You Don't, "Got Bacon."

Maybe you'll get a little information out of this one or not. It's not going to be earth-shattering. It's merely about how I cook and preserve bacon.

Instead of cooking a few strips at a time as needed for breakfast or for a BLT, I cook the whole package at once.  I place a sheet of Parchment paper on a cookie sheet, lay the strips of bacon on the paper and put it in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Everyone should adjust the time based on their own oven and the amount of crispness they like their bacon.

I then place the bacon on a double layer of paper towels, cover with two layers of paper towels and gently press down on them. This will absorb a lot of the extra grease. Once cooled, I place the strips in a freezer bag and put it in the freezer. This way I always have bacon at the ready.

To thaw and reheat merely place it in a frying pan while cooking your eggs or on a paper towel and place in the microwave for 30 seconds or so.

An afterthought.  I use butter on my toast so I always have extra butter in my freezer as it freezes very well.  Unsalted kind for certain recipes and a few sticks of regular butter in case I run out before I can get to the market.

This ends my series on preserving all the ingredients required for a hearty breakfast. Bon appétit.

You Don't, "Got Bread."

Although I spent some of my time while in the Navy in the South Pacific, I also spent time aboard ship in the Atlantic as our home port was Newport, RI. It gets cold in RI in the winter and as the bread locker aboard the ship was a closet type space outside that wasn't heated, the bread would freeze.  The cooks would bring the days needs into the kitchen where it was warm and the bread would thaw out. I never noticed the difference between the bread that had been frozen and the ones that weren't.

Now, during this pandemic, one way to preserve any extra bread when you can get it is to freeze it. My family and I eat three types of bread: English muffins, 12-Grain, and Honey wheat. The brands and the exact kinds haven't been available recently, but what I was able to buy is close enough. I was able to get a few extra loaves so I froze three of them; one of each kind. As I need more bread I just take out about a third of a loaf at a time and let it thaw out overnight. That way there is no spoilage.

Going into a survival mode requires a different kind of thinking. Don't just think about one item at a time. How else can I preserve some of this extra bread? If you make French toast and freeze them like I mentioned yesterday, you've not only preserved eight slices of bread but also four eggs.

This morning's breakfast: Orange juice, from frozen concentrate; coffee with milk from two frozen milk ice cubes; two cinnamon French toasts from the freezer, thawed and heated up in the toaster; and two previously cooked, frozen sausage patties, thawed and heated in the microwave.

Tomorrow, “Got Bacon?”