I'm a Slacker and a Bacontarian! (Bacon-Stuffed Mushrooms)

It's been really hot out these past couple of weeks.  And I've been really lazy.  It's not that I've not been eating the bacon.  It's just that I've not been sharing it with you.  It's hard to share the bacon.  Really it is. 

I Love Bacon, you know...and I love appitizers.  Sometimes you don't want a meal.  Especially at night.  If your hankering for a late night snack and want to fill in that salty/savory craving, sometimes stuffed mushrooms are the way to go.  Or, if you're having a party...Just make a triple batch!)  These mushrooms were gone in 5 minutes.  3 adults happily sated the late night grumble of the stomach beast.

Bacon-Stuffed Mushrooms

1 Package of whole white mushrooms

1 Onion, diced
6 slices of Bacon cooked, drained and chopped fine
½ cup Panko Bread Crumbs
¼ cup Italian Bread Crumbs
¼ cup Parmesan Cheese
¼ cup shredded Cheddar Cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Dice bacon and sauté in a pan, until crispy.  Drain on a paper towel.  Remove excess bacon grease from the pan, but reserve about 2 tablespoons to cook the diced onion.  On medium heat, cook onion until it becomes translucent and golden in color.  Remove from heat.

Remove any dirt from the mushroom cap and stem with a slightly dampened paper towel.  Pull mushroom stems off, and dice the mushroom stems fine.  Place mushroom caps, cap-side down on a pie pan or shallow baking dish.

In a bowl combine bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.  Then add diced mushroom stems, onion and bacon.  Mix well.  Spoon mix into each mushroom cap filling it to capacity. 

Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes, or until mushroom softens.  Then add remaining cheddar cheese over the top of each mushroom, and bake for an additional 5 minutes.  Remove from oven and devour.

  

Kittens & Bacon (Chocolate Bacon Almond Crunch Candy)

Kittens & Bacon: The Most Viral Infograraphic Ever - Check this out.  It makes sense on why Bacon (And Kittens) get so much love on the Internets.

How would you like to smell like bacon, and prevent your skin from becoming bacon all at the same time?  Check it out.  Bacon Sunscreen

 

So this week was awesome for Bacon and I.  Since I professed my love publicly, I've gotten lots of recipes and even a couple of gifts...Here's my newly acquired gifts provided by a great co-worker and absolutely lovely yoga student...

<--Bacon Ice Cube Trays

                                         Bacon T-Shirt-->

This week's recipe came out of inspiration from the ice cube trays.  You can make candy in silicon ice trays.  I made my own candy.  It's delicious.  Here's the recipe below.  Mmmmm 

 

Chocolate Bacon Almond Crunch
Ingredients:
To do 24 chocolates

6 ounces of chocolate chips (semi-sweet)

4 or 5 slices of smoked bacon
chocolates or bucket mold silicone
caramelized almonds (crunchy) (recipe below)

Preparation:
Put the bacon well-spread sheets up two paper towels, putting up two paper towels and press slightly, introducing in the microwave (should be crispy), remove from microwave remove the paper and let cool completely. When cool grind blades with a food processor.

Temper the chocolate chips by putting it in a bowl in the microwave, melt them completely.
(Put your chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and cook on high heat in 30 second intervals until the chocolate starts to melt. You can melt chocolate over a double boiler, but I prefer a microwave in this case. A small amount of water can cause your chocolate to seize and working without condensation is a little bit safer. Once it starts to melt, heat the chocolate in 10-20 second intervals, stirring in between, until it has fully melted. Dark chocolate needs to reach a temperature of between 114-120F. Milk and white chocolate need to reach a temperature between 105-113.)

Almond Crunch recipe:
It has 3 simple ingredients. Butter, honey and chopped almonds. You will need 4 tablespoons Butter, 2 Tablespoons Honey and about 1/2 cup chopped Almonds.

First of all the honey and butter are melted over a low heat. Then the heat is increased (you need to watch the mixture as it can overcook easily) until it starts to bubble and turn a golden brown. At this point, add the chopped almonds and combine well. Stir the mix over a moderate heat for about 2 minutes and then turn out onto a non-stick baking sheet (or silicone paper) to cool. When cool grind blades with a food processor. 

 

Make chocolates:
Take the chosen mold and fill the holes with a thin layer of melted chocolate, throw in some crushed bacon and a little crunchy almonds and put in the refrigerator for about two minutes for the chocolate to solidify (the rest of the chocolate we have reserved temperature), remove the chocolate from the refrigerator bases and very careful not to smudge the edges of the molds, finish filling with melted chocolate.

Another way is faster and easier mixing with melted chocolate and crunchy bacon and fill the molds directly with all the mixture at once.

Celebrating the Fourth of July with Bacon (S'more Bacon Bars)

The Fourth of July is always an exciting time.  Lots of good food, picnics, barbeques, beer, bacon and fireworks.  What more could a girl want?  I hope that you and your family had a wonderful Fourth of July.  What would our forefathers think of us now?  I'm not entirely sure, but I'm sure that they would love the BBQ's, the Beer and the fireworks.

I made these desert bars for a 4th party.  There were mixed reviews.  One person didn't like the texture the bacon added, but most loved it.  Nothing reminds me more of summer than ooey, gooey S'mores.  These are still a little gooey, but in bar form they are less messy.  Try them out!

S’more Bacon Bars
Serves: 9 bars

Ingredients
6 slices of bacon, cooked, drained on a paper towel and crumbled into small pieces
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 and 1/3 cups flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 king-sized milk chocolate bars
1 and 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook your bacon in the oven, on a cooling rack over a baking sheet for 20 minutes, or until desired doneness.  Drain on a paper towel, and crumble into small pieces and set aside.

Cream butter, brown sugar, sugar, egg, and vanilla together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, stir flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, and salt. Slowly incorporate dry ingredients into butter mixture.

Press half of dough into a greased 9x9 pan. Set chocolate bars on top. Top with Bacon.  Spread marshmallow fluff over chocolate and top with remaining dough.

Bake for 30-35, or until golden.