BLT Stacks with Buttermilk Bleu Cheese Dressing

Hey you!

Time for another month of the Secret Recipe Club!

This month I was assigned to Jenna's blog, The Painted Apron. Ooooh my goodness, she has sooooo many good, unique, creative recipes on her blog! (She's also an amazing painter...check out her gallery. I'm OBSESSED with the painting, "Hair Salon"). I found myself so torn and it was so hard to decide. The weather has been really nice around here lately... perfect grilling weather!... and so her BBQ Grilled Chicken Nachos were calling my name. Um, Cheddar & Chive Hushpuppies?!? That sounds like the best thing ever, but I was just a little timid to bust out the deep fryer. Asian Short Ribs and French Onion Stuffed Mushrooms with Gruyere & Rosemary Croutons. I'm so impressed! I want it all. 

I chose her delicious Stacked Tomato Salad because I had some bacon and beautiful lettuce to use up. And, well, BACON. PJ made a song about me (he raps!) and it was the sweetest thing ever, of course he had a line in there about loving me so much he'll put bacon in my casserole  :) That's true love right there. Anyway, I digress, I digress. 

I decided to add some sweet red onion to set these tomato stacks over the top, and for that extra pop of purple for the photos. I can't lie. The things that go into being a food blogger :) I also did a mix of sour cream and mayo to thicken up the dressing a bit. 





























These are the perfect light side item, and that homemade buttermilk blue cheese dressing really sets it over the top. It looks so fancy, but is so easy. And you know I love that. Who doesn't???

























BLT Stacks  with Buttermilk Bleu Cheese Dressing
adapted from The Painted Apron

*Yields: 2 BLT Stacks

Dressing:

• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup bleu cheese crumbles
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• freshly cracked black pepper
• 1/4 cup mayo
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/4 red onion, sliced

Tomato Stack:

• 1-2 tomatoes, sliced into 6 slices
• 2-3 slices bacon, cooked
• 2 lettuce leaves
• 2-4 bleu cheese dressing (recipe above)

Season tomato slices with salt and pepper. On each lettuce leaf, stack one slice tomato, 1/2 slice bacon, one slice tomato, 1/2 slice bacon, and top with another slice of tomato (3 slices per stack). You can use a toothpick to secure stacks, if desired. Drizzle stacks with bleu cheese dressing. Top with additional bacon for garnish, if desired.

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Peace, and bacon grease!

Mashed Potatoes with Bacon and Caramelized Onions

Thanksgiving is in the air!

 

































With only a couple of days until Thanksgiving, of course I had to post some last-minute Thanksgiving recipes! You know me. Queen of procrastination. 


Well, at least I'm bringing you potatoes. BACON and potatoes. CARMELIZED ONIONS and BACON and potatoes. Sorry I'm not screaming at you. I'm just really excited about bacon and caramelized onions.

The world is complete.

Potatoes, bacon, and caramelized onions are just a few of the things I'm thankful for in my life.

Along with my sweet fiance who I love spending everyday with, my amazing, strong mother, my doting father, my goofy brother, my beautiful niece, my cute chubby cat Romeo, all of my friends, my cozy home, my education, my job. And of course food in general.  

I mean, food is one of the few things I look forward to everyday. You too? I wake up thinking about what's for breakfast, after I eat breakfast I'm thinking about lunch, and after lunch I'm already daydreaming about dinner.

Food DEFINITELY goes on that list of things I'm thankful for. As do these Mashed Potatoes with Bacon and Caramelized Onions.

 

Mashed Potatoes with Bacon and Caramelized Onions
from Cookin Canuck

*Serves 4-6

• 3 strips of bacon
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon fresh sage, minced
• 2 lbs Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

Place the bacon in a large skillet set over medium heat. Cook the bacon until it is golden brown and crispy. Transfer to a paper towel to drain. Crumble and set aside. Discard all but 1 teaspoon of the bacon fat. Add the olive to the bacon fat and set the skillet over medium heat.

