Breakfast Bake

Not the best picture but considering the craziness of the week, I have to take what I can get...

So this past week I have been clipping recipes from the paper and then actually trying them instead of just sticking them in a pile to deal with later.

This recipe caught my eye because it is a breakfast casserole. Now I have another recipe that is actually similar. 

But with ONE major difference.

At least a major difference to me.

This recipe uses bacon.

Bacon.

Bacon.

Oink. Oink.

I LOVE bacon.

Most recipes I have seen use sausage.

I don't love sausage as much.

So I decided to give this a try.

And I loved it. 

In fact, I have been eating the leftovers for lunch.

Most of my family liked it, with the exception of one child who doesn't care for eggs (though she admitted this wasn't so bad) and another who won't touch a potato to save his life...

By the way, this is EASY to put together. It does take a while to cook though so plan ahead.

Ingredients:
2 cups milk
1/4 tsp salt
1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled (or in my case, just cut into small pieces)
1 package frozen hash browns, thawed (I used Southern style)
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
8 eggs
pinch paprika (optional...I left it out)

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350. 

In a large mixing bowl, mix the bacon crumbles, hashbrown potatoes, salt, and half the cheese.

Spread into a greased 9 x 13 dish.

Whisk the eggs and the milk together and pour over the top of the potato mixture.  Sprinkle paprika if desired. 

Bake for 45-50 minutes (mine took more like an hour).

Remove from oven and sprinkle remaining cheese over the top.

Enjoy.

We actually ate it for dinner (we like "breakfast for dinner" around here) with fruit and toast.

Yum.

Enjoy!

Reba

Chicken and Bacon Wild Rice Soup

I really need to take some kind of food photography class.

Of course, the hard part is that I would have to have time to get things just right.

And usually when I make dinner, I have little people chomping at my heels, ready to eat.

Anyway, I made this one cold day last week.

It was everything I had hoped it would be...and more.

I know, you can't tell by looking at the picture.

Just trust me.

Chicken, bacon, half and half, wild rice.

A good hearty meal.  A stick to the ribs kind of meal.  A "I don't think I can eat another bite" kind of meal.

It was all good but I won't lie. The bacon just puts this over the top.  And even thought there wasn't that much bacon in it, the flavor just spread through the "soup" like wildfire.

This is technically a soup though mine was a VERY thick stew. That may be because I threw in some extra rice.  Or maybe it was just the way I cooked it.  Either way, it was thick.  But that didn't stop anyone from eating it.

I found the recipe here.  If I remember correctly, this was not a Pinterest recipe, though I think I have posted it since. It was a recipe I found during a search one night as I thought about chicken and wild rice.

Ingredients:
about 32 oz chicken broth (the original recipe calls for 3 cans but the chicken broth I use comes in large boxes :)

2 cups water

1/2 cup uncooked wild rice, rinsed.  (Note:  I totally forgot the "rinsed" part.  Remember that part if you make this.  The "soup/stew" comes out kind of oddly colored otherwise.  Not to mention, with all of the news about tainted rice, it is better to rinse it first.  Another note:  I added about 1 cup of rice just because. I think that is why it was SOOO thick)

1/2 cup finely chopped green onions (I didn't have any. I can't remember if I threw in a little bit of dried onion or not...probably)

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp poultry seasoning (I left this out)

1/8 tsp pepper

2 cups half and half (gives it a VERY rich flavor)

8 slices bacon cooked/crumbled

1 1/2 cups diced or shredded chicken (I actually had some chicken left over from a "crockpot rotisserie" chicken I had made so I used that)

Directions:

In a large saucepan, bring the water and broth to a boil.  Add the rice (and onion if using), cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes until the rice is tender.  There will be extra broth. So don't worry.  That is supposed to be there. :)

In a different saucepan, melt the butter.  Stir in the flour and seasonings.

Cook 1 minute, stirring often until bubbly and smooth.

Gradually stir in the half and half to the butter mixture.  Stir often until it is slightly thickened.

Add the mixture into the large saucepan with the rice.

Add in the chicken and the bacon pieces.

Heat on low for at least half an hour (longer if possible).  Do NOT boil.

Enjoy!

Like I said, it was really good. And it was just as good re-heated.

A perfect winter meal.

Enjoy!
Reba

Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin

I have really been trying to stick with our Grocery Challenge for the month.  And that has meant eating a little simpler and a little cheaper. But last week we did splurge on one meal. 

Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin.

I probably should have gone with something cheaper. 

And by the last week of January when I have very little to spend, I will really wish that.

But what is done is done.

I will say that it was GOOD stuff.

And once January is over, I WILL make this again. :)

This is another Pinterest recipe. 

Like I said, not cheap.

But oh, so good.

(And the good news is there were leftovers so we had lunch the next day too :)

Ingredients:
Pork Tenderloin (around 3 pounds...I used the Farmland Pork Loin, 2 in a package.  The original recipe cut them, I just kept them in 2 pieces)

1 lb bacon (I didn't quite have a whole package, so mine was more like 3/4 a package which was enough)

3/4 cup soy sauce (I would probably reduce this to 1/2 cup in the future)

1 Tbsp minced onion

1/2 tsp garlic salt (I did use garlic salt but probably would use garlic powder in the future. Pork and bacon doesn't need any extra salt :)

1 Tbsp white vinegar

1/4 tsp salt

dash of pepper (I used the peppercorn grinder)

3/4 cups brown sugar (I actually reduced that to 1/2 which was plenty to me)

Directions:
Wrap bacon around pork and place in a baking dish.

Poke holes in the pork.  I just used a knife and stabbed holes all over the meat.

Mix the remaining ingredients and pour over the meat.

Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours (or longer).  I flipped the meat a couple times to make sure it was all in the juices at some point.

The original recipe had this bake for 2-3 hours at 300.  However, I needed to cook potatoes and bake some bread, all at 400 degrees. So I cooked this for about 50 minutes to an hour at 400.  After about 40 minutes, a little bit of the bacon was getting dark so I covered the meat with foil and moved it down a rack.

After about 50 minutes, I checked the temperature. It was between 140-150.  I then pulled it out and let it rest for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

We had this with fingerling potatoes, honey yeast rolls (new recipe), and black-eye peas.

And I enjoyed each and every bite.

Yum.

Happy cooking!

Reba

Hashbrown Eggs and Cheese

Sorry for not posting much this week.  We are getting back into the swing of things after vacation.  And while I have cooked (all but one day...had a nice sushi date with hubby last night), I have been making tried and true recipes.  So I haven't had much to share. But I did have this recipe that I never got to post before we left for vacation.

Hashbrown Eggs and Cheese...

Sometimes we need a "light" dinner.  And breakfast for dinner fits the bill for that much of the time. 

We like our eggs and cheese.

So when I saw this recipe for something similar but that added hashbrown potatoes and bacon...well, we had to try it.  (I believe the website author adapted the recipe from Paula Deen...)

It was pretty quick and quite yummy.

We will be having it again.

Ingredients:
3 cups frozen hashbrown potatoes thawed (I used the shredded)
4 Tbsp melted butter
3 large eggs beaten
1 cup half-n-half (I did use the low fat version)
6 or 7 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
1 Tbsp dried onion
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Dry out the thawed hashbrown potatoes (using paper towels).  Mix with the butter.  Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch pie dish.

Bake for about 20 minutes in the oven.  The potatoes should be lightly crispy.  Just don't burn.

While the crust is cooking, mix together the remaining ingredients.

Once the crust is lightly crispy, pour the egg mixture into the pan. 

Don't make the mistake I did and try to pick up the pan though because it is still hot from the oven. Ouch.

Turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Reba

Avocado Basil Pasta

After I saw this recipe (via Pinterest), I could not WAIT to make it.  I knew I would be the only one in my family who would touch it though.  So tonight, when we had some friends from church over for a cookout, I decided it was the perfect time to try it out.  I am glad I did. :)

Yum.

Now if you don't like avocado, this won't seem as yummy.

Though I have to say it would be fine without it.

Just better with it.

Have I ever mentioned how much I like avocados?

Ingredients:
1 package bow tie pasta (or whatever kind of pasta you wish to use...I really liked the bowtie)

2 avocados, chopped (remove that big seed in the middle and peel, obviously :)

6 slices bacon, drained and crumbled (I was short on time, so I just cooked mine in the microwave on a bacon cooker)

2/3 cup fresh basil, chopped.  I can't find a lot of fresh herbs in our area. What I can find are these wonderful "singles" that cost like a dollar.  Basil leaves come in one of the "singles".  So I just used scissors to cut the basil leaves up into little pieces.  All that to say, I didn't honestly measure 2/3 cup.

