Easy Bacon and Beef Stroganoff

Dear Bacon Fans,

Yes, this is up on the infamous (in my head, damn it!!) The Bacon Page on FB, but for the rest of you...here is a really great and simple recipe!!! 

1 to 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef

3 slices bacon, diced...SERIOUSLY???  I used 7 slices of bacon....

1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon salt
dash pepper

1 can (10 1/2 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup chopped onion - I NEVER save part of an onion...I used the whole thing...

1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

This recipe was from Bacon Today, but I modified it....

Step 1 - Cook Bacon, drain and crumble when cool.

Step 2 – Brown ground beef in a large skillet; cook over medium heat, stirring, until ground beef is well browned. 

Step 3 - add diced onion to nearly cooked ground beef.  Cook until onion is tender, about 3-4 minutes more.

Step 4 – Drain off excess fat. Blend in the flour, salt, paprika, pepper, and cream of mushroom soup. Cook over low heat, uncovered, for about 15 to 20 minutes. Toss noodles into the water once it starts boiling.

Step 5 – Go back to your almost complete stroganoff and add the sour cream and bacon crumbles and mix it well. 

Step 6 - Stir in noodles.  (yes, original recipe says to serve over noodles, but come on, it's all going to get mixed up)

EAT.  YUM.

I'm sorry there are no pics.  Yes, the Bacon Lady was just not in the mood tonight to take pics.  I promise to get back on my game soon...REALLY!!!

Bacon Wrapped Fun with Crackers!

Hello Bacon Fans!

I have been a bacon wrapped slackard.

Probably disappointing all of you and certainly disappointing myself!

So, after getting my ass back to therapy and paying someone to believe in me, I am back onto my "All things should be wrapped in Bacon" quest.

Last night I found this recipe to wrap crackers and cheese in bacon. How can you go wrong? Seriously. How can you go wrong. Well, you can overcook them. That is the only way to go wrong as far as I'm concerned.

But, you know what I really liked about this recipe? It was SO simple! Tasty and fun. It really needed a dipping sauce of some sort...I'm thinking cheese or maybe a honey mustard!

The recipes I found all called for club crackers. Well, I don't have them today. And I was in no mood to fight the crowds at the grocery store just for some Club Crackers. Townhouse Crackers were the winner!

Turn your oven on to 250 degrees. You will bake these about 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours. I did 2 hours and felt they were just a bit overcooked. The Boy agreed and said the bacon was too cooked. Next time, it's 1 1/2 hours.

Just get yourself a pan with a lip and place your crackers on the pan!

Next, pile on the cheese!!

Wrap each cracker in a half slice of bacon!

2 hours later! Crispy littlesnacks!

Holy Crap it's Bacon Salsa

Dear Bacon Fans,
Today I went out and bought some Bacon Salt. I was worried the store wouldn't have it and I would have to pitch a fit right there in the Spice Section of King Soopers. But, apparently, the Bacon Gods were smiling down on me and there it was....

In all it's glory. It's wonderful tasty glory. I fell to my knees and threw up my hands and yelled out, "Praise Be to the Bacon Gods!!" I was suddenly very alone in the Spice Aisle as people shooed their children away.

But, I could care less. I was on a mission to make....DRUM ROLL please... BACON SALSA (echo echo echo).

So, here are the original ingredients...and just so you know...I completely disagree with them.....My WAY (Cuz my way rules) is next to each ingredient:

3 strips of bacon, cooked well (4 strips of bacon, 1 for eating)
1/2 sweet onion, chopped (1 whole red onion - chopped into four pieces)
1/2 green bell pepper, coarsely chopped (1 whole green bell pepper, chopped into 4 pieces)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro (1/2 cup of cilantro..I mean come on! Cilantro makes salsa)
5 slices pickled jalapeno peppers, or to taste (EWW..I used 2 real jalapeno peppers)
6 fresh tomatoes, quartered
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1-2 teaspoons of bacon salt (EXCUSE ME??? 1 teaspoon? please. Two overflowing)
1/2 lime, juiced (1 whole lime...juiced to death)
dash salt

Now, that we got my modifications out of the way....

