Bacon Salad. With Bacon.

 

So, the other night, Ellie was cooking a putanesca (not this one but if you want to try one, this is a good one to try) for dinner.  I was tasked with making a salad.  Ryan had seen a salad he wanted to try that was topped with bacon and pumpkin seeds.  Turns out the salad he was thinking about was actually a soup so we never did find a recipe.  No biggie though.  I threw this little beauty together and it was DELICIOUS!

There aren't really measurements ... it's a salad.

Bacon, however much you like.

Red Onion

Garlic, I think I used about eight cloves

Spinach
Avocado

Mushrooms
Mixed seeds (my mix was pumpkin, sunflower and pine nut)
Fresh Parmesan cheese

Dry toast the seeds in a small frying pan until just brown.  Just enough for a topping.  You don't see my seed topping in the photo because we had to change platters while we were assembling the salad so my seeds are actually on the bottom!  Anyway ... set the seeds aside.

Chop bacon, dice onion, sliver the garlic and saute together.   While that is cooking, slice the mushrooms and add to bacon mixture when it's just about done.

On a large platter, lay spinach.  Top with bacon mixture.  Chop avocado and lay on top of salad.  Sprinkle with seeds and grate parmesan cheese on top.

I didn't add any dressing. 

I like to think that the bacon was the dressing. 

But, you could add dressing if you like ...

Bonnie's Carbonara Pizza

(photo taken on my iPhone)

Ok ... so this was super easy to make ! AND so delicious !

One pizza base ... I used Craig's dough recipe ... I still need to post that for you. Soon. I'd do it now but I'm going to have to do it as a video post because it's a show you, not tell you kind of recipe ...

2 red onions, caramelized
1 head of garlic, roasted (cut off top of cloves, wrap in tin foil and put in preheated 200C oven while onions caramelize) (here's a good recipe to show you how to roast garlic ...)
A couple of rashers of bacon, chopped
A bit of cream ... maybe 1/2 of a cup ?

So ... in my big electric fry pan, I caramelized the onions then pushed them to one side and cooked the bacon in the same pan. When the bacon is cooked, add the cream and stir the lot together. Get the garlic that has been roasting out of the oven, squeeze cloves into bacon/onion mixture. Stir. I chopped up the garlic a bit with my spatula so it mixed real well. Spread this mixture onto the pizza base. Grate fresh Parmesan cheese on top. Put into still-hot -from-the- garlic oven for about 15 minutes or til dough is cooked.

That's it.

So yum !

PS ... I think I might add some rosemary next time ...

Parmesan Crusted Baked Zucchini Sticks

Another recipe from my favorite cooking blog ... I modified mine just a little bit.

1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons fresh oregano, chopped
500g zucchini sticks
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg (lightly beaten)

Mix the bread crumbs, paremesan and oregano in a bowl. Salt and Pepper the Zucchini. Dip the zucchini in the egg and then cover with bread crumbs. Place the zucchini on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake in a preheated 425F/220C oven until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.

The end.

We dipped them in ranch.

Buffalo Boneless Wings ... And Ranch

Ok ... let's start with the Ranch recipe. I got this from Shay and it is delicious !

I'm going to cut and paste from the email she sent me ....

My freaking favorite ranch
I don't worry too much about which herbs to use but I always use fresh dill. That makes it. I like a lot of dill. You can play around with this one. All to taste and texture.
I like to double but that makes a good bit-this is for one batch.

1/2 c. mayo
1/2 c. buttermilk, shaken
1 tbsp. dijon mustard
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
4 scallion chopped
1 garlic, minced
2 tbsp. dill
2 tbsp. chives
1 tbsp. tarragon, or 1/2 tsp. dried
2 tbsp. parsley
dash worchestershire
dash hot sauce
1/2 tsp. salt, plus more to taste

whisk all

I did this in the afternoon and put it in the fridge until dinner time ....

For the 'wings'.

I did 1 kilo of chicken breast. Cut into chunks (see photo above). I put some whole wheat flour in a ziplock bag, added the chicken, shook it around then then shallow fried these in olive oil til golden brown.

For the hot 'buffalo sauce"

If you're in the States, you'll use Franks but I can't get that here ! BUMMER ! But, I found this Louisiana hot sauce the other day. It was a darn good substitute !! Not a cheap substitute though ! This bottle cost $9.99 and it was just under a cup of hot sauce !

So ... melt 2 TBSP of butter in the microwave. Add 1 cup hot sauce. Mix. Put back in the microwave and make it hot. Add 'wings' and mix to coat.

