Butternut Squash, Bleu Cheese, and Bacon Lasagna

The Carnivore requested the I make the butternut squash lasagna again to leave for him when I went on vacation. Since I wasn't going to eat any of it I "carnivored" it up for him with additon of his favorite cheese (bleu) and one of his favorite foods (bacon).

This lasagna also took far less time than the first attempt because I learned from my previous butternut squash related follies. This time around I roasted the squash first and then scrape out the "meat" instead of trying to cube the raw squash. SO MUCH EASIER!

I also baked the bacon in the oven. No grease spatters, easy to drain the fat, less shrinkage, and all the bacon is crispy. Directions I follow are here.

To make the bleu cheese sauce I simply combined the milk, butter, and blue cheese in a sauce pan in medium heat. I warmed the milk and butter first, then dumped the chesse in and whisked until a cheese sauce was made.

Then I layered all the ingredients in a 9x11 glass pan and popped it in the oven on 350 for about 40 minutes.

Ingredients                                                       
1 box no bake lasagna sheets
5 strips of maple bacon
6 oz of bleu cheese
4 handfuls of baby spinach
1/4 white onion
1 butternut squash
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
salt and pepper to taste

Vanilla Cinnamon Bacon Cupcakes

Hello! I know it has been a long time since my last post. Sorry for the delay but I've been doing some extreme wedding planning for the last two weeks.

My posts might be few and far between this month because I'll be spending most of it traveling and visiting friend and family I haven't seen much of in the last two years.

The Carnivore isn't travelling with me. However, I am


so thankful to be marrying a man that is secure enough in our relationship for me to be out of town for an extended period of time.

Therefore, before I left I decided to make a special dessert as a treat for him that highlighted his love of bacon. After looking at several recipes I used bits and pieces and created my own Vanilla Cinnamon Bacon Cupcakes.


Batter
1 stick of butter
1 cup of sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup milk
1 tsp cinnamon

I always crack the eggs first to make sure I don't end up with shells in the batter. Then I added all the other ingredients together and mixed on medium for about 30 seconds.

I baked the cupcakes on 350 for 18 minutes.

Frosting
1 cup butter
4 cups of powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

I topped each cupcake with two pieces of crisp maple bacon that I cooked on a cookie sheet in the oven.

This recipe made 12 yummy cupcakes. However, I did have quite a bit of frosting left over.

I had planned to take the extras to the guys upstairs that taste tested my vegan pb&j cake but The Carnivore wouldn't let me give away even one of these cupcakes. He loved the frosting. It was super vanilla-y. The cupcake itself was sweet I think the cinnamon flavor really tied the cupcake to the bacon.

Bean and Bacon Soup with Spinach Salad

As I mentioned earlier I decided to incorporate bacon in to The Carnivore's dinner this week since he's been so great during the transition to a more plant based diet.

Therefore, I made a bean and bacon soup for him. I think it smelled great but I didn't taste it since I'm eating entirely vegan for May, June, and July to see if I can make it work for me.


Step 1: I soaked a bag of navy beans over night and then added them to our slow cooker with enough chicken broth to cover the beans. I cooked them alone in the broth for about 90 minutes before adding the other ingredients.




 

Step 2:  I placed 12 strips of maple bacon on foil lined cookie sheets. I then covered the cookie sheets with a second piece of foil to prevent splattering. Then I put them in a cold oven set to 425 degrees. Once the oven reached temperature I cooked the bacon for about 25 minutes to get it crispy. I did drain the grease halfway through cooking.


Step 3: I chopped up a few carrots, some celery, half a white onion and a few cloves of garlic. I sauteed the veggies in some of the bacon grease until the onions were transparent.






Step 4: Add veggies and bacon to the slow cooker. Continue to cook on low until beans are done. Season as you wish. I added some additional salt and pepper.








This recipe made 5 2 cup servings.

The Carnivore gets a serving of soup with a spinach salad that contains spinach, feta, craisins, a few squares of a mixed nut block and a honey balsamic vinaigrette.