Mushroom Noodles with Fried Breadcrumbs

I’m going in the ‘Way Back Machine’ again for this one. Mom always used to make noodles with fried breadcrumbs as a side dish. Here, I’m just adding mushrooms to make it a main dish. This is comfort food at its simplest and finest. If you want, you can add meat, garlic, onions, etc. I just like it as is.

Ingredients (serves 4 as a main dish, 8 as a side dish):

Noodles:

1 pound pasta (this is a great time to use up those bits of wide egg noodles and bow ties that you didn’t know what to do with)

1 (32 ounce) container beef or vegetable broth mixed with 2 cups of water

Fried Breadcrumbs:

4 Tablespoons butter

2 cups seasoned dry bread crumbs

Mushrooms:

1 Tablespoon butter

1 (10 ounce) package of cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

For the noodles: Bring the broth and water mixture to a boil and drop in the pasta. Cook for 10 minutes or until the texture that you like. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking broth, and set aside.

For the breadcrumbs: Melt the 4 T of butter in a large skillet and add the breadcrumbs. Cook, stirring often, until the breadcrumbs are lightly browned and fragrant. Remove to a bowl and set aside.

For the mushrooms: Wipe out the skillet you just did the breadcrumbs in and add the 1 T of butter. Let the butter melt and then toss in the mushrooms. Stir once to coat with the butter and let them cook on medium until they start to brown on one side. Flip over; add the reserved 1 cup broth from the noodles and cook for another 4 or 5 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated.   

Add the noodles to mushroom skillet and heat through. Taste and add salt and pepper to your liking. Place into bowls and cover with the breadcrumbs.