Baked Tomato and Bacon Tortellini

Whenever I create my own recipe, and consequently need to name it, I'm always torn on what ingredients to highlight in the title. However if the recipe contains bacon, I ALWAYS find room for that in the title... always. I'm not sure what it is about bacon that makes it so well loved and universally received, but I'm not one to argue with deliciousness!

This recipe was made many moons ago and somehow got pushed to the back of my "to post" list. I can still remember making it... it was in late September and I remember noticing that the seasonal change was upon us as I tried to take my pictures outside and became aware that I just didn't have the great lighting I had had the week prior. I'm pretty sure winter is the worst thing for food bloggers- lack of natural lighting is the pits!

This tortellini is delicious. It combines some of my favorite flavors and just is rich and creamy without being heavy and overly fattening. To be honest I loved the sauce and I think next time I might skip baking it. While baking it is nice, it does dry up some of the sauce and I think next time I'd skip the panko and not bake it so that the sauce is highlighted. However, you can't go wrong either way. This is good stuff.

Source: Stephanie Cooks Original

Ingredients:
3 strips bacon
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 tbsp flour
3/4 cup vegetable or chicken broth
1/2 cup whole milk
3/4 cup freshly shredded parmesan cheese
1 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper
1 package cheese tortellini, cooked according to package directions
2 tbsp panko + 1/3 cup freshly shredded parmesan cheese (combined in a bowl)

Directions:
1- Preheat the oven to 350. Cook the bacon in a large skillet. Remove the bacon, roughly chop, and set aside.
2- Drain the bacon grease except for 1 tsp of grease. Add the tomatoes to the grease and heat over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes. Stir in the flour until it coats the tomatoes.
3- Add the broth and milk. Cook over medium heat for about 5-6 minutes, or until it begins to thicken and come to a low bubble. Do not boil.
4- Stir in the parmesan cheese, parsley, and garlic powder. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5- Add the tortellini to the sauce and stir well.
6- Transfer the tortellini and sauce to a baking dish. Sprinkle the panko/cheese mixture over top. Top with bacon. Bake in the oven uncovered 15 minutes. Serve hot.

Ravioli with Pesto Bacon Mushroom Cream Sauce

I love Cassie's blog, I've said it 10,000 times, but here goes 10,001. It's just so real- some blogs are so beautiful and professional that I feel like I'm flipping through a professional cook book. While that's appealing and beautiful to look at it it's not my reality. I am a home cook, just trying to get a meal on the table for my family, often with a toddler clinging to me and wanting to "help." So when I want meals that I know are also made by a home cook that uses ingredients I love, I turn to Cassie. I knew I'd seen something with ravioli and mushrooms on her blog, so when I found myself with an abundance of both of those I turned to Cassie and was excited to try this. I made many changes based on what I had on hand and it came out wonderful. I added tomato paste because I wanted a depth of flavor to offset the soft/creamy taste of a pesto cream sauce. This was a hit. My mom was over the night I made it and she loved it even though she was skeptical, as did John who happily ate a huge serving and the leftovers. Total winner!

Source: Inspired by Cassie Craves

Ingredients:
2 slices bacon
5 oz mushrooms, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup pesto
1/2 cup light alfredo sauce
1 bag frozen cheese ravioli

Directions:
1- In a skillet cook the bacon. Remove and set aside.
2- Add the mushrooms and garlic to the pan with the bacon drippings, stirring constantly, until the mushrooms are soft and the garlic is fragrant. Add the tomato paste and stir well until well mixed.
3- Add the pesto and alfredo sauce, stir well. Heat over medium heat 10 minutes, until the flavors are well incorporated.Meanwhile, cook the ravioli and drain once cooked.
4- Toss the ravioli into the sauce.
5- Chop the bacon and top each serving with a sprinkle of bacon and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

Creamy Zucchini & Bacon Pasta

I am a pretty religious food planner. By Sunday I always have a list of meals for the coming week. Typically I am super excited for the meals on my menu... but sometimes I am just not in the mood for what I was planning. However if there's one thing I can never say it's that I don't have food in my house. I may not have food I want but I always have a ton of food. I think it's the Jewish mom side of me... I need to be prepared to feed my family in the event of a major event, zombie attack, or inability to get to the food store. All Jewish moms worry about zombie attacks. Fact.

