Tag Archives: bacon

Wah, So Full of Waffles

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Now that Thanksgiving is over, is this a familiar sight in your fridge?  I love leftovers.  It means a few less meals to prepare over the week, and more time to do other things like showing my daughter how to play Mario Bros.  Eating the same thing for a few meals is fine, but I prefer some variety.

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Leftover garlic and herb boursin cheese mashed potatoes and creamy cheesy bacon brussels sprouts

For a while now, I’ve seen recipes for making leftover waffles.  I happen to have a double waffle maker which gets used maybe once a year.  It’s a great waffle maker, but we just don’t have the time to make waffles.  And it happens to be Black Friday, but I refuse to do battle out on the roads and in the stores.  Instead, I decided to experiment with my waffle maker, which turned out to be a mashing success.  Haha get it?  Mashing success…..  Ok anyways.

I took inspiration from a Serious Eats waffled mashed potatoes recipe.

I mixed together two eggs, oil, and milk.

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Then I mixed in leftover mashed potatoes and my creamy cheesy bacon brussels sprouts.  I chopped up the brussels sprouts into smaller pieces first.

This recipe should work with other leftovers too.  If you don’t have cheesy bacon brussels sprouts, try using other leftovers like chopped up green beans, corn, chopped up ham, etc.  OOOOR another good idea.  Use candied mashed sweet potatoes, cranberry chutney, toasted nuts, etc to make a sweet leftover waffle.  Mmmm.

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In a separate bowl, I mixed together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pepper.

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Then I gently folded the flour mixture into the wet mixture.

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While I was making the batter, I preheated the waffle maker.  My waffle maker has an adjustable temperature dial that goes from 1-6, so I set my dial to 4.  I sprayed some nonstick cooking spray onto both sides of the iron.  Then I plopped about 1/3 cup of the batter onto each section of the waffle maker.  My waffle maker will beep at me when the waffles are ready, so I didn’t have to worry about setting a timer.  It took about 6 minutes for my waffles to cook.  Depending on the waffle maker you are using, you may have to adjust the cooking time.

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Waaaaah!  Waffles that are not sweet!  This is one of the best looking leftover dishes I’ve ever seen.  Needless to say, it also tasted really good.  Golden brown and crispy on the outside, fluffy and soft on the inside.

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I dressed my waffle up with a slice of leftover roasted beef tenderloin and red wine and shallot sauce.  I will have to post the recipe for the beef tenderloin soon, it was really freaking good.

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Thanksgiving Leftover Waffles
Ingredients
(Makes 4 waffles)
– 2 cups mashed potatoes
– 2 cups cheesy bacon brussels sprouts
– 2 eggs
– 2 tbs oil
– 1/3 cup milk
– 1/2 cup flour
– 1/2 tsp baking powder
– 1/4 tsp baking soda
– salt and pepper

Directions
– Preheat your waffle maker.  I turned the temperature to medium high.  Spray both sides of the iron with nonstick spray.
– Chop up the cheesy bacon brussels sprouts or whatever leftovers you have into smaller pieces.
– Mix the eggs, oil, and milk in a bowl.  Add the mashed potatoes and cheesy bacon brussels sprouts.
– In a separate small bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper.
– Fold the flour mixture into the wet mixture.
– Once the waffle maker is preheated, pour about 1/3 cup of the batter onto each section of the iron.  My waffle maker automatically beeps once the waffle is cooked.  If you do not have this nifty option, it took about 5-6 minutes to cook.  You may need to adjust the cooking time depending on your waffle maker.

Forget Chicken Soup, My Soul Needs Bacon and Brussels Sprouts

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Are you stressed out and in need of comfort food?  Don’t turn to junky food that will make you feel even more crappy after you gorge yourself in your already crappy state of mind.  Nourish your body, mind, and soul with this simple and comforting one pan meal.  While your food is roasting in the oven, drink some hot tea or a bottle of wine.  Whatever helps you relax.  Life isn’t going to pause or rewind, but you can recharge and get ready to tackle whatever obstacles you encounter.

Wash, trim and cut brussels sprouts in half.  Cut an onion into chunks, roughly the same size as the brussels sprouts.  Pour a little oil and seasoning on the vegetables and give it a stir.  I used a lemon pepper blend, but use whatever you have.  For example, salt and freshly ground pepper is perfect.  No need for a separate bowl for the mixing, just do everything on the pan.  I did not use a silicon baking mat or foil to line the pan.  The brussels sprouts get a better crispy char if they are touching the pan.

