Cap'n Crunch Chicken Fingers and Bacon Green Beans

I have always been a cereal fanatic. I love it so much, I don't just eat it for breakfast. Sometimes when I was younger I would eat it for every meal of the day. That doesn't happen so much anymore, but I do eat it frequently. Sometimes I eat it as a snack between meals instead of a meal. I eat it without milk. When I was younger, I was definitely most enthusiastic about the super sugary cereals (Cap'n Crunch and Cocoa Pebbles being my favorites). Now I've learned to like "healthier" cereals (especially Honey Bunches of Oats), but I do still enjoy the occasional sugar-overdose.

I believe I first heard of using Cap'n Crunch as a coating/batter for chicken on the Food Network ages ago. I somehow convinced my mother to make it, she hated it, we never had it again. I remember it being delicious but I think it was too sweet for my parents.
We had some chicken breasts I had frozen earlier in the week because I was afraid of them going bad so I decided to thaw them and that I would try to make the recipe again to see if I still liked it.

I didn't really think of a side-dish to go with the chicken until I had already put them in the oven. We had some green beans left and the tiny bit of bacon in the fridge was looking very sad, so I made a recipe my Grammy used to make. My dad's side of the family traveled around a lot, but they lived in the south a lot (my father was born in Virginia, they lived in Texas for I don't know how long, and eventually moved to New England sometime before my father and uncles were in high school). What I've learned from certain family recipes is this: everything is better with bacon and almost everything in southern cooking has bacon (or some other meat) to help flavor it. This is pretty much law and I have no problem with it.

Cap'n Crunch Chicken Fingers (recipe adapted from Breakroom Test Kitchen)

• 3 cups Cap’n Crunch cereal, crushed
• 1/2 cup corn meal (or crushed corn flakes)
• 2 lbs chicken tenders (or chicken breasts cut into tenders)
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Combine the crushed cereals (or cereal and corn meal) in one bowl. Combine the egg and milk in another bowl. Combine the flour, paprika powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper in another bowl. Dip the chicken tenders into the dry mix, then into the egg mix, and then coat with the cereal crumbs. Arrange tenders on a baking sheet lined with aluminium foil and sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping the tenders over halfway before they're done if you want them to be extra crispy. if you aren't sure they're done, just take a knife and cut one in half: when the juices run clear, the chicken is done.

Bacon Green Beans

• about 4 strips bacon, cut into about 1" pieces
• green beans (not sure how many I used but for larger amounts, just adjust the amount of bacon)
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper

Clean and cut your beans. Put some water on the stove to boil. When water is boiling, drop your green beans in for about 10 minutes or until you can pierce them easily with a fork (if you like your beans mushier, leave them in longer and skip the next part). To keep beans crisp, after draining them, dunk them in a bath of ice water for about 30 seconds. 

While your beans are boiling, grab a skillet and cook your bacon over medium heat. After the bacon is done, get rid of most of the bacon grease (but not all— leave maybe 1 tbsp. I know it sounds weird and unhealthy, and it probably is, but trust me, it's delicious)When the beans are done, place them in the skillet with the bacon and flip the beans until the bacon is incorporated and they are coated. Add salt and pepper to taste, tossing again to make sure the beans get coated.

Peanut Butter Bacon Cookies

This is one of the most loved (and debated) things I make. A lot of people are freaked out by the whole "meat product in my dessert" thing, but let's face it. Bacon is delicious. Not only that, but it makes sense with the salty-sweet combination that's so loved in desserts anyway. I made these for my dad's birthday.

Not to mention they only have five ingredients that most people have around their house on a daily basis, which makes them easy to make. Since they're not made with any flour, they have a texture that's more crumbly than most cookies, but remain delicious all the same.

Peanut Butter Bacon Cookies

• 1 cup all-natural chunky or smooth peanut butter
• 1 cup sugar (1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup granulated sugar)
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• about 6 slices of bacon, cooked, cooled and diced

In a skillet over medium high heat, fry up bacon until cooked through and let cool on paper towels until cool enough to dice. Dice up with a knife or just crush the bacon into small pieces with your hands and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Grease a baking sheet with butter and set aside. In a mixer combine peanut butter and sugars until well combined, about 2 minutes. Add egg and baking soda and mix for another 2 minutes. Fold in cooked bacon. Roll into balls about the size of a teaspoon and create a cris-cross pattern with a fork.Roll the dough balls in granulated sugar before making the cris-cross pattern. Bake for 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool on a baking sheet for at least five minutes.

Baked Potato Eggs

When there’s nothing to make for dinner in the house, I come up with some weird concoctions. I looked at the eggs and mozzarella cheese in the fridge and instantly wanted to make baked eggs of some sort. I had read a lot of recipes about putting the baked eggs in bread bowls, and I saw a recipe once with eggs in a potato bowl, so I looked at our sad potato supply and figured — why not?
As delicious as this was, I think it would have tasted a lot better with some basil. And sour cream. But we had none of either. Maybe next time.


Baked Potato Eggs

• 2 large potatoes (russett works best)
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 2 eggs
• 2 strips bacon, cooked and diced
• 2 Tbsp. shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 tomato, diced
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

First, bake your potatoes. If you’re doing this in the oven, preheat it to 350 F. Wash and dry your potatoes first, then poke some holes around them with a fork. I always coat my potatoes with salt and butter (or oil). Then bake them in the oven for 1 hour, or until the skin is crisp and when you poke a fork through them it comes out without resisting, it’s done.

Or you can microwave them: wash and prepare the potatoes the same way, but instead, throw them in the microwave for 5-8 minutes.

Once you have your baked potato, lay the potato on its side, and use a knife to carefully cut off the top third of the potato. With a spoon, hollow out the middle of the potato to make a “bowl”, leaving it as thick or thin as you’d like. Place 1/2 tablespoon of butter in the middle of the bowl. Then gently break an egg into each bowl, careful not to break the yolk. Top with bacon, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and then season with salt and pepper.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes, or until the egg whites are set. Serve immediately.

Buttermilk Cornbread

I had been wanting to make cornbread for a while, and I decided to make something other than plain cornbread to surprise him. Besides, I was always taught the more bacon grease and/or butter you add to something, the better it tastes. Even if it’s not that good for you, but the tastiest foods don’t tend to be.

Buttermilk Cornbread

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup sharp cheddar cheese (optional)
• about 6 strips bacon, pan fried and chopped (optional)
• about 1/4 cup bacon drippings (optional)
• 1/4 cup chives (optional)
• * You can also feel free to add jalapeno, onion, and other toppings of your choice. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (175 degrees C). Foil and grease an 8 inch square pan. Melt butter (I put it in the microwave for about 30 seconds) and pour into mixing bowl. Stir in sugar. Quickly add eggs and beat until well blended. Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into mixture. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain. Add in the toppings of your choice during this period of time (cheese, bacon, chives, bacon drippings - the drippings in my opinion add a really good flavor to the corn bread). Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

(recipe adapted from Michelle's Story)