Baked Bacon

Mmm, Bacon! Want that crispy golden hue, that bit of crackly crunch that's not dried out, hard, dark brown and overdone at the corners, or grayish and limp from the microwave? Then you need to bake your bacon. Sure, you can get nicely cooked bacon on a griddle, but it's less hassle and less work in the oven.

Ingredients:
8~12 oz. Bacon (I prefer the uncured thick cut hickory smoked kind, like Hempler's)

Take a rimmed baking sheet, such as a jelly roll pan, and line it with foil. Lay out the strips of bacon on the foil. It's okay if they overlap just a bit, as they will shrink when cooking. Set the oven to bake at 400 degrees and put the pan with the bacon on a rack in the middle. Preheating is not required, though it doesn't hurt. Set the timer for 15 minutes. The bacon will probably require another two to seven minutes beyond this, depending on thickness, but it's a good checkpoint for doneness. Bake until it looks like cooked bacon ought to look, and remove from the oven. Set the pan at a slight angle to drain the grease from the bacon for a minute. Press the strips of cooked bacon in paper towels to remove excess grease. Pour the bacon grease from the pan into a container - not down the sink, unless you like unclogging drains. At this point, you can enjoy some bacon! Leftover bacon freezes really well and will perk up nicely in the microwave after a few seconds.

Salads and Side Dishes

Lemon Delight Jell-O Salad
Arichoke Orange Salad
Frog Eye Salad
Rice Casserole
Mandarin Orange Salad (with or without chicken)
Oriental Noodle Salad
Springtime Salad
Red Hot Jell-O
Orange-Lemon Jell-O Salad
Shrimp Pasta Salad
Old Fashioned Baked Beans
Trader Vic's Chicken Salad
AuGratin Potatoes
Corn Salad
Green bean casserole
Beans
Sweet & Spicy Black Bean Salad
Fat Free Refried Beans
Rice Pilaf
Pasta Salad with Tomatoes
Stuffing

Lemon Delight Jell-O Salad

From Granny Robertson

Jell-O
1 6-ounce package lemon Jell-O
1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple
2 cups Sprite
4 sliced bananas
Miniature marshmallows

Dissolve Jell-O in 2 cups boiling water. When cool, add drained pineapple, Sprite, and sliced bananas. When this starts to set, cover top with marshmallows.

Topping
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon flour
½ cup sugar
½ cup pineapple juice
1 cup cream, whipped

Cook the beaten egg, butter, flour, sugar, and pineapple juice together. Cool. Fold into whipped cream. After Jell-O is completely set, spread topping over marshmallows.

Artichoke Orange Salad

This came from Grandma Deschamps and when she told me about it I didn’t think it sounded good at all. She made it for us and it is one of my favorite salads.

1 bunch red-leaf lettuce
1 head iceberg lettuce
1 can mandarin oranges
1 jar marinated artichoke hearts
¾ cup chopped walnuts

Wash lettuce and pat dry. Break into bite sized chunks. Add oranges. Cut up artichoke hearts and add. Add chopped walnuts. Top with Good Season’s Cheese and Garlic dressing.

Frog Eye Salad

1 box R. F. Acini De Pepe (soup macs semolina)
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons flour
1½ cup pineapple juice
2 eggs beaten
4 teaspoons lemon juice
3 cans mandarin oranges, drained
1 large can crushed pineapple, drained
1 large can pineapple tidbits, drained
3 cups mini marshmallows
1 16-ounce container Cool Whip
Maraschino cherries and pecans, if desired

Boil pasta for 12 minutes in salt water. Drain and rinse in cold water. Drain well. Cook next six ingredients together until thick, then add to macaroni. Refrigerate mixture 12 hours. Mix in drained fruit, marshmallows, and Cool Whip. Add maraschino cherries and pecans, if desired. Chill several hours. Keeps 2 weeks in refrigerator.

Rice Casserole

I got this recipe from a friend while Scott was attending graduate school at Northwestern.

1⅓ cup raw white rice
1 can beef bullion
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can mushroom stems and pieces
4 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 onion, chopped

Melt butter and add onion – sauté. Add other ingredients and mix. Butter a casserole dish and pour mixture into it. Cover and bake 45 minutes at 375°. Stir gently, then cover and bake another 15 minutes until moisture is absorbed.

Mandarin Orange Salad (with or without chicken)

From mom’s friend, Evelyn Nuffer.

¼ cup sliced or slivered almonds
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
½ head lettuce, torn
¼ pound spinach
1 cup chopped celery
3 green onions, sliced
1 11-ounce can of Mandarin oranges, drained
* Chicken (optional)

Cook and stir almonds and sugar in a skillet until sugar is melted. Monitor closely because it will burn easily. Spread on plate to cool, and then break apart. Gently toss ingredients for salad. Pour on dressing immediately before serving and then sprinkle on nuts.

Dressing
¼ cup oil
2 tablespoons vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
Parsley

Combine dressing ingredients and refrigerate for at least an hour.

* If you wish to make this an entrée chicken salad, grill 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast per person. Cool slightly and slice chicken into ¼ inch slices across the grain of the chicken, trying to keep it somewhat intact. (You can now buy frozen, grilled chicken breasts at Costco – just heat). To serve, put salad on individual serving plates, pour on some dressing, place breast on top, fanning out slightly and sprinkle with the nuts. This recipe will make about 4 individual chicken salads.

