Basilmomma

  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Newspaper
  • Food Indiana
  • Real Life
  • Home Improvement
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel

Creamy Mini Shell Pasta Salad With Bacon and Peas

March 27, 2011 By admin 8 comments

Welcome! Are you a subscriber? Click here to receive my weekly newsletter. Thanks for visiting!

Creamy Mini Shell Pasta Salad With Bacon and Peas is a kid-friendly, quick and easy dinner. It comes together in just 15 minutes, so it’s a perfect meal for busy weeknights!

Creamy Mini Shell Pasta Salad with Bacon and Peas | Basilmomma.com

It’s that time of year again, baseball season.  Parents in the area are dusting off cleats for their kids and playing catch to get ready for player evaluations and the first team practice.  Boys and girls of all ages will be sorted and eagerly anticipate what team they will be on.  Some just want to be on a favorite MLB team, like the Reds, while some just want to be on a team with their friends.

For the first time since my oldest son was 3, we will not be playing baseball this summer.  I don’t know who is having a harder time with this, my son or myself.  When I think of summer, I think of warm nights under the lights listening to the chatter of the boys in the field and the ping of the bat.  Double headers on a Saturday afternoon and hamburgers at the concession stand.  Buying drink tickets to hand out to thirsty players after the game and being the Team Mom.  The Little League parade up Old Meridian and getting ice cream at Mrs. Curls after a big win.  I have enjoyed every minute of this over the years and even though we have spent countless hours at the Greenwood Little League fields I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

I knew the day would come when he decided that he didn’t want to play baseball and swim at the same time.  It seemed like the natural thing to do.  Every January we get the enrollment form, we fill it out, he gets evaluated and he plays.  Same routine every year.  We never stopped to think that maybe it all was a little too much.

Creamy Mini Shell Pasta Salad With Bacon and Peas | Basilmomma.com

Last summer my son swam 3 mornings a week at the Greenwood YMCA with our swim club from 7-8:30 AM.  He then had evening practice from 5:30-7 PM and sometimes after he had a baseball game at 8:00.   This made for a busy day but I thought, this is summer vacation.  We can sleep tomorrow, right?   Combine this with Saturday games and weekend long swim meets out of town and the weeks go by in a flash.  I never wanted to see what was probably very obvious to everyone else….we had over scheduled our child’s life.

In August I asked both of my kids what their highs and lows of summer break were.  I got the usual response from my youngest child.  My firstborn looked at me with a weary expression said “Mom, my break is over and all I did was go from practice, to games to meets and back home again.”  That really hit home with me.  I felt an overwhelming sense of guilt that I had robbed him of a break.  Everyone needs to “disconnect” every once in a while, children are no exception.

I don’t know if we were afraid that if we sat out a year of baseball that he would never go back or if I felt some responsibility, for some reason,  to expose my kids to anything and everything I could in that 2 and 1/2 month time period.  It’s not like he was the next Derek Jeter.  He is a good ball player and he loves the game, but over the last few years the increased activity level of our “vacations” were taking a toll.  Summer should be about lazy days by the pool, catching lightning bugs, fishing in our pond and trips to state parks.  Not maintaining a schedule, bags packed for long days at the ball fields and missed opportunities to have fun.

Creamy Mini Shell Pasta Salad with Bacon and Peas - A quick and easy weeknight dinner recipe on basilmomma.com

The decision this year to skip baseball was an easy one and we aren’t looking back.  We will miss the families that we have gotten to know over the years and we will certainly miss the game.  But what I won’t miss are the smiles on my kids faces when I say we have a day with no plans.  No errands to run, no places to go.  The biggest choice we will have will be what I make for dinner. Sidewalk chalk or bubbles, go to the lake or sit by the pool.

We will get to have lots of highs and hopefully not many lows.  I will do my best to respect the fact that they, like us adults, need a break, providing more “down time”.  As my kids get older, my favorite times are when they sit at the table, watching me cook.  We have long, rambling conversations, full of laughter and smiles. Without knowing it, they tell me about their day and what is going on in their lives.  They fill me with happiness and I listen to them, love them and nourish their hearts and souls. This pasta salad is a quick dish, and a favorite in my house. The best part is that it can be made in 15 minutes.

Creamy Mini Shell Pasta Salad With Bacon and Peas

Heather Tallman

Total Servings 6

Creamy Mini Shell Pasta With Bacon and Peas

Creamy mini shell pasta with bacon and peas is a kid friendly dinner. It’s super easy to make and comes together in just 15 minutes!