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Cut up a pack of thick cut bacon.  I love bacon.  It comforts me.  I’m not going for a taste of bacon.  I’m going for a freaking meal of bacon.  I did cut off any larger pieces of fat.  I didn’t want my vegetables to be swimming in bacon grease.  Mix the bacon chunks in with the vegetables.  Put the pan into a preheated oven at 400°F for 35-40 minutes.  Stir the mixture up every 10-15 minutes, so more pieces get a chance to brown and crisp up.  After I took the pan out of the oven, I squeezed half a lemon over the mixture and gave it a good stir.

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I topped my pile of comfort with some shredded parmigiano-reggiano and toasted sunflower seeds.  If you’ve never had good brussels sprouts, give this a try.  Roasting it makes the outside crispy, while the inside turns creamy and sweet.  And the bacon.  What can I say.  It’s bacon.

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Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
Ingredients
– 2 lbs of brussels sprouts
– 1 pack of thick cut bacon
– 1 onion
– seasoning
– half a lemon
– shredded parmigiano-reggiano cheese (optional)
– toasted sunflower seeds (optional)

Directions
– Wash, trim, and cut the brussels sprouts in half
– Cut the onion into pieces roughly the same size as the brussels sprouts
– Mix the brussels sprouts and onion on a baking pan with oil and seasoning.
– Cut the bacon into pieces roughly the same size as the vegetables.  Trim off any large pieces of fat from the bacon.  Add the bacon to the pan and give it a stir.
– Roast at 400°F for 35-40 minutes.  Stir the mixture every 10-15 minutes. 
– Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the mixture when it finishes cooking.  Mix it up.
– Top the dish with cheese and sunflower seeds if you want to get a little fancy.

Poutine In My Mouth, She Said Poutine In Her Mouth

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I am so pleased with myself.  Today, I made something absolutely amazing.

My friend recently visited Toronto, and seeing his food pictures reminded me of when I went to Toronto a few years ago for a race.  There was a poutine food truck at the venue, and I had at least one order of poutine each day.  For those of you who have never had the pleasure, poutine is a heaping pile of french fries with gravy and cheese curds.  Unfortunately, poutine is rarely found on menus around these parts.  And even if I did find poutine, a plate of fried potatoes is a big no-no for a low(er) carb diet.

I really wanted poutine.  Being a genius at making shit up in the kitchen, I thought about the stuffed kabocha squash I tried a few weeks ago.  It had a sweet flavor and starchy texture that reminded me of a sweet potato.  I decided to deep fry a kabocha and make kabocha poutine.  It was a win.  My husband doesn’t even like squash or gravy, and he shoveled a big plateful of poutine into his face.  Now, if you are expecting this to taste exactly like the traditional poutine using french fries…well, HELLO?!  It’s a squash poutine.  It will not taste like potato.  But it will taste amazingly good, and satisfy that deep hungry craving for crispy fries drowned in gravy and cheese curds.  Oh, and bacon.  Of course I added bacon.  You can also try a whole myriad of meats and seafood with your poutine such as sausage, duck, lobster, shrimp, a combination of it all…

First up is the gravy.  Sure, you can buy a jar of pre-made gravy….but, come on.  You know me.  I found a beef gravy recipe of Emeril’s that I adapted for my poutine.  I first made a roux out of bacon fat, butter, and flour.  You heat up the fats on medium heat, then add the flour and keep stirring.  Cook and stir for a few minutes until it turns into a nice golden brown/dark brown color.

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Once the roux was ready, I added some shallots, garlic, dried parsley and dried thyme.  I stirred that for a minute or so until it became really fragrant.  Then I added a little Worchestershire sauce and cooked for another minute or so.

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I added store bought beef stock, let it boil, then lowered the heat.  I let it simmer for about 20 minutes until it reduced and thickened.  I gave it a stir every now and then.  Give it a taste to see if you want any additional salt and pepper.  I thought it was fine without, but up to you.

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My rich and savory gravy is ready for dousing!

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Here is my cute little green pumpkin looking kabocha squash.  I gave it a good scrub because the skin is edible, and a pain in the ass to peel off, so obviously, just leave it on.

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I sliced the squash into 1/4 inch pieces.  Be careful, for the squash is a bit hard to cut.  With my crappy knife skills, I am amazed I did not slice a finger up.

