Clam Chowder

 12-13 oz canned clams
1/2 c. celery, thinly chopped

2 c. potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. flour
1 c. heavy cream
2 c. whole milk
salt and pepper to taste
cooked bacon, crumbled
oyster crackers

Drain the clams, reserving the clam juice.

In a large saucepan, add celery and potatoes, and the clam juice and chicken broth. Add more broth if the potatoes aren't fully covered in liquid.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer. 

In a separate pot over medium low heat, melt the butter, then whisk in the flour until smooth. Let cook for 20 seconds, then season with salt and pepper.

Add the cream and milk to the butter and flour, stirring constantly so there are no lumps.

Add the cream mixture to the potatoes and broth. Add the clams. Simmer for 10 minutes, until the potatoes are soft.

Serve with bacon and oyster crackers (if that's what you want). This is my new favorite soup. I will be making this a lot more this winter.

I adapted this recipe from Kyleecooks.com

Bolognese Sauce

1 Tbsp. butter

Bacon & Onion

2 oz. bacon, cut into small pieces
1/2 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, finely diced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
1 lb. ground beef
salt and pepper, to taste
1/3 tsp. nutmeg
15 oz. canned diced tomatoes
3/4 c. dry red wine (I used Gnarly Head Authentic Red)
1 c. beef stock, with a possibility of more later
1/8 c. milk
thyme and oregano, to taste
1/3 c. Parmesan
cooked spaghetti

Veggies

In a pot over medium heat, melt the butter and add in the bacon. Cook the bacon until almost crispy.

Add in the onion. After a few minutes, add in the garlic, carrot, and celery. Stir to combine. Cook until the onion is soft and begins to carmelize. Stir often. This takes about 15 minutes.

Almost Ready

Add in the ground beef, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Cook until the beef is browned.

Then add in the tomatoes, wine, stock, milk, thyme, and oregano. Stir to combine it all.

Cover and bring to a slow simmer.

Simmer for 3 hours, stirring occasionally. If your sauce is simmering too much, you may need to add more stock. After 2 hours, I added about 1/2 c. more stock.

Dinner is Served

After 3 hours, the liquid should be almost all gone, and the meat sauce should be thick. And delicious. Add in the parmesan. Stir to combine.

Serve over your cooked spaghetti (or whatever kind of pasta you want to use).

Here's a link to the recipe I adapted: http://www.rockrecipes.com/best-bolognese-sauce/

Bean and Bacon Soup

Vegetables cooking

8 oz. bacon, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 c. carrots, diced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
4 1/2 c. chicken broth
45 oz. Great Northern beans
salt and pepper, to taste
8 oz. tomato sauce

Cook the bacon in a soup pot. When cooked and crispy, remove to a paper towel lined plate. Add the onion and carrots to the bacon grease. Cook over medium heat until tender, about 5 minutes.

Vegetables, broth, and beans

Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 more minute.

Add in the broth and beans. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour.

Bean and Bacon Soup

Remove half the soup to a food processor (or blender, or use an immersion blender). Process until smooth. Return to the soup pot. Stir together. Add in the tomato sauce and cooked bacon. Add salt and pepper as needed. Stir and heat for about 5 minutes more or until heated through.

The canned version of this was my favorite growing up. This homemade version is pretty spot on. I'll be making it again.

Here's a link to the recipe I adapted: http://www.tasteandtellblog.com/homemade-bean-bacon-soup/

Potato Cauliflower Cheese Casserole

Cooking spray
3-4 medium potatoes, diced
1/2 head of cauliflower, chopped into bite sized pieces
salt and pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 c. cheddar cheese, shredded, more for sprinkling on top
2 c. sour cream (I used lite)
6 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped

Preheat oven to 350 F.

 Grease a baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.

Boil potatoes for 10-15 minutes, or until they are soft. Drain. At the same time, boil the cauliflower for 7-10 minutes. Drain. Mix the potatoes and cauliflower together in the greased baking dish. Season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with cilantro.

Cook the onion for 3-5 minutes over medium heat. Add to the baking dish. Toss.

Combine the cheese and sour cream in a dish. Spoon over the potato and cauliflower mixture. Stir to combine it all together.

Bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle a layer of cheddar over the top. Bake for an additional 3-5 minutes. When it's done, sprinkle the cooked bacon over the top. Serve hot.

I made it with the bacon in the casserole and baked it, but I was sorely disappointed. Nice crispy bacon on the top would have been much better. That is how I will make it in the future.

Here's a link to the recipe I adapted: http://12tomatoes.com/2014/03/dinner-recipe-baked-potato-casserole.html

Bacon Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese

2 Tbsp. butter, softened
2 slices Italian bread
1 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 Tbsp. canned jalapenos, diced
2 strips of bacon, cooked, cut in half
2 slices Pepperjack (from pre-sliced package)
2 slices Sharp Cheddar (from pre-sliced package)

Preheat griddle to 275 F.

Spread 1 Tbsp. of butter on one side of each slice of bread. Place 1 slice of bread butter-side down on the griddle.

