Baked Potato Skins

My son is taking a cooking/sewing class in junior high.  He missed class one day, so he got to make these for our family at home.  He made these for us with very little help or instruction from me :)  They are easy and we loved them!!

Baked Potato Skin

Ingredient:

4 baked potatoes

3 T oil

1 T grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 t garlic powder

1/4 t paprika

1/8 t pepper

4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

1 c shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 c sour cream

1 sliced green onion

Directions:  Cut potatoes in half lengthwise;  scoop out pulp, leaving a 1/4-in. shell (save pulp for another use).  Place potatoes skins on a greased baking sheet.  Combine oil, Parmesan cheese, salt, garlic powder, paprika and pepper;  **brush over both sides of skins.  Bake at 475 degrees for 7 minutes;  turn.  Bake until crisps, about 7 more minutes.  Sprinkle bacon and cheddar cheese inside skins.  Bake 2 minutes loner or until the cheese is melted.  Top with sour cream and onions.  Serve immediately.

**We found it easier to dip the potatoes into the oil mixture, rather than brushing it on the potato.

Bacon Fried Rice

My son made this fried rice in a class at the Junior High...minus the bacon.  When he asked if we could make it for dinner one night, we decided to add some bacon...and I'm telling you it was DELICIOUS!!

Seriously the BEST fried rice I have ever had!  You can add as much or as little bacon as you want...or even leave it out all together...BUT I think you should add some, the smokey flavor makes the stir fry...over the top!

Bacon Fried Rice

Ingredients:

1/2 T sesame oil

1 onion

4 T soy sauce

2 large carrots, diced or shredded

2 stalks celery, chopped

1/2 large red bell pepper, diced

1/2 large green bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup peas

4 cups cooked white rice

2 eggs, scrambled

1/2 - 1 package cooked bacon, chopped

Directions:  Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and saute until soft, add 2 T soy sauce.  Stir in carrots, celery, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, peas and stir-fry another 5 minutes.  Add rice and stir thoroughly.  Stir in scrambled eggs, bacon and 2 T soy sauce.  Heat through and serve hot.

I baked my bacon and used one package, minus two pieces that didn't make it to the chopping board ;)

Baking Bacon

We are still working on finishing up the S'mores stuffed chocolate chip cookies at our house....still delicious!

Today we are talking about bakin' some bacon :)  Have you ever baked bacon?  I tried it a year or so ago and didn't have much luck.  I lined my baking sheet with foil, placed a metal cooling rack in and placed my bacon on the cooling rack...thinking that all the grease would drip through to the pan.  I guess a lot of the grease did drip through, but it took FOREVER for my bacon to bake and the cool rack was a pain to clean!!  So I gave up baking bacon for awhile.

My husband has been telling me about the most wonderful bacon that he buys at work that is 'baked'.  We decided to try it again and it was GREAT!!  This is what I did this time....

I lined 2 large baking sheets with foil and then placed a sheet of parchment paper on top of that.  I needed 2 pans to fit my entire package of bacon.  Place the bacon on the parchment paper close together, but works best if they are not touching...or the pieces might stick together.  Place your pans of bacon in a cold oven.  If you have 2 pans, place one in the top quarter of the oven and the other in the bottom quarter.

Turn oven on to 350 degrees.  When the oven is pre-heated, you will cook your bacon for 15-25 minutes...depending on thickness of bacon.  Mine was not thick cut bacon and took 15 minutes(plus the pre-heat time)...but it will vary depending on your oven.  I rotate my pans at approximately 8 minutes baking time.

When bacon is finished baking, remove from pan, drain and pat off grease with paper towels.  After a few minutes, you can roll up the foil and parchment paper and throw it out.

I LOVE baking bacon.  The bacon is not too crispy and not too chewy...it's perfect!!  I also LOVE that my house smells like yummy bacon for the meal, but not ALL day!!

Recipe for Buttermilk Waffles...here
Recipe for Strawberry Syrup...here