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Posts Tagged ‘Bacon’

Eggs for Dinner

Posted in Dinner, easy, tagged , , , , , , on February 2, 2012| 1 Comment »

This fast and hearty dish was inspired by a recipe for fried eggs topped homemade chive olive oil from one of my latest cookbooks. However I wanted something more substantial that I could eat for dinner, so after rummaging through my fridge this is what I came up with. The chickpeas become nice and crunchy, the kale gives a great salty flavor, served with thinly sliced and lightly toasted french bread you have yourself a fantastic meal in less than 30 minutes!

Eggs for Dinner

Serves 2

Ingredients:

  • 2-4 eggs (depends on how hungry you are)
  • 1 bunch kale or chard, washed and roughly chopped
  • 2 shallots, diced
  • 1.5 ounce pancetta (or bacon), roughly chopped
  • 1 cup chickpeas
  • olive oil
  • herb blended/infused oil* (optional)
  • French bread, sliced and toasted for serving

Directions:

  1. Heat a large pan (preferably cast iron) on medium high heat and add the pancetta. Give a few good stirs and add shallots. After 1-2 min, before shallots start to brown add the chickpeas and cook for another few minutes until shallots and chickpeas start to brown. If pancetta is not fatty enough add a little bit of olive oil so that the chickpeas have a bit of crunch.
  2. Once everything starts to brown add the kale (or chard) and a little more oil if needed. Sprinkle liberally with salt. Cook until kale is throughly cooked, about 6-8 minutes. Divide between two plates.
  3. Add oil to the pan and coat. Crack eggs into pan and cook until desired firmness (I prefer mine sunny side up, but you might like your flipped). Drizzle with herb oil while cooking.
  4. Top the chickpeas and greens mixture with eggs and serve immediately.

Notes:

*While you can buy herb infused oils at the store you can also make your own, just combine 1/2 extra virgin olive oil with 1 cup chopped herb of your choice and some salt in a food processor until well blended. (I made my herb oil with chives!)

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White and Green Lasagna with Bacon

Posted in Dinner, Pasta, tagged , , , on December 21, 2011| Leave a Comment »

This recipe is a great alternative to a traditional lasagna, using bacon and braised winter greens. Feel free to substitute the Swiss chard with kale, or even spinach in the summer. You could also go meatless and skip the bacon, but what would be the fun in that? Hope you enjoy this dish as much as I do.

White and Green Lasagna with Bacon

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

  • 6-8 fresh lasagna sheets (I prefer to make my own whole wheat lasagna for this)
  • 2 cups ricotta Cheese
  • 14-16 ounces Mozzarella Cheese, sliced thinly
  • 12 pieces thick center cut bacon (about one package)
  • 1 onion
  • 1 cup mushrooms, chopped
  • 1 large bunch Swiss chard, roughly chopped
  • 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
  • 4 Roma tomatoes, diced

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Cook bacon in a large skillet until still chewy. Put bacon on plate or cutting board reserving the fat in the pan.
  3. Add onion and mushrooms to the bacon fat and sauté until golden. At this point add the Swiss chard and cook for another minute or two until it begins to wilt. Add the tomatoes and broth, salt to taste, cover and simmer stirring every few minutes for 10-15 minutes, until chard is tender.
  4. While the chard is cooking, dice the bacon. Once the chard is done add it to the mixture and remove from heat. Drain off some of the remaining liquid into a separate cup.
  5. Oil you baking pan. Line the bottom with 1/3 of the Swiss chard mix. Top with 1/4 of the ricotta and mozzarella slices. Cover with lasagna sheets. Repeat twice more. Now you should have lasagna sheets on the top and 1/4 of the ricotta and mozzarella left. drizzle the reserved braising liquid over the lasagna sheet and crumble on the ricotta and add the slices of mozzarella trying to cover most of the pasta.
  6. Bake for 45min – 1 hour, until cheese on the top has melted and turned a golden brown and most of the liquid has cooked off. Let rest for about 10 minutes before serving.

