Dinner last night. Kept asking everyone, “Whatcha got a taste for? What do you want for dinner?” The boys always answer pizza. Kara said she didn’t know. Terry says the usual, “I don’t care, whatever you fix will work.” So, got a little creative.

Went searching through my recipe archives on my laptop and came across a recipe from Rachel Ray. I know, don’t hate me but some of her recipes are actually good. So, to save grace on using a “Rachel Ray”, I changed it up a bit. Because I don’t like tomatoes, I used cherry tomatoes as a garnish. And for the sauce, I used about 1 cup of wine (can’t say for sure how much because I just poured it in till it looked like enough) and added about 1 tablespoon of tomato paste. Also, browned up some boneless, skinless chicken breasts and some beautiful shiitakes that I couldn’t resist from the farmers market. Oh yeah, didn’t have arugula (and Terry doesn’t like it anyway), so I subbed spinach. Turned out pretty good. It would have been better had I not used the whole wheat penne. It threw the texture off a bit and turned the flavor kinda nutty. But, everyone ate it and gave it two thumbs up on the end. The kids didn’t even notice the mushrooms.

• ¼ pound pancetta or bacon, cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices (I used about 8 or 9 slices)
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 4 ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into a large dice
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• ¾ pound rigatoni, cooked until al dente
• ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 bunch arugula (about 2 cups), tough stems removed, leaves coarsely chopped
• ¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. In a medium skillet, cook the pancetta over medium heat until crisp, about 6 minutes. Drain on paper towels and coarsely chop.

2. In a medium saucepan, heat the 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the wine, bring to a simmer and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, season to taste with salt and pepper and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 20 minutes.

3. In a large bowl, combine the cooked rigatoni with the sauce. Add the pancetta, basil and arugula; toss. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the cheese.

   ***original recipe from Rachel Ray Magazine “BLT Rigatoni”