Apricot-glazed bacon-wrapped chicken

There's an old saying that goes like this:

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

You should know I don't take directions well.  Never have, actually.  So, I ignored that advice and came up with some of my own:

If it ain't broke, just add bacon.

Inspired by my timeless 4th of July running attire, I jazzed up one of my go-to chicken recipes for dinner on Monday.

Sally's baked beans

These.baked.beans.

Good gracious, almighty.  I'll get to them in a minute.  But these beans!!!  First things first, though.

Hi, howdy, hey there, friends!  It's been a little while since I posted something new -- cough two months cough -- but I promise this was worth the wait.  I want to thank you for your words of understanding and encouragement.  I've never once viewed blogging as "work" and never want to get to that point.  I cook, photograph, and write because I truly enjoy it.  The past two months were so filled with good stuff (running, baking orders, travel, etc.) that I didn't have time for it all and knew something had to give.  Realizing that my blogging hobby could take an unwanted turn into "obligation" territory, I gave myself a little vacation.

All of that being said, I really, really missed you/this!  I have multiple lists around my office, apartment, and various purses with new ideas to make and share.  In other words, I hope you've worked up an appetite :)

Haluski (cabbage & egg noodles) with bacon

Almost 4 years ago, I skipped town on vacation and temporarily handed over the reigns to my blog.  My then-boyfriend offered to cook, photograph, and write about one of his favorite recipes to share  with all of you.  How sweet of him!

So much has changed since then, like the fact that I no longer have a boyfriend but a husband.  An awesome husband who insisted upon cooking dinner every single night (!) last week.  We had tacos, sausage with peppers and onions, huevos rancheros, chicken Caesar salads, and -- Matt's specialty -- haluski with bacon!  Despite having eaten many versions of haluski, we both agree this is the best version, thanks to the bacon.

Here's the updated recipe with some new pictures and the original post written by Matt:

I have to start by applauding Katy for her skills and organization in the kitchen.  My attempt to prepare a meal, take pictures, and make mental notes about what I was doing can best be described as a maelstrom of chaos (this description brought to you by the Department of Redundancy Department).  Bear with me, as this is my foray into the food blogging world.

Mini apple bacon meatloaves

My brain and calendar say it's Wednesday, but my heart and stomach are still in weekend-mode.  That's what happens when you have too much fun.  Shame on me.

We kicked things off with homemade pizza and TV catch-up on Friday.  On Sunday, Matt and I went on a lunch date and visited the Heinz History Center.  But Saturday was so much fun that I still can't handle it.  We spent the day celebrating my sister's birthday, starting with a visit to Soergel's Orchards.

There were oodles of pumpkins, delicious BBQ, warm homemade doughnuts, and so, so many apples.  We brought all of them home with us.

Just kidding.  We only brought half of all of the apples home.

Bacon, corn & shrimp chowder

It seems that I've fallen pretty hard for summer this year.  It's still no winter, but I've come around to this season of heat, humidity, and sun.  (I'm certain the endless supply of ice cream is partially responsible.)

That being said, hooray for rainy afternoons and momentarily cooler temperatures!

I've been waiting for months to make this perfect-for-summer-soup. Why haven't I made it yet?  Because it's simply been too hot for soup.  I guess there's a reason gazpacho is kind of a big deal around this time of year.

No offense to gazpacho makers and lovers out there, but if you can get past the whole temperature thing and make this -- dinner is hot nearly every night anyway, right? -- you'll have a new favorite summer soup.  This soup.  Because it's got bacon.

Bacon, cheddar & spinach pinwheels

Sometimes, despite my best efforts to plan ahead and make life easier, I find that I didn't actually plan very well at all.

Like the time I was so nervous about spending the weekend with a boyfriend's family.  I wanted to make the best first impression and spent an embarrassing amount of time picking outfits for every possible social scenario since I didn't know our agenda.  Believe me when I say that each wardrobe change was simply spot on, and I felt confident; the whole weekend couldn't have been more perfect!

Or could it?  Yeah, it could've been if I'd remembered to pack any underwear at all.  Seriously, I did not pack a single pair.  To this day, this is one my lowest points.  Yikes.  Thankfully, I realized very shortly after we arrived so a quick trip was made to the nearest store to remedy that problem ASAP.

Lesson: Don't let vanity overpower practicality, kids.  It's mighty awkward explaining to your future mother-in-law why, after a 4 hour drive, you must get back in the car to run an errand that simply can't wait another minute.

Fast Friday: Open-faced egg BLT sandwich

Oh gosh, this feels like cheating.  Is it cheating?  I mean, giving you a recipe when it's not really a recipe.  Or even something new.

So, I won't call it a recipe.  I'll call it an idea.  A humble suggestion.  A glimpse into my real life kitchen.

