What's for Dinner?

This was so good! I used boneless breasts because that's what I could find when I went food shopping. The whole family loved it, even my 3 year old who is finicky at dinner! Makes 2 servings.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 bone-in chicken breast halves, with skin
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 thick slices bacon
1/2 cup mushrooms, halved
1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Pour melted butter into a 9x13 inch baking dish. Add chicken, skin side down; sprinkle with seasoning salt and garlic. Turn chicken over, season, and lay bacon strips on top. Sprinkle with mushrooms.
Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes to 60 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.
Remove chicken, bacon and mushrooms to a platter and keep warm. Pour juices from baking dish into a small saucepan and whisk together with cream over low heat until thickened. Pour sauce over chicken and serve warm.

This is delicious. I love it because it's not your typical red or white sauce over pasta with shrimp. The bacon is a great added touch! Makes 6 servings.

Ingredients
1 (12 ounce) package linguine pasta
1/4 pound bacon
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
3 roma (plum) tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 cup half-and-half cream
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 pound cooked shrimp
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (optional)

Directions
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.
Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble, and set aside.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic, basil, and oregano in oil for 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and green onions, and saute for 3 minutes. Add bacon, half and half, Parmesan cheese, and Monterey Jack cheese. Cook until cheese is just melted. Stir in shrimp, and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes.
Serve sauce over pasta, and sprinkle with pine nuts.

This is another simple, low maintenance recipe. I used toothpicks to keep the bacon on in the oven. Delicious! Makes 6 servings.

Ingredients
6 (1 inch thick) boneless pork chops
6 tablespoons process cheese sauce
12 slices bacon

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Fry the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until cooked through but still flexible. Wrap two slices of bacon around each pork chop and top with a tablespoon of cheese sauce. Place the pork chops in a baking dish.
Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven.

These are really great. The whole family loved them. I made them smaller than the recipe calls for. I only used 1 pound of ground beef and mixed the bacon and onions right in. So much better than regular burgers! Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients
1 small onion, chopped
4 slices bacon, chopped
fresh-ground black pepper
2 pounds lean ground beef
1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix
4 hamburger buns

Directions
Prepare a grill for medium heat. When hot, lightly oil the grate.
Fry the bacon in a skillet over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add onions to the pan; cook and stir until bacon is browned, but not crisp and onion is soft. Remove from the pan and drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Season to taste with black pepper.
In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef and onion soup mix. Divide into 8 balls and then flatten into thin patties. Place a quarter of the bacon mixture onto each of four patties. Top with the remaining patties and press the edges together to seal.
Grill the burgers for about 15 minutes, turning once, until well done. Serve on buns with your favorite condiments.

This is an easy casserole to make. In order to give the chicken more flavor, I sauteed it in the bacon grease rather than melting butter in a separate skillet. It worked like a charm! Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients
1/2 pound bacon
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 tablespoon butter
20 ounces fresh green beans, washed and trimmed
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of Cheddar cheese soup
1 pinch ground cayenne pepper
1/2 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions
Place the bacon in a skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble, and set aside. Melt the butter in a skillet, and saute the chicken breasts 10 to 12 minutes on each side, until the exterior is golden, the meat is no longer pink, and the juices run clear.
Place the green beans in a saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook 5 minutes, or until tender.
Preheat the oven broiler. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
Arrange the beans in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Top with the chicken, and cover evenly with the soup. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and bacon, and top with Cheddar cheese.
Broil 10 minutes, or until browned and bubbly.

Umm, this might be the best thing I ever made. It's a little labor intensive, so I'd make it on a weekend as opposed to a weeknight. But, it's SO worth it. The meat was so tender, it was like butter. Yum! This would be great for a holiday meal! Makes 6 servings.

Ingredients
3/4 pound shallots, halved lengthwise and peeled
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
3 cups beef broth
3/4 cup port wine
1 1/2 teaspoons tomato paste
2 pounds beef tenderloin roast, trimmed
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3 slices bacon, diced
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
4 sprigs watercress, for garnish

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In 9 inch pie pan, toss shallots with oil to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Roast until shallots are deep brown and very tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.
In a large saucepan, combine beef broth and port. Bring to a boil. Cook over high heat until the volume is reduced by half, about 30 minutes. Whisk in tomato paste. Set aside.
Pat beef dry; sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper. In a large roasting pan, set over medium heat on the stove top, saute bacon until golden. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels. Add beef to pan; brown on all sides over medium high heat, about 7 minutes.
Transfer pan to oven. Roast beef until meat thermometer inserted into center registers 125 degrees F (50 degrees C) for medium rare, about 25 minutes. Transfer beef to platter. Tent loosely with foil.
Spoon fat off top of pan drippings in roasting pan. Place pan over high heat on stove top. Add broth mixture, and bring to boil; stir to scrape up any browned bits. Transfer to a medium saucepan, and bring to simmer. Mix 1 1/2 tablespoon butter and flour in small bowl to form smooth paste; whisk into broth mixture, and simmer until sauce thickens. Whisk in remaining butter. Stir in roasted shallots and reserved bacon. Season with salt and pepper.
Cut beef into 1/2 inch thick slices. Spoon some sauce over, and garnish with watercress.

