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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Recipe: Easy Lemon Cheesecake Pie

27 Aug

Unlike yours truly, Mr. Bacon is not a huge dessert person. So when he goes back for a second piece of something sweet, I know it’s a winner.

This lemon pie was crazy easy to throw together and had a good balance of tart, sweet and creamy. It would be a great addition to any long weekend gathering!

Hat tip to Bakerette for the recipe.

Easy Lemon Cheesecake Pie

Easy Lemon Cheesecake Pie | baconavecbacon.com

1 block cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 can lemon pie filling
1 8 oz. tub Cool Whip, thawed**
1 pre-prepared graham pie crust

Beat the cream cheese and the sugar with a mixer until fluffy and well blended. Add half of the lemon pie filling and mix until well incorporated. With a spatula, fold in the Cool Whip, mixing well with the cream cheese mixture and spread it in the bottom of the pie crust. Gently spread the remaining lemon pie filling on top and allow to set in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.

**NOTE – This is the small tub of Cool Whip, not the larger 1L tubs sold in most stores in Canada. I bought mine in the US so if you’re using the large size tub, reserve about half to dollop on top of the pie before serving.

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Recipe: New Orleans BBQ Shrimp

20 Aug

When I first made this recipe (based on this from Return to Sunday Supper) I knew it’d be a keeper. Since then I’ve made it at least three times and have been asked for the recipe twice.

So for those who asked, and for those who haven’t yet experienced the spicy, savoury goodness of these BBQ shrimp, here it is. Make sure to have a loaf of good quality bread to sop up the sauce with.

I serve mine with an oil & vinegar coleslaw and sometimes boiled new potatoes to make a complete meal. It makes for a super easy week night dinner (since it’s assembled ahead of time) or a great company dish.

New Orleans BBQ Shrimp

New Orleans BBQ Shrimp | baconavecbacon.com

1 pound frozen uncooked shrimp (I use PC Raw Zipperback Pacific White Shrimp)
1/2 cup butter, melted
4 tablespoons Heinz Chili Sauce
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice (fresh or bottled)
1 tablespoon parsley (fresh chopped or dry)
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon Frank’s Red Hot sauce
5-6 cloves garlic, minced (I use two heaping tablespoons of bottled minced garlic)
1 lemon, sliced

Thaw the shrimp as per package instructions and remove the shells.

In the microwave, melt the butter in a large cereal bowl and then add the remaining ingredients except the lemon and the shrimp. Return to the microwave and cook for another 2 minutes. Let the mixture cool while you place the shrimp in a single layer in either a 9×13 pan or two 8×8 pans.

When I’m doing this on the BBQ, I like to use disposable foil pans for ease of cleanup and so my ‘good’ oven pans don’t get damaged. If you’re opting to use the oven, any glass or metal pan will do.

Pour the slightly cooled mixture on top of the shrimp, stir to coat all sides and top with the lemon slices.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

When ready, bake on the BBQ or in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. When done, the shrimp will be pink and have curled up. Be careful not to overcook!

When the shrimp are ready, I bring the whole pan directly to the table and set it on a wooden cutting board so guests can serve themselves and dip pieces of bread directly into the sauce.

NOTE – As is, the recipe has a little heat to it, but those of you who like fire may want to add a squeeze of sriracha.

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Recipe: Frozen Vanilla Custard with Salted Whisky Caramel Sauce

2 Aug

After two previous successes with ice cream (here and here) I wanted to try a slightly different dessert in my ice cream maker so I went on the hunt for a frozen custard recipe. They all seemed like a LOT of work so I took a chance and whipped up this ‘shortcut’ version.

Now for those of you unfamiliar with the concept of frozen custard, it’s much like a rich, thick ice cream with a bit more of a complex flavour. It’s quite popular in the US (and with followers of Ottawa’s Merry Dairy!).

While I paired mine with a salted whiskey caramel sauce, the custard would be great plain or with other kinds of sundae sauce or fresh fruit. (Think angel food cake and fresh strawberries for a spin on strawberry shortcake!)

Frozen Vanilla Custard

Frozen Vanilla Custard | baconavecbacon.com

2 cups 35% whipping cream
1 cup 1% milk
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons Harry Horne’s or Bird’s custard powder
1 teaspoon clear vanilla

Heat the milk and cream in a saucepan, stirring and adding the sugar slowly as it comes to a boil. Dissolve the custard powder in a little bit of extra milk and add to the boiling mixture while stirring. Boil for 1 minute (you should see it thicken) and remove from heat.

Place the mixture in a container and chill in the fridge. Once well chilled, add it to the ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s instructions to freeze it. When finished, place it in the freezer to firm up.

 

For the caramel sauce, I used this recipe adding 1 oz of 40 Creek Whisky. I then topped my sundae with a sprinkle of good flaked sea salt.

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Recipe: Cheater Mille Feuilles

30 Jul

This is an old family recipe. It actually comes from my Great Aunt who originally served us this dessert during a visit to her house in the early 80s. At that time, Mille Feuilles (or Thousand Leaves or Vanilla Slice for you Englishmen) wasn’t super popular. Now you can pick up a chunk at Costco for a reasonable price. I can confirm the Costco version isn’t as good as this.

Traditional Mille Feuilles uses puff pastry whereas this shortcut version uses graham crackers. I prefer it with graham crackers because I find the puff pastry gets chewy and basically makes the filling squish out everywhere as soon as you try to cut it. Not a good scene.

