Bacon/45 recipes

Easy bacon cheddar cheese ball with cream cheese, scallions and pimentos. Make-ahead New Year's party appetizer ready in 15 minutes, chill overnight.

Microwave chicken livers with mushrooms in chicken giblet gravy, cooked in bacon fat with onion. A quick, savory offal dish ready in about 15 minutes using just the microwave.

Fresh-from-the-cob creamed corn with crispy bacon and tender leeks, made lighter with low-fat milk. A 15-minute summer side dish bursting with sweet corn flavor.

Fresh cantaloupe on lettuce with crispy bacon and onion rings, drizzled with homemade honey poppy seed dressing. A sweet-savory summer salad that comes together in 15 minutes.

Scrambled Eggs Benedict made entirely in the microwave with Canadian bacon, hollandaise, and English muffins. A 15-minute shortcut to brunch that skips the poaching stress.

Open-faced breakfast toast topped with fresh mushrooms, tomato slices, crumbled bacon, and melted Parmesan on whole wheat bread. A quick, savory morning meal ready in 15 minutes.

Classic Caesar salad for two with raw egg yolk dressing, anchovies, capers, bacon bits, and Parmesan. Made from scratch tableside in under 15 minutes.

Filled French omelet with crumbled bacon, cheddar cheese, sour cream, and chives. A quick, loaded breakfast for two that comes together in 15 minutes.

A fiery, no-bean red chili packing four meats (beef chuck, T-bone, Italian sausage, and armadillo), six kinds of peppers, bacon, and beer. Feeds a crowd of 15 with serious heat.

Authentic frijoles refritos made with cooked beans mashed in lard or bacon drippings and topped with melted longhorn cheese. Three ingredients, 15 minutes, real Mexican flavor.

Loaded baked beans built from two cans of beans simmered with peppered bacon, anaheim and hot chiles, garlic and a trio of fresh herbs. A smoky, sweet-and-spicy side that turns canned beans into the star of the cookout.

Southern okra soup with bacon, tomatoes, corn, green chiles, and a squeeze of lemon juice. A simple, quick one-pot soup that simmers in about 15 minutes once everything is in the pot.

Supreme style pizza stacks a ready-made Boboli crust with pizza sauce, provolone, mozzarella, pepperoni, salami, bacon, and black olives. A quick weeknight pizza that delivers full pizza-shop flavor in 15 minutes.

Crunchy raw broccoli slaw with crispy bacon, golden raisins, red onion, and a tangy honey-balsamic dressing. Ready in 15 minutes and gone even faster.

Six pounds of cubed beef and two pounds of pinto beans simmered for hours with a full cup of chili powder, cocoa, fennel, and bacon. This is competition-level chili that feeds 15.

Bacon-wrapped hot dogs stuffed with melty cheddar cheese, broiled until crispy. These cheese hounds are ready in 15 minutes and always a hit with kids.