bacon

Loaded Twice Baked Red Potatoes

These mini twice-baked red potatoes are super creamy and loaded with all the fixins’, for a crowd-pleasing appetizer or side to any meal.

Easy Red Potato Recipe

Why is it that mini-me versions of favorite standards seem like so much more fun?

Baby versions of standard stuff are what get me every time.

Puppies and tiny dogs edge out the big guys in the oohs and awww how cute department every time. Mini bottles of condiments get opened whether needed or not. Baby carrots are so much easier to grab and snack. And sliders! Who can have just one?

Don’t even get me started on baby elephants. Cutest. Things. Ever.

So when I thought about making little red potatoes locked and loaded to the rim like their full size cousins, that was my, “well of course you should” moment.continue to the recipe… about Loaded Twice Baked Red Potatoes

BLT Pasta Salad with Avocado

This creamy, easy pasta salad recipe is loaded with tomatoes, arugula, and avocado, plus crispy bacon that’s all topped with a super simple Ranch-style dressing made healthier with a combo of Greek yogurt and mayo.

You could say my collection of pasta salad recipes here on the blog are my children, and just like any mother of kids, it’s nearly impossible to choose just one as my most favorite. But, if you’re a fan of a creamy pasta salad, or an ultra easy-to-make pasta salad that’s loaded with healthier goodness (plus bacon!), this avocado and bacon pasta salad is for you.

Once the garden tomatoes come into harvest, BLT sandwiches are a staple at our house. And the only thing that makes them even better is adding avocado for them to become BLATs. Bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomato sandwiches that are now a BBQ pasta salad staple.

So when my daughter requested I make a pasta salad that included her beloved bacon in the BLT mix, avocado was an obvious addition to make.

continue to the recipe… about BLT Pasta Salad with Avocado

German Potato Salad

Hot red potatoes dressed in a warm bacon, mustard and vinegar dressing are what make this traditional German potato salad a family favorite.

I can taste the pucker now. It’s the telltale sign of the ultimate German potato salad. That vinegar punch mixed with spunky, grainy mustard in a bacon-studded dressing. The unexpected zing that makes me wonder who could possibly pass up a mayo-less ‘tater salad?

Not this German girl.

Although when I just asked Smudge her opinion on which photo to use as the main for this post, she said, “That’s potato salad? I didn’t know it was potato salad when we have it. I always thought it was just hot cooked potatoes.”

I suppose hot potato salad served in a frying pan threw her for a BBQ-side-dish-loop. Surprise is good for her. And for all of us when it comes to giving traditional dishes a try. Leave it to the Germans who originated Christmas, Legos, Nutella and the VW bug to hand down yet another classic.continue to the recipe… about German Potato Salad

Easy Quiche Lorraine

This classic quiche lorraine recipe is an easy make-ahead breakfast, brunch, or lunch made of creamy egg custard, bacon and cheese filling.

Growing up, my dad’s usual weekend breakfast spread for the rest of us was bacon and eggs. A fancy dish like quiche was totally foreign to me, and I only knew of it because I loved the B-52’s and their quiche lorraine song. I thought quiche was only for chic occasions because it’s all fancy-French and must be finicky to make.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Quiche is basically the French version of my dad’s classic American breakfast of bacon and eggs but whisked into custard that’s baked in a buttery crust.

When visiting Paris earlier this year, quiche was served at every corner bistro at every time of day, and along with me and my daughter, my husband hungrily and happily proved that yes, real men do eat quiche.continue to the recipe… about Easy Quiche Lorraine

Healthy Homemade Egg McMuffin

Grab and go breakfasts can be the saving grace of any weekday morning. The eggs in this homemade Egg Mcmuffin sandwich recipe can be batch cooked in the oven, on the stove top, or in the microwave, and make eating a healthy breakfast your easiest decision of the day.

This recipe is brought to you by Kroger

We’re all guilty of it. The alarm blares at some ungodly time of the morning (no matter what time it is) and our first reaction is to fumble about and emphatically hit that snooze button for just.10.more.minutes.of.I.NEED.MORE.SLEEEEEP.

And that my friends is how you your morning time table suddenly becomes irrevocably out of whack. So what’s the first thing to go in your morning routine? Breakfast.

You think to yourself as you hustle out the door, “I’ll just grab something later,” or “Here honey, just eat this pop tart,” and load everyone into the car and buckle up for your day.

But that muffin/bagel/donut you impulsively picked up as your cruised through the drive-thru with your grande skinny latte is loaded with sodium, fat, and calories? Where’s the skinny or the healthy in that? Or worse, you don’t grab anything at all so you overeat at lunch. And your kid finds herself starving thanks to those empty carbs before 1st period is even over.

That’s why having a stash of make-ahead breakfasts ready to run out the door along with you is the secret to your morning’s success.continue to the recipe… about Healthy Homemade Egg McMuffin

Peach Panzanella Salad with Burrata and Bacon

This recipe is not your classic, traditional Italian or Greek panzanella salad, because with sliced sweet peaches, savory bacon, and gooey burrata crunched with sourdough bread chunks and dressed in an easy to make golden balsamic vinegar dressing, this healthy-ish salad goes well beyond the regular old panzanella each and every meal of the day.

