Basics : How to cook Bacon in the Oven

Having some ready cooked bacon in your fridge is very convenient.  When you eat Paleo, bacon is somewhat of a staple.  However cooking bacon in a skillet can be a pain.  It's time consuming and can also really mess up your kitchen.  This is why it's very handy to know how to cook bacon in the oven.

I started off cooking my bacon on a roasting pan which wasn't bad, but I found the amount of bacon I could fit was very limited.

So then I moved on to cooking it on a cookie sheet.  I lined it with foil and then put a cooling rack on top of that which worked pretty well.  However sometimes the bacon was a bit long for the pan and I had to fold the edges in which again was okay, but still not exactly right.

Finally I found a method used on several sites that works perfectly for me.  So here it is - the ultimate recipe.

How to cook bacon in the oven

I line my cookie sheet as above with foil, but instead of placing a cooling rack on it I fold another piece of foil into waves as shown above and put that into the pan.  Then I drape my bacon over it.  This allows me to cook a lot more bacon .....

.... and it looks nice when it's cooked as well.  Not a concern for most I'll grant you, but being a visual person my food taste that much better when it looks good. 

As for what heat to use, I like to cook my bacon on low heat (350'F) This cooks it slowly and keeps it from getting grease all over my oven.  I just put it into the oven, set the timer for 30 minutes, and then forget about it.  Once the timer goes off, I check and remove what pieces are done, then put the rest back for another 10 or 15 minutes and check again.  Bacon comes in different thicknesses even within one package, so this way I make sure that I don't end up with some raw bits and others burned to a crisp.

Cooking a lot of bacon at a time in the oven, though time saving in the long run, does require a bit of an investment of time which you might not be willing to spend.  Another alternative is to use one of the special bacon cooking pans available.  If you use this method you can just cook as much as you need when you need it in the microwave. If this method is more appealing to you, at only $12.39 you might find this pan a good investment. Certainly one of the pros is that it has less potential for making a mess, and cleaning a microwave is a lot easier than cleaning an oven.

Presto 05100 PowerCrisp microwave bacon cooker    

Any of the above methods will work, so choose the one that appeals most to you.

Since I work at home and my office is next to the kitchen, checking the bacon every once in a while, when it's cooking is no big deal for me.  I bake a tray a couple of times a month (It keeps very well for a couple of weeks in the fridge.) and I always have the makings of BLT wraps whenever I want them.  Try them with a bit of pesto mixed in to home made mayonnaise - Delicious!

"Let food be thy medicine, and let medicine be thy food." - Hippocrates

Specials Cook Ahead - Salmon

The Specials Cook Ahead Plans contain only 3 to 5 different items and can easily be done in a 2 or 3 hour session either in the evening or on the weekend - whatever works best for you. For an introduction to how these Cook Ahead plans work and for ideas on how to store your cooked meals check this post. 

I have also purposely not included specific amounts of any ingredients.  The lists will remind you what you will need, but it's up to you to decide how much of any recipe you will make and also which version when applicable.  

Here are the dishes for this Cook Ahead Plan :

( 1 )  Garlic and Dill Salmon Fillets -  You will be using these to create all the other dinner dishes.  Make some extra for the freezer as well as they are terrific cold for use in lunch salads. Add to a Caeser Salad or mix with mayonnaise, chopped celery and chopped onion as a sandwich filling.

( 2 )  Salmon Cakes - Great with a bit of home-made tartar sauce (mayonnaise with chopped dill pickle) or garlic mayonnaise.

( 3 )  Seafood Pie - Use salmon as your filling.  You can add other seafood as well, but I find the salmon is pretty overpowering so best to just use on it's own.

( 4 )  Salmon Crepes - This is an optional dish to add if you have crepes in your freezer.

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Here is a quick review of how the plan works ....

First, check the grocery check-list.  Decide what specifically you will cook and how much of each dish.  Check your fridge and cupboard for the ingredients you will need and make a shopping list.

Shop for your ingredients. Don't forget to stock up on the special.  What you can't cook today you can refrigerate or freeze for later use.

Before your cooking day, check your prep list and prepare all the ingredients you will need.  By doing all the grating, slicing and chopping ahead of time, you will minimize the work you have to do on cooking day.  And you will have less cleanup as well.

On cooking day make sure you allow yourself enough time to cook what needs to be done. Most of these plans will take 2 or 3 hours to do, but I would allow longer the first time you do them, just so you are not having to rush.  The idea here isn't to create more stress, it's to cut down on it.

If you are cooking during the day, plan to use one of the meals you are cooking for dinner.  If you are cooking after work eat a meal you have already prepared from your freezer.  You will have enough to do without worrying about dinner.  This is also a good time to make a slow cooker meal.  Get it going before your cooking session and it will be ready when you need it later in the day.

Work your way through the plans and make notes as you go so you remember any changes you make for the next time. File the plans in your Household Notebook or some other safe place for future use. If you file them in plastic sheet protectors like I do, you can tick off the steps as you do them, then wipe the sheet clean ready for the next time.