Oriental Noodle Salad

1-2 heads cabbage
2 green onions
½ cup slivered almonds
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
¾ cup oil
3 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 package broken ramen noodles (chicken flavored)
1 package seasoning from ramen noodles

Toast almonds and sesame seeds separately in skillet, watching carefully because they burn easily. Stir them constantly. Put them on a plate to cool. Combine oil, sugar, vinegar, salt, pepper and seasoning package from Ramen noodles and shake well to mix for the dressing. Refrigerate overnight. Shred cabbage, thinly slice onions and mix them together. Add the almonds and sesame seeds. Break the Ramen noodles up and add to the cabbage mixture shortly before serving. Toss with the dressing and serve. You can add diced or shredded, cooked chicken to this to make it a luncheon salad.

Springtime Salad

¼ cup cider vinegar
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon Minced onion
¼ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ cup oil
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1 large bunch spinach, washed
1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced

Mix first five ingredients in blender. Add steady stream of oil with blender running until thickened. Stir in seeds by hand. Toss with fresh spinach and mix with sliced strawberries. Serve immediately as this wilts fairly quickly.

Red Hot Jell-O

From mom’s friend Jan Dittman

6 ounces cherry Jell-O
4 crisp Granny Smith apples, chopped
½ cups celery, chopped
½ cup nuts, chopped
1 cup red hots

Dissolve cherry Jell-O with 4 cups of boiling water. Add red hots. Let set slightly and then add nuts, celery and apple. Pour into a cake pan. Chill for several hours and cut into squares. Serve on lettuce leaves if desired.

Orange-Lemon Jell-O Salad

1 large package orange Jell-O
1 large package lemon pudding
1 tub Cool Whip (small)

Make orange Jell-O according to package directions, but only use 1-½ cups cold water instead of 2 cups. Cook pudding according to directions (if you want a quick, easy alternative to cooking the pudding you can use 1 can lemon pie filling). Mix Jell-O and pudding together. Pour into 9x13 pan, then remove about 1 cup of the mixture and set aside (not in fridge). Put pan in fridge and let set. When set, mix the 1 cup you set aside with the cool whip and spread on top of Jell-O. Chill again.

Shrimp Pasta Salad

From mom’s friend Diane Kelson

½ package salad macaroni cooked and rinsed in cold water.
Dressing
Miracle Whip – 2 big scoops (about ¾ cup)
⅓ cup sugar

Mix well and dilute with milk until quite soupy. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add celery seed to taste. Add shrimp or tuna (drained and rinse shrimp). Chill – will absorb dressing – add more dressing before serving if you wish.

Old Fashioned Baked Beans

2 16-ounce packages of navy beans
2 cups water
Salt
½ cup packed brown sugar
2 cups chopped onion
4 teaspoons dry mustard
4 slices bacon cut into small pieces

Rinse beans. Heat beans, water, and 4 teaspoons salt to boiling. Boil 2 minutes and remove from heat. Cover and let stand 1 hour. Do not drain beans. Heat to boiling. Cover and bake at 350° for 1 hour, then stir in brown sugar and remaining ingredients and 2 teaspoons salt. Cover and bake 1 hour. Remove cover and bake another hour.

Trader Vic's Chicken Salad

5 cups diced chicken (4 full breasts)
1 cup drained pineapple chunks
1 can water chestnuts (sliced)
½ cup sliced celery
½ cup sliced green onion

Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon curry powder
4 tablespoons Major Grey's chutney

Blend dressing ingredients and mix with salad. Just before serving, stir in 1 cup Chinese noodles. This will serve 10 to 12 people and is excellent for a luncheon.

AuGratin Potatoes

4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1½ cups grated Velveeta cheese
½ teaspoon salt
4 cups diced potatoes

Melt butter, and then add flour and mix. Add milk, stirring constantly. Add cheese and salt. Pour resulting sauce over potatoes (that have been salted and peppered). Put in a greased casserole dish. Bake at 425° for 15 minutes covered, then uncover and cook at 350° for 40 minutes.

Corn Salad

Salad:
corn from 5 ears of corn
½ small red onion, diced
½ cup basil, chopped

Dressing:
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Mix, eat, enjoy!

Green bean casserole

3 cans green beans
1 can cream of celery soup
1 handful of cheese
1 can sliced water chestnuts
2 little cans of French onions

Mix green beans, soup, cheese, rinsed and drained water chestnuts, and one can of French onions bake at 350° till warm, sprinkle with 1 can of French onions.

Beans

This recipe is from Judy Edward. I promise these are really good!!

1 16-ounce can kidney beans
1 16-ounce can baked beans
1 16-ounce can butter beans
½ cup brown sugar
¼ pound raw bacon (optional)
¼ pound Velveeta cheese (I've used normal cheddar when I had no Velveeta, and it worked fine)
1 tablespoon onion
¼ cup barbecue sauce
3 tablespoons maple syrup
¼ cup ketchup

Drain beans and put in a large casserole dish. Then combine the rest of the ingredients in the dish with the beans. Mix well, bake uncovered at 300° for 2 hours.

SWEET & SPICY BLACK BEAN SALAD

Salad:
2 15oz cans black beans drained and rinsed
1½ cups corn
1 cup celery, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 fresh jalapeno peppers, minced
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves, minced

Dressing:
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup canola oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Mix:
dressing ingredients

Pour over:
salad

Chill:
one hour or more

Fat Free Refried Beans

Kinsey's dad's mission

4 cups pinto beans (dry)
1 can tomato sauce
1 chopped onion (optional)
Garlic to taste
1 tablespoon dried hot pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
Enough water to come 1-½ inches from top of crock pot

Cook 6 hours on high or overnight on low in crock pot. Beat with hand mixer until mashed. Great with Navajo tacos or any other dish!