Here we are, just three days into spring, and I’m already counting down the days to summer. That would be 72 if you’re wondering.

It’s not the hazy, lazy summer days lounging at the pool I’m waiting for (although that IS always on my summer happiness list), it’s the food I’m craving now. After a winter of simmering soups and savory stews, this girl is ready for the fresh, bright colors of salads of every color. And if it said salad has even a hint of caprese salad fixings—which I classify as a salad that includes some sort of mozzarella dressed in olive oil and balsamic and topped with basil—I am so 100% all over it.

It’s just one reason why I stopped dead in my flipping-the-pages-tracks while perusing the new cookbook of one of my favorite friends, then swiftly scoped my pantry stock for golden balsamic vinegar, checked on my countertop basil plant to be sure it hadn’t expired due to dehydration (those babies dry out fast!), and then headed straight to the grocery store for three loves of my foodie loving life: peaches, burrata, and bacon. Okay, make that four loves, with sourdough bread too.continue to the recipe… about Peach Panzanella Salad with Burrata and Bacon

How to Make the Best Minestrone Soup

My Grandma’s easy minestrone soup recipe is one of the healthiest vegetable-loaded soups you’ll make, and it tastes far better than any of those Olive Garden copycat recipes thanks to the secret ingredient in the savory broth.

“It is well worth the time and effort.”

But then, isn’t most anything when it’s done with love?

My sweet Grandma Frieda passed away when I was a senior in college and while there are many things that remind me of her, as a recipe maker it’s the cookbooks I inherited from her that I see most often.

One of my favorite things about her copies of The Joy of Cooking (pub. 1953) and Epicure’s Delight (pub. 1944) are the pages and margins filled with recipes written in her elegant handwriting that as a German-immigrant shows off the hard work it took to become a part of her new country. Like the quote says above, it is well worth the time and effort.

Nestled within those cookbook pages are recipe cards for recipes from friends like Edith’s Coffee Cake and Loretta’s Zucchini Soufflé which have both moved to my must-make list.

But the recipe that shows up time and time again is this Minestrone recipe from San Francisco’s Petrini Gourmet Grocery Stores, likely cut from the San Mateo Times’ newspaper recipe section to promote more soup bone sales for the homemade beef broth.

And because it’s #soupweek (did you see the Instant Pot Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup?) we’re keeping the slurps going by presenting The Gourmet by Petrini’s Minestrone Soup where either the newspaper editors or Petrini himself lured readers with the headnote mentioned above and can describe any meal when it’s made with love: It is well worth the time and effort, and even more so because this recipe is actually really easy to make.

How to Make a Traditional Minestrone

Whether you say minestrone soup like the Italians aka “min eh stron ee” or “min eh stron eh”, this soup is the perfect gateway to woo non-veggie lovers into getting a head start on their five a day. It’s brothy and flavorful with potatoes, pasta, and cheese that makes the veggies more than palatable. Use a small macaroni or pasta that matches the diced size of your veggies for equal tastes in every bite.

Because this soup has the simplest of ingredients and can be made with ease, the key is starting with the best quality you can find or afford.

Let’s start with the the broth.

Grandma’s newspaper recipe calls for a super simple stock of bones and water slow-simmered for flavor. But I like a richer, heartier stock so my homemade beef stock fit the bill here. Or if you prefer, use chicken broth (this is my favorite homemade) or a veggie stock instead. If you don’t have the time or inclination to make your stock from scratch, always choose a grocery store version that’s high quality with ingredients you can actually read.

To the stock you’ll be adding diced tomatoes, adding more richness and a bit of acid to balance the flavors.

The other source for this soup’s distinctive minestrone flavor comes from the spunk of Parmesan cheese and while grandma’s recipe doesn’t call for it, I have a secret that learned of long ago: to cook the broth with a few leftover rinds of Parmesan cheese. This step really imparts that cheesy flavor and takes your broth from a tepid vegetable flavor to minestrone all the way.

What Vegetables Go In Minestrone Soup?

One of the best things about Minestrone Soup is it can truly be a clean-out-the-fridge recipe you can fiddle with based on what you have on hand or what’s in season. Traditionally, the are the vegetables that most often show up:

Tomatoes
Onion
Carrots
Celery
Potatoes
Beans (kidney and Great Northern beans are my favorites)
Peas
Zucchini
Cabbage (shred it thin)
Spinach
Kale
Leeks (use the white parts only)
Green beans (canned works wonders)

While most people think of minestrone as a vegetarian soup, Petrini’s recipe begins with salt pork. Yep, this recipe is from days gone by. I used bacon instead. To make this minestrone soup vegetarian, skip the bacon and use a rich vegetable stock in lieu of the beef stock instead.

More Recipe Ideas to Make With this Soup and Make a Meal

If you make this recipe, please let me know! Bookmark this recipe and leave a comment below, or take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.

