Recipe: Macaroni and Chick Peas

Nanny is famous for whipping up a bowl of macaroni and chichita beans for an emergency dinner.

I had no idea that chichita beans are actually called chick peas in English.  Go figure!

She would make a bland, liquid, tomato based sauce to go with the pasta and beans.

As a child I found this dish comforting and delicious.  Now I find it boring and bland.

All that aside, I knew these few months would be hectic so I kept a couple cans of beans on hand.

Having little time to cook is not an excuse to indulge in unhealthy and expensive take out!

I’m glad that I prepared myself because last week I had to use my emergency chichita beans!

I was real determined to bring this emergency dinner back to life with a tastier recipe.

I scoured my refrigerator and cabinets for ingredients to bring the yum back to those chick peas.

It was difficult, but I have to say that I did succeed since my man yelled out “This is AWESOME”.

NOT Nanny’s Macaroni and Chichita Beans

(1) Medium Sized Yellow Onion

(¼) Cup Olive Oil

(1) Cup Parmesan Cheese

(1) Package Bacon

(2) Cans Chick Peas

(1lb) Pasta

Salt & Pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta as directed.

I always do this first because my water always takes FOREVER to boil.

With your cooking scissors, cut the bacon into bite size pieces.  Put the bacon into a pan and cook until the it is crispy.  Meanwhile, dice the onion.  Cook the diced onion and the olive oil in a small pot until the onions are transparent.  Add the Parmesan cheese and stir.  Drain and rinse one can of the beans and add to the pot.  Add the beans the juices from the second can into the pot.  Add the cooked bacon and bring the “sauce” to a boil.

It almost, kind of, sort of, looked like an alfredo sauce!  Not to mention, it smelled amazing.

Drain the pasta.  Mix the sauce and the pasta together.  Serve hot.

Quick.  Easy.  Delicious.  You’re welcome!

Would you try this as an emergency dinner recipe?