In your handy dandy food processor (and seriously BFs..if you don't have one of these, sell yourself, sell your child or your mate and GET ONE) throw in your onion:


Throw in your cilanto:



Throw in your green pepper:


Throw in your jalapenos:


BLEND, people, Blend!


Throw in your tomotoes:


Throw in your omg...it's Bacon...


Pulse until tomatoes are chopped up and put into a bowl.

Now, in another bowl...we are going to blend a little bit of goodness...

Add your two teaspoons of Red Wine Vinegar:


Add your two teaspoons of Olive Oil:


Add Salt and Pepper (I know, I know..the recipe didn't call for it..but, you HAVE to add pepper)



and of course, the Super Duper Magic Ingredient... BACON SALT!!!!


Whisk that shit up and pour over the salsa. Stir....EAT.


The End.
the Bacon Lady thanks you for stopping by and supporting my cause.....to bring peace to the world with Bacon

Cheese Stuffed Summer Squash

Dear Bacon Fans,

You know, I was looking for a recipe to use up the delicious zucchini I received in my Bitty Box from Door to Door Organics and I found this recipe I had saved many years ago and had never made! And to my surprise, it included bacon!

The three zucchini I used were pretty big, so I didn't modify the recipe at all.

6 summer squash (I used three good sized zucchini)
Boiling salted water
1 sm. onion, minced
2 tbsp. bacon drippings, or butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 c. fine dry bread crumbs (I used 1 cup of panko bread cups, just as wonderful)
1/2 c. Cheddar cheese, shredded
3 slices thin bacon, partially cooked (I used 6 pieces of bacon, because, um, well, it's bacon!!!)

(Turn the oven on to 400 degrees)

First, cut the tops off the zucchini and plop them into a boiling pot of water


Then, cook up your bacon so it's just starting to get that cooked look. The rest of the cooking will be done in the oven.


After you remove the slightly cooked bacon, put your minced up onion into the pan. I got this great onion from my weekly delivery of organic food and I even added the giant green tops! You want to cook the onion until just softened and not browned.


Put the onions, your salt and pepper and breadcrumbs into a bowl and mix.


By now, it should be about 8-10 minutes later and you can remove your boiled zucchini. I used a potholder to hold the zucchini because it was hot! The tricky part was scraping out the guts of the zucchini. I used a knife and it worked pretty good! So, just scoop and scrape away and put into your bowl and mix again.

Now, the fun part!

Use your fingers and stuff all the goodness into the empty zucchini! What fun and I will tell you, what really interesting sounds it makes.

Place the stuffed zucchini in a casserole dish, top with the shredded cheese and bacon pieces.


Put into the oven for 15 minutes at 400 degrees!

and out comes hot and yummy goodness


This is Teenager Approved

ROMAINE SALAD with BLUE CHEESE, BACON and RADISHES

Dear Bacon Fans,

I'm always on the fence about salads that are considered bacon salads because you add bacon to it. UGH. But, sometimes, I think that certain combinations do indeed taste a little better when you throw on the bacon.

So, thanks to the blog called the Bacon Show, I whipped up this delicious little salad last night. If you don't like blue cheese, don't even bother making this. I personally love blue cheese and so did my guest who got to indulge in my dish. However, my 18 year old son, felt differently.

We learned last night that he did not like the salad. In fact, he said, don't be offended mom, but what was in that salad? I said, "why?" He replied, "well, it tasted like vomit." I said to him that apparently he does not like blue cheese and people who don't like blue cheese often do refer to it as vomit.

But, don't let that stop you from making this delicious salad! It really was good.

So, let's get to it!

First, the list of ingredients:
1 tablespoon minced shallots
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
½ cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
2 to 3 tablespoons heavy cream
salt and freshly ground pepper
6 strips thick sliced bacon
3 (6-ounce) hearts of romaine
3 to 4 large radishes, sliced as thin as possible

Before we get to the mixing part, I just want you to know that I used Miracle Whip instead of Mayo. I know, I know.. but hey, i'm unemployed and it was what was in my fridge. It tasted just fine.

