{tasty} Spicy Buffalo Lentils

There are some things I am just simply not good at.

Time management may top that list. I confess, I am a procrastinator. You give me a hard deadline and you bet I will get it done, albeit I will surely wait until the eve of said deadline to start it. No deadline? Let's just say I have projects I started over 3 years ago that still sit unfinished. I have a never ending to-do list of ideas for home projects, craft projects, recipes...and simply not enough hours, or sometimes desire, to get them done.

Also on that list? Creating recipes. I am, however, one heck of a recipe follower. There are times that either I or my husband have a recipe idea and I make it happen. There is that little detail however of remembering how I made it. Of course, I can't make it that easy on myself and just write it down as I go. Or when I do write it down I throw it away or bury it in the mail pile and it's never seen again. Or I write down my ingredients and the meal turns out exactly as I hoped for but I didn't take pictures. Who wants to take pictures every 30 seconds while they are trying to get their family fed? Yep, that sounds like me but eventually I get my act together, even if it means making the same thing 4 times in a month.

I am still struggling to find a decent place to take natural light pictures in my house. It's proving to be quite difficult. We should move.

 Spicy Buffalo Lentils:

• 2 cups cooked Lentils
• 2 Carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 Celery stalks, diced
• 1/2 small Onion, diced
• 3 strips of Bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1/3 cup Franks hot sauce
• 2 TBSP Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 1/2 TBSP Olive Oil, divided
• 1-2 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 TBSP Honey
• 1/3 cup Blue Cheese, plus more for topping

Cook bacon and set aside. 

Cook lentils according to package directions. Drain off any excess liquid. We always have either brown or french green lentils on hand and both work well for this dish. 

In a small dish combine hot sauce, vinegar, 1 tbsp olive oil, garlic and honey and whisk to combine. Set aside.

Heat remaining 1/2 tbsp of olive oil in a saute pan over medium high heat. Add onion, carrots and celery. Cook until softened, about 6-8 minutes. Add crumbled bacon and 2 cups of lentils and stir to combine. Add sauce and blue cheese and stir to fully coat lentils. Served topped with additional blue cheese.

You can certainly enjoy this dish on it's own, but serving it up with slow cooked pulled pork is a fabulous idea too!

{tasty} BLT...BAS?

I have a problem.

If its not already evident by the recipes I have already posted, its somewhat a theme, I LOVE bacon. but that's not actually the problem I wanted to talk about...

I am downright terrible at measuring ingredients. You would think if I intend to share a recipe that I would take the time to measure, but I like to make things up as I go along. And if I DO measure, its a pretty safe bet to say I don't write it down. So a month later, when I'm finally ready to post the recipe, I have no idea what I used or how much of it went where. 

This recipe however is so simple that its pretty easy to recall. So simple, that I almost feel silly posting it. But I have to. Its too delicious not too. You'll thank me for it. 

This bacon/lettuce/tomato is actually a bacon/arugula/sun dried tomato spread. and every bit of deliciousness. 

You can make the spread ahead of time. The flavors develop wonderfully. You would, at least, want to make and refrigerate it prior to starting your bacon.

Sun Dried Tomato Spread:

2/3 cup mayonnaise -I happen to have found and love this black pepper mayo. If you use the regular stuff I suggest adding a nice spicy dash of pepper to the spread.

14 sun dried tomato halves

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2-3 cloves garlic -yes, I totally go the convenient route, but fresh garlic for this would be great!

Add all ingredients together in a small food processor and blend until well incorporated. It will be a little chunky. 

this is pre-refrigeration. I wouldn't say its the prettiest picture, but it brightens up nicely while it sits.

For the rest of the sandwich you will need:

16 slices thick cut bacon
14oz Ciabatta flatbread loaf

8oz sharp white cheddar cheese, sliced
arugula

additional balsamic vinegar
olive oil

Cook the bacon until crisp, cut in half, set aside

Cut a 14oz ciabatta flatbread loaf in to 4 equal pieces across the short side. Then slice each across through the middle. Brush each piece with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and toast in the oven until lightly browned. 