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I dusted the squash pieces with a light coating of corn starch.  Just a very light dusting.

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I wanted a squash fry that is crispy outside and fluffy inside.  I’ve double fried chicken before, so I wanted to try double frying my squash.  I didn’t find too much on deep frying kabocha squash, other than as tempura, which would have been awesome too, but…low carb and tempura batter…  I looked up double fried french fries, and there were many tutorials.

I poured enough corn oil to fill the bottom inch or so of my French oven.  It was a little less than a quart of oil.  I don’t have a candy thermometer to read the temperature of the oil, but I do have meat thermometers.  It probably wasn’t very accurate, but it was better than nothing.  So I heated the oil to about 300°F and put a layer of squash in.  Don’t overcrowd the pot, or your squash will not fry properly.  I let the squash cook for about 4-5 minutes, and flipped the squash halfway.  Then I fished them out and let them drain on a wire cooling rack.  Notice how the squash are not really golden brown and crisp looking yet.  The first fry is just to cook and soften them up.

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After I finished giving all my squash the first fry treatment.  I cranked the heat up so the oil was between 350°F and 400°F.  Then all the squash got their second fry on for that golden brown and delicious crunchy coat.  Once you fish the pieces out, hit them with a liberal sprinkling of salt while the oil is still glistening and hot.  I used sea salt.

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You should have seen the damage done to this plate of poutine the second I finished plating it and taking pictures.  This is kabocha poutine.  Crispy and fluffy kabocha fries, coated with a rich beef gravy, with a generous sprinkling of thick cut bacon, cheese curds, and green onion.

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Kabocha Poutine
Ingredients
– kabocha fries
– beef gravy
– cheese curds
– thick cut bacon pieces
– green onion 

Beef Gravy
Ingredients
– 2 tbs butter
– 2 tbs bacon fat
– 4 tbs flour
– 1-2 tbs finely minced shallot
– 1-1.5 tbs finely minced garlic
– 1 tsp dried parsley
– 1/2 tsp dried thyme
– 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
– 3 cups beef stock
– salt and pepper to taste

Directions
– Melt the bacon fat and butter on medium heat.  Add the flour and stir continuously for a few minutes until the roux turns into a golden dark brown.
– Add the shallots, garlic, dried parsley, and dried thyme.  Cook for a minute until fragrant.  Add the Worcestershire sauce and cook for another minute.
– Add the beef stock and bring it to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the gravy reduces and thickens.  Add salt and pepper if you want.

Kabocha Fries
Ingredients
– 1 kabocha squash
– 3 tbs corn starch
– 1 quart of corn oil or other oil suitable for deep frying
– salt

Directions
– Scrub and de-seed the kabocha.  Slice the squash into 1/4 inch slices.
– Lightly coat the squash with corn starch and brush off the excess.
– Heat the oil in a heavy pot to 300°F.  Fry the squash for 4-5 minutes and flip them half way.  Fry in batches if necessary.  Let the squash drain on a wire rack.
– Once the first fry is done, turn the heat up so the oil is between 350°F-400°F.  Fry the squash for 2-3 minutes and flip them half way.  Let the squash drain on a wire rack.

To Assemble
Sprinkle bacon pieces and cheese curds on top of a pile of kabocha fries.  Pour gravy over everything.  Top with green onion, and more cheese curds and bacon.  

What The Fall?!

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Now that it is officially fall, the weather decided to abruptly switch from upper 80’s to a chilly lower 70’s.  I decided to make a celebratory changing of the seasons dish.  That and I happened to impulsively buy a spaghetti squash last week when I didn’t even remember that fall was starting.  No wonder there were only a couple of squash rejects left in the bin.  Everyone else wanted to suddenly make fall food.  I bet the shelves of canned pumpkin and pumpkin spice were cleaned out too.

My husband and I have been eating low carb for over a year now.  He’s been very dedicated with this change in lifestyle and has lost 40 pounds.  My willpower has not been as strong, but I have not given up.  My cooking for the most part has been low carb, and it isn’t as difficult as people think.  Obviously it takes sacrifice and strength if you love your sweets, fruit, pasta, rice, and breads.  But in the end, we’re eating healthier and more wholesome foods, and our bodies will thank us in the long run.

