Cheesy Bacon Strips Recipes

CHEESY BACON STRAWS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and fit a baking sheet with a wire rack.
• In a small saucepot, mix the maple syrup, red pepper flakes, orange juice and 1/4 cup water. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat.
• Line up the bacon slices on the wire rack and brush with the hot maple syrup mixture. Sprinkle some cheese on each piece of bacon. With a skewer in hand, fold the end of a piece of bacon in half lengthwise and press the skewer through the end. Do this to 4 pieces of bacon, spreading them out evenly across the skewer, and place the skewer on the baking sheet. Twist the bacon pieces into long spirals so as to create straws. Take another skewer and skewer the bottom of each piece of bacon to keep the bacon twisted. Do this to all the bacon.
• Bake until the bacon browns, about 35 minutes. Let cool slightly on the rack; the bacon will get crunchy as it sits. Serve immediately.

CRISPY CHEESE AND BACON POTATOES

Steps:

• COOK THE BACON: Spread the bacon strips out across a large rimmed baking sheet pan and place on the middle rack of a COLD oven. Set the temperature to 400 degrees. Set a timer for 16 minutes and check the bacon. Remove it from the oven when it is as crisp or crunchy as you like. I remove ours at 18 minutes and it's a great balance of chewy crunch. If you like your bacon crispy enough to crumble, you will probably want to cook it another minute past that.
• COOK THE POTATOES: While the bacon is cooking, peel and chop the potatoes. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel lined plate to drain. There should be 2-3 tablespoons of bacon grease left on the sheet pan. (If there is more than that, drain off a bit.) Put the potatoes on the pan and toss with tongs to thoroughly coat them in the bacon grease. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread the potatoes out in a single layer and bake for 20 minutes, stir well and bake an additional 20 minutes. Stir again, making sure that none of the potatoes are sticking to the tray. Bake another 15 minutes.
• Chop the bacon into small pieces. Remove the potatoes from the oven, stir again and sprinkle generously with shredded cheese and chopped bacon. Return the tray to the oven and bake an additional 2-3 minutes, until the cheese has melted. Top with sliced green onions just before serving. Enjoy!

BACON WRAPPED MOZZARELLA CHEESE STICKS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Starting at one end of a cheese stick, carefully wrap one strip of bacon around it, overlapping bacon halfway each time to help secure the bacon in place. Because the bacon is pre-cooked it will be a little harder to wrap, but the light pink and fat portions should still be pretty flexible. When you reach the end of your bacon, tuck the end into one of the folds to keep it from unwrapping. Repeat with 1-2 more strips of bacon until your cheese is completely covered, including ends of cheese.
• Place finished wrapped cheese stick on a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining cheese and bacon. Bake in the oven for about 6-10 minutes, or until bacon is crisp and before cheese completely loses its form.

BACON CHEESE MUFFINS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. In a another bowl, beat the egg, milk and oil. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. , Fill greased muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers.

CHEESY BACON AND GRITS CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp, stirring occasionally. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels., Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, bring water, milk and salt to a boil. Slowly stir in grits. Reduce heat to low; cook, covered, until thickened, 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in 1-1/2 cups cheese until melted. Slowly stir in eggs until blended. Stir in bacon, corn and pepper. Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese., Bake, uncovered, until edges are golden brown and cheese is melted, 35-40 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. If desired, serve with avocado. , Freeze option: Cool unbaked casserole; cover and freeze. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Remove casserole from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake grits as directed until heated through and a thermometer inserted in center reads 165°, increasing time to 45-55 minutes.

CHEESY BACON STRIPS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• Cut in the cubed butter with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add cheese and crumbled bacon - toss well to combine.
• Pour in yogurt and stir just until combined. Scoop the mixture out to a lightly floured surface and knead just until it forms a dough, about 10 to 15 times.
• Pat the dough out until it is about a 8" square.
• Evenly divide the dough in half, then cut each half into 8 sticks - place each stick onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
• Bake until golden, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly before serving.