bacon pancake dippers

  

RECIPE: Bacon Pancake Dippers

This is more of a concept than a recipe.  I saw this idea online and thought I'd give it a try for James' school lunch.  I used my From Scratch Pancake recipe (though batter from a store-bought mix would work equally well) and just added cooked bacon into the batter as the pancake cooked.  I tried several different methods: pouring the batter onto the skillet then placing cooked bacon on top before flipping, dredging the cooked bacon in the batter and then cooking, breaking the cooked bacon up into teensy pieces and then adding it to the batter. All of the methods worked, but the first one was probably the easiest.  I liked it but didn't love it.  It's a good way to sneak some bacon into an herbivore's school lunch, though! :)  Mmm... bacon. Crazy kid.

salmon chowder

Note: Picture AND recipe courtesy of Kurt & Bonnie Anderson. Kurt ice-fished and brought home some gorgeous, delicious salmon. Kurt de-scaled and de-boned (I know there are real words for these things, but I don't know them) the fish at his own apartment- which was especially kind (ick). And he and Bonnie came over and cooked up this amazing soup for us. They even took the picture. Absolutely none of this is mine, but it was a delicious recipe, and I wanted to share it. Thank you, Kurt and Bonnie! Try it. You will thank them too!

PS. I don't like fish as a general rule. At all. And I LOVED this. It's not really "fishy" and tastes great. So if you're leery of fish like I am, still try it. It really is that good!

RECIPE: Salmon Chowder

Ingredients:

2 lbs. red potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 large onion, chopped

1 (49.5 fl. oz.) can chicken broth

1 lb. salmon steaks, bones removed, cut into 1" cubes

1/2 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled

2 c. milk

1 c. half-and-half cream

1 Tbsp. butter or margarine

1/2 tsp. salt

pepper, to taste

Directions:

In a soup kettle or Dutch oven, bring potatoes, onion and broth to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook until potatoes are tender. Add salmon and bacon; cook over medium heat until fish flakes easily with a fork. Reduce heat; stir in milk, cream, butter, salt and pepper; heat through (do not boil). Thicken if desired.

{Note: He did have to thicken it and used probably 3-4 Tbsp. corn starch (mixed first with cold water) to do so. Also- don't be afraid to bring it to a boil (it needs it to thicken with the corn starch); just don't leave it there.}

Mmm... try it. It's wonderful.