4.34 from 21 votes

My Grandma's Minestrone Soup

Because this soup gets a salty bite from the bacon and a generous helping of Parmesan cheese (plus Parmesan cheese rinds cooked with the broth) go light on the salt at the beginning of the cooking time and adjust the seasoning by adding more if needed just before serving.

Ingredients

4-5 slices bacon roughly sliced into bite size pieces
1 small onion chopped
1 cup chopped carrots
2/3 cup chopped leeks white part only
2/3 cup chopped celery
3 quarts beef stock 12 cups
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2-3 chunks of Parmesan cheese rind
1 1/2 cups potatoes
1 cup small macaroni
1 15- ounce can diced tomatoes
1 15- ounce can red kidney beans rinsed and drained
2/3 cup frozen peas thawed
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Add the bacon to a large dutch oven or soup pot over medium-high heat and cook until browned but not crispy. Add the onion, carrots, leeks and celery then reduce the heat to medium and cook until the vegetables soften, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the beef stock, kosher salt, pepper, and cheese rinds. Bring to a boil then reduce to a gently rolling simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, partially covered with a lid. Add the potatoes, macaroni, and tomatoes, then partially cover with the lid, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes more. Add the kidney beans and peas, and simmer until warmed through. Taste for seasoning and adjust to your taste. Just before serving, add the grated Parmesan cheese and serve sprinkled with more Parmesan if you’d like.

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Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta

This amazingly easy, 5-ingredient recipe makes traditionally bitter brussels sprouts sweet and crazy delicious thanks to roasting in a cast-iron skillet to create a caramelized bite of baby cabbage and salty pancetta for a favorite simple side dish any time of the year.

This recipe is brought to you by Kroger

Whether you call them correctly with the plural Brussels sprouts, or leave the S off the end of this cruciferous veg aka brussel sprouts, everyone can agree that these green baby cabbages are at their best when roasted in a skillet with crispy bacon bites drizzled with a maple-sweetened vinegar tang. Even a newly-converted-brussel(s) sprout lover, like me.

When I was a kid I pretty much loved everything my mom made for dinner and was just about always the first one finished. But when she served the one or two things I really didn’t care for, (“Awwwww…Brussels sprouts and liver????”) I had two secret tricks that made it so it appeared I was eating, but really, I wasn’t. First I’d take a gratuitous bite or two, then another combined with a fake cough straight into my napkin with whatever was in my mouth, that was quickly hid under the table and fed to the dog, or as I excused myself to go to the restroom and dumped into the toilet later.

I can’t believe my mom didn’t realize the only times I EVER had to go to the bathroom during dinner was when we had Brussels sprouts and liver. (Sidenote: Watch for my mom’s reply that she really did know all along in the comments below…I know her too well and I probably wan’t that good of an actress anyway.)

But thankfully, times change, and so do our palettes. At least half the time. I’m still not a fan of liver, but you can now count me as one of the lovers of Brussels. And even the singular brussel sprouts too, because of easy, 5-ingredient recipes like this.

continue to the recipe… about Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta

Crab and Shrimp Seafood Cobb Salad

Fresh snow crab and sweet bay shrimp sub in for the traditional chicken in this light but filling Cobb salad tossed with a tangy red wine vinaigrette.

The old saying may go, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” but the literal translation is: “The toppings are what make a good salad GREAT.”

You get me? Let’s break it down.

Any great Cobb salad’s list of ingredients could certainly stand on their own any day of the week. I mean, who hasn’t sprinkled salt and pepper on a freshly-cut summer tomato and deemed it the best thing they ever ate? Or scooped avocado straight from it’s shell and slipped it down the old pie hole in one creamy bite? And don’t get me started on how salty, crispy bacon bits magically disappear thanks to those nibbling elves before reaching their plated destination.

But together, those bites of tomato, avocado and bacon alongside bits of spunky cheese, crunchy romaine, and the sweet bites of snow crab and tender bay shrimp, is when this salad becomes the whole Cobb and nothing but the Cobb. Even though I forgot to show the hard boiled egg in the photos. Grrr. Next time!

If you’re at all familiar with Market Street Grill in Utah, then you’ve likely seen this seafood Cobb salad. It’s been on the menu since 1980, and while it’s had a maybe one or two tweaks through the years, it’s essence has always remained the same.

When I was a server at Market Street Grill, this was always a #1 summer seller. And still today, when my dad orders his usual Grilled Crab and Avocado Sandwich, it’s ~~very likely~~ guaranteed that this salad is what both my mom and I will order every.single.time. Creatures of habit or creatures of really good food? Perhaps a bit of both. And I’m totally okay with that.

About the Recipe

The twist to this Cobb salad is the replacement of chicken with sweet and tender snow crab and bay shrimp. I prefer a larger bay shrimp and look for the biggest I can find, and as always, frozen shrimp thaws just right so frozen in the bag is an easy way to go. You’ll likely need just one 5-legged section of snow crab legs, and because they’re previously cooked, simply thaw or rinse the crab in cold water and then remove the meat from the shell. Or do like I did and buy the crab meat already shelled. You’ll pay more this way, but you only need 1/4 pound of crab (and also of shrimp) to make 2 servings as a main course salad.

