Tag Archives: Bacon

Cooking, Main courses

Chicken in a Crock Pot

Chicken in a Crock Pot – simple

Gather the following ingredients:

Chicken breasts 3 – 6
2 Peppers – green, red, yellow, etc.
Bacon

Crock Pot
Pan

Optional:

Rice

Place the chicken breasts into the Crock Pot.

Cut the peppers into strips like you would for fajitas.  Remove the seeds, and stem, and the ribs.  Place the peppers into the Crock Pot.

Cook the bacon.  Sometime within the first 3 hours of cooking free up some bacon.  Cut the bacon into one inch sections.  Separate the sections and place them into the pan.  Cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes.  Add the bacon to the Crock Pot.  *I have made this without the bacon.  It isn’t as good.

Cook on low for 5 – 7 hours or until the chicken starts to fall apart.

This chicken is really good served over rice with the peppers and the bacon.

Video Link

Cooking, Main courses

Macaroni to Die For

Macaroni to Die For – with stinky cheese

Honestly the first time I tried this I wasn’t thrilled.  About two weeks later I found myself craving it.

Gather the following ingredients:
2 Packages of mushrooms
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
1/2 lb of bacon
4 tablespoons of butter
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup of grated Gruyere cheese
1/2 cup of grated fontina cheese (amazing cheese, yum)
4 ounces of goat cheese
1 1/2 pounds of capativa macaroni – 1 large box
1/4 cup flour
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup of half-and-half
2 eggs
4 ounces Gorgonzola cheese (stinky cheese)

Macaroni to Die for Ingredients

Baking sheet
Large pan
Medium pot
Large pot
Large bowl
Small mixing bowl
Large glass pan

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Spread the mushrooms onto the cooking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cook for 20 – 25 minutes and set them aside.

Preparing the Mushrooms

Start the water boiling for the macaroni.

Cut half a pound of bacon into one inch strips.  I cut it still in the package and then make sure I remove any packaging on the bacon.  Separate the pieces of bacon and place them into the large pan.  Cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes.  Stir often.  Set aside.

Cooking the Bacon

You may need to grate the Gruyere and fontina cheeses.  Thin slices work as well.  It just needs to melt quickly.  Melt 4 ounces of butter in the medium pot over a medium heat.

Cook the macaroni according to the package.  Drain when done and place into a large bowl.

While that is cooking and when the butter is melted add the 1/4 cup of flour to the butter.  Whisk the flour into the butter and cook for one minute.  Pour in the 2 cups of whole milk.  Whisk constantly and cook for 3 minutes, until it is bubbly.  Do not let it boil over.

Add the 1/2 cup of half-and-half.

Beat the 2 eggs and then ladle some of the hot milk mixture into the eggs to temper them and make sure they do not cook when you add them to the rest.  Pour the eggs into the milk mixture.  Stir.

Add the Parmesan, Gruyere, fontina, and goat cheese to the butter.  Stir until the cheeses are melted.  Pour the cheese mixture over the macaroni.

Pour half of the macaroni and cheese mixture into the glass pan.  Spread it evenly.  Add half of the mushrooms next.  Now add 2 ounces of Gorgonzola cheese.  Top with half of the bacon.

Repeat all of the ingredients in a second layer.

Bake for 22 minutes at the same 400 degrees or less.  When it is done it should be hot and bubbly.

Video Link

Cooking, Main courses

Hash Browns, Eggs, Bacon

Three items for a full breakfast: Hash browns, scrambled eggs, and bacon.

Gather the following ingredients:

Bacon

Fresh hash browns (not frozen)
Eggs

Milk

Toppings:
Ketchup
Cayenne pepper
Cheddar cheese

1-2 frying pans, medium or large depending on how much you make

Fry the bacon over a medium heat for about 10 minutes or until cooked. Remove the bacon from the pan and place in a bowl for later. I used a medium pan to cook half the bacon as I needed the other half for a Basque Chicken Stew recipe.

Bacon in a frying pan
Bacon in a frying pan

Use that huge spoon that comes with your silverware and seems to have no purpose to spoon out most of the bacon grease into a container for later. Leave a few tablespoons worth in the pan.

I only cook half of the hash browns so the medium sized pan works well. Add the potatoes and cook them for 6 minutes on a slightly over medium heat. Spoon some of the bacon grease over the top near the 2 minutes to go mark. Do not stir the hash browns or check them during the first 6 minutes. Turn them and cook an additional 5 minutes. Start the eggs after you flip the hash browns and set the timer.

