Apple-Bacon Coleslaw

Apple-Bacon Coleslaw. Yes, you heard me right. And it's amazing!!! I saw a recipe for it, but the girl's blog was down when I actually went to put it together, so I improvised. Here you go...

1/2 head of cabbage, sliced very thin
1 lb bacon, cut into small pieces and fried
1 apple, skin on, sliced and diced (I used Honey Crisp because that's my favorite)
Juice from one lemon
1/2 red onion, sliced thin
1/4 cup of Gulden's Spicy Brown Mustard
1/4 cup mayo
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
salt and fresh ground pepper

Just gather all the ingredients, put them all together and mix well. I made it a day before I wanted to eat it to let it marinate and think about just how awesome it wanted to be. This was a side for pulled BBQ pork. I also made potato salad because the weird old man that lives upstairs won't eat cabbage.

Edit: This was so seriously delicious, but after some discussion with my husband we have decided that next time I need to use two apples, and chop everything a lot smaller. 

Grilled cheese with brie, apples and bacon

Week 14 is sandwiches, so I figured I would make the sandwich I meant to make a few weeks ago for cheese week. I don't really think you all need a recipe, but here are the photos. It was a delicious sandwich!

Breakfast Casserole

Again, just a pic. I'm so tired and "The Walking Dead" will be on soon, so I'll have to take some time for actual recipes later this week.

Kale Sauteed with Bacon

Kale is delicious. Bacon is delicious. Together, they are magic!

2 bunches of kale (This stuff really cooks down and we love it!)
4-6 pieces of bacon, cut into small pieces
salt and pepper to taste

Start by removing the kale leaves from their stems. I just  tear it right off the stems.

Next I put it in a colander for a good rinse.

Put the bacon in a large pan and bring the heat to about medium, maybe a little lower.

Once the bacon is about halfway cooked start adding the kale.

Every few minutes you should move the kale around in the pan with some tongs, flipping it over and mixing it up with the bacon.

Continue adding the kale as it wilts down, until it is all in the pan. 

Cook to desired texture. I like to be sure that it is all wilted and some of it is starting to get a little crispy. Add salt and pepper to taste. I don't add any salt because there is enough in the bacon, but I do add freshly cracked pepper.

Mini Brownie Bites with Bacon and Peanut Butter Chips

So, while I was looking at the website for 52 Weeks of Cooking, I found 52 Weeks of baking. I missed week 1, which was brownies, but week 2 (miniatures) is just starting, so I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone and do miniature brownies. While I was thinking about this, I saw on Facebook that my friend Jackie Dee had made bacon brownies. Mmmm! I've made them before, and they are wonderful, so I figured I'd do that too. But then I was thinking, if I'm going to kind of cheat, and do two weeks in one, I need to really make it awesome, especially since I'm using a box of brownie mix that was in my cupboard. I made a quick trip to the store and wandered the baking ailse, and it hit me: Peanut butter chips! That would make it even more wonderful! So, I humbly present my doctored up box of brownie mix with bacon and peanut butter chips...

1 box of brownie mix (I used Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge), prepared as the box instructs
1 lb of bacon, cut into bits, and browned, then drained
1 10 oz bag of Reese's peanut butter chips

Cut your bacon into little pieces and fry until brown and crispy.

Drain the bacon on a plate lined with paper towels. While you're doing this, prepare the brownie mix according to the direction on the box.

Halfway through making these I decided to do the three ways. Plain from the box, with peanut butter chips, and with peanut butter chips and bacon. I think it will be neat to have all three for comparison.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray the mini muffin tin really well with cooking spray. Start spooning the mixture into the muffin tins. These are really tiny, so I used about a tablespoon for each. After making 8 regular brownies, I added about half the bag of peanut butter chips, then did 8 of these. Then I added the bacon and did 8 of those.

I baked them for about 22 minutes. I'm not really sure why, but they really didn't want to come out of the pan. I had to scrape them out with a knife. There are yummy, but not really pretty. Since I had such a hard time getting them out of the pan, I put the leftover batter into a small Pyrex dish and cooked that for about 25 minutes.

Mmmm!  Now I just wish I had some ice cream!

Bacon Jam

Again, I'm sorry that I'm such a bad blogger, but to make it up to you, let me present my recipe for bacon jam! It's savory and sweet and WONDERFUL!!!

2 lbs bacon
2 medium yellow onions, sliced thin
1 small head of garlic, minced
1/2 cup of light brown sugar, packed
3 tsp of instant espresso powder in one cup of very hot water
1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup of pure maple syrup
1 cup of bourbon
generous sprinkle of fresh cracked pepper

Cut the bacon into little pieces and cook them in a pan until they are just ready, in batches. They will cook more in a later step, so they don't have to be really crispy yet. When each batch is ready, drain it and let it rest on a plate lined with a paper towel.

While the bacon is cooking slice the onions and mince the garlic.

Put the cooked bacon into a medium sized dutch oven, then cook the onions and garlic in the bacon grease, over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until they are soft and translucent. Use a large slotted spoon to move the onions and garlic to the dutch oven, draining the fat as you go.

Try not to eat all the cooked bacon while you are doing the other steps. Instead, distract yourself with some bourbon!

Add the remaining ingredients to the dutch oven. Then simmer on low heat for 3-4 hours. Stir every 30 minutes. It needs to reduce a lot before you can go to the next step.

Let the mixture cool for about 30 minutes. Put the mixture into a food processor, and mix it to your desired texture. I want mine a bit chunky, so I only let it go for a few seconds. This step really only takes a few, quick pulses. You can always do more, but you can't do less!

 I'm sorry I don't have more pics, but next time I make it, I will take more and add them. It's just so hard to take a picture when you're too busy stuffing your face! I have enjoyed this on something as simple as toasted baguette, but it has sooo many other uses!I made some biscuits and used this as topping, I've made grilled cheese sandwiches with either brie or Gruyere with the bacon jam, I put it in a baked brie with puffed pastry, I add some to chunks of butternut squash that I roasted, and I gave a lot away. I'm sure the next time I make it I'll come up with many more uses for it. I really hope you enjoy it!