A Wonderful Technique: Baked Bacon

Have you tried making your bacon in an oven yet?

So many people have picked up on this technique as it is the perfect way to make bacon for a crowd. Plus who wants to stand over a hot stove trying to dodge splattering bacon grease?  Not I.  Not anymore!

Crispy, smoky bacon it one of life's guilty pleasures.  I love it, MGG loves it...and I'm sure you do to. What ever you call this method, roasted bacon, oven bacon, baked bacon, or oven roasted bacon, this is a hassle free and hands free to cook that wonderful breakfast item.  

I was a skeptic at first but then I tried it.  It's wonderful for big batches, plus there's no flipping!  You could possibly cook 1 pound of bacon at a time using a large pan. Or just use two pans.  How great is that?  You can just lay the bacon on a baking sheet but for crispy bacon I suggest that you place a cooling rack on the sheet to elevate the bacon and this will create the crisp bacon we love.

Simple, easy, crispy, smokey bacon!

Enjoy!





Baked Bacon

serves 2

Ingredients:
6 slices of applewood smoked bacon (or your favorite)


Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Lay the bacon on a rack placed on a sheet pan.  Baked for 15 to 20 minutes until the bacon is crispy. Drain on paper towels and serve.

Leftover Redo: Chicken Sloppy Joes

How do you feel about leftovers?  

Some people love them and some people don't care much about them.  I'm kind of in the 2nd category.  There are only some dishes that I like in their "original form" as leftovers, such as spaghetti or pasta dishes, Chinese food, and pizza, oh...and fried chicken.  The rest seem to lose some of their original texture to me. 

Such as a great chicken picatta.  You won't catch me eating it the next day (nope!) because the chicken always seems to get tougher the next day after being cold.  I don't know, maybe it's me...but that's my quirks on leftovers.  The good thing is that MGG will eat anything, leftover or not! Ha!

There are some items that are excellent for leftovers as "single ingredients", such as rice, beans, roasted vegetables, seasoned and cooked ground beef, chicken, or turkey.  And yes, chicken that has been roasted or poached and then shredded or cubed for different uses.   So while I won't eat a chicken pounded and cooked with a pan sauce in it's original form twice I will eat roasted or poached chicken and turn it into a completely different dish! (Weird huh?)

I love, love, love shredded chicken.  Did you know they sell just shredded chicken in the stores now?  Love that in a pinch, but I usually cook extra chicken just for leftovers, or what I consider "different meals" during the week.

Using my leftover shredded chicken today I made some wonderful sandwiches for our lunch. Using pantry items and wanting something comforting and hot I turned this shredded leftover chicken into the best Chicken Sloppy Joes.  Oh man! These were so good.  Of course sloppy joes are usually made with ground beef...but they are just awesome with any type of meat!  See for yourself!  Don't you want to just dig right in?

Saucy, spicy, and simply delicious!

These are simple to put together with pantry items.  I used my Old School Sloppy Joes sauce recipe and substituted the beef for my leftover chicken.  (Winner!) As long as your have fresh buns or sandwich rolls you are set.  You can even use a rotisserie chicken to make these on the fly if you don't have leftovers.  These are definitely something the kids and the whole family will love.

Enjoy!



Chicken Sloppy Joes

serves 4

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper
3/4 - 1 can (13-15 ounces) tomato sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
4 hamburger buns or soft kaiser rolls, split (toasted optional)

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until soft about 5 to 7 minutes. Add chicken to skillet and heat through about 3-4 minutes.  Add garlic and stir 30 seconds.  Add salt and pepper and stir to combine.

Stir 3/4 can of tomato sauce and Worcestershire sauce into beef mixture in skillet. Taste for flavoring. Add more tomato sauce or Worcestershire sauce to adjust flavor to your liking. Simmer until thickened, stirring occasionally, 3-4 minutes.

Spoon onto toasted buns, and serve.

Weeknight wonder: Caribbean Pork Stir Fry

A couple of weeks ago we had 3 days of rain straight.  Boy did we ever need it!

I don't think I heard one person complain about the rain because of the dire need of water to ease the drought. Rain is a precious thing in Southern California.  All hail to the rain!

But with rain comes cold weather, dark evenings, and the need for comforting food. All on a weeknight.

My version of a Caribbean Pork Stir Fry will satisfy your comfort food craving along with being a quick weeknight dinner that you can make in 30 minutes or less. Guaranteed!

I had a few pork chops on hand so was ready to go when our hunger started to hit. It was raining outside and we were ready to eat and watch a movie.

This dish takes the flavors of the Caribbean, specifically Jamaica, and throws them together in a stir fry.  You get spicy jerk flavored pork along with the depth of bell peppers and onions, and throw in some plum sauce for a little sweetness.  That hot and sweet thing is totally going on here and tastes amazing! 

Lots of compliments were flying, which is always nice to hear. Now you don't need rain or snow to crave comfort food.  This is good anytime!  Make it tonight and see them rave about your cooking.  
Enjoy!




Caribbean Pork Stir Fry

serves 4

3 Tablespoons canola oil, divided

4 1" thick boneless pork loin chops

2 tsp Jamaican Jerk seasoning

1/2 onion, sliced

1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced thin  

1 orange bell pepper, seeded and sliced thin  

1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and sliced thin 

1/4 peanuts 

1/2 cup plum sauce

hot cooked rice

Remove all fat from the pork chops and slice into long thin strips.  

Heat 2 Tablespoons of canola oil in a large skillet or wok over medium heat.  Add chicken and make sure they are in a single layer.  Sprinkle with jerk seasoning.  Stir meat, cooking until done about 5 minutes.  Remove to a plate.

Add the additional 1 Tablespoon of oil to the skillet and add the sliced onions and bell peppers.  Stir and allow to cook about 5 minutes until vegetables are slightly tender.  Add peanuts and stir to roast, about 1 minute.  Return the pork and any accumulated juices to the skillet.  Add the plum sauce and stir to coat all the ingredients.

Serve over hot rice.  Enjoy!