Winstead Wandering

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Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Breakfast Sandwiches

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Breakfast isn’t just for morning anymore. These bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwiches are easy and filling enough to be enjoyed for any meal of the day.

Breakfast isn't just for morning anymore. These bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwiches are easy and filling enough to be enjoyed for any meal of the day.

Bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwiches will always remind me of my childhood. My mom has made hundreds of these in the last twenty years for me, my siblings, and an endless array of friends. She can crank them out at an unbelievable speed.

J and I hadn’t been dating long when, as an admirer of all things breakfast, he fell in love with these breakfast sandwiches. They’ve been a stable meal in our home ever since we got married.

Of course we love the obvious: crisp bacon, perfectly-cooked eggs, and melted cheese, all sandwiched between the buttered nooks and crannies of a toasted English muffin. We also love that these guys can be prepared in about 15 minutes. We use whole wheat English muffins and, when we want to be even healthier, we’ll skip the bacon.

We rarely eat them for breakfast; for us, they’re the perfect easy, filling weeknight meal. I love them served with sliced fruit and fresh home fries. They’d be perfect with store-bought hashbrowns, too.

Breakfast isn't just for morning anymore. These bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwiches are easy and filling enough to be enjoyed for any meal of the day.

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Potato Nachos

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Potato nachos are just as awesome as they sound: thinly-sliced potatoes are cooked until tender, topped with bacon and cheese, and baked until hot and melted. Perfect game day or any day.

Potato nachos are just as awesome as they sound: thinly-sliced potatoes are cooked until tender, topped with bacon and cheese, and baked until hot and melted.

 

This recipe is as straightforward as it is delicious. You start with large baking potatoes and slice them pretty thinly. You boil them, to allow them to cook through quickly. You know, so you can get to the good stuff.

After boiling, draining, and drying your potato slices, it’s just a matter of adding whatever toppings your heart desires- I usually do cheese, bacon, and jalapeños- and sticking the whole affair in the oven to get cozy.

Potato nachos are a pretty dangerous dish, in my opinion. Back in the day, I was a stay-at-home mom. It was a small block of time, sandwiched between my days as a banker and my current career as a teacher. During that time, I wasn’t limited to a 25 minute lunch break the way I am now. I had all of nap time to dream up and prepare recipes.

We almost always have potatoes around, and I love them in any form. I especially love a good oven-baked potato with crispy skin and plenty of butter and salt. Waiting an hour or more for a potato to bake in the oven didn’t interest me, though, so I made a couple of changes to speed things up and this recipe was born.

I used to make it for lunch, but it would be a perfect game day snack or appetizer, or a side for just about any dinner you make. Potato nachos are easy, they come together quickly, and they’re easily changed to fit the preferences of several different people. It would be no problem at all to allow your family members or your guests to customize their own portions. Include toppings like shredded chicken, onions, or fresh salsa and you can call it a meal.

Potato nachos are just as awesome as they sound: thinly-sliced potatoes are cooked until tender, topped with bacon and cheese, and baked until hot and melted. Perfect game day or any day.

 

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Bacon Cheddar Ranch Chicken Roll-Ups

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Bacon cheddar ranch chicken roll-ups are tortillas spread with cream cheese and crammed with chicken, shredded cheese, crisp bacon, and creamy ranch dressing. They’re perfect for a party or a snack-y supper.

Bacon cheddar ranch chicken roll-ups are tortillas spread with cream cheese and crammed with chicken, shredded cheese, crisp bacon, and creamy ranch dressing. They're perfect for a party or a snack-y supper.

This recipe has so much going for it.

Let’s start with the fact that it doesn’t involve any cooking (if you cook and shred large batches of chicken and freeze them in one- or two-cup portions, which I do and I recommend you do, too). The bacon can be zapped in the microwave to save time and minimize mess. The fact that this recipe comes together so easily without the need for a stove or oven makes it a perfect easy weeknight meal for hot summer days. Don’t worry, I’m thoroughly enjoying the January weather right now, but as a Mississippian, I’m always thinking of ways to beat the summer heat.

The other thing I love about this recipe is how easy it is to make changes and swap ingredients based on your taste preferences and what you have on hand. I used ranch dressing- duh, it’s in the title- but I imagine they’d be delicious with Caesar or even Italian dressing. Nearly any kind of cheese you have on hand would be acceptable, and you could even get away with omitting the bacon (but why would you?).

These little guys freeze great, making them a great option for a freezer recipe, and they’re sure to be a hit at any party or potluck you bring them to. With the bacon and the cheese, they pretty much sell themselves.

Do you love this wooden slab as much as I do? You can get a super similar one here.

Bacon cheddar ranch chicken roll-ups are tortillas spread with cream cheese and crammed with chicken, shredded cheese, crisp bacon, and creamy ranch dressing. They're perfect for a party or a snack-y supper.

[Read more…]

bacon, egg, and cheese potato waffles

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Bacon, egg, and cheese potato waffles are all your favorite breakfast flavor notes, packed into crunchy waffles that are perfect for any meal of the day.

Bacon, egg, and cheese potato waffles are all your favorite breakfast flavor notes, packed into crunchy waffles that are perfect for any meal of the day.

When I bought the hashbrowns to make this hashbrown crust breakfast pizza, I also bought another bag and tossed it in the freezer. They were on clearance, so I figured I’d find a use for the second one later.

I tossed around a few ideas in my head, but nothing really seemed to pique my interest. And then one day here was this recipe, right in my Pinterest feed, like a gift. I knew, with a few adjustments, these bacon, egg, and cheese potato waffles would be worthy of those extra hashbrowns.

As I was making them, J, who shares my love of all things brinner, came into the kitchen to investigate. Our exchange went something like this:

“Do these have potatoes?”
“Yup.”
“And eggs?”
“Yup.”
“And bacon and cheese?”
“Yup.”
“Wow. That’s all my favorite things.”

If those are your favorite things, too, this recipe needs a place of honor at your table sometime soon. [Read more…]