You know, the kitchen in which oatmeal and pancakes are acceptable dinner offerings just as often as fancy French dishes and homemade sauces.

Somewhere between no-think breakfast food and multi-dish masterpieces is this sandwich.  Last night, this sandwich that saved me.  Saved me from an evening of grazing on cheese balls, almonds, carrots, and probably a scrambled egg.

Pizza with Brussels sprouts, bacon, and goat cheese

I don't know about you, but I'm constantly amazed at what we're able to do with the help of technology.  I can Skype with my friends halfway across the world in Germany and China.  I can could deposit checks into my bank account without ever stepping foot into a bank... if I had a smart phone.  I can even share my daily adventures and misadventures in life and food on the interwebs with any sweet soul who wishes to read them.

But, with all of that and so much more, there is still one big void.  I can't actually share the food with y'all.  Not the recipe, but the real deal.  The food.  Like hot and tasty pizza, fresh out of the oven.

Eat your heart eyes out!

Fast Friday: Farfalle with bacon, beans, and kale

Have you ever been so focused on one food that it's all you can think about?  That you start trying to add it other dishes that are traditionally mixed with aforementioned ingredient?

When I tell you this ingredient, you're not going to be shocked.  Or overwhelmed. Not even whelmed.  (Brownie points to the first person to correctly identify that pop culture reference!)

Drumroll please... it's bacon!

Are you yawning?  Are you thinking things like "Tell me something I didn't already know, Katy,"?  Have your socks have become more secured on your feet?

I guess it's no secret that I love bacon.

The all-American breakfast sandwich

Remember when I teased almost a week ago about the ultimate breakfast sandwich?  At last, here it is, ladies and gentlemen.  I'm going to skip the lengthy introduction and get right to it since I know anything I say will be read as "blah blah blah."  Don't worry, I'm not offended because I don't want to hear what I have to say either :)

At last, here it is, folks: the doughnut breakfast sandwich!

What you see was the product of vacation brain, food television, and great love of America.

I bet if there were a Behind the Scenes of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, we'd see this line tossed around: "Give me liberty and give me doughnuts and bacon!"  Or something like that, anyway.

Bacon, lettuce, tomato and avocado salad

I've noticed that Matt and I have been dining out much more often lately, namely on the weekends.  Maybe it's because, at the end of a long work week, we want a little time out of the apartment to enjoy each other's company and take a break from cooking.  Remember our Friday pizza tradition?  It's gotten a facelift in recent weeks.

This is how it goes down: On my walk home from the gym, I'll notice how pleasant it is outside -- birds chirping, a light breeze, and so much sun that a mental note of "find your sunglasses" gets posted in the forefront of my mind.  As soon as I get home, stomach growling, I'll test the dinner waters with Matt.

me: "So, what do you want to do for dinner?"
Matt: "Doesn't matter to me.  What do you have planned?"
me: "Well, nothing, really."
Matt: "Oh, I can find something to eat then.  Don't worry about it."
me: "Yeah, or... I was thinking we could go stroll for food since it's so nice outside."
Matt: "Yep, we're doing that.  You put the idea in my head.  Let's go."

An hour later, we're perched on a bench in the park, he with McDonald's or Szechuan Express, and her with sushi or Panera.  Two hours later, we're home, on the couch watching some bad Friday TV, and regretting said dinners juuuuuuust a bit. 

We finally got to the bottom of our complex of craving restaurant food on Fridays.  It's because I've used up all of the new and exciting dinner recipes earlier in the week, and Friday's menu is usually something a little less exciting like a piece of roasted salmon and vegetables or chicken tenders and broccoli.  Delicious but hardly a celebratory beginning-of-the-weekend kind of meal.

Last week we played food psychologists and nipped that burgeoning complex of ours right in the bud with a yummy and wallet-friendly Friday night dinner that was anything but boring: BLTA salads!

Smashed potato pizza

"T.G.I.P.F.!"

Huh?

Thank goodness it's pizza Friday, yo!  For the past two months or so, Matt and I have gotten into the habit of scarfing down pizza in any shape and  flavor on Friday nights.  

It started harmlessly with a "fend for yourself night" -- aka no set meal planned -- when we both wanted a cheesy pie.  A few clicks later, and we were huddled around the computer tracking the Domino's team's progress making our dinner.  After 30 minutes, our pizza hero arrived and we set up shop in the living room.  Mushroom and roasted red pepper for her, pepperoni and jalapeno for him.  The Ides of March from RedBox for both.  (Great movie, by the way.)

But, not that pizza is expensive, per se, but ordering it every week can definitely add up.  More important than cost is taste.  We l-o-v-e making pizza at home.  It's fresher, less greasy, and exactly how we want it.  

The next week we vowed to use our pizza stone to turn out a masterpiece.

