved this dish! (You can throw in some extra chicken if your heart desires, his did haha)

Here's what you need:
1 box of Farfalle Pasta (bowtie pasta- I think mine was 12 oz's?)
Bacon (I used ~5 strips)
1 package of frozen peas
1 or 2 jars of Alfredo sauce (to the consistency you want- I used one and a half)
Salt and Pepper (to taste)


Optional Ingredients:
onions (I omitted- I hate onions ha)
small block of provolone cheese
red pepper flakes
(chicken- hubby requested; I cooked a breast and shredded and added to his pasta)


Hint: I used a large skillet so I didn't have to transfer ingredients a lot of times...


Here's how you do it:
Fry the bacon and then remove from the skillet.
Do NOT get rid of your grease (I left it on low heat from this point on)
While you are cooking the bacon follow the ingredients on the back of the package of peas to cook them (I microwaved them and that worked great)
Drain peas then add peas to the pan with the grease
Stir in desired amount of Alfredo sauce
{If you want to add a little spice now is a good time to add red pepper flakes and/or onions- if using onions I would first sauté- just my opinion)
Keep on low heat...


Cook Pasta according to box
Drain Pasta and add to pea mixture
break apart bacon* into tiny pieces and mix in with peas, pasta and sauce.
Cut provolone into small pieces and add to top of pasta after putting it bowl or plate to be served


*I saved a couple pieces of bacon to use as "topping" once I served our meals (mainly for looks- and hubs and I love bacon so why not!? ha) .

MMM MMM GOOD!! I hope you all enjoy this as much as I have!

(feel free to let me know if you have any questions and I will be happy to try and help!)