I love BACON!

I am trying to be healthy and watch what I eat since I have joined the neighborhood "Loser Club". I love to eat bacon on the weekends so I bought myself "turkey bacon" thinking this was a healthy choice. Guess what! Turkey bacon is worst than regular bacon. Check out the labels.

This is the turkey bacon package. Just one slice is counted on here.
This is the "real bacon" package and 3 slices are counted on this one.

http://www.hatfieldqualitymeats.com/Products/Product.aspx?ProductID=84

Let's do the counting right!

3 slices of turkey bacon = 9 grams of fat whereas the 3 slices of real bacon = 5 grams.

Calories from fat: turkey bacon =75 and the the bacon = 45.

Saturated fat: turkey bacon = 3 grams and bacon = 1.5 grams.

Turkey bacon even has MORE cholesterol than the bacon I used! Amazing.

Always read the labels and don't just assume something is better because of the label! The turkey bacon even reads 50% less fat on it.

Corn Beef and Cabbage

My mother and mother-n-law clipped recipes from newspapers, magazines, backs of the flour package, oatmeal boxes, chocolate chip packages, and sugar. Whenever they found a recipe, they cut it out and put it in box or notebook. After years of watching my mother do this, I continued the tradition. The only problem with this theory is that do you really make these recipes or do you just collect them. Now I have the wonderful problem of having all of my mother's and mother-n-law's recipes. They are all stuck in boxes, notebooks, envelopes, etc. I have decided to try to share my favorites with you and this is definitely a favorite.

My mother-n-law, Billie, found this recipe in the Parade magazine in 1981. Here is the recipe that my friends and I always call each other for around St. Patrick's Day.

Barbeque Shrimp

Barbeque Shrimp
(Secret’s in the Sauce)

8 to 10 lbs. large shrimp (shells and tails on)
1 lb. margarine
1 lb. butter
8 Tbsp butter
8 Tbsp black pepper
6 oz Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. ground Rosemary
1 tsp Tabasco
4 lemons, sliced
4 tsp salt
3 cloves garlic

Melt butter and margarine in saucepan. Add Worcestershire Sauce, pepper, rosemary, Tabasco, lemons, salt, and garlic. Mix well. Divide shrimp between 2 large shallow pans and pour hot sauce over each. Stir well, until each shrimp is well coated with sauce. Cook in 400° oven for 15-20 minutes, turning once, shells will be pink and meat white, not translucent.

Crabmeat Au Gratin

½ lb. onions (1 large white, some green finely chopped)
3 ribs celery (finely chopped)
½ lb. butter
4 TBSP flour
1 large and 1 small l can Carnation milk
2 egg yolks
2 lb fresh white crabmeat
10 oz milk Cheddar Cheese, grated

Saute onions and celery in butter until soft. Add flour and blend. Add milk and blend. Remove from heat, add egg yolks, crabmeat, salt and pepper, and grated cheese. Put in casseroles with cheese on top, and bake. Serves 6-8.

Crawfish Pie

3 lbs chopped crawfish pie
2 sticks margarine
½ cup flour
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 bunches shallots (keep tops separated)
1 bunch parsley
1 cup celery
3 Tbsp tomato sauce
Salt
Cayenne pepper

Make a thick roux. Add onions, garlic, bell peppers, celery and tomato sauce. Cover and simmer a hour on low heat and stir. Season. Add 3 cups water one at a time to make it consistent. Cook all day. Mixture should be thick and creamy when tails and fat are added. Cook until tails are tender for 15 minutes. Add onion tops and parsley. Check for flavor. Put in pie crust and cover with top. Cut slivers in top. Bake 350° for 15 minutes. Reduce to 300° until brown.

Seafood Gumbo

2 lb peeled shrimp
1 pint oysters
1 lb crabmeat
3 T oil
3 T flour
3 cups okra sliced and 2 T oil
½ cups celery chopped
2 onions chopped
½ cups chopped bell pepper
1 can tomatoes
3 qt water
1 bay leaf
1 T salt
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 dried red pepper

Peel shrimp (uncooked) and deveined. Make roux (dark like coffee) of flour and oil. Set aside. Smother okra in oil until all slime disappears. Add onions, bell pepper, celery, and tomatoes to okra and simmer for ½ hour. Then add water, garlic, salt, pepper, and roux. Let come to boil and simmer for 1 hour. Add shrimp and crabmeat until shrimp are tender. Add oysters and cook until oysters start to curl. Serve over rice.

Sauce Piquante´

2 cans tomato sauce (medium can)
½ cup brown sugar
5 large onions chopped
6 ribs celery, chopped
3 T garlic powder
1 cup oil
1 cup flour
3 large bell pepper, chopped
2 cans tomato paste
2 cans parsley, chopped
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
10 lb meat
Green onions

In large heavy pot make a roux, add seasoned meat and brown. Add tomato paste and sauce, and fry a little while. Add all seasoning, except green onions and parsley. Wilt seasoning and add parsley, green onions, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Let simmer for least 3 hours on lowest heat covered. Serve over rice.