Peppered Maple Bacon

I married a manly man. 

You know how I know? 

Bacon is an every meal thing. 

If I served it breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert, he'd only fall more in love with me. 

Would he have a heart attack at 42? Probably. 

So I save his sweet heart the punishment. 

But I do love to treat him to pure deliciousness... 

And I did that in the form of peppered maple bacon. 

Yep, he loved it. 

So does Baby Bear. And Bubba. 

Pamper your mister with this treat and he won't stop thanking you.

Just be prepared for the daily requests... 

What do you need? 

A pack of thick cut bacon (it'll be easier to flip in the oven) 

1/2 cup maple syrup

Black pepper

How you ask? 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Lay the bacon out in a single layer on two baking sheets. 

Pop in oven for five minutes. 

Once it's bubbling nicely, brush it with a layer of maple syrup. 

Let cook for ten minutes.

Flip and brush with syrup again. 

Finish for ten more minutes or remove when cooked to your taste. 

Sprinkle with pepper.

Enjoy! 

Seriously this stuff comes out HOT. 

J learned that when he popped it right into his mouth.

Talk about burning the roof of your mouth.

Maybe sit on your hands for five minutes while it cools... 

Another idea: 

I made BLTs for Bubba and J the first time I cooked this.

Tasty! The sweet and spicy really added another element.

Taking BLT to the next level!

See the bacon on the side...

I'm telling you, just can't get enough of this stuff!

Pulled Pork with Citrusy Slaw

J got a raise at work and I knew that it called for a little celebration at dinner. The only way to make a dinner worthy of celebration for him is with a barbecue feast. After finding this little recipe at Can You Stay for Dinner? I was ready to make his day complete!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 white onion, sliced 
• 1 pound of pork (I used sirloin!) 
• 1 package of mango salsa 
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar 
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup tomato paste 
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce 
• 2 Tablespoons spicy brown mustard (it was a little bit costly, but is worth it I promise!) 
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• Sprinkle of salt
• Shake of pepper
• Pinch of cayenne pepper

Directions: 

1. Sliced the onion and line the bottom of the slow cooker with it. 
2. Lay the pork on the little bed of onion you just made. 
3. In a separate bowl combine all of the remaining ingredients. 
4. Pour the ingredients over the pork, making sure to cover it completely. 
5. Cover and cook on low for eight hours. 
6. For the mango slaw, combine the mango salsa with a dash of salt and pepper. (I added some lime juice and minced garlic to add flavor). 
7. I cooked it on high for 3 hours and low for 2... It turned out perfect!
8. Once the neat is cooked, you can use two forks to pull the pork into shreds. 
9. Serve the meat on burger buns topped with the mango slaw.
10. Enjoy! 

And J, in all of his happiness, getting ready to chow down on his meal! 

Leftovers? Yes! I split the leftover meat into two little containers and had them for lunch the next two days at work... Tasty! 

Whole Wheat Banana Oat Waffles

Last weekend J called early on Saturday morning and asked what my plan was for the day. I was so sore from my training on Friday that I said I was just going to lounge and eat breakfast... Then we quickly decided it would be fun to have waffles! So these puppies were born. 

Whole Wheat Banana Oat Waffles with Fresh Berries

These are hardy little buggers, so you'll be a lot fuller than you originally think when eating waffles!

Ingredients:

• Krispies Whole Wheat (just add water) pancake mix
• 1/2 cup of rolled oats
• 1 carton raspberries
• 1 carton blueberries
• 1 carton strawberries
• 2 bananas
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 of a lemon

Directions:

1. Prepare the Krispies pancake mix as directed on the box. 
2. Add 1/2 cup of rolled oats and stir into batter.
3. Cut the bananas into slices and add one to batter and another to an empty bowl. (J likes his crushed, but I prefer them not, do as you wish!)
4. Fill the waffle iron with batter and let cook. 
5. While the waffle is cooking, wash the blueberries and raspberries and add to the bowl with the banana. 
6. Slice strawberries and add to the berry-banana mix. 
7. Stir the 1/4 cup powdered sugar into the berries and squeeze lemon juice into the bowl. 
8. When the waffle is done, remove from iron and douse with berry-banana goodness! 
9. Enjoy! 

J adds a little protein to his meal by sprinkling bacon bits into the pan over the batter. I'm not a huge fan, but he gobbles it right up! 

Feijoada (Brazilian Beef Stew) and Top Ten Tuesday Topic #2

In February, J's step-brother returned home from his two-year mission in a remote village in Brazil. A few weeks after his return he said that he really truly was going to miss the amazing food they made there. Like a sign from an all-knowing God, Cuisine at Home's February issue included a recipe for Feijoada (pronounced fay-ZHWAH-duh), or as we call in it English, Brazilian Beef Stew. I was nothing short of amazed with how delicious it was, and J couldn't have been happier with all the meat found in it. What a protein packed Latin delight!

 Without any further ado, here is the recipe!

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds of beef, cut into about 2 inch chunks (a lot of time you can find this pre-cut in the meet department)
• 1 pound kielbasa (or one package)
• 2 Tablespoons canola oil (veggie works, but it's not as healthy, remember?)
• 1/2 cup of orange juice
• 1 medium white onion, diced
• 4 cloves of minced garlic
• 1 can of diced tomatoes (14 ounces)
• 2 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed (it says to puree one, but I didn't and it was so tasty!)
• 1 Tablespoon chili powder
• 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper to season
• Rice (optional as an accompaniement)
• Jalepeno slices to garnish

Directions:

1. Season each side of the stew meat with salt and pepper.
2. Add the two Tablespoons of oil to a skillet over medium high heat.
3. Once the oil is hot brown the beef.
4. Transfer the beef to a paper towel-lined plate to soak up the excess oil.
5. Slice the keilbasa into 1/2 inch thick sections.
6. Brown the keilbasa and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
7. One the meat is done browning, slowly whisk the orange juice into the skillet while scraping remnants off the bottom of the pan.
8. Combine the onions, garlic, tomatoes, beans, and chili powder in a slow cooker.
9. Add beef and kielbasa.
10. Add orange juice and pan juices mixture.
11. Stir the contents of the slow cooker and make sure the meat is coated.
12. Cover and cook on high for four hours or low for 6 hours.
13. Add vinegar when the cook time ends.
14. Add salt and pepper to taste if desired.
15. Cook rice as directed on the package and serve over or under the stew. (It's your choice here!)
16. Garnish with jalapeno slices for a little added flavor! (I did and loved it!)
17. Enjoy!

Simply Sweet Note: This will yeild extras, so enjoy again for lunch at work the next day (or two!).

And last, but NOT least, the Top Ten Tuesday topic for this week!

Things to do on a sunny day!

Since there's so much nice weather going on right now, let's channel summer in spring time!

I'll post the link up at midnight tonight (since it's technically Tuesday then!) and leave it open all day tomorrow!