Bacon and Leek Risotto

Dad: What are you making for dinner tonight?
Julie: Risotto.
Dad: Oh so what type of wine are you drinking?
Julie: Haha. I'm using a Sauvignon Blanc for the risotto.

Okay, okay. I admit it. I like to make risotto because it gives me an excuse to open a bottle of wine. What else would you do while you are standing over the stove stirring for 30 minutes instead of drinking a glass of wine?

And this bottle of wine risotto is as good as it sounds. I mean, bacon and leeks! What really puts it over the top though is the lemon juice. Do not forget the lemon juice.

Bacon and Leek Risotto (adapted from Cooking Light January 2014)
Ingredients:
3 cups vegetable broth (homemade or low sodium store-bought)
3 bacon slices
2 cups thinly sliced leek
1 small onion, diced
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 cup uncooked arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
chopped fresh parsley, for serving

Directions:
Heat the stock to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Cover and keep warm over a low heat.

Cut the bacon into pieces and then cook over medium high heat until crisp. Remove the bacon pieces from the pan, leaving behind about 1 tbsp bacon grease. Add the leek, onion, and garlic and saute about 4 minutes until tender. Stir in the rice and cook about 2 minutes to toast. Stir in the white wine and cook for about 5 minutes while stirring until the liquid is absorbed. Add the broth about 1/2 cup at a time stirring constantly until the liquid is absorbed before adding more. Cook until the rice is at your desired consistency. Stir in the lemon juice, butter and parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper to your taste.

Serve topped with the reserved bacon pieces and parsley.

Serves 4.

Cottage BELT

Let's talk about belts for a few minutes.

I purchased this one brown belt from the Buckle when I was in high school. Yeah, remember when you used to want to buy everything from the Buckle like their really expensive jeans and Doc Martens? Well, I bought this great brown belt. I wore it ALL THE TIME.

Then, of course I realized I needed a black belt, because we all know that one of the biggest fashion faux pas is a brown belt with black shoes or vice versa. So I bought a black belt from the Buckle for those intermittent times I wore black shoes. And there we go, a belt for every occasion.

As I have grown up (and definitely out of my Doc Martens, but not jeans, still L-O-V-E jeans), I have become a black-based outfit person. That means in the past 12 or 13 years since I invested in that black belt, I have worn it A LOT. It has worn holes... yes, multiple holes that have seen me through the shrinking and expanding stomach through the years. So imagine my disappointment when I realized that the belt was heading towards the end of its life. The stitching holding the buckle in place was about to give way forever. :(

I had to purchase a new belt. Nothing as great as my old one, but it'll get me through the days.

Now you want to know about the best belt? A Bacon, Egg, Lettuce and Tomato sandwich. Haha, you see what I did there? I know you probably don't need me to spell out how to make a BLT (with an egg), but I wanted to speak a little on this cottage bacon. I got it at the meat lab on campus. It is less fatty than typical bacon and mighty delicious. You should try it out.

Wear your belt and eat one too.

Did anyone else have a crazy sparkly belt when they were in high school?

Cottage BELT
Ingredients:
2 pieces cottage bacon, cooked to your desired crispness
1 egg, cooked over medium
1 large lettuce leaf, torn in half
1 thick slice tomato
1 english muffin, toasted
1/2 tbsp light miracle whip (or mayo)

Directions:
Spread the miracle whip on one of the muffin halves. Top with the lettuce, tomato, bacon and egg. Top with other half of muffin.

Bacon and Pea Ravioli

So you bought a can of tomato paste but your recipe called for 1 tbsp. What in the world are you supposed to do with the rest of it? If you are like me (my old self, that is), you close the top back on the can, throw it into the fridge, and cross your fingers that you remember it is there and that when you pull it back out, no green fuzz has sprouted. Those days, however, are in the past. Now you're more intelligent and you realized that you should probably scoop the tomato paste into 1/2 tbsp piles, freeze them on a cookie sheet for a few hours, and then transfer them to a freezer-safe bag. Now you can grab one, two, three, four whenever you need tomato paste. Say goodbye to your green fuzz and hello to saving 89 cents each time you need a little bit.

As a side note, Rachael Ray uses this nifty resealable tube of tomato paste on her shows. I searched my grocery store high and low but could not find it. So this option is second best, and truthfully more convenient to me.     

So what can you use your frozen tomato paste for? How about this quick and easy ravioli?

