Pressure Cooker Collard Greens

http://dadcooksdinner.com/2016/03/pressure-cooker-collard-greens-with-bacon.html/
Pressure Cooker Collard Greens

This turned out ok. I used chicken broth instead of water. I thought the collards were cooked adequately, but I'd like to try a recipe where they are cooked softer next time. David liked them and they had a nice flavor, if a bit salty. I served with ham and cornbread.

Caprese Panini Sandwich

http://www.trailingrachel.com/cheap-weekday-aldi-meals/
Caprese Panini Sandwich

Ciabatta bread, (Aldi sells these in packs of 6)
bacon (1 lb, regular)
garden tomatoes, sliced
fresh mozzarella, sliced
pesto
mayo
basil leaves

This was so delicious. I toasted Ciabatta bread in the toaster since David wanted his that way, but for mine, I used gluten free bread and cooked it in the skillet (same used to cook bacon, grease was poured off) to get the mozzarella a little warm/melty, but not near as melty as in the picture.

I didn't have any basil leaves but I'm sure it would have been even better with it.

Southern Style Kale

http://www.southbeachprimal.com/southern-style-kale/

Southern Style Kale

This was really great. I used a bit too much bacon. 4 slices of thin cut would have been enough, but I probably used 6 or 7. I only added 1/2 tsp of salt too, and I am really glad because it was very salty already. The rest I made as is, with 1 bunch of kale. It was so good! It didn't have a strong bitter taste cooked this way. I will make it again the next time I get kale.

Spinach and Bacon Quiche

https://web.archive.org/web/20190408035624/https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/spinach-and-bacon-quiche-recipe-2131172

This recipe is very tasty. The filling volume requires a deep dish 9 inch pan. It also required 1 hour and 10 minutes to bake. I used frozen spinach since the fresh I'd bought was bad. I just put on a bit, not even a cup of wilted. It turned out to be plenty. I also used precooked bacon I had on the fridge. I cut up 12 slices. I didn't use the full 1.5 cups of cheese either.

The cream wasn't overwhelming, but I'm sure it would taste well with half-n-half or some combination with cream and milk. I used heavy cream and it was rich but I had no trouble eating 2 pieces.

Notes 6/14/14
I made this again exactly as written in the recipe. It was great! It cooked in 45 minutes.

Bacon with onions and apples

I've been doing a dairy version of Paleo (lacto-paleo), or grain-free, for the past week. Eggs seem to be making me sick in the mornings, so I'm trying other things for breakfast. Oatmeal and cereal are definitely not grain-free, so I've looked on paleohacks.com for some ideas.

Today I cooked 5 pieces of center cut bacon, 1 thinly sliced small granny smith apple, and 1 thinly sliced medium onion. I cooked the bacon first, then poured off most of the grease, then sauteed the apple and onion on medium or a little lower for 20 minutes or so until very soft. I ate it with the bacon, not mixed together but often some bacon and saute in each bite. It was so divine. I'm not going to eat bacon every day or anything, but this is definitely going to happen once or twice a week.

(I had center cut left over from some cooking light recipes, and I think regular bacon slices are longer so I'd probably only use 4 of those.)

David didn't try this. I ate it all. All mine.

According to daily plate, this meal is 406 calories if you assume 1.5 tbsp bacon drippings.

Broccoli Salad

Similar to  http://southernfood.about.com/od/broccolisaladrecipes/r/bl30321h.htm

2 bunches broccoli, florets only (5 to 6 cups florets)
1 small red onion, chopped
1/2 cup raisins
10 to 12 slices bacon, fried and crumbled
handful of sunflower seeds
.
Dressing:
1 cup light mayonnaise
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar (or half scoop Trader Joes Stevia powder--full was bit too sweet, but had no aftertaste)

Separate florets from broccoli stalks. Save the remainder of the broccoli for another use or freeze for later. Combine salad ingredients; top with dressing mixture. Chill and serve. Broccoli should be raw.

BLT Turkey/Avocado/Cheese Melt

BLT Turkey/Avocado/Cheese Melt

So I have a "Snackster" and I adore it. It is one of those sandwich pocket things, that turns out two sandwiches that look like this:

So anyway, tonight I used it. I put turkey, cheese, and miracle whip (because DH is of that variety) on two sandwiches and toasted them in the snackster. I had cooked bacon as well, and when the sandwiches were toasted I pulled them out and put bacon, avocado, tomato, and lettuce in them.  They were great! I like doing a  hot sandwich dinner each week because it is quick but interesting. Toasting it makes it seem like it goes beyond lunch food somehow.

I also just saw this website that has ideas for a bunch of fillings. I'll have to check it out.