On top of being super delicious and pretty impressive looking for the effort, this is a great summer dessert because you can make it ahead (in fact it’s always better the second day) and it’s no bake. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Cheater Mille Feuilles

Cheater Mille Feuilles | baconavecbacon.com

1 package graham crackers
1 large vanilla pudding and pie filling mix (I’ve used chocolate as well with good results)
250 ml (small carton) whipping cream
1 cup (plus 4 tablespoons) icing sugar
1 teaspoon butter (softened)
2 squares semi-sweet baking chocolate

Cook the pudding according to the package instructions. I do mine in the microwave. Line a 9×9 glass dish with graham crackers. They need to lay flat so nip some of the corners off if need be. Cover the crackers with the cooked pudding and leave this layer to cool in the fridge.

Once decently set, whip the cream until fluffy, adding a few tablespoons of icing sugar to sweeten. Spread carefully overtop of the pudding layer and then top with another layer of graham crackers. They don’t have to reach exactly to the edge so don’t worry about that.

Pop it back in the fridge while you mix up the icing.

In a small bowl mix the butter and the cup of icing sugar with a few tablespoons of milk – just enough for the mixture to reach a spreadable consistency. Spread carefully over top of the graham cracker layer.

Melt the chocolate and drizzle over top of the icing. To make the traditional ‘zig zag’ pattern, create four lines of chocolate and then take a knife and drag it through the chocolate, alternating directions every inch or so.

Keep refrigerated until you’re ready to eat.

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Recipe: Andes Mint Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

14 Jul

Since my last outing with the ice cream machine went so incredibly well, I decided to make a second batch. Mr. Bacon’s favourite is mint chocolate chip so I decided to kick it up a notch and use chopped Andes mints instead of plain chocolate chips. I based my version on this recipe from Chew Out Loud.

The result got a rousing thumbs up so I hope you like it too.

Andes Mint Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

Andes Mint Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream | baconavecbacon.com

1 cup 1% milk, chilled
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy whipping cream (35%), chilled
1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract
2 drops green food colouring (optional)
15-20 Andes Mint chocolates, chopped

In a large bowl, whisk together the milk and sugar until the sugar has totally dissolved. Stir in the cream, peppermint and food colouring. Pour into your ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s instructions to freeze the batch. When finished, fold in the chocolate and place it into the freezer to firm up.

 

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Recipe: Summer Shortcut Roast Chicken

10 Jul

If you’ve been following along with the blog, you’ve probably noticed a pattern. I’m kind of a lazy cook. I don’t like to make things that have multiple steps, or take a lot of time. I’m always on the hunt for a shortcut that doesn’t sacrifice quality or flavour. I’ve finally found a way to do that for whole chickens. (Which incidentally are on sale at Freshco this week.)

This is more of a method than a recipe, but it’s a winner through and through.

Summer Shortcut Roast Chicken

Summer Shortcut Roast Chicken | baconavecbacon.com

1 ‘fryer’ sized whole chicken
Seasoning of your choice – I used Club House BBQ Chicken Spice to try to approximate the rotisserie style grocery store chickens

Summer Shortcut Roast Chicken | baconavecbacon.comWash and dry your chicken. Season well. Get out your crock pot and a roll of tinfoil. Crumple 4-5 sheets of tinfoil into baseball sized balls and place them in the bottom of the crock pot. Place your chicken on top and cook on high for approximately 5 hours.

If you use a crock pot with a timer, you can set it in the morning and it’ll stay on ‘warm’ until you get home from work.

Most crock pot chicken recipes end there. However, a chicken with crispy skin is just so much better. So here’s the trick: fire up the BBQ.

Place the chicken on the upper rack with a disposable tinfoil pan underneath to catch drips. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until the skin is crispy and the chicken has reached 160 degrees in the breast and 180 degrees in the thigh. This is a perfect opportunity to roast some vegetables as a side dish.

Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

 

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Recipe: Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake Ice Cream

4 Jul

Mr. Bacon was nice enough to gift me with an ice cream maker for my birthday. Immediately I started scouring Pinterest for ice cream recipes to test out. When I found this cheesecake version from Add a Pinch I knew I had found the perfect recipe for my new machine’s maiden voyage.

However, instead of sullying it with cherry pie filling, I wanted to infuse it with another taste of summer: fresh picked strawberries from Beckwith Berries. (Picking is still good at the farm if you’re looking for something to do this weekend!)

The result is probably my favourite recipe all year. This stuff is frozen gold. Enjoy!

Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake Ice Cream

StrawberrySwirlCheeseCakeIceCream

2 cups heavy whipping cream (35%)
1 cup milk (I used 1%)
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 block cream cheese, cut into large pieces
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
a pinch of salt
1 cup strawberry sauce

In a large saucepan on medium high heat, combine the cream, milk sugar and cream cheese. Use a whisk to stir the mixture continuously until the sugar has dissolved and the cream cheese has combined with the cream and milk. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla and salt. Chill in an airtight container overnight.

The next day, add the mixture to your ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s instructions to make the ice cream. Remove the batch from the machine while the ice cream is still the consistency of soft serve. Scoop it back into your airtight container and before placing it into freezer to fully harden, gently fold in 1 cup of strawberry sauce. Don’t overmix or you won’t get the swirl effect.

 

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Food Finds: Butter Tart Yogurt

26 Jun

So Astro has two limited edition ‘Canadian’ flavours of yogurt available for Canada Day: maple and butter tart.

I spotted them at the grocery store yesterday and couldn’t resist testing out the butter tart flavour. It’s butter tart – how could it be bad????

Well, I can confirm that it was indeed pretty darned tasty. Sweet with a nice caramel flavour it tasted more like dessert than something vaguely healthy. Definitely worth a try!

On the downside, it just made me want to eat a real butter tart. Preferably from Three Tarts (on Wellington West). If you haven’t tried theirs, you haven’t yet lived.

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