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp lemon juice

3 cloves of garlic, minced

ground black pepper and salt to taste

freshly grated cheese (The original recipe used Romano.  I used my favorite Parmesan:)

Cook pasta according to the directions on the bag.  Drain.

Add all other ingredients (except cheese) to a large bowl and stir.  Add in bow tie pasta.  Stir thoroughly.  Sprinkle with cheese.

Enjoy.

I loved it. I mean, it is pasta, avocado, and bacon.  What is there not to love?

Since I am the only one who would eat this (mainly due to the avocado), I would make it sometime minus the avocado.  Then I would add the avocado any time I was ready to eat it.  That way I could warm up the pasta without warming the avocado.  I could probably get 3-4 lunches out of this recipe.

And I will.

I don't think there is anything low fat about it.

But it is worth each and every calorie...

Reba

Honey Mustard Glazed Bacon Wrapped Chicken

This recipe was a Pinterest recipe. It was one of those foods I saw the photo of and just knew we had to try it. So this week was the week.

I found this recipe at this site. By the way, their photo is much prettier than mine. Oh, their name is different than mine...but it is basically the same thing. So thankful I happened upon it. It was quick, easy, and delicious.

Ingredients:
1 lb. chicken breasts (cut into strips)...I will be honest. I just used chicken tenderloins. Much easier.
bacon slices (I just used regular, one strip per tenderloin
3 tbsp honey (I doubled)
2 tsp coarse mustard (I doubled)
fresh lemon juice (I didn't have fresh...mine was just from a lemon juice bottle)

Directions:
Wrap a slice of bacon around each chicken strip/tenderloin.

Place the chicken on a cookie sheet (I used one with a little bit of a lip to contain the juices).

Mix together the honey and mustard. Squirt a little lemon juice into the mixture.

Brush on the bacon wrapped chicken with a pastry brush. (Use only half the marinade)

Bake at 425 for 10-13 minutes. I think I went more for 15.

Take out, flip the chicken and brush the other side with the remaining marinade.

Return to oven for 10-13 minutes.

Watch carefully.

I think I kept mine for a bit longer.

My bacon didn't get nearly as crispy as the picture showed it on the original recipe website.

But hubby checked it out and declared it fine.

That was all I needed.

Well, it was a hit. My family really liked it. Even my daughter (the one who won't touch anything mustard) chowed down on it, praising the meal. Of course, we waited until the meal was over to tell her that it had mustard in it.

I served ours with rice and French bread. I would have thrown in a salad or some raw veggies on the side but I didn't have any.

Happy cooking!
Reba

7 Layer Salad

I would love to say I made this recently, but honestly, I made it in March. I just never got around to blogging about it. It is a family favorite (as in from my side of the family); this recipe comes from my mom. It is one of my favorite salads; I love to eat the leftovers (if there are any) the next couple of days. By the way, there is nothing healthy about it which is probably why it is so tasty. :)

So, here are the layers. Use a big bowl.

Ingredients:
Iceberg lettuce. I wish I could tell you an exact amount. I just buy a head, wash it, then tear it into little pieces. I fill probably half the bowl with the lettuce.

Celery. About 2 or 3 stalks washed then cut up into little pieces.

Green onions. Again, just cut into little pieces, enough to cover the celery.

Green peas. I use frozen petite and just pour a layer over the onions. The funny thing is I won't eat cooked peas but I will eat them in this salad frozen/cold...

Mayonnaise. That would be the unhealthy part but it is the best part of the salad. :) Use 1-2 cups and cover the salad.

Sugar. 1 teaspoon sprinkled over the mayo. The original recipe calls for a tablespoon, so use whatever you are comfortable with.

Cheese. I use the shredded cheddar cheese (2%).

Bacon. A few slices fried and diced. I think I cheated and used the microwave kind this last time but I prefer real bacon.

Cover and chill until ready to use.

Yum.

Sour Cream Bacon Chicken

I got this recipe from my co-worker Claudia who gave me the Baked Potato Soup recipe. The funny thing is I had a recipe very similar to this I used to make but the chicken baked in the oven for like 3-4 hours which made cooking at the end of the school day difficult. This recipe actually cooks in the slow cooker, so I run home at my lunch time (which is easy since I live five minutes from my school) and get it started. Then by dinnertime, it is ready to go.

