It's Bacon!!!!!!! I Love Bacon!!!!

Everything is better with bacon.  I won’t talk about the obvious bacon cheeseburger, bacon and eggs, baked potato with sour cream and bacon bits or BLT.  I thought I would share some new bacon ideas today with you.

Corn on the Cob and Bacon

This is an easy veggie dish to cook up on one side of the grill as you cook your burgers or chicken.  Everything is good wrapped in bacon. 

6 ears of Corn, husked and cleaned

6 strips of Bacon

Salt and  pepper

Clean the corn and salt and pepper each ear.  Wrap each corn cob with a strip of bacon and individually wrap each ear in foil.

Cook over med 15 minutes turning gradually and regularly (rotate about a ¼ turn every 3 minutes).

Remove from grill and keep in foil until ready to serve.

Grilled Asparagus

It works so well with corn, try it with asparagus.  It is equally as good.

10 fresh asparagus spears, trimmed

1/8 teaspoon pepper

5 bacon strips, halved lengthwise

Place asparagus on a sheet of waxed paper; coat with cooking spray. Sprinkle with pepper; turn to coat. Wrap a bacon piece around each spear; secure ends with toothpicks.

Grill, uncovered, over medium heat for 4-6 minutes on each side or until bacon is crisp. Discard toothpicks. Yield: 2-3 servings.

Rumaki

I already shared this in the liver chapter, but I thought I would save you having to go back and look it up.

It is my favorite appetizer.

1/2 pound chicken livers (30 chicken livers)

15 slices thin bacon, cut in half

1 can (8 ounces) sliced water chestnuts, drained (Optional but traditional)

1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup melted butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Cut each chicken liver in half; put a water chestnut slice between the two halves; wrap with a slice of bacon and secure with toothpick. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Combine soy sauce and melted butter in a container large enough to hold the chicken livers. Add the chicken livers; turn to coat well; cover container and marinate for 3 to 8 hours. Just before serving, broil for about 5 minutes on each side.  Recipe will make 30 appetizers.

BLT Soup

5 slices bacon, diced small

1/2  cup  diced green onions

2  tablespoon  butter

3  cup  iceberg lettuce, julienne

1/2  cup  instant-blending flour

3 1/2  cup  fresh or canned chicken broth, heated to a simmer

1  cup  diced fresh tomatoes

1/8  teaspoon  grated fresh nutmeg

1/8  teaspoon  ground red pepper

1  cup  heavy cream

1/4  cup  mayonnaise

1/4  cup  sour cream

crisp crumbled bacon

Bread croutons 

In a 3-quart pot, cook the bacon over medium heat till lightly browned. Add the onions and saute, stirring, until soft. Add the butter and stir until melted. Add the lettuce and saute for 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour into the pot, then stir it in until well blended. Remove the pot from the heat and add the hot chicken broth, tomatoes, nutmeg and pepper. Heat the soup to boiling, stirring constantly, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Add the cream and mix well. Mix together the mayonnaise and sour cream.

Serve each portion of soup with a dollop of mayonnaise mixture topped with crumbled bacon.  Serves 8.

Variation:  I have had another BLT soup and the lettuce was not put into it until just before serving as a garnish on top.  It was more of a creamed based soup with bacon in it and then garnished on top with the tomato, shredded lettuce and croutons.  I  prefer it to the above one.  

Baked Potato Soup (Staci calls this Sunday Soup)

Slice new or small red potatoes and put into cold chicken broth (just enough to cover the potatoes) and boil until the potatoes are tender.  The both is adding extra flavor.  Note:  you are never suppose to start your potatoes in hot water.  You can add the pre-cooked bacon and kale right away before boiling the potatoes to add extra flavor to the potatoes.  Add onion powder and salt and pepper to taste right away also.  Once potatoes are tender add cream or half and half or even 2% milk if you want to keep the fat down.  Check to see if you need to add additional seasoning.  Once the mixture has come to a boil add a corn starch slurry to thicken.   I freeze Kale and always have it on hand for soups.  You can use spinach if you don’t have kale.  I also like to serve it with grated cheddar cheese and a little extra bacon for garnish on top.

Bean and Bacon Soup

1 bag of Northern White Beans (My mom loves to use lima beans)

1 small onion

1 pound of bacon

Salt and pepper

Pre-soak your bag of white beans over night in plenty of water.  Drain the beans and rinse.  Cut up your bacon in small pieces and fry in a pot large enough to hold all the beans once they are cooked. Saute a small onion in a large pot with the bacon.  Add you beans and cover completely with water.  Season with salt and pepper.  Simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until beans are tender.  Keep adding water as it boils away.  You'll want a good amount of broth.

Chocolate Covered Bacon

Just imagine.  Three great foods in one: bacon, chocolate, and nuts!

6-8 slices thick cut, best-quality bacon

12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

4 ounces white chocolate, melted, optional for garnish

Macadamia Nuts

Preheat the oven to 375°F.  Place the bacon on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in the oven, until bacon is cooked to your liking. 15 minutes for soft bacon, 20 minutes for crispy bacon.  Let bacon cool on the parchment paper for 5 minutes then transfer to a plate lined with paper towels.

Using a heated double boiler add the chocolate chips and stir with a fork until smooth and completely melted.  Cover another baking sheet with parchment paper.  Using tongs, carefully dip the bacon into the melted chocolate turning to coat all sides in chocolate. Transfer to the clean sheet of waiting parchment paper. Repeat with remaining slices of bacon.

