Pasta E Fagioli

adapted from Full Bellies, Happy Kids

2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
4 strips bacon, uncooked and cut into pieces
2 cloves garlic
1 jar spaghetti sauce
15 oz cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 tbsp grated pecorino-romano cheese
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
salt and pepper
1 lb of any tubular pasta, cooked

Cook your pasta.

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Saute onions for 3 minutes. Add bacon and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes. Add garlic, cook for 2 minutes.

Turn heat to medium-low. Add sauce, beans, cheese, garlic powder, oregano, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine and cook for 15 minutes. Add pasta to sauce and mix well. Turn heat to low for a few minutes.

Review: First of all, sorry for the lack of pictures here. I was hungry and my camera batteries were dead. Not a good combination.

Second, I'm going to be honest. I was very skeptical about this dish after I started cooking. I prefer my pasta to be saucy. Like really saucy. I just didn't feel like this was going to provide "coverage" for the amount of pasta. I was also a little skeptical about beans in my pasta. .

This was good. Surprisingly good. The beans were probably my favorite part. I might use less pasta next time I make it because, really, nothing is bad with a little extra sauce.

*I am going to label this as vegetarian because it would be super easy to skip the bacon. I really don't feel like it would take away from the dish at all.