Penne with Broccoli

Here's an awesome pasta and veggie dish that, with bacon, becomes outstanding. Sorry all you vegetarian readers, this one isn't for you! Well, I guess you could just omit the bacon, but seriously, that's what makes it so yummy. That and all the garlic. And the tomatoes. And the broccoli, come to think of it! Mmmm, it's all good!

Here's my version of this recipe for Penne with Garlicky Broccoli(ni):

Ingredients:

8 oz penne pasta (1/2 of a 1 pound box)
5 slices of bacon
2 broccoli crowns (or one bunch of broccolini), cut into small florets
6 cloves of garlic, minced
3/4 pint of grape tomatoes, cut in half
Parmesan cheese to taste

Directions:

1) Cook penne according to directions on the box. Drain.

2) Meanwhile, fry the bacon until crispy. Move to a paper towel to drain.

3) Add the garlic to the bacon grease* and saute for 3 minutes over medium low heat. Add the broccoli(ni) and cook for another 4 or 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the pasta and grape tomatoes. Stir or toss to coat and mix.

4) Remove from heat. Sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese, and top with crumbled bacon.

*Okay, fine, I couldn't do it. The recipe called for using the bacon grease. I'm sure that's delicious. I drained most of the bacon grease and used some olive oil.

This recipe originally called for broccolini. I've made it with both broccoli and broccolini, and quite honestly, prefer the broccoli. Of course, I'm in love with broccoli. I should probably marry it. So, my opinion is to use broccoli, but feel free to try it with broccolini.