Baconated Potatoes

So, I've been meaning to make Spätzle, photograph it, and write up a nice recipe.

The problem is, tomorrow is Hitler's birthday. It's not really the time of year to be celebrating German things. So, even though I have relatives names Braunscheidel, it is going to have to wait.

Instead we'll do Baconated Potatoes. These things work for pot-lucks, brunches, Christmas or the Fourth of July. They re-heat well if you return them to the frying pan.

The rules are really loose here and dependent on personal tastes. This is a recipe of "some"s and "about"s. I use about 4 pounds of potatoes and about a pound of bacon. That makes enough for a party, so your mileage may vary

1. Remove blemishes from some potatoes and chop them. (You can peel them, but the skins won't hurt you unless you eat a whole lot. Just make sure there aren't ugly spots or eyes.)

2. Bring a nice big pot of seasoned water to a boil for the potatoes. (Salt and pepper make everything better. A little oil in the pot helps keep things from boiling over.)

3. Drop the potatoes in when the water is boiling. (Be careful not to burn yourself.)

4. You are going to want to boil the potatoes until tender. It usually takes about 20 minutes, but may take longer depending on the size of your chop and the age and breed of potato.

5. While those boil, fry up a pound of bacon in a big frying pan or skillet. Get it nice and crispy. (Wait for the pan to be hot before you drop the bacon. It might take a few batches if your pan is small. If you pan is small, though, you might want to get another one going because you are currently boiling a lot of potatoes.)

6. Pull the bacon out of the pan, set it aside and save the grease in the pan.

7. Drain the potatoes and set those aside. (If you are super cheap, you can save the potato water for soup or bread-making.)

8. Now fry up some minced, crushed, pressed or otherwise smashed garlic in the bacon grease. Just a little, don't burn it. (Feel free to throw in some chopped onions, too. I don't like them, but they work well here.)

9. After you've garlic-ed up the bacon fat, put the potatoes in there and fry away. (The potatoes are already cooked, so you just want them to 1. get color, 2. get crispy, and 3. soak up that bacon grease.)

10. After the potatoes have sucked up all the bacon grease, the bacon should be cool enough to chop. So, chop it.

11. Throw the chopped bacon into the potatoes, and toss it around till mixed.

12. Salt and pepper to taste.