With that said this meal was one of those "I don't want to make what I planned but I need to use up these ingredients" meals. I don't even remember my original meal plan, but I quickly turned to Cassie's blog to find something using zucchini, and ta-da! That girl never disappoints me. This pasta was excellent. I improvised a bit from Cassie's recipe to use up what I had and boy was it good. If you're not into sun-dried tomatoes use regular! I know a lot of people don't love the sun-dried variety, so it's up to you. I'm pretty sure my favorite part of this was the bacon... not surprising at all, right?

Source: Adapted from Cassie Craves

Ingredients:
1/2 pound pasta, any shape
4 strips bacon
1 tsp olive oil
1 medium zucchini, sliced thin into semi-circles
1/3 cup sliced sun-dried tomatoes
1 tbsp dried minced onion
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup light cream
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1- Cook pasta according to packaging directions.
2- In a skillet cook the bacon until crisp, set aside and chop. Drain the grease, leaving about 1 tbsp of the grease in the pan. Add the oil, zucchini, tomatoes, and minced onion. Saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
3- Add the chicken broth and bring to a low boil, then reduce the heat to low. Add the cream. Season with salt and pepper. Allow to cook over low until the sauce is hot.
4- Toss in the pasta and parmesan cheese, stirring well.
5- Top individual servings with chopped bacon.

Rigatoni with Chicken, Bacon, and Mushrooms

Growing up my favorite drink was apple juice. My mom always tells the story of me standing in my crib and screaming "APPPPLLLEEEE 'DUCE'" on the top of my lungs. She would bring me a bottle of water, you know so my teeth didn't rot from drinking apple juice all night, and without fail I'd take a sip, realize it was water, and throw it at the door screaming for my apple "duce". To this day I still have a thing for apple juice. Now I have learned to control myself and I don't scream for it at night, assaulting John when he tries to slip me water, but I still drink a couple glasses a week. Preferably with pretzels. Something about that combo... but anyway, I digress.

When I saw this recipe had pasta AND apple juice, I was sold. Most might cringe at the combo but I was intrigued and knew I needed to try it. Needless to say this was a total winner in our house. I don't know if I really tasted the apple juice, but it did add a nice hint of sweetness to the dish. I will definitely be making this again!

Source: Slightly adapted from  Cassie Craves

Ingredients:
1 pound rigatoni
4 slices bacon
Garlic powder
Dried oregano
Salt and pepper
1 pound boneless chicken, diced into pieces
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 small onion, chopped
8 oz sliced white mushrooms
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup apple juice
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
15 fresh basil leaves, sliced
1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions:
1- Cook rigatoni according to packaging directions. Keep warm and set aside.
2- Meanwhile, season the chicken with garlic powder, oregano, salt and pepper. Set aside.
3- Cook the bacon in a large skillet. Once cooked, remove the bacon, reserving the grease in the skillet.
4- Add the chicken to the skillet and cook until cooked through. Remove chicken, leaving any bacon grease remaining in the pan.
5- Add the olive oil and heat. Add the onion and mushrooms, cooking until cooked through. Add the chicken stock and apple juice, turning up the heat, until the mixture boils. Let cook 2 minutes.
6- Add tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and half of the basil. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium and allow the mixture to thicken, about 15 minutes.
7- Stir in the cream, bacon, and remaining basil. Add the chicken to the skillet, stirring.
8- Pour the sauce over the pasta, serve hot.

Bacon Shrimp Risotto

I'm baaacckkkkk! I'm going to try my best to post regularly but if I miss a day here and there while I adjust to motherhood please be patient with me. I'm amazed how much I missed cooking/blogging. I made dinner after he was one week old and typed up this post shortly after. I just needed a bit of a return to normalcy amongst all the newness of a newborn. It doesn't hurt that he is an amazing baby so far (knock on wood!) and is very easy going!

So onto the food! I really find risotto to be such a versatile and delicious dish. It's almost like pasta- a solid base that you can build upon. What's better than cheesy rice? Oh.. I know... cheesy rice with bacon! Yeaaah... that's better! I can't even remember when I made this because it was weeks ago, I know I was very pregnant and cursed myself for taking on a dish that took so much time, but the end results were to die for. I loved the combination of the shrimp with the cheesy rice and the contrast of the crisp salty bacon. This meal is perfect when paired with a nice green salad. You can't go wrong here!

