Tag: BACON

MISSISSIPPI MUD POTATOES ~ BLOG 366.184

This dish full of golden potatoes, sharp cheddar cheese and crisp bacon is baked to a perfect blending making it a decadent and hearty side dish full of creamy texture, rich flavors and a bit of crunch that you’ll find in every good southern cooks recipe box. I’d wager it is prepared by at least one cook for every church supper and/or holiday meal. These are the PERFECT comfort food! The key to these delectable potatoes is baking them LOW & SLOW so the flavors meld together!

Research on how the recipe originally acquired its name shows very little on the original version – its exact origins are unclear and as muddy as the name, but appears to have been named for the earthy flavors and the “muddy” mixture of ingredients. It does embody the spirit of Southern cooking with its generous use of local staples like potatoes and bacon, making them that staple in Southern kitchens and beyond.

MISSISSIPPI MUD POTATOES
6 cups potatoes, peeled and diced
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup DUKES mayonnaise
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste
1 cup cooked and crumbled bacon
3 cloves garlic, FINELY minced
1/2 cup FINELY chopped green onions

  • Preheat your oven to 325°.
  • Grease a 9×13 baking dish.
  • Mix together the diced potatoes, cheese, bacon, garlic and onion.
  • In a larger bowl whisk the FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper into the mayonnaise.
  • Fold the potato mixture into the mayonnaise mixture until everything is evenly coated.
  • Spread into prepared baking dish.
  • Bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until the potatoes are tender and the top is golden brown.
  • Serve hot!

PEA SALAD ~ BLOG 366.135

I believe this creamy, flavorful dish made with sweet baby peas, cheddar cheese, bacon, and red onion comes from EVERY southern grandmother’s recipe box. You’ve probably had it dozens of times at potlucks, church socials or picnics.

PEA SALAD
4 cups frozen peas, thawed and rinsed
8 slices bacon cooked and crumbled
1/2-1 cup (depending on your taste) diced ham
½ cup cheddar cheese shredded
⅓ + cup red onion diced

DRESSING
⅓ cup mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
FRESH ground sea salt & pepper, to taste (we like it a bit heavier)

  • 
In a large bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, sour cream, sugar, and vinegar.
  • Season with FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper.
  • Fold in peas, most of the bacon pieces, ham (if your like), red onions and most of the cheese to the bowl and gently stir to coat.

  • Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.
  • Season to taste with additional salt & pepper.
  • 
Garnish with additional bacon and cheese. 

NOTES:

  • To make pea salad with fresh garden peas, shell them and boil them for 5-8 minutes or until tender. Drain well and cool completely.
  • Leftover salad can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days, but stir to mix before serving.

BACON WRAPPED JALAPENO CHICKEN BITES

Chicken and cream cheese spread stuffed into jalapenos, rolled and wrapped with bacon and then grilled. YUMMY!

BACON WRAPPED JALAPENO CHICKEN BITES adapted from Trisha Yearwood

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 tablespoon butter
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper
3-ounce package cream cheese (I use herbed cream cheese spread), softened
8 LARGE jalapeno peppers, halved and seeded
8 slices bacon

  • Generously season chicken thighs with FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper.
  • Saute chicken pieces until browned and cooked through.
  • Move chicken to cutting board and dice small or shred.
  • Stir chicken pieces into softened cream cheese.
  • Wrap each roll with one piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick. (These look a bit odd today because I only had half slices of bacon).
  • Grill until bacon is brown and crispy on both sides.

NOTE: Be sure to wear plastic gloves when handling fresh jalapenos. The oil will attach itself to your hands and is not easily washed away. Even an inadvertent swipe of the hand close to your eyes could be a VERY unforgettable and unwelcome experience.

COWBOY SMOOCHES

Whether you use a grill or the oven these are a HUGE hit with the guys and a perfect appetizer for ANY sporting event!  They are quick, easy and can easily be prepared in advance!  If you want something with a little less punch try my COWGIRL KISSES with their raspberry chipotle sauce.