Add the onions and cook and cook until the onions are golden brown, stirring occasionally. Add the fresh sage and cook for 1 more minute.

Place cubed potatoes in a large saucepan and cover potatoes with cold water. Add 1 teaspoon kosher salt and set saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 15 minutes. Drain potatoes, return to saucepan and set over medium heat, stir the potatoes until dry, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and cover to keep potatoes warm.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine milk, butter, remaining salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir occasionally until butter is melted. Reduce heat to low. Using a heat-proof rubber spatula, stir the potatoes into the milk mixture, mashing until completely combined. Stir the caramelized onions and bacon into the mashed potatoes. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if necessary.


Printable Recipe


































 

It's easy to forget that we really are blessed. AMERICA, we are blessed! With the people in our lives, the things, the food. So many blessings.

Let's cherish them and be thankful. Today. And everyday.


Peace, and bacon grease!

Bacon and Spicy Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

It's Secret Recipe Club tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime!

 


























































This month I was assigned to Veronica's (aka Vonnie's) blog, My Catholic Kitchen. I knew I'd love her blog as soon as I read that she loves Krispy Kreme Donuts, fried chicken, and southern food just like me. And her recipes have been featured in Taste of Home cookbooks! What an accomplishment!

I did my usual perusing and spotted some eye-catchers like Nutella Swirl Bundt Cake and Bourbon Burgers, but finally had to narrow it down and chose her Stuffed Mushrooms. 

I made a few changes, mainly just that I used fancy cream cheeses and added some fresh chives. I liked this new Spicy Jalapeno cream cheese flavor... it added the perfect amount of heat to make these little apps even more flavorful.

I made 8 portabello stuffers total. Next time I'd make less cream cheese mixture and not fill them as much so I adjusted the recipe to show a little less cream cheese. You can adjust your recipe to yield a mushroom:cream cheese ratio that suits you and your family though. These little guys were on point! 

But did you really think you could go wrong with roasted mushrooms, bacon, cream cheese, and chives with a spicy kick? Didn't think so.






Bacon and Spicy Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms
adapted from My Catholic Kitchen

• 3 oz Philadelphia Spicy Jalapeno cream cheese, softened
• 3 oz Philadelphia Chive and Onion cream cheese, softened
• 6 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled (reserve some for garnish)
• 3 chives, chopped and divided
• 8 stuffer portabello mushrooms, rinsed and wiped dry

In a large bowl, mix cream cheeses, crumbled bacon, and 2 chopped chives. Mix until well blended. Stuff mushrooms with mixture. Bake on a baking sheet with edges/rim at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Top with reserved bacon and 1 chopped chive.

Printable Recipe

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Peace, and bacon grease!

BLT Crostini

Why am I always late posting my Eating the Alphabet post each month? 

 


































In all actuality, I'm late to most things in my life. Just ask my fiancee, and my family, and my friends, and my work (oops!). If me and my friends are set to meet at 1:00, you can bet your butt I'll be there at 1:15. If my mama says come to dinner at 5:30, that somehow translates to 6:00 in my brain.

 










































I'll just say "better late than never" applies here. Right? Right?

God I need to work on that. It also contributes to my road rage. Not flick you off and follow you to fight you kinda road rage. Just constantly annoyed by the slow drivers in front of me. If I'd just leave on time (or early even.... what does that even mean?!?!) then I wouldn't have to be so frustrated getting everywhere. 

Maybe one day I'll learn.

This month we had to choose a fruit, veggie, or legume starting with either I or J. I've been racking up some recipes using iceberg lettuce, so iceberg lettuce it would be.

These apps will be the talk of the party. A BLT in an appetizer form? How could this not be amazeballs?!?! Plus a little melted gooey cheese? Let's take a moment of silence for this masterpiece.

...

......

...........

Silence over. Now make them and shout it to the world how perfect these are!!!!