I also used the whole shallot and not just one tablespoon. The reason why is that I love shallots. I think they are so flavorful and one tablespoon hardly seemed enough.

So, after you mince up the shallot, place it in a small bowl and put your red wine vinegar in and mix well. You are going to let this sit for at least five minutes so that the vinegar softens the shallots. It's a wonderful thing... really.


Now, place your chunks of blue cheese in a bowl and add the mayo (or in my case the miracle whip). You will use a fork and do your best to really squish down that cheese into a fairly little chunky mixture.


Once five minutes or so has passed, you can now add the onion mixture into your mayo/blue cheese mixture


Stir and now you are going to add enough heavy cream to make it nice and creamy looking! I was generous and used at least three tablespoons.


Add some pepper. (Add salt if needed. Sometimes blue cheese is salty enough. In my case, I had to add about 1/2 teaspoon of salt)


Now, take your lettuce that you washed and tore into bite sized pieces (I didn't do that once and boy did I hear it from the boy!)


and your bacon that you cooked


and your sliced radishes


put it all together with your dressing! Yum!!


Would love to hear feedback!!

Bacon Wrapped Cherries

Dear Bacon Fans,

I found this recipe on the web from these ladies: Wearenotmartha.com.

They made it sound SO wonderful, I just had to try it!!! I mean, I love cherries and I certainly LOVE bacon (Big DUH).

They weren't too difficult to make, so let's start!

Turn your oven on to 350 degrees.
Pit and wash your cherries. One slice of bacon covers two cherries, so pit and wash accordingly!

So, in our first picture, I have the bacon (which I cut in half), our cherries with my cherry pitter and some thyme.


Then, place the cherry and a piece of thyme on the bacon


Wrap and stick with a toothpick and place on your baking pan! During baking, flip over the pieces half way through to ensure even cooking. I cooked them for about 25 minutes which worked perfectly in my oven.


And here is the final product!


The bacon cooked up so nice! The cherries were soft and tasty. However, there wasn't enough cherry flavor!! I did pull the thyme pieces out because who likes to eat sticks? Not me!!!

So, I'm thinking that these would be most tasty with a little bit of sweet cherry sauce on them after you pull them out of the oven.

And if you feel adventurous, wrapping the cherries with a flavored bacon like applewood smoked bacon would make these even better!

If anyone makes these, I would love to hear any variations and how they turned out!!

Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta

Hello Bacon Fans!

This is by far one of my most favorite recipes of all time! One that (are you sitting down) I have made twice! It's so incredibly simple and superbly tasty!

My teenage son (well, he's 18, going to school and yes, Mommy still cooks for him) loves this meal alot.

Let's start with the ingredients:
8 oz. uncooked tube or spiral pasta
1 lb. ground beef
6 bacon strips, diced
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) tomato soup, undiluted
1 c. (4 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese
barbecue sauce and prepared mustard (opt.)

(note: we didn't like it with mustard. Add a dab of BBQ sauce on the finished meal and it was delicious!)

Before you start cooking the meat, get your pot of water boiling and add your pasta into it.

Here is a picture of all the ingredients you need!


First step is to brown your beef. I always season up my beef with some kind of steak seasoning. It really does make a difference.


Cook up your bacon and place on a plate with a towel to absorb some of the grease. Once cooled, crumble the bacon.


Remove the pan you just cooked the bacon and hamburger in and put in your cooked pasta. Stir to pick up the little bits of grease and meat left.


Stir in your can of tomato soup


Put your hamburger and bacon in and stir it up.


Sprinkle your cheese on top. Cover with a lid and let cook on medium-low to medium until the cheese has melted!


Put a dab of BBQ sauce on it and serve it up!!!

I would love to hear alternations to this recipe!

Love
The Bacon Lady

Bacon Bandages

Dear Bacon Fans,

These delightful little treasures were given to me as a gift.



Of course, I was naturally intrigued by the "free prize inside!"

And, not surprisingly, it was a puffy bacon sticker! I had to chuckle when I saw that.

Now, of course, the question is: how long do I keep these bandages and not use them?

I am seriously on the fence with this. I am thinking of using half of them. I mean, what is the point of having them if we never use them? They will be horribly useless one day.

