Spiced Candied Bacon

Posted on March 1, 2019 by Our Growing Paynes

The inspiration for Spiced Candied Bacon struck as we were on a little escape to see Mumford and Sons in Providence, Rhode Island. I was at a loss of what to blog about this week as the show was this past Wednesday night, the night I usually cook something up for my blog. The bar at the hotel came to the rescue! We ordered a charcuterie plate that had some candied bacon. It was so good with a hint of spiciness. I just had to make it.

For my husband’s birthday, our kids bought him a ticket to Mumford and Sons. The band is amazing live. Great harmonies, fantastic music and they just interact with the audience really well. A fabulous break from the dull winter.

Technique for Spiced Candied Bacon

Mix the dry rub ingredients together. For this recipe I used 2 tablespoons of brown sugar but if you want it less sweet, you can reduce the sugar by up to a tablespoon. Or increase the spices. You just need to make sure you have enough rub for the bacon.

Evenly coat the bacon and then bake on convection/fan. Keep an eye on this as you don’t want it suddenly to get overly crispy. It takes 5-10 minutes depending on the thickness. Set aside when done.

As it’s probably not a good idea, though they wouldn’t protest, to just feed your kids bacon I made a southwest veg topping with panko crusted chicken and pepper jack cheesy potato and parsnip mash. I cooked up corn, mushrooms, onion, garlic and pepper with a bit of chicken stock, habenero flakes, lime zest, chili powder and cumin.

Layer the mash, chicken, veg and the bacon and serve. I’ll definitely be making this bacon again. It’s so easy to do and would go with so many different kinds of dishes. Thank goodness for inspiration!

Spiced Candied Bacon

A quick and easy recipe balancing heat and sweet for entrees and starters.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Southwest

Keyword Spiced Candied Bacon

Cook Time 10 minutes

Servings 4

Author Our Growing Paynes

Ingredients

8 Streaky bacon rashers
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
zest from half a lime
sea salt to taste
1 tsp habanero flakes

Instructions

Preheat the oven on convection/fan to 350F/175C.
Mix the dry ingredients well then coat the bacon rashers. Lay out the bacon on a metal cooling rack and place that onto a baking rack. Bake for 5-10 minutes, keeping an eye on it so it doesn’t crisp up too much.
Serve with entrees or starters, or by itself!

Italian Potato Salad

Posted on August 31, 2018 by Our Growing Paynes

Before I get to the Italian Potato Salad I have to say I am very excited that I’ve opened up my Etsy shop! I’ve been working for months on researching what to do and getting my photos together. I’m starting off with greeting cards but I’ll be adding enlargements and such as I go along. It is call CreationsByOGP, for some reason Etsy doesn’t like spaces!

If you have a chance, please check it out at CreationsByOGP.

As we’re still battling a fierce heatwave with crazy humidity, dinners need to be easy to put together because standing over a hot stove isn’t my idea of fun in the summer. The farmer’s market had new potatoes so I decided to make an Italian Potato salad.

Technique for Italian Potato Salad:

I prepped the dressing first so it was ready.

Mix 2 parts olive oil with one part lemon juice. Add a healthy handful of fresh thyme and season with sea salt and pepper. Whisk the ingredients well and set aside. Next wash the potatoes and roast them at 425F/220C until they are cooked through and the skins are a bit crispy. Take 4-6 rashers of streaky bacon and cook in a skillet until they are done to the way you like them. We like them slightly crispy but not cooked too hard.

Dice the bacon and set aside. Once the potatoes are cooked, slice the larger ones in half as you want them bite size.

Toss in a large bowl with the dressing and bacon. Add fresh basil, tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. Grate fresh parmesan to finish.

For a bit of variation you can also add grilled chicken or grilled fish. I have to say though, I’m ready for cooler weather so I can do some baking and such. Hopefully it’s right round the corner.

Italian Potato Salad

A delicious twist on potato salad with fresh basil and tomatoes.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Italian Potato Salad

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 6 people

Author Our Growing Paynes

Ingredients

Dressing

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh thyme
pinch sea salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Salad

1 lb new potatoes 400g
4-6 rashers streaky bacon
1/2 cup fresh basil, torn to small pieces
1-2 fresh tomatoes, diced
1 cup small mozzarella balls
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

Whisk the olive oil and lemon juice together. Add the thyme, sea salt and pepper. Mix well. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 425F/220C. Roast the potatoes until the skins are crispy. Cook the bacon until they are slightly crispy. Cut up the bacon and slice any new potatoes that are more than bite sized. Toss all the ingredients together and serve.

Brussel Sprout Sliders

Posted on April 26, 2018 by Our Growing Paynes

A quick post today as we’re getting ready to hit the road for university tours. It seems so surreal that our daughter is old enough to be thinking about university but it’s here! She’s ready for the next chapter and excited about it. I look forward to see where her journey takes her.

