First, I have to say thank you, thank you, thank you for all your warm, heartfelt, encouraging comments and emails on my last post. I don’t talk about my health a lot on my recipe posts, even though its a huge part of my life, so I can’t express how humbling it is to to feel so loved by such an incredible community of readers I’ve never physically met when I share something so personal. So thank you again for the internet hugs! I am happy to report I am now out of the hospital and feeling stronger every day. I will continue my own IV antibiotics for the next 2 weeks and then try to be as anti-social as possible to keep from catching a cold which then aggravates my unique B. cepacia (a nasty bacteria in a small percentage of CF patients that is extremely resistant to antibiotics), and then causes pneumonia. I have had 3 pneumonias this year (along with 2 surgeries – its been quite the year! 🙂 ) but this one is by far the most severe. I’m looking forward to getting healthy and then some R&R in Cabo with the fam – it’s always so important to have something to look forward to! …like these Baked or Grilled Cheesy Bacon with Bacon! it really is the little things 🙂 And if you can be excited and grateful for the little things, then your life will be all the happier! I wanted to create a side that goes with your all American grilling entrees – your burgers, chicken, steak, etc. that could be mostly cooked on the grill but also could be baked as well for when we say goodbye to grilling season (hard to believe when its so hot right now!), so these delectably Baked or Grilled Cheesy Potatoes with Bacon were born. They are not a “skinny” side by any means, but they are by all means a crowd pleasing side you family/guests won’t be able to stop raving about! In fact, I made/photographed these Baked or Grilled Cheesy Potatoes with Bacon a few weeks ago and Patrick and I couldn’t pull ourselves away as evidenced by the final more-than-half-eaten picture in this post that is NOT staged. They are just that good. And I’m sure we continued to eat after the last shot. To make these Baked or Grilled Cheesy Potatoes with Bacon, you start by cubing red potatoes into 1/2-1″ cubes. Don’t stress too much about the cubes, just try and make then as uniform as possible and error on the side of smaller rather than larger. Next, we microwave our potatoes with some minced garlic, green onions and water for 3 minutes. This one step dramatically reduces our grilling/baking time and ensures the potatoes cook more evenly. (I use this trick in my Brazilian Steak Kabobs with Potatoes and Honey Mustard Chicken Kabobs coming soon.) You can skip this microwave step if you prefer but just be prepared for your potatoes to take at least an extra 20 minutes to cook. Also, just be aware that although I include cooking times in the recipe instructions, these are the times that worked for me and will vary depending on your potato size and how hot your grill is. But not to worry, all it takes is a little fork tender test to know when your potatoes are done :). Once you’ve microwaved your potatoes/garlic/green onions, add them to a greased skillet along with ranch seasoning, parsley, salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese, stir, then dot with butter. If you want to prep the potatoes in advance for dinner/grilling time or for camping, then you can follow the steps up to this point, cover and refrigerate, making this side a snap! Next, grill or bake for about 25 minutes, stirring halfway or until potatoes are fork tender. They will have become beautifully crispy and charred on the outside and wonderfully buttery soft on the inside. And now my favorite naughtilicous part. We top with loads of bacon, mozzarella cheese and cheddar cheese then bake/grill another 3 minutes or until the cheeses are ooey gooey melty golden perfection cocooning our bacon and potatoes. Its the little things…
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