Bacon Wrapped BBQ Chicken Tenders

I know, I had you at bacon. Really, do I have to tell you how delicious these chicken strips are? Tender, flavorful and just so good--after all, bacon makes everything better. Not only was this a delicious dinner on a cold, gray day (will this winter ever end?), but it took all of 3 minutes to put together and 20 minutes to cook. Bacony goodness in record time. I'm always up for wrapping food in bacon and I'm glad my Secret Recipe Club match had this idea on her menu as well.

Beer and Bacon Pancakes

Father's Day is on Sunday and if I didn't live so far from my Dad, I would totally be making him these pancakes for breakfast.  Pure, unadulterated man food, these pancakes have both beer and bacon right in them.  What's more to love?  And what other dish is quintessentially the perfect man's breakfast?   Dave and I loved these and they were super simple to make.  Candied bacon and Yuengling lager (or some other beer with a bit of flavor) put a new, manly spin on pancakes.

Freezer Breakfast Sandwiches

I grew up in Pennsylvania and Dave and met in college there.  In our tiny college town we were lucky to have not one but two(!) Sheetz stores, the gas station equivalent to Amazon, carrying everything from gas to bait, including the MTO (made to order) food that makes Sheetz so awesome.  Frequent study sessions were interrupted by a midnight run for nachos or subs.  And even though I live over 300 miles from the nearest Sheetz (and will make travel plans around being able to stop at that particular Sheetz on the way to and from Pittsburgh), I swear by the joy that is a Schmuffin.  It's my favorite MTO and no matter what time of day, it's the one that I must get every time I go there.  While I've never had an Egg McMuffin, I just love that breakfast sandwich, especially with cheese and bacon (and all the other varied fixin's Sheetz lovingly will top it with).  Now, whenever the craving strikes, we can reach right into the freezer.  These make ahead egg sandwiches are perfect and totally customizable.  If whole wheat English muffins aren't your thing, use a the regular kind. Or a mini bagel.  Choose cheddar instead of American cheese.  Fried egg or scrambled.  Bacon or sausage.  It's like an MTO station in my very own house!  (Minus the other options.  And the touch screen.  And someone else making it for me.  But otherwise, exactly the same.)  In less than 20 minutes, I prepped a dozen sandwiches, wrapped them, labeled and into the freezer they went, ready for a quick pop in the microwave any morning, regardless of how busy we might be.

Scalloped Corn with Bacon

After zucchini and tomatoes, I think corn is that other summer vegetable that everyone looks forward to enjoying.  And even though this summer's heat and minimal rain across much of the country has made corn on the cob eating less stellar than years past, the corn is still mighty tasty if you know what to do with it.  Like adding bacon.  Because as we know, everything is better with bacon.  And this corn is no different.  Sweet corn cut off the cob and cooked in a savory sauce with bacon stirred through and baked to a creamy goodness.  It's not quite creamed corn, more like a simply creamy corn (yes, there's a difference, I just can't explain it).  Yes, delicious isn't quite a good enough word.  But corn masterpiece seems so pretentious. 

It's Secret Recipe Club time!  By now, you probably know what that means.  Each Monday a group of bloggers post a recipe they've made from another blogger's repertoire.  Nobody knows who's featuring their blog until that day and it's a fun chance to visit new blogs and try something different. Visit some of the other bloggers in my group by checking out the blog hop at the bottom of this post.  To learn more about Secret Recipe Club, click here.

Bacon Ranch Broccoli Slaw

Bacon makes everything better, right?  Exactly.  And in this recipe, it even makes a run of the mill slaw better.  Crunchy broccoli slaw with a lightly creamy ranch dressing speckled with bacon bits for a twist on traditional slaw. Plus, it's not bad for you!  I don't normally do nutrition stats, but this stuff comes in at only 71 calories per serving, a third of which comes from the veggies, so I just had to share!  I make this to take for lunch for a little extra crunch and additional serving of veggies, but it would be a great accompaniment for a summer barbeque buffet.

This recipe is a Hungry Girl concoction from Lisa Lillien's Hungry Girl 1-2-3.  I love Lisa's  dedication to healthy recipes made quickly from easy ingredients that are super tasty.  I don't change a thing to this recipe, as easy as it would be to add more bacon!  But really there's plenty of bacon flavor, coupled with a quick ranch dressing, really transforms the crunchy broccoli slaw into something different.  A great, light summer side dish that's tasty and healthy.  One taste and it will definitely be an addition to your cookouts this summer.

Candied Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today's a big day! Not only is it another Secret Recipe Club reveal day, but it's also the reveal day for The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap.  I signed up for both before realizing the reveals were scheduled for the same day.  But that's ok, it worked out just fine. Starting with the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap, I had the pleasure of baking cookies for Ashley at Embracing Beauty, Cayla at Cayla's Cookie Jar and Danielle at Little Spindle.  The Cookie Swap is the brain child of Julie at The Little Kitchen and Lindsay from Love and Olive Oil and is a secret Santa-style swap where each blogger bakes cookies for 3 bloggers and will receive cookies from 3 other bloggers.  Several hundred bloggers participated and I'm looking forward to getting my cookies from secret bakers.  I'll let you know what I get and who they're from.  If you'd like to participate next year (and trust me, you do) go here to sign up for the notification.