I love salads, especially at this time of year. And I love home made dressings. Bacon Sweet- Sour Dressing is one of my favor ites because it can be used in just about any kind of salad. Its ba cony-rich flavor is lightened with a sweet and sour accent. It cooks in your microwave in minutes with no trouble at all. Try it poured over finely sliced cabbage or microwave-baked po tato slices. Try it in chicken or pasta salad. Or pour hot dressing over tender leaf lettuce to make a wonderful old-fashioned wilted lettuce salad. If you like a rich bacon flavor and don’t mind additional saturat ed fat and sodium, make it the tra ditional way (which I call Dress ing No. 1, below). Dice the raw bacon and cook it with onion in a microwavable bowl. Cover the bowl with a paper towel to prevent spattering. Add remaining in gredients and cook about two min utes. The newer method (used in Dressing No. 2, below) takes two cooking dishes and is a little more work, but is the healthier of the two. Because bland vegetable oil is used instead of the flavorful ba con drippings, thyme and garlic powder are added. HOI All Composed Of Durable, State-Of-The-Art PVC Vinyl Material. Ail PVC Products Are Versatile, Attractive And Completely Maintenance-Free. CALL OUR Bun IM 1-800-333-0569 FOR THE REPRESENTATIVE IN YOUR AREA! 2525 Walden Avenue Buffalo, NY 14225 Dealerships Available QUALITY FENCING - (717) 354-9760 MICROWAVE MINUTES By JOYCE BATTCHER Dressing No. 2 looks better af ter it chills, so it’s best for cold salads. The bacon drippings in Dressing No. 1 harden on vegeta bles or other salad ingredients, while the -vegetable oil used in Dressing No. 2 forms a shiny at tractive-looking glaze. For Dressing No. 2, arrange ba con slices side by side on a layer of paper towels or on a microwave bacon rack. If all slices don’t fit, place a paper towel atop and make another layer of bacon. Top all with another paper towel to pre vent spattering. After cooking, drain bacon on paper towels, crumble and add to cooked dress ing. Discard bacon drippings. Microwave bacon on High, al lowing about 45 to 60 seconds per slice. Cook until almost crisp. Af ter microwaving, bacon will con tinue to cook. If you microwave it until completely crisp, it can end up brown and with an almost burnt taste. You’ll find that lean bacon cooks faster than very fatty bacon. Of course, longer, wider slices take more time than the new pan-size bacon made by a least one company (Dubuque Su preme). And Microwave Bacon (by Hormel) is a whole new story. Microwave Bacon comes with slices spread on a microwavable FOR LANCASTER/HARRISBURG/YORK AREAS CALL: cooking tray and (topped with a spatter-proof cover. lust pop the whole packet into your microwave and cook. It’s tops for conven ience and taste. Bacon has a bad name nutri tionally. However, today’s hogs are bred to produce leaner meat, so bacon today is much leaner than it used to be. On the average, two regular-size slices of crisp ba con contain fewer calories and about the same amount of fat as one poached or hard-cooked egg or one ounce of Cheddar cheese. Some brands now offer sodium reduced bacon which, to me, tastes very good. For the healthiest eating, choose a lean, lower-sodium ba con. Microwave it on paper towels or a microwave rack, so fat can drip away as bacon cooks. Cook so bacon is crisp after standing time. Drain well between paper towels. Enjoy in moderation. SWEET-SOUR BACON DRESSING NO. 1 5-6 slices bacon, diced Vi cup chopped onion 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with Vi cup cold water A cup cider vinegar '/ cup granulated sugar Dash black pepper Place bacon and onion in a mi crowavable 1-quart measure or casserole; cover with a paper tow el. Microwave (High) 5 to 6 min utes, stirring once, or until bacon is almost crisp. Remove bacon and onion (not all onion pieces need to be removed) with a slotted spoon to paper towels. Measure 2 table spoons bacon drippings into same measure. Stir in cornstarch mixed with water, vinegar, sugar and pepper. Microwave (High) 2 to 2'A minutes, stirring after each 1 minute, or until bubbly. Stir in re- The Leader In “ja- INC - VINYL ♦ FENCING ofst. served bacon and onions. Use im mediately or cover and refrigerate. Keeps refrigerated about 3 days. Makes VA cups. "Note: For best appearance, serve this dressing warm. To re heat cold dressing, microwave on High, allowing 1 to VA minutes for each half cup. Hint: For ease in dicing raw ba con, use a kitchen shears or have the bacon partially frozen before dicing with a sharp knife. Each tablespoon: 30 calories, 0 protein, 2g fat, 3g carbohydrate, 25mg sodium, Img cholesterol. SWEET-SOUR BACON DRESSING NO. 2 5-6 slices bacon A cup chopped onion 2 tablespoons vegetable oil A teaspoon dried thyme leaves 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with A cup cold water 1 A cup cider vinegar A cup granulated sugar A teaspoon garlic powder Dash black pepper Arrange bacon slices side by side on a microwavable meat or bacon rack; cover with a paper towel. Microwave (High) 5 to 6 minutes or until bacon is almost crisp. Remove bacon to paper towels; set aside. Place onions, oil and thyme in a microwavable 1-quart measure; cover with plas tic wrap. Microwave (High) 1 to I'A minutes or until onion is tend er. Stir in remaining ingredients. Microwave (High) 2'A to 3 min utes, stirring after each 1 minute, or until bubbly. Crumble reserved bacon and add. Use immediately or cover and refrigerate. Keeps re frigerated about 3 days. Serve warm or cold. Makes VA cups. Each tablespoon: 30 calories, 0 protein, 2g fat, 3g carbohydrate, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 1^,1990-69 16mg sodium, 0 cholesterol. EASY POTATO SALAD 4 medium potatoes VA cups warm Sweet-Sour Ba con Dressing Pierce each potato in two spots. Arrange in microwave in a circle with the center open. Microwave (High) 16 to 20 minutes, turning potatoes over halfway through cooking, or until almost done. Let stand until easy to handle; then slice and combine with Dressing. Serve warm or cold. Makes 4 to 5 servings. Note: If serving cold, use Bacon Sweet-Sour Dressing No. 2 Each serving 1/5 of recipe: 229 calories, 6g protein, lOg fat, 57g carbohydrate, 82mg sodium, 3mg cholesterol. EASY CABBAGE SLAW 2 cups thinly sliced cabbage 3 A cup warm Sweet-Sour Ba con Dressing Stir together cabbage and Dressing. Serve warm or cold. (If serving cold, use Bacon Sweet- Sour Dressing No. 2.) Makes 3 to 4 servings. Hot Sweet-Sour Cabbage: Place cabbage in a VA - to 2-quart microwavable casserole and add 1 tablespoon water; cover with plas tic wrap. Microwave (High) 2 to 3 minutes, stirring once, or until cabbage is tender-crisp. Stir in dressing. Serve hot as a vegetable. Makes 2 to 3 servings. Each serving 'A of recipe: 132 calories, 3g protein, 8g fat, 15g carbohydrate, 77mg sodium, 3 mg cholesterol.
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