BLT Crostini
adapted from Sunset and Pillsbury

• 12 slices (1/4 inch thick) baguette French bread
• sliced pepper jack cheese cut into 12 small squares
• 1/4 cup mayo
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup shredded iceberg lettuce
• 6 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise
• 5 slices bacon (you may have some leftover, it just means more for snacking)
• salt and pepper for seasoning

Cut bacon slices in half and cook until crisp. 

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Top baguette slices with cheese slices and bake for 10 minutes or until edges of bread are golden brown and cheese is melted. 

Remove baguette slices from oven. In a small bowl, add mayo, green onions, and lettuce. Spread mixture onto each baguette slice. Season tomatoes with salt and pepper. Top each baguette slice with bacon pieces and a sliced tomato. 


Printable Recipe

 































Check out all of my past Eating the Alphabet posts. There's been some good ones!


And check out what everyone else brought to the table this month in the blog hop below:  

Peace, and bacon grease!

Bacon and Roasted Garlic Guacamole

Welp, this stuff is pretty amazing.

You know about roasted garlic, right? It's soft, it's a bit sweeter, it makes all things better. 

Except your breath. 

 

































And you already know my thoughts on bacon.

It too makes everything better.

































Except scallops. That is the one thing I don't like wrapped in bacon. I'm weird.


But roasted garlic and bacon make this guac oh-so-special. I dare you to try it and not like it. Double dog dare you.


























Bacon and Roasted Garlic Guacamole
adapted from Fabtastic Eats

• 1 head of garlic
• olive oil
• 2 strips of bacon
• 4 tablespoons red onion, minced
• 3 avocados, seeded
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
• salt to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Slice off the top of the head of garlic to expose some cloves inside. Place the heads on a piece of foil, drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper and wrap in the foil. Roast until cloves are lightly browned and tender, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and unwrap to cool.

While garlic is roasting, chop bacon and cook in a skillet until crisp. When bacon is almost done, add in minced red onion and cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and drain off grease on a paper towel and set aside.

In a medium bowl, toss in avocados and squeeze in all of the roasted garlic. Add the lime juice and cayenne pepper. Mash together roughly.  Stir in the bacon and onion mixture, and cilantro. Add salt to taste.


Printable Recipe

Would you believe I didn't like guacamole until I was an adult? 

I said I was weird! And now I'm making up for all that lost time.








































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Peace, and bacon grease!

Bacon Spinach Cheese Ball

BACON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok just had to get that out.

Today I'm participating in the Surprise Recipe Swap, and I was assigned to Heather's blog, Sugar Dish Me. 

I really had a hard time choosing a recipe. I narrowed it down to like 10 recipes and seriously wanted to make them all! So I decided to go with a recipe that I already had one of the ingredients for.... bacon.

I love the idea of her adorable Bite-Size Bacon Spinach Cheese Balls for little appetizers to serve at a party. So cute! I decided to just make one big cheese ball though out of laziness. And I was a little hesitant about the nuts so I left those out. A part of me was wondering how pine nuts would taste instead of pecans or walnuts, but I didn't do it. Bacon, spinach, cheese, and onions were stellar enough components.

Bacon Spinach Cheese Ball
slightly adapted from Sugar Dish Me

• 6 slices bacon
• 6 ounces fresh spinach
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup onion, finely minced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 (8 ounce) block of cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar jack cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper     

In a large skillet cook the bacon until crisp. Set aside to cool and drain on paper towels. Chop when cool.

Drain all but 1 tablespoon bacon grease from the skillet. Add the spinach and cook over medium heat until wilted and cooked through. Sprinkle the spinach with salt and set aside on a cutting board to cool. Chop finely when cooled.

Add the onion to the skillet and cook until it's translucent and a tiny bit golden at the edges. Add the garlic to the skillet and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Place the cream cheese in a large bowl. Add cheese, onions, garlic, half of the chopped bacon, chopped spinach, and cayenne pepper and stir well.

Roll the cream cheese mixture into a large ball and then roll in the remaining chopped bacon. Wrap tightly and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Printable Recipe




































This was so good, we ate half of it in one sitting. Maybe next time I'll be brave and try it with some nuts!

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Peace, and bacon grease!