Makin' bacon.

My two favorite foods are Granny Smith apples and bacon. (Weird, I know.) Inspired by Sarah Stirman's Recipe Swap, here is my favorite way to make bacon.

*Preheat oven to about 385 (doesn't need to be precise).

*Line a large cookie sheet or jelly roll pan with heavy duty foil (no clean-up later!). Lay single strips of bacon across the pan and...this is important...always make extra. Folded-up cooked bacon strips (kept in a Baggie in the meat drawer) are great to have on hand later for sandwiches and/or quick breakfasts for DAYS.

*Bake for about 15 minutes or so. Tilting the pan with a pair of all-metal tongs or some other oven-safe utensil lets all the bacon fat drain to one end of the pan...I *always* do this and would recommend it. See pics below.

You can't tell from the pics, but the tongs need to be set near the edge of the pan closest to the oven door so that the fat drains away from the bacon...and YOU.

*After the fifteen-minute timer rings, I keep an eye on 'em while setting the table, pouring an extra cup of coffee, getting out the cereal boxes, etc. because cooking time really depends on the brand/quality/thickness of the bacon.

*Carefully remove the bacon from the oven, maintaining the same angle of tilt, so the fat doesn't wash back over the bacon. You can drizzle the drippings over your dog's kibble (DO NOT TELL our vet that I do this!!) or drain it into a bacon drippings container (ick) or do what I do...after the bacon is placed on a paper-towel lined plate, I just leave the pan on the counter until the drippings harden into a white coagulated solid. At that point, I wad up the foil and throw the Fat Ball into the trash. Then I stick the STILL CLEAN pan back in the pantry! Squeee!

Benefits of baked bacon: Everyone's bacon is ready at once. You don't have grease spots all over the stovetop and/or burned hands and arms from exploding grease pops. You don't have to wash anything. The bacon is crisp and perfect and brown and didn't stew in its own fat.

And it makes my dogs smile. :-)

Speaking of dogs, it's nearly time to meet Jaeger and his family in the park. Today will be the first time Jaeger and May Bee meet as grown-ups. May Bee attended the Bush Family's 4th of July picnic, but she spent most of the day in my arms, away from the frantic activity of Misha and Jaeger. (This was the day that Jason tried to keep her from running into traffic, and she squealed like a little piglet to get to her Mommy! What a sweet memory...it was the first time she demonstrated that she knew exactly who I was...)

UPDATE: While we were at the park today, Kirsten reminded me that Jaeger and May Bee walked together once in November (back when I still walked both dogs on the "splitter" leash I gave up using on May Bee's first birthday). Here's a pic from that November walk.

And here's a snapshot of TODAY'S Red Bud Park excursion. Kirsten had the camera turned off when May Bee surprised us all by jumping into Prairie Dog Town. (Scamp!)

Thank goodness for the Gentle Leader! May Bee wasn't able to spindle or mutilate a single prarie dog. In fact, she was only over the wall for a few seconds, but it was long enough to teach me to grip the leash a little tighter. For the full story, head to Kirsten's blog.