Spaghetti with Bacon Chunks and Cream of Mushroom

The prices are going insane (roar!!) !!!!!!!
Gas, airplane tickets, movie tickets,
Even kitchen stables such as flour, vegetables, and meat,
This is crazy, even the fat around my belly does not grow out that fast!

Dining out seems to be cheaper than cooking nowadays,
But reluctant to eat most of the unhealthy and maybe not so clean food all the time,
I guess it's time to be an even smarter grocery shopper, looking for discounts and bargains.

When there is a will, there is a way,
After "stretching" my eyes and "squeezing" my brain power for the whole 30 minutes at the supermarket,
There I have it, some pretty awesome shopping deals:
1 giant box of Japanese hiratake mushroom for $2 U.S.
1 whole bag of carrots for $3 U.S.
6 packs of spaghetti for $5 U.S.

Well well well, let's get cooking!

Ingredients (3 to 4 portion)?

1 cup of hiratake mushroom (even better with wild mushroom)
3/4 cup of bacon chunks (thick slices of bacon cut in small cubes)
1/2 medium size carrot
1/2 medium size onion
3 garlic cloves
1 can of cream of mushroom
1 teaspoon of red chili flakes
1/4 teaspoon of smoked paprika
Some spaghetti
Some sea salt
Some freshly ground black pepper
Some heavy whipping cream
Some chicken stock
Some olive oil
Some parsley for garnish (optional)

How?

Have a big pot of boiling water ready,
Pinch in some salt and start cooking the pasta till al dente,
Meanwhile, let's prepare other ingredients.

Drizzle some olive oil onto a big pan and turn to high heat,
Toss in sliced onion and sprinkle some salt, pepper, and red chili flakes,
Cook till the onion gets slightly burned on the edges,
Add finely chopped garlic and cook for another 10 seconds.

Toss in thinly sliced carrot and hiratake mushroom,
Sprinkle some paprika and more salt, cook till the veggies turn soft,
You might need to drizzle more olive oil here because the mushroom tends to soak up all the juices.

Add in bacon chunks, cook till that bacon aroma comes out,
Pour in 1 can of cream of mushroom and mix well,
Add some heavy whipping cream and chicken stock to dilute the sauce mixture,
Personally, it's about half cream and half chicken stock for me,
Don't forget to add more salt here, we wanna season every layer while cooking this dish.

Bring to a boil and turn to medium/low heat,
Let it simmer for couple minutes,
You can taste the flavor at this moment,
Add more salt if needed,
Remember we gonna add the pasta later so the sauce should be slightly on the salty side.

The pasta should be ready by now, drain well and pour into the sauce mixture,
Give it a quick stir and let the whole thing cook for a wee bit longer, so that the entire flavor can be absorbed by the spaghetti,
Garnish with parsley before serving.

This is definitely healthier than dining out,
At least I know all the ingredients have been cleaned thoroughly,
All the seasonings are organic (purchased earlier),
And most importantly,
This dish was made with lots of................L-O-V-E...............................for my tummy!

Cindy's Rating: 7