Seven layer salad

Let's take a salad.....originally healthy....add mayo, bacon and cheese to it. Delish! Crisp, refreshing....and totally not healthy.

There is something about summer that makes me crave this dish. Mine actually had eight delightful layers.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 bags of shredded lettuce (or you can chop/shred your own...I opt for the convenience of the pre-shredded)
1/2 package of frozen peas
2 cups of shredded cheese
1/2 to 1 cup of mayo
6 strips of bacon, fried and crumbled
1 bunch of scallions, sliced
1 green pepper, diced
3 stalks of celery, diced

Directions:
In a 9x13 pan, layer lettuce, peas, green pepper, celery and onion. Spread mayo on top of veggies. Sprinkle cheese and bacon on top. Chill for at least two hours so everything gets good and cold!

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

 

This soup was so hearty and creamy and warm and comforting and delicious......yummmm.

Potatoes have become a weekly staple for me, while eating gluten-free....which means you can get awfully tired of potatoes - if you don't look for new ways to prepare them. This soup was really easy, and so good.

Luke had a "guys night" and I made the boys potato skins - I baked 6 small baking potatoes, halved them and scooped out most of the middle, leaving just a little in the skins. I saved all the potato I scooped out and refrigerated it for this soup. 

You could also prepare the potatoes the same day as the soup, baking potatoes just takes some time - so be prepared for this recipe to take a lot longer. You could also cube some potatoes and boil them until tender, drain and use those in the soup.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound of bacon,

2 to 3 cups of cubed, roughly cut up potatoes (cooked)

1/2 white onion, diced

10 stalks green onions, diced, divided into 2 bowls

3 cups half and half

s/p

2 cups grated cheese (I used a colby jack mix) plus more for topping.

Directions:

In a large stockpot, fry the bacon until brown and crispy. Remove the bacon strips and crumble, leaving the drippings in the pot. Cook the onions (all the diced white onion and half of your green onions) in the bacon drippings until they are tender. Stir in the potatoes. At this point, I used a mashed to push some of the onion and bacon grease into the potatoes, I think this really blended the flavors well.  Stir in the half and half and salt and pepper. Slowly stir in the cheese until melted. Add half of your crumbled bacon to the pot, reserving the rest for topping. Make sure soup is heated all the way through.

Serve with green onion, bacon and shredded cheese.

Quiche Lorraine

Mmmmm, I love quiche, especially in the fall.....warm flaky crust and creamy filling.

This is a recipe I've been using for years. I usually just use a frozen and/or pre-packaged pie crust, this was no exception - I purchased a pie crust from BitterSweet Bakery in Eagan - yum! The crust was excellent. Super buttery and flaky, here is their website: http://www.bittersweetgf.com/

Ingredients:
1 pie crust in pie pan (deep dish works best)
1 cup shredded swiss cheese
1/4 cup diced white onion
4 to 6 slices of bacon, fried and crumbled
4 eggs
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spread shredded cheese, diced onion and crumbled bacon in bottom of pie pan. 

In a large bowl, lightly beat four eggs, add 2 cups of heavy whippiing cream, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Pour into pie pan.

 

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Turn the oven down to 300 degrees and bake for an additional 30 to 40 minutes. Let sit for at least 2 minutes before cutting into - it will firm up a little more once outside the oven.

Beer-braised chicken

I've been wanting to try cooking with beer, and I thought about a "beer in the rear" chicken, but then I found this recipe. It's from Rachael Ray, however, it took a lot longer to finish cooking than the recipe indicates - so I've added info based on my results. The aroma was awesome....bacon, beer, potatoes, chicken....what could be better?!

Ingredients:
1/4 pound thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
about 2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken (RR suggests thighs, I used breasts)
S/P
rice flour for dredging
EVOO
1 12 oz. bottle beer (preferably a brown ale - I used Leinie's Creamy Dark for GF you could use Red Bridge)
1 cup frozen pearl onions, thawed
1/2 pound small potatoes, halved or quartered
2 Tbsp. mustard (I used a spicy deli mustard)
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
4 sprigs fresh thyme (I used other spices - like herbs de provence and oregano)
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Directions:
Heat a large stockpot over medium high heat. Add the bacon and cook until browned. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a paper towel. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and dredge in flour, shaking off the excess. Add some EVOO to the bacon drippings in the pot. Add the chicken (in batches if needed) and cook until golden on the bottom, 6 to 7 minutes, then flip and sear the other side. Add the beer, onions, potatoes, mustard, sugar, thyme and 1 cup of water to the pot and stir. Make sure the chicken is fully submerged. Simmer until the chicken is done and the potatoes are soft. RR says 15 minutes....I say more like 30. Add more water if needed, as a lot will boil off while cooking. Discard thyme (if used) and stir in the bacon and parsley.

Bacon-wrapped delight

It is still raining....in MN...in January. Needless to say, I'm not going to brave the icy roads, so I'm staying in and cooking instead. Tonight I made a bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin and roasted vegetables. De-wait for it - lightful!




















I had a one-pound pork tenderloin that I seasoned with some random spices and then rubbed with deli mustard. Then I wrapped it in thick, center-cut bacon and roasted it for 45 minutes at 350 degrees in a stoneware roasting pan. Yum-o. I used my Cuisinart with the slicing blade to prepare the veggies, I had potatoes, carrots and parsnips....I tossed them in EVOO and seasoned with salt and pepper. I roasted them on a stoneware pan, also at 350 degrees. They only needed about 30 minutes, as they were sliced nice and thin. So good! The double pork entree earned thumbs up from Lulu and Luke as well!