COWBOY SMOOCHES

8 ounces chive and green onion cream cheese
2 tablespoons Frank’s Hot Sauce
4 slices bacon, diced and browned crisp
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Jalapeno Peppers

  • Mix cream cheese and hot sauce until well blended.
  • Fold in half of the cheese.
  • Clean and remove seeds from peppers.
  • Fill peppers with cream cheese mixtures.
  • Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bacon pieces.
  • Bake or grill over low heat 15-20 minutes.

or try my COWGIRL KISSES

BACON MUSHROOM CHICKEN

BACON MUSHROOM CHICKEN adapted from THE RECIPE CRITIC

CHICKEN
4 bone in, skin on chicken thighs
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper

  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat.
  • Generously season the chicken thighs with the salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
  • Pan Sear each side of the chicken for 1-2 minutes until brown and place skillet in oven.
  • Bake for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked throughout.
  • Transfer chicken to a platter.

SAUCE
1 tablespoon avocado oil
1 bunch green onions, sliced thin
1 clove garlic, minced
8 ounces white beech mushrooms
6 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
1 cup heavy cream
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, stems removed

  • Add avocado oil to the skillet and saute the mushrooms until soft.
  • Add the heavy cream, salt, pepper, garlic powder and thyme.
  • Bring to a simmer until the sauce starts to thicken.
  • Add the bacon pieces.
  • Add the chicken back to the skillet, turning to coat in the sauce.
  • Serve immediately.

SWEET SOY PORK CHOPS, CURRANT SCALLION RICE & BACON SHALLOT SNAP PEAS

SWEET SOY PORK CHOPS, CURRANT SCALLION RICE and BACON SHALLOT SUGAR SNAP PEAS

MARINADE
2 tablespoons Bragg’s liquid aminos
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sriracha
4 boneless center cut pork loin chops

  • Whisk together the liquid aminos, vinegar and sriracha.
  • Place pork chops in a large Ziploc bag.
  • Pour marinade into bag.
  • Press the air out of the bag and seal tightly.
  • Turn chops to coat well with marinade.
  • Marinade at room temperature for 30 minutes, turning bag half way through.

 

  • Heat grill to medium heat.
  • Prepare glaze while grill is heating.
  • Remove chops from bag and discard marinade.
  • Generously season pork chops with salt and pepper.
  • Brush each side with glaze.
  • Grill about 6 minutes per side.
  • Brush with additional glaze and serve immediately.

GLAZE
2 tablespoons Bragg’s liquid aminos
1 tablespoon QUALITY honey
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Hoisin sauce
1/2 teaspoon sriracha sauce
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder

  • Whisk together all the ingredients in a small bowl.

RICE
1 cup long grain rice
1 cup water
1 cup chicken consomme
1 small bunch green onions, sliced thin
1/3 cup currants

  • Combine water and consommé in sauce pan.
  • Add rice, stirring to coat.
  • Bring to a boil.
  • Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes or so until tender and moisture is completely absorbed.
  • Fold in currants and green onions.

SNAP PEAS
4 slices thick bacon, diced and cooked crisp
1 large shallot, sliced thin
1 pound sugar snap peas, trimmed
1/4 cup chicken consomme
FRESH ground salt and pepper
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon bacon grease

  • Heat bacon grease over medium high heat.
  • Add shallots and cook 3-5 minutes until browned.
  • Add snap peas, consommé and season with salt and pepper.
  • Saute’ covered 2-4 minutes until crisp tender.
  • Uncover and continue sautéing until all liquid has been absorbed.
  • Stir in lemon zest, lemon juice and bacon pieces.

CHICKEN in BACON RANCH GRAVY ala SLOW COOKER

This is a wonderful fall or winter recipe!