In the recipe photos I’m sharing today I totally spaced adding a hard boiled egg. If you’re like me and sad that I didn’t include, add 1 or 2 hard boiled eggs roughly chopped as a layer to the salad. That should certainly do the job.

For years I’ve searched the internet for the recipe to Market Street’s vinaigrette dressing and finally, after a deep dive into Google, I found a version of the recipe on this recipe board. It’s not 100% the same to my buds of taste, but it is certainly delicious at the 99% mark. When making the dressing, be sure to use very lightly cracked black peppercorns rather than fine ground pepper. That in itself is a game changer.

And one more tip: If you’re like me and don’t love the lingering smell of a bacon-saturated home, try cooking your bacon in a cast iron skillet on the grill. It’s a super easy baconless-smelling-home solution.

If you make this recipe, please let me know! Bookmark this recipe and leave a comment below, or take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.

4.82 from 11 votes

Crab and Shrimp Seafood Cobb Salad

The vinaigrette salad dressing yields one cup, more than you'll need for these salads. Reserve the rest of the dressing for other uses like pasta salad, as a marinade for chicken, and of course, for future salads.

Ingredients

4 slices thick cut bacon diced
6 cups sliced romaine lettuce
1/4 pound bay shrimp
1/4 pound snow crab meat
3-4 cocktail tomatoes diced
2 hard boiled eggs diced (not pictured but essential!)
2 ounces crumbled blue cheese
1 avocado sliced
For the Market Street Red Wine Vinaigrette
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons minced shallots
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 tablespoon crushed black peppercorns
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt

Instructions

In a large sauté pan or skillet, cook the diced bacon until cooked through, drain on a paper towel and cool.
Layer the romaine lettuce in the bottom of a large bowl. Place the salad toppings in rows on top of the lettuce. Serve with 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the red wine vinaigrette dressing and refrigerate the rest for later salad making.
For the Market Street Red Wine Vinaigrette
Place the ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together, or place in a jar with a fitted lid and shake until combined. makes 1 cup

Bobbing for More Cobbs

If you like a salad that’s more of a main than a side, consider trying one of these Cobb variations to fill your week with:

Autumn Cobb Salad

Taco Cobb Salad

Salmon Cobb Salad with Feta and Spinach

Southern Cobb Salad with Sweet Onion Dressing

Buffalo Chicken Cobb Salad

As always, thank you for reading and for supporting companies I partner with, which allows me to create more unique content and recipes for you. All opinions are always my own.

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Thanks for reading and subscribe to FoodieCrush to have each post delivered straight to your e-mail box.

Bacon Broccoli and Potato Frittata

Invented to be the perfect vehicle for any sort of leftover lounging in the fridge or flavor combination you can’t get out of your head, the essence of this frittata’s baked egg goodness is delivered in each and every bacon, broccoli, and potato-filled bite.

This post is brought to you by Kroger

Frittatas are a meal that leads a double life, possessing the wow factor of the uppity and far more finicky egg soufflé with the utilitarian goodness of a hardy egg omelette. They’re comfortingly adaptable. You can add meats, cheeses, and veggies of any sort. You can serve them hot, or serve them cold. You can eat them on fine china or from a napkin in your hand, in the car, on the way to work.

It’s true. Frittatas may just be the ultimate all-in-one food.

Even better, once you have the method and the proportions down, you can customize these custardy skillet bakes to your food craving’s content, making for a delicious breakfast, brunch, lunch, and even dinner that serves a crowd with minimal fuss.

Minimal fuss. Now, THAT is what I call the ultimate crowd pleaser.
continue to the recipe… about Bacon Broccoli and Potato Frittata

My Favorite Shrimp and Grits Recipe

This classic shrimp and grits recipe comes from Washington D.C.’s popular Founding Farmers restaurant. With its smoky bacon and Andouille sausage flavor, you’ll never want to eat tender shrimp over creamy grits any other way.

Creating This Shrimp and Grits Recipe

I’ve been on a quest to find the best shrimp and grits for at least the past 10 years. Quest? Obsession? Tomato, tumahhhto. I suppose I’ve simply been trying to get in touch with my inner Southern belle.

I grew up in the West and didn’t set foot in the South until recent years, so I didn’t have much familiarity with Southern food since our family dinners veered more toward my German dad’s taste for his favorite wienerschnitzel and my mom’s spaghetti with tomato sauce rather than Southern classics like this one.

But as my taste buds became more worldly and my flavor cravings crossed the Mississippi river line, I discovered that collard greens do indeed taste good, reubens taste so much better from a NYC deli, that I prefer gumbo over chili, and that catfish po’ boys are made for kings.

Hence my determination to find the best shrimp and grits had yet to waver. And then, on a work trip to Washington D.C., I finally found it. This. My favorite shrimp and grits recipe.continue to the recipe… about My Favorite Shrimp and Grits Recipe

Spaghetti alla Carbonara Recipe

The simplicity in this luxuriously creamy spaghetti pasta is thanks to just 4 ingredients and a hearty dose of black pepper.

“Here. Smell this. Does it smell like it’s gone bad to you?”

