SWEET BACON-CHICKEN BUNDLES

We discovered these delicious little bundles over the holidays. They are quick to fix and are absolutely perfect for potlucks, buffets, or a quick supper. They are totally addicting, so make lots of them!!

SWEET BACON-CHICKEN BUNDLES
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast (we like thighs better)
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
bacon (regular, not thick)

 Preheat oven to 375° and bake the bacon for 10 minutes only. After 10 minutes, drain the bacon and set aside. You will need one half slice of bacon for each chicken bundle.

 Cut the raw chicken into 1" cubes, then wrap half of (a partially cooked) slice of bacon around each cube of raw chicken, and secure it with a toothpick. Next, mix the brown sugar, chili powder, cumin and salt together and roll the bacon-chicken in this mixture. Make sure you get it into all the folds of the bacon.

Place the bundles on a baking screen or cooling rack that you've liberally sprayed with vegetable spray. Set the sprayed rack on a rimmed baking sheet that you have lined with foil (important for easier clean up). If you have any sugar left over, spoon a teaspoon or so on top of each bundle.

Bake for 30-35 minutes. Delicious hot or room temperature. If you like a little heat along with your sweet, add some cayenne to the sugar mixture.

 

ENJOY !!!

 

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Bourbon & Bacon

Do you really need me to say anything?

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BACON HASSELBACK POTATOES

As I understand it, Hasselback potatoes originated in Sweden as far back as the 1700's and there are a lot of variations. Basically it is an unpeeled baking potato that has been partially sliced, buttered and baked. The outside is crispy, salty and chewy but the inside of the potato is smooth and moist. They are very easy to make, delicious to eat and pretty enough to serve over the upcoming holidays.

A word of warning about these photographs: I didn't realize that the photos were on the blurry side until we finished dinner, so I couldn't re-take them. Sorry about that.

 

This version has bacon in it !!

 

There really isn't a specific recipe, but I do have a few tips that will help you in the process.

Things to do ahead of time: 

Lay 1 strip of good quality smoky THICK bacon (for every 2 potatoes) on a flat surface and freeze for about 30 minutes. This will help you slide the bacon down into the cuts of the potato.

Use meaty bacon

Bring a pot of water (large enough to hold the potatoes) to a full boil.

Wash the unpeeled potatoes, scrubbing them with a vegetable brush, then drying them with a paper towel.

Next, it's time to cut the slices into the potato. Because it is easy to cut too far, it's better to use some sort of cutting depth guide. Personally, I lay the potato between 2 spoon handles and use a sharp (thin bladed) knife to cut down only as far as the spoon handles.

 

Next, put the potatoes into the pot of boiling water. Let boil 4 minutes for larger potatoes and 2 minutes for medium potatoes. Gently lift them out and pat them dry.

Coat the potatoes with melted butter, making sure it gets down into every cut (just don't try to PRY the slices apart too much).

After you've buttered the potato, insert 3 pieces of frozen bacon (evenly spaced) into the potato. Make sure the bacon is big enough to be a little wider and taller than the potato because it will shrink as it bakes.

Butter again and then sprinkle with kosher salt and coarsely ground black pepper.

Bake at 350° (2 hours for large potatoes and 1 1/2 hours for medium potatoes). Dab them with a little butter about half way through.

The last 5-10 minutes of baking, melt a little butter and add a finely sliced green onion(optional) and half a clove of minced garlic. Let the garlic toast in the butter JUST A LITTLE, then drizzle the garlic butter over the potatoes and bake a few minutes more.

Carefully lift the potatoes out of the baking dish with a sturdy utensil.

The potatoes have a smooth and slightly smoky flavor. Picky-picky husband loved them.  Like I said, sorry about the poor quality of todays photos.

ENJOY !!

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The Founding Farmers Cookbook

You think you have trouble getting a consensus, just imagine if you owned a restaurant with 40,000 partners.  The Founding Fathers in Washington, DC is just such a restaurant.  It is owned by more than 42,000 American family farmers in the North Dakota Farmers Union.  