Masterpiece it sure 'nuff was: cheeseburger pizza!  Each subsequent week we face the challenge to come up with a new kind of pie.  There surely have been some great ones and some that make Matt so happy he could cry. 

But you know me and my desire for new and shiny things recipes.  I got to thinking about the pizza I order at restaurants.  At first, nothing really came to mind since I usually opt for items I can't or won't make at home.  Suddenly, it hit me. 

Baked potato soup with bacon & cheese

Fact #1: It is very much winter here in Pittsburgh.  A snowy weekend, brisk windy days and chilly nights, and the malls are packed to the max with eager shoppers.  

Opinion #1: Kind of makes you want to stay inside, curl up on the couch with a holiday movie (ahem Elf), and savor a big bowl of hot soup.  

Fact #2: Tomorrow, Matt and I depart cold, snowy Pittsburgh and head to Florida, where we'll board a cruise ship bound for the Caribbean for our honeymoon!  Over the next seven days, we'll be visiting St. Martin, St. Thomas, and Nassau and Princess Cays in the Bahamas.  I can barely contain my excitement!

Opinion #2: While I'll be basking in the glow of the islands (and hopefully not being abused by the sun's rays), I bet you'll be relaxing inside with your very favorite people, enjoying the break from work and school, and looking for ways to stay warm.  

That's why I've decided to save a few of the most hearty, comforting recipes I know to share with you while I'm away.  If I were home, I'd totally be making these.  But, I'll probably just save them for when we return to catch up on the week of winter that we've missed.

First up is the creamiest, steamiest bowl of potato soup that I've ever tried!  Not just any potato soup, but baked potato soup.  Loaded with all the usual suspects: sour cream, cheddar cheese, and bacon bacon bacon!  

Bacon-wrapped potato wedges

Because the plethora of bacon-centric recipes (just added a new "bacon" tag!) isn't enough for me, I'm totally psyched to show you what I made for dinner recently: bacon-wrapped potato wedges!  

Besides, there can never be too much bacon.  Sorry, kosher friends!

Oh no, that's not a T.G.I.Friday's plate you're seeing.  It's way better, friends.  This is my improved homemade response to the legendary T.G.I.Friday's loaded potato skins appetizer.  Everyone knows it, and most would move mountains for it.  But this version can be made in minutes in your own kitchen, and it's infinitely better for you and your waistline -- hey, summer isn't quite over yet!

In other words, consumption of this deliciousness won't be followed by that unmistakeable wave of nausea.  Instead, a napkin-crumpling, stomach-patting (because it's not overfilled) feeling of satisfaction. Win win, right?

Summer pasta with corn, tomatoes & bacon

T minus two days until I move into the new apartment and things are a bit... messy.

I feel a bit like I'm living in a maze!  Bobbing and weaving to get from one room to the next.  Thank goodness I'm not a sleep walker :)  The box count is up to 17 so far.  Books, movies, games, and most of my kitchen items are stowed away until they reach their new home.

Even with so many of my tools buried, I was still able to whip up a bright and balanced dinner: summery rainbow pasta!

Chock full of fresh corn, tomatoes, basil, and smokey salty bacon.  This really hit the spot after all that rolling, padding, packing, and lifting! 

Asparagus, bacon & potato hash with eggs

Spring summer is here!  After a week of rain, the skies dried up and the clouds parted to reveal a fantastically sunny and warm weekend.  Temperatures in the upper 70s and low 80s made things like dining outside on picnic tables and going for long walks with no destination in mind.  It also made my little apartment quite warm and thus the idea of turning on my oven even more unappealing.

Solution?  Have a bowl of cereal for dinner.

I'm kidding!  For now, anyway.

But, seriously.  The real answer was to keep that oven off and do all of the cooking on the stovetop.  My favorite quick and easy go-to meal: a hash.  And with some fresh asparagus to make one very spring-y dinner.  Don't these perky green spears make you so excited for warmer weather and farmer's markets? 

Spinach, onion & bacon frittata

Sometimes I make a big old mess in the kitchen.  Picture a sink piled high with pans, bowls, and every cutting board I own.  I could clean the dishes as I go.  (I don't.)  I try to savor the meal I've created without distractions and in a seated position.  (Enter Family Guy reruns and leaning against the counter, plate in hand.)  I stare down the Pisa-like tower and wonder if mind control works on dish soap, a sponge, and a Pisa-like tower of dishes.  (It doesn't.)

Thankfully for you and me, this isn't one of those times.  Rather, this is a tale about how less is more.  Less dishes, less ingredients, and generally less fuss.  How I ditched the apron, popped in a DVD and barely paid attention to what was on the stove and ended up with an unreasonably delicious meal in spite of my apathy.  Don't you just love when life works out like that?

