Last week Mr BC gathered the monkeys around the table. Mum is going away for the weekend, so tell me what you want to eat while she is away and I will cook it! That's easy, says Monkey Boy. Bacon Salad, Bacon Salad, Bacon Salad, Bacon Salad.
So before I left, I made some Bacon Salad so that Mr BC would know what they where expecting. Then I made it a little special just to raise the bar.
Bacon Salad with Chicken Meatballs.
Meatballs
- In a food processor, combine 500g chicken mince, some ginger, a splash of soy and some parsley or shallots if your children will accept green bits in their meatballs.
- Use wet hands to shape into small balls, pan fry in a non stick fry pan until cooked.
Salad
- Chop some cos lettuce (or romaine, if you live in the US). Place in a bowl with some cooked pasta (today I had spaghetti, although any other kind works well or even leave it out if you like) some green capsicum (bell pepper if your lettuce is romaine) and whatever else you like. Grated cheese is nice, I like shallots but my children do not, and hubs likes to add olives. Don't forget to add the meatballs!
- Cut about 400g of bacon into large pieces and fry in the non stick pan until a bit crispy, then put the hot bacon onto the lettuce, bacon fat and all.
- Toss quickly to coat everything in bacon flavour. This moment is when you are happy about the choice of lettuce, it is sturdy enough to stand up to warm bacon without collapsing.
- Plate and give to thankful children!
I think my children like it because the only dressing is bacon flavour, which they love. Actually, I could probably just give them bacon on a plate, but this way it is almost a balanced meal.
The great thing about this and most salads is that you can expand it to include just about anything you like. Slices of cooked chicken schnitzel, garlic croutons, corn kernels, cherry tomatoes, even cold roast potato cut into bite size pieces have all made an appearance in this salad at one time or other, but remember it won't be Bacon Salad without bacon!
Enjoy!
xx