It’s Bacon Lovers Day!

I am unashamed of my love for bacon. It has and always will be a treat for my taste buds and the epitome of comfort food.

That’s before it’s oven roasted then slathered in Praline & Maple or drizzled with Sriracha Honey or submerged in Peach Bourbon Glaze or brushed with Rosemary & Black Pepper Honey. Candied Bacon is a meat-lover, sweets-lover dream come true!

Recipe Note: this post is a lot more about Candied Bacon inspiration than a precise recipe. Bacon Lovers Unite. Whoot!

There seems to be some debate about using thick cut or thin sliced bacon when building a Bacon Bar. I can assure you that our thick cut bacon was near perfect – crispyish but not chewy.

We cooked the bacon in the oven at 400 degrees F on rack-lined baking sheets for 20 minutes, then turned the bacon strips over and baked for another 10-15 minutes. Honestly, it was all about the appearance – if the bacon looks nicely browned and ‘crispy’ it’s likely ready for toppings.

Praline & Maple with Sea Salt was my personal favorite. Aka dessert material. Simply simmer chopped praline’s (or plain pecans) in maple syrup until slightly thickened. Finish with a pinch of flaky sea salt.

Sriracha Honey & Soy! Okay, we all agree that sweet and spicy go so nicely, especially with Bacon. Nick’s glaze was a standout – a warm sweet heat. He simmered 1/4 cup honey, with 2 Tbl. soy sauce (or coconut aminos), 1 Tbl Sriracha sauce, and 1 Tbl. fresh lime juice until a nice thick glaze formed.

You may remember a couple of week’s ago when we had the crazy idea of making Bacon Wrapped Bourbon Glazed Grilled Peaches – according to our site stats you like that combination, so here it is again – Candied Bacon style.

A late entry into the Candied Bacon / Bacon Bar buffet was the Rosemary Honey & Black Pepper. Super subtle flavors build by simmering honey with sprigs of fresh rosemary, finished with freshly cracked black pepper.

After about 30 minutes in the oven we liberally coated, slathered, bathed, or drizzled the toppings over the bacon and returned them to the oven for an additional 5 minutes. Once removed from the oven we let the Candied Bacon cool to room temperature before serving.

Making Candied Bacon was fun! We’re talking three sheet pans of Wright’s thick cut hickory bacon cooking in the oven. The aromas alone guaranteed no one was losing interest in this Bacon Lovers Party. The results were gorgeously flavor infused bacon strips worthy of presenting at any brunch, reception or bff snack party.

Don’t forget to follow us @LemonyThyme on Instagram and Facebook! And check out our latest TikTok videos and Pinterest boards too!

All my best,
xo Libby

The post Bacon Lovers Day appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

So many beautiful colors and flavors in this Mediterranean Lunch Bowl.  Roasted red peppers, marinated artichoke hearts, luscious olives, orzo pasta, baby spinach, and grilled lemon & herb chicken.  Pulled together from ingredients already in our fridge and pantry. 

It was about a week ago when I made this fabulous 7-Layer Hot Italian Dip.  Several of those layers found their way into the Mediterranean Lunch Bowl.  Just a little hint that these two recipes play very nicely together.

As a bonus, this lunch bowl fits nicely into our healthy choices plan.  Because the ingredients bring big bold flavor there was no need for a heavy dressing.  Instead I simply used some of the juices from the olives, red pepper and artichoke hearts with a drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice.  And serving this bowl….in a bowl, keeps portion control in check.  Go me.

I’ve mentioned recently that we have a new Sprouts Farmers Market, conveniently located along my route to work.  They have a gorgeous olive bar, loaded with all kinds of marinated love.  You can buy as little as one olive if you choose.  That makes a Mediterranean Lunch Bowl all the more wonderful.

Print

Mediterranean Lunch Bowl

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

For the lemon & herb chicken…

• 1 boneless skinless chicken breast 6-8 ounces
• 2 fresh rosemary sprigs
• 2 fresh oregano sprigs
• 1 Tbl. capers
• 1 lemon

For the bowls…

• 1/2 cup orzo pasta
• 3 cups fresh spinach
• roasted red pepper with juice
• marinated artichoke hearts with juice
• assorted olives with juice
• olive oil
• salt & pepper

Instructions

For the lemon & herb chicken…

• Press the rosemary, oregano, capers and 2-3 lemon slices onto the chicken breast. Grill in a grill-pan over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, then gently turn and grill an additional 5-7 minutes or until cooked through. Remove and allow to stand for 10 minutes.

For the bowl…

• Prepare the orzo according to the package instructions. Drain; season with olive oil, salt & pepper.
• Divide fresh spinach, sliced grilled chicken, orzo, roasted red pepper, artichoke hearts, and olives between two bowls.
• Combine reserved marinating liquids with olive oil and lemon juice to taste. Drizzle over bowl ingredients.

