jalapeño popper dip

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon New Mexico chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 pound bacon, (cooked and crumbled) divided
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded Colby Jack Cheese, divided
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded pepperjack cheese, divided
1 (4 ounce) can diced jalapenos , well drained (or 2 fresh jalapenos, deveined, deseeded and diced)
1 tablespoon fresh parsley
Crackers, chips, or warm tortilla wedges

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, New Mexico chili powder, ground cumin, pepper, garlic powder. Stir with a spoon until well mixed. Add 3/4 of the bacon, 1 cup Colby Jack cheese, 1 cup pepperjack cheese, and drained jalapenos.

Spread into a 10" cast iron skillet (or (2) 5" skillets for the perfect party plate). Top with the remaining cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is bubbly.

Sprinkle with reserved bacon and parsley. Serve with crackers, chips, or warm tortilla wedges.

Brussels sprouts and bacon au gratin

• 2 pounds Brussels sprouts, halved
• 8 oz. bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 ½ cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 cup half and half
• 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
• Salt and ground pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Toss brussel sprouts in olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Place them in a large glass baking dish and roast for 15-20 minutes, or until semi-softened.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, half and half, garlic powder, onion powder and red pepper flakes (if using), then stir in the cheese.
4. Remove brussel sprouts from oven and add 3/4 bacon to the baking dish. Pour cheese mixture over the top and stir everything together, then top with remaining bacon.
5. Reduce oven temperature to 350F° return baking dish to oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and just set.
6. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes before serving

CHICKEN BACON RANCH LAYER SALAD

INGREDIENTS

1 recipe Avocado Lime Ranch dressing
9 cups roughly chopped green leaf or romaine lettuce, divided
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 large poblano or green bell pepper seeded and diced
1 {12 oz} frozen corn, steamed and cooled
6 medium tomatoes, 5 chopped and 1 sliced into wedges for garnish
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
2½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
½ lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
4 cup roasted chicken, roughly chopped
3 green onion, thinly sliced
2 large hard boiled eggs, cut into wedges


INSTRUCTIONS

In a large trifle or glass bowl layer in this order: ⅓ lettuce, ½ red pepper, ½ poblano pepper, ⅓ corn, ½ tomatoes, ½ red onion, 1 cup cheese, ⅓ bacon and ½ chicken. Drizzle with ½ cup prepared dressing.

Repeat, ⅓ lettuce, ½ red pepper, ½ poblano pepper, ⅓ corn, ½ tomatoes, ½ red onion, 1 cup cheese, ⅓ bacon and ½ chicken. Drizzle with ½ cup prepared dressing.
Top with the final ⅓ lettuce, ⅓ corn, ½ cup shredded cheese, ⅓ bacon and sliced green onion. Drizzle with 1/.2 cup dressing drizzling around the edge. Arrange egg and tomato wedges on top to garnish.
Chill for 4 hours, Serve with additional dressing on the side.

Warm and creamy bacon dip

Warm and Creamy Bacon Dip

• 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 c. sour cream
• 3 oz. cooked bacon, crumbled (or bacon bits.)
• 2 c. Cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 c. green onion, chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients. Place in a 1-quart baking dish. Cover and heat in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until hot. Serve with sliced French bread, crackers, and/or chips.

Bacon-etti

1 pound spaghetti
1/2 pound bacon cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup olive oil or bacon drippings
1/4 cup minced onion
6 to 8 beaten eggs
1/2 to 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I will actually use green sprinkle cheese for this dish.)
Garlic to taste (fresh or powder)
Salt and pepper

In large pot, heat enough water to cook 1 pound of spaghetti. While water is coming to a boil, fry bacon until very crisp. Remove onion from pan with a slotted spoon. Add onion to the drippings in the pan and brown. Once the onions are well caramelized, remove them from the bacon drippings with a slotted spoon and reserve them with the bacon which you have set aside. Add spaghetti to boiling water. Cook until spaghetti is cooked al dente. Drain spaghetti, and add olive oil or bacon drippings. (Bacon drippings will be more flavorful.) Stir well  to keep noodles from sticking.

Pour beaten eggs over spaghetti noodles while the noodles are still very hot and stir until egg is cooked from the residual heat of the noodles. Add grated Parmesan cheese, garlic, salt and pepper to taste, and last of all the bacon onion mixture. (saving the bacon and onion for last makes a prettier dish.)

Makes four generous main dish servings, or six generous side dish servings. Kids usually love this. If the kids don't like onions, make sure you brown them very well. Once they are caramelized, kids will usually eat them just fine. Of course, you can just leave them out.