Source: Adapted from How Sweet It Is

Ingredients:
4 slices bacon, chopped
1 cup arborio rice
1 clove garlic
3-4 cups chicken broth, heated
6 ounces shrimp, kept warm (cooked)*
1 cup fresh shredded pecorino romano OR parmesan cheese
1 tbsp dried parsley
Salt/pepper

Directions:
1-In a large skillet cook the bacon. Remove the bacon and all except about 1 tbsp of the bacon drippings.
2- Add the garlic and rice to the skillet. Stir and cook until the rice is lightly toasted. Begin adding broth to the skillet, 1 cup at a time, and heating over low/medium heat until the liquid is all absorbed, stirring frequently. Then add more broth, continuing the process until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is cooked.
3- Remove the rice from the heat, stir in the cheese and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in the cook shrimped and half the bacon.
4- Top the risotto with the remaining bacon when serving.

*I cooked my shrimp in the bacon drippings after seasoning them with garlic powder/onion powder/salt/ and pepper. I then removed the shrimp and drained the bacon with the exception of 1 tbsp as stated in step 1. You can also use precooked shrimp if you desire, in that case just add them warm.

Ranch Pasta with Bacon, Spinach, and Tomatoes

I made this so long ago- I can't believe I'm just getting around to sharing it with you now. Sometimes recipes get buried on my desktop and it takes me a bit, but believe me this one is worth the wait.

I had seen this recipe and it never did it for me. I kept thinking "Ew- who puts ranch salad dressing on pasta?! I'll pass!" Then finally one day I stopped being a brat and actually read the recipe- huh... no ranch salad dressing?! Ok... now I was more interested. You see, I love the flavor of ranch so I figured this should be a hit in our house. I love pasta with spinach and tomatoes, John loves bacon with everything, how could this fail?

Well... it didn't. We both loved it! I think next time I'd add a little more seasoning, the real "ranch" affect didn't come through for me, but the taste was subtle and delicious. However that could be my doing- I halved the recipe and I never really measure my seasonings (I tend to pinch and throw) so next time I might measure a bit more carefully. It was a great easy dinner, something I can definitely see myself making again.

Source: A Taste of Home Cooking

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon dried parsley
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
Olive oil
4 garlic cloves minced
2 cups light cream 
1 bag baby spinach
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained 
1/2 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 lb short cut pasta, cooked according to package directions
Grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese 


Directions:

Combine first 6 ingredients (through dried thyme) in a bowl and mix together. This is your Ranch seasoning. You can also use a packet of pre-made dried seasoning. 

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in skillet large enough to hold the pasta over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Add heavy cream and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and add Ranch seasoning, spinach and tomatoes. Cook until the spinach wilts. Add pasta and cooked bacon and toss to combine. Add grated cheese and taste for seasoning.

Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp with Basil Garlic Stuffing

How's THAT for a mouthful of a title?

In about 2.5 months I'll be having a baby, my first child, and I seriously can't wait. When I'm not cooking or blogging I'm staring at his ultrasound pictures (see below!) and looking at the stuff in his nursery... I just feel so overwhelmed with excitement. Yet, with that excitement comes fear. What if he doesn't like me? What if I never sleep again? What will I EAT when I'm so exhausted I can't stand? Yes... all of those thoughts have honestly passed through my head at one point or another in this process. I've decided the one I can control is the eating- so I plan to fully stock my freezer in preparation for those first few weeks.

However, my freezer is currently jam packed with junk that needs to get used to make room. So before I can even worry about making freezer meals I need to eat the contents of my freezer. Enter this dinner. I had half a pound of bacon in the freezer and half a pound of shrimp... so I googled and discovered this amazing recipe. It was decadent and sinful, it felt like we were being naughty because the flavors were so rich and amazing. This would make for an incredible appetizer, or an extremely indulgent dinner. Either way the flavors all work together and it's outrageous. I went light on the BBQ sauce because I wanted the other flavors to shine and it was perfect.

Oh, and since I mentioned ultrasound pics before I have to share a couple of my baby. If you don't like that sorta thing I'm sorry, but I can't get enough of my bean.