SLOW COOKER CHICKEN with BACON GRAVY serves 4
adapted from Sarah Olson

1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
FRESH ground pepper, to taste
4 sprigs FRESH thyme
2 bunches green onions, sliced thin
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
6-8 slices bacon, diced and cooked crisp
1 Pioneer country gravy packet dry mix DO NOT PREPARE PER PACKAGE
1 Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing packet dry mix DO NOT PREPARE PER PACKAGE
2 1/4 cups water
1 cup heavy cream

  • Spray slow cooker with non-stick spray.
  • Add the chicken to the slow cooker.
  • Generously salt and pepper the chicken breasts.
  • Add the garlic, green onions and bacon.
  • Lay thyme sprigs on top.
  • Whisk together the gravy mix and ranch dressing packets water until smooth.
  • Pour the gravy mixture over the chicken.
  • Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 hours without opening the lid during the cooking time.
  • Remove the chicken and shred with 2 forks.
  • Stir heavy cream into gravy mixture until well blended.
  • Return chicken to gravy mixture and stir to coat well.
  • Serve over mashed potatoes.

 

MAPLE GLAZED BACON WRAPPED ROASTED CARROTS

MAPLE GLAZED BACON WRAPPED ROASTED CARROTS serves 6

The crisp carrot meets the salty bacon and is glazed in sweet PURE maple syrup to become the new family favorite!

2 pounds carrots (not too thick), peeled
1 pound bacon
1/4 cup PURE maple syrup

  • Pre-heat oven to 400°.
  • Wrap the carrots evenly in the bacon slices.
  • Arrange on a wire rack on a baking sheet and roast in oven until the bacon is crispy and the carrots are tender, about 20-30 minutes until carrots are tender and bacon is crisp.
  • Start glazing with the maple syrup at the 10 minute mark and glaze every 5 minutes.

NOTES:

  • OPTIONAL: Mix some Dijon mustard into the maple syrup.
  • Depending on your carrot sizes you might want to halve your carrots for easier cooking.
  • Using pre-cooked bacon (to the point where it is still easily wrapped but a lot of the fat has cooked out) makes the process quicker.

BLUE CHEESE RANCH WEDGE with SWEET & SPICY BACON

With all the recent E. Coli scares with Romaine lettuce I decided to go back to good old iceburg lettuce.  A change in lettuce brings with it a change in dressing. Here is a favorite from Damaris Phillips with very few changes. This is a PERFECT recipe for us – hubby loves blue cheese more than I do so it’s a compromise that works. I love to top it with my swwet & spicy bacon – YUMMY!

BLUE CHEESE RANCH WEDGE with SWEET & SPICY BACON
DRESSING
1 cup creme fraiche
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup FRESH basil leaves, chopped
1/4 cup FRESH parsley leaves, chopped
2 tablespoons sliced FRESH chives
1 teaspoon FRESH thyme leaves, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 lemon, juiced (about 1 tablespoon)
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese (ALSO great with Gorgonzola)
FRESH coarsely ground sea salt black pepper
FRESH coarsely ground black pepper

  • Combine the creme fraiche, buttermilk, basil, parsley, chives, thyme, garlic, lemon juice and onion powder with a whisk in a medium bowl.
  • Fold in the blue cheese, season with salt and pepper.
  • Refrigerate until ready to serve.

SALAD
1 head iceberg lettuce, quartered and core removed
1 cup halved grape tomatoes
1 bunch green onions, sliced
1/4 cup grated sharp cheddar

  • Divide the lettuce wedges among 4 plates.
  • Top each with 1/4 cup of the dressing, the tomatoes, sliced green onions, sweet and spicy bacon.
  • Serve the remaining dressing on the side.
  • Eat right away!

SWEET & SPICY BACON adapted from GIADA
1 pound slab bacon, cut into 1-by-1/2-inch pieces **
1/4 cup PURE maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon FRESH ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper 2 tablespoons FRANK’S original hot sauce

  • Place the bacon in an even layer in a large skillet.
  • Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often with spatula until the bacon is light golden brown, about 20 minutes.
  • Whisk together the maple syrup, black pepper and Frank’s in a small bowl.
  • Pour off some of the rendered bacon fat, leaving just a small amount.
  • Return the skillet to the heat and pour the maple syrup mixture over the bacon.
  • Braise gently until the syrup thickens and glazes the bacon and the bacon is deep golden brown, about 15 minutes.
  • Serve warm.

SWEET & SPICY BACON DUTCH BABY PANCAKE

Giving up sugar is the HARDEST thing I have ever had to do. And since it will NEVER change I’m still working to take some favorite recipes and rework them into less sugary meals so I can eat them.

