Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin with Apple and Sausage Filling



 

How quickly the time goes. I feel like we were just enjoying the last days of Summer and now here we are prepping for another Thanksgiving. We haven't had snow here yet so at least I can be Thankful for that. And good food. I've been surrounded by some amazing food the last week or so, from restaurants and friends to trying some new recipes in my own kitchen. It's so amazing to see what people with so much more talent than I have can do with some simple ingredients.

Idaho® Potato Pierogi with Bacon and Cheese

When I lived in Montreal, one of my favorite meals that people often made for us were Pierogi. I'm not sure why they were so popular there but I fell in love. I even found a really good frozen brand that were easy to fry up on my own for a quick meal.

Roast Beef, Blue Cheese and Onion Jam Panini

 

 

There's something so satisfying about a well made sandwich. Not a sandwich where you just throw on some deli meat and condiments and call it good, but one where you layer the flavors and combine ingredients and textures to create something that's more than its individual parts.  

Dinner in the Garden 2014

For the last couple years, each summer we have hosted a dinner in the garden where we set up a formal dinner outside and celebrate the wonderful foods that we are growing in our own and local farmers gardens. We missed last year with all of our remodeling so we were excited to get back on our normal routine.  I love creating the menu and cooking some fun new foods and sharing them with our friends.

Tuscan White Bean Soup

Today at lunch I went for a hot bowl of Tuscan White Bean Soup from the cafeteria at work. Our cafeteria went through a remodel last year and actually serves some pretty decent food. The soups have always been great but this one was extremely underwhelming. Not necessarily bad but really not good in any way. I even had to go get a big side of onion rings to make up for it. 

Hummus Stuffed Sweet Peppers

Renovation is still in full swing around here so we're doing many quick and easy meals, things in the crock pot and definitely grilling. Grilling means no mess in the kitchen and no stepping over wires and holes in the floor for the duration of the meal.

I love the creativity that the grill opens you up to as well. You don't have to just grill burgers on it. Throw on fruit, veggies or any number of other things and you're sure to come up with a fun meal. Last year I recreated these jalapeno peppers that we had experienced at the state fair. As I was thinking of new ways to use my Sabra hummus and the sweet peppers I had in the fridge, those state fair treats came right back to me.

Chicken Pot Pie with Bacon and Butternut Squash

It's Pi day and what better way to celebrate than with a whole assortment of pies!

I remember every year in high school there was always a Pi day celebration and one of the events was to see who could memorize Pi the farthest. I never participated but I was always amazed at how far some people got.

Are you surprised that I'm posting a savory pie today? I kind of am. I was trying to figure out what I wanted to make and I just couldn't think of a sweet pie that I was really craving. Which is also odd. I have been craving chicken pot pie for awhile now though so it kept coming back to me. I had a recipe that I loved that I made a whole bunch a year or so ago but I haven't been able to find it lately. I gave up on finding it so I went exploring the internet for something new. I found this one on Bon Appetit and I thought it would serve as a good base and I liked how it was a bit different than usual.

Loaded Baked Potato Bites

I had the opportunity last week to sneak into the local Fox 9 station as John McLemore, the CEO of Masterbuilt and his wonderful wife Tonya were filming a segment promoting their new book "Dadgum That's Good, Too". As I walked into the main building early that morning, I could smell the turkey almost immediately. I asked the security guard where to go and he laughed as he said to just follow the smell. The smell led me to the studio kitchen where a prep crew and John were busily working around the kitchen and two of John's indoor turkey fryers were happily frying away on the counter top.

Bacon Wrapped, Sausage Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers

The State Fair is over, school has started and it's already getting cooler. I'm going to reminisce though a bit with one of my favorite foods from the State Fair this year. I won't list everything I had this year, wait, sure I will: cheese curds, pina-colada, beef tongue taco, fried eggplant taco, chocolate chip cookies, puff pastry sausage, stuffed jalapenos, foot-long corn dog, mini donuts, poutine, red velvet funnel cake, fried green beans, strawberry smoothie and onion rings! Whew. Now, don't go thinking that was all in one visit. It was two. :)

Curried Whole Grain Pilaf with Bacon, Mushroom and Cabbage

We're now in our second week of recipes for a Tasty and Healthy New Year with California Olive Ranch and Bob's Red Mill. We're moving on to side dishes this week and pairing together the Grande Whole Grains Blend and the Miller's Blend Olive Oil. Did you do a double take when you saw the title of this post and then saw healthy in the first line? Bacon and healthy... yeah, it works in my book. You see the thing is, coming from a non health nut, it's about balance. I am trying to eat better but I also like some things that aren't necessarily good for you. It's about moderation and making sure that the healthy foods usually outweigh the bad. And we all know, bacon makes eveything better, right? And come on, it's only four slices for the whole thing. You'll love it.

