Bacon + Fresh Green Beans= Happy Taste Buds!

I know that veggies are best for you and more nutritious when eaten raw. And I do eat them raw, a lot. BUT when you want your veggies cooked and you want to make them happy then look no further than bacon.

A little bacon makes my green beans happy!

Here’s what you do.

First get ya some of that good bacon without the nitrates and junk in it. I spend a little more money on the good kind because we really don’t eat a lot of bacon, but when we do I don’t want it to be full of junk.

Second, lay the whole thing of bacon out flat and cut off a 1/4 of it. Then cut it into bite size pieces in a skillet and cook until crispy.

Mmmmm…..bacon!

Next, take your cooked bacon and drain it on a paper towel until ready to use.

What your left with is what I like to call “liquid gold”. Just go a head and leave that in your pan.  If it’s any more than a TBS, I usually take a little out. Now at this point you can add a chopped onion and sauté’ it until done and THEN add the green beans, but I didn’t do that on this occasion and it was just fine. Trust me.

Don’t these green beans look good? Good but not happy.

Take those fresh green beans and throw them in the skillet with the bacon grease and a 1/3 cup of water and simmer covered for 20-25 minutes.

They should look just about like this when done. Go ahead and salt and pepper to taste. I even throw in a little garlic powder.

Now is the time to make those green beans happy. Take your cooked bacon and toss it in with your green beans and heat through.

Now THESE are happy green beans.

   

Enjoy!

You can either use the “print friendly” at the bottom of this post or click the link below.

Bacon Green Bean Recipe

Cajun Oven Fries

Oh how we all loved this recipe.

This was the perfect accompaniment to the Brown Sugar Barbeque Sandwiches.

Ingredients:

3 to 4 TBS. olive oil

2 TBS. hot pepper sauce

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. paprika

4 potatoes, cut into wedges

salt and pepper to taste

Combine oil, hot cause and seasonings in a large bowl; toss with potatoes. Arrange potatoes in a single layer on an ungreased non-stick baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes, turning once, until tender. Serves 4.

This is one of the many super yummy recipes you’ll find in the new Gooseberry Patch Cookbook:

Now go check it out! YUM!

Gooseberry Patch as granted me permission to post this recipe in conjunction with my review of the cookbook on my main blog. All opinions are my own.

Roasted Potato Salad!

Oh have mercy. This potato salad was soooo good.
I got the idea from my good friend Lisa's food blog.
But then I had to go and add a few twists of my own.
Whether you're a mustard based person or a mayonnaise based person, I think you are going to love this.
Just in time for Summer BBQ's.

Ingredients:
3lb. Organic Potatoes of your choice. I used baking potatoes.
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2c. chopped onion
5TBS. Olive Oil
1/2 tsp. Thyme
1 TBS Rosemary
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Black Pepper

Dressing:
1/4-1/3 cup Mayo (low fat)
2 TBS. Balsamic Vinegar
1 TBS Mustard
1TBS Basil
Now you can use fresh herbs but I didn't have any on hand and it was still delicious.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut potatoes into chunks.
Place potatoes into a medium size bowl.
Add the Olive Oil - Black Pepper and combine evenly with the potatoes.
Place the potatoes onto a rimmed cookie sheet. Try not to have any overlapping so they can cook properly.
Cook for about 20-25 mins. Check to see if done by inserting a fork and it going in with out any effort. And the potatoes should be a bit brown from roasting.

Meanwhile combine your dressing ingredients.
When the potatoes are done cooking let sit till cooled.
Put in a bowl and add your dressing.
Chill and serve.
Actually this was good warm too.

ENJOY!