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Baked Eggs with Bacon and Spinach

Posted in Breakfast, tagged , , , , on June 19, 2011| 1 Comment »

I’ve been told that this dish is even better than my eggs benedict, which I think is my best breakfast dish! You can substitute another leafy green vegetable for spinach in this recipe, sometimes I substitute kale. Also sometimes I add a second egg for a heartier meal. This dish can also be easily scaled down to two servings, perfect for a romantic weekend brunch!

 

Baked Eggs with Bacon and Spinach

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

  • 2 English Muffins, toasted
  • 6 ounces spinach
  • 8 slices smoked bacon
  • 4 eggs
  • 4 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 °F
  2. Cook bacon in a pan until crispy. Remove from pan and reserve drippings.
  3. Add spinach to pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and saute for 1 minute.
  4. Brush ramekins with reserved bacon grease. Add English muffins to each ramekin split side up. Divide spinach between the four ramekins. Crumble bacon evenly between each ramekin. Crack eggs into each ramekin, being careful not to break the yolks. Add one tablespoon of cream to each.
  5. Bake for 14-16 minutes, until whites are set but yolks are still runny. Serve immediately.

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Bacon Jam

Posted in Appetizers, Crock Pot, tagged , , on March 24, 2011| Leave a Comment »

I know, bacon jam sounds a bit strange, but trust me it is delicious! You can put it on so many things: burgers, sandwiches, eggs,or just crackers. it also goes very well with cheese and I am looking forward to eating it on grilled cheese sandwiches tonight.

I originally found a bacon jam recipe here, but of course I had to tweak it (and make it better.) I added the whiskey and updated it to be cooked in a crock pot. Make sure to use smoked bacon as it gives it extra flavor. Hope you enjoy!

Bacon Jam

Ingredients

  • 1 lb smoked bacon
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 medium onion, sliced
  • 3 Tablespoon brown sugar
  • Hot Sauce (such as Tabasco)
  • 1/2 cup coffee
  • 1/2 cup whiskey or bourbon
  • 1/4 apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 maple syrup
  • 1 cup dried figs, quartered
  • black pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Fry bacon in a skillet until medium done (not too soft, but not too crispy). Set aside.
  2. In rendered bacon fat fry onion and garlic.
  3. In a crock pot or dutch oven cut bacon into 1 inch chunks (you could also chop it on a cutting board), add onion, garlic and all other ingredients.
  4. Put crock pot on high for 4 hours, stir every 20 to 30 minutes. If cooking in a dutch oven bring to a low simmer and stir every 20 to 30 minutes for 3 to 4 hours.
  5. Once done cooking let cool for about 30 minutes. Transfer to a food processor and pulse, do not let it get creamy, just chunky but spreadable.
  6. Transfer to jars and store in the fridge.

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Spinach, Bacon and Eggs Breakfast Bowl

Posted in Breakfast, tagged , , , , , on March 19, 2011| Leave a Comment »

This is a delicious, healthy breakfast, great for a weekend morning. You can replace the bacon with mushrooms for a vegetarian option or with pancetta, chicken or some leftover meat if you prefer. I like to use slow cooked beans that have a bit of spice to them. And of course this dish can take a healthy dose of hot sauce for those who love heat!

Spinach, Bacon and Eggs Breakfast Bowl

Makes 1 serving

Ingredients

  • 2 handfuls of washed spinach (if not using baby spinach, cut into bite sized pieces)
  • 1 tomato, diced
  • 2 Tablespoons diced red onion (about 1/6th of a medium red onion)
  • 2 Slices Bacon
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 Tablespoon vinegar
  • 1 Cup Black Beans (canned or prepared, I use my Twice Cooked Black Beans)

Directions

  1. In a medium pot fill half way with water and add vinegar, bring to a boil.
  2. Add beans to a small pot and bring to a slow simmer. (Or, for a lazier option just reheat them in the microwave!)
  3. Meanwhile cook bacon to your prefered doneness, remove from pan and dice bacon.
  4. In a bowl combine onion, tomato and bacon. Salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Poach eggs in boiling water.
  6. Add spinach to a bowl, ladle beans on top, add tomato, onion, bacon mixture and then top with poached eggs.
  7. Serve with hot sauce.

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