Caprese salad is one of our low carb summer staples.  I have not met anyone who does not like the refreshing and satisfying combination of creamy mozzarella, fragrant basil, and sweet and tart tomatoes.  Since I was making a good bye summer and hello fall dish, I had a vision of a super cheesy spaghetti squash caprese.  It turned out really freaking good.  I’m actually salivating thinking about the dinner I had hours ago.  Reminds me of Pavlov’s dog.

This dish has several components that require their own preparation, but they are pretty simple.  Most of the time required for this dish is baking time.  You can also make the different components ahead of time and pre-assemble it.   Just pop the casserole into the oven to heat it up.

I got this here spaghetti squash.  It is not the prettiest specimen, but don’t be superficial.  Every squash needs a loving stomach.

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They are very tough to cut, so please please please be careful.  I ended up getting my chef’s knife stuck, and using it as a wedge for another knife to cut through the middle.

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Scoop the seeds out.  By the way, you can roast them like pumpkin seeds.  I drizzled some olive oil on the halves, and seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Then I turned them flesh side down on the cookie sheet and baked them at 400°F for about 40 minutes until it was easy for a fork to slide into the flesh.  Your cooking time may vary based on the size of your squash.

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This is what the squash looked like after I shredded it up with a fork.

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I had a gorgeous assortment of little tomatoes which I washed and halved.

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I put them in a 9×13 baking dish and drizzled on olive oil and strawberry vinegar, and sprinkled on salt and pepper.  I put the tomatoes into the oven with the squash.  The tomatoes took about 20 minutes to roast, and I stirred them halfway.

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These are the roasted tomatoes.  I roasted 2 lbs of tomatoes, but I didn’t use all of it for this dish.  I reserved about a quarter of it for future use.  I also drained most of the tomato juice because it was way too soupy.

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After the oven cleared out, I baked a package of bacon.  You can cook your bacon however you want, but I like using the oven.  Just put them in at 400°F for about 12-14 minutes.  There’s a lot less mess and smoke compared to using the stove.

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Yeeeah, sizzling bacon straight out of the oven.  Most of it made it into the casserole…

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This is a cup of homemade pesto.  I made a large batch over the summer and froze little containers of it.  Go ahead and use store bought pesto if you want a mediocre tasting dish.  Just kidding, use whatever you want.  By the way, if anyone can recommend a really good store bought pesto, let me know!  I have yet to find one that I like.

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This mess is the spaghetti squash, roasted tomatoes, torn up bacon (I used my hands to tear them up), cup of pesto, and 1.5 cups of shredded mozzarella.

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Top the mess with sliced mozzarella, and fill in those crevices with more shredded mozzarella and shredded parmesan.

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I put the dish back into the 400°F oven for about 20 minutes until the cheese bubbled and browned.

If you make this casserole ahead of time, and use a glass baking dish like Pyrex, I would let it sit out first to warm up.  I’ve heard of Pyrex shattering when the temperature changes too suddenly.  Heat the casserole at 375°F for about 30-40 minutes.  At the 30 minute mark, look for signs of bubbling sauce and cheese.  If you want to brown the cheese even more, use the broiler for a couple of minutes.

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Sooo freaking good.  The spaghetti squash was sweet and savory mixed with the pesto and gooey cheese, and I really liked the sweet and tangy roasted tomatoes, and smoky bacon chunks.  This dish is a keeper.  The juice from the roasted tomatoes made the squash very soft, so if you are looking for more bite, then perhaps try sun dried tomatoes instead.  Also, note that the sliced mozzarella does not brown as well as shredded mozzarella, and the texture after baking is more rubbery.  So if you prefer a crustier and stringy cheese topping like on pizza, then forget the sliced mozzarella and stick with shredded mozzarella.

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Spaghetti Squash Caprese
Ingredients
– 1 spaghetti squash 
– 1-1.5 lb small tomatoes
– 1 pack bacon
– 1 cup pesto sauce
– 2 cups of shredded mozzarella (or more if you want)
– Mozzarella ball, sliced
– 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
– olive oil
– strawberry vinegar (balsamic vinegar will also work)
– salt
– pepper
– garlic powder

Directions
– Wash, cut in half, and de-seed the squash.  Be careful of your fingers when cutting.  Keep the seeds for roasting.  Drizzle the flesh with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Turn the squash flesh side down on a cookie sheet, and bake at 400°F for 30-40 minutes or until the flesh is easily pierced.  Shred the squash flesh so it resembles spaghetti.
– Wash and cut the tomatoes in half.  Put in a 9×13 baking dish and drizzle with olive oil, strawberry vinegar, and season with salt and pepper.  Bake at 400°F for about 20 minutes, stirring halfway through.  Drain the tomato juice from the baking dish.
– Bake the bacon at 400°F for 12-14 minutes.  Chop into pieces.  (I used my hands and tore them into pieces)
– Mix the squash, tomatoes, pesto, bacon, and 1.5 cups of shredded mozzarella in the baking dish.
– Top the mixture with the sliced mozarella, 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella, and 1/4 cup of shredded parmesan cheese.  Bake at 400°F for about 20 minutes until the cheese bubbles and browns.

