On a bun. As a dip. In a wrap. On a cracker. It doesn’t matter how you serve this slow cooker creamy bacon chicken, you’re going to love it. Tender, moist chicken. Creamy cheese. Bacon. Ranch dressing flavors. Bacon. Oh, I said that already. I love bacon. There’s no reason that you couldn’t add a bit more bacon to the crockpot. Kinda slip an extra piece or two in for that extra bacon-y flavor.
Slow cooker creamy bacon chicken is mighty darned good as it is. Now, you know me (or well, maybe you don’t) but I like a little kick to my food. I would not be afraid to use jalapeno cream cheese instead of the plain stuff. And I wouldn’t be afraid to add a few squirts of Sriracha or my favorite hot sauce, either. Heck, throw in some diced roasted jalapenos too. You can always make two versions. One nice and mellow and one nice and spicy.
If you want your chicken to have a bit more texture than the shredded version in the recipe, just cut into small cubes instead. Same great taste with a little bit different bite.
In my world there’s nothing better than a burger cooked on a super hot flat top griddle. Boy do I love that nice little char you get on the patties. These pepper crusted bacon cheeseburgers amp up that great flat top (though you can certainly grill them!) flavor even more.
Pepper Crusted Bacon Cheeseburgers
The patties are loaded with sweet onion and lots of black pepper. Lots of black pepper. Crispy bacon, lettuce, smoky cheese and a fantastically garlicky aioli top it all off Every bite is loaded with flavor.
Do not be shy with the black pepper when you roll the burger patties in it. You really want a good strong pepper flavor. I used smoked pepper but any good freshly cracked pepper will do. For extra smoky flavor used smoked garlic instead of regular raw garlic.
I like to use a burger press just about any time that I am making burgers. i just weigh out the meat (usually into 4 to 5 ounce-sized balls), then place onto the press. For easy cleanup I’ll put patty papers on the bottom and top of the press. Then I just press down and boom! A perfectly shaped burger patty appears!
In my world there’s nothing better than a burger cooked on a super hot flat top griddle. Boy do I love that nice little char you get on the patties. These pepper crusted bacon cheeseburgers amp up that great flat top (though you can certainly grill them!) flavor even more.
Baked bacon is one of my favorite things. A little time, a little seasoning and I’ve got a wonderful treat. I like my bacon to not be super-duper crunchy. Just a little bite is perfect. For me, baking is easier than cooking bacon in a skillet and I get a more-consistently cooked product (with minimal curling!). With less mess, too.
When I worked at the cafeteria at a large army base outside of Washington DC we would bake an unbelievable amount of bacon. And specially for Saturday morning’s buffet. Rack after rack after rack of bacon. I started as a dishwasher. Nothing was harder than scrubbing stack after stack of large sheet pans that had pieces of bacon stuck to them. I avoid that now by lining my pans with foil. A teen making minimum wage was probably cheaper than foil back in the day, so we didn’t line the pans at the cafeteria. We also didn’t season the bacon, something I really love to do.
If you’re planning on draining off the bacon drippings to use for other purposes, you might want to skip the seasoning all-together, or strain it first to remove any spice pieces.
For cleanup I take the paper towel that I drained the bacon on and toss it onto the baking sheet to absorb any grease. I fold up the sides of the foil and seal it tightly to create a packet that can be tossed into the bin without having to worry about it leaking.
Baked bacon is also a great way to use up those last bits of the spices you have in the pantry. You know the ones, they’ve been in there forever waiting for you to figure out what to do with them. Well, know you know!
Baked bacon is one of my favorite things. A little time, a little seasoning and I’ve got a wonderful treat. I like my bacon to not be super-duper crunchy. Just a little bite is perfect.
Course Side
Cuisine American
Keyword bacon
Cook Time 35 minutesminutes
Total Time 35 minutesminutes
Servings 6
Calories 315kcal
Ingredients
16ouncesbaconthin- or thick-sliced
seasoningssee notes
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F. For thick or crisper bacon you can go as high as 400 F.
Line a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Lay the bacon out onto the baking sheet. Do not overlap the pieces or let them touch.
Sprinkle the top side of the bacon with the seasoning.
Bake for 20 minutes. The bacon will still be mostly uncooked.
Flip and season the other side. Return to the oven for 15 minutes or until the desired doneness is achieved. I like my bacon done, but only lightly crispy. Thin bacon usually takes a total of 35 minutes, while thick can take 45 minutes or longer.
Remove bacon to paper towel-lined plate to drain then serve.
Notes
Do not use seasonings that contain a lot of sugar. If your seasonings contain a lot of salt I recommend using them sparingly as the bacon is already salty to begin with if it has been salt-cured.I usually use Grill Mates from McCormick. Todd’s Dirt is also a favorite, along with any of the mixes from AlbuKirky Seasonings.Sometime bacon, specially thinner slices, can be hard to separate when removing it from the packaging. I freeze my bacon for a few minutes to make the pieces easier to remove. Just don’t put the bacon in the freezer and forget about it!
