Did someone say BACON?!Cooked in maple syrup?!SIGN.ME.UP.
Guys…this recipe is SO SO easy and totally drool-worthy.With only two ingredients involved, this should definitely find its way into your brunch menu.Wether it be an addition to a Bloody Mary bar, or served all on its own, it’s always a favorite at our house!
Since this only requires two ingredients, I try to get good quality bacon and syrup.Here is what I focus on…
For the bacon…the trick is to get thick cut bacon, because once its baked in syrup it will be nice and juicy!And when cooked properly, it will be firm enough to hold itself up if used in a Bloody Mary or placed in a mason jar!
For the maple syrup…I get a 100% pure maple syrup, which means that there is only one ingredient…maple tree sap that has been boiled down to syrup.This is so much better than using pancake syrup, which is an imitation syrup made up with artificial ingredients, and added sugar.
We use a local Ohio syrup, Milligan’s Bourbon Barrel Aged Syrup, because it’s 100% pure, organic maple syrup tapped from a sustainable forest in Athens, Ohio!
So how do we make this divine fancy bacon?
First step is to coat your bacon with syrup, both front and back. I use an OXO Basting & Pastry Brush to coat the bacon (also great for coating other meats before baking). After coated in syrup, lay bacon strips on a parchment lined baking sheet, and bake in a 400 degree F oven.Bake for 15 min, before flipping and baking for another 15 min.
Once your bacon strips have cooled, drizzle with extra syrup and serve!I love to serve mine in a mason jar or as an ingredient on a Toast Bar !
This weekend was our first true forecasted snow storm of the year.One of those, “batten down the hatches” type storms, so get where you need to go cause you’re staying there for the weekend.WELL…my dearly beloved had already gone wheels up on his flight out to Puerto Rico for a bachelor party, leaving Tito and myself to fend for ourselves in the icy abyss of Ohio.
So that was right around the time I called my super wonderful, yet autoimmune-food-restricted BFF, and made plans to get snowed in at her place!We had this grandiose plan to stay in with our pooches and wait out “the storm to end all storms” by way of food and Netflix.And you know what happened?
The storm never exactly came.(Although, 24 hours after its predicted arrival, it came in the form of ice.)Sick, right?
So we sat around all day Saturday, seeing as though we’re not quitters, and stuck to our “snow day” plan.Four documentaries, and the start of a new Netflix original series later, we started to dabble in some culinary experimentation.
I will admit, we had the odds stacked against us.With loads of sleep in our system, lethargy due to extended length of immobilization, limited cognitive function as a result of “Netflix and chill”, and a finite supply of ingredients due to my BFF’s autoimmune protocol diet…the odds of yielding an edible substance were looking bleak.
In short, here were our options…a handful of sweet potatoes, lemons, garlic, and one can of chickpeas that was going to waste ever since my BFF started her AIP diet.So in the spirit of not being wasteful, I set out on an adventure to make HUMMUS!
This hummus ultimately combines two ingredients I hold very near and dear to my heart…chickpeas and sweet potatoes.All in all, a simple recipe, it does require 60 min of baking time to get the sweet potato spectacularly mushy 🙂
Once the sweet potato is finished softening, all thats left is to throw all ingredients into a blender and give it a go!I found that my original idea of just a plain sweet potato hummus, actually came out rather bland.I was stewing over what I could use to spruce it up a little bit, and thats when I saw it (in the pantry)!
It was as if Moses himself had parted the sea of autoimmune protocol ingredients, showing me a clear path to…the BBQ SAUCE.I added a 1/4 cup of BBQ sauce to give it some TANG, and oh what wonderful TANG it was!
Alas, the creation of BBQ Sweet Potato Hummus!Which, by definition means: a snack entirely suitable for munching during ones Netflix binge sesh.
Before serving, I added a little extra BBQ drizzle to the top, with some scallions and that was about the extent of my productivity on Saturday…and Sunday (I blame the new Netflix series for that though).
And in case anyone is wondering…Tito survived the storm too,
Take sweet potato and cut in half long ways and place over foil. Drizzle avocado oil over front and back of each half. Wrap tightly in foil and place on baking pan. Bake for 60 min.
Remove potato from oven and let steam in the foil for 10 min before unwrapping.
While the sweet potato is steaming, take all ingredients and add to blender or food processor.
After sweet potato is finished steaming, scoop out the inside flesh (leaving skin) and add to blender with rest of ingredients. You can either use a spoon to remove flesh, or take a sharp knife and cut around the inside edge of the potato. Proceed cutting down the length, then across the width of the potato to create cubes. Pull out cubes with a fork.
Add sweet potato to blender and blend all ingredients together until smooth. Transfer to serving bowl and garnish with extra BBQ sauce and scallions. Serve with fresh veggies or pita chips!
Meet Lulu
Hi, my name is Lulu! One of my passions in life is to create dishes that will gather friends and family to my table. My belief is that meals should be shared with others, affording us the opportunity to connect with one another. Lulu’s Table balances healthy eating for your body, and indulging for your soul…(and sanity). May this be a guide to inspire others to prepare homemade meals and to reconnect with friends and family at the dinner table.