Bacon-wrapped water chestnuts

Happy Tuesday!  Yesterday I gave you a recipe for black and white cookies... rather fitting since the day started with a temperature of 60 degrees and rain and ended with the mercury settling around 24 degrees and snow falling from the sky.  Like I said, black and white, folks.  Today it's time for the rest of my Academy Award party recap.  I could say that we found food ideas for each of the Best Picture nominees somewhere on the interwebs but that'd be a lie.  Julie and I spent the better part of a month brainstorming, and we're proud of it.  At last, the spread:

• Black and white cookies (Black Swan)
• White trash dessert nachos (Winter's Bone)
• The Queen's mini quiches (The King's Speech)
• Red wine (The Kids Are All Right)
• Layered taco dip (Inception)
• Trail mix (127 Hours)
• Pizza Hut Pizza Planet pizza (Toy Story)
• Frozen vegetables for wounds (The Fighter)
• And, well, for The Social Network...
• Bacon-wrapped water chestnuts (True Grit)

Though True Grit was one of four Best Picture noms that I didn't see in time for the show (but still want to see), it was one of the easiest in terms of food themes.  Cowboys.  Spicy.  Western fare.  I thought of chili and cornbread, but that seemed a little too messy for balancing plates and silverware while sitting on couches.  The same goes for baked beans and burgers.  Finger foods to the rescue!

I started with bacon wrapped around, well, anything.  My love of bacon has been well-documented.  Instead of trying to come up with something exotic, I went with a tried and true favorite of cocktail parties everywhere -- bacon-wrapped water chestnuts.  They are easy to assemble, inexpensive (a can of water chestnuts costs around $1), and finger-lickin' good.

The sauce is sweet and tangy and the bacon flavor permeates the crunchy water chestnut.  You know you can't get enough of them when you find them, so take a little time and make them for yourself!  Unfortunately fortunately, "restraint" isn't found in the list of ingredients below.  You can thank me later.

Bacon-wrapped Water Chestnuts
(adapted from here)
-makes 20

A few tips: When wrapping the bacon around the water chestnut, be sure to alternate directions and completely envelope the water chestnut.

1 (8-ounce can) water chestnuts, drained
1/2 pound bacon
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 400F.  In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and ketchup.  Cut bacon in half.  Wrap one slice of bacon around each chestnut. Secure the bacon with a toothpick.  Arrange the water chestnut wraps in a 9x13 inch baking dish.  Bake the water chestnut wraps for 10 to 15 minutes.  Remove from water chestnut wraps from the oven and drain some of the grease out of the pan.  Pour the sauce over the wraps.  Bake for 30 to 35 more minutes.  Serve immediately.

Peas with shallots & pancetta

Isn't that the most colorful and cheerful looking dish ever?  It may be that green is my favorite color, but there is something so gorgeous about a bowl of fresh vegetables (but kicked up a few notches!) at dinnertime!  

Most of the time my weeknight sides are something basic, steamed, and seasoned with salt and pepper variety: broccoli, green beans, sweet potatoes, carrots... you get the idea.  Delicious?  Yes.  Exciting?  Hardly.  But isn't that what we all do?  Consider the vegetables a necessary part of a balanced meal and sneak them into our mouths between bites of the "good stuff."

Well, until a few days ago, I really was indifferent to what else came with my meal.  And then I spotted this recipe... I'm not even sure how I found it, quite honestly.  Some kind of frantic recipe search that leaves me wide-eyed and left to clean up the mess of scattered papers and cookbooks.  Imagine what Einstein's lab would've looked like and you won't be too far off... of course, then follows an also frantic organizing spree.  I guess you could say I'm a bit of a Type A personality... :)

Shrimp & spinach salad with warm bacon dressing

Oh, Monday!  I'm actually somewhat excited to see you.  This weekend was one of those packed to the brim with fun that I feel any more would've exceeded my allowance and made me an irresponsible adult.  Talk about a sign that you're getting old... when you have fun guilt.  Pfffff.  Thank goodness I did some cleaning and meal prep last night before bed, or I would've been all id this weekend.

Yesterday Matt and I went to visit my parents' for brunch and QT, then I did the usual zen food trip (am I the only person whose happy place is the grocery store?).  Friday was my favorite kind of Friday -- came home after a tough workout, made a great dinner, did a little organizing and then bummed around watching TV.  The next day, the fiancé (!!!) and I made a nice little Saturday of running errands, shopping, dinner, and a flick with friends -- Black Swan.

Have you seen it?  Let's just say it wasn't quite what I expected.  Freakishly disturbing.  A tad racy.  Intense.  And a bit scary at times.  But, good, in an unconventional not my typical cup of tea kind of way. And, daaaaaaaaaang, Natalie Portman has some serious acting chops.  She portrayed all kinds of crazy Nina Sayers the ballerina so well.  Come on, you can't say you'd take one look at her with those red eyes and think anything other than "psycho town", right?