Bacon and Pea Ravioli (adapted significantly from Food Network Magazine)
Ingredients:
1/2 lb cheese filled ravioli
2 slices bacon, chopped
1 garlic clove, sliced
1/2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp half and half
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Directions:
Cook the ravioli according to the package. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking water.

Meanwhile, cook the pieces of bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp. If you have more than approximately 1 tbsp bacon fat, remove some. Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook about 1 minute. Add the 1/2 cup reserved pasta cooking water and simmer until reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Add the half and half and simmer until thickened, about 3 minutes. Add the ravioli, peas and parsley and toss to coat completely.

Serves 2.

Trashy Portobello Mushroom Burger

You win some and you lose some.

That happens in the lab when you are trying to synthesize molecules or express plasmids or purify proteins. Sometimes things work like you plan, sometimes they don't.

Same thing happens when you are in the kitchen... especially when you are dreaming up a recipe yourself. Last week I made the grilled veggies and hummus wrap using portobello mushrooms. Since I had purchased a pack of 5 mushrooms, I had a few to play around with. I planned out two dishes -- stuffed portobellos and portobello burgers.

I was thinking I would saute up some sweet potato and peppers, throw in a little seasoning and then stuff that into my mushrooms. But then I ran into a problem, the sweet potato in my pantry had gone bad :( So I searched around my kitchen and found some frozen veggies, frozen northern beans and homemade pasta sauce. I figured I could make up a little concoction of those things, stuff it into the mushrooms and top with a little cheese as a play on a pasta-less pasta primavera. I made that last night but I really wasn't sold; it was okay but not blog-worthy.

Mushroom 1. Julie 0.

 

The second planned dish (which actually happened before the first planned one) was the portobello burgers. I did a twist on a barbecue bacon burger topping them with caramelized onions, cheddar cheese, barbecue sauce, and, of course, BACON. I'm calling it a trashy burger because here I am taking a traditionally meatless meal and trashing it up with bacon. You don't have to do it, but I would recommend it. This one is certainly a win.

If you are keeping score, that's Mushroom 1. Julie 1. It's a draw. We will have a rematch Mr. Portobello, you can count on it.

Trashy Portobello Mushroom Burger
Ingredients:
2 portobello mushrooms, stems twisted out
3 tsp extra virgin olive oil, separated
salt and pepper
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
3 tbsp barbecue sauce (your favorite kind)
2 slices sharp cheddar cheese
3 pieces of bacon, cooked to your desired likeness, each cut in half, optional
2 hamburger buns

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 F.

Clean the mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Drizzle 1 tsp of oil on the top of each and rub in. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place cap up on a baking sheet and bake for 7-8 minutes, flipping over halfway throug, until the mushrooms are cooked. Turn on broiler.

Meanwhile, heat the other 1 tsp of oil in a pan over medium high heat. Add the onion slices and stir to coat. Decrease the heat to medium and cook the onions until caramelized, stirring occasionally, about 10-12 minutes. 

Once the mushrooms are cooked, slather 1 tbsp of barbecue sauce on top of each. Top with cheese slices. Broil for 2-3 minutes until the cheese is melted completely.

Assemble the burger by spreading another 1/2 tbsp barbecue sauce on the bottom bun, topping with 3 half slices of bacon, layering the mushroom and half the caramelized onions and then the top bun.

Grab yourself a napkin because it is guaranteed to be messy!

Serves 2.

Baked Potato Pizza

You know how it isn't until you move away from a place that you appreciate some of the little things?

Well, that is not the story regarding this pizza. From the first time I tried the loaded baked potato pizza at Satisfaction's in Durham, I knew they had created something special. I mean, who thinks of putting potatoes on a pizza? Top it with cheddar cheese and bacon and you've got a great idea. Drizzle it with their "famous sat sauce" and it is DIVINE. Of course reproducing this at home was a must now that I no longer frequent Satis for Duke games and big beer Thursdays. There were a few key points for success with this dish. First, I needed to mimic the "famous sat sauce"; we always joked that it was just watered down ranch dressing and although that may be the case, watered down Kraft was just not cutting it. So I added some sour cream, milk, garlic, olive oil, and chives to the ranch and found what I was looking for. The second important part is to premix your cooked potato with some of the sauce. Let the flavors meld for a little bit and they will permeate the potato and enhance the overall flavor. Of course, you're going to want to drizzle the pizza with a lot more of the sauce and top it will bacon and cheddar cheese. I added some mozzarella to the mix as well and a little bit of red onion for pop. I think I paid appropriate homage to Satis.

