I have been experimenting with flavors that at first glance just don’t seem to go together.   I am always pleasantly surprised how well all the flavors end up blending.  This dish was a complicated dish that I changed to make easy as pie since it was my Monday night dinner which is the busiest night of the week for me.   My husband had three big servings and I had two myself.  There were no left overs with this dish.  Thankfully since I still have beans and ham in the fridge no one wants to touch!

I cooked spaghetti (8 oz) up ahead of time, making sure to leave just slightly under cooked (my husband likes his noodles like that) rinsing them so they were not sticky nor would they stick when I put them in Tupperware and into my fridge for later use that day.

liberally olive oil a large deep dish skillet pan and saute up 1 large diced onion, after about three minutes throw in a 3 oz package of real bacon bits (not imitation) and let this all cook for another 4-5 minutes.  The smell will be intense.

If working with raw shrimp throw these in and let cook until pink.  I used already cooked shrimp so I just threw them in and then added my pasta.    Saute until it is all heated through and add in some crushed red chili pepper.  (this will be according to your heat tolerance)

If dry add some olive oil for taste.  about 10 minutes before ready to serve add in about three handfuls of arugula and let wither.   Serve with a nice salad.

I put the olive oil, chili pepper, salt and pepper on the table so that each person can flavor their own dish up a little more.  I opted for a little salt since I don’t like spicy but my husband put on the chili flakes and just loved it.

it was amazing in flavor and it is definitely going on our list of to make again soon dinners.