Turkey Bacon and Cheddar Burgers with Caramelized Onions

Tags

bacon, burger, dinner, onion, recipes

So now that I am officially a comfy cozy girl in a healthy relationship, the boo and I stay in quite a bit. Not because we don’t want to see anyone or because we hate going out, but after a full week of work, our favorite thing to do on a friday after work is relax. And I must confess that as I get older, I find myself falling asleep earlier and earlier each night without a care. Last friday, I was asleep by 10 pm. TEN. P.M!!!! The time most young adults are on their way out for a night of fun.

I digress. After a week of clean eating and a heavy veggie and fish week, I decided to pick up some lean ground beef. I didn’t have an immediate plan for it, but having it around provided some leeway for that spontaneous moment where I could be reckless and plan dinner as I’m making it. That’s my opinion of reckless.

With a sudden leftover supply of bacon, I suddenly craved burgers.

with Caramelized onions.

Bacon.

and a soft and fluffy potato bun.

Ingredients: serves 4

1 lb lean ground beef

1 tsp worcestshire sauce

salt and pepper to taste

1 large spanish onion, sliced

4 slices of crispy bacon

4 oz cheese (I chose extra sharp cheddar)

1.  In a large skillet, heat a tsp of oil over a medium heat. Add the onions and cook until browned or caramelized, about 8- 10 minutes. When onions are done, set aside.

2. Combine the ground beef with worcestshire sauce. Make 4, 4 oz, patties out of the beef. Sprinkle each patty with salt and pepper. Prepare a cast iron skillet with a tsp of oil. When the pan is screaming hot, place heat on lower setting. Add burgers and cook 4-5 minutes on each side, or to desired internal temps. For burgers, I like mine with a little pink inside.

3.  Add cheese to cooked burger patties and assemble with onions and bacon. (also a good option: smashed avocado!)

4. Affix on bun of choice (Mine is potato bun). Serve with baked fries or a healthy side salad.

A simply seasoned burger is the best burger. The addition of the sides just made this a great texture party! It was nice to change things up a bit. We tore these babies up.

Less Loaded baked Potato Soup

Tags

bacon, baked potato, cauliflower, cooking light magazine, dinner, healthy, lunch, recipes, scallions, soup

I feel like a broken record here. Its cold! Its April! Why?

What to do when its cold?

Snuggle up with your boo and your puppy. And if you need some warmth and comfort in your tummy, January’s issue of Cooking Light had a tasty less loaded baked potato soup.

Now, I love all things soup. Its filling, Its comforting. And its usually easy to make. BR on the other hand, is not really a soup kind of guy. He likes substance. He likes meat.

Looking at the recipe, I saw it had bacon. Bacon is meat. This soup is meat and potatoes. How can that disappoint anyone? And even more amazing is how this soup packs all the flavor of a loaded baked potato with less calories and fat thanks to the pureed cauliflower.

Right?

Less Loaded Baked Potato Soup

• 1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 5 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 pound cubed peeled baking potato (about 2)
• 1 pound cubed Yukon gold potato (about 4)
• 5 cups unsalted chicken stock (such as Swanson)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 pound cauliflower, cut into florets (about 1/2 head) I used an entire head
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
• Cooking spray
• 1 1/2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk 1/4 cup fat free half and half
• 3/4 cup chopped green onions, divided
• 1/2 cup fat-free fromage blanc (such as Vermont Creamery) or sour cream
• 2 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese (about 1/2 cup)
• 4 slices center-cut bacon, cooked and crumbled

Directions: (my directions vary from Cooking Light slightly)

1. Set up a large pot of salted water. Bring to boil. When water is boiling, add cauliflower and potatoes and boil till fork tender. About 10 minutes. (you want it to fall apart easily – makes blending quick!)
2. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion, thyme, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add stock, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes.
3. When the potatoes and cauliflower are fork tender, place in a blender, along with some of the simmering broth and puree. When the desire texture is reached, I like mine velvety, place it all in the dutch oven and allow it to simmer for an additional 10-20 minutes.
4. Remove from heat; discard bay leaf.
5. Add half and half. Stir. Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 cup green onions, and sour cream; stir until sour cream dissolves.
6. Ladle soup into 8 bowls. Top evenly with remaining green onions, cheese, and bacon. (or in my case, serve two bowls of soup and put the leftovers in the fridge for lunches)

For a soup, BR thought it was okay. (figures). But this is a great soup disguised as a guilty pleasure but lightened up to make indulging guilt free. My favorite part of this soup is the crispy bacon and the creamy texture of this soup.

Might as well enjoy it while its still freezing.

I don’t know what it is, But it Has Bacon

Tags

bacon, dinner, pasta

Quite a title, isn’t it? Truthfully, I didn’t know what to call it other than dinner. But it was a little passed dinner time and I was hungry and there was no waiting for delivery. I rummaged through the fridge and pantry. I pulled out pasta, chicken breasts, frozen peas, leftover pasta sauce and BACON.

The wheels were turning. It would be nothing special but it would be quick and fulfilling.

Here is my BS dinner recipe: (serves 2, btw)

3 chicken breasts seasoned with salt, pepper and basil

2 slices of bacon

2 cups of marinara sauce

1/4 cup half and half

1/2 cup frozen peas

2 cups pasta, cooked

I crisped up the two slices of bacon and crumbled them. When they were nice and crispy, I set them aside on some paper towels. The bacon fat didn’t go to waste- don’t you worry! I cooked the chicken in it.

When the chicken was done, I set it aside as well.

