Bacon Chard Pasta

I finally made a dish that I was excited to make again the next day. I wish I had chard and bacon on hand everyday! I was browsing the sales ad for mollies... and saw that chard was on sale. I have no idea what chard was, and always got it mistaken with kale. I think that's been happening a lot now... I get confused way too easily. Anyway, a bundle of organic red swiss chard was only $1.69... I'm guessing that was a good deal since the produce guy said that he keeps having to restock the chard. I got the last red bundle... red over yellow because I'm a sucker of colorful foods... (+ the increase in antioxidants!)

This dish was super simple and took around 15 minutes to make! While the pasta was boiling, I prepared the other things.. and timed it so that the chard would be done cooking right when the pasta was done. This is a recipe for one.... you can do the math if you want to make more :P I'm a fan of one plate meals...I'm really putting more effort to avoid the ramen diet.

Bacon Chard Pasta

Serves 1

One serving of any pasta you like

1.5 slices of thick cut bacon , cut into 1 inch pieces
1 clove garlic, minced
2 chard leaves, cut in half length wise, and then chopped into 1-2 inch pieces, I included the red stems because I like the texture
1/4 cup white wine
Juice of 1/4 of a lemon.
1/4 cup heavy cream
parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring water to a boil. In the meantime, cut up the bacon, chard, and garlic. Preheat a large pan over med-hi heat.
2. Put pasta into water. Place the bacon in the pan. Fry until crispy. Remove bacon from pan and place over a few layers of paper towels ( yum bacon fat...) ... leave around 2 tsp of bacon fat in the pan. Add in garlic and heat until it starts to brown. Place in the chard. Saute until it starts to wilt a little bit, and pour in the wine. Give it a good stir, let the alcohol burn off for about a minute and cover with a lid.

3. When the pasta is almost done, remove lid from chard, and add back half the bacon bits. Then add the pasta in the pan, pour int he lemon juice, and cream. Add cheese, salt, and pepper to taste. Top with extra bacon and cheese.