Glorious Bacon!

Oven Baked Bacon

I have been experimenting with different ways of baking bacon lately and found this is my favorite way to prepare it.  I love what slow cooking the bacon does, it makes it so tender and yet crunchy all at the same time.  It also has the advantage that( according to Matt LaLonde's presentation on the Paleo Summit last week) we digest slow cooked food much better.  And you can bake up 2 pans on the weekend and to have handy during the week for recipes or for eating.  You can either eat it cold, or warm it up by wrapping in a paper towel and microwaving for a little bit.  Oven baked bacon is at it's heavenly best, fresh from the oven though!  It doesn't last long around here, I have to protect and defend it or it'll be gone in a flash!

1-2  jelly roll pans
1-2 baking racks that fit nicely inside the jelly roll pan
Organic Bacon with no nitrates etc.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  You may line your jelly roll pan with foil for easy clean up if you like, but I usually skip this step.  Place your rack in the jelly roll pan and lay bacon out on the rack.  Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, then check (my bacon was pretty thick so it took about 45-50 minutes).  Continue to bake until it is your desired doneness.  Then remove from the oven and allow to cool.  Be sure to pour off and save the bacon grease for later use.

I love this method, no greasy mess all over the stove top and you don't have to watch it.  You can be doing other things while it bakes, and it makes the house smell heavenly too!

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Bacon and Onion Pork Chops

My mom used to make pork chops this way when I was growing up (without the bacon though) and would make the broth into gravy afterwards.  I remember really enjoying it, and recently thought why not take it up a notch with the bacon, the end result in the words of my husband "out of this world!".  So with that I bring you Bacon and Onion Pork chops.

BACON AND ONION PORK CHOPS

4-6 small pork chops
1 yellow onion, sliced
1 cup chopped bacon ends or bacon
sea salt and pepper


In a large skillet or frying pan cook your bacon ends until nicely browned and crispy, remove and set aside, leaving the grease to brown your pork chops in.  Pat dry your pork chops and add them to the pan, add a generous amount of sea salt and some pepper and brown on each side over high heat (usually takes a few minutes).  Then turn heat to low and add the sliced onion and about 2 cups of water ( what you want is enough water to be even with the pork chops). Make sure all the onions are in the liquid so they can cook well, you may want to check the onions part way through the cook time and move them around a bit so they are sure to be done.  Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20-25 minutes depending on the thickness of your pork chops.  The lower and slower the better, makes for tender pork chops.  Serve with the onions, and some of the pan juices and then top with bacon crumbles.  Very simple, quick, easy and a huge hit!  Hope you enjoy it as much as we have.  

Chopping Bacon Ends

Just 5 ingredients and water!

Pork Chops nicely browned

Browned and topped with onions

Ready to eat with some grilled zucchini and sugar snap peas.

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Sauerkraut and Apple Pork Roast

 Sauerkraut and Apple Pork Roast

Tonight I decided to try something different, I bought some sauerkraut a while ago with the intentions of making this but never got around to it until today.  I was a little hesitant as I am not a sauerkraut lover and neither are the kids, but took the plunge and decided it was time to venture out and try something different.  And it was awesome, it ended up being a favorite!  So... that said here is the recipe (keep in mind this can easily be scaled down for smaller serving sizes):

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Leftover Pork from the Asian Lettuce Wraps, another delicious alternative

Both my oldest daughter and I agree that the leftover Pork from Asian Lettuce Wraps is wonderful, served on top of a bed of shredded cabbage and carrots, then topped with my Faux Thai Peanut Sauce, some sliced green onions, cilantro, almonds, etc.. This time I threw all the sauce ingredients into the blender and made it smooth, really quick and easy that way.  If you have leftover Pork, give it a try, I think you will enjoy it!

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Fig and Date Stuffed Pork Roast with Apples

Sorry for such a bad picture, the color is way off and doesn't do it justice!  I taste really good!

1/2 cup pecans
1 cup dates chopped
1/2 cup dried black mission figs
1 tsp Saigon cinnamon


2 baking apples, sliced
Chicken stock


Large Pork Sirloin Tip Roast (about 3 pounds)


Place pecans, dates, figs and cinnamon in a food processor with the blade and pulse until it is a smooth paste like texture, or until it all clings to itself and forms a ball.  Put that aside, rinse and pat dry your roast, place it on a cutting board and slice around it thinly if you want to roll it up (it's very hard for me to explain this technique so I would suggest just butterflying it for ease).  Or as I mentioned you may just butterfly it in half through the middle.  Either way taste delicious, the rolled effect just makes for a nicer presentation.  I did mine both ways.  Then take your fruit paste and flatten it, placing it on your roast (depending on the size of roast you may have a bit extra).  Then salt and pepper your roast before rolling it up. then place it in your roasting pan or glass baking dish.  Sprinkle with a bit of ground sage, smoked paprika, and more salt and pepper. Place the apple slices around it and pour broth to just barely cover the apples.  Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.  Decrease heat to 325 degrees, uncover and bake for about 45-1 hour depending on the size of your roast and the temperature of your oven.  You may test it with a meat thermometer if you would like to be sure it is done.  Remove from the oven and let it rest for about 10 minutes, slice and serve with the apples from the pan, and of course some vegetable side dish(es) of your choice.

Ready to go into the oven.

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Moroccan Pork Roast

This recipe is inspired by Moroccan Fig Pork Roast on All Recipes

I will start out by saying that this is not a quick, easy recipe, but is worth the effort.  It might make a good company dish.

Ingredients list:

1 (5 pound) boneless pork loin Roast                               salt & black pepper to taste

1 TBSP curry powder                                                      4 TBSP olive oil

1 TBSP ground turmeric                                                   3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 TBSP garam masala (I didn't have any so made some)    1 onion, chopped

2 tsp ground ginger                                                            2 TBSP fig compote (I made mine)

2 tsp chili powder                                                              1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 pinch cayenne pepper                                                     1 cup organic chicken broth

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Rinse and pat your pork roast dry.  Mix your spices and salt and pepper together in a small bowl.  Rub the spice mixutre into the  roast, being sure to cover all sides.

Pork roast with spice rub

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy bottom pot or Dutch oven, over medium-high heat.  Place the pork roast into the pot and brown for about 2 minutes on each side.  Remove pork and set aside.

Pork Roast browned

Stir in the garlic and onion, cooking until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.

Onions sauteing

Stir in the fig compote and return the pork roast to the pan, coating it with the fig mixture.  Pour in the tomatoes and chicken broth, cover and bring to a boil.  I did mine different, we are packing to move so I didn't have a dutch oven and had to improvise.  

So what I did was add the fig compote, tomatoes and broth to the onions in the pan and bring to a boil, then poured it over the roast.  

Covered with aluminum foil and baked.

Cook for about 2 hours or unit it isn't pink in the middle.  Or until a thermometer inserted in the middle reads 160 degrees.  Remove, and let sit covered for 5 or 10 minutes.  Slice and serve with some of the sauce and veggies from the pan.

 Baked and ready to be served.

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