For those of you who have moved away from Durham, I give you back something you are probably missing. For those of you who have never been to Durham, prepare to have your life revolutionized. You are welcome!

Baked Potato Pizza (inspired by Satisfaction's)
Ingredients (for individual size):
1/5 pizza dough, thawed (or 1/3-1/2 store bought pizza dough)
1 small red potato
2 pieces bacon, cooked crisp and chopped or crumbled
1 tbsp sliced red onion
1/3 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (either yellow or white)
1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 tbsp sour cream
1 1/2 tbsp ranch dressing
1 1/2 tbsp milk
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried chives (or 1 tbsp fresh chopped chives)

Directions: 
Place a baking stone or baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 500 F. Allow the dough to sit at room temperature for approximately 15 minutes.

Whisk together the sour cream, ranch dressing, milk and olive oil. Stir in the garlic powder and chives. Set aside.

Poke the potato a few times with a fork and place in a microwave safe dish. Cover and microwave on high for 6-8 minutes until cooked through. Let cool slightly and then peel and chop into bite sized pieces. Toss the chopped potato with approximately 2 tbsp of the ranch mixture. Let sit until you are ready to assemble the pizza.

Pull and/or roll out the pizza dough until it is a circle of about 8-10 inch diameter. Spread the potato mixture on the dough. Drizzle with the remaining ranch sauce. Top with red onion, cheeses and bacon crumbles. Transfer to the heated baking stone or sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes until the cheese is hot and the crust is cooked through. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before cutting.

Serves 1.

Green Bean Bundles

While I was growing up we had family friends that lived almost right across the street. The daughter, Aimee, is my age and we went to school together for as long as I can remember. Once we were late for 3rd grade because we were playing on the snow banks in the church parking lot we had to walk through. I remember this vividly because I have always been, and will always be, a rule follower and walking into the classroom during the pledge of allegiance is not the action of a good little girl! We would play for hours with these plastic animals in her basement- my favorite was the family of white tigers. Sometimes when her mom and my dad were both out of town on business trips, we would combine the remainder of our families and head out to dinner at Ponderosa (don't even get me started on how terrible that place is...); the waitress once thought that Aimee and I were twins. 

Because both of our extended families were located in states far away, there were many Thanksgiving that we would break bread together. I don't know why (I will hazard a guess because my sister HATES green bean casserole) but one year Sara showed up with these green bean bundles. Both families loved them and they have become a permanent staple of our Thanksgiving feast. These guys a lot less labor intensive than the traditional GBC (especially if you make it from scratch, which is yummy, but not good for the mushroom haters) but a third of the ingredients is bacon. Come on, you can never go wrong with bacon, right? So try them out, even your green vegetable haters (aka my dad) will eat a bundle or two.

Green Bean Bundles (from the kitchen of our childhood neighbor, Sara)
Ingredients:
2 16-oz cans whole green beans, drained
12-16 slices bacon, cut in half
1 8-oz bottle French dressing

Directions:
In the microwave, cook the slices of bacon until they are slightly cooked but still malleable (about 1-2 minutes total). Pat dry with paper towel.

Arrange the green beans into bunches of 8 and wrap a half slice of bacon around each bundle, securing with a toothpick. Place all the bundles in a large baking dish. Pour the dressing over the beans. Cover and chill for at least 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Bake uncovered for 40 minutes, turning over the bundles halfway through the cooking time. Serve hot.

Red Red Salad (Beets, Pomegranates and Bacon)

I voted. Did you?

I think you should go out there and exercise your rights. I was talking to one of the visiting scientists in my lab and she was asking if I was going to vote. I said, yes. She replied and told me she has never voted and that that is what happens in communism. You see, she's from China. But here in the United States, despite all the problems our government has, the imperfectness of our society and the people (no matter who you vote for, they aren't perfect) that make and pass the laws, we still have the ability to go out there and make our voices heard.

So I really hope you have voted already or that you plan on doing it today. You may have to wait in a long line in the bitter cold, but it is worth it. Get out there, make an informed decision, and act on it!

Ok, that's it. I'm done being political. Let's get back to food that is important to everyone no matter what your political affiliation. Here's another easy fall salad. It's beautifully red from the beets, pomegranates and bacon.

