This hearty pasta dinner is loaded with bacon and tomatoes. Add some caramelized onions and a tangy balsamic sauce and you have a gourmet dinner on the double!

Gourmet Pasta On The Double

Here’s an all-season pasta dinner!  It can be a cold salad too!

Balsamic Tomato and Bacon Pasta is a very versatile. Served hot, it’s a dinner, but serve it cold and it’s a delicious pasta salad.

Caramelized Onions

This pasta dish gets a lot of flavor from caramelized onions.

You can make them when you cook this, but it does add about 30 minutes to the cook time.

A much better plan is to have caramelized onions on hand in your freezer then just defrost them as you need them.

An excellent and very easy way to prepare caramelized onions in advance is to make them in your slow cooker. You can cook them in bulk and the best thing about the slow cooker method is the onions require no babysitting.  Any time onions are on sale, I buy a few pounds and make my Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions and freeze them in 1/4-cup portions.

A Dish For All Seasons

As I mentioned before, this is a versatile recipe. You can change how you serve it by the season.

In cooler weather, it’s a hearty and tasty hot meal, but in the summer, serve it chilled as a pasta salad!

This recipe is pretty basic as far as ingredients, so it lends itself to additions that suit your taste. I’d say stay with the basic tomatoes and bacon as a base. You can add some cooked chicken in the mix to make the pasta more substantial or add other veggie you like. I’d also add some cucumber if I was making this chilled because that’d add a nice crunch to the texture.

Let your imagination run wild here! It can be different each time you make it!

The Recipe

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Balsamic Bacon & Tomato Pasta

This hearty pasta dinner is loaded with bacon and tomatoes. Add some caramelized onions and a tangy balsamic sauce and you have a gourmet dinner on the double!

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time40 minutes mins

Total Time55 minutes mins

Course: Everyday Meals, pasta

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: easy pasta meals

Servings: 6

Calories: 406kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter cubed
• 2 large sweet onions thinly sliced (see NOTES)
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 6 garlic cloves minced
• 2 cups grape tomatoes halved
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/4 cup olive oil divided
• 1 package 16 ounces uncooked angel hair pasta
• 9 bacon strips cooked and crumbled
• 2/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp coarsely ground pepper
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil -OR- 1 tsp dried

Instructions

• In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add the onions, pepper flakes and salt; saute until onions are tender.
• Stir in garlic. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, stirring occasionally, for 30-40 minutes or until onions are deep golden brown.
• Add the tomatoes, vinegar and 2 tablespoons oil to the skillet. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta; toss with onion mixture.
• Drizzle with remaining olive oil. Sprinkle with bacon, cheese, basil and pepper; heat through.
• NOTES: For pre-made caramelized onions, use 1/2 cup

Notes

You can shave 30-40 minutes off the cook time by using pre-made caramelized onion. I make mine in the crock pot and the recipe is linked in the post.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 406kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 52mg | Sodium: 687mg | Potassium: 363mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 839IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 160mg | Iron: 1mg

*Adapted from Taste of Home

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This balsamic chicken only sounds gourmet, but you’ll never believe how quick and easy it is!

Gourmet Dinner On The Double

This delicious balsamic flavored chicken is a meal that comes together in less than 30 minutes!

Again, I am astounded at how a few simple ingredients can produce restaurant quality. I’m beginning to think that this is the secret to many great chefs’ meals–simplicity!

Most any well-stocked kitchen has the ingredients used in this recipe. Baby Bella mushrooms may be the only thing you have to buy. But if you have regular white mushrooms in your crisper, then use those. The secret to coaxing flavor out of any fresh mushrooms is searing them with high heat. Baby Bellas do taste a bit better, but white will do if that’s all you have.

Quick Cooking Chicken

The reason this meal cooks quickly is because it calls for thin-sliced boneless skinless breast portions.

I was lucky enough to find this premium cut on sale, so I didn’t have to process it further. But I don’t buy these on a regular basis. Mostly, I buy plain boneless skinless breast halves that I process myself.

If you have the normal variety, use those but do process them to make them about 1/4-inch thick.

How I do this is to start as if I am going to butterfly the breasts, but cut them all the way through. Then, I pound each piece I cut between two sheets of plastic wrap to 1/4-inch thickness. It’s a little more work than just opening a package, but it’s pretty quick and easy. One thing I also notice when I pound chicken breast is it seems to tenderize it somewhat and it doesn’t dry out as quickly.

Best Tasting Stock

I’ve used many fine-tasting chicken stocks over the years including my own homemade. However, I’ve recently discovered one of the best tasting stocks I’ve ever tasted. And the funny thing is, this brand has been around for a while, and even better, it lasts a long time because you make it up as you need it. It’s Better Than Bouillon brand.

Actually, that’s more of a chicken base, but reconstituted, it’s a very tasty stock. It will keep in the fridge for months too, so it actually works out to be a better buy than the stuff in cans and boxes.

The Recipe

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Balsamic Chicken with Mushrooms

This balsamic chicken only sounds gourmet, but you’ll never believe how quick and easy it is!

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: Chicken, Everyday Meals, skillet dinners

Cuisine: American

Keyword: balsamic chicken, mushrooms, quick chicken dinners, skillet dinner

Servings: 4

Calories: 327kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 4 thin sliced boneless skinless chicken breasts see NOTES
• 3 tbs[ olive oil
• 8 oz baby bella crimini mushrooms, sliced in half (see NOTES)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 3/4 cup chicken stock see NOTES
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 small bay leaf
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• 6 cloves garlic crushed
• 2 tbsp butter

Instructions

• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
• Mix the salt and pepper and sprinkle on chicken.
• Add the olive oil and when oil shimmers, place chicken in the pan.
• Brown the chicken well on one side; remove to a plate.
• In the same pan, add the mushrooms and sear over high heat, stirring often.
• Add the chicken stock, balsamic vinegar, bay leaf, thyme and garlic to the pan; stir to combine.
• Place the chicken, unbrowned side down, in the pan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Remove cooked chicken to a plate and keep it warm. Remove the garlic and bay leaf; discard both.
• Place butter in the pan and stir until melted.
• Turn the heat up to medium-high and reduce the sauce 50%. This should take about 5-7 minutes.
• Return the chicken to the pan to heat through.
• Serve over pasta.

Notes

I use 1 tsp of Better Than Bouillon chicken flavor dissolved in 3/4 cup water. This makes an excellent rich stock.

If you have regular boneless, skinless chicken breasts, you can cut them in half like you are going to butterfly them, but cut all the way through, then pound them down to 1/4-inch thickness.

Regular white mushrooms may be used in place of the baby bellas

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 327kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 89mg | Sodium: 545mg | Potassium: 755mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 211IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 1mg

Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.

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