This Tasty Kitchen recipe, submitted in May by Rozanie, fit perfectly into the 16-Minute Meal theme I have going on in my house this week. As I explained on The Pioneer Woman Cooks yesterday, my girls are gone all week, which means I have a houseful of only boys. They’re so delightfully male—the more brown and plentiful the food is, the better. And wonderfully so, they tend to like the dishes that take the least amount of time to make.

Sold!

This could not have been easier. When the boys and I returned from our Family Soccer Game, I threw it together and had dinner on the table in less than twenty minutes. It was heaven, and I was able to be in front of the TV in time to watch Real Housewives of New Jersey.

Wait. Did I just say that out loud?

Begin by boiling 5 cups of bowtie pasta noodles. (This amounts roughly to a 12-ounce bag.)

Cook it till al dente!

Brown some ground chuck in a skillet. (Regular ground beef would be just fine.)

Drain the pasta and dump it over the top of the browned meat.

Drizzle olive oil over the top of the noodles…

Then grab a jar of marinara or other pasta sauce. *Note that the submitter of this recipe correctly points out that you definitely want to use a sauce you really like here!

Dump it right over the noodles.

Add garlic powder…

And Italian Seasoning. You can substitute fresh garlic and herbs if you have them handy. Basil would be yummy! And be sure to add salt—about a teaspoon or so.

Next, add grated mozzarella. I had some fresh stuff in my fridge, but you can use any form of mozzarella you’d like.

Also dump in a little sour cream. This adds a really nice consistency to the whole dish. Even if you’re not a sour cream fan, don’t be afraid! You won’t even taste it.

Finally, stir it all together over low heat until it’s just combined. Yum!

I also stirred in some grated Parmesan for a little extra kick. And that’s it, baby!

I served this with an Iceberg/ranch salad and a hunk of warm, crust bread. The three men in my house absolutely loved it.

OPTIONS: This is such an easy meal, it would be a cinch to add in whatever extras you’d like. I think I’ll do chopped black olives next time, and probably a combination of fresh herbs. You can also play with the cheeses—add some Romano, Asiago…have at it!

Verdict: I’ll definitely make this again. Another 16-minute meal for my repertoire. Thanks, Rozanie!

Here’s the printable recipe: Bowtie Lasagna by Rozanie

I have a new addiction but luckily this time, it’s not quite as unhealthy as my last (ahem … Kit Kats) or budget-breaking as the one before that (ahem … fresh oysters from the Pacific Northwest). It’s all my friend Jennifer’s fault. She gushed on about her new popcorn maker—the stand-alone, old-fashioned design complete with the crank to empty the popping bin.

It’s an absolutely impractical space-hogging small kitchen appliance that only people who have a popcorn fixation (moi) could justify. And so there it sits on my kitchen island, taking up 55% of the counter footprint, leaving no room for anything else.

Of course, my husband Scott just shakes his head and says, “We’ll see how long this popcorn thing lasts …” So what am I to do? Well, I make popcorn. Buckets of it. Every few hours.

Okay, so honestly, my addiction isn’t so much eating the popcorn but rather making it. And if I have to hang my head in shame, stand in the corner, and really, really dig down deep for the absolute truthful answer, the popcorn-making frenzy is all about warding off the “I told you it was a bad idea” thing from Scott!

C’mon, please tell me you do the same thing too?

Of the gazillion popcorn combos that I’ve made (and have sourced from Twitter friends!), my favorite is the Popcorn with Parmesan and Truffle Oil. It’s a great way to glam up the humble popcorn! (Though I think popcorn stopped being humble the moment I bought that fancy $80 popcorn maker.)

The first step is to pop yer corn. If you’re doing the microwave thing, make sure you get plain popcorn. If you want to make popcorn on your stove (like your grandma use to do), here’s a recipe from Elise.

Once it’s popped, put the popcorn in a large bowl and drizzle just 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of the truffle oil (truffle oil is very strong!). If you have an oil mister, even better.

 
 
 
Mix it all about. The oil goes first, so that it coats the popcorn and gives the salt and parmesan something to stick to.

 
 
 
Now add the sea salt. It’s gotta be good sea salt, like my favorite flaky Maldon sea salt. Hey, if you’re gonna use truffle oil and good parmesan, you might as well use good salt!

 
 
 
And then add a generous grating of good quality parmesan or pecorino.

 
 
 
To finish, just because this is glam popcorn, I use a vegetable peeler to add some nice shavings of parmesan on top.

 
 
 
What’s your favorite popcorn flavor? Got any creative ideas for me? I’ve got at least another 2 weeks of popcorn frenzy before I can safely retire the monster in my garage AND minimize the “I told you so’s.”

 
Hugs and kisses,
Jaden

 
 
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Jaden Hair is a food writer, television personality, and food photographer based in Tampa Bay, Florida. Find more of her recipes in her blog, Steamy Kitchen, where you can also read more about Jaden’s new book, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook, and the rave reviews it’s received!

  Italian spaghetti and meatballs is as classic as classic can get, and here I go changing it up! The truth is, I get bored and restless, and either I vent out my creativity by repainting my whole house or I head to the kitchen to Greek up a recipe. I know for sure that […]