If you do a search on the internet, it looks like the unanimous price is about $4.95 for the can. I don't know, I think that's a little much.

Bacon Gumballs

Good Morning Bacon Fans!

One of my friends brought me some gifts that he intended to share at my Bacon Sampling Party the other day. He couldn't make it to the party, so he brought them by last week.

One of them was a tin of Bacon Gumballs. How exciting, I thought! Bacon Gumballs!



So, we eagerly unwrapped the product and opened up the little bit of goodness inside.

Don't these look delicious?



So, of course, you have to smell if first. That's when I became hesitant. It didn't smell at all like bacon!

So, I plopped one in my mouth and well, nearly threw up on the spot. I looked at my friend and his faced was scrunched up in utter distaste as well.

Even after you spit them out, the aftertaste was horrible!

So, we decided that these should be given out to those people that have pissed you off.

With love of course.

So, if you want to order these little tins of Ick, you can get them from here!

ThinkGeek for $3.99
Archie McPhee for $3.50
Amazon for $8.25 (Really??)
Perpetual Kid for $3.49

So, there are some places for you to indulge in your quest of Bacon Gumballs!

Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs

Dear Bacon Fans,

You know, I have heard and read all over the internet about Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs. And seriously, who wouldn't want to try it?

So, tonight, my friend came over and she brought some hot dogs and we wrapped them up in some of the leftover bacon from the party.

We chose Cajun Bacon and Honey BBQ bacon.

Unfortunately, these two bacons were extremely heavy on the fat side and VERY lean on the meat side. Well, it is the risk when you buy online. It's a shame too because the flavor of the Honey BBQ is really good!

I wrapped the dogs with the bacon and baked them at 350 for about 30 minutes. Overall, if I could have eaten the bacon and the dogs together, I think it would have been heavenly. But, in light of the very fatty bacon I was left with, I took it off. The dogs still had a really good flavor from the bacon.

I think that if you could fry the dogs with the bacon, THAT would be the way to go.

But, when you look at the picture, you know you are going to have to try it.... They actually LOOK really good!

Recipe - Bacon Ranch Dorito Casserole

Dear Bacon Fans,

In my eternal quest to find as many really yummy meals that include bacon, I found this pretty tasty meal courtesy of JD Foods!

Here is the link to their recipe:
Bacon Ranch Dorito Casserole

Here is my version of the same recipe:

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef or sausage or both!
1 (10 oz) can tomatoes - use a flavored can like Fire Roasted
1 (10 oz) can corn, drained (I used a bag of frozen corn. You can never have enough corn!)
3/4 cup Bacon Ranch dressing (I did not have Bacon Ranch, so I used Ranch and added Bacon pieces!)
2 cups nacho cheese flavor Doritos, lightly crushed
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Brown beef and/or sausage in a skillet.

3. Mix beef, tomatoes, corn and ranch dressing together and put into casserole dish. Top with Doritos and cheese.
4. Bake 20 minutes, uncovered.

Now, for the scrumptious pictures!



Brown the ground beef and season it. I know the recipe doesn't say too, but anytime you don't season ground beef, man does it taste bland!! My favorite thing to season ground beef with is the DL Jardines Steak Seasoning. Pour it on liberally!



I had a bacon tasting party and this was the leftover bacon. I felt like a bowl full of bacon was appropriate to add to this dish!



The last of my homemade bratwurst! I was thinking a lb of hamburger just wasnt' enough!



All three meats placed back into the pan for stirring and heating together.



Stir in a can of diced tomatoes. The great thing with this recipe is you can pick from any of the varieties of diced can tomatoes! I always keep a few cans in my cupboard when they go on sale. I pulled out Fire Roasted.



Recipe calls for 1 can of corn. However, being a farm raised girl from Iowa, I used a whole bag of frozen corn!



Pour in some Ranch! I didn't measure, just kind of globbed it in until it looked good.



After you cook everything, pour it all into a nice round casserole dish and cover with the doritos!



Cover the dorito layer with a nice layer of cheese. Yummmy!! Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the cheese is nice and brown.



Does that not look delicious! It was pretty tasty and teenage boy approved!!