If you haven't baked your bacon in the oven you need to try this! This isn't a recipe per say, but you can cook an entire package of bacon at once, that turns out pretty much perfect every time with little effort.
The trick to making your bacon in the oven is putting the bacon in a cold oven. As the oven heats up, it slowly renders the fat.
You end up with crispy, meaty pieces.
Oven Baked Bacon
Line a half-sheet pan with parchment paper.
Lay bacon on pan, try not to have it overlap.
Place pan in COLD oven. Set oven temperature to 400ยบ. Set timer for 20 minutes.
Remove pan from oven. Drain bacon grease and turn bacon pieces. Bake for 5-10 minutes longer, depending on how crispy you like your bacon. Check the bacon frequently so it does not get overdone.
Breakfast on weekends means pancakes or french toast. I try to do one or the other about once a month. This recipe makes a large batch, enough for two boys who will easily eat 6 or 8 (each!) and the two of us, plus a freezer bag full. It makes an easy breakfast for the boys during the school week and they taste so much better than store-bought frozen pancakes. You could halve the recipe if you don't want leftovers.
These Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes are by far our favorite. More often than not, I add chocolate chips, but we will on occasion, add blueberries. The nice thing about this recipe is it uses the whole quart of buttermilk. If it all possible, use real buttermilk, not soured milk or buttermilk powder.
I have three tricks for pancakes. One: Let the batter rest 5-10 minutes before dropping on a hot skillet. I think this helps with the fluffiness. Two: Use a cast iron skillet, because it maintains an even heat. I heat my pan to medium before dropping the batter. Three: Wait to drop the pancake batter until the butter has stopped bubbling.
Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes
4 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoons sugar
4 eggs
4 cups buttermilk
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips (use standard size, not mini) or blueberries
butter
Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and sugar in a large bowl.
Combine the eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry. Stir but do not beat. Lumps are okay.
Melt butter in a cast iron skillet over medium. Wait to drop pancake batter until butter has stopped bubbling.
Cook pancakes until bubbles that form on top, burst. Flip then cook the other side until golden brown.
