Tag Archives: bacon

Bacon and Egg Cups with Hashbrowns

Posted in Breakfast, Food and Drink, So easy even Julie can do it! by

Recently, one of my friends started selling Arbonne products and asked me to host a party for people to try out the products.  I said yes because those incorporate two things I love- skincare products and the opportunity to make a delicious brunch!  My budget is tight, so I wanted something that would taste good, be filling, and not break the bank.  This utilized all those things and made everything super cute and bite-sized!

You’ll need two cupcake pans in order to make this.  It made everything easy to eat while we tried all the different skincare products she had.  I added fresh-squeezed orange juice and coffee to make it complete.  Both of these dishes are easy; I was able to whip it up right before they arrived, and put the finishing touches without missing any of the free samples!

The Bacon and Egg Cups were inspired by How To: Simply’s blog.  The Hashbrown Rounds were derrived from The Yummy Life.  The hashbrowns were very crunchy, so if you like your hashbrowns soft, lower the length of time you bake them for.  When you’re done you’ll have a cute, delicious brunch!

Bacon and Egg Cup Ingredients:

  • 6 slices buttered bread
  • 6 slices bacon, cooked halfway in the skillet
  • 6 eggs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.  Butter bread and cut into circles the size of a cupcake holder.  Place in bottom of a cupcake pan and toast at 350 for 5 minutes.  While bread is toasting, cook bacon halfway in the skillet.  After toasting bread, wrap bacon around the edge of the cupcake holder.  The bacon will finish baking in the oven.  Repeat for each holder and crack one egg inside the bacon wrap.

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

Hashbrown Rounds Ingredients:

  • 20 oz. hashbrowns
  • 3 green onions, chopped
  • 1/3 cup Parmesan
  • 2 Tbs. olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix ingredients together.  Place in cupcake holders and bake 55-60 minutes.

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Creamy Bowtie Chicken

Posted in Food and Drink, Main Dishes, Pasta by

I’ve been on such a pasta kick lately.  OK, maybe I’ve been on it my whole life.  There are just so many variations to pasta, and I love experimenting with it!  I’ve done cream sauces on the skillet before, but this one is super simple.  The chicken is good on its own too!  I may even make it again for tacos or something like that.  When I was making this, I was wondering how the ingredients were going to come together, but it turned out perfectly.  Another keeper according to the boyfriend (not that he complains much considering he never has to cook…)

This recipe comes from this blog, but I modified it a lot because I’m only cooking for two.  Also, I can’t have too much dairy so I use less cream sauce in my dishes.  Click on the link to get the ingredient list for 4 people, or if you want it to have extra sauce!

Ingredients:

  • 8-10 oz. bow-tie pasta
  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan (plus more for topping)
  • 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tsp. pepper
  • 5 strips bacon (the recipe called for 1 lb. but I just can’t do that to myself…)
  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 bottle Lawry’s mesquite marinade with lime juice

About 6-7 hours before serving, place chicken and Lawry’s marinade in a slow cooker.  Let cook on the low setting 6-7 hours.  Remove chicken from crock pot and shred with a fork.  Set aside.

Place bacon strips in oven and bake at 400 degrees 15-20 minutes.  Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn.  Once bacon is finished, crumble.  Don’t skimp- bacon is absolutely essential to this dish.  And life in general.

Meanwhile, while bacon is cooking, prepare pasta al dente!

Melt butter in skillet.  Add garlic and saute 2-3 minutes.  Add whipping cream, Parmesan and pepper.  Whisk ingredients about 4 minutes.  Add bacon and stir.

Place pasta in a bowl.  Add sauce.  Add chicken.  Stir.  Yum.

Creamy Chicken Casserole

Posted in Food and Drink, Main Dishes, Pasta by

This recipe title could be considered deceptively simple.  Usually when I hear the word “casserole” I think, throw everything into a casserole dish and bake on 350.  At most I have to pre-cook the chicken.  This is not one of those recipes, but it is very much worth the trouble!  I got it from the Dutch cooking site Kayotic Kitchen, where they claim that this is a creamy, but non-greasy version of an American dish.  This is a very hearty meal so make sure your belly is hungry!

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. pasta (I used linguine tonight)
  • 3 chicken breasts
  • 1/2 large onion, minced
  • 7 oz. mushrooms, sliced
  • 2 cans cream of mushroom soup
  • 4-5 slices bacon
  • 1/4 cup dry white wine
  • 1/2 cup sharp cheddar
  • butter or oil
  • salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.  Prepare onions and mushrooms.  Fry bacon in skillet.  Drain bacon grease on a paper towel, but do not clean skillet.  Salt and pepper chicken, put a little butter (about 1 Tbs.) then brown chicken in pan.  Place chicken in casserole dish.

In same skillet, saute onions for about 2 minutes.  Add mushrooms and continue to saute about 1 minute.  Add bacon and wine.  Add soup.  Stir together.

Pour soup mixture over chicken.  Place in oven and bake at 350 about 30 minutes, until bubbly!

Meanwhile, while chicken is baking, boil pasta.  Drain and pour chicken mixture over pasta.  Garnish with parsley or more bacon!  Enjoy!

Veggies in the skillet! Pictured: onions, mushrooms, bacon and wine!

Finished product! Nom nom nom

Arugula Pesto Pasta with Ricotta and Bacon

Posted in Food and Drink, Healthy Choices, Main Dishes by

Who doesn’t love a great pasta dish?  Lately I’ve been on quite the pesto kick, but soon I will be testing out some tomato sauce dishes with our fresh grown tomatoes!  This dish is more about using up some leftover ingredients, and it also has the added benefit of being healthy-ish (it does have bacon…)  When the friend brought over the eggplant the other day, he also gave us some arugula, so after a few arugula salads I decided to take it to the next level and try a pesto!  I’d never bought pine nuts before, and I know they’re a little pricey, but you only need a small amount, so try to get them from a place that lets you measure the nuts you need.  This was probably my best pesto so far!  So give this amazingly easy recipe a try!

Ingredients:

  • 8 cups (6 oz) arugula
  • 1 cup basil leaves
  • 1/2 cup pine nuts
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 2/3 cup olive oil
  • 1 lb. pasta- your choice! (I used fettuccine tonight)
  • fresh ricotta cheese
  • crumbled bacon

Directions:

Using a large food processor, combine arugula, basil, pine nuts, Parmesan, garlic and salt.  Add olive oil slowly until blended.  Cook pasta until al dente (according to package directions.)  Once cooked, drain and toss with pesto.  Serve with a dollop of ricotta cheese and as much bacon as you want!

Note: For the healthy version, omit the bacon and use a very small amount of ricotta.  It will still be delicious!