BLTs…Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwiches are what I would order when we went out to eat.  I loved the double-decker treat, cut from corner to corner into little triangles and held together with a frill toothpick.  You couldn’t go wrong with a BLT!

 Then I started cooking for a family…it is one of those meals, like pancakes, that you can stand over the stove all morning and never be done cooking!  We have moved on to turkey bacon because it’s lower in fat, but on occasion we buy the real stuff.  I love the aroma of bacon, but I really hate to stand over a stove and cook it while it spatters and spits all over the appliance and me.  When I came across a tip to BAKE it in the oven, I thought…BRILLIANT!  Definitely worth the try!  So when I was going to whip up the Loaded Baked Potato Dip, it seemed the perfect time to try the tip!

This is super easy to do.

1. Line a cookie sheet with foil.  This will help with the clean-up process.

2. Place the strips of bacon on the foil, close together.

3. Put the cookie sheet on the center rack in a cold oven and turn the oven to 400° and bake for 18 minutes or until it reaches the crispy stage.  A lot of it has to do with how thick the bacon is.  I kept mine in for about 24 minutes, but you want to start watching it after 18 minutes so you don’t burn it.

Once its done, take it off the cookie sheet and place on paper towels to drain.  Put a paper towel on top and pat loghtly. If you leave it on the cookie sheet when you take it out of the oven, the bacon will continue to bake in the grease.

4. Here’s where I tested the process for the BLT…

Somewhere on TV, I think a commercial from one of the fast-food burger places, I had seen something that looked like the bacon had been woven so that it would be a solid piece of bacon on top.  I thought that would be a great idea for a BLT!  The slices wouldn’t fall off the bread!  BRILLIANT!

So this is what it looks like after about 23 minutes in the oven – woven baked bacon!

Next time I do it, I will cut the bacon a little longer sideways, but weave three pieces across to give better coverage for the bread. Since the bacon shrinks a little,  I will place it a little closer together as well.

This was a really fun discovery.  Not only does it not create a big spattering mess, but it makes it so you can cook up enough for every one to eat at the same time!  Toast your bread and if you like, spread some mayo on the toast.  Place the woven bacon on the bread, add tomatoes and lettuce.  Looks good enough to eat, don’t you think?  I love the concept and it worked great!

**UPDATE**

I was impressed with the woven and baked bacon.  Next time I did it a little different and you can adjust the strips of bacon you use to fit the size of your bread.  Next time I did three vertical strips and two longer horizontal strips, to fit the width of the bread…remember that the bacon will shrink a bit, so plan for a little larger than the bread size.  I made a bunch, drained them after baking, let them cool a little and then refrigerated them.  It makes for a quick warm-up meal when you’re in a rush.  Just ask Michael!