I HATE hearing those words in my kitchen. It means I’ve let good food go bad.

One of the things I struggle most with as a food blogger is food waste. Not of other people’s, but of my own.

Way too often than I want to admit, I find produce in the crisper that has turned into a science fair project. Or I make two or three dinner recipes in the middle of the day and with the best of intentions I save them to eat for dinner duriung the week.

And then I forget about them. Or my husband and daughter want something different for dinner. And by the beginning of the next week, those entire meals end up wasted.

I’m diligently working on getting better at that. It disgusts me how easy it is for me to disregard food in this way.

Why?

Because 1 in 7 Americans currently struggle with hunger. That’s 48.1 million people including 15.3 million children and 5.1 million seniors.

Those people don’t have the luxury of using 4 or 5 avocados to perfect their skills at making avocado roses. Or tossing the mega pack of chicken breasts in the garbage because they didn’t get around to cooking the whole package before the chicken started perfuming the fridge with that oh-too-familiar smell.

continue to the recipe… about Spaghetti alla Carbonara Recipe

Slow Cooker Corn Chowder

This slow cooker corn soup recipe uses a creamy almond milk and cashew milk blend to create a healthy, veg-heavy chowder with a bacon bite.

Again this year I’m happy to share that I’m partnering with Blue Diamond AlmondBreeze to share healthful recipes made with Almondmilk. Today we’re adding something brand new to the mix, Almond Breeze’s new Almondmilk Cashewmilk Blend.

It’s January. And that means three things.

#1: Everyone is on the healthy no-s0-heavy-on-the-gravy-train.

#2: It’s all about the soup.

And #3: It’s time to slow cooker and crock pot everything.

At our house we love a chunky soup. A broth with girth. With bite. And flavor.

This soup aka chowder stars one of my husband’s favorite vegetables, corn. And his other favorite vegetable, bacon. Yes, in his mind bacon is a vegetable. Or at least a food group. And when paired together with this creamy, slow cooked broth they make a souper good soup. Uh-oh, I’m on a roll.
continue to the recipe… about Slow Cooker Corn Chowder

Bacon Beer Cheese Dip

This ultra cheesy, irresistibly good dip made in a skillet adds everyone’s three favorite condiments to the party: bacon, beer and potato chips.

Is there such a thing as too much cheese? Or bacon? Or chips?

If you’re a fan of the blog, you know I’m a fan of the cheese. I’ve shared my tips on how to take the best photos of your grilled cheese, I’ve made over the top mac and cheese for you (again, BACON!) and I’ve even judged two grilled cheese contests, not to mention creating recipes for Grilled Cheese month every. single. April.

I should give up my hair dryer for a cheese grater so I can be a bona fide cheese head.

So when Kettle Brand Potato Chips asked if’ I’d be interested in creating a tailgating inspired recipe for fall, it simply wasn’t that much of a stretch to stick right with my theme, and go with the cheese.

Chip. Dip. SCORE!

continue to the recipe… about Bacon Beer Cheese Dip

Autumn Cobb Salad

Roasted squash, crunchy apples and dried cherries add seasonal freshness to this autumnal cobb salad, dressed in a spiced apple cider vinaigrette and topped with candied walnuts.

It’s that time of year where I’m either straddling the urge to pull out my chunky sweaters and hunker down with ooey gooey comfort food, or dig in my heels and cling to the straggling bounty of summer and all the freshness it holds.

Yesterday I was debating what to share here on the bloggity blog so I took to Facebook and Instagram and asked what you wanted to see.

“🔜 I’m working on tomorrow’s recipe post. Would you rather see a weeknight chicken pasta 🍗🍝 or a decadent fall-inspired salad 🌽🍅? Getting fresh pickings and loving fall’s bounty at the farmer’s market.”

Your comments, clicks and likes overwhelmingly say you’re in the same camp I am. Long live the salad! So at your request, I present a fall-inspired leafy beauty that will con any non-salad eater into giving the greens a go with the tease of chicken, bacon and eggs and more.

continue to the recipe… about Autumn Cobb Salad

Brown Sugar Pecans and Sweet Bacon with Havarti Grilled Cheese

Meeting in the middle of savory and sweet, this candied bacon and pecan grilled cheese is great for lunch but makes a unique dessert too.

Today is a gooey day. Certainly meltable even if we have yet to hit the heights of summer. Ring the bells and warm up your skillets, it’s National Grilled Cheese Day!

Throughout the month of April I’m partnering with one of my favorite cheese makers, Wisconsin’s Arla Dofino, to create and share three recipes featuring three of my favorite, meltable cheeses: Dill Havarti, Creamy Havarti and Smoked Gouda.

I started off the month at a good clip, with my Spicy Smashed Avocado & Asparagus with Dill Havarti Grilled Cheese. If you haven’t yet tried Arla Dofino Dill Havarti, tick tock, this is the time.

This week I’m keeping up the pace with this savory meets sweet (sounds like me and my man, but who is which?) grilled cheese sandwich that melts somewhere in the middle of lunch and dessert.