Roasted Beet, Pomegranate and Bacon Salad
Ingredients:
2-3 cups green leaf lettuce (or other lettuce)
1/8 cup thinly sliced red onion
2 slices bacon, crisp cooked and crumbled
handful croutons (homemade or storebought)
2 roasted beets, peeled and sliced*
handful pomegranates
freshly grated parmesan cheese
1-2 tbsp salad dressing (I used poppy seed, but raspberry vinaigrette would be great too)

Directions:
*To roast the beets, preheat the oven to 400 F. Wash the beets and cut off the stems. Cut large beets in half, to decrease cooking time. Place the beets on a piece of aluminum foil and drizzle with olive oil. Bring together the ends of the foil to seal into a package. Bake for 35-55 minutes until the beets are softened through. Let cool until you can handle them, peel and slice.

Place the lettuce on a large plate. Top with the red onion, bacon, croutons, beets pomegranates and cheese. Finally top with the salad dressing.

Serves 1.

A Fall Salad

It has literally been raining on my way home from work every day this week. I think my toes have constantly been cold and wet. And with the days getting shorter, it is also dark when I leave work. When I get home, I'm longing to cuddle up with a blanket on my couch and slurp hot soup, stew or chowder out of a bowl that is warming my hands. Of course, the chipotle cheddar ale soup is long gone and most days I'm craving dinner faster than it takes to make a hearty stew. I think it's time to whip out that crockpot; next week, we'll have something warm to eat, promise.

But for today, we'll have to turn to hot chocolate or coffee to warm our souls because we're eating a nice cold and crisp fall salad. Really though it encompasses just about everything autumn related- apples, pears, roasted pumpkin seeds and cranberries. Throw in some spinach leaves, red onion, celery, and feta cheese and you're set to go. Oh wait, don't forget the bacon crumbles.

I used a combo of poppy seed dressing and balsamic vinegar for dressing as suggested on the food blog that inspired this dish. The combination added enough creaminess but was still tangy enough to balance the sweetness of the fruit in the salad.

Fall Salad (inspired by Iowa Girl Eats)
Ingredients:
2 cups spinach leaves, washed and coarsely chopped
2 thin slices of red onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 apple (whatever kind you like), coarsely chopped
1/2 pear (whatever kind you like), coarsely chopped
1/2 stalk celery, coarsely chopped
handful of dried cranberries
handful of roasted pumpkin seeds
1-2 tbsp feta cheese crumbles
2 slices of bacon, crisp cooked, drained and chopped
1 tbsp poppy seed dressing
1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Directions:
Combine everything through the bacon in large bowl and mix. Drizzle on the poppy seed dressing and balsamic vinegar and toss to coat everything.

Serve immediately.

Serves 1.

Red Wine Risotto with Bacon, Mushrooms and Peas

I'm becoming a wine gal. I think it's because I live alone and you look classy if you are drinking a glass of wine by yourself but a bottle of beer makes you look like an alcoholic (you know, to the outside world that is obviously watching your every move and judging what you do when you are by yourself). True? I'm not sure, but in my messed up mind this makes sense.

I don't really drink a lot of wine. Just a glass here or there with dinner (okay, maybe two glasses if it is a weekend and I'm sucked into a good book or sappy movie). My journey with wine has really been an adapting one; I used to only like white wines like Pinot Grigio because I needed it to be cold and I liked the crispy taste. Recently, however, I've gotten into red wine- not sweet red wine- but drier reds like Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. I will never ever claim to be a wine connoisseur because let's be honest, I buy wine because it is on sale or because I'm drawn to the picture on the bottle.

Anyway, usually I will open up a bottle of wine and over the course of a few days finish it. However, after my trip to NC a few weeks ago I realized I had a half bottle that had been sitting on my counter for a little too long. I thought to myself, it probably doesn't taste as good any more so I should probably cook with it instead of drinking it. My mind jumped to risotto and I experimented from there. As this was only the second time I made risotto (see here for the first and step-by-step directions), I think I did pretty well making up the recipe. I enjoyed it for sure. As with my last risotto recipe, this serves one, but you could certainly up the amount for 2 or 4 people.

In case you are wondering, I'm not the first person to experiment with red wine in the kitchen. See this article for 100 recipes using leftover wine. I've already bookmarked some of them for the next bottle I don't finish...