I heated the marinara sauce in a large skillet and added some half and half followed by the peas.

 

When the sauce was heated through and the peas were tender, I tossed in the cooked pasta.

Threw it all in a bowl and ate it. Served BR and as he dug in he asked “what is this?”

“I don’t know what it is, but it has bacon”.

And it was good.

Quiche Lorraine

Tags

bacon, brunch, cheese, dinner, egg, lunch, pie crust, quiche

Eggs baked with cream bacon and cheese in a a flaky, buttery pie crust.

Quiche Lorraine. Its pure heaven for me. But I don’t make it often because its so easy to devour the entire thing! Don’t act like its just me!

However, I do feel like one can indulge in the good stuff if they keep it balance. A nice spring green salad to go along side this decadent quiche is the perfect homemade brunch; topped with a honey mustard vinaigrette!

I have made quiche in the past and sought a few of my pervious projects for inspiration. I cheated by using a premade frozen crust and went all in on the cream, eggs, bacon and cheese.

I served us each a slab of quiche alongside a mixed green salad.

It was a great balance. It was also hard to not have a second slice. Instead, I had more salad since the honey mustard dressing was SO delicious!

BLT Risotto

Tags

bacon, dinner, recipes, risotto, spinach

I really didn’t know what to do with the 3lb bag of Arborio rice that was given to me by mistake from Fresh Direct, so it sat in my cupboards. Sure, I could make risotto… I mean, that’s what arborio rice is for. But the thought of using it never came to mind until I was looking through a cookbook at Patty’s house.

“Oh, I have been meaning to give that to you…”

A free cookbook! It was Emeril Lagasse’s Sizzling Skillets and One Pot Wonders. Everything about a one pot dinner sounded great to me but when I spotted the BLT Risotto recipe my mind went right to the giant bag of free Arborio Rice.

I had most of the ingredients on hand, so I figured “Why Not?”

I was also nursing a really gnarly hangover and was craving CARBS like crazy. There was no time like the present to 1) make hangover risotto and 2) stop feeling hungover.

Ingredients:

6 cups chicken stock

6 ounces thick cut bacon  1/5 lb thick cut bacon

1 cup onion, diced

3/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp crushed garlic

1 1/2 tsp fresh thyme 3/4 tsp dried thyme

1 1/2 cups Arborio rice

3/4 cups dry white wine

1 lb vine ripened tomatoes 2 vine ripened tomatoes

5 ounces fresh baby spinach

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

2 ounces parm cheese

To start, set the 6 cups of broth in a pot to simmer. It has to be hot in order to do its magic later.

While the broth was simmering, I crisped up the bacon in a large skillet… the same skillet I would be using for the duration of the cooking! One skillet to wash! yesss!

I digress.

When the bacon is nice and crispy, remove it from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside on some paper towels.

Add the onions to newly rendered bacon fat and season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon until the onions are translucent. About 4-6 minutes.

Add the garlic, rice, and thyme. Toast up the rice, stirring frequently for 5 minutes. Pour in the wine and allow the rice to absorb it.

When the wine is absorbed, add 1 cup of the chicken stock and gently stir the rice. As the stock evaporates, continue to add 1/2 cup of stock at a time. This should go on for about 15-18 minutes until there is 1/2 cup of stock remaining and the rice is al dente.

Add the tomatoes and allow to cook for two minutes.

After that, add the spinach, bacon, remaining stock, butter and parmesan cheese. Once the spinach wilts, allow it cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Plate and serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Amazing.

And it made for an awesome hangover breakfast!

Maple braised Brussel Sprouts with Caramelized Onions and Bacon

Tags

bacon, brussel sprouts, slow cooker, vegetables

That is quite a mouthful so a side dish, right?

Well, there really is no way to give the dish justice without naming all of its delicious components.

Its probably no secret that I have been slacking in the menu planning part of my life. I know I say it all the time. But when I think about setting the time to menu plan, I get side tracked. Like “Oh, a notification on Facebook.” Or “OOOh! A text from my boyfriend”. And then, next thing you know, its Sunday night and I havent a thing planned.

That’s what I love most about trips to the supermarket with the roommate. I go with a vague idea of what I want and then, if I see something I like, I get it.

the problem?

I see a lot of things I like.

Like slab bacon. You cant just cook it an eat it… (I mean, you can… but humor me), you need to make it a star in an otherwise boring dish.

And while thinking this over, I glanced in the cart of someone else in the market and spied a massive bunch of brussel sprouts. Immediately I was back at Zutto having the best brussel sprouts ever!

So…here we are

Ingredients:

2 oz slab bacon, diced

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1 lb of brussel sprouts, quartered

2 Tablespoons maple syrup

salt to taste

I started by taking the brussel sprouts and placing them in my SLOW COOKER. Oh yes, these babies are braised!

While they hung out in the slow cooker, I crisped up the slab bacon and with a slotted spoon transferred the bacon to the slow cooker; reserve the bacon drippings.

I then caramelized the onions in the bacon fat. Once they were a sweet caramel color, I added the contents of the pan to the slow cooker… drippings and all.

OH BABY.

I sprinkled a little salt on it because I like a little salt here and there and drizzled the maple syrup onto the contents of the slow cooker.

I gave it a stir to incorporate all the deliciousness all over!

I set it on high for 2 hrs and came back to some seriously tender and delicious brussel sprouts. Sweet from the maple syrup and onions and smoky from the bacon. The brussel itself had a slight bitterness to it that balanced out the flavors.

And then I did what anyone would do.

I ate a bowl of brussel sprouts.

…or is that just me?