It’s simply the best place to be.continue to the recipe… about Brown Sugar Pecans and Sweet Bacon with Havarti Grilled Cheese

Deep-Dish Spinach, Leek and Bacon Quiche

This deep dish quiche recipe has a tender cream cheese crust that bakes up light and fluffy. Greek yogurt adds a tang and creaminess to the fluffy egg center baked with spinach, sautéed leeks, and crunchy bacon bits.

Are we our own worst critics? Or is it the other guy? Do we expect more from ourselves because we’re always in search of measuring up? Or is it truly because others expect us to rise to the occasion?

I’m betting it’s all of the above.

Yesterday I received a comment from Caryn who said, “Made these tacos tonight. They were AMAZING! Will definitely make again soon! Thanks for sharing! “

Shortly afterward, I received a comment from Amy, a reader reporting that a recipe she made of mine, was in her words, “…one of the worst recipes I’ve ever tried. I’ve followed the recipe directions to the letter, but after 30 minutes, these bars are still not cooked. In fact, the top is crispy, but just underneath it’s still completely liquid. What a mess!!!!”

Because I’ve deemed it my job to deliver recipes that others want to make successfully, I truly appreciate both of their feedback. And oh how I can relate to Amy, and man, I wish the recipe had measured up to her expectations like it did for me and others who have made it.

I can totally relate to Amy because I’ve had the same exact experience: to be inspired to make a recipe, follow it to a T, and be left disheartened because it didn’t turn out as I expected.

What did I do differently—aka wrong—making it so that her version didn’t turn out? Are my recipes good, like Caryn said? Or are they prone to failure, like Amy said?

And thus, the second guessing and self critiquing begins.

It’s ironic that I had both of these comments in a span of 15 minutes, while writing this post, because nothing exemplified Amy’s feelings more than when I was developing this quiche recipe. It nearly did me in but I kept at it because I craved this deep dish quiche pie.

Baking can turn into the evil step-mother in the blink of an eye.continue to the recipe… about Deep-Dish Spinach, Leek and Bacon Quiche

Maple Apples, Blue Cheese and Bacon Pizza

This pizza started out as sushi. Well, sort of.

After getting my roots done this week (just in the nick of time) I hit the bookstore to try and find the latest issue of my favorite foodie inspiration Donna Hay magazine (to no avail) and ended up soaking in a few other publications (rags) instead. Mila and Ashton had their baby! Get ripped abs in 10 easy steps! Theresa and Joe go to jail! Celebrity beach bodies gone wrong! Who wore it best? For sure, she did!

Ugh, why did I wander away from the food magazines?

Afterward, I walked over to Whole Foods to cure my craving for lunch-on-the-go-sushi. Instead, I left with a new craving and all of the makings for this pizza.

continue to the recipe… about Maple Apples, Blue Cheese and Bacon Pizza

Bacon Wrapped Grilled Peaches with Balsamic Glaze

The first bite of recipe creating inspiration for me often starts with—you got it—the first bite.

Case in point, my dinner last Friday night. Even though it was Labor Day weekend, the mountains delivered a chilly preview of what’s soon to be in store. I love fall. I can’t wait.

My husband and I were invited to mark the end of summer at the Wasatch Mountain Table at nearby Solitude Resort. It was a very, very long table set at the bottom of a ski hill among forests of trees and a wandering river.

We met some incredibly fun tablemates and laughed the night away, because that what food and drink does to a crowd. But the real focus of the night was the delicious food accented with beer pairings from one of my husband’s favorite local brewers, Epic Brewery.

Peaches are a staple fruit in Utah with orchards dotting the freeways that run north all the way to the border of Idaho. One of the appetizers at our Friday night dinner was a grill full of these Bacon Wrapped Grilled Peaches. Chef Neville cooked down Epic Brewery’s Brainless on Peaches Belgian Ale into the balsamic glaze.

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Bacon Cheddar Chicken Burgers with Guacamole and BBQ Mayo + a Grilling Package Giveaway

I try my best when it comes to cooking and baking from scratch for my family and friends. But sometimes, the time it takes to cook from scratch takes a back seat to having fun in the sun. Today I have a great recipe and $100 Grilling Giveaway at the end of this post that’ll help you balance the two.

My dad taught me something early in life. You always want to have back-ups. Whether it’s extra rolls of toilet paper, another pair of your favorite flip-flops, or having enough pickle relish on hand to feed the Spanish marines (one of my mom’s favorite sayings), you gotta have extras for those times in need.

That’s why my freezer is my friend. Frozen veggies, frozen shrimp and of course, ice cream. They’re all at the ready when in need in the kitchen. Recently, I’ve added a new freezer back-up that’s become a summer staple. Gold’n Plump Chicken Patties.

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The Best BBQ Baked Beans and 5 More Baked Beans to Love

Just the thought of this recipe for BBQ Baked Beans makes the top of my mouth hurt. Because willpower and baking beans simply do not mix.

This is my mom’s baked beans recipe and with it comes a flood of summer memories. Of coming home after a full, hot day swimming, swimming, swimming and diving and flipping and flirting at the pool. Then finally home to the coolness of the air conditioned house where my mom often had these babies on the stove, percolating their way towards dinner.

