Tuesday 15 October 2013

Franks-and-Beans Pasta Bake




Every now and then, I leave behind my coil-bound cookbooks from the ‘70s and ‘80s and venture into the world to seek out modern day caker recipes. I guess I'm a glutton for punishment. But they’re not that hard to find. I just look for words like “weekday” or “time-saver” or “1-2-3” in the title.

Recently, I picked up a copy of Woman’s World magazine because it's important to know what the heck is going on in a woman's world these days. Based on what I read, there's a lot of eating, dieting, hairdos, dieting, fall canning parties and dieting. Woman's World readers also seem to like exclamation marks! I counted 187 in one issue alone!

I came across the Franks-and-Beans Pasta Bake and thought I’d give it a whirl. I mean, do I need a reason to cook with barbeque sauce? It tasted pretty good. It was tangy and reminded me of summer. But my Eye-talian taste tester made me promise to never mix pasta with barbeque sauce again. I guess it crossed a line.

Anyways, at 544 calories, 21 grams of fat, 24 grams of sugar and 1,241 milligrammes of sodium per serving, all I can say is good luck with the diet!!!!!!!

8 ounces wagon wheel or rotelle pasta (see note 1)
1 ¼ cups barbeque sauce
¾ cup tomato juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons dry mustard powder
1 tablespoon oil
1 onion, chopped
1 can (15 ounces) cannellini beans, rinsed, drained
4 hot dogs, cut into 1/2” pieces
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, 4 ounces

Preheat oven to 350°. Coat 2-qt. baking dish with cooking spray. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Meanwhile, combine barbeque sauce, tomato juice, Worcestershire and mustard powder. In large, non-stick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion; cook stirring occasionally, until softened, 7-8 minutes. Add barbeque sauce mixture, beans and hot dogs; cook, stirring occasionally until heated through, 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in pasta. Transfer to baking dish; sprinkle with cheese. Bake 20-25 minutes or until bubbly and heated through. (See note 2)

Note 1: I couldn’t find wagon wheels, so I used pasta called “radiators.” What other pasta shapes are out there? Carburetors?

Note 2: Best eaten to Cher.


Source: Woman’s World, October 7 edition

23 comments:

  1. LOL. In my "caker household" we call this Hotdog Casserole.

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    1. I suppose you could call it that, but it loses some of the elegance, don't you think?

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  2. Yow. This kind of made me hurk, but I think it was the beans. I can't stand anything beany--the texture is so off-putting.
    That said, I think the concept of barbecue sauce and pasta is interesting, and I may try this without the dreaded ingredient. Luckily, there are no Eye-talians in my house, so I may cross that line with impunity.

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    1. Oh, stop being a beanaphobe. Go for it. At the very least, they keep you regular.

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    2. This made me think of you. Are the beavers really that friendly?
      http://youtu.be/sekLEG8xsOs

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    3. This is so fake. If it was a REAL Canadian beaver, he'd be wearing a Mountie hat.

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    4. And no, they're never that friendly. Most times, they're pretty bitchy.

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  3. I believe hot dogs & pasta is the favorite food of Dr. Sheldon Cooper from Big Bang Theory. Who can argue with that level of genius. Those Eye-talians can be a bit fussy when it comes to pasta.

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    1. I knew hot dogs made you smarter. I've been telling peepul that for years but no one beleeved me.

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  4. Had to read that three times before I could work out what a 'fall canning party' might be - deffo want to go to one though. Specially if we can eat pasta and hotdogs while listening to Cher!

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    1. NOT to be confused with a "fall caning party." One letter can make all the difference in the world.

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  5. You counted the exclamation marks? Hahahahahahaha (OK now I should go read the rest of your post)

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  6. Wagon Wheel pasta + Cher = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rm8h2z_2tio

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    1. You know, I think all things eventually connect back to Cher. Wagon Wheel pasta, shag carpet, tinsel, dandelions. I mean, the list goes on and on. Thanks for the clip!

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  7. That's amazing! I love these types of recipes. When visiting the USS Missouri in Hawaii, I absolutely had to have the USS Missouri cookbook. How could I resist? I am pretty sure there is a recipe similar to this in that cookbook.

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    1. I wish I had a copy of the USS Missouri cookbook, dynagrrl. (I'm just putting out some ideas for Christmas presents. Nudge, nudge to anyone who might be reading this.)

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  8. Dear Brian,

    I stumbled upon your website in the search for a homemade pie, I have not idea how Google decided to show your picture of your pie vs a Martha's Stewart one but I am glad Google is not perfect yet, as I was able to find your blog. I am a restaurant owner who makes everything 100% from scratch. A true anti-caker cook you might say, but after reading a few of your recipes I couldn't help but keep reading! WOW there is a whole other culinary universe out there. Your recipes are not only a gastroenterologist dream but also really funny. Thank you for making my day. You are super awesome, if one day you are in the mood for something not canned and are in the area please come by! :)
    facebook.com/thecubebbq

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    1. If Martha only knew the internet would lead someone to this site, she'd have the internet destroyed! Your food looks amazing. I'll be having dreams tonight about the sweet potato pie with praline topping. If I'm ever in Albuquerque, I'll make sure to drop by for a slice.

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  9. I`m thinking to make this more caker I might substitute BBQ sauce for HP. At least that`s my caker experience from growing up. Maybe go whole hog and serve it with a dollop of horseradish on the plate too.

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    1. Are you sure about that? I mean, isn't HP sauce pretty intense? As in, BBQ sauce with the water squeezed out? And the horseradish! Good lord. Even thinking about all this makes my scalp sweaty.
      But hey, who am I to stop a fellow caker from eating what they want to eat? All I can say is, "good luck" and let me know if you survive.

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  10. Your site is one of the most freaking funny sites in the world. Seriously.

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