Bacon Cannibalism (Fried Cabbage with Bacon and Onions)

So this exists...

...I wonder if it's better than mine...

Because it's cabbage season....

Fried Cabbage with Bacon and Onions

Ingredients
6 slices bacon, chopped
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large head cabbage, cored and sliced
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions
Place the bacon in a large stockpot and cook over medium-high heat until crispy, about 10 minutes. Add the onion and garlic.  Stir and cook until the onions become translucent and carmelizes; about 10 minutes.
Stir in the cabbage and continue to cook for 10 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer.  Stir occasionally for another 20 minutes or so until cabbage is tender.

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Bacon (Bacon Cheeseburger Bombs & Cheesy Bacon Dip)

It's after Labor Day which means...cooler nights, pumpkin-flavored-everything and no more wearing white.  It's also time to bring out the apple cider, squash and hearty dinners.  Look forward to those ingredients being featured in the next few posts.

2 new epically bacon products are out there on the shelves.  Friends of mine found the Bacon Tape for me (to go along with the Bacon Duct Tape I buy in bulk) and I ran across the Bacon Rub at my local Wegmans.  (Who doesn't love Wegmans!)  So keep your eye out.  There's always something new out there in the Bacon novelty market.

We had a bonfire on International Bacon Day (the last Saturday before Labor Day).  What better way to celebrate than with a huge fire?  I made a really cheesy Bacon dip and Cheeseburger Bacon Bombs.  Both with my home-made bacon.  Both were nothing short of phenom-nom-nom-inal.

 

Cheesy Bacon Dip

Ingredients:

2 softened bricks cream cheese (8 oz. each)
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
16 oz. sour cream
8-10 cooked bacon strips, chopped
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit.   

Combine all ingredients, except reserve a small amount of bacon for the top of the dip.  Mix well until well blended. Pour into a baking casserole dish and top with the remaining bacon.

Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes. 

 

Bacon Cheeseburger Bombs

Ingredients:

1 can (16 oz) refrigerated biscuits
16 frozen (thawed) cooked meatballs
1 block (8 oz) Cheddar cheese, cut into 16 cubes
16 slices bacon 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Separate dough into 8 biscuits. Cut each biscuit in half; take each half and make a small circle by gently pressing the dough out.

In center of each biscuit round, place 1 meatball and 1 cube of cheese. Wrap dough to completely enclose beef and cheese; pinch the seams to seal tightly.  

Place bacon on foil-lined cookie sheet with sides. Bake about 8 minutes to partially cook bacon. Wrap each stuffed “bomb” with 1 slice partially cooked bacon slice. Place bacon wrapped dough 2-inches apart on two foil-lined cookie sheets with dough seam side down. Bake 13 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Bacon Confessions (Cheesy Warm Bacon Potato Salad)

I've been avoiding writing this blog.  For weeks.  All because I have a confession to make.  Sigh.  Try not to think less of me....I don't like steak-cut bacon.  There.  I said it.  Sure, it's awesome, a really fat piece of bacon.  For some reason though, I prefer a slice of bacon to a slab of bacon.  I think it comes down to texture.  Part of what I love about bacon is the fact that it's both crispy and chewy.  You get a nice combination of some crispy edges and then get to bite softly through the fat.  It's a balance that only bacon can master.  So thumbs down for me on steak cut bacon, especially in a BLT and not served on a plate with a fork and knife.

This week, my cousin sent me the following picture...

...and while I can get on board with this idea, the thought of greasy bacon trying to hang onto my beer can had me concerned.  I know how this is going to end....wouldn't you know a true bacon koozie exists...

A friend from work reccommended this bacon recipe.  Warm Potato Salad had me intrigued, especially since the recipe calls for a half pound of cheese and 8 slices of bacon.  I made the dish with Maple Bacon I wondered aloud if it would taste better with a different kind of bacon, and my husband piped in and said I better make it again to test it out.  I think that's his way of approval, other than the cleaned plate, that is.

Cheesy Warm Bacon Potato Salad
Ingredients:
5 pounds of red potatoes, diced
1/2 cup mayonaise
1/2 pound Velveeta cheese, diced
1 small onion, diced
6-8 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F degrees.  Place a cooling rack over a cookie sheet.  Place bacon on cooling rack.  Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until desired crispiness.  Remove from the oven and cool.  Once completely cooled, crumble the bacon and set aside. 

Combine potatoes, mayonaise, cheese, onion, bacon in a bowl until mix thouroughly.  In a baking dish spoon potato mixture in, and then sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.

Bake at 350°F degrees for an hour or until the potatoes are tender.
 

Bacon Week (Crescent Bacon Breakfast Casserole & Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies with Bacon)

Next to Halloween and Christmas, my favorite holiday just occurred.  It was the Annual Breast Cancer fundraiser in Williamsville, NY called the BeerBaconBoobs Fest.  The food was pretty good, although the food truck I loved last year failed to make it this year.  A fantasy to repeat that awesome bacon-stuffed cheeseburger I had goes unsatisfied.  The Bacon Toffee makes up for it though.  The beer was good, the samples aplenty and the friends and company were great.  I'm already looking forward to next year!

 

In celebration of Shark Week, I think Bacon should have it's own week as well. 

I had a big week of bacon.  I made 2 dishes with bacon in them.   Sometimes I get inspired.  What can I say?