For the Garlic Parmesan "wings"

Melt 1/2 a cup butter. Then add to it 2 tsp (3?? ... to taste) garlic powder, 1/2 tsp onion salt, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese. Put back in microwave and make it hot. Add 'wings' and toss to coat !

Asparagus and Whole Wheat Pasta

I made this the other night when Rory's Mum was staying with us.
It was a hit ! So yummy ... such an interesting mix of flavors.
I got the original recipe out of a Rachael Ray cookbook that my cousin, Jill, gave me for Christmas a couple of years ago. I modified it a bit ... here's what I did ... if you want to do what
Rachel did you'll have to go buy her cookbook ...

2 bunches of asparagus, chopped into one inch pieces
1 bag of whole wheat penne pasta
1 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
garlic ... minced ... i used about 4 cloves ... but do what you like
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
3/4 cup veggie stock
3/4 cup thickened cream
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
juice and zest of one lemon
a couple twists of the pepper grinder
sea salt flakes ... or whatever salt you like
2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, finely chopped
fresh parmesan cheese, grated

Boil your water for the pasta. Then cook it ...

In my cast iron skillet, I used a bit of olive oil and sauteed the asparagus and set aside.

In my electric fry pan, I added the (1 tbls) olive oil and the butter ... then the garlic and cooked for a couple minutes, til it smells like you'd like to stop there and just eat that. But don't. Sprinkle your flour into the pan and stir. Add the stock, cream, mustard and lemon zest. Stir. Add salt, pepper and tarragon. Cook for a couple minutes, til it thickens. Add the lemon juice, asparagus and cooked pasta.

Grate your cheese on top and you're done.

Wings Wings Glorious Wings

It's a crime, really, but Australian's don't do Hot Wings. At least ... not that I've seen. And certainly not like we Yanks do ! So ... I have to make them myself. I have made the hot ones before but this time I also tried to recreate the Parmesan Wings that the kids liked when we were last in Colorado.

I've been told that Franks is the best sauce to use for the Hot Wings but I can't buy that here so I use tabasco.

As for the photos ... let's just ignore the way the wings look and focus on how they tasted which was GREAT !!

So ... I chopped up the wings ... you know, separating the wing and the little leg bit and cutting of the tips of the wings. Good thing I have a big meat cleaver now ! After that, I laid them all on a lined baking sheet, sprayed them with olive oil and then put them into a HOT (between 450 and 500 F) oven for 25ish minutes.

Then I tossed the wings in the bowls with the sauces to coat ...

EASY.

Now ... for the sauces.

HOT WINGS
4 TBLS butter
2 - 3 TBLS hot sauce
1 TBLS white vinegar

Heat in saucepan to melt butter and combine ingredients.

PARMESAN WINGS
Butter ... I didn't measure because I was only doing it for 6 wings (for the kids)
Garlic Powder
Parmesan Cheese

Melt butter in microwave. Mix in other ingredients to taste ...

Eggplant Parmesan

I am not and original cook. Most of the recipes I will be sharing, either came from a book or http://www.foodnetwork.com/. :o)
Thank you Bonnie for the invite! I can't wait to try all this great food!
Here's my first contribution. Sorry no picture. Next time I make it I will be sure to snap a photo, and edit this post.

Eggplant Parmesan
Recipe courtesy Juan-Carlos Cruz - http://www.foodnetwork.com/

1 cup Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup egg substitute
1 medium eggplant, sliced into 6 (1/2-inch) rounds
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed and then minced
1 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes
2 (15-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella
1/2 cup grated Parmesan Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place bread crumbs on a shallow plate. Pour egg substitute onto another shallow plate. Place a wire rack on top of a cookie sheet. Take a round of eggplant, dip it into the egg substitute until fully covered, and then drag through the bread crumbs until completely coated; transfer to a wire rack. Repeat for each round of eggplant and then bake in oven for 15 minutes.

While eggplant is baking, heat olive oil in a 5-quart nonstick saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add the chili flakes and stir to incorporate. Add the crushed tomatoes and tomato paste and stir to blend completely. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, stir in the basil, and remove from heat.

Remove eggplant from oven and leave oven at 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of a medium-sized casserole dish (about 13 by 11 inches) with the eggplant rounds. Pour the tomato sauce over the eggplant. Top with the cheeses. Bake for 30 minutes until cheese is soft and bubbly. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Nutrition Information
Nutritional Analysis per serving	Calories 245
Fat 10 grams	Saturated Fat 4 grams
Carbohydrates 26 grams	Fiber 5 grams