Bacon Wrapped Asparagus #FMD #InternationalBaconDay

Did you know that today is International Bacon Day?  I didn't until Liz of Books and Cooks asked us to share our favorite recipe using bacon.

This is not my favorite recipe using bacon.......

However, as I told you on my birthday post, I am giving myself the gift of better care for this year. During the time this event is taking place I am following the Fast Metabolism Diet.  This eating plan does allow for bacon.....turkey bacon.

This recipe is my favorite recipe for Phase 2 of this eating plan.  Phase 2 is protein and veggie heavy. In fact, each meal and snack on Wednesdays and Thursdays, contain nothing but protein and veggies and each meal must have both.

I make up a large batch of these Bacon Wrapped Asparagus on Wednesday morning. Four of them make a meal and 2 of them make a snack.  I normally enjoy them for breakfast each day and for snacks a couple of times during the phase.  They are portable and finger friendly so it makes life easy. They are surprisingly tasty, considering that it is turkey bacon, which doesn't taste like bacon at all to me, but I like smoked turkey (which it does taste like) so life is good.

This also makes a great appetizer to set out when company comes.  They won't even know that they are eating healthily as they snack on these.  They really are good.  I have taken them with me to potlucks so that I know there will be something available for me to snack on during this eating plan.

After this 28 day cycle, I will reintroduce real bacon back into my diet, in moderation but until then this is a great substitute that I enjoy and I think you will as well.

You can find "real" bacon recipes following this one from The Fast Metabolism Diet Cookbook.

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

source: The FMD Cookbook

1 pkg. turkey bacon (nitrate free)

1 bunch asparagus

1/2 c. vegetable broth

Snap the woody ends from the asparagus.  Wrap each stalk with a strip of bacon and place, seam side down,  onto a rimmed baking sheet.  Add the vegetable broth, cover with foil and place in a preheated 375* oven for 25 minutes, until asparagus is crisp tender and the bacon is cooked through. Print Recipe

More Bacon-y Bites

Bacon Corn Pizza from Caroline’s Cooking

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus from A Day In The Life On The Farm

Barbecue, Bacon, & Cheddar Stuffed Sweet Potatoes from Tip Garden

Broccoli Bacon Salad from Feeding Big

Chicken Bacon Ranch Skillet from Amy’s Cooking Adventure

Hot German Potato Salad with Bacon from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice

Pasta Carbonara Torte from Karen’s Kitchen Stories

Roast Beef, Ham and Bacon Club Sandwich from Family Around The Table

Surprise Biscuits from Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Warm Bacon Gruyere Dip with Caramelized Onion and Chive from Bear & Bug Eats

Wilted Lettuce Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing from Palatable Pastime

Pork Sausage in an Apple and Mustard Sauce over Pasta #ImprovCookingChallenge

This month's ingredients for Improv Cooking Challenge are Mustard and Sausages.  The possibilites are endless and I was very excited to partake in this challenge.  Oh, I'm sorry.....Let me explain....The Improv Challenge is a monthly event where we bloggers are given two ingredients and then sent on our way to create a wonderful dish containing said ingredients.  Then we all get together on the third Thursday of the month and share our recipes.

It's fun, it has you think outside the box a bit and it helps me in my meal planning.  This month it helped me to use up some leftovers.  We had company over the weekend and Frank made breakfast which included a pound each of bacon and pork sausage...there were only 5 of us....LOL.  I used the leftover bacon in these tasty little BLT Bites but I still had half a pound of pork sausages sitting in the refrigerator.

We had one of those days when nothing seemed to go right and we got all off schedule.  I was planning on beer butt chicken for dinner but got sidetracked and before I knew it we were hungry and wanted to eat now.  I went into the refrigerator thinking that I would just cut the chicken up and use the breasts for the meal, perhaps a chicken pasta.  That's when I spied the pork sausages that needed to be used up.  So what did I do?  I improvised which is what this challenge is all about.

I pulled out an onion and an apple because pork, apples and onions!!  Oh yeah....

I sauteed up the onions and apples, added a little thyme and sage to the mixture and seasoned it with salt and pepper.  While they were cooking I cut up the sausages and then added them to the mixture along with some vegetable broth and some champagne honey mustard.  I let this mixture simmer until the apples started to fall apart.  I mushed the apples to thicken the sauce and mixed in some cooked pasta.  It was absolutely, mouthwateringly delicous.  The apples gave the sauce a creamy consistency and their sweetness combined with the tanginess of the mustard was perfect with the spiciness of the pork sausage.  The pasta was a perfect foil for this sauce but it would have been equally good over mashed potatoes.

Had I used chicken sausage instead of pork sausage this dish would have been completely Phase 1 friendly under the Fast Metabolism Diet that I have been following.  I made this prior to starting up the second round of the eating plan so my leftover sausage was made from pork.  

Pork Sausage in Apple Mustard Sauce over Pasta

2 servings

6-8 leftover breakfast links (pork or chicken) or fresh links browned and cooked through

1 apple, peeled, cored and diced

1 small sweet onion, diced

1/4 t. thyme

1/4 t. rubbed sage

salt and pepper to taste

1 T. Champagne Honey Mustard or Mustard of your choice

2 c. vegetable broth plus a little for sauteing

8 oz Brown Rice pasta or pasta of your choice cooked per package directions

Heat a skillet over med high heat, add 2 tablespoons of broth to the skillet along with the onions and apple.  Saute until the onion is translucent.  Cut the sausage links into thirds and add to the apples and onions along with the thyme, sage, salt, pepper and 2 c. of vegetable broth.  Bring to a boil. Add the mustard and stir to incorporate. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until the apples start to soften and fall apart, about 15-20 minutes.  Sauce will reduce and the apples will start thickening the sauce, press the apples with the back of a wooden spoon to help the incorporate into the sauce.  Add the pasta to the pan and toss to coat and warm through.  Print Recipe

Let's take a look at some more fantastic Sausage and Mustard Creations

An InLinkz Link-up