It seems that these North Dakota farmers wanted to get into the restaurant business. (Because they didn't think farming was hard enough?) Then, they decided to open this restaurant in the Nation's Capitol.  A wise move as not a lot of movers and shakers and members of the agriculture committee mill about Bismark.  

It wasn't enough to start a restaurant which if farm-owned-table, they wanted to spread the sustainability.  They were the first LEED Certified restaurant in the Nations Capitol and one of the first LEED Gold restaurants in the entire country.  They scoured the Library of Congress to find authentic recipes to highlight the farmer's bounty. 

After several years of operation, they decided to gather their vast knowledge into a cookbook.  The cookbook embodies a similar aesthetic as the restaurant.  The Founding Farmers features traditional American cuisine such as Yankee Pot Roast, Southern Chicken and Waffles, and a Seven-Cheese Mac and Cheese. They even offer a recipe so you can make your own ginger ale.

Now tell me, what could be more American than bacon?  Try these lollipops!

Bacon Lollis

1/2 pound extra thick-cut applewood-smoked slab bacon (ask your butcher to slice it to 1/4-inch thick)
5 tablespoons Cinnamon Brown Sugar.  (see below)

Cinnamon Brown Sugar

1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Whisk all of the ingredients until well combined. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 months.


You’ll need 10 to 15 (10-inch) bamboo or metal skewers. If using bamboo, soak them in water for 1 hour before using.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.


Cut the bacon slices into 2 1/2-inch pieces. Thread each piece of bacon on to the end of a skewer. Arrange the bacon skewers on a baking sheet lined with a metal roasting rack. Dust the bacon with half of the Cinnamon Brown Sugar and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until it appears that the bacon has rendered at least half of its fat. Remove the skewers from the oven. Flip the skewers over and dust the other side of the bacon with the remaining Cinnamon Brown Sugar. Return the bacon to the oven and cook until crispy, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve warm.

It is a great find when both a restaurant and a cookbook come together to fulfill a goal of sustainability.  The Founding Farmers have done that -- as well as make a fine Raspberry-Lime Rickey.

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MAPLE CANDIED BACON !!

Now I know that bacon isn't on a lot of our low calorie diets, but once in a while, you just have to live a little!!

I've seen candied bacon recipes all over the Internet and often wondered what all the fuss was about, after all, what can be better than fried bacon? Well, I'm here to tell you that CANDIED BACON is the answer. Holy cow, this stuff is good!!

Some people are dicing it and putting it on top of maple frosted cupcakes, some people are dicing it and putting it into deviled eggs, and some people like me who shall remain nameless, just devour it right out of the warm pan!!  It's just THAT good!!

 

There's not much of a recipe, but there ARE several tips I can give you that will help a bit.

 

First of all, use a large cookie sheet that has a lip on it. Line it with foil (this will make clean up a breeze) and put an oven safe wire rack on the foil (make sure to spray both sides of the baking rack with cooking spray too...that will also help).

 

 

Now a word about which bacon to use. Quality thick sliced smoked bacon works best, but it takes a lot longer to cook. Regular thickness smoked bacon works well but you REALLY have to watch it like crazy so it doesn't burn.......it's your choice.  I think I like the thicker bacon better; I have had great success using apple wood smoked bacon.

 

Preheat your oven to 400° if you are using thick bacon and 375° if you are using regular thickness.

 

Mix 1/2 cup of REAL maple syrup and 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard. Place the raw bacon slices on the baking rack, making sure that the slices don't overlap. Baste the raw bacon liberally (on one side) with the syrup-mustard mixture. 

 

Bake thick bacon for 20 minutes and regular sliced bacon for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, flip the bacon over and baste the other side with the syrup-mustard mixture. Put back in oven and bake the thick slices for another 20 minutes and the regular slices for another 10 minutes.

 

CAUTION: If you use the regular sliced bacon, watch it very carefully the last few minutes, because it can burn quickly if you leave it in too long.