Crescent Bacon Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients
1 (8 ounce) package refrigerated crescent roll dough
6-8 slices of bacon
8 eggs, beaten
2 cups shredded cheese
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon dried oregano


Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F degrees.  Place a cooling rack over a cookie sheet.  Place bacon on cooling rack.  Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until desired crispiness.  Remove from the oven and cool.  Once completely cooled, chop the bacon and set aside. 

Lower oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.

Line the bottom of the prepared baking dish with crescent roll dough, and sprinkle with crumbled bacon. In a large bowl, mix beaten eggs and cheese. Season the mixture with oregano, and pour over the bacon and crescent rolls.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes in the oven.

 

Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies with Bacon
Ingredients
6-8 slices of bacon
2 1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup softened butter
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 package (4 oz. serving) instant chocolate pudding
2 eggs
1 package (12 oz.) chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F degrees.  Place a cooling rack over a cookie sheet.  Place bacon on cooling rack.  Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until desired crispiness.  Remove from the oven and cool.  Once completely cooled, chop the bacon and set aside. 

Combine butter, the sugars, vanilla and pudding mix in large bowl. Beat until creamy. Then beat in eggs. Gradually add flour, soda, chips and bacon. Batter will be stiff. Drop by teaspoonful, about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. 

Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.

The Great Bacon Workout (Bacon and Tomato Cups)

I told my husband that I was going to go work out.  I changed into my yoga attire and here I sit.  Procrastinating.  I really do need to add a little cardio in today, to offset the Bacon, Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich (...I devoured only like 2 hours ago, and still could totally eat another one...) I had.  Eating the bacon and talking about the bacon are always more fun than working off the bacon.

You may have heard that Bacon is great at fueling the body for a high intensity workout, but did you know that it was not so good for you after a workout?  Mens Fitness did a article on what to not eat after a workout, and our porky protein was regarded as a no-no.  Check out the full article here.

 Want to hear the nerd view on all that is bacon?  Check out the The Definitive Guide to Bacon

I whipped this week's recipe up after work, on my way to dinner at a friend's house.  They were super easy and for the most part, everyone loved them.  I'll be making them again in the future!

Bacon and Tomato Cups
Ingredients
(Recipe makes 30 mini muffins)
8 slices bacon
1 tomato, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
3 ounces shredded Swiss cheese
1/5 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup cream cheese, room temperature
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 (16 ounce) can refrigerated buttermilk biscuit dough


Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a mini muffin pan.

In a skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until evenly brown. Drain on paper towels. Crumble bacon into a medium mixing bowl; add chopped tomato, onion, Swiss cheese, mayonnaise, cream cheese and basil.
  
Separate biscuits into halves horizontally, and then half again, so you have 4 per biscuit.  Roll each piece into a ball, and then flatten into a small circle. Place each circle into prepared mini muffin pan. Fill each biscuit tin with the bacon mixture.

Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool slightly and enjoy.

Bacon Flip Flops (Bacon and Cream Chees Stiffed Mushrooms)

Coming off of Vacation mode is hard.  I'm thankful for the time I had off (mainly doing things around the house) and for all the extra time I got to spend with bacon, uh, I mean my family!  I spent the time off experimenting.  Delicious experiments!

While perusing the webs today I found not one,not two, not five, but over a dozen different bacon-themed flip flops.  Why shouldn't your little piggies be sporting piggies themselves?  Here's my top five favorites:

 

 With epic snack making abilities, comes epic responsibilities.  Like always making sure you have awesomely fresh ingredients on hand.  This recipe is simple and quick.  And delicious!  And it used 3 ingredients.  Seriously, can this get any easier?

Bacon and Cream Cheese Suffed Mushrooms
Ingredients
1/2 lb bacon
15-20 large mushrooms (I used button mushrooms)
8 oz cream cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cook bacon in a pan or in the oven and remove to a paper towel-lined plate.  Cool and crumble.

Remove stems from mushrooms and mince.

Mix bacon, mushroom stems, and cream cheese.

Place mushrooms caps on baking pan covered with aluminum foil and fill with cream cheese mixture. Bake for 25-35 minutes.

Beer Bacon Boob Festival (Mississippi Sin Dip)

 Looking for a bacon gift? Here's 9 new products you might not know about...check it out.

Looking for something to do on August 2, 2014?  Are you in the Buffalo/Rochester area?  This is what I'll be up to this year...The Third Annual Beer Bacon Boobs Festival.  Tasting of local microbreweries, and food truck upon food truck offering bacon delicacies!

I really love this time of year.   With the exception of the heat and humidity, the long summer days are the best.  And the food...anything grilled is preferred.  What isn't preferred is a cold.  In the middle of summer.  It's just wrong.  On every level.  After a week of being under the weather I can finally get on and post about this awesomely devoured dip I made for a fourth of July party I had.  It's call Mississippi Sin Dip, and even cold, it was being eaten.  There weren't any leftovers...now that's a recipe!

Mississippi Sin Dip
Ingredients
16oz sour cream

8oz cream cheese, softened

2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

1/2 cup chopped cooked bacon

1 green onion, chopped

1/4 tsp hot sauce

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

salt

pepper

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F degrees.  Place a cooling rack over a cookie sheet.  Place bacon on cooling rack.  Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until desired crispiness.  Remove from the oven and cool.  Once completely cooled, chop the bacon and set aside.  

 

In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients, stirring until well blended.  Spoon mixture into a pie pan or small casserole dish, cover in foil.

Bake dip at 350° degrees for 1 hour. Serve with bread cubes, crackers, or chips.