Source: Adapted from Coastal Living via My Recipes

Ingredients:
1/2 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails on
2-3 tbsp. fresh chopped basil
3 tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/2 pound thin bacon
2 tbsp fruit based BBQ sauce, or regular BBQ sauce

Directions:
1- In a large skillet cook the bacon until it's about 3/4 of the way cooked, but not crisp. Remove from skillet and set to dry on paper towel.
2- Butterfly each shrimp by cutting most of the way through the back of the shrimp, from the base to the tip.
3- Stuff each shrimp with a pinch of basil and a pinch of cheese. Press shrimp closed. Wrap in bacon (I used about 1/2 a piece per shrimp, you can use a full piece if you want them really bacon-y).
4- Lay on a greased cookie sheet or in a oven safe dish. Lightly brush the BBQ sauce over the tops of the shrimp.
5- Bake at 400 for 8-10 minutes, until shrimp are cooked and bacon is browned.

Chicken with Mushroom & Balsamic Cream Sauce

I made this meal almost 2 months ago and I'm just getting around to blogging it, which is insane because it was a huge hit in our house! My sister came over for dinner but I had no meal plan set, so we dug through blogs together and decided on this. You see, my sister is obsessed with balsamic vinegar. And not in a normal way. She uses it as a pasta sauce. The browner the better. Ew. I love balsamic vinegar but not nearly to the extent my sister does! This came together quickly (bonus) and was excellent (double bonus)! It tasted rich and flavorful. All three of us loved this and I think it would be perfect for those early fall days that I am eagerly waiting for.

Source: What's Cooking, Chicago?

Ingredients:

Pasta:

Salt

1/2 pound orzo pasta

Chicken:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 6 ounces

1/4 teaspoon

salt & pepper to taste

Mushrooms:

2 tablespoons butter

10 oz cremini or baby portobello mushrooms, sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)

10 oz white mushrooms, sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)

2 large cloves garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon thyme leaves, a couple of sprigs, chopped

1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

1 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons heavy cream or half-and-half

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley for garnish

1/4 cup crumbled cooked bacon for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1-Prepare the pasta by heating a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and add orzo pasta. Cook to al dente.

2- Prepare the mushrooms by preheating a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add extra-virgin olive oil. Season chicken liberally with salt, pepper garlic powder. Add to the hot skillet. Cook the chicken for 5 to 6 minutes on each side. Remove the chicken from the pan and cover with foil to keep warm.

3- Return the skillet to the heat, turn heat back a bit, and add the butter. Once the butter melts add the mushrooms and brown stirring occasionally for about 4 to 5 minutes. Once the mushrooms are brown season with salt and pepper then add the garlic, thyme and shallots. Cook stirring occasionally for about 2 minutes or until the shallots are wilted. Sprinkle the flour into the pan and cook 2 minutes more. Whisk in the stock, balsamic vinegar and the cream. Turn the heat up to high and simmer for about 2-5 minutes or until thickened.

4- To serve, pile orzo on dinner plates and top with top with a chicken breast and sauce. Garnish with chopped parsley and crumbled bacon (if using.)

Roasted Garlic and Bacon Dip

I love hosting parties at my house. I know hosting tends to send some people into a tail spin, but for me it's a chance to give my house a deep clean (that I often avoid...) plus make a meal full of old favorites and new recipes. When I first started entertaining it wasn't such a pleasant experience. I was INSANE and would flip out, cry, and just go crazy in general. I learned that the issue was I often made all new dishes when I entertained so I was constantly worried about how they'd turn out. Now I limit myself to one or two new recipes, typically an appetizer and/or dessert. This appetizer was my new recipe for Easter.

This dip was such a hit. I honestly didn't think it had a shot of not being a hit, considering the ingredients, but everyone loved it. Best of all you can make the majority of it the day before and just cook the bacon before your guests come! This is perfect for football season, or really anytime you have people over who love bacon and potato chips... which is most people!

Source: Adapted from The Food Network

Ingredients:
2 heads garlic
Olive oil
16 ounces sour cream
1/2 cup mayo
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Salt/pepper
6 slices bacon
2 green onions, finely chopped

Directions:
1- Preheat the oven to 350.
2- Slice the tops off the heads of garlic. Drizzle with olive oil. Wrap in tin foil and allow to roast in the oven about 45-60 minutes, until the garlic is soft and easily removed from the paper casing. Allow the garlic to cool.
3- In a bowl combine the sour cream, mayo, Worcestershire sauce, and a bit of salt and pepper. Stir well.
4- Squeeze the roasted garlic from its paper shell into the bowl. Using the back of a fork mash the garlic well, stirring to incorporate it into the dip.
5- Refrigerate overnight (optional- you can do just a couple hours if desired).
6- Cook the bacon until very crisp. Chop finely. A couple hours before serving, stir about 1/2 of the bacon and green onions into the dip, reserving the remaining half for topping the dip right before serving. Refrigerate.
7- When serving, top with the bacon/onions. Serve with potato chips.

Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza

I've always loved making pizza at home. I remember when I was a child I loved when my mom would buy Boboli crusts. I have such fond memories of those things and still like them today. As I began cooking more I started making my own homemade crust. For awhile I used a combo of the two- Boboli and homemade. And then... one magical day... an amazing little Italian deli was built two turns from my house. If you are a foodie there is just nothing like Livoti's. It's paradise. I go in and I feel like I'm in my mecca. Every single ingredient I've used from them has been beyond amazing. I recently discovered their pizza dough and have since bought it weekly. There has been a lot of pizza making going on in the Stephanie Cooks kitchen!

This pizza was incredible. It reminded me of when John and I were first dating. He lived with a couple friends, and let's just say there was no cooking going on in that house. So whenever I went there we went out. We often went to Quizno's because it was right there. I always got the turkey ranch and swiss sandwich. It was then that I learned my love for ranch+poultry+cheese. It has been a winning combo since. And honestly, does bacon not make everything just a bit better? Yes... I think it does. This pizza was a winner in our house. I can't wait to make it again!

Source: Adapted from Annie's Eats

Ingredients:
1 batch of pizza dough
Olive oil
1/4 cup ranch salad dressing
4 ounces grilled chicken, diced small
3 slices of bacon, cooked crisp and diced small
1 tomato, seeded and diced small
2-3 green onions, chopped
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1- Preheat the oven to 450 with your pizza stone within the oven, if using one.
2- Prepare your pizza dough, leaving a thicker edge around the side for the crust. Prepare it on either parchment paper or on a pizza peel topped with corn meal. Drizzle olive oil lightly over the crust and rub it all over the dough, over the edges as well.
3- Top with the ranch salad dressing, spreading evenly over the crust.
4- Next, arrange your chicken, bacon, and tomato evenly over the dressing.
5- Top with the cheddar cheese. The sprinkle the mozzarella evenly over top.
6- Transfer the pizza to the stone. Bake 10-12 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden.
7- Top with the green onions as soon as you pull it from the oven. Serve hot.

Bacon and Spinach Spirals

Sometimes I get into a rut with dinners. I'll find myself falling into a routine of making pasta, chicken, shrimp, pasta with chicken, etc. When this occurs I tend to make something "fun" like appetizers or breakfast for dinner. Enter these rolls.

John used to be obsessed with these things called Deli Spirals from Sam's Club. Now that I belong to Costco I don't have access to these little rolls so I made something similar for dinner. John LOVED these and I felt they were pretty good. If I were to make these again I wouldn't wilt the spinach all the way. Something about the spinach tasted... soggy... to me. And soggy is not good. I would just either put it in fresh or lightly wilt it. Definitely a great option for a night where you don't know what to make!

Source: Adapted from Baked Bree

Ingredients:
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 of a small red onion diced
1/2 bag of spinach
1/3 brick of cream cheese
2 Tablespoons minced cilantro
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 large flour tortillas
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
4 slices thick cut bacon cooked and crumbled


Directions:
In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, cilantro, salt and pepper.  In a saute pan, cook the red onion in the olive oil until soft.  Take the onions out of the pan and set aside.  Add the spinach and cook until lightly wilted.  Drain out the water.  Set that aside also.  Spread the cream cheese on a tortilla.   Sprinkle the red onions on the tortillas. Top with bacon, spinach and cheese.

Roll the tortillas up.  Put them in the fridge for an hour or more to firm up before you cut them. Cut off the ends and discard. Cut the rolls into even pieces.

Heat oven to 400. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve hot.

Bacon, Cheddar, and Chicken Panini

So if you live in the Northeast you are aware that this winter has been brutal. We are getting pounded with snow far too frequently if you ask me! Last week we had a decent snow storm that closed school and John's office (YAY!!!) I love hanging out with my hubby all day. I knew I wanted to make something good for us for lunch so I decided to make some sort of panini. This isn't new or inventive, but it was super good. John's looked amazing- I used sharp sliced cheddar and a spicy ranch on his, plus much more bacon. However mine was much more figure friendly, so there John!