Three Cheese BLT Macaroni

I was recently invited to come in to Noodles & Company to try out their Mac and Cheese dishes that they had brought back to their menu. I almost said no. I have hated Macaroni and Cheese for as long as I can remember.  Even when people try to make it fancy, there's just something about it that I don't like. But I figured the kids would probably like it so I told them we'd give it a go.

I was honestly pleasantly surprised at how good it was. It was a fun easy dinner and the kids loved it all. I have to say though, what made it memorable was the local manager, Kari. She treated us like royalty and brought us enough food and cookies to last a week. She wasn't just doing it for us either. I watched her the whole time we were there and she was visiting tables almost the whole time.

Emeril's One Pot Blogger Party - BLT Risotto

This Blogger party is starting to rock! If you want to follow along with some of the other bloggers participating in the review of Emeril Lagasse's new cookbook "Sizzling Skillets and other One-Pot Wonders", check them out here. The Lasagna I made on Sunday has made for some great lunches the last couple of days but alas the party must go on and the second dish I chose to make was a "BLT" Risotto.

Potato Gratin with Bacon and Thyme

I'm not a big casserole fan in general but every once in awhile there's one that looks really good to me. I think my dislike stems from one too many concoctions at church events that include just a little too much cream of mushroom and a lack of just about anything resembling flavor. The sad thing is that it's not very hard to make a good gratin with simple ingredients that tastes amazing and makes a great simple meal.

Bacon Ice Cream

We just had one of the most beautiful 4th of July weekends that I can ever remember. Having grown up in Seattle, there weren't many years that the holiday wasn't spent in the rain. While we usually still enjoyed the holiday, there's just nothing like spending the weekend at the beach, grilling and enjoying the beautiful outdoors. That also means that our ice cream maker is making up for its long winter in the cupboard. I love experimenting with flavors but I was never expecting the challenge I received from my mom. A month or so ago I received an email from my Mom daring me to make an attached Bacon Ice Cream recipe. I'm never one to pass up a good challenge, and so my love affair with Bacon Ice Cream was born.

Cauliflower and Bacon Gratin

My Mom and Dad spent part of the Christmas Holiday in Jackson Hole Wyoming and shared the following story from their experience. I'm excited to try this for myself and also visit Q Roadhouse next time I'm out there!


No vacation is complete for my husband and me without the satisfaction of discovering yet another amazing restaurant. On a recent day trip from our cabin in Freedom, Wyoming up to Jackson Hole, we called our food blogger son, Matt, to ask him to research the top recommended restaurants there. The Snake River Grill was at the top of the list, but was only open for dinner and we were starving at 4:00.  Heading towards the Teton Village Ski Resort,  Q Roadhouse Restaurant caught our eye, so we decided to give it a try. Turns out, the chef there, Roger Freedman, opened Q Roadhouse in 2006 after having successfully lead the kitchen at The Snake River Grill to become one of the pre-eminent restaurants in the Rockies.  Chef Roger takes an average looking “roadhouse”  to culinary heights.

Spinach Quiche

Traditional quiche is typically a simple egg and cream mixture baked in a pastry crust but there are numerous additions that can make a fantastic quiche suitable for breakfast, lunch or dinner. This version adds crumbled bacon over the bottom and then spinach, pepper jack and sharp cheddar cheese mixed into the egg and cream mixture. Be creative with your cheese selections and create your own version of this quiche.

Savory Crepes with Creamy Chicken, Bacon and Mushroom Filling

If you remember, last month I went to visit my parent's in Connecticut. We visited the River Tavern restaurant in Chester and had an amazing lunch. I had some amazing shrimp crepes and my Mom tried to track down a similar recipe and recreate it at home. She found this recipe from Emeril Lagasse and although it's not quite the same as what we had for lunch there, I think this may be one of my new favorite foods!