Crack eggs into a bowl. Crack the egg on the table or edge of the bowl and carefully pull apart the shell. Make sure none of the shell gets into the bowl. Add fresh ground pepper.

Peppered eggs waiting to be scrambled.
Peppered eggs waiting to be scrambled.

Add a dash of milk and mix with a fork.

Spoon about 2 tbsp. bacon grease into a second pan. Heat the pan over a medium-low heat and then add the eggs.

Stir the eggs occasionally to make sure they do not burn. This will also break them up.

Place the bacon, eggs, and hash browns on a plate and serve.

I like ketchup on my hash browns. I also like a little cayenne pepper on my eggs. You can also add cheddar cheese by removing the pan from the heat, sprinkling the cheese over the top, and covering the pan with a lid so it can melt on its own.

*If you do not have bacon you can use butter instead of bacon grease. The hash browns will be crisper with the butter. Melt 1/4 stick in the pan for the hash browns, place another 1/4 stick on the top of the cooking hash browns so it melt onto the second side. Use 1 tab of butter for the eggs.

Cooking, Main courses

Basque Chicken Stew

Basque Chicken Stew is one of my favorite stews. It is very light.

Gather the following ingredients:

1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 lb. tomatoes
1 lb. Yukon potatoes

1/2 lb. of bacon
3-6 chicken breasts

3 tbsp. garlic
2-3 fresh parsley sprigs
3 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
1 celery stalk cut into 3 or 4 pieces

salt
fresh ground pepper
cayenne pepper

1 1/2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth (you can use stock)

Large frying pan
Large stew pot with lid
Cooking string

Chicken Basque Ingredients

Cut the red pepper and green pepper into 1/2 inch slices and then cut them in half. Deseed the tomato and chop it up. Peel the potatoes and cut them into halves or quarters.
– I chop the tomatoes into large pieces.

Cut the bacon into 1/2 inch wide pieces. Separate the chunks and place them into a large frying pan.

Cut the chicken breasts into 1/2 or 1/3 pieces.

Heat the bacon on a medium high heat for 10 minutes. Transfer the cooked bacon with a slotted spoon into a large stew pot. Add the 3 tbsp. of garlic to the stew pot. Add all of the vegetables to the stew pot.
– Keep the bacon grease in the frying pan.

Add the chicken pieces to the frying pan. Cook on a medium heat for 5-6 minutes per side to brown the outside. Transfer the browned chicken into the pot.
– Do not drop the chicken into the bacon. If it splashes it will burn you.
– I use tongs to turn the pieces at 5 minutes and transfer them into the pot. It will cook in the pot.

While the chicken is cooking tie the parsley, thyme, and bay leaf onto the celery.

– I also like to measure out the wine, chicken broth, and flour.

Once the chicken is removed spoon out all of the grease in the frying pan until you have about 1 tbsp. of fat left in the pan, a light coating. Add the flour and cook on a medium heat blending the flour and bacon fat. Stir constantly for 1 minute. Add the wine and the chicken broth and continue to stir for another 2-3 minutes. It should thicken. Drizzle the mixture over the chicken.

Sauce

Add salt, fresh pepper, and cayenne pepper for taste to the pot. Put the tied celery stocks on top.

Chicken and Vegetables with herbs

Cover the stew pot and turn on the heat to simmer (2). Cook for 25 minutes.

Remove the tied celery and keep to the side. Stir the pot. Replace the tied celery and cook for another 25 minutes.

Discard the tied celery and serve.

Cooking, Soups

Bean Soup

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. bacon – cooked
10 cups chicken broth (large can of broth)
3 cans Great Northern beans (rinsed)
1 can diced tomatoes (Zesty Mild Green Chilies)
6 Oz. baby carrots
Rosemary
Black Pepper

Crock Pot

Cut up half a pound of bacon into one inch strips. Cook this for 10 minutes on a medium heat. Put the bacon into the crock pot.

Drain and rinse the Great Northern beans. Place these into the crock pot.

Pour the diced tomatoes into the crock pot. Add the baby carrots.

Add spices for taste: Rosemary and Black Pepper.

Cook on low for about 6 hours. 5 hours will do just fine.

Video Link:  Bean Soup