Bacon Makes Everything Better

Doesn't it?! Unless...you're a vegetarian  then it probably doesn't. At least it wouldn't for one of my faves, MJ. But for me...it does. I love everything about it. And when I was in a hurry to cook something, I remembered a recipe I had discovered on the back of a bag of shredded cheese. I couldn't remember exactly how it went and I made a few changes, but for the most part...I think I was somewhat on target, either way: YUMMY!
This really was perfect for a chilly night, it warmed me from the inside out. and it was carb friendly for Wiki, score points for me. Yessss, love it when that happens.


4 Cheddar & Bacon Chowder
Ingredients
3-4 slices thick bacon
1/2 cup scallions
1 1/2 cups whole milk, half & half or heavy cream
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup celery(chopped)
2 cups shredded cheddar(I used Sargentos 4 state cheddar)
3 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Cook bacon till crisp( I sprinkled some maple habanero pepper I had on hand for added flavor) Use a slotted spoon to remove bacon and place on paper towel till later. Pour off all but 2 tbsp of the bacon drippings. Cook celery in drippings, 4-5 min or till tender. Add the flour and cayenne pepper, cook and stir for 1 minute. Stir in milk and broth. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat, simmer 5 minutes, still stirring occasionally  Remove from heat and stir in 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar. Stir until completely melted. Ladle in bowls and top w/bacon, cheese and scallions.

The adaptions I made were pretty simple, for wiki's low carb, I think I only used a tbsp of flour, I used more bacon and actually cooked in into the soup when the celery was done and reserved the rest for the topping. You could easily make this using fat free half and half and low fat cheese if you wanted to control your calories, just not skim milk, it would never thicken enough.


This was so easy and so scrumpt~a~di~lumptious.


And now, can I tell you how we finally put our tree up last night. yes, we have been those people this year. How sad. Wiki has been working such long hours and we've been gone on wknds. While I am really pleased w/the end results...let's just say there were some moments. Like when I was supposed to hold the tree straight and when I let go, it was apparent that a woman who is 5'3 and has arms to match...shouldn't be in charge. then the moment when I looked up to see him stringing the lights on and they were white, as in not just the lights. The cord too. I had to breathe deep. and today I'm gonna get some kind of garland to cover it up. Cause it is... ummm, noticeable. haha Oh well, I have a tree. YAY. After almost 10 years of  being a Mrs, I've learned to pick my battles and this wasn't one!  We had so much fun, just the two of us. We watched the Pats game on tv(although it wasn't much of a game. woot woot) and drank some hot cocoa. Perfect Monday night!

These are our "house divided" ornaments, Wiki is from Boston, ergo...obviously a Sox fan. While I root for every other Boston team, my heart is pinstriped. So when Wiki left for work this morning, I put the Yankee ornament in it's rightful place: front and center.And to be fair, I did the same thing w/the Sox one....
Not my fault it's rightful place is somewhere in the back;)


6 comments on "Bacon Makes Everything Better"
  1. OH mmmm geeee ummmm! This post had my heart from the title! Totally making this soon! Now that it is finally cold here...

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  2. The 4 cheddar and bacon chowder looks soo good! I will have to try to make this! We finally finished our tree last night too.

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  3. Haha I can see the white strand ;) Well it's a christmas color at least, right? Green white and red?
    I looove bacon, this looks delicious!!

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  4. this looks sooooo incredibly good, it's lunch time for me and my mouth is watering!!

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  5. bacon....yeah, you had me there. ;) Love your tree! White strands and all! Just go get some fake snow and there you have it! Glowing snow ;)

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  6. Bacon does make everything better! Yay for getting the Christmas tree up! I love having everything decorated. Thanks for linking up!

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