Bacon is Always the Answer (Chicken and Bacon Enchiladas)

So I kinda just threw this together and it was absolutely fantastic.  You really can't go wrong with this little number, and it was easy to make, and took less than 30 minutes.

Chicken and Bacon Enchiladas
2 chicken breasts or chicken thighs
4 slices of Bacon
1 large onion, chopped 
1 can of re-fried beans
1 can or package of enchilada sauce
6-8 flour tortillas
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2 tbsp of olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farhenheit.  Start by using 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large frying pan, and bring up to medium heat.  Add onions.  Stir onions in pan frequently and bring to a translucent color (5 minutes).  Chop uncooked bacon into small pieces.  Add to the onions and stir every once in awhile until bacon cooks (5-7 minutes).  Drain off fat.

In a small saucepan on medium heat, add can re-fried beans.  Cook until done.  Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, on a cutting board, slice chicken into small pieces.  Add to onion and Bacon mixture and stir chicken.  Cook for 5-7 minutes until chicken is done.  Remove from heat.

On a plate, place tortillas on a plate and heat for 30 seconds to make them soft and pliable.  Add 2 tablespoons of re-fried beans to a tortilla and spread along the middle of the tortialla.  Sprinkle a pinch or two of shredded cheese, top with Chicken and Bacon mixture, and roll and place seam side down in a per-greased pan.  Repeat process until all tortillas are used.

Take Enchilada Sauce and pour entire contents over the Enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.  Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.  Serve with sour cream and fresh green onions (optional). 
 

Happy National Pigs-in-a-Blanket Day! (Bacon and Pepperoni Calzones)

Happy National Pigs-in-a-Blanket Day!  (No lie.  It's a holiday.  A national one at that...)

Pigs-in-a-BlanketTrivia

*Pigs in ablanket are also known as devils on horsebacks, kilted sausages, and wienerwinks.

*The firstwritten record of pigs in a blanket occurs inBetty Crocker’s Cooking for Kids in 1957.

*In America,pigs in a blanket often refers to hot dogs, Vienna sausages, or breakfastsausages wrapped in biscuit dough, croissant dough or a pancake and thenbaked.  You can take that to the nextlevel by adding bacon, of course.

*In the UnitedKingdom, pigs in blankets are small sausages wrapped up inbacon.

In celebration of the holiday, I literally threw this together for dinner tonight.  No, honestly.  And it was ..... wait for it...deliciousness.  Easy and great weeknight meal!

Bacon and Pepperoni Calzones
1 package of supermarket pizza dough
6 slices of bacon
packaged sliced Pepperoni
shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Ricotta cheese
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
your favorite veggies (I used sliced mushrooms)
basil
garlic powder

Cook Bacon.  I did mine on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet in a cold oven set to 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.  Pull out, drain on a paper towel and chop into pieces.

Set oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Take the pizza dough and split it to form 2 equally-sized dough balls (they should each be a little smaller than a softball). Spread each dough ball out on a lightly floured surface as if you were making a pizza (spread it out as much as you can without tearing it). 

I started with about 2 tsp of Ricotta cheese on the dough in the center towards one side.  Try to leave about a half an inch around the edge of the calzone, so you can get a nice seal on the dough.  Layer the Pepperoni, Bacon, Mozzarella cheese, then basil and garlic powder and veggies.  Carefully fold the dough over the toppings and pinch the edges together. Then fold over the bottom  layer of dough over the top, using a finger to crimp the edge.  Make a couple little slits in the top of the dough, and either spray the top lightly with cooking spray, or use an egg wash to gently glaze the top of the dough.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 15-20 minutes (or until golden brown). 

Heat the spaghetti sauce in a small pot and simmer until calzones are done. You can serve the calzones with the sauce on the side then dip the calzone into it OR you can pour the sauce over the calzones and top with cheese.



    

Make Bacon. Not War. (Bacon-Cheddar Pinwheels)

Check out The Baconing Video Game for XBox and PlayStation:
(Love the business buzzwords of Bob from Marketing) looks like some teenage boys had a go at creating a video game and were challenged to use bacon, thongs, and obscure Lord of the Rings references. Just what I would expect from a teenage boy actually…

 

Bacon Cheddar Pinwheels

1 can refrigerated crescent dinner rolls 

1/4 cup crisply cooked bacon, crumbled

1/4 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese

Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Unroll crescent roll dough; separate into 2 long rectangles.  Press each into 12x4-inch rectangle, firmly pressing perforations to seal.  Sprinkle cheese and bacon.  Starting with the short side, roll up each rectangle; press edges to seal.  With serrated knife, cut each roll into 8 slices.  Lay cut side down on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 12 to 17 minutes or until the edges are a deep golden brown.  Immediately remove from cookie sheet.  Serve warm.     

Top 10 Things You Can Learn About Bacon from the Oxford English Dictionary (Butterscotch Bacon Cookies)

"Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon."
Doug Larson

Top 10 Things You Can Learn About Bacon from the Oxford English Dictionary

Here's another one of the delicacies I brought to the Big Bacon Party I went to this past weekend.  This one was a big hit with everyone.  Super easy!  Here's a pic.  I only wish I had a picture from when I put them out.  There were no leftovers for this snack.

Butterscotch Bacon Sugar Cookies 

1 roll (16.5oz) refrigerated sugar cookies

½ cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup cooked bacon pieces

1 cup Butterscotch chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large bowl break up the cookie dough, stir or knead in flour, bacon pieces, and Butterscotch chips until well mixed.  Shape dough into 24 small balls.  On ungreased cookie sheets, place balls 2 inches apart. 

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or just until edges are lightly browned.  Cool before serving.