Once you've cooked all the items on the plan, make sure you pack and freeze them properly, then do your clean-up.

Now take a few minutes to put your feet up - you've earned it!

Here are the lists you will need : Cook Ahead - Salmon1


You can download them here.

This cook ahead plan will give you three dinner dishes as well as salmon to have for lunches.  Having these meals in your freezer will make it easy for you to eat this healthy fish and gain all the health benefits.

"Let food be thy medicine, and let medicine be thy food." - Hippocrates

 

Create a Household Manual, Household Notebook, or Family Organizer

In it's simplest form, a Household Manual (sometimes also known as a Household Notebook or Family Organizer) is just a binder where you keep all the information that is necessary for the smooth running of your home. (The one above is available here.)  This is a very useful thing to have in your home not only for your own reference but also should you ever find yourself in an emergency situation.  If you are away or sick and someone else needs to take over your responsibilities they can check your binder and know exactly what needs to be done and where to find everything.

There are many specialty binders and kits available now, but really all you need are a few supplies and you can quite easily make your own.

To make a basic Household Manual you will need a 2 inch or 3 inch binder.  I prefer white ones like these with plastic covers so you can insert your own cover sheet.

Some plastic page protectors

And some dividers.  The ones that are extra large to use with page holders.These are available at any office supply store, or if you prefer the convenience of ordering online like I do you can also order them through Amazon through these links :
Wilson Jones Economy Vinyl Round Ring View Binder, 8.5 x 11 Inches, 3 Inch Capacity, White (362-49W)
Avery Big Tab Insertable Plastic Dividers, 8-Tab Set, 1 Set (11901)
Avery Top Loading Non-Glare Poly Sheet Protectors 100 Count (74102)


Now what do you put into your Household Manual?

The first page of your Household Notebook, regardless of who you are, should contain emergency information.  Hopefully you will never need it, but if you do you will be so thankful you thought about this ahead of time.

I have a 3 inch binder that I use as my Family organizer because I have a section for all my instruction books and warranties as well.  When the dryer needed fixing it was very handy to have all the relevant product numbers at my fingertips. (above example from apartmenttherapy.com )

I also have a section in my Household Manual for my menu plans and cook ahead plans.  I keep them in the plastic page protectors and when I am going to work on a plan I can tick off the steps with a marker as I do them.  Then, when I'm finished, I just wipe the marks off the plastic and file it back into my binder.

To give you an idea of what to put into your Household Notebook (Household Manual or Family Organizer) I recommend you visit organizedhome.com  If you do a Google search you will find there are several sites that show you how to set up a Household Manual, but I think this is one of the most thorough and one of the best.  It walks you through making your manual step by step and suggests exactly what to keep in it. It has numerous downloadable forms that you can use.

They even have a cover and binder spine (see above) that you can print as well.  This is what I use because I think it's very clean and unfussy.

Of course there are some people who don't consider unfussy an asset, and that is where, if you buy a plain white binder, you can personalize it any way you wish.   Here is a very colourful example fromlibbywithnall's photostream

Here is another one from granny-green.com. where they made this very innovative binder cover  from an old pair of jeans.   What a creative recycling idea!

Even though it's pretty easy to make your own, you might prefer to buy a binder that is all set up for you like these, and then just add other sections to it as needed.

  Mom's Ultimate Family Organizer: A One-Stop Planner for Busy Moms

Home Keeper: The Ultimate Organizer

The Ultimate Home Journal & Organizer

All three of these are available on Amazon with full descriptions, and the first two have the "look inside" feature so you can have an idea of what it looks like.  Each one is set up a bit differently, so you will need to read the description to decide which one is best for you.

Most people use these binders for reference, but some work-at-home mothers also use them as a Family Planner like this example from  reneecamacho.blogspot.com

Others, like 7thhouseontheleft.com  use them to keep track of all sorts of household projects. Opening this colourful binder is sure to brighten anyone's day!

Much as I am a firm believer in minimizing paper as much as possible, there is some paper that you just have to keep, and that seems to be especially true when it comes to things to do with your home.  Everyone has guarantees, warrantees, instructions and receipts that they need to have handy for repairs and general maintenance, so having one place for it all that is easily referenced when needed will make your life a lot easier.

And of course the idea is not just to have it but to use it.  Fill it with information specific to your lifestyle and it will become a very useful tool that you will never want to be without.

By the way, never let your Household Manual leave your home.  It's too easy to loose the contents somewhere and usually a lot of what is in there is irreplaceable.  At home is where you need it most of the time anyway.  If there is something you wish to take with you either just take out that particular page or better still make a copy of it for your purse.

Technology is a very useful thing, especially when you're trying to minimize as much as possible as I am, but paper still has it's uses as well, so the best thing is to let the two co-exist and work together - for your benefit.  Whether you want to call it a Household Manual, a Household Notebook or a Family Organizer, if you really want your home to run smoothly you need to have one.

“Life isn't about finding yourself.  Life is about creating yourself.”   - George Bernard Shaw