Summer Squash with Onions, Garlic, Jalapeno, and Bacon

My first experience cooking summer squash was when I was 14 years old and obsessed with calories.  My mom told me how my grandmother used to make it-cooked way down with onions and a lot of butter- and that it was one of the simplest yet most delicious vegetable dishes.  I wasn't a fan of using butter, but used a little cooking spray and topped it afterwards with "buttery spray", which is as artificial as it sounds.  Delicious as promised, even made my low-cal way.

Fast forward 10+ years, and a variation on this is still my favorite way to cook summer squash.  I still want to keep it on the light side, but now know that leaving a tad bit of bacon grease in my pan will add a ton of flavor without compromising the healthiness of my dish (and no more buttery spray involved!).  And you can definitely skip the bacon and use a little bit of some other fat (olive oil, butter, or coconut oil).  Sometimes I add a tiny drizzle of truffle oil at the end.

The key to this dish is letting it cook for a bit.  The method is sort of a combination of sauteing and stewing.  There is plenty of moisture as the squash breaks down, but the heat is higher than a traditional stewing process and there is more browning.  The heat is low enough, though, that some moisture does build up and you don't have to stir as often as during traditional sautes.

The end result should have some nice golden color and also reduce down to almost create a mush (I was actually a little impatient this time around... my squash wasn't quite mush enough! :-/). This is what really lets the natural sweetness shine and eliminates the need for additional seasoning.  The bacon adds a little salt, so you won't need to add extra unless you don't use bacon.

4-5 strips bacon
1 medium onion (I used a sweet onion), sliced or diced
3 small summer squash, sliced thinly
1 head garlic, peeled and cloves cut into slices
1 jalapeno
4 green onions


Start by frying the bacon in a large frying pan over medium/medium-high heat.  Once the bacon is fully cooked (the crispier you make it, the more you render the fat out), remove the strips from the pan and drain over paper towel.  Discard all but 1-2 teaspoons of the bacon grease.  There should be a very thin coating on the bottom of the pan.

Add the onion, squash, garlic, and jalapeno to the pan.  Saute/stew, stirring only every couple minutes, until the squash breaks down and all vegetables have a lovely golden color.  If things are sticking too much, reduce heat a little.  This should take at least 20-25 minutes and you can keep cooking it beyond that to deepen the flavor.  You can baby it if you want and stir more often, but I find that stirring less often works perfectly well and that way you can wash some dishes or prep other parts of dinner at the same time.  Once you've achieved a suitably mushy state, add the green onions and crumble in the reserved bacon strips.

And enjoy!  This would be a perfect accompaniment to some salmon or barbecued chicken.

Bacon-Wrapped Scallops

Clearly, this isn't a terribly original recipe.  Google "bacon wrapped scallop recipe" and you'll find tons of the same recipe that all basically say the same thing.  However, I wanted to post this in case others of you out there have the same initial impression of these tasty treats that I did.  I always kind of think of bacon-wrapped scallops as one of those really fancy seeming things that I never think to do, maybe because they just seem too fancy, and therefore must be some sort of ordeal.

In reality, these are both simple and quick to make.  And delicious.  I served them as dinner for the two of us, but it would also be a really nice appetizer if you cut the larger scallops in half or used smaller ones.

I also made a spicy "mayo" sauce and a pesto-avocado cream to complement them.  Two dips/sauces were not really necessary, but both were tasty and went well (and I had an avocado I needed to use up and also still really wanted to make a spicy mayonnaise-y thing).

What you need:

6 Jumbo Scallops, rinsed and patted dry (or 12 smaller ones, and just cut the bacon in half)
6 slices of Thick-cut Bacon (if you do not have thick cut, that's fine, I actually didn't either.  But it would have been easier if I had.  If you have really thin slices, use 9-12 slices instead)
Salt
Toothpicks

Heat oven to broil on low.  Lay bacon strips out on a baking sheet with edges.  Place pan in oven and broil bacon until it is just barely cooked and still plenty flexible.  Remove from oven and drain pan.  Sprinkle scallops lightly with salt.  Wrap one piece of bacon around each scallop, securing with a toothpick.  If you are using a thinner cut of bacon and the one piece seems too skimpy  add another half or whole piece.  Place scallops on baking sheet.  Broil for 4-6 minutes (depending on scallop size), flip over, and broil for an additional 4-6 minutes.  The scallops should be opaque and the bacon should be fully cooked.  If you want the bacon a little crispier, leave them another couple minutes.

Serve with sauce(s) and enjoy!

For the Spicy Mayonnaise:

Mix together equal parts fat-free plain yogurt (Greek or regular) and light mayonnaise.  Or just use all mayo, but I think the blend keeps a nice balance between flavor and healthiness.  Add Sriracha hot sauce to taste.

For the Pesto Avocado Cream:

Blend the following ingredients using a food processor or immersion blender:

1 Avocado, cut into chunks
Pinch of Salt
Splash of Lemon Juice
2 tablespoons chopped Onion
1-2 tablespoons pre-made Pesto

Macaroni and Cheese with Bacon, Cauliflower, and Four Cheeses

Macaroni and Cheese, or any pasta dish for that matter, is not really my thing.  But Rob wanted some, so I was happy to come up with something that I thought he'd like.  I used bleu cheese, swiss cheese, and a mix (which I think is cheddar and mozzarella).  I'd recommend using a variety because it will give you a nice depth of flavor, but use whatever types of cheese you want.  And trust me, you can't taste the cauliflower at all, so it's a good way to sneak in a bit of nutrition.  

What you need:

1 bag frozen cauliflower
Olive oil spray
Season-all (or just salt and pepper)
Garlic Powder
Salt and pepper
8 ounce box of macaroni, cooked al dente
1 medium onion
7 slices of bacon
1.5 cups milk
3 eggs
3-4 ounces EACH bleu cheese, swiss cheese, and mixed cheese blend (or whatever combination you like, just make it add up to around 11 ounces)
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1/2 cup Panko crumbs


Start by roasting the cauliflower:  I did mine in the toaster oven, but a regular oven will also work.  Or, if you want to save time/effort, skip this and just use the thawed cauliflower as it is.  If roasting, spread on a lightly greased baking sheet, sprinkle with Season-all (or salt and pepper), and bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit until lightly browned.  I didn't let mine thaw first, so it took a bit longer, but if it is already thawed, this should take 15-20 minutes.  Let cool and chop finely

Next, fry the bacon in a large frying pan over low heat.  Place the cooked bacon on a paper towel and dump all but a very thin coating of the bacon grease out of the frying pan.  Use this leftover fat to fry up the onion.  Once the onion is translucent and slightly browned, add the bacon back in (crumbling it as you go), and then add the cauliflower to the pan.  Add a half cup of the milk and use this extra moisture to scrape up the browned stuff from the bottom of the pan.  Turn off the heat.

Whisk the eggs and the other cup of milk together in a large bowl.  Add about 3/4 of each cheese to the eggs and milk.  Add the bacon mixture, hot sauce, and cooked macaroni.  Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Pour it all in a 9 x 9 baking pan and then top with the panko and the rest of the cheese.  Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes, or until bubbly and lightly browned.  Enjoy!