The Loofah is Real!

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My mom got a bunch of fresh home grown vegetables from a friend of hers.  She gave me some of it, and there was mystery package included.  It was a lumpy package wrapped in several layers of newspaper.  In it were 3 squash.  They were very soft and squishy, like they were rotting inside.  I was like, wtf is this mom?  The name she said translated to silk melon.  I’d never heard of it, so I looked it up.  It is also known as silk squash, Chinese okra, luffa, loofah, and some other names.  Wait, loofah/luffa?!  I’ve seen that before.  At some Chinese restaurants, I’ve seen loofah or luffa on the menu.  I always assumed it was an Engrish blooper or a bad translation.  But, lo and behold!  This here is the loofah!

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My mom told me to peel it.  I tried…  but it was so soft that the peeler kept taking chunks out of it, and it looked pretty terrible after the peeling.  I couldn’t even peel the ends because they were so soft.  I read more about it after I peeled it.  Turns out I could have left the skin on.  If the squash is older and tougher, then you should peel it.  Oops.  I bent the squash to show you how squishy it is,

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I cut them into .75 inch pieces.

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I got my aromatics here: shallots and half a head of garlic sliced thin.

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I had a pack of thick cut bacon that I’ve been meaning to use up for a while.  I cut them up into 1 inch pieces and put them in my French oven on medium heat.  The bacon was very fatty and I overcrowded the pot, so it took a while for all the bacon to render, maybe 30-40 minutes.  I just let it sizzle, and stirred and flipped the pieces every few minutes.

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After the fat rendered out of the bacon, I scooped the bacon out and poured out most of the bacon fat to save for future dishes.  Look, it looks like bacon soup.  I dare you to drink that.  No, please don’t do that, I was kidding.

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I cooked the shallots and garlic in the remaining bacon fat for about a minute until they started turning golden brown.

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I added the loofah and seasoned with salt and pepper.  Then I covered the pot and let it cook for about 5 minutes.  My mom told me that the squash will emit a lot of liquid, so no need to add any cooking liquid.

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After the loofah turned translucent and got real juicy, I mixed in the crispy bacon.

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Here is my opinion of this dish that I totally made up using an unknown main ingredient.  It tasted ok, I mean, imagine a squishy zucchini mixed with crispy bacon chunks.   I particularly liked eating the loofah seeds.  They were tender and I liked the popping sensation they gave when I bit into them.  I wasn’t a big fan of the loofah though.  The loofah itself had a mild flavor that soaked up other flavors well.  But it had a slightly gelatinous and slimy texture and mouthfeel that reminds me of okra, and I’m not a fan of okra.  I actually liked the end pieces better since they still had the peel, because the peel gave it a crisper texture.  So there it is.   I won’t go out of my way to cook and eat loofah, but it’s cool that I now know what loofah is.

If you want to experience loofah yourself, here is what I did.  Or you can just order it the next time you see it at a Chinese restaurant.  It’ll probably taste and look better since they actually know how to handle the loofah.

Bacon and Loofah
Ingredients
– 3 loofah
– 1 pack of thick cut bacon
– 1 shallot
– half a head of garlic
– salt
– pepper

Directions
– Cut the bacon into 1 inch pieces.  Render the bacon in the pot over medium heat.  Stir occasionally.  Once the fat renders out of the bacon, remove the bacon.  Leave a thin layer of fat  in the pot and pour the rest into a separate bowl to save.
– Cut the loofah into .75 inch pieces, if they are young, there is no need to peel them.
– Slice the shallot and garlic into thin slices.
– Fry the shallots and garlic in the pot for about 1 minute, or until they turn golden brown.  Add the loofah and season with salt and pepper.  Cover the pot for about 5 minutes until the loofah turns translucent and juicy.  Mix in the bacon and serve.