Aimee's adventures in bacon

[Aimee]

Since you all seemed so interested last night I'm just gonna throw this up here and every time I experiment with bacon (really not that often....bacon makes fat) I'll share with you all XD



Adventure #1 - Bacon Cinnamon Rolls....success!

You will need:

• 10 slices of bacon
• 1 tube of Grands cinnamon rolls (those are the big kind) there should be 5 to a tube
• Cooking spray
• Cookie sheet

How to:

• Preheat your oven to 350F
• Spray cookie sheet
• Open tube, separate and unroll the grands cinnamon rolls
• Cook bacon until it is crispy
• While still hot and flexible place 2 slices of bacon on one of the lines of dough and roll it back up (i cooked 2 slices of bacon, rolled it up, then went on to another 2 slices to make sure they could be rolled)
• After rolling all your cinnamon rolls place them on your cookie sheet and bake them for about 25 minutes
• Remove and add your icing
• Thank the bacon gods as you eat it

 

[Linkachu]

I have a good friend who would highly approve of this topic!
Although bacon cinnamon rolls would likely kill him... XD

Stuff like this is always interesting to read through so do share more if you try new recipes! :3

 

[Aimee]

oh I'm planning on it....as soon as I find time I'm going to a candy bacon and b put that candied bacon into fudge
also a friend is going to be showing me how to filter alcohol with bacon

 

[Aimee]

So went digging through my recipe drawer last night to try to find the notes of my failure in the bacon fudge and while I was digging I found my good ol' mac&cheese bacon pie recipe.....Hold on tight because this one requires a bit more skill XD

You will need:
For the crust

• 3½ cups all-purpose flour (from the freezer if possible)
• 1 cup (2 sticks) very cold unsalted butter, cut into ½” cubes
• ¼ cup cold vegetable shortening
• 1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp. kosher salt
• 1 Tbsp. scant apple cider vinegar + enough ice water to make ¾ cup liquid

For mac ‘n’ cheese filling

• 5 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 4 cups dried macaroni
• 4 Tbsp. of butter (½ a stick)
• 4 Tbsp. flour
• 2.5 cups heavy cream
• 2 tsp mustard powder
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 pound grated cheese — an equal parts mixture of gruyere, sharp cheddar, brie (no rind)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the bacon lattice

• 8 slices bacon
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar

(or you could always buy a pie crust and a few boxes of kraft mac and cheese....I like it better this way though)

How to:

For the crust

1. Measure out all of your ingredients for the crust and make sure your butter and shortening are very cold. (It helps to put them in the freezer after they’re measured and cut into pieces. It also helps to keep the flour in the freezer.)

2. Put flour, butter, vegetable shortening, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse JUST until butter resembles tiny pebbles, about 12-15 times. (If you don’t have a food processor, stir the dry ingredients then cut the fats into the mixture with the tines of a fork until you have tiny pebbles and it’s pretty well incorporated.) Transfer to a large bowl. Gradually add vinegar-ice water mixture, using a fork to stir until dough is a mixture of clumpy wet pieces and sandy pieces, adding more water if dry. Take care not to over-moisten your dough — you don’t have to use all ¾ cups liquid. Watch the dough and stop adding liquid once it begins to clump. It doesn’t need to be completely stuck together.

3. Turn dough out onto a clean counter and form into ball. Be careful not to over-handle it — it doesn’t need to be kneaded, just needs to come together. Once it’s in a ball, cut the ball in half then flatten the halves into discs. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour or overnight. (DO AHEAD: Can be made ahead. Keep dough refrigerated up to 2 days, or enclose in resealable plastic bag and freeze up to 1 month, then thaw in refrigerator overnight. Soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.)

4. Lightly grease a 9” pie plate with butter, shortening, or baking spray.
5. Prepare a clean countertop as workspace to roll out the dough. Sprinkle some flour on a sheet of parchment, put one dough disc on it, sprinkle flour on the disc, then top with another sheet of parchment. Using a rolling pin, roll out dough between those two sheets of parchment paper in a circular shape until its diameter is 2”-3” larger than the pie plate all around.

6. Remove the top sheet of parchment, then carefully pick up an edge of the round and wrap it around the rolling pin. As you continue to roll the pin, the dough will wrap completely around it so you can easily transfer it to the plate. Starting on one edge of the pie plate, unroll the dough, making sure it is centered. At this point it’s best to put it back in the fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

7. Press the dough into the plate. Leaving enough dough to crimp the edges, trim the overhang with a knife or scissors.

8. Preheat oven to 375°F. Prick chilled crust in pie dish all over with a fork. Line crust with foil or parchment paper, then fill the liner with dried beans or pie weights. Bake 25 minutes. Remove from oven; lift out foil and weights. Reduce temperature to 350°. Return to oven and bake, using fork to prick any bubbles that have formed and pressing down on them with back of fork, until crust is JUST light golden-brown, about 2 minutes longer. (It will bake again later so it shouldn’t be too dark yet.) Let crust cool completely.


