Apple Cheddar Bacon Soup

Yum Yum Yum Soup. I used gala apples in this soup, but I'm sure you can use any apple that tickles your fancy. Because of it's sweetness I would suggest having it as a first course, not a main meal. My 5 year old, who does not eat soup, ate this soup!

6 strips of bacon (unless you're a bacon lover, then add two strips)
1 small onion, chopped
2 apples, cored, peeled, chopped
1 medium potato, peeled and chopped
3 C chicken stock
1 1/5 C apple juice
2 C shredded cheddar cheese (plus some for extra topping if you like)
2 green onions, sliced
2 slices of wheat bread (or rye)
Dijon mustard

In a pot cook your bacon. Remove bacon and let cool on paper towel. Remove all but 2 T of bacon drippings. (I dipped a paper towel in the pot to make sure I left enough drippings) Cook the onion, apples and potato in bacon drippings over med-high heat about 5 min or until apples are soft. Add chicken stock and apple juice. Cook about 10 more minutes or until potatoes are soft. Turn off heat, stir in all but 2 T of cheese. In batches puree your soup in a blender. Return to pot - I returned it to a smaller pot. Yay, soup is done!

Spread Dijon mustard over bread. Sprinkle with remaining 2 T of cheese. Broil or toast bread in toaster oven until cheese is melted. Cut the bread into cubes - croutons! While the bread is toasting, chop bacon up into pieces.

Serve soup in bowels. Toppings include: croutons, green onions, bacon, shredded cheese.

My son actually dipped the bread into his soup and ate it. Maybe finger length strips of bread would be fun for them.

Farmhouse Pork & Apple Pie

Yes, this is for dinner! This recipe makes servings for 10. So please cut amounts accordingly. It calls for 1 lb of bacon. If you want to go healthy and use something like turkey bacon that does not give off a lot of drippings then when it comes to that step you'll have to sub with butter or oil to saute onions in.

1 lb sliced bacon, cut into 2" pieces

2 medium onions, chopped

3 lbs boneless pork, cubed

3/4 C all-purpose flour

Vegetable oil, optional

3 medium tart apples, peeled and chopped

1 t rubbed sage

1/2 t ground nutmeg

1 t salt

1/4 t pepper

1 C apple cider (or apple juice)

1/2 C water

4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

1/2 C milk

5 T butter, divided

Fresh parsley, chopped (do not sub dried!)

Cook bacon until crispy. Remove and lay on paper towels. In drippings, saute onions until tender; remove and set aside. Dust pork lightly with flour. Brown in pan in batches, adding oil as needed (you may want to wipe the pan with a paper towel to clean prior to adding oil each time). Add all pork to pan; add bacon, onions, apples, sage, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir in cider and water. Transfer to a 12" baking dish (or other baking dish), cover and bake at 325 for two hours or until pork is tender.

Boil potatoes in boiling water until tender. Drain and mash potatoes in a mixing bowel with milk and 3 T butter. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove pork from oven and spread potatoes over the pork mixture. Melt remaining butter and spread over potatoes. Broil for 6 minutes or until topping is browned. Sprinkle with fresh parsley if desired.

It's all in the cap

I love stuffed mushrooms. Fill it with almost anything. Here's three ways to enjoy stuffed mushrooms at your next event. To clean a mushroom cap - take a damp paper towel or washcloth (not soaked!). Lightly wipe off dirt. That's it. If you get too much water on them..... well, that's not the mushroom you want. (Thank you Publix magazine)

Spring Veggie

1/2 C bread crumbs

1/2 C shredded carrots

1/4 C sliced green onions

1/3 C grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 C sour cream

Combine all ingredients. Spoon into about 24 large caps. Place them on a baking dish. Lightly drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 425 for about 18 minutes or until golden brown.

Bacon Cheddar

1/2 bread crumbs

4 slices cooked, crumbled bacon

3/4 C shredded cheddar cheese

1/3 C sour cream

2 minced garlic cloved (2 t)

Combine all ingredients. Spoon into about 24 large caps. Also bake at 425 for about 18 minutes or until lightly brown and heated through.

