Holy Trinity

Bacon, jalapeños, cream cheese. Those are the three ingredients of which love is made. There is not an easier, more tasty recipe out there for these little bundles of joy. Best of all, they're not breaded and they're baked. My boyfriend's best friend's fiancée (let's call her Marcie) gets the credit for this wonderful recipe.

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers

Ingredients:
Maple cured bacon
Philadelphia Cream Cheese (tub, not the block)
Fresh jalapeños
 

Tools:
Cookie tray with raised edges
Kitchen scissors or knife
Kitchen gloves
Cutting board
Paring knife
Spoon
Butter knife
Wooden toothpicks

Preheat the oven to 350°

With kitchen scissors or a knife, cut bacon in half and place on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Bake bacon until cooked and golden brown.

Meanwhile, arm yourself with kitchen gloves and remind yourself not to touch your face, eyes, mouth, nose, or any other open orifice while handling jalapeños. (Your hands and face will thank you.) Cut the caps off and cut in half lengthwise. With a spoon, scrape out the seeds and white ribbing inside. Discard the caps, seeds, and ribbing. The seeds and ribbing are the source of the jalapeño's power -I mean- heat. If you want your poppers to be extra hot, leave a little bit if the ribbing in the pepper.

Use a butter knife to fill the jalapeños with cream cheese. Wrap with cooked bacon and pin it with a toothpick.

Place the stuffed jalapeños onto the same baking tray you cooked the bacon on and heat for 10-15 minutes or until the jalapeños are heated through but not mushy. Drain excess bacon grease on a few layers of paper towel.

Variations: The cream cheese can be a vessel for all kinds of flavors. Spices, shredded cheddar cheese, bacon bits, whatever your heart desires. My theory, however, is the invention of cream cheese is God's way of showing that He loves us and needs not to be tampered... at least not in this recipe anyway. These poppers are a great way of showing people you love them. Unless you have a boyfriend like mine who doesn't like peppers. Then it's a great way to show his friends that you love them.

Wish You were Here

You know the problem with Food Blogs? They usually give you a recipe for only one part of the meal - the entree or the side. My issue with making dinner is timing. I either start cooking the sides too early or too late so then something always must be eaten cold or reheated using the microwave. So please allow me to present a new way of sharing recipes... with timing! Granted, I know I'm too lazy to make this a habit, but it sounds like a great plan, right?

The namesake for this post is an homage to how I felt after plating the meal. My thought was, "I wish Colin were here to share this." It's a wonderful dinner recipe and can be adjusted to suit your needs and tastes.

Steak with Roasted Rosemary Potatoes and Sweet Carrots

Dinner for One

I know it only looks like I have 3 potatoes, but there's one in hiding.

Ingredients:

Potatoes

4 small/medium russet potatoes

3 Tbsp. olive oil

3 tsp. kosher salt

2 tsp. cracked dried rosemary

2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. dried cubed garlic (or garlic powder) 

That's right. Salted butter. Trust me, it's fine.

Steak

1 inch thick cut steak
2 Tbsp. Penzeys Forward! spice blend

2 Tsp. kosher salt

(Feel free to use whatever spice combination you want. If you don't have Forward! but want to mimic the flavor you can use black pepper, paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder.)

"Baby" must mean "ogre finger sized"

Carrots
water
½ bag of baby carrots
1½ Tbsp. sugar





Pan Gravy
¼ c. water

½ tsp. powdered beef base

1 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. flour

(No beef base? No problem. Substitute beef broth for both water and base. No beef broth? Just plain water will be fine.)

*  *  *  *  *

Begin! - 0:00

Pre-heat the oven to 400°

Wash and cut potatoes into ½ inch chunks. Place on a cookie tray and coat in oil, salt, rosemary, paprika, and garlic. Place on middle rack of the oven.

0:10

Fill a medium saucepan with water and put on high heat to boil.


Toss potatoes with a spatula.

0:20

Season steak with Forward! spice blend and salt on both sides. Leave steak out so it will come to room temperature.

0:25

Add carrots and sugar to boiling water. 

Toss potatoes with a spatula.

Heat a medium skillet on medium high heat. DO NOT use a non-stick skillet and DO NOT add oil or butter to the pan.

0:35

Put steak into the skillet. Do not move it once it's in there. 

0:40

Flip steak to the other side. Once again, do not move it once it's flipped.

Toss potatoes.

Stir carrots.

0:45

Remove steak from heat. Cover with aluminum foil to keep warm and let rest. Steak will be cooked medium. If you like it a bit more done, leave it on the skillet longer.

There should be what looks like brown "burnt" bits at the bottom of your steak pan. On medium low heat, add water and beef base to the pan. 

Use a spatula to scrape the bit off the bottom of the pan and mix with the water/base. When all the bits are up, add butter. When the butter is melted and mixed in, slowly sprinkle in flour. Keep stirring until thickened.

0:50

Drain carrots. 

Take potatoes out of the oven.

Serve.

*  *  *  *  *

Okay, okay. So my sides serve a few more people than one (more like 3-4). But seriously, if I'm going to heat an oven for scant an hour, I'm gonna get the most out of it. Can we say, hello tomorrow's lunch box?

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