Individual Baked Macaroni and Cheese

This isn't so much a "recipe" as it is an idea of what to do with leftover cheese fondue! LOL!
I had a fondue party not to long ago and had a lot of leftover cheese fondue and bread that we were dipping in it.
So the next day I cooked some macaroni, added the leftover cheese fondue (approx. 1 1/2 cups), one egg, and a 1/2 cup of bread crumbs that I had made from the leftover bread cubes. I simply put the bread cubes under the broiler for about 2 mins or until browned then stuck them in the food processor.
With the leftover bread crumbs (approx. 1 cup) I added some basil, garlic powder, and chipotle seasoning to taste.
I then put my macaroni mixture in my individual mini loaf pan. Sprinkled with the rest of the bread crumbs and baked at 400 degrees for about 15- 20 mins.

Let the baked macaroni set for about 5 minutes if you want it to come out in one piece.

Now this can be a meatless main dish served with a nice salad or you could use it as a side.

Enjoy!

I found this basic recipe if you want to make it from scratch and just incorporate what I did with it!

Scalloped Potatoes with Goat cheese

Okay this recipe isn't low fat by any means but for one day a year you can do it. But after making it you may want to make it more than that. Cook at own risk lol!
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups half and half
1 1/2 cups crumbled herbed goat cheese
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
3lbs. favorite potato, thinly sliced

Ingredients may be adjusted to suit your personal needs if wanting a bit more or less.

Just have fun with it. There is room for trial and error in these amounts.

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Whisk first 7 ingredients in a medium bowl until well blended.
Arrange 1/3 of the potatoes in your prepared dish, overlapping slightly but covering completely.
Pour 1/3 of cream mixture over potatoes and repeat layers 2 more times.
Baked uncovered until potatoes are tender and browned in spots. Cover near end if browning too quickly. Cook about 1hr 15 mins. to 1 hr and 30 mins.
Enjoy!

My Grandmother's Cranberry Salad

My Mom found me the original recipe of my grandmothers. She made this for every Thanksgiving as far back as I can remember. She passed away at age 94 about 7 years ago. I had found a recipe similar but it wasn't my grandmothers. So my Mom was able to find this one page out of Mamie's cookbook that had this recipe on it. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. I'm excited to actually get to make the "original" this year and even put it in the original glass dish that she would make it in. I dedicate this recipe to my Grandmother Mamie.

1 Package of cranberry gelatin
1 c. of hot water
1 can whole cranberry sauce
1 sm. can crushed pineapple, drained
1 small package of cream cheese 4 oz.
1 c. sour cream
1/2 c. finely chopped walnuts

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Stir in fruit and nuts.
Pour half of mixture into your mold or pretty dish. Place in fridge until firm.
Blend cream cheese and sour cream.
Spread over chilled gelatin.
Add remaining gelatin and chill until firm.
Enjoy!

Creamed Onions

These are a favorite of ours. It may sound a bit weird but I honestly believe you will love these.

Ingredients:
1- 3lb. bag of small sweet or yellow onions (if you can afford the pearl onions it's even better)
1/2 stick of butter
1/2 -1 cup of half and half

Directions:
Peel onions and cut in half. Place in a pot and fill with water just enough to boil without drying out. Cover with lid and bring to a low boil. Keep a watch out to make sure you don't cook up all your water, you don't want burnt onions. Cook until fork tender.
Drain off excess water and put back over low heat.
Add your butter and stir to melt.
Add enough half and half that you don't quite cover your onions.
Add a bit of salt and pepper to taste.
Heat through and enjoy.

I'll be posting my Grandmother's Cranberry Salad recipe next so be on the lookout!

Celery Salad

This is so good and so easy. It would go great with burgers or something of the like.

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 c. sliced celery
2/3 c. dried cranberries
2/3 c. frozen peas, thawed
5TBS chopped parsley
3 TBS Mayo
3 TBS plain yogurt
2 TBS. Chopped pecans
3 tsp. lemon juice
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp pepper.

DIRECTIONS:
Combine all ingredients. Chill!

Is that easy or what. This recipe serves 4 so feel free to double it to suit your needs.
So simple yet soooo good!
ENJOY!