Cheese Herb

1/4 C pesto (buy it if you don't want to make it)

1/4 C bread crumbs

1/4 C shredded Parmesan cheese

1/4 C toasted pine nuts

Brie slices, extra pesto, extra pine nuts

Combine all ingredients. Spoon into about 24 large caps. Top each cap with a thin slice of Brie, a small dab of pesto, and 2-3 pine nuts. Bake this one at 425 for about 9 minutes or until cheese is melted and heated through.

Corn Casserole

This dish goes great with Cilantro Chicken, posted 09/19/11 (I believe). It's a different taste, but the flavors just explode in your mouth! You can add spice to your liking (ex: hot sauce).

3 1/2-4 C corn (fresh, frozen, or drained canned)

1/2 pkg bacon (about 8 slices)

2 T diced garlic

1 med onion, chopped

2 T flour

1 t each: salt and pepper

1 C sour cream

Cook bacon on frying pan. Dry bacon on a paper towel. Crumble all the bacon except for 2-4 slices. Saute onion and garlic in bacon drippings until onions are soft. Add salt, pepper and flour. When it starts to bubble cook 1 minute longer, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. (at this point you can either mix in the pan or transfer to a bowl if you are using a small frying pan) Mix in sour cream. *This is where I would add any heat. Mix hot sauce, chili powder, or whatever you like into your sour cream Before you mix it into your onion mix.* Next, mix in bacon crumbles and corn. Transfer to a 1.5 qt baking dish. Top with bacon slices. Bake at 350 deg for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.

Roast Pork Chops with Cheddar and Bacon Grits.....Paula Deen

Thank you Paula Deen!!! Meat, cheddar, and bacon. Need I say more. I have not made this yet, but I will soon and I will comment when I do.

5 C milk

1 C quick cooking grits

1 t salt, divided

1/2 t black pepper, divided

1/4 C butter

1/4 C grated cheddar cheese

4 Slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

4 Large pork chops

2 T Vegetable Oil

In a medium saucepan, bring the milk to a boil over med-high heat. Add the grits, 1/2 t salt, 1/4 t pepper and the butter. Cook and stir frequently until the grits are soft. Stir in cheese and bacon. Set aside and keep warm.

Sprinkle the pork chops with the remaining salt and pepper, or to taste. In a large skillet, heat the oil over med-high heat. Add the pork chops and cook for 10 minutes, turning occasionally.

Spoon some grits onto each serving plate and arrange pork chop on top.

Deluxe Mac 'n Cheese (and meat!)

There are so many versions out there for macaroni and cheese. I suggest foodnetwork.com for a tasty variety. Here's one spin on the traditional meal - and may help if your kiddo doesn't want to eat their meat!

7-8 oz of cooked elbows (or whatever you have on hand. I use 1/2 a Costco box of noodles)

2 C cottage cheese - I like small curd

1 C sour cream - you can go light here

2 C shredded cheddar cheese

1 Egg, slightly beaten

1 Tsp garlic salt

Pepper to taste

1/2 - 1 pkg of bacon, cooked and cut into pieces

Parmesan cheese

Pre-heat your oven to 350 deg F.

Cook your noodles and let them cool in the sink for a bit (in the colander of course!). Allowing them to cool helps whatever sauce (cheese in this matter) stick to your noodles better. In a separate bowl combine cottage cheese, sour cream, cheddar cheese, egg, salt and pepper. Mix in noodles and then meat.

Now I use bacon because I love bacon. You can use almost any meat here: sausage, kielbasa, hot dog, turkey dog, crab, lobster. You can also use different types of cheese. You don't have to stick to cheddar. Use two cheeses! One sharp and one mild, one cup of each. Ahhhhhhh, the joys of cooking!

Pour your mixture into a 2 1/2 qt dish or a rectangle one. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. At this time you could also sprinkle some more bacon on top for a little extra crisp. Bake at 350 for 25-30 min or until heated through and cheese is melted.