My family and I really liked this. The chicken is moist and full of flavor! I served it over pasta and it made a really hearty fall meal. Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 (3 pound) whole chicken, cut into pieces
6 slices bacon, diced
2 onions, chopped
1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 cup white wine
1 pound tomatoes, diced

Directions
Heat oil in a large skillet; brown chicken; remove. Add bacon and saute over medium heat for about 2 minutes.
Add onions and mushrooms and continue to saute until onions are translucent. Return chicken to skillet; sprinkle with parsley, basil, salt and pepper. Add wine and tomatoes. Cover and let simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, turning chicken once during cooking. Remove chicken from skillet and pour sauce over chicken.

This is one of my favorite recipes. You can put any kind of vegetables in it that you want. I sometimes add mushrooms. The best part is that there is barely anything to clean up afterwards! Makes 4 servings.


Ingredients
1 pound peppered bacon
3 medium potatoes, chopped
3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup butter
garlic salt to taste

Directions
In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook the bacon until evenly brown. Drain, chop coarsely, and set aside.
On 4 large squares of heavy duty aluminum foil, evenly distribute the potatoes, carrots, and onion. Arrange the chicken breasts over the vegetables, and sprinkle with the chopped bacon. Top each with 2 tablespoons butter, and season with garlic salt. Fold the foil over the ingredients, and tightly seal.
Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat.
Place foil packets on the grill, and cook for 20 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

This a great pasta sauce and it makes a ton. The 3 of us had big portions and then I froze the rest that will be more than enough for another entire meal! It's really chunky, has a lot of vegetables and so much flavor! Makes 9 servings.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 large onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 carrots, shredded
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 (28 ounce) can Italian plum tomatoes
6 ounces tomato sauce
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound pasta


Directions
In a large skillet, warm oil over medium heat and saute bacon, onion and garlic until bacon is browned and crisp; set aside.
In large saucepan, brown beef and pork. Drain off excess fat. Stir in bacon mixture, mushrooms, carrots, celery, tomatoes, tomato sauce, wine, stock, basil, oregano, salt and pepper to saucepan. Cover, reduce heat and simmer one hour, stirring occasionally.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
Serve sauce over hot pasta.

This was my first time making any sort of ribs and I was not disappointed. The meat was SO tender it was falling apart. The sauce was great over rice. Yum! Makes 4 servings.

INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon butter
3 slices bacon, chopped
2 pounds beef short ribs, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup beef broth
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup red wine
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a large heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and brown the bacon and beef short ribs, stirring constantly for about 10 minutes.
Transfer ribs and bacon to a 2 quart baking dish. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in the beef broth, lemon juice and red wine. Sprinkle in oregano. Mix well and cover the dish.
Bake in the preheated oven 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the meat may be easily separated from the bone. Spoon off excess fat before serving.

These are awesome. Every time I makes these for a party, people ask me for the recipe. And it's so simple, I'm almost embarassed! Makes 3 servings.

INGREDIENTS
16 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
8 slices bacon
barbeque seasoning, to taste

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
Wrap shrimp with 1/2 slice of bacon, securing with a toothpick. Be sure and use the large shrimp--the cooking time for the shrimp and the bacon is similar. If you use medium-sized shrimp, you might want to precook the bacon a little--over cooked shrimp are tough and rubbery--and a real shame.
Line a jelly roll pan with extra heavy duty foil, and place baking rack in pan. Place the shrimp on the rack, and sprinkle heavily with the barbecue seasoning, turn and sprinkle second side. Let the shrimp sit for 15 minutes. The bacon will turn from creamy white to a little opaque, and the seasonings will soak in.
Cook the bacon for 10 to 15 minutes. The rack keeps the shrimp from sitting in the draining bacon fat. With a little luck, you won't tear the foil -- you can throw that away and only have to scrub the rack.

This is a great cold salad to serve at summer picnics. Makes 4 servings.

INGREDIENTS
4 slices bacon
1 quart water
1 (16 ounce) package frozen green peas
1/3 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup Ranch dressing
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS
Place bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat, and cook until evenly brown. Drain, crumble, and set aside.
Bring the water to a boil in a pot. Boil the peas 1 minute, until just tender, and drain. Cool peas under cold running water.
In a bowl, toss together bacon, peas, onion, Ranch dressing, and Cheddar cheese. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until chilled before serving.