What's for dinner tonight?

[oneh2obabe]

Spaghetti ... tooth extracted so I'll be slurping dinner instead of chewing.

[grammafreddy]

Mama Burger, extra onions. 2 for $5.

[WeatherWoman]

Ham baked with Maple syrup and Dijon, Rice and sauted zucchini and mushrooms

[GoStumpy]

Butter Chicken :)

[jennylives]

Braised beef and root vegetables.

[jennylives]

Breaded chicken breasts with spinach cannelloni baked in five cheese sauce and Caesar salad.

[oneh2obabe]

Lasagna, garlic toast and salad ... little heavy-handed with the garlic though - at least I don't have to worry about vampires.

[grammafreddy]

Garlic Chicken casserole - roasted chicken (deboned and diced) with broccoli, carrots, corn and twisty noodles in a creamy garlic sauce.

[Captain Awesome]

Take out sushi!

[WeatherWoman]

Baked Chicken Legs, Asian Broccoli Slaw and Couscous

[Triple 6]

Breakfast. I finally bought a waffle maker. Bacon too. I've been told you can't have breakfast without bacon.

[Graham Adder]

Breakfast. I finally bought a waffle maker. Bacon too. I've been told you can't have breakfast without bacon.

Do you bake, or fry?
I'm not talking about friday night...I mean the bacon.
If ya haven't tried it yet...try baking it.

Lay it on a large cookie sheet lined with foil.
Don't skimp on the foil. Do it right and cleanup is a breeze.
Separate the strips and lay them flat. You can cram them in a bit tight but don't overlap them or wrinkle them up at the edges anymore than slightly.

Bake on mid-rack for 20 mins at 400.
It comes out of the oven evenly browned and still in nice strips for serving.
It's also great for freezing precooked this way.
Lays nice and flat on your paper towel or brown paper...whatever you use to soak the hot fat up.

As stated:
Cleanup is a breeze.

[Triple 6]

Thanks Graham! I'm totally going to give that a whirl! Tonight.

[Graham Adder]

http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/breakfastcookery/ht/bacon.htm

Crispy Oven-Baked Bacon
Want to make perfect crispy bacon without all the mess? The simplest, most foolproof way to do it is to bake it in the oven.

Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: 20 minutes
Here's How:

Line a baking sheet with foil. This will make cleanup easier later.
Arrange bacon slices on the foil and place the baking sheet on the center rack of a cold oven. Close oven door. Turn oven on to 400°F. Walk away.
Come back 17 to 20 minutes later. As soon as the bacon is golden brown, but not excessively crisp, it's done. The exact time will depend on the thickness of the bacon slices, and also on how quickly your oven reaches the target temperature.
Remove the pan from the oven. Transfer the bacon to another sheet pan lined with paper towels to absorb the fat. You can pour the liquid fat into a heat-resistant container to save for other uses. I like to pour it through a strainer lined with cheesecloth to filter out any crunchy bits.

Tips:

Don't pre-heat the oven! Make sure the oven is cold when you put the bacon in.
Keep your eye on the bacon during the final few minutes of cooking to make sure that it doesn't burn. Also, remove the cooked bacon from the hot pan right away. The heat from the pan and the hot bacon fat will continue cooking the bacon.
You can slightly undercook the bacon, then cool it and freeze it in a zipper bag. Then, to reheat, cook two slices in the microwave on medium power for 30 seconds or so.
Variation: Dredge bacon in flour or corn meal before baking.
Variation: Sprinkle bacon with brown sugar or freshly ground black pepper before baking.

What You Need

1 lb package of bacon
Oven
Shallow baking sheet
Aluminum foil and paper towels
Heat-resistant container for collecting drippings

[flamingfingers]

Pesto Pasta with FRESH West Coast Mussels.... mmmhhhh!