This was tasty and easy- I wish I had some sliced tomato though, that would have made it better. I am showing you the brand of bread I use for paninis because it's the best. The whole wheat is 2 points for 2 slices and the regular is 3 points for 2 slices. Can't beat it. I find it right by the deli counter. Oh, and the reason it looks wet is because it was in the freezer haha!


Source: Stephanie Cooks Original

Ingredients:
2 slices whole wheat panini bread
2 ounces chicken cheese steak meat
1.5 slices center cut bacon, cooked and chopped
1 ounce Cabot 50% reduced fat cheddar cheese, sliced thin
Baby spinach
Tomato

Directions:
1- Spray a grill pan or panini press.
2- In a small pan cook the chicken cheese steak meat, using the spatula to pull it apart and make small pieces.
3- Once it is cooked through, remove it to a small plate and toss with the chopped bacon.
4- Lay one slice of bread on the grill/press. Top with half the ounce of thinly sliced cheese. Top with the chicken mixture, spinach, and tomato. Place the remaining cheese on top, finishing with the final slice of bread. Cook until both sides are toasted and the sandwich is heated through.

** 7 points per panini

Onion-Bacon Crescent Bites

Happy Hanukkah to any of my wonderful readers who celebrate! Sunday my family and I celebrated Hanukkah at my parents house. I volunteered to bring some appetizers and decided to make these little crescent bites. I really wanted to have at least one warm appetizer but I didn't want anything heavy or too filling since I knew everyone would want to fill up on latkes and noodle kuegel! These little crescent bites were quite tasty. They are your typical Pillsbury appetizer- easy, tasty, and wrapped in dough. I got a lot of complements on these and they were all eaten up. I would definitely recommend these if you need a simple recipe for your next holiday get together.

Source: Adapted from Pillsbury

Ingredients:
4 slices bacon, cut into pieces
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 package (3 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup shredded 2% Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls or 1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations® refrigerated seamless dough sheet
Salt & pepper

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 375°F. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. In 6-inch skillet, cook bacon over medium heat 3 minutes. Add onion; cook 3 to 5 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat. Drain if necessary.
2. In small bowl, stir cream cheese until smooth. Add bacon mixture, Cheddar cheese, parsley, paprika and salt and pepper; mix well. Set aside.
3. If using crescent rolls: Unroll dough; separate into 4 rectangles. Press perforations to seal. If using dough sheet: Unroll dough; cut into 4 rectangles.
4. Spoon 1/4 of bacon mixture onto each rectangle; spread to within 1/2 inch from 1 long side. Roll up each rectangle, starting with topped long side and rolling to untopped side. Press edge to seal. With serrated knife, cut each roll into 8 slices. Place cut down side on cookie sheet.
5. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

** 1 point per appetizer, 32 bites total

Bacon Wrapped BBQ Chicken

Ohhh baby- let me tell you, this is a chicken dish made for John. John has a little bit of a reputation for his love for bacon. I didn't know him while he was in college but apparently he used to eat bacon by the pound (ew...) and was known for his undying love for this salty meat. I like bacon... it's definitely good. But I certainly can't eat a pound of it! I had bought a package of center cut bacon a few weeks ago and I wanted to finally use it so I whipped this up with what I had on hand. It was excellent. It's also surprisingly low-fat considering it's wrapped in bacon. Center cut bacon has 40% less fat than regular bacon. Plus two slices will wrap the whole breast so a little bit goes a long way.

We both loved this chicken. I would consider grilling it next time to give it another element of flavor. My only issue was that the bacon didn't crisp up enough for my liking. It didn't look cooked enough to me when the chicken was fully cooked. To solve this I just unwrapped it, microwaved the bacon, and rewrapped. I put some thought into it and I think it I had cooked the bacon in a skillet for a couple minutes prior to wrapping it I'd have had more success. My directions result this change. Give it a shot- it was some mighty tasty chicken!

Source: Stephanie Cooks Original

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
4 slices of center cut bacon
1/2 cup of barbecue sauce
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Black pepper

Directions:
1- Lay the bacon in a skillet and cook over medium heat for approximately 3 minutes, just until it begins to cook and gain some color. Be sure it doesn't begin to curl up, you want it to stay flat. Remove the bacon and set aside.
2- Season each breast with garlic and onion powder. Add some black pepper to each breast.
3- Starting at one end of the breast, wrap the bacon around tightly. Use the other piece of bacon to continue wrapping the breast. Repeat for the second breast.
4- Turn the oven on to broil. Set the chicken under the broiler for 3 minutes. Flip the chicken and allow it to broil another 2 minutes.
5- Remove it from the oven and turn the heat down to 400. Slather both sides in BBQ sauce. Return to the oven- cook until chicken is cooked through.

