Simply Sides 24 - German Potato Salad

I am always looking for ways to make our weeknight meals more exciting with new side dishes. I was a little nervous that hubs would not like this tangy potato dish, but it turns out that he really enjoyed it. Now we have new side dish to add to our lineup! I looked at a few different recipes and came up with my own spin that turned out pretty delish. And even though this is called potato salad, it really is more like a warm potato side as opposed to what I think of as salad.

German Potato Salad

Ingredients:

• 6 red potatoes, sliced thin
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 strips of bacon, diced
• 3 tbs white wine vinegar
• 2 tbs water
• 1 tbs brown mustard
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbs dried dill
• salt & pepper

Directions:
Bring potato slices to a boil & cook for 8 minutes. Drain. While potatoes are cooking, cook bacon in a skillet over medium until pieces are brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels. In bacon drippings, saute onions for 5 minutes. Add in garlic and saute another 2 minutes. Once onions and garlic are tender and translucent, add in water, sugar, mustard, and 2 tbs of the vinegar & stir well. Add in potatoes and sprinkle the last tbs of vinegar on. Sprinkle with dill, salt, & pepper. Toss well to coat potatoes. Sprinkle in drained bacon pieces and stir again.  Serve warm.
Enjoy!

Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes - Pinterest Pick #17

I found a new recipe on Pinterest! I like experimenting with Sloppy Joe flavors as you may remember from my Mexican Sloppy Joes (find that recipe HERE). I saw one on Pinterest this week for a Philly Cheesesteak version and thought it would be a great addition to my recipe collection. You can find the original pin HERE and the original recipe HERE. There's not much I would change about this recipe the only thing I did different was saute my onions in with the meat, then add the butter. It came out great!  

Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes

Ingredients:

• 4 brioche hamburger buns (or whatever kind of buns you like)
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 onion, diced (I used a red onion, any onion you like would work)
• 1 bell pepper, diced (the original recipe called for green, which is traditional, but I had an orange one on hand, so that's what I used)
• 4 oz button mushrooms, sliced (NOTE: my hubby doesn't care for bell peppers OR mushrooms, so I sauteed them separately in a little olive oil & garlic salt, then my mixed my portion of meat in later - if you don't mind them in your recipe, add them in with the beef & onions, & if you don't like them, leave them out entirely!)
• 2 tbs ketchup
• 1 tbs Worcestershire
• salt & pepper (I used Lawry's garlic salt & fresh ground pepper for an extra kick)
• 1 tbs cornstarch
• 1 cup beef broth
• 4 slices provolone cheese, diced

Directions:
Brown ground beef & onions. (TIP: I like to really sear mine on each side to develop a flavorful crust before I break it up.) Add butter after meat is browned, & stir until butter is melted in.  Add ketchup & Worcestershire & stir until beef is coated. Mix cornstarch & beef broth well, pour into meat & bring to a boil, constantly stirring. Reduce heat & let simmer 5 minutes. Shut off heat & stir in provolone. Season with salt & pepper. Serve on brioche buns. Serve with your favorite side, we used tater tots. Enjoy!

Chicken in Creamy Bacon Sauce - Pinterest Pick #11

I LOVE BACON! As does the rest of the world it seems.  Chicken and bacon together are a great combo, and you pair that with a creamy sauce... Delish!  I found THIS recipe through Pinterest.  I altered a few things.  I used boneless/skinless breasts instead of chicken thighs as we are a white meat household.  I used milk instead of cream as that's all I had on hand (sauce was still perfectly creamy, so use what you got!).  And I left out the oregano, but added smoked paprika.  This dish will definitely go in to our dinner rotation!  Find the original pin HERE.

Chicken in Creamy Bacon Sauce
Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts, cut in to cubes (or 6 thighs if you like dark meat)
• 2 tbs minced garlic
• 1 tbs lemon juice
• 4 slices bacon, cut into small pieces
• 1/3 cup flour (plus an additional tablespoon)
• 1 tbs butter
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup cream (or milk)
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup water

Directions:
Rub chicken pieces with 1 tbs garlic and all lemon juice, set aside.
Put bacon in skillet and cook over medium til crispy.  Remove bacon pieces but leave grease in skillet.
Place flour (seasoned with salt and pepper) in a large zip top bag.  Add chicken, shake well.  Add chicken to pan and cook until golden brown, Remove from pan.  Add remaining garlic and onions and saute til translucent.
Add 1 tbs flour to 1/4 water and stir well.  Add bacon, paprika, salt and pepper to pan.  Add in chicken broth.  Stir in flour/water mixture.  Let sauce thicken slightly.  Add chicken back to pan.  Cover and cook 20 minutes.  Stir in cream (or milk). Serve with rice or buttered noodles.
Enjoy!