SWEET & SPICY BACON adapted from GIADA
1 pound slab bacon, cut into 1-by-1/2-inch pieces **
1/4 cup PURE maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon FRESH ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper 2 tablespoons FRANK’S original hot sauce

  • Place the bacon in an even layer in a large skillet.
  • Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often with spatula until the bacon is light golden brown, about 20 minutes.
  • Whisk together the maple syrup, black pepper and Frank’s in a small bowl.
  • Pour off some of the rendered bacon fat, leaving just a small amount.
  • Return the skillet to the heat and pour the maple syrup mixture over the bacon.
  • Braise gently until the syrup thickens and glazes the bacon and the bacon is deep golden brown, about 15 minutes.
  • Serve warm.

DUTCH BABY PANCAKE
3 tablespoons butter
3 eggs
3/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons PURE vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon lemon zest, from 1 lemon
OPTIONAL
2 tablespoons powdered sugar, to garnish
Berries, whipped cream, jam or maple syrup if desired

  • Preheat the oven to 400°.
  • Place butter in a 10-12 inch enameled cast iron skillet and place skillet in the hot oven to heat up while you mix the batter.
  • In a small bowl whisk together the eggs, milk and vanilla until smooth.
  • In a separate medium bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, salt and lemon zest.
  • Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and use an electric beater to fully incorporate the wet and dry together until smooth.
  • Allow the batter to rest for 5 minutes.
  • Remove the pan from the oven and swirl butter over all sides.
  • Pour the batter into the center of the pan and place the pan in hot oven.
  • Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until puffed and brown around the edges and set in the center.
  • Remove from the oven and dust with powdered sugar. The pancake will immediately start to collapse.
  • Top with bacon pieces or berries and whipped cream.
  • Dust with powdered sugar and add berries if desired.

NOTES**

  • Any leftover bacon is PERFECT in a homemade baked BBQ bean recipe.
  • SLAB bacon can be hard to find. When I can’t find it, I use thick sliced and cut it into 2 inch pieces.

BACON CHEDDAR PANCAKES

With my current health issues I have been trying very hard to come up with savory meals that have ZERO sugar.  We make these occasionally, but they are going to become the go to pancake recipe in the future.

I found this recipe in a magazine and found it just intriguing enough to try. I made just a few very small changes (the first time):

  • It called for regular cheddar and I used white cheddar.
  • It called for 3 slices of bacon and I used 4.
  • It had you serving with just butter which we tried and then we added maple syrup which was a serious plus in our book.
  • It also said it would make 8 pancakes and I got 11.

Then, this last time I amended it a little more for flavor.

BACON CHEDDAR PANCAKES
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup corn flour
1 tablespoon cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon FRESH ground pepper
1 cup + 2 tablespoons buttermilk
1 LARGE egg
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled – 3 crumbled into batter, 1 crumbled for garnish
2 green onions, sliced thin, save a little for garnish
1/4 cup grated white cheddar cheese + a little for garnish
Sour Cream

  • Preheat skillet and spray with non-stick cooking spray or melt butter**.
  • Sift together the flours, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper until well blended.
  • Whisk together the egg and buttermilk.
  • Add wet ingredients to dry, whisking only until incorporated well.
  • Fold in bacon, green onions and cheese.
  • Using 1/4 cup measure scoop batter onto prepared skillet.
  • Turn when you see bubbles on the entire pancake surface.  If you wait for the bubbles you will need to only flip once and pancakes should be golden.
  • Cook until golden.

**NOTE: I prefer butter for a little extra flavor.

BACON PICKLE FRIES

BACON PICKLE FRIES – yields 12 “fries”

12 pickle spears
12 strips of bacon
1/4 cup ranch dressing

  • Preheat oven to 425°.
  • Wrap each pickle spear in bacon.
  • Place the bacon-wrapped pickles on a baking sheet, seam side-down.
  • Bake until the bacon is cooked through and crispy, 12-15 minutes, turning halfway.
  • Serve warm or at room temperature with ranch.

Linking to FULL PLATE THURSDAY at Miz Helen’s Cottage.