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It has been a while since my last post and I’m embarrassed to say that it’s with no good reason.  I have been cooking so I will be posting a little more here… I’ve made a few different things like this bacon wrapped amazing version of scalloped potatoes, more like a potato and cheese pie wrapped in crispy amazing bacon.

I saw this on Facebook and who could resist…. it looked so delicious and decadent and it was…. the first AND the second time I made it.  This comes from Michael Smith’s site. He makes it look really easy and it is though it does not… I repeat… DOES NOT come out of the pan as easily as he says it will regardless of how much spray I put on the parchment paper.  I sprayed both sides and it still stuck to the paper.  I also baked it a little longer the first time to make sure the potatoes were cooked through and almost ripped all the bacon off with the paper but once flipped over it was still good and well worth it.

The second time I made it the potatoes were not cooked quite as tender and I wished I had left it in a little longer but it still disappeared quickly from the table.  It was most certainly a winner.

You can watch the video, just don’t forget the add the garlic, Michael Smith mentions it in the ingredient list but doesn’t seem to put in on the potatoes or you can get the list of ingredients as I have them listed below.  I made it with mozzarella both times because that was what I had and I really don’t think it matters what kind of cheese you use… cheese and potatoes and bacon just work….

Bacon Wrapped Potato Pie

• 2 lbs of bacon
• 5 – 6 potatoes (baker potatoes are best here)
• 3-4 cups of shredded cheese
• 6 – 8 cloves of fresh garlic
• salt and pepper to taste

Line a frying pan with parchment paper and spray both sides, the inside of the pan to have the paper stick and then the paper as well before you start layering the bacon.  Layer the bacon from the centre of the pan and fan it outwards, it can overlap and that’s fine.

Now layer evenly sliced potatoes on the bottom then salt and pepper and mince a couple of cloves of garlic.  Then spread a layer of cheese and repeat.  Go over the height of the pan as the potatoes will shrink down… taper towards the middle as you get to the top.  Fold the bacon over, place a small pot lid on the top to keep the bacon from curling away from the potatoes while baking and then place on a baking pan.  Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 2 1/2 hours.  Once it’s baked drain the sizzling fat onto the baking pan when done you don’t want it splattering all over the place when you flip this baby.  Also, it gives the sense of shedding some of the fat from the dish…. once you’ve done that it’s really a lean dish…  😉  really…  😉

Remove the pot lid, then place a plate over the frying pan.  Flip it over carefully and this is where you may likely have to scrape the parchment and bacon from the bottom of the frying pan… No worries though because when you get it all out of the frying pan and take the paper off you will then place another plate over the ‘bottom’ of the pie and then flip it again so that you have a nice browned bacon layer to serve.

Cut into fair sized pieces and serve.  You may want to have this when you have people over so you can share… If eaten alone it I can not be responsible for any cholesterol issues that arise!  🙂

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There are some recipes that are a staple in your house for so long, you eat it regularly and then something happens and you seem to lose it.  This is what happened with this recipe.  Years ago my kids and I would eat this sauce with noodles and chicken and we all loved it.  It was such an easy dish, ready in minutes, it was a quick dinner many a night.  If I remember correctly it wasn’t actually the sauce that was discarded but more the noodles.  I used to buy packaged noodles that were delicious and they went perfectly with this sauce, the noodles were one of the few things I didn’t make from scratch, but once I took a nice close look at the ingredients and calorie count…. after enjoying them shamelessly many a evening… this dish was removed from the menu; the noodles were a killer!  At the time we were so addicted I just couldn’t think of any other way to eat this sauce.

Admittedly these noodles aren’t much healthier than the ones I used to eat with this and I have to say that I won’t be eating these every second night or even weekly like we used to long ago.  But for a treat, when you’ve spent the whole day, from morning to dinner time, weeding and moving plants and hauling soil like I have for most of the summer, this dish hits the spot!  I call it carb loading after many hours of physical labour.

Spicy Peanut Sauce (comes from Bonnie Stern’s Simply HeartSmart Cooking) 

• 3 tablespoons Peanut Butter
• 1 tablespoon Hoisin Sauce
• 2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
• 2 tablespoons Lemon Juice or Rice Vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Honey
• 2 teaspoons Sesame Oil
• 1 teaspoon Hot Chili Paste
• 1/4 cup Warm Water

Mix all ingredients well in a microwavable bowl and microwave on high for about a minute.  Stir and then microwave for another 30 seconds to a minute until hot and thick.  SO SIMPLE!  If you fine the sauce a bit thick you can always add a little more water to thin it out.  I love it’s thickness because it sticks very well to any kind of noodle.  🙂

Add this to your favourite noodles and meat and you have the easiest dish around.  I often add the recipe amount of chili paste and then add more for my dish…. you can make it as hot as you like…. the amount in the recipe is very tame, so tame in fact that most folks won’t realize you added any.

I served this with prepackaged undon noodles and shrimp that I boiled in salted water but you can certainly use whatever noodles you like and add a different kind of meat should you not like shrimp.

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Sometimes you just need to get back to basics and clean eating and that’s what I’m aiming for these days. I’m trying to eat in a way that makes me feel good. For me that means staying away from anything processed and anything high in starch. Today I baked some of the Dukan Bread that allows me to feel like I’m cheating but am really not and I also made a stew that will be my dinner for the next several days. Easy since I can make this ahead and just quickly heat and eat. No thinking… No lamenting… just eating for the purpose of nourishing my body and getting rid of some of that bloated yuk I tend to feel when I eat a lot of the bad stuff. Which unfortunately is quite often and it made good use of the kale I was able to keep away from the critters in our hood!

If there are any of you Dukan dieters out there you will appreciate this dish. It’s hard living this way and it takes some work since it’s so outside of the way we’re or at least, I’m used to eating.

Dukan Friendly Ground Turkey Stew

• 1 package of ground turkey meat
• 1diced onion
• 5-6 Garlic cloves mashed
• 1 can diced tomatoes (I used the ones with garlic and olive oil)
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 1 half jar of salsa (I used Pace medium spice and I’m pretty sure this is a cheat but oh well… it needs a little hit of something!)
• ½ small cabbage (diced into bite sized pieces)
• 1 handful of chopped kale or spinach
• 1 -2 dashes of Sour Salt seasoning or a splash of vinegar

Dice the onion and mince the garlic and place both in a pot with a little drizzle of olive oil. Fry the garlic and onions until the onion is translucent, about 3-5 minutes.

Add in all other ingredients (except the vinegar/sour salt) stir and simmer for about 5 minutes or until the cabbage is the tenderness you like. I like mine a little firm and crispy still.

Add in the vinegar or sour salt to taste. This can be eaten with shiratake noodles to make it a filling meal.   I often add in a small bag of the shirataki rice because it hides easily in the stew and I’m not a huge fan of the taste but like to eat it when I’m easing up on starches and carbs.

Many of the ingredients in this are a guesstimate since you can certainly adjust the salsa to either hot or mild depending on your affinity for hot foods. Also, the amount of sour depends on individual taste. I like a little sourness in my stew.