Another way to eat bacon

Today is going to be a WONDERFUL day!  Why you ask?  Because right now there is a large cast iron dutch oven in my oven being seasoned

oooh, smoky!

And that means my blog readers...that today is the day...the day we have all been waiting for (well I know several people have been waiting for it).  I have thought about this day, and waited until I had everything I needed (the cast iron dutch oven) and today I will be making...dun dun dunnnnnn...

BACON JAM!!!!  (click here for recipe)

At 1:47pm I gathered all of my ingredients...I decided to double the recipe. And use 4oz jars, so that way I get 10 whole jars (which turned into 11, plus another spoonful...).  Especially because my partner in crime, her boss, my bestie, and my local cousin all want some...

Start with a non stick skillet and fry the bacon up in small batches then set aside...

And watch out for the hazards of cooking over 4 lbs of bacon...the trip hazards...otherwise known as my dogs.

After all 4 pounds of bacon have been fried (I finished a little after 3:30 pm), throw in the onion (I used Vidalia because that's my favorite onion) and the garlic and cook on medium heat until the onion is translucent, takes about 10-15 minutes.

I chose to use the metal sieve to drain the grease from the onion and garlic, and I am saving it for other cooking adventures...

Now bring out the cast iron dutch oven and put the 1 inch chunks of bacon, the onion and garlic and the rest of the ingredients (sans water) on the hot burner and simmer for 4.5 hours...stirring every 25-30 minutes (and adding 1/4 cup water if needed at that time)  I went ahead and set alarms on my phone to remind me to stir every 30 minutes, and then the final alarm at 4.5 hours to finish processing...It's going to be after 10pm before this is done and in jars...I wonder if this could be altered to be done in a crock pot...maybe next time...

Well it's FINALLY done, well done cooking!






Now time to put it bit by bit into my food processor so it can blend till semi-smooth.

Because it's done in batches I put it all into another bowl, so I can do the final tasting and add the honey...

The it's into a large collander for 20 minutes to let whatever liquid is still around drain off...

And drumroll please...into the jars...

Now to put this on breakfast biscuits, sammaches, hamburgers and anything else that bacon goes on!


Till next time!  ENJOY!

"Ice cream is happiness condensed"

Jessi Lane Adams had it right with that quote.  There is nothing like Ice Cream on a hot day.  My DH and I were fortunate enough to receive a ice cream maker at our wedding shower.  And now I'm going to put it to use and actually make some!  It was his idea, he asked about it on our way to the grocery store today so I looked up a basic recipe for ice cream, and added the ingredients to my list.  So tonight I am going to make Caramel Macchiato Ice Cream, which also happens to be one of my favorite beverages!  It is definitely an ice cream for coffee lovers!


This recipe is nice and simple, no tempering or heating so you can get to freezing it sooner!  As always, gather all your ingredients...

Whisk the milk, coffee, sugar and salt together till the sugar is dissolved,  then add the heavy cream and stir.  Cover and put in the fridge for 2 hours...simple!

Once the 2 hours is up time to put the mixture in the ice cream machine.  Just follow the directions for your maker and let'er rip!

While the ice cream is freezing it is time to make the caramel sauce...I'm microwaving it because it is waaayyy to hot to fire up the oven...which is the other reason the ice cream recipe works so well...no heating!

Pay close attention to the size of the bowl, timing and stirring directions, you don't want burnt caramel. And using too small of a bowl will result in the caramel boiling over...I speak from experience. Now I must caution that this process takes a lot of muscle, and patience, lots and lots of patience.

Done "cooking" time to whip

Ohhhh, that doesn't look good...

Ah wait, there it is...nice and smooth

Aaaaannnnd...because it started to seize up, I added splashes of the leftover heavy whipping cream to it until the consistency was back where it needed to be!

After the caramel is done, and the ice cream is done (waaaaayyyy longer than 20 minutes) layer and swirl the caramel into the ice cream and put in the freezer for at least 2 hours, overnight is better!

Don't forget to lick the caramel bowl!  Enjoy!