Red Wine Risotto with Bacon, Mushrooms and Peas
Ingredients:
2 pieces bacon (+ 1 tbsp bacon fat)
1-1 1/2 cup chicken broth (low sodium store bought or homemade)
1/2 small onion, coarsely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup frozen peas
5 button mushrooms, coarsely chopped (about 3/4 cup)
1/3 cup arborio rice
1/4 cup red wine (I used Cabernet Sauvignon)
2 tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese + more for serving
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:
Cut the bacon into small pieces and cook over medium heat in a large skillet until browned. Drain the bacon pieces on a paper towel and discard all but 1 tbsp bacon grease.

Bring the broth to a simmer over medium heat in a small saucepan. Cover and reduce the heat to low.

Add the onion and garlic to the skillet with the bacon grease and cook over medium heat until soften about 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Toss in the peas and rice and cook, stirring quickly, until the well coated, about 1-2 minutes. Add the wine and cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid is almost gone, about 5 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms. Add the broth, 1/4 cup at a time, and stir the rice constantly until almost all the liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Continue to add broth until the rice has been cooking for 20-25 minutes. Taste and check to see if the rice is tender but not mushy. Continue to cook, adding a little more liquid to keep moist until you reach the desired consistency.

Remove pan from the heat and stir in the parmesan cheese. Pour into a bowl and top with bacon pieces and additional parmesan cheese as desired.

Serves 1.

Chipotle Cheddar Ale Soup

If you are like me, sometimes you come across a similar recipe on a ton a blogs and you seriously cannot get the idea out of your head. For me, during the start of this fall and immersed in football season, it was these cheddar and ale soups. Be still my heart (maybe literally from bacon, cheese and beer), but they just looked perfect. Of course, I couldn't decide on one particular recipe to follow so I made an amalgam of them all to come up with this deliciousness.

A few things to remember in order to make this soup work well. First, choose a brown ale or lager such as Newcastle or Bass or Yuengling (nothing too light or too dark, just wouldn't go). Second, do NOT use preshredded cheese; preshredded cheese has corn starch in it to prevent sticking. However, this also inhibits melting ability. I like to use my food processor for the shredding because it speeds up the process, you can certainly do it by hand though. You'll need 11-12 oz of cheese- you pick the kinds. I went with a combo of chipotle cheddar (that was screaming at me from the Target cold box) and sharp white cheddar; it provided a nice spicy and smoky flavor. I could imagine that any combo of cheddars and colby jack would also work well.

Don't worry, I also loaded up the soup with a number of different veggies so we could get some good nutrients as well.

And to make it even better I served it in a pretzel bread bowl. What goes better with beer than pretzels? Check back later for that recipe. For now just enjoy this.

Chipotle Cheddar Ale Soup
Ingredients:
3 pieces bacon, chopped
2 small potatoes, peeled and diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 small onion, diced
1/2 jalapeno, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
2 garlic cloves, diced
1 tbsp fresh thyme, diced
2 tbsp flour
1 bottle (12 oz) brown ale (such as Newcastle)
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup half and half
8 oz chipotle cheddar cheese
3 oz sharp white cheddar cheese
extra slices of jalapeno, for garnish
diced parsley, for garnish

Directions:
Finely grate the cheese using a food processor (or a hand grater).

Cook the bacon in a dutch oven over medium heat until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon to paper towels. Add the potato, celery, carrot, onion, jalapeno, red pepper, garlic and thyme to the bacon grease in the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes until the vegetables begin to soften. Add the flour and stir until starts to brown, about 2-3 minutes.

Whisk in the beer, followed by the chicken broth. Finally whisk in the half and half. Increase the heat to medium high and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes until thickened slightly.

Remove the pot from the heat and whisk in the cheese, one handful at a time, until melted.

Serve (in a pretzel bowl, if desired), topped with the bacon, jalapeno slices and parsley.

Serves 4.

Jalapeno Popper Mac and Cheese (for a crowd)

I mentioned it earlier this week, but last weekend I traveled to NC for Scott's birthday. This was not the only thing that we celebrated. Every year during the first weekend in October, Durham hosts a World of Beer Beerfest. I've attended for now 5 of the past 6 years (I skipped out last year because I was writing that blasted thesis). Beerfest is a great event to try a number of different beers from all over the world. You get to see a lot of microbreweries as well as new and different flavors from the ones you see on tap and on shelves everywhere. During my first Beerfest, I voted for Sam Adams Irish Red to become a widely distributed flavor (it won!). This year my favorite beer was from a Durham local brewery, Bull City Burger, called Bountiful Backyard Ale; it had a very strong flavor of jalapenos! Now I gotta figure out if I can get it somewhere in IL or if I'm going to have get it shipped here... :)

Being back for Beerfest reminded me of all the fun times I've had there. Wanna take a trip down memory lane with me?

