Cheddar Broccoli Bacon

1/2 lb. uncooked, lean bacon, cut into small pieces
1 large head broccoli
1/2 cup cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400.  Scatter the bacon over the bottom of a cast iron frying pan.  Cut the stems off the broccoli and cut into bite size pieces.  Bake 20-25 minutes, stirring about every 5 minutes.  Broccoli and bacon should start browning.  Sprinkle with cheese and return to oven.  Bake another 5 minutes or until cheese has melted and started to brown.  Stir, pat with paper towels and serve.

Comments:  I opened my refrigerator and saw that I had some bacon that needed to be used.  I wanted to do something different so when I spotted the broccoli I decided to give the two a try.  Only one of my food testers was lucky enough to give this dish a try and he ask the next day when I would be making more.  He loved it and so did I.  It's even good cold!  As for changes, I will use more broccoli the next time and may even cook the bacon about halfway through, drain, pat with paper towels and then add the broccoli.  That will take care of most of the grease from the bacon, which does add a lot of flavor.

Spinach & Bacon Quiche

(10-oz) pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups half and half
1 pkg. (1.8-oz.) leek soup mix
1/4 tsp. pepper
10 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup (2 oz.) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup (2 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese
1 unbaked (9") frozen deep-dish pastry shell to be prepared according to package directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Drain spinach well, pressing between layers of paper towels.  Whisk together eggs and next 3 ingredients. Stir in spinach, bacon, and cheeses. Pour mixture into frozen pastry shell; place on a baking sheet.  Bake for 40 to 45 minutes.

Comments:  This dish was a really big hit with my food testers as well as myself.  The combination of the spinach and bacon with the leek soup made a combination that was perfect.  The only change I really made was to use an Italian blend of cheeses and I also used 2 shallow pie shells instead of 1 deep.

Spinach & Bacon Quiche

1 pkg. (9 oz.) fresh baby spinach (or 1 pkg. 10 oz. frozen chopped, thawed)
2 cups Kraft Shredded Colby (or Sharp Cheddar Cheese)
2 Tbsp. flour
2 eggs, beaten
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
salt & pepper to taste

1 9" Pillsbury pie shell

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Wash spinach, shake off water and place in a pan.  Cook on med. high using tongs to turn and toss spinach as it wilts.  When wilted drain, cut up with kitchen scissors and press water out.  (If using frozen, place in strainer and press water out.)  In a large bowl toss flour with cheese.  Add eggs, bacon, ricotta, salt and pepper.  Pour into pie shell.  Bake 1 hr. or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.  Serves 4-6.

Comments:  OH MY!  I could have eaten half this by myself.  I found the recipe on Kraft's site and did make a couple of adjustments.  The 1st was to use fresh baby spinach instead of the frozen.  Next I added 3 more slices of bacon.  I used colby cheese instead of cheddar.  And last I added the 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese. This turned out so good.  This couldn't get any better!  

Comment from Food Tester Carol:  This dish was so good that it will get me on the quiche-making bandwagon again!  It's a simple, quick way to prepare a main dish for a meal and a great way to enjoy how well the bacon and spinach complement each other.

Breakfast Quiche Paprika

1 cup grated cheese
4 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
3 eggs
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg, optional
1 1/4 cups milk
1 tsp. dried minced onions
1/3 cup biscuit mix

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9" pie plate with non-stick spray. Sprinkle bottom and sides of pie plate lightly with paprika. Sprinkle cheese on bottom of pie plate. Sprinkle cheese with bacon. In a large bowl combine eggs, salt, nutmeg, milk, onion and biscuit mix. Beat with a mixer on med. speed about 1 minute thoroughly mixing. Pour over cheese and bacon in pie plate. Bake 30-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve hot. Makes 6 servings.

I have a Sunday morning coffee for some of my food testers. I always make a new dish to serve them. Sometimes it's a breakfast dish, sometimes it's some type of bread or cake. I never tell them what they are going to be eating and if I add a secret ingredient such as the nutmeg in this dish I don't tell them but wait on their response. When making this dish I doubled the recipe so there would be enough to go around. The nutmeg couldn't be detected so you may want to increase it to a little over 1/4 tsp. But I must say that this dish was a big hit. The biscuit mix I used was an inexpensive pouch but if you keep the box variety on hand that will work too. Now for changes. Use sausage or ham instead of bacon. As for cheese, change the flavor by using different blends and flavors of cheese such as pepper jack for spice and heat. This would also be good served topped with sour cream and a little salsa.

Cheezy Bacon Grit Muffins

1/2 lb. bacon, fried and crumbled
2 pkg. (individual size) instant grits
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 cup shredded cheese
1 cup self rising flour

Make grits according to directions on package. Add milk, egg , cheese and flour. Combine until moistened. Fold in bacon. Line muffin 12 muffin tins with paper liners. Spray with non-stick spray. Divide mix equally into muffin tins. Bake 20 minutes in a 400 degree oven

Try this with sausage or ham. It's good no matter what type of meat you enjoy for breakfast.