5 minPrep (inc. refrigeration & rest time)

10 minCook Time

15 minTotal Time

Recipe Image
Save RecipeSave Recipe
Print Recipe
My Recipes My Lists My Calendar

Ingredients

  • 10 slices bacon (I cut into strips with kitchen shears)
  • salt/pepper
  • 1 pound mini shell pasta
  • olive oil
  • a pat of butter
  • 2 Cups frozen sweet peas
  • 3 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 1 lemon, use the juice of 1/2
  • 6 ounces Parmesan cheese

Instructions

  1. Boil the pasta in a large pot. While it is cooking add the olive oil and butter to a large skillet on medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until browned. Drain a little of the bacon grease if you want to and turn the heat down to a low setting.
  2. As soon as the bacon is golden add the peas and saute for 1 minute.
  3. Add the cream and stir, gently.
  4. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/3 cup of the pasta liquid in case you need it to thin out the pasta in the end.
  5. Add the hot pasta to the peas/bacon. Squeeze the lemon over the pasta. Stir this together and let it incorporate. Remove from heat and add the cheese. Give the finished pasta fresh ground pepper and salt if you need it.
Recipe Type: Main
7.6.6
173
https://basilmomma.com/2011/03/an-overscheduled-life.html/
All Rights Reserved; Basilmomma (www.basilmomma.com) – This recipe may not be distributed, sold or used for any commercial purpose (including sharing on social media platforms). The ONLY authorized use is by to share an IMAGE ONLY along with a link to the blog post on basilmomma.com where the recipe can be found.

Peas, bacon and pasta are a child friendly combination.

Creamy Mini Shell Pasta Salad With Bacon and Peas

Want to make some more pasta salad recipes?

Warm Ham Pasta Salad

Healthy Veggie Pasta Salad, A Door to Wellness Recipe

A Creamy Summer Pasta Salad with Philly Cooking Cream!

Related posts:

Linda Wallace the Red Gold Lady on ATKS Radio September 27, 2012
Gooseberry Patch is coming to Around the Kitchen Sink!!
Risotto Week Finale - Spinach Goat Cheese Risotto
Top 5 Meat Lover Meals for Father Day (or Any Day!)

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: Bacon, casserole, kid friendly recipes, parmesan, Pasta, pasta salad, quick dinners, sweet peas

« Chewy Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
Babble Nomination: Top 100 Mommy Blog for 2012 »

Comments

8 responses to “Creamy Mini Shell Pasta Salad With Bacon and Peas”

  1. Angie says:
    March 27, 2011 at 2:18 pm
    That looks amazing!!! Love that you used cream but incorporated a sensible amount of it into the dish...going to have to try this dish!!
    Log in to Reply
  2. basilmomma says:
    March 27, 2011 at 3:10 pm
    I just used a little, plus a little bit of the pasta water but thats only because my kids like it to be a little thin. It really is so easy and I have also made it with diced cooked ham! A great way to use leftovers. Thank you for reading :)
    Log in to Reply
  3. Momma Bean says:
    March 28, 2011 at 1:06 pm
    Hi! I just found you through Frugal Girls and am taking a stroll through your blog. This looks perfect for a busy weeknight! The only thing is, my girls don't like peas (or anything green for that matter, besides green beans). Is there another vegetable that might go well with this? Thanks!
    Log in to Reply
  4. basilmomma says:
    March 28, 2011 at 2:14 pm
    Well I use peas for color and the sweetness but you could use anything. Maybe small cut green beans or frozen corn. You could use a diced carrot (I think you can find that frozen) and corn mixture, too. Thank you for reading!!!
    Log in to Reply
  5. Lark (SparkyLarky) says:
    April 14, 2011 at 1:24 am
    Dang it woman...I want to eat this now too! Your killing me here! :) http://larkscountryheart.blogspot.com
    Log in to Reply
  6. Casey says:
    June 26, 2017 at 1:04 pm
    Could this be served cold as a pasta salad for a picnic or is it best hot?
    Log in to Reply
  7. Courtney says:
    July 28, 2017 at 2:54 pm
    Is this something I can make today and serve cold for tomorrow?
    Log in to Reply
    • Heather Tallman says:
      August 15, 2017 at 4:33 pm
      Hi Courtney. Absolutely! I bet this salad will taste even better the next day, because the flavors will be able to develop more.
      Log in to Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

  • What are you looking for?

  • Recent Posts

    • 7 Simple Tips To Encourage Your Family To Eat Healthy
    • 5 Scary Statistics That Will Make Your Question Your Home Safety
    • How to Design a Garden: 10 Steps to Garden Planning
    • Flexible Work for Moms: Meal Delivery Services are Skyrocketing
    • The Food Famous Chefs Love to Eat
    • New in Town? Guide to Experiencing Portland, Maine
    • What to Look For When Buying Your First Home
    • 6 Tips for Choosing the Best HVAC Service Provider
  • Popular Recipes

    • Pizza Burger Pie …OH MY!
    • Hawaiian Pineapple Coconut Cookies
    • Honeycrisp Apple Bread {Quick Bread Recipe}
    • Hurst 15 Bean Soup With Leftover Ham in a Slow Cooker
    • Easy Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes Recipe {Guest Post}
    • Healthier Banana Bread (made with agave)
    • Indiana Famous Hoosier Sugar Cream Pie Recipe
    • Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Recipe w/ Apricot Preserves
  • Tags

    Appetizers Around the Kitchen SInk Bacon beans beef breakfast cheese chicken chicken recipes chocolate client Column dessert recipes Desserts Easy Recipes entertaining Family Friendly Giveaway healthy Healthy recipes holidays Indiana Indiana Family of Farmers Indianapolis IndyStyle kid friendly kid friendly recipes Main Dish meatless Meijer Pasta popular Red Gold Tomatoes review rice side dish recipes Sides slow cooker recipes snacks Soup Recipes strawberries summer Tomatoes vegetarian recipes veggies
  • Search By Date

  • Copyright © 2018 · Basilmomma.com