Cheers!

Friends travel from SC to celebrate Beerfest!

Sometimes you need rainboots for the muddy ground at Beerfest!

Packed beer tents.

Aww. Delicious beer in the sun.

Pretzel necklaces are a necessity!

Lots of fun with great friends

Sadly none of the above pictures are from this year. I was off my picture-taking game, apparently...


Anyway, because of Beerfest a number of our other friends were back in NC as well. It was great to see so many people from grad school and catch up on life while drinking some beers. We started the weekend out by grilling at some of our friends' new house. I made Scott look through my Pinterest account and pick out something for us to make and share. He chose this jalapeno popper mac and cheese. We adapted the recipe quite a bit to increase the amount, removed the chicken since we were serving it as a side, and lightened it with half and half instead of heavy cream.

This is quite an indulgent dish, but as I kept saying all weekend, calories don't count during Beerfest weekend (or if you eat while you are standing up). So make it for your next picnic or to share over some football on Sunday or to get your stomach expanded in time for the holidays.

I apologize for the half-eaten picture. Scott's job (besides making sure that the bacon didn't burn and crushing the goldfish) was to remind me to take a picture before we left his house. He forgot. So did I. But I think since I took this picture about 20 minutes after we arrived at the party, you can get a good idea of how much everyone enjoyed it.

Jalapeno Popper Mac and Cheese (significantly adapted from Lauren's Latest)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs elbow macaroni noodles
6 slices bacon (plus 3 tbsp bacon grease after cooking)
1 large onion, diced
3-4 jalapenos, diced
1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter
9 tbsp flour
3 1/2 cups 2% or whole milk
1/2 cup half and half
salt and pepper, to taste
4 oz Neufchatel cheese (1/3 less fat cream cheese)
1/4 cup hot sauce (I used Frank's buffalo sauce)
4 cups Mexican four blend shredded cheese
1 1/2 cups crushed cheddar cheese goldfish (or other cheese cracker)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Boil the macaroni noodles for approximately 2 minutes less than the package indicates. You don't want them to be too soft because they will cook more in the oven. Drain and return pot to stove.

Meanwhile, cut the bacon into small pieces using kitchen shears and then cook over medium heat in a skillet until crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan and drain on paper towels. Discard all except approximately 3 tbsp of bacon grease. Add the onion and jalapeno to the grease and cook until tender.

Melt the butter over medium heat in the large pot in which you cooked the pasta. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes. Whisk in the milk and half and half and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the sauce thickens about 4-5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the neufchatel cheese and hot sauce until melted and mixed completely. Stir in the onions and jalapenos and 3 1/2 cups of the shredded cheese. Add the drained pasta and mix completely. Pour the pasta mixture into a large baking dish has been coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle the last 1/2 cup shredded cheese on top. Coat with the crushed crackers and crumbled bacon.

Bake about 30 minutes until hot through.

Bacon Guac Grilled Cheese

Travel is exhausting.

I went to NC for Scott's bday (Happy last year in your twenties, old man!) this weekend. I was supposed to be back on Sunday at 8:30 pm. I got back today (Monday) at 2:45 pm.

I had to come into work to get a few things accomplished since I was not planning on another vacation day and I had things to do. Now I'm sleepy and planning something quick and easy for dinner. I wish I had half of an avocado, some bacon, salsa and cheese in my apartment; I would totally make this sandwich again. It is gooey, flavorful and so tasty.

Instead I'll just stare at the picture on my computer screen, drool over my keyboard and lust for my taste buds to eat this again one day soon.

Bacon Guacamole Grilled Cheese
Ingredients:
1/2 avocado
2-3 tbsp salsa (homemade or store bought)
4 slices roma tomato
handful shredded colby jack cheese
2 slices bacon
2 slices your favorite sandwich bread
1/2 tbsp spreadable butter

Directions:
Cook the bacon in your microwave to your desired crispness. For me it takes about 3 minutes total, turning over after the first 2.

In a small bowl, mash the avocado with a fork. Stir in the salsa. **This is essentially a quick and easy guac. Feel free to substitute if you have another homemade guac.