This past weekend I made a dinner for my husband as a thank you for holding down the fort during tax season. It’s a lot of extra work for him for which I am grateful he takes on.

One thing he loves is Brussel sprouts so that definitely had to be on the menu. Just for him mind as I can’t stand the stuff! I came across an idea on Pinterest for vegetarian Brussel sprout sliders with tofu, I think plus there were asian flavours. I thought it would be a fun idea with streaky bacon and french flavours.

In a small bowl add two parts olive oil to one part champagne vinegar. Finely chop 2 small cloves of garlic and add a healthy dollop of brown mustard. Season with sea salt and pepper.

Mix well and coat the sprouts. Reserve the remaining mixture.

Roast in the oven at 350F/175C. Cut 3 rashers of streaky bacon into squares. Cook them up in a skillet, slowly rendering them.

When the bacon has been cooked remove from the skillet and set aside. Drain the bacon fat until you have a couple of tablespoons left in the pan. Add to the skillet thinly sliced onion. I was only making 4 sliders so I did a half a cup. Cook slowly to soften and caramelise.

When they are halfway cooked add the remaining mustard mixture to the onions. Continue to caramelise.

Once all the ingredients have been cooked assemble into sliders.

My husband really enjoyed these so I’ll be making these again. Just a small way to show my gratitude.

Bacon Wrapped Steak Salad and They Really Should Teach Body Mechanics in PE

Posted on April 12, 2018 by Our Growing Paynes

I was able to touch my toes today. So what you say? Well, I can’t remember the last time I’ve been able to do that! I had to bend my knees a little but I got there. Part of what helped was reading an article from NPR about the proper way to bend to pick up things. Seems so basic but it really changed things for me.

I was speaking with my massage therapist today and casually mentioned I was discussing with my husband how they should teach body mechanics in Physical Education. Perhaps if they did less of us wouldn’t find us feeling old as we hit our 30’s and 40’s. She completely agreed as she definitely sees all sorts of body issues. Just add it to the long list of things that kids should learn before heading out into the world!

Only five more shifts of tax season, not that I’m counting! But the last few weeks mean I need to come up with simple dishes to cook on the days I’m home in the evening because my brain is fried! I came across a dish with steak wrapped in streaky bacon with the usual Worcestershire sauce, which is tasty but I wanted to mix it up a bit with a fresh salad and Italian flavours.

At least an hour ahead of cooking marinate the steak. In a bowl add two parts olive oil and one part balsamic vinegar. Finely chop 3-5 cloves of garlic, depending on size, and finely chop a small handful of fresh oregano and thyme. Add a bit of sea salt and pepper. Mix well.

Cube the steak. I used steak tips as the co-op has a great local source, so good! Add the steak to the marinade.

When it’s time to cook, wrap each cube in half a rasher of streaky bacon and place on a skewer.

If you remembered to get propane for the grill, use the grill but as I hadn’t done that I used the griddle on the cooktop. Get it to medium high. You don’t want it too hot because you don’t want to burn the bacon before the steak get’s cooked.

Use the marinade to baste the bacon and turn frequently so, again, the bacon doesn’t burn. While this is cooking put together a fresh salad with mozzarella cheese and fresh made balsamic vinaigrette. Use 2 parts olive oil and 1 part balsamic vinegar.

I’m definitely ready for salad season. Love the lightness and all the flavours.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup to Keep Us Cosy

Posted on February 8, 2015 by Our Growing Paynes

We’re in the first peak of tax season so quick meals are key. And given how cold and snowy it’s been, comfort food is a definite must. We’re lucky it’s not as bad as the winter in the midwest last winter but you get to a point that cold is cold.

I’ve seen several pins and references to loaded baked potato soups. The idea really sang to me so I thought I’d come up with my own recipe for this soup.

I cubed up a couple of red skin potatoes and covered them with homemade chicken stock. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer until the potatoes are tender and cooked.

In a separate skillet cook up some streaky bacon, scallions, garlic, mushrooms, and thyme. To hold up in the soup the bacon needs to be on the crispy side.

Once the potatoes are cooked through use an immersion blender to blend the potatoes until they are smooth. Sprinkle a teaspoon or two of red pepper flakes into the soup.

Add a cup of cream and the bacon mixture and warm through again. Season with salt and pepper.

Top with shredded cheese, sour cream, and some chives.

A good stick to your ribs soup! It was even better the next day with the flavour of the red pepper flakes really coming through. And it did the trick for pushing back winter.

