The best recipe ideas come to me out of the blue. Sometimes when I'm sleeping an idea will wake me up just the same way a nightmare would with the idea already formed in my head like a dream. All I have to do is acknowledge it and I fall right back to sleep dreaming of it. That's precisely what happened with these potatoes. Even the name came to me. The next morning I went straight to the kitchen and made cheddar mashed potatoes. I spread them out on a baking sheet, sprinkled more cheese on ...
bacon
Feta Stuffed BLT Burgers
Say hello to the gussied up burger version of the BLT with a layer of creamy feta cheese hidden inside. If you ever stuffed cheese into the middle of a burger before then you know it's no easy feat to keep it contained once it begins to melt. With feta cheese you don't have that problem because it can't and won't melt. It gets warm and soft without being oozy. ...
Bacon Cheddar Potato Peel Chips (Don’t Throw Away Your Potato Peels!)
Potato peels don't get the love they deserve! They make a perfectly delicious snack baked up into crunchy chips that are accepting of all kinds of toppings or are fine on their own with just a little salt and pepper. This is my 'loaded' version with cheddar cheese and crispy bacon crumbled over them plus a dollop of sour cream for dipping. When I think of all the potato peels I've thrown away it makes me sad. Mountains of them. What a waste of food. The cool thing is you don't even have ...
Slow-Cooker Chili Con Carne
Chili con carne with hearty hunks of beef slow cooked in tomatoes with a ton of spices, bacon, garlic, onion, chipotle and jalapeno peppers. No beans allowed. Not in this chili. This chili is a celebration of meat. I don't use a crockpot for convenience here but rather for the way it magically transforms the toughest of meat into something tender and edible. This isn't a recipe where you can throw everything right into the crockpot and be done, there's some work to do before that can ...
Mozzarella, Bacon and Corn Salad
Panzanella is an Italian bread and tomato salad that might just be the perfect summer salad! It's great for using up a bounty of fresh tomatoes, herbs and just about any other type of vegetable you have on hand whether it be from your garden or friendly neighborhood farm market. ...
Bacon Cheeseburger Rigatoni
Baked "cheeseburger" rigatoni pasta with a tangy barbecue sauce, cheddar cheese, bacon, pickles and tomatoes. It's a little bit comfort food and a little bit rock 'n' roll. This will not only liven up the routine of pasta night but burger night too. I had my doubts about combining these two favorites of mine into one. . . I never thought of barbecue sauce and pasta as belonging together. ...
Easy Skillet Corned Beef Hash and Cabbage
Corned beef hash skillet-fried with savoy cabbage, Irish swiss cheese and bacon. This is one of those times when a few ingredients come together to make something surprisingly delicious. ...
Loaded Bacon and Brie Sweet Potato Skins
Loaded sweet potato skins with brie, bacon, sour cream and chives makes for a tempting and unforgettable appetizer, snack or side dish. I'll remember this winter as one where I fell fast and hard for sweet potatoes and discovered how good they are paired with brie. I've been cutting them into wedges and oven-frying them, twice baking them, mash potato-ing them and making potato skins. All the while melting lots of brie over top. ...
Maple Bacon Blondies
Maple syrup and brown sugar blondies with walnuts, a sticky glaze and a crumbled bacon topping. A sweet and salty dream. ...
Bacon Cheddar Cauliflower Fritters
Cauliflower wraps itself around bacon, cheddar cheese, jalapenos and scallions for these addictive, pan-fried golden little patties of deliciousness. ...
Parmesan and Bacon Creamed Corn
Luxuriously rich corn with heavy cream, Parmesan cheese and bacon. A super quick and easy side dish that will steal the show away from any entrée! ...
Slow Cooker Bacon Onion Jam
Bacon jam. A more fitting name for this concoction would be relish. Sticky, sweet, smoky, fatty, chewy bacon relish. Boy bait. ...
Baked Cream Cheese, Cheddar and Bacon Corn
This is like mac & cheese without the mac. Corn baked in a creamy cheddar cheese sauce with cream cheese, smoked paprika and thick, chewy pieces of bacon. ...
Creamy Shrimp, Corn and Zucchini Orzo
A creamy parmesan orzo pasta with shrimp, corn, zucchini, bacon and basil. Simple ingredients that come together with flavorful results. ...
Zucchini, Corn and Bacon Chowder
A puréed soup packed with zucchini and corn, two of my summer-time favorites, with bacon thrown in for excitement. While zucchini and corn might elicit protests or yawns ...