Oven Cooked Bacon

Weekends are a little slower around the farm especially on the Saturdays that I don't have to work and this Saturday was no exception.  Once we got the animals all fed, it was time to feed the family.  This morning we had homemade waffles and bacon.  This time, I prepared the bacon differently, I baked it.  DH looked at me as I was putting it in the oven and I said, "Well it is called "bakin".  It was pretty nice to not be popped while cooking bacon.

Oven Cooked Bacon

1 lb bacon

black pepper optional

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2.  Place bacon on cookie sheet.  Sprinkle bacon with pepper.

3.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, turning half way through cooking.

I retained the bacon grease for flavoring beans or cabbage.

Adapted from  Food Network

Cake Mix Banana Bread

Yesterday was a nasty, cold, rainy day, a day made for our ducks and geese, so we spent the day indoors watching our new Netflix.  We finally decided to cut the cable with our satellite provider when they raised their price AGAIN.  But there was a bunch of bananas that were starting to turn brown and a DH saying that he wanted banana bread.  Instead of pulling out the Betty Crocker cookbook and what feels like a 1,000 ingredients, I went online and did a search for cake mix banana bread.  With 4 simple ingredients that most people would have in their kitchen, I made a very yummy banana bread.

Cake Mix Banana Bread

1 yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1/3 cup oil
3 - 5 mashed bananas

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.  Grease 2 loaf pans or one bundt pan -- I used an angel food cake pan.
3.  Mix all ingredients together until well mixed.
4.  Bake 30 - 35 minutes for loaf pans or 45 minutes bundt pan.
5.  Cool.

There are no pictures today because DH could not wait until it was cooled to have a slice.  It tasted just like I had slaved in the kitchen instead of just tossing a few ingredients in a bowl and mixed.

Recipe adapted from Duncan Hines

Silk Tie Easter Eggs

So what do silk ties and eggs have in common?  Silk Tie Dyed Easter Eggs.  After searching the internet and coming up with several different recipes for these eggs, I settled on a recipe that I found at Taste of Home.  With a few minor alterations, my son and I made Silk Tie Easter Eggs this morning.

What you will need:

Raw Eggs
Silk Ties
Yarn
Scissors
An old pillowcase

Directions:

1.  Cut up the silk ties and remove the labels.  Make sure that you get 100% silk ties to do this.  I found mine at thrift stores.

2.  Cut a piece silk large enough to cover the egg.

3.  Wet the silk and drape over the egg.  Twist tightly to make sure that the silk is touching the entire egg.  Wrap the yarn around the end and tie securely.

4.  Cut up the pillowcase and wrap around the egg.  Tie yarn around the case to make sure it doesn't slip off.  Do this with all the eggs you have. 

5.  Place eggs in pan, cover with water, and bring to a rolling boil.  Boil eggs for 15 minutes.

6.  Cool and carefully unwrap.  Wipe eggs with oil for a shinier surface.

Adapted from Taste of Home