This one was sent to me via my Mom! She tends to send me recipes when she thinks my kids will eat it. They aren’t picky at all. I had my little guy in mind when I made this Hawaiian Style Skillet Dinner because he loves ham and pineapples! Plus I loved the idea of it being made in a skillet because you know how obsessed I am about them. As I read the recipe I was curious on how to actually cook the pasta within the skillet full of other ingredients, but you know me, I love a good challenge so I dove in for it. Let me give you some pointers so if you try it you can nail it! You can successfully make this in one skillet without having to boil the pasta separately, however you must own a very large skillet. Luckily mine fit it all but it was messy come the end. I also suppose you could cook the pasta ahead of time and add it in there but watching all of those flavors dance around together while the pasta cooked sure made it super delicious I think. Secondly, add a little more broth to it if your pasta doesn’t cook to your liking, I found I needed a little more to finish it up.
Other than that the cheesy goodness full of Hawaiian flavors you’ll find as the end result! Oh and my sweet little boy I made this dish for did not eat it. Well he hate the pasta and left the ham and pineapples as did my daughter. Apparently my kids don’t like cooked fruit. Period.
Recipe Adapted by: 12 Tomatoes
- 1 pound of Ham, chopped (I used leftovers)
- 1 pound of rigatoni pasta
- 2 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
- 8 oz can of pineapples, chopped
- 1 15 oz jar of pasta sauce (I used homemade)
- 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 tbsp of coconut oil (or olive oil)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ tbsp of oregano
- salt and pepper
- Add coconut oil to the a large sauté pan and melt over medium heat. Add in the ham and stir to coat the ham and cook for about 5 min.
- Add the broth, tomato sauce, garlic, oregano and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper and pour in pasta. Bring to a boil, cover and allow to cook for 15 minutes until most of the sauce has evaporated. Add a little more broth if the pasta isn't cooked after 15 minutes.
- Remove from heat, stir in pineapples and mozzarella cheese. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
