We’ve been in the US for just over 18 months now and have realized the truth of the statement ‘everything is better with bacon’.  When Grant and I get to go out for a work dinner (at someone else’s expense) there’s usually the question of whether any of the appetizers are wrapped in bacon!

I didn’t grow up having bacon and eggs for breakfast, or much pork at all, come to think of it.  It’s only been later in my life that I found that I actually liked toasted ham and cheese sandwiches, I still struggle with ham steaks and some of the other pork products … I remember one time my mum cooked some pork schnitzels for dinner and wouldn’t tell me what the meat was – I KNEW it wasn’t chicken!  Maybe that’s where Abby gets her food fussiness from – think beans, any dried fruit … but I digress.

A weekend or so ago I realized that somehow Grant and I had managed to buy too much bacon and we had to eat a lot of it before it went off.  The rest we kept in the freezer, for the next time we feel like bacon and eggs and realize we’ve got to defrost the whole packet!  This weekend Abby had suggested that we make stuffed pork chops for one of the meals (thanks to us watching Worst Cooks in America).  Unfortunately on the episode that had the stuffed pork chop inspiration, the chefs had cooked it and given it to the contestants without any instructions and the contestants had to recreate it.  So, I did some research of my own and came up with a recipe that was gluten and dairy free – a bacon and apple stuffing (see here for the recipe).  And I have to say, it was worth the effort.  I slightly overcooked the pork, but the stuffing was delicious.

We were invited to a neighbor’s house for Superbowl and I (obviously) offered to bring some snacks.  Trying to reduce the amount of sugar I’m eating, I thought of bacon-wrapped dates.  The recipe is very easy – cut bacon rashers in half or thirds.  Pit Medjool or other variety of date and roll in bacon.  Bake in oven at 350F for 15 mins and allow to cool slightly before eating.  So simple.  So yummy, I surprised myself that I really REALLY liked these!

The next day we were having guests over for dinner and I’d been wanting to try my bacon and broccoli pasta recipe (see here) with turkey bacon and coconut cream.  So, while unfortunately our guests cancelled on us, we still had a really yummy dinner.   To make it dairy-free I used nutritional yeast instead of parmesan cheese and coconut cream instead of the normal cream.  Also added a few shakes of salt and pepper and the end result was awesome.  So awesome I forgot to take a photo of the actual dish, so you’ll have to put up with an old photo of this dish!

And to top off the whole ‘Bacon’ extravaganza, it was recently Shrove, or Pancake Tuesday.  I wanted a pancake with the bacon, eggs and maple syrup that I’d seen Grant enjoy many times since we’ve been here.  I’ve never been brave enough to try it, but for some reason I wanted to see if my non-dislike of bacon extended this far.  Grant and I actually got invited to a work dinner for that night, which I was upset about since I wouldn’t get my pancakes, but Grant (being the awesome husband that he is) offered to get up early and make me pancakes for breakfast.  And he did.  And it was yummy.  And I just might do this again … maybe for my birthday?

Thanks for reading through this longer than normal post, but it was fun just dribbling on about bacon (coz that’s what bacon makes you do!).  Hope you’ve enjoyed the adventures with bacon – if you have a favorite bacon recipe that you would like to share with me, let me know in the comments below!

Until next time, enjoy cooking at home.

Sarah