I’ve been baking bacon for years. I love the technique because you can cook a lot of bacon at once, it doesn’t get your stove totally greasy, and the bacon comes out great. It’s my favorite. But I didn’t realize until last week that there is a small trick I didn’t know about that makes for perfectly baked bacon.

So, what’s the big secret? This magical trick? The trick is putting the bacon into the oven when it’s cold. That’s right, do not preheat the oven. The cold oven allows the bacon to cook slowly, which makes bacon happy. Now, I’ve been putting my bacon into a preheated oven forever and been totally happy, but since I’ve started not preheating the oven, the bacon is just that much better and more evenly cooked.

Also, putting the bacon into a preheated oven doesn’t add any time to the preparation. After all, you’re going to be preheating the oven no matter what!

I know, an entire blog post about this little tip? Well, that’s how excited I am about it. This discovery is, to me, completely blog post worthy.

Perfectly Baked Bacon

 

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Author: Jane Maynard

Ingredients

• Bacon

Instructions

1. Place bacon on a rimmed baking sheet, making sure pieces do not overlap. It's okay if they are right up next to each other, but overlapping is no bueno. (I like to line my baking sheet with foil to help with clean up. This is one of the things I do in the kitchen that makes me feel totally guilty about my environmental impact, but alas, I continue in my terrible ways. It's just so much easier! But you totally can put the bacon directly on the pan.)
2. Place baking sheet in oven, then turn oven on to 400º F.
3. Cooking time will depend on how long it takes your oven to heat as well as how thick your bacon is. My oven takes 25 minutes to get to 400º F, and then our super thick bacon from the local grocery store takes about another 20-30 minutes to finish cooking, so my total cook time is usually around 45 minutes. I would start peeking at the bacon to see how it's doing once the oven is fully heated, and then check in on the bacon every 5-10 minutes. When it's getting close to done, 1-2 minutes can make a big difference in how crispy it is. You'll figure out what works best for your taste after a few times cooking it this way.
4. My other latest trick is to cook the bacon so it is a little bit underdone then storing it in the fridge so we have cooked bacon at our fingertips. To reheat, microwave for 30-90 seconds (depending on your microwave's strength, the thickness of the bacon and how crispy you like it - work in 10-15 second increments to find the magic number) to finish off cooking the bacon and enjoy!

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Hey everyone! So, one week ago when I planned my weekly menu it was a regular old week. Except for a horrific rash on my face that had been bothering me for nearly two weeks, that is. I went to the doctor on Tuesday. She told me to essentially eat like a hunter gatherer for 1 week and that I absolutely could not eat sugar, dairy or wheat for the week. So, since Tuesday I have only eaten meats, beans, vegetables, fruits, eggs and brown rice. (I’m allowed to eat oats, too, but just haven’t yet.)

If you know me at all, you know special diets are just not my thing. But I of course listened to the doctor and got on it stat. And I have good news, which is also bad news in my opinion because I love bread so much. This clean eating stuff actually worked. WHAT THE?! Here are my conclusions so far:

• This way of eating not only has cleared up the rash (which was terrible, friends…terrible), but my skin overall has never looked this good. I have always struggled with acne, so this is saying something.
• I have lost over 6 pounds already. I’m sure some of that was water retention, but every time I step on the scale the number is lower. Note: I am not actively trying to lose weight. Note #2: Don’t worry, I’m not wasting away or anything. 😉
• Eating this way was easier than I thought it would be and the food I have been eating has been delicious.
• Eating this way requires a lot more food prep. Which just takes a little more planning. But I am also using way more fruits and vegetables, which is fantastic. I took about 30-45 minutes on grocery shopping day to prep a bunch of raw veggies so they are waiting in the fridge for a snack or for cooking.
• I AM ALSO BORED TO DEATH WITH FOOD. Really. Today the food boredom is really kicking in. This boredom is manifesting itself in two ways. First, I’m sick of thinking so hard about food. Second, I am just bored with the options. I wish I could eat more things.

I meet again with the doctor in two days to go over test results and to discuss the diet changes and next steps, including reintroducing foods slowly. The reason I am telling you all of this is because this is a food blog and this has been a pretty significant development in my daily experience with food. I won’t write about it all the time, but it was just so fascinating to me that results came so quickly with this diet shift. Crazy stuff.

Okay, so here is this week’s menu, which is one I should be able to enjoy if I have to continue with the food restrictions beyond this Tuesday.

MONDAY:
– Carnitas Rice Bowls

TUESDAY:
– Boozy Beef Stew

WEDNESDAY:
– Stefania’s Braised Chicken

THURSDAY:
– Leftovers

FRIDAY:
– Grilled Chicken with Salad

SATURDAY:
– Eat out night

SUNDAY:
– Roasted Veggie Scrambles

Your turn! Share your dinner plans for the week in the comments below! (And any clean eating wisdom…I’ll take it!)

Happy President’s Day weekend! We have been taking it easy today. I feel like we needed it after spending Friday at Disneyland, which turned out to be a madhouse that day. SO fun, not complaining, but definitely needed some quiet days after. Now it’s time to take a break from taking it easy to plan out this week’s dinners.

MONDAY:
– Caprese Paninis

TUESDAY:
– Chili

WEDNESDAY:
– Spaghetti and Meatballs
– Salad

THURSDAY:
– Leftovers

FRIDAY:
– BLTs
– Smothies

SATURDAY:
– Eat out night

SUNDAY:
– Roast Chicken and Vegetables

Your turn! Please share your weekly menu in the comments! I know I’m a broken record, but seriously, I love reading through your meal plans each week as I plan, they are so helpful!

It’s Monday already?!?!?!

MONDAY:
– Pat’s Asian Chicken Salad

TUESDAY:
– Chicken Pot Pie

WEDNESDAY:
– Roast Chicken
– Side Veggie and Potatoes of some kind

THURSDAY:
– Leftovers

FRIDAY:
– Disneyland with the kids! Eat out 🙂

SATURDAY:
– Caprese Paninis

SUNDAY:
– Breakfast for dinner: Waffles, Smoothies, Eggs

Yay! I’m actually excited about this week’s dinner plans, both cooking and eating. You know the drill, folks…please share your weekly menu in the comments! Thank you!

Happy Monday! Sorry my menu is coming a little late in the day…I got distracted by the grocery shopping!

MONDAY:
– Chicken Caesar Wraps

TUESDAY:
– Spaghetti Bolognese

WEDNESDAY:
– Cora’s Ground Beef Tacos

THURSDAY:
– Leftovers

FRIDAY:
– Pat’s Asian Chicken Salad

SATURDAY:
– Eat out night

SUNDAY:
– Chicken Pot Pie

You all know the drill…share your menus in the comments! I love that we are all back in the groove and getting so many great menus each week, they are truly helpful every time I sit down to plan. Have a great week!