It took just one step through the door and me and my swimsuit soaked shorts were making a beeline for the stove. There was always a wooden spoon sitting to the side, laced with the dried sauce from my mom’s stirring of the baked beans. One lick and that set off the need for more.

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Bacon Egg and Cheese Biscuit Sandwiches

Do you know what happens mere moments after the Easter Bunny silently scampers away from the scene of the crime? When mom and dad survey the scene of multi-colored egg bombs that litter the yard?

The elephant in the room appears and asks, “How much egg salad are we going to have to eat this year?”

Easter is funny that way. Traditional always, with flavors like ham, carrots and scalloped potatoes. Scalloped potatoes are a flavor in my book. And of course there’s a spring berry something for dessert.

And eggs. Let us not ignore the eggs.

I for one take my egg salad very, very seriously, and very, very happily. But sometimes you just have to throw your hands in the air and let the world know that enough is simply enough with the egg salad.

That’s when it’s time to double down and try something new. Like biscuits and eggs. Still a sandwich, but different enough.

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Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing and Spicy Roasted Chickpeas

Adults love it, kids loathe it. For better or for worse, spinach is a mainstay super food that just cannot be ignored in today’s diet and my Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing and Spicy Roasted Chickpeas is yet another reason to add it to your lunch or dinner menu plans.

This post is sponsored by Tabasco as part of its 10-Ingredient Challenge. Thanks for supporting companies I believe in, which allows me to create more unique content and recipes for you.

This recipe combo is the final installment of my Tabasco 10-Ingredient Challenge, following up my Tabasco Brined Spicy Drumsticks, Tabasco Chicken Meatballs in a Spicy Tomato and Apricot Sauce and Tabasco Braised Chicken with Chickpeas and Kale.

Spicy and we love it.

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Baked Potato Salad and a Canyon Cookout

This restaurant favorite gets a home-style makeover for a crowd in my Baked Potato Salad with bacon and cheese.

Sometimes you just have to break out of the norm. Make a break from Groundhog day and do something a little different, change things up and give them a little twist.

Like 99.95% of every single person I know, I can get into a rut. A funk. A little too much of doing things the same way just because that’s the way I do it.

Last week I was totally uninspired. I had just returned home after a week of visiting my sister where I had dutifully assigned deadlines to my calendar and outlined my to-do list with tasks at hand. And yet I could not for the life of me not get up the gumption or enthusiasm to tackle them and cross those pesky running agenda items that kept racing through my mind off of the quickly becoming redundant list. I moved from one task to the next, never fully realizing my goals. I needed a change up in the old routine, and with several out of town trips looming on the horizon, I had to get a new ‘tude quick.

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Classic Blue Cheese Wedge Salad Recipe and Dole Salad Farm Tour

I must say, this blog has given me the chance to do things I never in my life could have imagined. I mean, how many of you have walked through acres of furrowed rows of big-headed, leafy green orbs to watch as they’re cut from their stalk and stems by the swiftest of hands that instinctively know just the right angle and pressure to keep the lettuces at their tender, leafiest best? Or stayed at amazing resorts, sampling amazing food with amazing foodie friends? Or almost been trampled on the 18th hole of Pebble Beach by a deer (as docmuented here and here.)

Well, I can strike them all off of my bucket list, check this and roger that.

I can’t believe I ate green iceberg lettuce, straight from the field. From the Dole field. From a field that is the birthplace to millions of salads all across the United States. And there I was in the middle of it, wishing I had a little of my favorite dressing to slurp alongside it.

Iceberg screams summer to me thanks to it’s watery, juicy crunch. Which led me to finally posting my favorite Classic Blue Cheese Wedge Salad. My other natural option was a BLT Sandwich, which this actually sort of is, minus the bread. Let’s call it low-carb, shall we?

My salad inspiration stemmed from my trip a few weeks ago to Monterey, CA when a group of food bloggers were invited to the Dole Taste of Spain Salad Summit. It was an opportunity to meet and tour local growers, see the inside operations of one of the Dole Salad factories, eat fantastic food, drink local wine (in a vineyard), savor the coastal temps in relaxing accommodations (please take me back), and learn all sorts of foodie insider information from the editors of Eating Well (did you know that America’s favorite vegetable is asparagus and that 78% of U.S. adults say they are now buying organic?)

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Roasted Potato Salad with Bacon Dressing

Who is ready for summer? Who is ready for summer fun? And summer trips? And who wants to go on trip with me and a few other bloggers to see where the food on our tables actually comes from? I’ll fill you in on that opportunity right after this potato salad fills you up. Memorial Day conjures up a serious craving for barbeques and deck time. Which translates to grilling and potato salad for most any red-blooded American. And even a few border straddling Canadians. It’s the start of summer so let’s ring it in right.

This recipe is an adaptation of one my sister in law makes for nearly every BBQ feast at their house. While Chad is busy pulling his smoked salmon or ribs out of the smoker, Audrey has usually whipped up a simple, roasted potato salad that is supremely delish.