The post Mediterranean Lunch Bowl appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

I have had the pleasure of getting to know the recipes of one special chef.  Her name is Chef Lisi Parsons and her dishes are full of flavor and ‘real’ ingredients.  She shared this Recipe with me.  I couldn’t wait to make her Caramelized Onion & Pancetta Crustless Quiche.

This dish has so much good going on.  First it is naturally low-carb and gluten-free making it very attractive to so many of our friends.  The goat cheese and sun dried tomatoes bring a wonderful flavor punch, and the fresh herbs will make you smile.  The signature ingredients of caramelized onion and pancetta make this quiche hearty and well received by all members of the family.

Thank you Chef Lisi for sharing your Caramelized Onion & Pancetta Crustless Quiche recipe with me and allowing me to share it with others.  It’s fabulous just like you.

Here’s our method for making Caramelized Onions.

Print

Caramelized Onion & Pancetta Crustless Quiche

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 40 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Chef Lisi Parsons lightly adapted

Ingredients

• 8 ounces pancetta
• 1 Tbl. fresh rosemary chopped
• 1 Tbl. fresh thyme chopped
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 2 large onions sliced in half then into slices
• 1 shallot chopped
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 cup goat cheese
• 2 ounces sun dried tomatoes
• 8 eggs beaten
• 2 Tbl. fresh chives chopped

Instructions

• Cook pancetta with rosemary, thyme and pepper in a cast iron skillet until browned. Remove from pan and reserve.
• Add sliced onions and shallot to skillet and sprinkle with salt. Cook until caramelized about 35 – 45 minutes. See link in post for method.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Once onions have caramelized add in the cooked pancetta and herbs, then sprinkle with crumbled goat cheese and sun dried tomatoes.
• Beat eggs in a bowl then pour over onion/pancetta mixture. Top with chives.
• Place skillet in oven and bake for 35-40 minutes or until quiche is set. Do not overbrown the bottom.

The post Caramelized Onion & Pancetta Crustless Quiche appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Have I got a great new soup recipe for you.  If you LOVE Italian Wedding Soup as much as we do, you’re going to adore this Lemon, Tortellini & Meatball Soup.

After enjoying Greek Whole Roasted Chicken seasoned with lemon, garlic & oregano it seemed only fitting to turn the yummy homemade chicken broth infused with those flavors into a Greek inspired soup aka Lemon, Tortellini & Meatball Soup.

This recipe builds in plenty of flavor infusion so don’t worry if you’re starting with plain chicken broth, the soup will be absolutely delicious.

To begin, make up a batch of chicken meatballs, seasoned with lemon zest, fresh rosemary and dried oregano.  Brown these off in batches in a Dutch oven, then reserve them to finish cooking in your glorious broth.

As with many of our favorite soup recipes, a classic mirepoix is a wonderful place to begin.  Once sautéed and tender, the broth is added along with additional seasonings, including fresh lemon juice and zest.  Just like a squeeze of fresh lime juice gives Mexican Chicken Soup it’s signature flavor, fresh lemon juice is paramount in this Lemon, Tortellini & Meatball Soup.

About 10 minutes before you are ready to serve, add the tortellini and meatballs to the pot and allow to simmer until cooked through.  For the best results, add the fresh spinach leaves just before serving along with a sprinkle of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and flat leaf parsley.  I shared Lemon, Tortellini & Meatball Soup today at lunch and my taste-testers gave the Mmmm Mmmm Good stamp of approval!

Tip:  If you are not going to eat all the soup at the first sitting, I recommend only adding enough tortellini for the portions you need.  OR do as I did, which was to add it all, but then remove the extra tortellini with a slotted spoon to refrigerate in a separate container.  This kept them from sucking up all the good broth and turning into mush.  I added them back into the soup pot when reheated for lunch.  Worked great.

The post Lemon, Tortellini & Meatball Soup appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

I received a text message yesterday…four magic words “I’ve got dinner covered.”  Maple-Brined Grilled Pork Chops, spinach salad, and a baked potato to share.  All from Fridge/Pantry ingredients.  I was so inspired that I took our one baking potato and showed it some love.  Rosemary, Parmesan & Paprika Oil Roasted Potatoes.

We’re in the middle of another Eat Out of the Fridge/Pantry Week at our house.  If this is the first time you’ve heard me use that phrase, here is a simple explanation of how we arrived at this point.  Back to back weeks of recipe creating, holiday cooking, and reckless abandon for anything that resembled sensible eating.  When you open the refrigerator and you can’t tell if the light is on because the open jars, leftover containers, and mystery packages are piled so high there’s no light coming through…in the words of native Georgian Jeff Foxworthy….Here’s your sign.  And when your pantry resembles a teenage girl’s closet right after she ‘cleaned’ her room; you protect your head as you slowly open the doors for fear of flying debris…Here’s your sign.  So if you’ve got that going on at your house…Stay away from the grocery store and Eat Out of the Fridge/Pantry for a week.

