Spiced Up Green Beans

Everything tastes better with bacon, I always say. And bacon tastes best with garlic and onions sauteed with it. So, to get my kids to eat some veggies, "sometimes" I add a little pork fat to help them slide down their throats.

RECIPE:
olive oil
bacon, 4 slices chopped
frozen cut green beans, 1 pkg
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 small onion, diced
salt
pepper

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in skillet. Sauteed onions and garlic, season with salt and pepper for 3-4 minutes. Add bacon pieces and cook until bacon begins to brown and get crispy, about 10 minutes. Add green beans and cook until they are no longer frozen but still have a little "crunch."

Pork Candy

I. LOVE. BACON.
I truly do not think I can say this enough. So this next "revisit" was a no brainer. Emeril is credited to showing me the true meaning of how to make bacon "even more happy" when he featured this on one of his shows. I can't remember anything else he cooked that night, but I will always remember THE BACON.

RECIPE:
bacon
brown sugar
pepper

Take however many slices of bacon you are going to consume and set to the side.
In a medium bowl combine brown sugar and pepper. I can't tell you how much to use, but basically I think I used like 1 cup of sugar and 2 tbsp of pepper (sounds like a lot, right? - well there's some leftover for next time around).

Preheat your oven to 375. Place a cooling rack inside of a baking sheet.
Roll each slice of bacon into sugar/pepper mixture - be sure and coat every inch of ht bacon. Lay each slice of bacon on the rack, and bake until you can't stand the smell any more (roughly 10-12 minutes). Note: if you want crispier bacon, just let it bake a little longer.

Oh. My. God. It's the best!

What's for dinner?

Bacon-wrapped meatloaf and Potatos Au Gratin.

So I've actually done this "meatloaf" before... I think this time the overall flavoring of the meatloaf was better, but I think the look of the bacon last time was best. Anyways, my stomach didn't seem to mind or make a comment, so all was well.

Meatloaf:
Just make your standard meatloaf (meat, crackers, seasoning, egg, onions). Form log; cover with your choice of bacon. VOILA!
(don't you wish all recipes were this simple - well, that is if you've made meatloaf before) If you haven't, here's a recipe for THAT - I'll have to try the brown sugar ketchup glaze later.
>

Potatoes:
Well, I know the RECIPE said to "cook" them, but they didn't say how. So I fried them (I know... I have an ulcer). Then I covered them with the sauce, cheese and then backed them. They turned out pretty good (for a newbie!)




You can't go wrong with bacon, cheese and potatoes, can you?