This Colorado firehouse shares their 'family' pasta dinner

In many homes, dinner time is family time. We gather around the table to catch up on the day and spend time together.

It's the same tradition in a firehouse.

In the middle of those long, tough shifts, meal time is family time for firefighters who sometimes spend more hours together than with their families at home.

That's certainly true at West Metro’s Station 8, where the crew that works together, cooks and eats together. 

They even have a special tradition for deciding who gets stuck on dishes. This pasta is one of their go-to meals.

Firefighter Station Meal - Pasta Night

SERVES: 8

Ingredients:

• 1 lb pancetta
• 2 lb shrimp – peeled
• 1.5 lb chicken – cut into cubes
• 9 oz fresh chopped basil
• 2 red peppers (chopped)
• 1 red onion (chopped)
• Minced garlic
• Olive oil
• 3 boxes bowtie pasta
• 1 package of cherry tomatoes, cut in half

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a pan. Add garlic. Add chicken, and heat until cooked through.
2. Remove cooked chicken from the pan, and set aside.  Leave oil and garlic in the pan.
3. Add more olive oil and garlic. Add pancetta, saute on low (so you don’t burn garlic) for about 10 minutes.
4. When cooked through, remove pancetta from the pan and set aside. Leave oil and garlic in the pan.
5. Add peppers and onions to the pan. Cook until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. 
6. When cooked, remove peppers and onions from the pan and set aside. Leave oil and garlic in the pan.
7. Boil pasta. 
8. When pasta is about 5 minutes from done, add shrimp into the pan with garlic and olive oil and cook through.
9. Drain pasta when it's finished.
10. Add onions, peppers, chicken and pancetta back into the pan with shrimp to reheat and coat with olive oil/garlic mixture.
11. Combine all contents of pan with pasta.
12. Add fresh basil and tomatoes to the dish and stir.
13. Serve immediately with grated or shredded parmesan.