You can use ciabatta rolls for this, but the flatbread gives you a little more surface area to pile on all the good stuff.

Slather the sun dried tomato spread on all 8 pieces of bread. Don't be shy. Starting with the bottom piece of bread, pile on a large handful of arugula, followed by 8 half slices of bacon, then several slices of the sharp white cheddar. top with the other piece of sun dried tomato laden ciabatta and enjoy!

Serves 4

{tasty} Today

Today, I slow cooked a brisket in nothing but this...

and I quite liked it. 

{tasty} Bacon Cheddar Beer Bread

Beer bread is something wonderful. Its fool proof, and sometimes thats exactly what I need. I have been trying my hand at home made bread lately and honestly haven't had that much luck. One thing I have most definitely learned is that you cannot go by a set amount of time when it comes to allowing the bread to rise. And yes, I learned that the hard way. It all comes down to temperature. For rising and baking. Slowly but surely I am working out all the kinks.

With beer bread, however, that is not an issue. And better yet, it is SO simple and super versatile.

Basic Beer Bread

• 3 cups Flour
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 12oz bottle of beer

See? Simple! You can even omit the baking powder by using self rising flour.

The great thing about this recipe is that you can season it however you want. Whatever flavor calls out to you, just go for it. Also try different beers, as that will change the flavor profile as well. The first time I played with it I came up with this bacon cheddar version and its so good I just don't want to try anything else. I have used the Guinness as I did here. An IPA, which truth be told was not my cup of tea but my husband loved it. And more often New Castle.

To the basic recipe above, add:

• 1/2 lb bacon, cooked crisp and chopped
• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 2 tsp dried rosemary

Preheat oven to 375° and grease a loaf pan. Combine all ingredients, except beer, in a large bowl and mix together. Slowly pour in beer and mix until combined. Spread in to loaf pan and bake until golden and toothpick comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Bake for 20-25 minutes if doing muffins.

Cool on wire rack for 10 minute, remove from pan and cool 10 minutes more. Serve warm, or room temperature.

And let me tell you, this bread is so moist and tasty that you don't even need butter.

{tasty} Bacon Biscone

Im just going to put it out there.

We are a family that loves bacon.

Its true. Even my son will jump for joy and shout "bacon!" when he finds out I'm making some.

As much as we love bacon, we do try to limit our intake of pure bacon goodness to about once a month or so. And when we do have it, I love to bake with it. Sweet or savory, bacon makes everything better.

My husband requested I make scones with bacon, cream cheese and green onion. It was totally his idea, but heck I did all the work! I made 3 dozen of these biscuits? scones? I suppose its a biscone. I enjoyed a couple and sent the rest off with my husband to work. Im pretty sure they were gone within a day and a half.

First things first, you have to cook the bacon. I usually bake mine on cookie sheets. Its pretty effortless and they cook up great! Take cream cheese and butter out to soften slightly while bacon is cooking

Allow the bacon to cool, and roughly chop. Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Cube butter and coarsely chop the cream cheese. My idea behind freezing the cream cheese is similar to why you use frozen butter. I wanted pockets of cheese and not so much melted throughout.

Add all the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Cube frozen butter and cut into dry ingredients with a fork or pastry blender until the butter is the size of peas and some larger pieces. Gradually add in the cold buttermilk until it is just combined. Coarsely chop the cream cheese and 4 green onions, fold in to the biscone mixture, along with the chopped bacon. 

Using an ice cream scooper, arrange scoops of the biscone mixture onto a lined or greased baking sheet. Bake, until the tops are starting to brown, about 20 minutes. 

While these are baking, melt about 2 tablespoons of butter and combine with 1 clove minced garlic and 1 green onion, finely chopped. 

When biscones are slightly browned brush or spoon butter over each one and bake until golden brown, about 5-8 minutes more. 

Bacon Biscones: makes 12

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup cold/frozen butter, cut in cubes
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 1/4 cups cold buttermilk
• 4oz cream cheese, frozen
• 8oz bacon, cooked crisp
• 5 green onions, divided
• 1 garlic clove, minced