So, here is the recipe...
Ingredients:
8 slices bacon
8 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (I just used a 2.5 pound bag)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (it actually calls for the Roasted Garlic kind, but I always forget that and just use the regular which works out for my non-garlic eater in the house)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup flour

Directions:
Wrap the bacon around the chicken breasts.

Put in the bottom of a 3-4 quart slow cooker/crock pot.

Whisk together the soups, sour cream, flour.

Pour over chicken.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

I didn't have time to completely defrost my chicken in the microwave on my lunch break, so I put it in the crockpot partially frozen. It worked out well because my crockpot cooks faster rather than slower. The chicken was perfect by dinnertime.

Oh, and of course, I used my crockpot liners. Easy clean up!

I serve it with wild rice, garlic bread, and some veggies (raw). Oh, and we had the chocolate molten lava cake for dessert...

Yum!

Oh, all of the family will eat this one!

Happy cooking!
Reba

Spicy Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

A sign of warmer weather: We move from having soup in the crockpot to food on the grill.

One of my favorite grilled food (other than flank steak) is bacon wrapped shrimp. One summer Mark's aunt and uncle had a shrimp feast (they live on the coast) for us. One of the dishes was bacon wrapped shrimp. For some reason, this combination had never occurred to me. After that night, it was all I could think of. That was before Internet was a big deal, so getting the recipe after the fact took a while. Finally one day I was coasting the Web and came upon a recipe for something similar. It is a favorite now.

I realize this meal will only appeal to a small percentage of the population which is even smaller when you consider number of readers. :) But it is a regular here during the summer. Most of the kids won't touch them, though one has recently come around. We just throw a few chicken breasts on the grill for them.

Oh, and don't let the "spicy" part fool you. It does have a little bite to it but it isn't spicy enough to bring tears to my eyes.

Spicy Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

Ingredients

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tbsp olive or vegetable oil (I always go with olive when given a choice :)
4 tsp paprika
1 tsp each: salt, pepper, curry powder, ground cumin and ground coriander
1/2 to 1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 or 2 packages of large shrimp, easy peel, raw
1 package bacon

Peel/clean shrimp. This is the longest part of the process to me and probably keeps us from eating this more often. That and the whole cost thing...

In a bowl, combine the sugar, lemon juice, oil, and seasonings. Mix well.

Now, the real recipe says to pour 1/4 cup marinade into a large resealable (ziplock type) bag, then to save the rest for basting.

Honestly, I pour ALL of the marinade into the bag over the shrimp. In fact, I don't even mix it in the bowl first. I just pour the ingredients into the ziplock bag as I go.

Seal the bag.

Refrigerate for 30-60 minutes, though I typically do this a few hours before.

The original recipe also calls for cooking bacon over medium heat in a skillet until cooked.

Confession: I never pre-cook the bacon.

When ready to cook, remove the shrimp from the marinate and discard the marinade. Wrap the shrimp with bacon and secure with a toothpick. I typically cut each slice of bacon into thirds which is just the right size. I have also done this with skewers.

If I run out of bacon, we just throw the rest of the shrimp into the basket on the grill.

Grill shrimp, uncovered, over medium heat for 7-10 minutes or until shrimp turns pink.


I usually serve with potatoes in white sauce which seems to balance well with the spicy shrimp. (Recipe for the potatoes/sauce soon) and bread. I also put some carrots and Ranch on the table and had a lot more eaten than I expected.

If you are not a shrimp lover, you are probably gagging. However, if you ARE, this is a recipe you should try!

Happy cooking!
Reba

Bacon Wrapped Smokies

This recipe came from my sister. I am not totally positive this is the official name but honestly I am too tired to walk into the kitchen to check. So we will go with it and I will edit if necessary. :) My sister makes this for our appetizer day (we have one every Thanksgiving or Christmas, depending on which holiday we are together) and they disappear quickly. I made them tonight for our life group, so I thought I would share the recipe. Easy, easy, easy.

Bacon Wrapped Smokies
Take one package of Lil Smokies
1 package of bacon, cut in half (okay, it took a little more than a package for me...)
1 cup of brown sugar

Line a 9 x 13 inch pan with aluminum foil.

Wrap each Lil Smokie with a piece of bacon.

Pour the cup of brown sugar over the top...yes, it is alot but trust me, it is worth it.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes (I actually did it about 30 tonight just to keep them hot).

Enjoy.

Really, it is that easy.

And oh so yummy!

Happy cooking!
Reba