Chicken Avocado Salad and a Frost Advisory

Posted on September 16, 2014 by Our Growing Paynes

Correct me if I’m wrong but it’s still summer, right? So it was completely insane to me to find us under a frost advisory. Sunday afternoon we grabbed as many tomatoes as we could as the plants were too tall for us to cover. The only other veg we really had to worry about were the peppers. So we got those covered. Turns out the temperature stayed just high enough but we have two more evenings this week that may get close to frost. I had to dig out my winter hat to walk the dogs!

For Saturday I wanted to do a light healthy meal with chicken and avocado. I was put in the mood for this last week when we had some gorgeous weather. Saturday rolls round and it’s raw and cold. I would not be dissuaded! I put on more layers and got on with it. 🙂

This is super simple with layered flavours and it’s quick to put together. The longest bit was the side of roasted potatoes.

Cook up 5-6 rashers of streaky bacon.

Set aside the cooked bacon on paper towels and pour out most of the bacon fat and save for other dishes. You only need a tablespoon or two. Thinly slice a chicken breast and start browning it in the bacon fat. Add a couple of chopped garlic cloves and a couple of mushrooms.

As the chicken cooked I made the dressing. This was a bit of an experiment as I had an idea of what flavour I wanted as well as consistency. But wasn’t sure how to get there. I started with a base of mayo.

In hindsight I should have started with half the mayo I actually used. I added sriracha sauce, lime juice and cilantro. The important thing is not to have the aftertaste of mayo.

To serve I layered lettuce leaves with the chicken, mushrooms, and chopped bacon.

Add sliced avocado and fresh tomatoes. Drizzle the dressing over and serve.

Now the idea was to make these as wraps but I served it this way because there was a lot of food. Kudos for my family for being game and making them into wraps. The thing I loved about this dish was it was filling but not heavy. I hate feeling stuffed but also dislike being hungry a short time after so this was perfect. And we had just enough room for popcorn and watching “Young Frankenstein” with the kids.

A Proper Fry Up – Not Just for Breakfast!

Posted on September 9, 2013 by Our Growing Paynes

Once or twice a year my husband and I drag ourselves out to do some real shopping. Neither of us like shopping and I drag more than he does but it has to be done otherwise we’d wear through our clothes and start getting funny looks. It went as well as it could and we were exhausted by the time we got home yesterday after two days of trying on clothes. Seriously, they really need to make it a better shopping experience. I love Brooks Brothers clothes (from the outlets of course :)) but the sales woman explained to me that they run really small so I should be looking at 4 sizes up. Excuse me? How is that a good marketing plan? She was very nice but I went two doors down to Talbots and found my size that fit. 🙂 It’s times like this where I will freely admit my husband has the patience of a saint because I get really cranky. This is the only time I will admit it though!

So to give us some strength for the weekend I thought it would be fun to have a fry up for dinner. For those that don’t know it’s a full English Breakfast. The only thing I didn’t do was the fried bread. I’m trying to be good. Ahem.

We have a source for the Irish Bangers, the HP brown sauce, and the Heinz beans. The only thing we don’t have is the English bacon. Which I like but not as much as streaky bacon so we were in great shape. This does have to be staged somewhat so it can all be served hot. I start the bacon first as you need the fat for the other components.

The beans go in a small pot to heat up. It’s important to keep stirring as you go so it doesn’t catch on the bottom.

The bangers come fully cooked but they need to be warmed up. These are very thick so I pierce them with a knife and microwave for a minute or so then put them in a skillet with a bit of olive oil to brown them nicely.

Once the bacon is done I place it on a warmed plate with paper towels to blot and keep them in a warmed toaster oven. As things finish cooking they join the bacon to keep warm. I sliced up some button mushrooms and tomatoes. The mushrooms need to cook about halfway before adding the tomatoes.

After the mushrooms and the tomatoes are removed from the skillet it is time to fry the eggs. Normally I fry my eggs in fat free cooking spray but not when I do a fry up! I love the flavour of fried eggs in bacon fat. Just can’t do it very often.

Serve everything together and it goes down a treat.

When the kids came home last night they found out we still have bacon and bangers so they requested this for dinner tonight. I mean we wouldn’t want the ingredients to go to waste now would we? 😉

Our Growing Paynes

A journey about cooking, traveling, gardening, and crafting.

Tag Archives: streaky bacon

Spiced Candied Bacon

Technique for Spiced Candied Bacon

Spiced Candied Bacon

Ingredients

Instructions

Italian Potato Salad

Technique for Italian Potato Salad:

Italian Potato Salad

Ingredients

Dressing

Salad

Instructions

Brussel Sprout Sliders

Bacon Wrapped Steak Salad and They Really Should Teach Body Mechanics in PE

Loaded Baked Potato Soup to Keep Us Cosy

Chicken Avocado Salad and a Frost Advisory

A Proper Fry Up – Not Just for Breakfast!