Carrie: Iron Chef Blogger Challenge Spaghetti Squash

I was kind of excited when Erica chose spaghetti squash. It's a squash I've never tried cooking, but have always been kind of intrigued by the thought of it. I was not in love with how long I had to roast it in the oven, but I think there are some microwave options out there. So, in order to crack open your spaghetti squash and make it easy to take apart, you throw it in a 400 degree oven for at least 45 minutes to an hour. When it's finished, you can cut it in half, dig out the seeds, and then pull at the squash with a fork to removed the strands of squash. I have to say, it did produce plenty of "spaghetti."


I was originally going to make a spaghetti squash gratin recipe I found this morning, but then was too hungry to wait another 30 minutes while it baked. Instead, I tossed my squash with a smear of butter, in bacon grease, with thinly sliced bacon, shrimp, a little lemon juice, thyme, salt, minced garlic and red chili flakes. It was okay. My sister liked it and said she would eat it again. I could probably be persuaded to try it again covered in a nice marinara or as the gratin. On the side, I served some sauteed garlic green beans. It totally does look just like pasta! Tricky squash.

Sarah: Iron Chef Blogger Challenge Bacon

Remember that EPIC fail? (OF COURSE you do! It's right below this post!) I think it would be very correct to say that I have bounced back with a vengeance.

I was excited about this challenge but also a little worried. I rekindled my Pesca-tarinism at the beginning of January, so regular bacon was out of the competition for me. Luckily Brandon and I have discovered a pretty good like of "fake" meat products that has rather yummy tasting bacon.

I usually shy away from Rachel Ray recipes for the simple fact that I cannot afford to stock a pantry like she does. 24 ingredients for make one dinner? YEAH RIGHT.

I got her magazine for about 2 years while living in LA and while I collected and ogled many of the recipes she has put together, I rarely attempted.

This salmon recipe was part of one of her mag's features called "5 Ingredients", and as you have gathered only had 5 ingredients. Well, 6.

Salmon, Bacon and Tomato Packets.

4 Salmon fillets

3 cooked strips of Bacon, broken into small pieces

1/2 cup of Ranch dressing

1/2 cup of Feta cheese ( I don't like Feta, so I used Queso Fresco)

1/2 cup of diced tomatoes

Pepper for seasoning

1. Fire up your grill. It needs to be really hot when you start to cook (I heated mine for like 15 minutes).

2. Grab 4 pieces of tin foil and put one salmon filet on each piece. Fold up the sides of the tin foil so it looks like a box without a lid.

3. Put 2 tablespoons of Ranch dressing on each filet, try to cover evenly. Distribute bacon evenly over filets. Do the same with the cheese.

4. Put the packets on your grill and close the hood. Let cook for 8-11 minutes, until opaque all the way through.

5. Take off grill, top each filet with 2 tbs of tomatoes.

---Review---

I served this with Uncle Ben rice pilaf (the kind that you microwave for 90 seconds in the bag) and roasted asparagus (put asparagus on some tinfoil, douse with some olive oil, season with salt, pepper and Italian seasonings, cover with more tinfoil, put on the grill for about 15 minutes, top with a little more salt and pepper, serve).

To say the least, this fish was delicious. Seriously, I don't even like fish that much and I would eat this everyday.

The recipe was super easy to follow, and everyone (we had my sister and our fried Dan over) loved it.

Make it now.

Carrie: Iron Chef Blogger Challenge Bacon

I was pretty excited to see bacon as our secret ingredient of the week. Bacon's delicious, in my opinion, and it's so so versatile. I lucked out and this recipe for Spinach Bacon Potato Mille Feuille was posted on Hot Off the Garlic Press. It was really simple to put together and the end result was delicious. Oh my gosh, I have found a new favorite potato recipe. Make it. Now. I promise you'll love it. I can't pronounce it, but I don't even care.

Spinach Bacon Potato Mille Feuille
1/2 diced onion
2 cloves garlic
4 or 5 Yukon Gold potatoes
spinach leaves
three pieces of cooked and crumbled bacon
1 Tablespoon of flour
1/4 cup of heavy cream
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons of butter
shredded cheddar cheese

Slice the potatoes.
Melt the butter in a pan and then add onions and garlic and a pinch of salt. Saute until translucent. Add tablespoon of flour, cream, and milk and whisk together. Cook over medium heat to a boil to thicken sauce. Remove from heat.
Grease muffin tin. Add a spoonful of sauce to each muffin cup, then layer in a few potato slices. Add spinach, bacon and cheese, then another spoonful of sauce, more potato slices, and then another spoonful of sauce and top with shredded cheese.
Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Sauce should be bubbling and cheese should be slightly browned, potatoes should be tender.