September has arrived, and with it came my daughter, Molly. She was on her way home to Illinois from New Jersey, where she has been living since December, having been on active duty assignment with the Air Force for the past several months. Although eager to see her husband and children, Molly gladly spent a couple of days with her mother.
How much can you cram in two days, especially when you have recipes you want to try, and not enough time to do them all? We ended up forgoing the two that were on top of our list due to the critical state of produce in my kitchen. Two overripe bananas demanded attention; Molly used them to make banana bread. Then there were all the tomatillos from my garden. I have never used tomatillos, much less grown them before. The ones I planted were quite productive, but the recent wind had knocked a lot of them off the plants. We turned the ones I salvaged into salsa verde.
Saturday afternoon brought my son Jonathan and his family. After visiting with them, Molly left to see a friend who lives not far away. My daughter-in-law, Heather, and I took Vivian (6) and Elijah (2) out to the garden. They loved picking small tomatoes and green beans; with Grammie’s help, they managed to gather enough beans to take home. We won’t talk about the electrical problem Jonathan discovered when he was putting up a new ceiling fan in my bedroom. That is a headache for another day.
Molly left Sunday afternoon, arriving home just over five hours later. Lincoln (6) and Melody (4) had been anxiously awaiting her arrival. They were ready for Mommy to be home to stay. I wish I could have had more time with my daughter, but am grateful for the hours we spent together. They were enhanced by all the bakin’ we accomplished.
One thing people seem to want more of these days is bacon. I am no exception; I love bacon myself. Included are a couple of recipes I couldn’t resist trying; each turned out to be scrumptious!
Bacon Almond Chicken Salad
4 slices bacon
3 cups chopped, cooked chicken
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion (or 1 teaspoon onion powder)
1/2 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
Fry bacon in a skillet until crisp. Remove from pan and allow to drain on paper towels. Once cooled, crumble bacon.
Place chicken and bacon in a mixing bowl. In small bowl, combine garlic powder, red onion, mayonnaise, and pepper. Mix well and season with salt and pepper to taste if necessary.
Serve immediately, or for best results, chill overnight. Stir in almonds just before serving.
BLT Waffle Sliders
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, separated
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I used Monterrey Jack)
Mayonnaise (or salad dressing)
12 bacon strips, cooked and drained
2 small tomatoes, sliced
6 lettuce leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat waffle maker. Whisk together first five ingredients. In another bowl, whisk egg yolks, milk and butter. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Stir in cheese.
In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold into batter. Drop 1 heaping tablespoon of batter in the center of each waffle iron quadrant; bake according to manufacturer’s directions until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Repeat with remaining batter.
Spread mayonnaise evenly over half of the waffle pieces; top with bacon, tomatoes, lettuce, seasonings and remaining waffle pieces to make sliders. Serve immediately. Yield: 12 servings.
Note: Waffles may be frozen and reheated in toaster.