Spread 1/4 tbsp butter on one side of each piece of bread. Spread the guacamole on the opposite side of one piece of bread. Top with the tomato slices, shredded cheese and bacon pieces. Top with the other piece of bread.

Heat a non-stick pan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat until hot. Place the sandwich butter side down on the hot pan. Cook for about 2 minutes until the bottom is browned. Carefully flip over and brown the other side, about 2-3 minutes, until browned and the cheese is melted.

Turnip and Potato Hash

Hash is kinda like the southern American cousin of our good friend Asian stir fry. I love them both for the same reasons. They are fairly quick and easy and soooo adaptable. For a good hash, you only need a few things:

1. Some sort of fat/oil (bacon grease, EVOO, peanut oil, canola oil, etc)

2. Diced root vegetables (potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips, parsnips, beets, etc)

3. Onions and other diced vegetables (peppers, corn, mushrooms, squash, etc)

4. Something to add a little extra (crumbled bacon, corned beef, fried egg, cheese, etc)

Hash does differ from stir fry in one big way-- you don't need to stir the whole time. Instead you want to give the root veggies more time to cook so you only mix it every so often. For that reason, hash takes a little bit longer that a typical stir fry, but it is just as simple to make.

I used purchases from my Farmer's Market for this meal--- potatoes, turnips, onion, green and red peppers and corn. I topped it with a perfect sunnyside up egg and some bacon crumbles. Completely delicious.

As more root vegetables come into season, hash will be certainly be on the menu more consistently.

Turnip and Potato Hash
Ingredients:
2 small or 1 large potato, diced
1 turnip, peeled and diced
1/2 small onion, diced
1/2 small green pepper, diced
1/2 small red pepper, diced
kernels from 1/2 ear corn
2 slices bacon, cut into small pieces
1 egg
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Fry the bacon pieces in a large skillet over medium heat until they are crisp. Remove to a paper towel and discard all but approximately 1 1/2 tbsp bacon grease. Add the potato, turnip, onion, peppers and corn. Spread out over the skillet and push down with the back of your turner; allow to cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 4-5 minutes, until the potatoes and turnips are cooked completely.

Push the hash to one side of the skillet and crack an egg into the empty space. Cover with a top and cook for 2-3 minutes until the white is cooked completely and the yolk is still runny (or flip and cook longer if you prefer over medium or hard eggs).

Serve the hash topped with the egg.

Serves 1 (but easy to scale for more).

Stuffed Acorn Squash

I have this sort of "addictive" personality. It manifests when I start watching a TV show on Netflix and I get sucked into too many episodes in a row. Also when I start reading a book and cannot put it down until I figure out how it ends. Apparently it can happen when I'm cooking as well.

Right now I'm loving the flavors of bacon and apples together- salty and tart are quite perfect right now.

I made that kale salad last week and then I made this stuffed acorn squash. It really hit the spot. You could probably make this dish vegetarian by subbing a tablespoon of oil for the bacon grease; but then you'd be missing the bacon apple flavor combo.

Right now I'm thinking an apple pie with a bacon studded crust sounds pretty good. Mmm... I'll get back to you on that.

Stuffed Acorn Squash
Ingredients:
1 acorn squash (about 1-1.5 lb), cut in half
3 strips bacon, cut into small pieces
1/2 apple, diced (about 1/3 cup diced apple)
1/3 cup diced onion
1 celery stalk, diced
2 pieces whole wheat sandwich bread, diced
freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
handful craisins
drizzle of honey

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 F.

Place the acorn squash halves cut side down in a microwavable dish. Microwave on high for 5 minutes or until the flesh of the squash is soft and cooked.

In a skillet over medium heat, brown the bacon pieces until they are crispy about 7-8 minutes. Remove the bacon pieces to a paper towel and discard of all but 1 tbsp bacon grease. Add the onion, celery and apple and cook for 2-3 minutes until softened. Add the bread pieces and stir to coat. Drizzle about 1 tsp honey (more or less to taste) on top of the stuffing and mix in. Add the chicken broth and stir; simmer for about 3-4 minutes until fragrant and the liquid is absorbed. Season with freshly ground pepper. Mix in the craisins and cooked bacon pieces.

Spoon stuffing mixture into the squash halves. If you have extra, spoon it into a ramekin or small baking dish. Bake about 25 minutes until hot.

P.S. What do you think about more pictures? I'm playing around with new things...