Barbecue Chicken Calzone

This recipe was more or less a spur of the moment decision. I knew I was making the pizza dough that I previously posted and that it resulted in two meals worth of dough so I decided to make one batch of it into calzones. Someone had mentioned barbecue chicken calzones on my cooking forum so I decided to make them. While that is probably how meal planning goes for most people it is not how it goes in my house. I plan out meals. I plan them out at least one week, but often two weeks, in advance. I plan down to the side dishes, the vegetable, etc. So a spur of the moment meal like this was shocking but definitely a good choice.

This recipe was excellent. We loved it! I will say it makes 2 big calzones. I thought they'd be personal size but they were not. Next time I would freeze half the dough because we aren't good with leftovers. I heavily adapted the original recipe. Below is what I did but you can click the link to see the original. The original calls for onion and cilantro, both would be delicious, but I didn't have either in the house. This is really good and definitely a meal that will be repeated in our house. Next time I'd add a little bit more BBQ sauce- other than that, perfect.

Source: All Recipes

Ingredients:
1 batch of pizza dough
8 ounces of chicken, cooked and shredded
4 slices of center cut bacon, cooked and diced
1/3 cup of BBQ sauce
1 ounce of cheddar cheese (I used one cheese stick, diced)

Directions:
1- Place a pizza stone in the bottom third of the oven.
2- Heat the oven to 500.
3- Take the dough, divide it in half. Roll each half to an even thickness.
4- Toss the chicken, bacon, BBQ sauce, and cheese together.
5- On one piece of dough, cover half the dough with half the chicken mixture. Be sure to leave a little room around the edge. Fold the other half over so it is covering the mixture.
6- Using your thumb and pointer fingers pinch the dough around the edges.
7- Repeat with the other piece of dough and the remaining mixture.
8- Bake for approximately 15 minutes, until golden brown.

Pasta with Bacon, Cheese, and Tomato

This recipe is from "Weight Watchers 20 Minute Recipes" and it was excellent. I did make a few changes as far as quantities of ingredients which affects the points but I am going to post the original because this recipe was excellent and I highly recommend it.

Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked pasta
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup fat-free milk
4 center-cut bacon slices
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
3 cups baby fresh spinach
1 pint grape tomatoes (I used plum tomatoes)
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1-Cook the pasta according to directions, drain and set aside.
2- While pasta is cooking, place the flour in a small bowl. Add milk gradually, whisking until well blended.
3- Cook bacon in a medium saucepan. Remove from pan and finely chop.
4- Drain excess grease. Add garlic to the pan, saute 30 seconds. Add milk and cook until thick, about 4 minutes.
5- Remove from the heat. Stir in the Gruyere and seasonings, stir until well combined.
6- Add pasta, bacon, spinach, and tomatoes. Stir until spinach wilts slightly. Top with parmesan.

** 5 Weight Watchers points per 1 cup serving.

Roasted Garlic and Spinach Pizza

YUM YUM YUM! Did I say yum?? This is so good that I insist you try this immediately. I got this amazing recipe from Rachel Ray and it is by far my favorite recipe of hers to date. My only comments on this recipe are that I used only a fraction of the garlic paste and ricotta cheese and it was still extremely flavorful.

Ingredients:
12 cloves garlic, unpeeled
4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil (I used 2)
1 tablespoon cornmeal (omitted- I didn't use fresh dough so it wasn't needed)
12 ounces refrigerated pizza dough (Used Boboli individual crusts)
2 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
One 10-ounce package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (Used fresh)
Salt and pepper
1 cup ricotta cheese (I used much less)
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 325°. Place the garlic on a sheet of foil; drizzle with 1 teaspoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon water. Seal and bake until soft, about 30 minutes; let cool slightly. Squeeze the garlic cloves from their skins into a small bowl; add 2 teaspoons olive oil and mash into a paste.