 

 

When you take it out of the oven (the last time), sprinkle it very lightly with black pepper and TAKE IT OFF OF THE BAKING RACK.

 

I cool mine on parchment paper for about 15 minutes; unless I'm eating it right away I turn it over to make sure it cools/dries evenly.

 

NOTE: When I am out of REAL maple syrup, I've tried this recipe using pancake syrup. It works ok too, but it burns easier and the real maple syrup tastes a LOT better.

 

ENJOY !!

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BACON EGG and CHEESE TOAST CUPS

This is a very EASY recipe because most of it can be made ahead of time.  It is a FUN breakfast to serve company or a bunch of rowdy teenagers or a breakfast buffet crowd because it can be finished off last minute!!

There are no real measurements for this recipe; just one circle of toast, a pinch of cheese, one egg and one slice of precooked bacon for each serving (use the regular thickness bacon  because thick bacon won't work for this recipe).

These little beauties are quite filling and two of them make a hearty breakfast.

The "do ahead part" is to spray the cupcake pan generously with vegetable spray, then put a "toast circle" (un-buttered) in the bottom of each cupcake well.

Next, pre-fry the bacon. I do mine in the oven (the day ahead) because it comes out perfectly flat and easy to work with.  Click HERE for my post on cooking bacon in the oven.

Bake the bacon at 375 (no need to preheat) for about 20 minutes, or if you are frying it, cook it about 2/3 done (you want it almost done, but still pliable).  Drain the bacon but don't let it cool down much (it tends to get stiff as it cools down). Quickly wrap each cupcake well, like this:

Add a healthy pinch of shredded cheddar ( I also like pepper jack cheese) on top of the toast, like this:

At this point, you can put them in the fridge and bring them out the next morning.

When it's time to eat, preheat your oven to 400 and carefully break an egg into each "nest"

Sprinkle with kosher salt and coarsely ground pepper. Put them into the oven for for 15-18 minutes or until the eggs are done to your liking. Let the finished eggs sit in the pan for a minute or two (don't worry, they stay very hot).

Scoop the baked egg cups out of the pan with a spoon (they come out easily). If you like your eggs done fairly well (like we do), you can pick these up and eat them out of hand, but if you like a soft set egg, you'll need a plate and fork.

I am definitely making these for Christmas morning,
along with fruit cups

and cinnamon rolls!!

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BACON

Mmmmm, Bacon!!

I am never frying bacon again!! Don't get me wrong, we are not removing bacon from our menu, it is just the frying method that I will never do again. Don't you hate cramming 4 or 5 pieces, at a time, into your largest frying pan... trying to get them all to lay flat as they curl up and leave those white fatty ends on each piece?!?!?  Me too, so I went on an Internet hunt for a "flat bacon miracle" and I found a super easy one!! Maybe everyone already knows about this method, but I sure didn't and I can tell you right now, I'll never fry bacon in a frying pan again!!

Using a large baking sheet that has a lip on it, spray it with a little cooking spray (probably not really necessary, but it makes for easier clean up) and line up the raw bacon slices, side by side, like this (my baking sheet cooked a 12 ounce package of bacon all at once.

Now, depending on how thick your bacon is and how hot your oven runs, it takes roughly 20-25 minutes at 375 degrees (I don't even pre-heat the oven) to bake the whole package at once!! No turning slices, no splattering in your oven, no bacon fat skin burns and no curly bacon....its magic!!

Start watching the bacon at about 20 minutes for regular thickness sliced bacon (I've never timed the thick sliced stuff). It comes out absolutely perfectly flat and Picky-picky husband who is one of the strictest bacon critics that I've ever met, gave this bacon BOTH thumbs up and raved about what a great texture and taste it had.....well, blow me over!!

Not only is this a wonderful way to cook mass amounts of bacon, but it leaves your entire cooking range free for whatever!!

NOTE: If you like super crispy bacon, just leave it in for an extra minute.

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