G Dawg and I were craving something similar last weekend when we had a few friends over for eats and sips. With a few errant strips of bacon languishing in the fridge, he got all inspired to create a riff on Audrey’s recipe, sans the mayo. Why no mayo? Probably because we’re a house divided on mayo/Miracle Whip preference and he didn’t want me giving my two cents on what tastes better. However I did lend my opinion on his recipe documentation skills as he scribbled his notations on a napkin. He’s a mad scientist in the kitchen with no time to dawdle around looking for paper.

Napkin notations or not, his potato creation was spot on: Create a hot bacon dressing to be soaked up by crispy, roasted, bacon spruced potatoes. Inspired it was, leftovers it was not. These babies went fast and hard and happily so.

To ring in barbeque and picnic season, I’m going to be featuring several of my favorite potato salads perfect for every occasion from canyon cookouts to luncheon main dishes. There’s so many options you’ll be potato-sized in no time.

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Cobb Grilled Cheese and Friday Faves

Okay, okay, I know. This grilled cheese is much more than just cheese. It’s a cacophony of flavors. Fresh, California-esque flavors packed and stacked into the theme of a grilled cheese sandwich.

With Grilled Cheese Month in full swing, completely creative cheese concoctions are popping up all over the web. Which makes coming up with something original not the most original idea.

Case in point: Last week when I posted my Spinach and Artichoke Grilled Cheese I knew from the get go that the ingredient list may not be the most original, but the combination wasn’t something I had recently seen. That is until later that night when I was perusing my Feedly blog feed and BOOM, right there in the popular post column (natch) I saw a version of the same sandwich on Joy’s site from 3 days earlier.

I took comfort in my duplication that at least I was somewhat in the same hemisphere of recipe creation as a doyenne food blogger and hey, there aren’t that many original ideas left in the world. And who cares? Nothing ever comes out the same way twice from the exact same cook anyway. There’s plenty of room for all of us.

Some food bloggers scour the web to see if their recipe ideas have been posted on sites far and wide. I’m not into that. If it’s something I think sounds tasty, I’ll post it. If someone else features the same recipe idea, I’ll consider that fate, fluke or simply a happy accident with the world telling us we need more Spinach and Artichoke Sandwiches. Of which we do.

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Stuffed Jalapeños with Gorgonzola and Bacon plus 10 Jalapeño Popper Recipes

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen these Jalapeno Hotties before.

It was another game day, I think you’ve heard of it, a little thing called the Superbowl, you remember…where Beyonce outperformed every other two-legged being on the planet? We had a couple of friends over, made some grub and ate and drank our fill.

While the centerpiece of that dinner was my dad’s classic Daddy’s Hamburgers, these Stuffed Jalapenos with Gorgonzola and Bacon have been weighing heavy on my mind. My friend Angie showed up with a gorgeous baking sheet full of them, and you can rest assured, there was not a single one left within a half hour of them exiting the oven.

Ever since then, this recipe has been tugging at my stomach strings. It’s one of those you keep telling yourself, “No, no, no. You don’t need to make those. Eat kale instead. Have an apple. Juice a beet.”

What do I say to that? Take one guess. Or should I say, take one look.

With another big playoff game putting an end to the build up of March Madness (BTW, why do they confuse us by pushing the orange ball finale into April?) I laugh in the face of the notion of eating anything too calorie conscious while cheering on cute college boys in shorts.

We all have our vices. I have several. Cheese and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills are at the top of my list and are not mutually exclusive.

Those RHOBH can get preeeeety cheesy. And I LOVE them for it.continue to the recipe… about Stuffed Jalapeños with Gorgonzola and Bacon plus 10 Jalapeño Popper Recipes

Truffle Bacon Popcorn Plus 6 Savory Popcorn Recipes

There are three just-cooked scents that will put anyone’s flavor anttanae on high alert: Popcorn, bacon and chocolate chip cookies. You can smell ’em as soon as your foot hits the threshold and like a treat-obsessed dog of any size you go straight for the goods to sample a bite.

So what would it taste like to have all three of these in one taste treat delight? Sorry, but you won’t find out in this post.

What I will be sharing with you is the savory side of popcorn, the sultry side, the 50 Shades of Grey side of popcorn. Or is 50 Shades of Grey already a “so 2012” reference that I’ve shown my true behind-the-times colors?

Now, I’m assuming you’ve munched on popcorn: Caramel corn, movie-like-butter-flavor and maybe even chocolate. And you’ve savored bacon. Unless you’re vegan/vegetarian. And who doesn’t love the stinky cheese popcorn that’s delivered by corporate salesmen at the holidays to keep the entire staff satiated and happy? The kind that stains your popcorn-dipping fingers orange but you just can’t seem to say, “No thanks,” to.

But have you ever had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of truffle salt?

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Bacon and Jam Mini Monkey Bread Recipe Madness

Who doesn’t like thing small and cute? Add sweet to that descriptive and you have a home run.

Small children at their cuddliest peak are always adorable, the ability to wear clothes in smaller sizes is enviable (read: small does not mean so short you need a ruffle) and small bites are all the rage.

Enter Mini Monkey Breads.

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