CANDIED BACON JERKY

Oh Baby...Oh Baby...Oh Baby...this is my latest addiction. CANDIED BACON JERKY! There is nothing else out there that can compare to it. Not that I've ever had anyway.

1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
8 to 10 strips of OSCAR MAYER bacon (no other will compare...just trust me on this matter). I could only fit 8 slices on my rack.

Preheat your oven to 225 degrees. Place a rack on rimmed baking sheet, line with foil and spray the rack generously with cooking spray. Not an olive oil or a butter spray...just a plain old spray. In a shallow bowl, such as a pie plate which I used here, combine the brown sugar and cayenne pepper. Dip/pat each slice of bacon on both sides in the brown sugar mixture, shaking off excess (I kind of sort of brushed the extra off), and placed it on the rack.

Bake bacon for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Mine went the entire 3 hours. Flip the strips every hour. I set my kitchen timer for each hour. When it is done it will be a deep mahogany color (like the brown on Max-A-Million-Mahogany Forbes-now that's what I'm talking about!). Allow it to cool a minute or two then move it around so that it doesn't stick to the pan. It will firm up for sure as it cools.

From www.kitchenhealssoul.blogspot.com   who said these very words.... "I won't judge you if you eat it all in one setting"....

APPLE SALSA & MY POOR PITIFUL BRAIN

I don't know if it's my age or my habits, BUT, I can tell each and everyone of you that a brain is most surely a terrible thing to waste! The only thing that I can tell you that I know for sure is my name...ADELE...the rest of it is a muddle of sorts as in I can't remember a DAMN thing....things for instance like my dentist appointment, my pocket book, my phone, my friends birthdays, telephone numbers, where I parked my car, some body's name that I know as well as my own, my car keys, why I walked into the kitchen, my grocery list, where I left that illusive glass of water, the Apple Salsa recipe....

2 large crisp apples (such as Gala or Pink :Lady)~chopped
1/2 cup chopped bell peppers (a mix of red, green, yellow)
2 limes~juiced
1 teaspoon honey
1/4 cup cilantro~chopped
1/3 cup red onion~diced
1/2 of a jalapeno~seeded, minced
sea salt & freshly ground pepper

Combine apples, bell peppers, cilantro, red onion, and jalapeno. Drizzle with lime juice and honey. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. You'll be so glad you did!

Remember that ADELE loves you...

GHIRARDELLI CHOCOLATE HEAVY WHIPPING CREAM POUND CAKE

It's SINFUL I tell you SINFUL as in BAD to the BONE...BaBaBaBaaaaad...I've made other chocolate pound cake recipes in my time and they were all of course delicious but this one here, so to speak, is by far the best like ever!

It is moist and chocolaty and rich as R. Stuart Dickson (that's my boss man). So you know it's got to be good...no not just good...it's GREAT in a real big way. The only way you are going to know it is to make one for yourself.
2 sticks real butter-room temp
3 cups sugar
6 big eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (use a whisk to get it mixed up good)
1/2 cup Ghirardelli Natural Unsweetened Cocoa powder
1 cup heavy whipping cream (heavy is an important step here)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
 Beat the butter at medium speed in a stand electric mixer until mixture is creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating 5 to 7 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition just until the yellow disappears. Combine flour and cocoa; add to butter mixture alternately with the heavy whipping cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Pour batter into a greased and floured 10-inch bundt or tube pan at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow it to rest on top of the stove for 10 minutes then remove to a plate. Allow to cool completely (unless my husband is hanging around).

"I never met a chocolate pound cake that I didn't love!"~Adele Forbes