2. Meanwhile, grease a baking sheet with the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil; dust with the cornmeal. Stretch the pizza dough into a large rectangle and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes; stretch again to almost fill the pan. (Skip this step if using pre-baked crust such as Boboli)

3. Preheat to 425°. In a medium skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat, stirring often, for 5 minutes; drain and transfer to a plate. Add the spinach to the skillet and cook over low heat until warmed through; season with salt and pepper.

4. Brush the pizza dough with the garlic paste. Top with the spinach and dollops of ricotta. Sprinkle with the bacon and mozzarella. Bake for 15 minutes, lower the temperature to 400° and bake until the cheese is brown and bubbling, about 10 minutes.

Bacon and Cheese Quiche

As I mentioned in my last post I made breakfast for John's team at work and one of the things I made was this quiche. I don't eat quiche but John said he and his whole team loved it. He got many positive comments and several really nice emails about this quiche so I guess it's worth a try! The recipe is pretty simple. I did use a deep dish pie crust thought and I don't see how it would have all fit in a regular crust because it went right up to the brim on the deep dish crust.

Ingredients:
8 ounces bacon
1 (9 inch) unbaked 9 inch pie crust (Use a deep dish pie crust)
2 cups sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups half-and-half (I used light cream)
1/2 cup diced onion
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chile peppers, drained (omitted)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.

Place crust in a 9 inch glass pie plate. Sprinkle bacon inside of crust. In a small bowl, combine Cheddar cheese, Monterey jack cheese and flour. In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, cream, onion and green chiles. Add cheese mixture; stir well. Pour mixture into pie crust.

Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 70 minutes, until set. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Penne All'Amatriciana

I am obsessed with collecting recipes. At any given time I have 100-200 recipes bookmarked on my computer. With that said I sometimes have a recipe bookmarked for a long time before I get around to making it. This recipe is an example of that. I found it on Milk and Honey but it originates from Rachel Ray.

I seriously regret not making this sooner. John and I both loved it and I can't wait to have the leftovers for lunch. The bacon gives it such a smokey flavor. I let it simmer for 2 hours which is a lot longer than is recommended but I really wanted the bacon taste to penetrate the tomato. It was perfect and I will without a doubt make it again. My only qualm was the texture of the bacon after it cooked in the sauce... it was mushy rather than crisp. Next time I would finely chop the bacon so it isn't as noticeable. A real winner and must try!

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound pasta
Salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan in a slow stream
1/4 pound, 4 or 5 slices, pancetta*, chopped (I used 7 slices of bacon)
1 medium onion, chopped
4 to 6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
Freshly ground black pepper
Grated Parm cheese to pass at the table

DIRECTIONS:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt the water.

Heat a large deep skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and pancetta. Cook pancetta 2 or 3 minutes then add onions and garlic and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook 7 or 8 minutes more, until onions are translucent. Add tomatoes and parsley.

Season the sauce with salt and pepper. Simmer sauce over low heat until ready to serve.

Cook pasta to al dente or, with a bite to it. Drain pasta well. Do not rinse. Starchy pasta holds more sauce. Toss hot pasta with sauce and serve. Pass grated cheese at the table to top pasta.

* Pancetta is Italian rolled, cured pork, similar to bacon, but not smoked. Look for it at your deli counter. Bacon may be substituted resulting in a smoky tomato sauce.

Ranch Chicken Pasta

One word... yum! I had come across this recipe and knew I needed to make it. John is obsessed with bacon and I knew we would both like it. I am so glad I made this- it was awesome. It is a fattening recipe but I did do some things to lighten it up. First, I used center cut bacon which is lighter than traditional bacon. Second, I didn't cook the chicken in bacon grease, rather just cooked it in a skillet with cooking spray. Also I used 1% milk. Still not a light meal, but it is really tasty and I can't recommend it highly enough.

Ingredients:

6 slices bacon
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into bite size pieces (I used 2)
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons ranch dry salad dressing mix
1 1/4 cups milk
3 cups dried medium noodles
1 tablespoon finely shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Start your water for your pasta. Cook noodles according to package directions.
2. Cut bacon into narrow strips. In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Drain bacon on paper towels; discard all but 2 tablespoons drippings. (I discarded all of it)
3. In the same skillet, cook chicken in reserved drippings until no longer pink (I just cooked it with cooking spray), turning to brown evenly. Sprinkle flour and salad dressing mix over chicken; stir well to coat the chicken. Stir in milk. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 minute more. Stir in bacon.
4. Serve the chicken over the noodles. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!