Cheesy Bacon Oven Chips with Chipotle Ranch Sauce

Ok so I can hardly contain my excitement for the Super Bowl tonight, and I decided that a special weekend like this deserves a double post!

Mr. Vittles and I had an appetizer similar to this at a restaurant recently, and I thought I might be able to replicate it at home.

Well, all I can say is - sorry if you had any health-related New Years resolutions, because I'm pretty sure you will not be able to keep them with these puppies around.

The dipping sauce really takes things to the next level.  But if you don't like spicy dips, start with just a tiny bit of cayenne (or none) and adjust from there.

Also, feel free to use more cheese and/or bacon to your taste.  Never hurt anyone except their pants size.

Now... LET'S GO BIG BLUE!

Cheesy Bacon Oven Chips 

• 1 large, uniformly-shaped russet potato, scrubbed well and sliced into 1/8" rounds*
• cooking spray
• 3/4 C. shredded colby jack or cheddar cheese
• salt & pepper to taste
• 2 T. crumbled bacon (about 2 slices) - I used real bacon bits
• chopped parsley or chives, for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Bring sliced potatoes to a boil in cold, salted water to cover for 5 minutes.  Carefully drain, and transfer slices to a paper-towel lined countertop or cutting board.  Pat to dry.

Grease a baking sheet with cooking spray, and lay out potato slices so they are overlapping on it.  Spray lightly with additional cooking spray, then sprinkle with salt & pepper to taste.  Sprinkle evenly with shredded cheese & bacon.  Bake 12-14 minutes in preheated oven until cheese is melted & bubbly.  Serve with chipotle ranch sauce (recipe below).  Serves 2.

*You can use 2 medium-sized potatoes rather than 1 large.  Also, I like to leave the skin on but you can peel the potatoes if you prefer.

Chipotle Ranch Dipping Sauce

• 1 T. ranch dressing
• 3 T. sour cream
• 1/4 t. chipotle chili powder
• 1/8 t. cayenne (adjust more or less depending on how spicy you want).
• 1/8 t. salt
• 1/8 t. garlic powder

Place all ingredients in a small bowl, and stir to combine.  Refrigerate any leftovers.

Original Recipes

Spiced Applesauce

Grocery-store apples have nothing on ones straight from the tree. 

I hate when apples are mushy and mealy - I think they are best when they're crisp and a balance of sweet & tart.  Granny Smiths usually fit the tart & crisp bill, but they get tiring after a while. 

Mr. Vittles likes them to be sweet (shocker), which is why he loves Red Delicious, but that gets boring too. 

So picking apples is just one of the many reasons I look forward to fall.  Surrounded by rows of apple trees, they all look so good I just want to pick every single one. 

It's a sickness, I know.

Tragically, with our wedding in mid-October, Mr. Vittles and I did not have a chance to go apple-picking last year.

Broke my little apple-lovin' heart :( 

So this year I knew that not only did we have to go, we had to go early to get the good pickings.  Which was a wise decision because we got to choose from SEVEN different types - Red & Yellow Delicious, Stayman Winesap, Jonathan, Empire, Fuji, Crispin, and McCoun.

I, of course, sampled them all.

Normally I would never be ok with spending $25 on apples.  But these bad boys are totally worth it

Once I got my paws on all these scrumptious fruits, my first order of business was to make applesauce.  

Growing up, my mom always made it after apple-picking (among many other treats, such as apple crisp & apple pie) and it's so much better than applesauce from a jar!  For mine, I used 3 different kinds of apples to make it a little more interesting.

If you don't have a crockpot/slow-cooker, you can probably make this on the stove - I would put all the ingredients in a pot with enough water to just cover the apples, bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to a simmer until apples are soft (my guess is 20-30 mins).  If large chunks remain, mash with the back of a fork or potato masher.

Spiced Applesauce

• 8-10 medium-sized cooking apples
• 1/2 C. water
• 1/3-3/4 C. sugar*
• 1 t. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 t. ground cloves

Peel, core & slice apples into 5 or 6 pieces each.  Place in crockpot.  Add water and sugar, sprinkle with spices.  Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 3 1/2 to 4 hours.  Makes 8 servings.

*Sugar amount depends on how sweet you like it and also what types of apples you are using.  If they are mostly apples that are naturally sweet (ie Red/Yellow Delicious, Fuji) use less sugar.  If you are using ones that are slightly tart (ie Winesaps), use more sugar.

Family Recipe, Origin Unknown

Spicy Tomato Sauce

Italian-Americans do not mess around when it comes to tomato sauce.

Or food in general, really.

My family is no different.  So before we get to the "vittles," here's a "bit" for you.

Shortly before our wedding, my grandmother Yaya Vittles had an unfortunate accident where she broke her hip... and within a matter of days, her body went into complete shut-down mode.

Things were looking pretty grim, so all her close family members were called to say their goodbyes.  Mr. V and I drove the three hours to see her in the hospital, and I was beside myself to see her slipping in and out of consciousness. 

However, while my dad and stepmom were visiting, she managed to bring some comic relief to an otherwise dreadful situation.

She was having a 'dream' where she was apparently home in her kitchen, making Sunday supper, and she barked out orders to my grandfather in her sleep.

"Pop, get the tomatoes!" she exclaimed.

Then, "I'm making the meatballs!" as she massaged the air with her hands, mixing the imaginary beef and bread crumbs.

Now that's what I like to call dedication.

Thankfully, she was right when she told me that "they can't kill an old horse."  Over eight months later, she is still going strong.  And... still pumping out the meatballs and sauce. 

But despite following her "recipe," mine never comes out as good as hers :( 

So I took the best elements from her sauce, as well as the best from another one of my favorites (Pappy V's) and merged them into my own glorious creation.

My dad makes a quick, spicy sauce where my grandmother makes a slow, mild sauce.

I ... make a slow, spicy sauce.

And not to toot my own horn or anything....

But it's awesome.

Mr. Vittles, who does not even really like pasta and sauce, also happens to think it's awesome.

Toot toot.

Let's hope you agree.

Spicy Tomato Sauce

• 3 T. olive oil
• 3-4 cloves chopped garlic
• 1 t. crushed red pepper*
• 6 oz. can tomato paste
• 1/2 C. red wine
• 1 C. water
• 2 T. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 28-oz. cans crushed tomatoes
• 2 T. dried parsley
• 1 T. dried basil
• 2 heaping t. black pepper
• 1 heaping t. salt
• 1/2 t. onion powder
• 1/4 t. garlic powder

In a large pot, heat the olive oil on medium-low.  Add garlic and crushed red pepper.  Oil should be hot enough for garlic to sizzle a bit, but not too hot that it burns.  Brown garlic slightly until fragrant, 1-2 minutes.

Add water, wine, Worcestershire sauce, and tomato paste and stir until heated thoroughly.  Add parsley, basil, salt, pepper, garlic & onion powders, and crushed tomatoes. Stir to combine.  Bring sauce to a boil, then reduce heat to low.

Simmer on low for about an hour, stirring occasionally.  Serve with pasta, or use in place of jarred sauce in your favorite recipes.  Makes about 2 quarts.

*Note: Depending on how spicy you like it, you can use more or less red pepper.  The one teaspoon here gives it a pretty good kick, so I'd try that first before using more.  However, I would not recommend omitting it altogether unless you are adding meat to the sauce, which will give it some extra flavor. 

Original Recipe