Bacon and Cheddar Quiche - Pinterest Pick #8

This week's recipe is a Pinterest pick!  It's easy, tasty, and can be used as a main dish, a side dish - or breakfast, lunch or dinner! The cheese and bacon make it delicious.  And it's fairly affordable.  Check out my pin HERE and get the original recipe HERE.

Bacon and Cheddar Quiche

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup 2% milk
• 8 oz shredded cheddar (I used Sharp White Cheddar)
• 1/2 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 refrigerated pie crust
• salt and pepper
• cayenne
• smoked paprika

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375
Roll out pie dough and press into pie dish.  Top dough with 2/3 the bacon, and 2/3 the cheese.  Beat together the eggs, cream, milk, and spices.  Pour custard mixture into pie.  Sprinkle top of pie with remaining cheese and bacon.  Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Enjoy!
***Note, I served mine with a caesar salad and it made a delicious dinner!

Simply Sides 14 - Baked Beans

What completes a BBQ better than the side items like coleslaw, mac n cheese, and baked beans?  I have already posted some great recipes for coleslaw (click HERE) and mac n cheese (click HERE), but not one for baked beans yet!  I was perusing Pinterest (you know it's my fav!) and found a great recipe on South Your Mouth.  I made them for a bonfire we recently went to and EVERYBODY absolutely LOVED them.  So next time you need and easy, delicious, and fairly inexpensive side dish, make these!

Baked Beans

Ingredients:

• 2 28oz cans baked beans (the original recipe calls for cheap pork and beans but I used Bush's Country Style baked beans and I am pretty sure it was worth it, plus they were 2/$4 at my grocer that week)
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup BBQ sauce (I used Kraft Spicy Honey)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tbs yellow mustard
• 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbs Cajun spice (my own addition)
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• salt and pepper
• 5-6 slices bacon, chopped into 1 inch pieces

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
Combine all ingredients except beans and bacon in a mixing bowl.  Combine well.  Fold in both cans of beans.  Pour in to a baking dish.  Top with bacon pieces.  Bake for 1 - 2 hours.  
Enjoy!

Blue Cheese Bacon Meatloaf - Home Cooked Recipe 53

This is not my mother's, or doubtfully your mother's meatloaf.  This is a rich, decadent meatloaf.  Not for the faint of heart.  Definitely not on a diet plan. This is an indulgence dish, but one that is amazing.  Filled with Umami (the "5th" taste, that is neither sweet, salty, sour, or bitter, but something beyond), this meatloaf is a savory taste you won't soon forget.

Blue Cheese Bacon Meatloaf

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef (only paid $2.49 as it was on sale)
• 8 oz crumbled blue cheese (I got this at Aldi for $1.98 - a steal!)
• 4 oz bacon, cooked and crumbled
• Soy sauce (just to drizzle over the top)
• 1/4 of a red onion, diced finely
• 1 egg
• 2 slices white bread, torn in to small pieces
• 1/4 cup milk
• Salt and pepper
• ***Onion powder
• ***Garlic powder
• ***Adobo seasoning
• *** = optional seasoning, but it is what I used, just a dash or two of each

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375.
Line a baking sheet with foil.  Place rack on top.  Make a square piece of foil, about the size of the meatloaf you're making.  Place in center of rack.
Soak your bread in milk for about five minutes.  While waiting, dice onion and beat egg.  After bread has soaked, mix in onions, egg, and spices.  Mix well.  Add meat and combine thoroughly.  Let meat rest for at least 30 minutes.
Form meatloaf and place on foil square on pan.  Make a well in the center.  Fill with 1/2 the blue cheese and bacon.  Close meat around cheese and bacon mixture.  Drizzle soy sauce over the top of meat loaf.  Top with remaining blue cheese crumbles.  Bake for 1 hour.  Remove from oven and let rest 15 minutes.  Slice and serve (I served mine with mashed potatoes and honey glazed carrots).
Enjoy!

