Bacon Rose Bouquet

Let me start off by saying that I wasn't originally going to post this.
I found the idea on Pinterest, BUT, after posting my final creation on my personal Facebook page, I received so many responses with compliments, questions, and "Will I make them one?"

As you can see, they were all welcomed responses, so I figured this is a service you all NEEDED to be provided with!

Now...apparently, I didn't read through the whole PIN on my pinterest board.  I just thought they were cute and did them.

After having several people ask me if I ruined a muffin pan creating them, I was like "Huh?"
The original PIN says you need to drill holes in a muffin pan.
While that's creative, there is certainly no need to do that.

Now...I do not have step by step pictures, because like I said, I was not planning on doing a blog post on this.  However, I will try my best to provide you all with as much information as I can since tomorrow is V-day and this would be absolutely presh to give your man!

I did go back through and try to take some snap shots of dissecting your flower pieces. That and how to build the roses were by far the most popular questions.  Again, I will do my best to explain, but feel free to comment or ask questions.

Let's start.

You'll need:
1 package of bacon - Whatever flavor you like.  (Note - I have not used turkey bacon.  Let me know if you try!)
1 faux flower bouquet
toothpicks
cookie sheet with lip - I used a jelly roll pan
foil


To start; begin by taking off your faux flower heads off the stems.
Most come off with a gentle tug, but the reenactment, which will hopefully benefit some. FYI: I did not do a reenactment of the roses.

Gentle Tug

Flower Detaches from steam

Pull Plastic Nub Piece Out, Remove Flower

Reattach the Nub to the Greenary

And there you have it.

Alright - Time for bacon!
Preheat your oven to 350.
Line your cookie sheet with foil.
Lay your bacon out flat. (I worked right on the cookie sheet)
Roll bacon into a spiral, keeping it nice and tight. Fat side of bacon will be on the bottom.
Tip: One thing I wished I would have done was focus more on the bottom of the "rose"  make sure it stays nice and tight.  I found that they're not easily transported if the bottom (the fatty side) doesn't have a nice "seal" (I guess we'll call it) on the flower steam.  Mine stayed fine for presentation purposes, but I wouldn't have wanted them to ride solo in the passenger seat of my car.
Fat side (bottom) you will secure with toothpicks in a criss-cross fashion.  I put one closer to the bottom and one right through the middle.
Continue same steps with the remaining pieces of bacon.
Tip:  If you plan to use just the amount of bacon you need - I highly recommend doing a couple extra's in case some look better than the others.
Cook bacon for 20-25 mins or until cooked through.
Let the bacon cool before handling.  About 5 min's.
While you're waiting for the bacon to cool, grab your vase and your stems.
Tip: If you're doing a small bacon bouquet, like I did, I couldn't find a vase small enough to hold them upright, so choice to use a decanter.  Worked fabulously!
Once bacon is cool, attached the individual pieces it to the tops of the stems, and Present.

I gave this to my husband for our 10 year.
His reaction?  At 1st he thought they were real flowers!  He had to do a triple look!!
A week later, he is still talking about these and even told the girls at work, they  needed to do one for their husbands.  I'm going to go out on a limb here and say he liked it ;)

I know the men in your life will too!

Enjoy,

Game Day Sliders

Good Mornin'.  The weather is awesome here today!

To start the mornin' off right, I wanted to share with you an awesome "Go To" Game Day recipe.  Game Day Sliders.  Oh.Yum...

My husband flips over these, and I'm willing to bet, your guys will too!!

You'll Need:
1# Ground Beef with all the fixin's
Sliced Cheese
Spoon/Mellon Baller

Combine your hamburger meat with all the fixin's you like in your typical hamburgers.  We throw in breadcrumbs, worshey sauce, green onions, sometimes liquid smoke, and Webster's "Gourmet Hamburger Seasoning".  It's Yummy!

Before you get too messy, go ahead and turn a large skillet to Medium Heat on your stove.

With your hands, combine all your ingredients.

 

Using a 1" melon baller, start dishing up your patties. (You can easily use your hands or a spoon here, if you don't have a melon baller.  Don't let the technicalities throw you off here.:)) Then put them in the hot pan.

After they're cooked on one side (about 3-5 min's depending on thickness) flip them over, and press down with your spatula to get more of the hamburger look.

Once they're finished on this side, add your cheese

Place on your skillet lid for quick melting

Remove after 20 seconds and witness some pretty miraculous cheesy sliders.

Add to a dinner roll for a bun (we used yeast rolls). 

Top with condiments and take a bite outta crime. I mean prime.  Hehe ;)

Matt's Game Day Kielbasa

My husband whips up this recipe, typically as an appetizer, but he's been known to throw it together for a quick dinner with rice, or on a jack pot night, he'll serve it with the blue box mac and cheese on the side. Yep - He's awesome! :)

You'll Need:
Butter
Your favorite Kielbasa
Chopped Vegetables (Onion, Green Pepper, etc), optional

Cut your kielbasa into 2.5-3" pieces and cut them in half.

Heat a skillet, on the medium - medium high heat.  When your pan is hot, add 1/2tsp of butter, place kielbasa down into the pan, and turn heat down to medium.  *This cooks REALLY quickly.  About a minute or two, so don't walk away!

Place toothpicks into the sausage, and serve with BBQ or sweet & sour sauce.

Good eats...We Love Our Game Days!