Sunday, June 20, 2010

Ready for another heart-stopper?!

So, as you may or may not have realized, we like bacon around here! (Quiche, bacon-wrapped eggs, bacon pizza...)

This time, we may have gone over the top. Just keep in mind that the Bacon Explosion was somebody else's creation! :o) And don't worry... we kept it a balanced meal. Scroll down for the Strawberry & Spinach Salad.

Bacon Explosion

2 lbs bacon strips
2 lbs Italian sausage
barbecue sauce

See the Bacon Explosion website for more detailed directions.
  1. Weave about half of the bacon together on a baking dish.
  2. Add any spices you want to add.
  3. Spread sausage over bacon mat.
  4. Cook the rest of the bacon to your liking. Crumble it up and put it on top of the sausage.
  5. Add barbecue sauce.
  6. Roll up the sausage with the bacon pieces inside.
  7. Conclude assembly by rolling up bacon weave around sausage creation.
  8. Now, you can either barbecue this as suggested in their website, or you can bake it like we did. We set the oven at around 250 degrees (F) and let it cook for about 2 hours.
Please dispose of the grease safely. You will end up with... A LOT! Let it cool before you pour it into a container to throw away. Please don't pour it down your sink... this will cause problems for you!












Strawberry & Spinach Salad

1 bunch of spinach
1 pound of strawberries
about 1/2 cup walnuts
about 2-3 Tablespoons sugar
salad dressing of your choice - we used Brianna's poppyseed dressing but this would be great with a vinaigrette.
  1. Rinse spinach and take stems off. Keep the leaves; dry them and place them in your salad bowl.
  2. Rinse strawberries. Remove leaves and slice.
  3. Chop/crush walnuts. You'll want them to be in small pieces. They garnish this salad.
  4. Heat sugar in small sauce pan. Once it is liquid, QUICKLY add walnuts, stirring, and remove from heat. Now you have caramelized walnuts.
  5. Add strawberry slices and caramelized walnuts to spinach. Dress with dressing of your choice. Enjoy!





We devoured our Bacon Explosion with the Strawberry & Spinach salad and some mashed potatoes to make it a balanced meal.


Our nieces, Lydia and Ruby, really loved this dinner!


 oxox

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Quiche Lorraine

A slightly modified submission to the blog by Thomas' mom, this came from his dad's (her husband's) mother. A few quotes and tips that came with the submission:
  • "It is the best American recipe I have ever had, and is a good as many- (better than the poor quality) french ones."
  • Use a deep dish pie pan. You can use a regular pie plate, but you will have too much liquid.
  • It will actually taste even better one day after. (Maybe you should double it for leftovers.)
  • "Bon appetit!"


Quiche Lorraine

Pie Shell
1.5 C flour
1/2 t salt
1/2 C shortening
4-5 T cold water
  1. Mix flour and salt.
  2. Cut in shortening.
  3. Mix water in slowly until all is moistened.
  4. Form into a ball, and roll to about 1/8" thick.
  5. Transfer the shell to a greased pie pan and crimp the edges.





Innards
1/2 lb bacon
1 onion
1/4 lb mushrooms
1 lb guyère (or 1/2 lb swiss and 1/2 lb monterey jack)
4 eggs
1 C sour cream
1 C milk
salt and pepper

(**UPDATE 3/13/2011: we used slightly less cheese and only 1/2 c milk today and our quiche was much less liquidy**)
  1. Preheat the oven at 375°.
  2. Fry the bacon.
  3. Chop the onion and sauté it in the bacon grease.
  4. Slice the mushrooms and sauté them with the onion.
  5. Mix the bacon back in and sprinkle into the pie shell.
  6. Add cheese over the bacon.
  7. Mix the eggs, milk, and sour cream together and pour into the pie shell.
  8. Add salt and pepper. The pepper dots add to the look, so put lots in.
  9. Bake until it passes the toothpick test. Let sit to set 15-30 minutes.
  10. Cut, serve, and eat.