For mac ‘n’ cheese filling

1. Boil pasta in generously salted water until just al dente, following directions on package.

2. Cook bacon pieces in sauté pan until just crispy, drain on paper towels and set aside.

3. In a large pot, melt the butter. Then stir in the flour. Whisk to combine and cook for 1-2 minutes. Now you’ve got what is called a “roux” — equal parts butter and flour cooked together. Add the cream and whisk again, let cook, whisking occasionally, for 5-10 minutes until it thickens. Now you’ve got bechamel sauce.

4. Add mustard powder and whisk to combine.

5. Temper egg yolk into the bechamel: To do this, take a little of your hot bechamel and put it into a bowl with the egg yolk. Whisk so that the egg heats up gently. Then dump the warm egg/bechamel mixture into the hot pot of bechamel, and whisk.

6. Add all the cheese and stir to combine. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

7. Add macaroni and cooked bacon pieces to cheese sauce, then add more freshly ground pepper to taste.


To assemble

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.

2. Fill the baked pie crust with the mac ‘n’ cheese. You’ll use all but 1 or 2 cups.

3. Weave a lattice with 8 bacon slices (4 in one direction and 4 in the other direction — keep them long as long as possible because they will shrink when they cook).

4. Using your fingers, spread brown sugar on the strips of bacon, then put in a 425°F oven for 15 minutes or until the bacon is cooked.

 

[Aimee]

Not bacon related.....but anyway
PSA:
Nutulla fudge is a bad idea! I know it sounds awesome.....but it's not worth it! Just grab the jar and a spoon....It is about the same consistency, exactly the same taste.

 

[Aimee]

OK guys! Here it is....The final adventure of 2013....You've all heard me talking about it.....Bacon Fudge!
Before I get into this let me tell you a bit about this fudge...I have been personally crafting and tweaking this recipe for the past three years. This is my masterpiece....my bacon baby! Three years ago I was introduced to the heaven that is bacon paired with chocolate in the form of a bacon chocolate chip cookie on Thanksgiving. A few weeks later I noticed a packet of bacon bits in the cupboard were about to expire so I thought to myself "Well, I have this extra bacon and supplies left over from this year's fudge....Let's see what happens." It was horrible! But I knew I was onto something....Thursday I finally finished.

First thing's first....Candy your bacon! (this seems to be the step I was missing all along)

You will need:

• 1 lb sliced bacon
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon

How to:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (176 C). Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with aluminum foil, then place an oven-safe wire rack on top of the pan. Spray the rack liberally with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a bowl, combine the brown sugar, and the cinnamon. Toss them together until the spices are well-distributed (if your brown sugar is clumping and won't mix, use a fork).

3. Take a strip of bacon and press it into the sugar mixture, then turn it over and coat the other side with sugar. Place it on the wire rack, then repeat until all of the slices of bacon are covered with sugar on both sides.

4. Bake the bacon in your preheated oven for 20-30 minutes. When it is done, it will be firm and crispy and dark along the edges.

6. Soon after you take it out of the oven, use a spatula to lift the bacon off the rack—sometimes the sugar and fat cause the bacon to stick, and if it's not removed when it is still warm, it's difficult to get off of the rack.

7. Break it up into pieces! (If you'd like you can enjoy candied bacon on it's own too)

(I let the bacon stay in until it was pretty close to burnt for the fudge, don't do that if you just want to enjoy the candied bacon...too salty)

And now the fudge:

You will need:

• 1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow creme
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2/3 cup evaporated milk
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups milk chocolate chips (1 11.5oz bag for easy measuring)
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (1 11.5oz bag for easy measuring)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Your crushed candied bacon (no exact measurement, just depends how much bacon and crunch you want in your fudge...I did half a batch because someone ate the rest)

How To:

1. Line a pan with aluminum foil. Set aside. (I like a 9x5 loaf pan)
2. In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine marshmallow cream, sugar, evaporated milk, vanilla, butter and salt. Bring to a full boil, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
3. Remove from heat and pour in all the chocolate. Stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in candied bacon bits. Pour into prepared pan. Chill in refrigerator over night and cut into squares in the morning.

 

[Aimee]

was not a creation of mine but it really should have been!!

it was awesome! very much suggest trying these

 

[Frosted Waters]

The bacon cinnamon rolls kind of disgust me... If you like them, I respect that. But i'll stick to regular bacon. :3