Pasta with Ham, Edamame, Mint, and Truffled Breadcrumbs

Pasta, yum. This is one of my favorite go-to recipes, as if pasta wasn't easy enough already. And do yourself a favor, don't bother with the jarred stuff when you can make something like this. In the time it takes for the water to boil, you can prep everything else you need.

Cut the ham into irregular, thinnish bite sized pieces. The rough texture of the ham really improves this dish, so don't cube it. It takes a little time, but I think it's worth it. Also, don't skip the truffled breadcrumbs: they give this dish an easy elegance and a nice crunch.

I've made this with edamame and linguine, but you can sub in all different kinds of pastas or vegetables: farfalle, rotini, or orecchiette with asparagus, peas, or use broccoli with basil instead of mint. There are lots of options!

Bulgur "Risotto" with Spinach and Bacon

Bulgur is one of those things that I should probably eat a lot more of - it's healthy, quick, and very cheap. However, I can't say I've eaten much of it at all, other than the occassional deli-purchased tabbouleh salad.

Now I can't remember what I saw recently that made me perk my interest in bulgur again, but I recalled a recipe I'd seen long ago - Bulgur "risotto" with spinach and bacon. It had about 6 ingredients (bulgur, onion, broth, spinach, bacon, and parmesan), had a cooking time of about 20 minutes with very little prep work, and I figured that it couldn't be that bad with the addition of bacon and parmesan cheese. I just had no idea how good it was going to be! The bulgur gets wonderfully creamy, and no stirring is involved.

I think it would be a good base for other combinations, like crumbled italian chicken sausage and arugula; broiled zucchini and goat cheese; crisped prosciutto and broccoli raab; kale and lamb.