Makin’ Bacon? Bruce’s Tasty Ideas To Try

If the Good Lord has a buffet in heaven I am willing to bet that at least two of  my favorite foods will be included. Field peas and bacon will have to be in that number. I am counting on the Good Lord having a nice southern lean if you know what I mean.

Field peas, I like them because as a kid that's what summer time tasted like at my house. We would spend a good chunk of the hot afternoons on the porch shelling peas.

Bacon, well that is a gift from up above if you ask me. Bacon is the reason that I hold the humble pig in such  high esteem. As tasty as bacon is by itself you can always use it make something else better. Here are some of my favorite things to do with bacon when I haven't eaten the entire plate before the final strip has finished cooking.

Bacon Butter- This is great on toast or a homemade biscuit. Cook two strips of bacon, remove from the skillet and then chop into small pieces. Take the bacon drippings plus two tablespoons of good molasses and mix in to a stick of soften butter. Then add the chopped bacon pieces into the butter. Spread this on a hot biscuit and go find your mama 'cause somebody is gonna slap her it's so good.

Bacon Nuts- This is the best football game snack ever! Take one egg white and whip it like it's Brett Favre. Add to your frothy egg whites 2 cups of your favorite mixed nuts, a little Tony's and two strips cooked and crumbled bacon. Make sure you mix everything really well and then pour on to a baking sheet and put in the oven for 10 minutes at 325. You will never look at nuts the same way again, unless Brett Favre decides to text you.

Bacon Buns- This is darn near gourmet cooking for the single guy. Get a quarter cup of diced ham and a quarter cup of crumbled cooked bacon and mix together in a bowl. Open a can of store bought biscuits, the kind you have to beat on the side of the counter to open. You will then flatten each  individual biscuit until it's about twice as big as the original size. In the middle of your biscuit put a generous portion of the ham bacon mixture. Fold the dough over and seal the edges trapping all the pork goodness inside. Bake the biscuits according to the package directions. Serve with bacon butter if your cardiologist will allow it.

Warm Bacon Vinaigrette- This is a perfect salad dressing that will have all of your guests wondering what kind of witchcraft you are doing in the kitchen. It is so simple to make and so delicious to eat. In your skillet, cook four slices of bacon then remove and crumble. Into the still warm pan drippings add 3tablespoons of red wine vinegar and a tablespoon of whole grain mustard. Whisk these ingredients together while adding the pieces of crumbled bacon to the pan. I suggest you serve this over a bed of baby spinach leaves. It is so awesome!

Bacon Quesadillas- This is basically a bacon cheese sandwich served south of the border style. Here is what you do. Get four strips of bacon, cover them liberally with brown sugar and add your favorite chili powder to taste. Cook this bacon in the oven at 350 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes. You will want to flip the bacon once during the cooking process. While the bacon is baking saute some mushrooms and onions in a little bit of butter until they are soft. Add a mixture of onions, mushrooms,crumbled bacon and cheddar cheese to a flour tortilla in a heated skillet. Fold the tortilla in half and press down with your spatula, be sure to flip it once so the quesadilla gets brown on both delicious sides.

Cooking with bacon never gets old and there are so many things you can add bacon too that just makes it even better. I suggest you add bacon to all of your favorite recipes, except for milkshakes, that would just be gross.