Everything is better with bacon
Just add bacon, it makes everything better!
Recently we got a batch of side bacon back from the butcher that was very under smoked. I am sure he likes to test me sometimes to see how creative I can get - well I have managed to use this under-smoked bacon in a recipe - Bacon pie! Carl loves it. What could be better. Bacon, cheese, onion and potato. Smoked bacon would be even better but this is still a great pie. The bacon acts as the pastry so yes I will call it a pie - I have to explain that - I have friends who make Chilli - with no Chilli!, and another friend who makes Sweet and Sour - with no sour! ..... you know who you are lol!!
I don't want to be stuck in the kitchen slaving over the stove in summer so I have been making Bacon pie & another easy to make meal - cheese and onion pie.
This is really easy to make using ready made puff pastry, cheese, onion and leftover mashed potatoes (you can use potatoes that have been mashed with butter and cream/milk but I find they can sometimes make it too wet).
Usually I am not a fan of ready made things because they just don't taste as good as homemade, which gives me earache listening to Carl moan about how bad it tasted. He had a store bought pizza last week - that will give me earache for months!!
We do have one exception - ready made puff pastry - this stuff is great! It comes in 2 kinds - one you have to roll, the other is ready rolled - I was like the cat that got the cream when I found it ready rolled.
I don't really use exact quantities you just have to be creative and taste the potato mix. If it has enough cheese & onion flavour it's good to go.
Cheese and Onion Pie
1 sheet ready rolled puff pastry - defrosted (yes you can use the stuff you have to roll if you can't find ready rolled)
Leftover potato mashed - enough to almost fill the dish/pie plate you are using
1 tsp Mustard powder or a squirt of mustard(optional)
Grated Cheese to taste - about 2 handfuls - I use strong cheddar
2 onions diced
Butter for frying
Egg or milk for brushing on pastry
Salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 350°F
Fry the diced onions in butter.
Mix grated cheese, mustard and fried onions with mashed potatoes - taste.
Add salt and pepper if it needs it and more cheese if it isn't cheesey enough for you.
Put mash potato mix in a dish - I use a 9x12 but the ready rolled pastry is a bit short so you I have to get out a wine bottle to roll out the pastry a bit more to make it fit.
Lay pastry on top and brush with milk or beaten egg.
Put in oven and bake until pastry has puffed and is golden brown.
Serve - this goes great with bacon( see everything is better with bacon)/cumberland sausages/gammon, Heinz baked beans and cheese sauce.
Bacon pie
Another recipe I don't use measurements for.
Slices side bacon (streaky bacon ) approx 1.5lb - depends on the size of your dish
2 potatoes sliced quite thin
1 onion sliced thin
Cheese - either sliced or grated
Black pepper
Preheat oven to 350°F
Line a dish with bacon - I have been using a bread pan but you can use a round dish or whatever you have - the idea is to have the bacon line the bottom of the dish and wrap around the other ingredients.
Sprinkle black pepper on bacon - Add a layer of sliced potatoes, then a layer of onions then a layer of cheese, sprinkle more black pepper, another layer of potatoes then onion then cheese. Keep layering until you get to the top of your dish. Finish with a layer of potatoes, sprinkle more black pepper and fold the bacon over the top of the potatoes. If the bacon doesn't completely cover the top you can just put a couple of rasher on the top.
Bake until bacon is crispy - you will have a lot of fat that leaks out - just drain this and keep for frying - it is good for roast potatoes or I use it to fry our ground beef in for pasta sauce or Chilli (preferably one that actually has chillis in it)
Serve and enjoy. You can eat this hot or cold.
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