Bacon, Apple, Cheddar Grilled Cheese Sandwich

On days when I'm home at lunch, you can pretty much bet I'm eating some sort of grilled cheese. There's nothing better than crunchy homemade bread and ooey-gooey, melted cheese.

But, a girl can only eat a cheddar grilled cheese sandwich so many times before it starts to seem a little bit...jaded. So, in order to change things up a bit, I added a few slices of granny smith apple and crunchy bacon. It adds depth, brightness and interesting textures to the otherwise standard and perfect grilled cheese.

Ingredients:
Two slices of bread
Several slices of cheddar cheese (enough to cover 1 slice of bread)
Two slices of bacon
1/2 granny smith apple, thinly sliced

Directions:

1. Fry bacon a few minutes on each side until crunchy. Remove and place on a paper towel to drain oil. 
2. Butter one side of each slice of bread. In a heated skillet place bread butter side down, top with cheese, apple slices and bacon. Place second slice of bread on top, butter side up.
3. Cover pan with lid and let it cook for a few minutes. Then flip and toast the other side, covering the pan again. (Covering the pan traps the heat and melts the cheese quicker.
4. Remove sandwich from pan, slice, marvel and enjoy.

Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies are the gold standard for determining a baker's abilities in my mind. It's relatively easy to make an average chocolate chip cookie, but to make a great one - one that stands out above the crowd - that takes a great baker. I don't know about you, but I've been known to get bored. That may actually be the understatement of the year. I really enjoy trying new things and I've been known to experiment with the chocolate chip cookie (waffled chocolate chip cookies and giant chocolate chip cookies).

My little sister is a bacon lover. For her birthday, as one of several treats, I whipped up a batch of bacon chocolate chip cookies. Truth be told, I was skeptical. I've been very hesitant to put bacon in desserts (and admittedly, my father and most taste-testers were as well), but the results were honestly better than I imagined. The bacon chocolate chip cookie certainly won't replace a normal chocolate chip cookie in my heart, but I think it has for a few people - and the recipe is surprisingly easy. I followed the recipe on the back of the Toll House chocolate chip bag with a few changes.

Recipe adapted from Nestle Toll House chocolate chip package

Ingredients
2 1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 c. butter
3/4 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. white sugar
1+ Tbsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 14-oz package of chocolate chips
1/2 package of bacon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325. Fry bacon until crispy (this is important so it's not gummy in the cookie). Dab away extra grease with a paper towel. Cool and cut into chunks slightly larger than a chocolate chip. Set aside
2. Mix dry ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl.
3. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add vanilla and eggs one at a time, beating well to incorporate.
4. Gradually mix in dry ingredients. Add chocolate chips and bacon.
5. Drop by the rounded tablespoon and bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

Canadian Bacon & Scrambled Egg Pancake Muffins

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. More often than not, I would rather eat breakfast food than anything else. As such, I love trying anything new. And anything in a muffin pan. Enter my new love interest: Canadian bacon and scrambled egg pancake muffins. Dipped in syrup. Done.

Recipe adapted from: Better Homes and Gardens, April 2012

Ingredients:
4 slices of Canadian bacon, cut in sixths
5 eggs
1 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. yellow cornmeal
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 c. milk
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
Maple syrup

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400. Cook bacon in large skillet until it's brown on both sides. In a small bowl lightly beat 3 eggs, 2 Tbsp. water and a dash of salt and pepper. Cook eggs in a hot skillet over medium heat without stirring until eggs begin to set on the bottom and around edges. With a spatula, lift and fold for uncooked portion to flow underneath. Cook until set but still moist. Transfer to bowl and set aside.
2. Brush twelve muffin cups with cooking spray. In a medium bowl stir together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Combine milk, oil and remaining two eggs in a separate bowl. Stir into flour mixture. Fold in scrambled eggs and cheese. Spoon into muffin cups.
3. Place two bacon pieces on each muffin. Bake 15 to 17 minutes or until light brown and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool slightly in pan on rack. Run a table knife around edges of muffins to loosen; remove from pans. Serve with syrup. Serves 12.

Bacon-Wrapped Potato Bites with Spicy Sour Cream Dipping Sauce

So I made these for a dinner party last winner and they were so so yummy. I just found the recipe again and had to share.

Recipe adapted from The Kitchn
Ingredients
1 pound small or medium red potatoes
1 1/2 t chopped rosemary (I used dried)
1 T olive oil
1/2 t slat
freshly ground pepper
12 oz thick cut bacon
1 c sour cream
1 t hot sauce
salt and pepper

Directions

1. Wash potatoes. Chop into 1 inch pieces, keeping roughly the same size. Put potatoes in a pot and cover with cold to water. Bring to boil over stove. Season water with salt and cook potatoes in boiling water for 3 minutes. Don't fully cook.
2. Drain potatoes and put them in a large bowl. Add the rosemary, olive oil, salt and a few grinds of pepper and toss until the potatoes are evenly coated
3. Cut bacon strips in thirds. Wrap each piece of potato in cut bacon strip and secure with a toothpick. Put the potatoes on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.
4. Cook for 15 minutes, then flip each piece and cook for another 10-15 minutes, until bacon is cooked through
5. Mix sour cream and hot sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Pile on a plate and serve with dip. SO NOMS. 

*I used the dip as a mayo substitute on sandwiches later.