Special Post - Holiday Season 2013

What is one of the best things about the holidays?  Why, the food of course!  Whether it's a big sit-down dinner, or a cocktail party, or a family-style buffet, food brings family and friends together.  A great dish I came across this year is Lil Smokie wrapped in bacon and baked with a butter/brown sugar sauce.  You can't even imagine how good these things are!  They are relatively easy to make, the only somewhat time-consuming part is wrapping each individual smokie in bacon.  People love them, guests at Christmas dinner devoured them literally in 10 minutes.  Perfect as an appetizer, great to bring to a gathering, or just to eat as a snack, I think you should make these soon!

Bacon Wrapped Lil Smokies w/Brown Sugar Glaze

Ingredients:

• 2 12oz packages little sausages (I use Hillshire Farms, all beef Lil Smokies)
• 1 lb bacon, cut into thirds
• 1 stick butter
• 2 cups brown sugar, divided

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.  Wrap each sausage in a piece of bacon.  Place them on a rack on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.  Meanwhile melt butter over medium-low heat and stir in one cup brown sugar.  Cook til sugar is dissolved.  Remove from oven, place in baking dish.  Top with brown sugar butter.  Sprinkle remaining cup of brown sugar over smokies.  Bake and additional 10 minutes.  Turn heat to 425 and bake 10 more minutes.

Enjoy!

Spaghetti Carbonara - Home Cooked Recipe 33

Searching for new pasta recipes is something I do often.  I am a pasta junkie and always want to spice up my weekly meals.  I came across a recipe for pasta carbonara and decided to make my own version.  Below is the recipe.


Ingredients:

• 3 whole eggs
• 1/2 cup to 1 cup grated parmesan
• 1 lb thin spaghetti
• 1/2 lb bacon, diced
• 2 cups frozen sweet peas
• dash of cayenne
• 1 tbs garlic salt

Directions:
Boil spaghetti according to package directions.  While the pasta is cooking, fry up the bacon until it is crispy. Drain bacon on paper towels, and then add peas to pan with bacon drippings.  Saute peas for 5 mins, or until no longer frozen.  Add cayenne and garlic salt to peas, stir well.  In a large separate bowl, beat 3 eggs together.  Drain pasta, reserving a cup of the pasta water.  Slowly add pasta water to eggs, whisking constantly.  Add pasta, using tongs to make sure eggs coat pasta evenly.  Add peas to pasta, then bacon, again stirring well.  Next, add in 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese and mix well.  Plate pasta and garnish with more grated parmesan.
Enjoy!

Cheese Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Chicken and Collard Greens - Home Cooked Recipe 30

This post has not one, but TWO recipes included in it.  The first recipe is for a chicken breast stuffed with cream cheese and then wrapped in bacon, and the second is for collard greens.  I'm going to note the additions I would make to the chicken.  This was the very first time I made collard greens, and I think they came out pretty tasty on my first try.

Chicken (Stuffed w/Cheese, Wrapped w/Bacon)

Ingredients

2 large chicken breasts

2 oz cream cheese

4 slices bacon (uncooked)

Salt and Pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 350

Pound each chicken breast flat, until it's about 1/4 inch thick.  Lay out in baking dish (that's sprayed lightly with cooking spray).  Place 1 ounce of cream cheese down the middle of each breast.  Wrap chicken around cheese, secure with tooth pics.  Wrap 2 pieces of bacon around each breast.  Season with salt and pepper. Bake for 30 minutes, or until chicken is completely cooked and bacon in browned.

***The next time I make it I will add an ounce of shredded cheddar to the cream cheese and mix well before placing in the chicken.  Also, I would salt and pepper, and possible add some granulated garlic to the cheese mixture as well.  Another great addition would be to baste the chicken in BBQ sauce about halfway through the baking process.

Collard Greens

4 slices of bacon, cut into small pieces

1 small onion, diced

1 tbs granulated garlic

1 tbs sugar

1 tbs kosher salt

salt and pepper

dash of cayenne

5+ dashes of your favorite hot sauce, more if you like it spicier

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 a lemon

1 can chicken broth

Directions

Brown bacon, then add onions to the bacon and its drippings.  Cook for 5 minutes, or until onion is tender.  Add garlic, salt and pepper, sugar, cayenne, and hot sauce.  Cook for 1 minute, then add vinegar and simmer until the amount of liquid is halved.  Add collard greens and chicken broth, and bring to a simmer.  Reduce heat to medium low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until collards have wilted and become a darker green.  Squeeze lemon juice into pan, stir and serve.

Enjoy!