Believe it or not, this cheesy bacon recipe came to me while I was exercising. Kind of an oxymoron huh? When I work out on the elliptical, I watch the Food Network. It captures my attention, so I forget I’m exercising, and it teaches me great ideas and techniques.
This morning, I was watching Sunny Anderson on Cooking for Real and she made Cheesy Popovers. I memorized the recipe while I was ellipticalling (new word), and I thought about ways I could revise the recipe.
It comes down to a few basic components. Eggs, milk and flour are a must. Then, you need 2 tablespoons or so of fat. She used butter. I decided the more Zestuous thing to do would be to add bacon fat.
Then, she added ½ cup of cheese. I pushed it up to ¾ cup and mixed Parmesan and Gruyere. It’s what I had on hand so it worked. You could use any kind of cheese you like.
The last touch is herbs and spices. I think bacon fits in that category. Don’t you? I added crumbled bacon and a variety of other seasonings to perk up the flavors. You could add veggies and any herbs and spices you like…kind of like the varieties you can do with quiche.
So that’s it: batter + fat + seasoning. Bake it up, and these are gorgeous appetizers or a surprise substitution for dinner rolls. Looks like I need more time on the elliptical.
Cheesy Bacon Popovers
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup flour
- ¾ cup shredded cheese, any variety
- ½ tsp. kosher salt
- ¼ tsp. garlic powder
- ¼ tsp. onion powder
- ¼ tsp. white pepper
- ¼ tsp. Herbes de Provence
- cayenne or Tony’s Creole Seasoning
Instructions
- Cook the bacon in a pan. Reserve the drippings and crumble the bacon.
- In a large pitcher, whisk together the eggs, milk, bacon grease and flour.
- Mix in the cheese and seasonings, and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.
- Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Place a mini muffin tin in the oven and heat.
- Remove the tin from the oven and pour the batter in the pan, filling each cup. Optional: sprinkle the tops with cayenne pepper or Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning.
- Bake in a 425-degree oven for 15-20 minutes, until golden. Enjoy warm.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Why do you put the mix in the fridge and heat the pan? Just curious. And thank you for your service. My husband and I were Missionaries to the Military at Ramstein Air base for 9 years. Love our country and those who serve!