Lemon Bacon Mushroom Pasta

Sorry I couldn't come up with a catchier name for this recipe, but at least you know what you're in for!

I made some delicious Lemon Bacon Stuffed Mushrooms earlier this month, and I loved the hint of spice and citrus (and of course, the bacon!)  I thought it would translate well into a pasta dish, so that's what I did tonight.

LEMON BACON MUSHROOM PASTA
8 slices bacon
8 mushrooms, sliced
4 green onions, sliced (3 for the pasta sauce, and 1 for garnish at the end)
1/2 tsp. Cinco Pepper Blend
1 tbsp. 3 Onion Dip Mix
1 pkg. cream cheese
2 tsp. dijon mustard
zest & juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp. white wine
2 tbsp. pasta water (if you want to thin the sauce out a bit)
1 c. cherry tomatoes, halved (for garnish)
fettucine, cooked according to directions

Cook the bacon in a large frying pan.  Remove from pan and cut into pieces.  Add mushrooms to the pan and sauté until golden brown.  Add bacon back to the pan along with 3 green onions, seasonings, cream cheese, mustard, lemon juice & zest, and white wine.  Heat over medium heat until cream cheese has melted.  Once the pasta is cooked, add some pasta water to the sauce if necessary.  Drain pasta and add to the sauce, tossing well.  Garnish with green onion and cherry tomatoes.

This was very tasty, although I must admit I prefer the stuffed mushroom appetizer version of this recipe.  Since there was quite a bit of pasta, it sort of dulled the flavours of the Cinco Pepper and the lemon zest, but it was still a successful meal.