little LADIES WHO LUNCH

Asian pear “fries;” organic green and red seedless grape kebabs; mini whole wheat cheddar roll (fresh from a local bakery); half a clementine orange; organic nitrate/antibiotic-free turkey bacon

We are a family of bacon lovers.  Whether it’s “regular” pork bacon, turkey bacon, or even duck bacon (wow, what a treat, especially when making gourmet BLT’s with tarragon and avocado!) — we don’t discriminate as long as it’s good quality meat free of nitrates, antibiotics and other junk.

Today’s post features crispy bacon from humanely raised turkeys.  That’s right — turkey bacon can indeed by crispy and mouthwatering delicious when cooked correctly. 

Here’s what we do:

• preheat oven to 350 degrees
• line cookie sheet with tin foil
• place bacon on sheet, being careful not to allow the slices to touch each other
• bake for roughly 30 minutes, depending on the brand, thickness, etc.  I recommend setting the timer for 20 minutes and then keeping an eye on it until it reaches the desired crispiness.  

If you want to work a little harder, a skillet works just as well, but you’ll have to keep a better eye on it and turn it at some point.  I think there is more room for error this way if you’re giving turkey bacon a go for the first time.

So there you have it.  Floppy turkey bacon be gone!  For the record, I like my bacon a bit crispier than what is photographed in the above bento, but I cooked it according to how the kids like it, so…  I left mine on the cookie sheet longer.  :0)

Homemade multigrain pancakes with caramelized bananas and pecans; turkey bacon; fresh strawberries; organic maple syrup in condiment holder

The Little Ladies’ middle school age stepbrother has state-wide testing today and tomorrow, so we prepared him a breakfast fit for a king.  Of course the Ladies were happy to benefit from the deal as well. 

While their big brother had bacon and eggs and multigrain pancakes with fresh-squeezed orange juice before leaving for school, the girls had turkey bacon and eggs (whole eggs but with a higher egg white to yolk ratio) for breakfast and saved their multigrain pancakes (made with Egg Beaters and skim milk) for lunch.

Best of luck to all the New York State kids testing this week!