Scrub your potato, cut into 1/4″ thick slices, use cookie cutters to cut shapes out of the centers, toss it all in a zip top bag with some grated Parmesan cheese, minced fresh rosemary, salt, pepper, and wonderful Paprika Oil (any olive oil would work fine).

Line a shallow baking pan with parchment paper and spread potatoes in a single layer.  Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, turn over and cook another 5-7 minutes or until potatoes are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

The best part of oven roasted potatoes are edges, so why not maximize the goodness.  You are sure to get a smile when you set a plate of these Rosemary, Parmesan & Paprika Oil Roasted Potatoes in front of your loved ones :)

Print

Rosemary, Parmesan & Paprika Oil Roasted Potatoes

Course Side Dish

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 2 baking potatoes washed and scrubbed
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated
• 1/4 cup Paprika oil or olive oil of choice
• 1 sprig of fresh rosemary minced fine (about 1/2 tsp.)
• sea salt & freshly cracked pepper

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Slice potatoes about 1/4″ thick, use cookie cutter to cut shapes in center.
• Combine potatoes, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper in a zip top bag and toss to coat. Spread in a single layer on the parchment lined baking sheet.
• Bake for 10 minutes, turn once and bake for an additional 5-7 minutes or until potatoes are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

The post Rosemary, Parmesan & Paprika Oil Roasted Potatoes appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Brown Butter Irish Soda Bread {with Rosemary & Cracked Black Pepper}

As St. Patrick’s Day entered the radar of food bloggers and the like, the recipe sharing became fast and furious.  I couldn’t have imagined Guinness could find it’s way into breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert….but alas it’s been done.  Wonderful dishes rich in flavor yet not overdone.  I suspect that holds true for Ireland herself.  I never question the authenticity of a dish, purely because I love to experiment with recipes and expect others do as well.  Let that be the lead in to this not so traditional Brown Butter Irish Soda Bread with Rosemary & Cracked Black Pepper.

The beautiful thing about this, and other ‘quick’ breads, is there is minimal work involved.  No proofing, rising, doubling in size.  Just a bit of kneading, a dusting of flour, ‘x’ marks the spot, and straight into the oven it goes.

A basic Irish Soda Bread recipe has just a few simple ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk.  Which was completely the route I planned to go for my first attempt. Until I spotted a couple of recipes from Epicurious, that added browned butter, rosemary & cracked black pepper, caused a change of direction.

There’s a recipe note I must share.  As I was lining up the ingredients for a picture I noticed that the bag of flour I had pulled from the pantry was Self-rising Flour vs. All-purpose as the recipe called for.  Hmmm, seems my All-purpose flour canister was empty.  Experiment with recipes remember :)  For tips on flour substitutions and exchanges check out this article.

Second recipe note: every variation I read said not to over knead the dough.  Just enough turns until the dough comes together, six to eight times max.  Well…in an effort to not over work the dough the end result is a bread that looks more like a four leaf clover.  Quite fitting for today, don’t you think.

And a bread that tastes simply divine.  This is one of those breads that you’ll stand over breathing in it’s goodness.  My favorite way to describe this is when aroma becomes flavor you know something amazing is happening.  The aromatic fresh rosemary combined with nutty brown butter was fabulous.  And if anything, the Self-rising flour may have delivered a lighter slightly less dense Irish Soda Bread, which was quite fine with us.  Brown Butter Irish Soda Bread with Rosemary & Cracked Black Pepper we will certainly not wait until next St. Patrick’s Day to enjoy your company again.

Print

Brown Butter Irish Soda Bread {with Rosemary & Cracked Black Pepper}

The aromatic fresh rosemary combined with nutty brown butter in this bread was fabulous.

Course Bread

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author lightly adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients

• 2 cups Self-rising or All-purpose flour plus additional for kneading and dusting
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
• 2 Tbl. butter
• 1 tsp. fresh rosemary minced

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and pepper.
• In a small sauce pan over low heat, melt butter, add in minced rosemary and slowly cook until butter turns golden brown.
• Add browned butter and buttermilk into flour mixture. Use a rubber spatula to mix ingredients, scrapping down sides of bowl until just combined.
• Turn dough out onto a well floured surface. Knead dough, turning about 6-8 times just until it comes together. Form into a 6-inch round and place on ungreased baking sheet. Use a sharp knife and cut a 1/2″ deep ‘x’ in the top of dough. Use a fine mesh sifter and dust top of bread with flour.
• Bake for 30 – 35 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.

Notes

The bread pictured was made using Self-rising flour with the baking soda and salt. It can also be made using All-purpose flour with the baking soda and salt.

The post Brown Butter Irish Soda Bread {with Rosemary & Cracked Black Pepper} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.