Local 12: Bacon Bonanza! (Make your own, candied bacon & french toast rollups!)

Today on Local 12 - I'm having a bacon bonanza and making a quick on-the-go breakfast for the team! First up - you know you can buy bacon - but did you know you can also MAKE bacon?! 

Yeah - there's an Original Bacon Kit! I'm going to be trying it out this weekend! I've got 5 pounds of pork belly in the fridge thawing - just waiting for bacon time! (These guys sent me a sample to check it out - retails for $19.99.)

It comes with a big plastic bag and step-by-step instructions. Just so you know - you have to go to a butcher shop to get 5 pounds of pork belly - I went to Lehr's in Milford.

The starter is to throw the sugar and cure in the bag and then in the fridge it goes for a week. Then you smoke it or bake it and it's ready to go! But since it takes a week - I'm using bacon I got from the folks at Mangalitsa.

I decided to make candied bacon for my friends at Local 12 - I mean - why not try something new?!

It's super simple - I found a recipe on this blog for making it - you wisk together brown sugar, maple syrup (not Aunt Jemima!), Dijon mustard, salt and cayenne.

Then dip your bacon in the mixture - I sort of squeegied it off with my fingers before laying it on the pan.

Then I laid the candied bacon on a wire rack and a few slices of plain bacon directly on a foil lined pan. And trust me - for the candied - you NEED the wire rack and you NEED the foil!!!! The drippings are super sticky!! Into the oven at 350 it goes...

While that was baking - I got ready for my french toast rollups. This again was super simple!  I cut the crusts off some newly bought cheap white bread.

Then I used a glass to roll the bread thinner. This makes it easier to roll the bread.

I baked it for 25 minutes and then took out the plain bacon - (check it at 15 and 20 minutes) but then gave the candied bacon a little longer. It's not going to "look" done but at that point it is. Just let it cool on the rack or on parchment paper (not a paper towel - I know from experience!). It cools and hardens up pretty quickly.

While the bacon was cooling I mixed together eggs, cream, salt and cinnamon for the French Toast mixture. Then I took a slice of the flattened bread and put a piece of bacon on the bread and rolled the bread around the bacon. Then I dipped the bread/bacon roll into the egg mixture and fried it until it was golden brown.

This is a perfect on-the-go breakfast and if you use the candied bacon - you don't even need syrup!

Candied Bacon from The Clever Carrot

French Toast Rollups

* 6 slices bread, crusts cut off
* 6 slices bacon
* 4 eggs
* 1/4 cup cream or milk
* Dash salt
* Dash cinnamon

Cook bacon on stove top or oven ahead of time. Whisk eggs, cream, salt & cinnamon. Preheat skillet on medium high and spray with non-stick spray. Flatten each slice of bread with a rolling pin or glass. Take a piece of bacon and set it on top of the bread. Roll the bread around the bacon. Dip and roll the bread/bacon into the egg mixture. Place the bread/bacon seam side into the hot pan. Fry until golden brown and flip and do other side. Serve with a little syrup or just grab and go!