Archive | September, 2013

Recipe: Roasted Greek Potatoes

21 Sep

Cavender's Greek Seasoning It’s been six months since I’ve discovered the secret to making Greek food with the same intense savoury flavour that you’d find in a restaurant. It’s called Cavender’s All Purpose Greek Seasoning. I can buy it at my local Loblaws-brand grocery store. I’ve also seen it in many grocery stores in the United States. It’s also available for order online.

I use it to season meat, in homemade Greek salad dressing and tzatziki and in this recipe for lovely garlic-infused roasted Greek potatoes. So next time you’re browsing the spice aisle, look for a jar of this stuff and prepare to use it on everything.

Roasted Greek Potatoes

Greek Roasted Potatoes | baconavecbacon.com

1/3 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cups water
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 packets chicken bouillon
1 1/2 teaspoons Cavender’s Greek Seasoning
6-7 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1″ pieces

In a large baking dish mix the olive oil, water, garlic, lemon juice and bouillon until combined. Add the potatoes and stir to coat them well. Sprinkle the Greek seasoning over top of all of the potatoes.

Cover the dish with a sheet of tinfoil and bake until tender (approximately 1) hour at 350 degrees. When tender, remove the tinfoil and broil for 5 minutes. Watch carefully to make sure they don’t burn.

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Recipe: Quick Korean Beef

16 Sep

It’s so easy to pick up the phone and order takeout from the Asian place around the corner. Mr. Bacon and I used to do it all the time before we moved out to the country. The restaurant was literally around the corner so it would take about 15 minutes from the time we made the call till the time the delivery guy was knocking on our door.

While it might be a simple way to put dinner on the table, it’s not really cost effective and you’re more likely to cave and get something deep fried. Instead, try this recipe out. It packs a spicy, sweet and savoury punch, takes about 10 minutes and is crazy cheap.

Thanks to Lizzy Writes for the recipe.

Quick Korean Beef

Quick Korean Beef | baconavecbacon.com

1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ginger, minced
1 teaspoon crushed red peppers
fresh ground pepper
3 green onions, sliced

In a large skillet, brown the ground beef and garlic in the sesame oil. Drain most of the fat and add the remaining ingredients except for the green onion. To make it really quick, use pre-minced garlic and ginger in a jar. Simmer for a few minutes to allow the flavours to marry.

Serve on a bed of rice topped with the green onions.

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Recipe: Homemade Chocolate Icing

14 Sep

Sometimes there’s nothing better than a good old fashioned chocolate cake. You know, the kind that your mom might have made and stuck a couple of candles in for your birthday as a kid. There’s something really nostalgic about it. 

I still use cake mixes, instead of making cakes from scratch. In fact, our pantry is stuffed with them so stay tuned for a lot of cake mix-based recipes in the next few months. 

That being said, there are ways to kick a simple cake mix up a notch. My mom always used milk instead of water, and I’ve continued to do that. I also started recently swapping the oil out for butter. You can also add an additional egg if you choose. 

The other way to take a cake mix from ordinary to extraordinary is to make your icing from scratch. This is the second time I’ve made this easy chocolate buttercream icing from Lauren’s Latest. It’s beautifully rich and delicious and makes enough to ice a two-tier cake or 24 cupcakes. 

Homemade Chocolate Icing

Homemade Chocolate Icing | baconavecbacon.com

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted
5 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
4-5 tablespoons milk

Whip the butter and cocoa until smooth. Stir in the vanilla and sugar. Stream the milk in, a tablespoon at a time until the frosting reaches the right consistency. Scrape the bowl and whip until light and fluffy. 

 

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Recipe: Dill Pickle Dip

8 Sep

So we all have something that we know isn’t good for us but we just can’t put down. For Mr. Bacon, one of those things is Philly dill pickle dip. I am also admittedly a big fan.

Unfortunately a teeny tub of the stuff is almost FOUR DOLLARS. Insanity. Add a bag of chips on and you’re looking at a very expensive snack.

But, if you watch the flyers and buy cream cheese when it’s on sale, you’ll have it for this and other delicious recipes. For example, for the dip I used a large size (400 g) spreadable tub that I bought for less than $3.

Dill Pickle Dip

Dill Pickle Dip | baconavecbacon.com

Cream cheese, any size is fine but full fat is best
Dill pickles, finely diced
Pickle juice
Worcestershire sauce

Beat the cream cheese until it’s fluffy. Add a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce and about 3 tablespoons of juice from the pickle jar. Beat to combine. Fold in the pickles. The amount is up to you. We used about a cup.

And you’re done. That wasn’t hard, was it? It’s best when it’s allowed to chill in the fridge overnight but don’t let that stop you from digging in right away.

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Recipe: Apple Cinnamon Snickerdoodles

4 Sep

Sadly summer is over for another year and at least here in Ottawa, the weather is already starting to cool off. The one good thing is that I didn’t feel bad about turning my oven on to make these very fall-style treats.

These cookies are chewy on the inside (thanks to the apple) and crunchy on the outside (thanks to the cinnamon sugar coating). They make a great after school snack for kiddos and a tasty breakfast for people who like to eat cookies before noon. I’m not naming any names.

Apple Cinnamon Snickerdoodles

Apple Cinnamon Snickerdoodles | baconavecbacon.com

1/2 cup hard margarine, softened*
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 medium apple, peeled and grated
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Cream the margarine and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg and the vanilla. Fold in the grated apple. Sift together all the dry ingredients and gently combine with the wet ingredients.

Use a medium cookie scoop to make 1/2 inch balls of the dough and roll them well in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. Place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and gently press down with a fork. If you’d like you can sprinkle a bit more of the cinnamon sugar mix on each cookie.

Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 14 minutes.

 

* A note on margarine… Hard margarine is not the spreadable kind that comes in a tub. As per a previous post, I like to use Imperial brand. Soft margarine contains too much water which will result in flat cookies. You can opt to use butter but I haven’t tested this recipe with it.

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