PARTY FOOD FOR DINNER! {Bacon Chili Chicken Bites}

Bacon Chili Chicken Bites

Let me just say these are sent straight from the Food Gods to your lips.... and EVERYONE will love them.  I mean it's true, EVERYTHING is better in bacon.  My friend Leah sent me this recipe in a food chain letter as an easy dinner favorite from her house and I've make it for dinner AND as an appetizer.... Two Yums Up EVERY time!

And easy.

Abracadabra, Yup, That Easy {Asparagus with Parmesan & Bacon}

Short & sweet.  This was a crazy good 5 ingredient recipe.  25 minutes start to finish.  


What you need:
Asparagus
Parmesan~Romano grated cheese
Real bacon bits {not the hard kind}
Kosher salt
Olive oil


THAT'S IT!


What do you do?
Preheat oven to 350F
Line pan with parchment
Break off the hard ends of your asparagus, spread on parchment in a loose row, some overlap is fine.
Drizzle LIGHTLY with olive oil
Lightly sprinkle with kosher salt
Then cover as shown with first cheese and then bacon.
Bake uncovered at 350F for 20-25 minutes.

ENJOY!

Can You Go Wrong When You Wrap It In Bacon? {Bacon Wrapped Potato Bites}

Bacon Wrapped Potato Bites

Have you ever checked out the blog The Kitchn?  I haven't totally figured it out.... is it just Faith?  Is there a team?  I'm not sure but I've been subscribed since long before I ever thought about being a blogger and I really love it for great ideas.....

This recipe was touted by them as a party appetizer, and I can certainly see it that way;  AND I used for my Easter brunch;  BUT I fully intend to make these this weekend to go with eggs for my family's breakfast.  They were YUM & fairly easy {always expect a little bit of time whenever you are wrapping food around food}.

So, adapted from The Kitchn's Bacon-Wrapped Potato Bites check these out....

Featured Five

It's that time of the week!  That's right....
 Young Grasshopper's Featured Five
of all the many awesome posts and recipes I saw this week I just want to raise my beer {remember, Saturday was National Beer Day} to some and of course share them in case you missed them. As always,  I could come up with dozens but these are my TOP FIVE for the week ending April 13th 2012 {listed in chronological order, no favoritism among my favorites!}:

Emily at She Makes & Bakes posted a beautiful bit of simplicity with her Nutella Strawberries.... so, so beautiful!

Tina at The Flour Trader really caught my eye with an Austrian Springtime favorite.... Berry Meringue Slices.  Love Sweet & Tart!

Heather  at the Sweet & Savory Tooth hit the mark with the maple and cornbread combo.... remember my Madagascar Corn Bread?  Well, here's another keeper for sure! Maple Cornbread, YUM!

Crystal from Mrs. Happy Homemaker speaks the language of love..... Bacon Stuffed Waffles??? Shut. The. Front. Door.

p.s. check out my Ham & Cheese Waffles of yesteryear, it's a problem for me :)

I really thought this post from Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean was awesome and not for any particular recipe {although all look awesome} but more conceptually.... we all run out of ideas and I so love someone sharing their "day in the life" ideas to add some ammo to the arsenal! Thanks for How To Eat Healthy During The Week!

    




And of course..... My ONE FOR GOOD LUCK!

This certainly is a lucky one.... Thanks Kelly at Eat Yourself Skinny for testing & reporting the

Pinterest Diet Coke Brownie recipe....

cannot wait to try this one!

****ALL PHOTO CREDITS TO THE POST REFERENCED,

HUGE Thank you to all for letting me repost****

Everything is Better with BACON {Bacon Wrapped Brown Sugar Green Beans Recipe}

I saw a recipe on Pinterest for bacon wrapped green beans from "Just Cook Already" last weekend and immediately repinned and grabbed green beans at the store.  When I went to cook and saw the recipe had lot of steps, feeling like a slacker I took the concept and did my own thing..... and they were delicious.... that said, hers might be even yummier with the extra steps so click HERE to try her recipe if you've got the time. 

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED

1 lb. fresh green beans

5 strips of bacon

3 tbsp melted butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 clove garlic diced

1/8 tsp soy sauce

 

HERE'S WHAT YOU DO

Turn on oven to preheat to 400F.

Boil the green beans in large pot for 5 minutes, drain and let cool a couple minutes {they cool quickly}. Meanwhile, cut the bacon strips into halves. Then wrap the bacon around a bundle of beans and secure with a cooking string until the beans are gone.

 

In the interest of "dish management" melt the butter in your 13x9 in the oven {should only take a couple minutes} then remove pan from oven, stir in brown sugar, garlic, and soy sauce and mix until completely blended, then one by one add the bundles to the pan rolling in the glaze so completely covered.

I served with steak
& baked potato.... ENJOY :)


Bake at 400 degrees in the oven for 10-15 minutes. 

Where Fancy Meets Easy {Oven Eggs "Benedict" Recipe}

While I'm on a breakfast kick, these are super easy and cute...

Oven Benedicts

4 Ramekins [small oven proof dishes]

4 large eggs

1 medium tomato sliced into 4 thick pieces

4 pieces of bacon

Cook Bacon in pan for 3 minutes.... barely bubbling.  I used Applewood because a thicker bacon is easier to work with.

LIGHTLY spray ramekins with Pam

wrap a piece of bacon on the inside of each cup

slide a nice thick slice of fresh tomato to bottom

put one egg in each ramekin

bake at 325F for 20-30 minutes until white is set.

loosen with a small spatula and they should come out very easily, serve with fresh fruit. 

Enjoy :)