Corn and Chicken Chowder

Corn and Chicken Chowder
http://bunsinmyoven.com/2011/02/18/corn-and-chicken-chowder/

This was good soup. I used 1% milk and ww flour to thicken,which turned out well. There was WAY to much corn with the 6 cobs and I had to add an extra 3 cups of liquid. Some milk and some broth. Maybe add less corn next time.

Zucchini Corn and Bacon Pesto Pasta

Zucchini Corn and Bacon Pesto Pasta
http://www.ahintofhoney.com/2011/08/zucchini-corn-and-bacon-fusilli-with.html

This was so delicious. I used whole wheat fusilli pasta and did everything it said in the recipe. The only difference was that instead of using fresh basil, I used a 4 oz container of chopped basil (comes in the plastic tube in the produce area) since it was cheaper. I'm not sure if it equates to her "1 1/2 cup" of basil, which I think she means to be packed, but the pesto turned out really well. I liked it a lot. Even DH liked it and he is not the biggest pesto fan. I think the bacon was important for him in this dish though. It definitely added a nice touch.

I think we sauteed the veg longer than what it said. More like 15-20 minutes. David wanted the squash cooked a bit more. It turned out just right. It was getting a little soft in the middle where the seeds are, but otherwise was still firm and good.

Next time I will try this with store bought pesto I think--it might be cheaper. The original Gourmet recipe has that instead of homemade--a 5-7 oz container of it. Pine nuts and fresh basil are expensive. (but sooo good). And it saves a bit of prep. Maybe someday I'll have my own herb garden and can harvest a ton of basil in the summer and freeze it for uses like this.

This makes about 4 quarts (16 cups).
Calories: 198 calories / cup

BELT Sandwich

The BELT sandwich is bacon, eggs, lettuce, and tomato. You fry an egg and put it on. DH thought it didn't enhance the BLT at all, but didn't detract from it. I think it is still fun, and a nice way to get extra protein in a sandwich.

http://www.ahintofhoney.com/2010/09/belt-bacon-egg-lettuce-tomato-sandwich.html

Olive Garden Soup

http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Olive-Garden-Copycat-Zuppa-Toscana-38298

This is a rip off of the potato soup served at Olive Garden. It is really great. I alter the original recipe:

1/2 lb hot or mild sausage (i use bulk)

6 medium potatoes

3 slices bacon, cooked and chopped

1 or 2 onions

2 clove garlic

1 qt chicken broth

2 cups water

1/2 tsp pepper (if not using hot sausage)

1 cup milk

4 cups kale or swiss chard leaves (or a bunch, I don't measure. Like a couple huge handfuls. whatever. lots though, and make sure it is in chunks and not chopped in small bits. i just tear it off the stalks and don't do much else.)

Very good! If your sausage has very little flavor you might opt for the full lb.

I cook the bacon and sausage at the beginning (in the soup pot) and keep it in a bowl until the instructions (in the link) say to add it later on. The bacon gets crumbled. I use bulk mild or hot pork sausage from the New York Style Sausage Company. David likes the hot sausage best.

Penne with asparagus and bacon

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Fettucine-with-Peas-Asparagus-and-Pancetta-358490

I just noticed epicurious.com spells fettuccine with one c, while BonAppetit.com uses two. Fettuccine has two c's, just so you know.

Anyway. I used penne instead. And left out the peas, of course. (You must know I hate peas.) And then I used bacon instead of pancetta.

This was AWESOME. yeah. The asparagus I bought was the slender kind. It worked really well. Use fresh parmesan cheese too. The Kraft kind is very inferior and pointless in my opinion...

Spanish Rice

http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Betty-Crocker-1950s-Spanish-Rice-266461

This recipe is from my Betty Crocker cookbook. It's one DH used to make a lot back when I worked full time. Very easy and good.

Hot German Potato Salad

This recipe is based on this: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Hot-German-Potato-Salad-III/Detail.aspx

I have altered it so that there is more sauce and bacon, as it is too dry otherwise. This makes a lot of food, enough to feed 4 people at least as a main course. David really likes this because it has so many of his favorite flavors.

Ingredients

9 potatoes, peeled

1/2 lb bacon

2 small onions or 1 large

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons white sugar

4 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon celery seed

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 1/2 cup water

2/3 cup distilled white vinegar

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 30 minutes. Drain, cool and slice thin.

Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside, reserving drippings (only save a small amount, pour the rest into a used aluminum can or glass jar to cool.

Saute onions in bacon drippings until they are golden-brown.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, celery seed, and pepper. Add to the sauteed onions and cook and stir until bubbly, then remove from heat. Stir in water and vinegar, then return to the stove and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil and stir for one minute. Carefully stir bacon and sliced potatoes into the vinegar/water mixture, stirring gently until potatoes are heated through.