In a small bowl, mix the cream cheese and the diced jalapenos. Spread the cream cheese mixture on the side of the bread facing up on the griddle.

Layer the 2 slices of Pepperjack on top of the cream cheese mixture. Layer the 4 small slices of bacon over the Pepperjack. Layer the 2 slices of Sharp Cheddar on top of the bacon. Close the sandwich with the remaining piece of bread, butter side up.

Cook until the bottom side is golden brown and the cheese is beginning to melt, about 5 minutes.

When the bottom side is golden, flip the sandwich and cook on the other side, about 3-5 minutes. It's okay to turn the griddle temperature up a little bit at this point, to 300-350 degrees. The cheese should be really melted and oozing.

Serve hot and gooey.

Zuppa Toscana Soup

1 lb. Italian sausage (If you don't have Italian sausage, just add fennel, oregano, and garlic powder to the sausage while it cooks)

potatoes, onion, garlic

5-7 slices of bacon
5-6 red potatoes
1 onion
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 qt water
6 c. chicken broth
2 c. kale, chopped
1 c. heavy cream or half and half
1 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese, grated (optional)

Cook the sausage (with the seasonings if needed) until cooked through. Set aside. Cook bacon until crispy. Crumble, set aside.

sausage and bacon

Slice the potatoes between 1/8 - 1/4". Make sure they are all similar in size so they cook evenly. Dice the onion. Put potatoes, onion, garlic, water, and chicken broth into a large pot over medium heat. Cook until potatoes are cooked through (about 15 minutes).

Add the sausage, bacon, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Soup's on!

Turn to low heat, add the kale and cream. Let the soup heat through. Serve with a bit of Parmesan cheese on top.

Here's the link to the recipe I adapted. Hopefully it tastes a little like the Olive Garden's soup. Chris said ours tasted better.  =) http://www.momontimeout.com/2011/11/olive-garden-zuppa-toscana-soup.html

Maple Glazed Sweet Potatoes with Bacon and Carmelized Onions

Here's a link to the recipe I used: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/maple-glazed-sweet-potatoes-with-bacon-and-caramelized-onions/Detail.aspx?prop31=1

I am halving the recipe here because that is how I made it.

Onions caramelizing

2 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in 1-inch chunks
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper (or more!)
3 slices smoked bacon, chopped
1-2 onions, thinly sliced
1/2 c. pure maple syrup
1 tsp. thyme

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Toss the sweet potato chunks, olive oil, salt, and black pepper in a large bowl, and spread the sweet potatoes out onto a large rimmed baking sheet. Roast in the preheated oven until browned and tender, about 30-40 minutes; stir after the first 20 minutes. 

Ready to eat!

Cook the bacon until crisp and brown in a large skillet over medium heat, about 10 minutes; transfer bacon to a bowl, but leave the grease in the skillet. Cook the onions in the bacon grease until browned, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to low, and cook the onions until very soft, brown, and sweet, another 10 to 15 minutes. Stir often. Mix the onions with the bacon in the bowl, and set aside. 

Pour the maple syrup into the hot skillet with the thyme, and bring to a rolling boil. Boil the syrup until reduced by half, 3 to 4 minutes. Place the roasted sweet potatoes and onion-bacon mixture into the skillet, and stir to coat the vegetables with maple glaze. Transfer to a serving dish.

Tomato Soup Infusion Grilled Cheese

1 12oz can condensed tomato soup
1 tsp basil

1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp heavy cream
2 eggs
8 slices bread
butter, very soft
12 slices bacon, cooked
cheddar

In shallow pan, combine soup, basil, garlic, sugar, salt, cream, and eggs.  Beat until well-combined.

Preheat griddle to 250 F.  Spread butter on griddle.  Dip 1 side of each slice of bread in tomato mixture, letting soak for several seconds.   Lay tomato-side down on griddle.  While tomato is cooking, spread butter on top sides of each slice.

When tomato side is lightly browned, flip half of the slices over.  Lay slices of cheddar and strips of bacon on grilled tomato, sandwich between remaining slices of bread so that grilled tomato sides face inward.  Allow each side of sandwich time for butter to brown and turn crispy, remove from grill and eat.  Makes 4 sandwiches.

Recipe created by Christopher Lund

Twice Baked Potato Casserole

Layering

6 medium unpeeled potatoes, baked
1/4 tsp. of salt
pepper (the more the merrier!)
1 lb. sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled
3 c. sour cream
2 c. cheddar cheese, shredded
2 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 green onions, chopped

Cut baked potatoes into 1 in. cubes. Place half in a greased 13 in x 9 in x 2in baking dish. Sprinkle with half of the salt, pepper, and bacon. Top with half of the sour cream and cheeses. Repeat layers. Bake, uncovered, at 350 F for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with onions.

Ready to serve!

If you want directions on how to bake the potatoes, I just used 6 small-medium russet potatoes, and put them on a baking sheet in the oven for 40 minutes at 400 F. I use a gas stove, so it heats quicker. For an electric stove, it will probably be about 50-60 minutes.