Drizzle with the white chocolate and sprinkle with Macadamia nuts if desired.  Refrigerate until chocolate is hard.

Spinach and Bacon Salad

2 bundles of fresh spinach

2 boiled eggs sliced

1/2 pound chopped crisp bacon

1 cup walnuts (or substitute pecans or almonds)

Start by rinsing and removing the stems from the fresh spinach. Add a couple of boiled eggs thinly sliced. Top with crisp bacon. To give the salad some extra crunch toast walnuts on a baking sheet. It only takes about 15 minutes in the oven at 300 degrees. You can use either walnuts, pecans or almonds.  Top with simple vinegar and oil dressing.

Wrapped Smokies, Scallops or Shrimp

Everything is better wrapped in bacon.  Next time you fix Little Smokies, scallops or shrimp wrap them in a half a slice of bacon.  They make excellent appetizers.  What else can you wrap in bacon

Shrimp

Bake shrimp in 350 degree oven wrapped with a ½ slice of bacon in teriyaki sauce until golden brown.  I like to use pre-cooked bacon since you do not want to over cook the shrimp and they take very little time to cook.  

Scallops

Fresh scallops

Extra virgin olive oil

Medium thickness bacon slices

Old Bay Seafood Seasoning

Toothpicks

Bank your charcoal on one side of your grill so that you have a hot side and a cooler side. Once you get your fire burning, brush the scallops lightly with extra virgin olive oil on both sides. Wrap the scallop with a piece of bacon around the edge, and use a toothpick to hold it in place. Sprinkle each side with a little Old Bay Seafood Seasoning, and you are ready for the grill.  Do not over cook your scallops.  

Little Smokies

Little Smokies

Bacon

Brown Sugar

Tooth picks

Wrap the Smokie in bacon and put on baking sheet.  Sprinkle brown sugar on top and bake in a 325 degree oven until golden brown. 

If you’re serving these at a party, they taste even better after a little time in the slow cooker on low heat. Add that bacon grease that has co-mingled with the brown sugar the slow cooker also.  

Maple Syrup Bacon

I have spoiled myself and use the pre-cooked bacon to save time and mess.  You can do as I do or pre-cook your own bacon  and then brush the bacon slices with maple syrup and bake for another 3 to 5 minutes, depending on how well done you like your bacon.  I like it really crispy.  It makes for a very special breakfast if you add maple flavored bacon.

Cucumber Bacon Appetizers

2 English Cucumbers

Mild or medium salsa to taste (Well drained)

½ C. sour cream

1/4 C cream cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Bacon

Chives

Cut cucumbers into 1 inch rounds. With a melon baller scoop out the middle without going all the way through, so you have a small cucumber bowl. Mix the very well drained salsa, chopped bacon, chopped chives, cream cheese and sour cream.  Taste and season with salt and pepper and more heat if you’d like more salsa.  Fill the cucumber slices with the mixture. Top with chopped chives.  You can make it more decorative by peeling the cucumber with green stripes leaving the skin on part of the cucumber.

Do not toss the scoops of cucumber.  Perfect for a salad.

Variations:   Another variation could be to put stuff little roasted potatoes that are cut in half and roasted till golden brown.  Scoop out like the cucumber and stuff with the filling or put the filling in a scooped out bread bowl and use bread you scooped out to dip.  It’s all good with bacon dip. 

Bacon Jerky 

I found and have fallen in love with Bacon Jerky.  I found it a Walmart and my big problem is only eating one.  You will want to eat the whole bag.  Great for taking camping if you can wait until then.  

Grandma’s Bacon Gravy

My Grandma Lindley always saved her bacon dripping in a coffee can on her stove and she used it in a lot of her food preparations including a milk gravy she fixed with potatoes at almost every dinner. 

2 tablespoons bacon grease

2 tablespoons flour

2 cups milk

Salt and pepper to taste

She would begin by making a rue.  Preheat a large skillet to medium heat.  Add flour to the bacon grease and whisk together. Cook for about a minute to get the flour taste out of the mix.  Be careful not to burn.  Should be a light brown.  Add milk; whisk together.  Heat until bubbling. Simmer for 5-10 minutes, until sauce starts to thicken.  Add salt and pepper (to taste). Allow to simmer until desired consistency.  

Variation:  Instead of sausage and gravy, you can add bacon bits to the gravy and serve over biscuits for breakfast.

Bacon Mac and Cheese

Cups uncooked elbow macaroni (about 12 oz)

1/4 cup butter or margarine, cut into pieces

1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk

1 1/2 cups half-and-half

3 cups shredded mild Cheddar cheese (12 oz)

8 oz (half of 16-oz loaf) prepared cheese product, cut into cubes

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup chopped packaged precooked bacon (about 8 slices from 2.1-oz package)

Spray 3 1/2- to 4-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Cook and drain macaroni as directed on package, using minimum cook time. Place macaroni in slow cooker; immediately add butter and stir until melted.  Add evaporated milk, half-and-half, 2 1/2 cups of the Cheddar cheese, the cubed cheese, mustard, salt and pepper; stir to blend well.  Cover; cook on low heat setting 2 to 3 hours, stirring once halfway through cooking time. During last 15 minutes of cooking, sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese and the bacon.

Enjoy your bacon for a snack, breakfast, lunch or dinner or dessert.  Tomorrow I am going to talk about grillin'.  

Be happy and may God bless you and yours.