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If you want to celebrate St. Patty's Day with an easy, tasty Irish dish that moves away from corned beef and cabbage, then this just might be the ticket. Basically, it's just cabbage cooked in bacon drippings and topped with bacon. If this doesn't make you like cabbage, nothing will. It's a dish that goes great with your favorite gluten-free beer, and is a great dish to bring to a potluck. Ingredients: 1 (12 ounce) package bacon ¼ cup bacon drippings 1 small head cabbage, cored and finely chopped ground black pepper to taste Directions: Cook bacon in a deep skillet over medium heat until crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove bacon from skillet and drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Reserve ¼ cup drippings in skillet. Cook and stir cabbage in hot bacon drippings over medium heat until cabbage wilts, 5 to 7 minutes. Crumble bacon over cabbage. Stir and simmer until bacon is warmed, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with black pepper. Serve.

Butternut squash soup is one of my perennial favorites. Rich, silky, savory and delicious, butternut squash soup lends itself well to various modifications. In this case, we've added bacon and a Granny Smith apple to help an already delicious soup to turn a few corners. This recipe yields a wonderful soup that will delight lovers of traditional butternut squash soup, and maybe even win you some new converts. Ingredients: 6 strips bacon, chopped 2 tablespoons butter 1 large leek (white and pale green parts only), chopped ½ large onion, chopped 2 celery stalks, chopped 1 carrot, diced 2 cloves garlic 2 tablespoons chopped chives 1 large potato, peeled and cubed 1 butternut squash - peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and sliced ¼-inch thick ½ cup apple cider 1 quart gluten-free chicken stock ¼ cup dry white wine (optional) ½ cup sour cream 1 pinch ground cumin 1 pinch ground allspice 1 pinch of nutmeg 2 sprigs fresh thyme salt and pepper to taste Directions: Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In a large bowl, drizzle squash cubes with olive oil, mix until well-coated, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat oven to 375 degrees (195 degrees C), and roast squash on a single layer on a baking pan, turning once, until fork-tender and caramelized. About 30 to 40 minutes. Cook the bacon in a large soup pot on medium-high for about 10 minutes, until evenly browned. Place cooked bacon on a plate, keeping the bacon drippings in the pot. Add the onion, leek, celery, carrot, potato, bay leaf, cumin, allspice, thyme, butter, salt and pepper to the soup pot, and cook on medium-high in bacon drippings until the carrots and celery are soft. Mix in the apples and cooked squash and cook another 5 minutes. Stir the garlic into the mixture and cook about another minute. Pour the apple cider over the mixture; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half. Stir in the chicken stock; simmer over medium-low heat for another 20 minutes. Pureé the soup in small batches in a blender, or use an immersion blender. If using a regular blender, please be careful! Don't fill the blender more than half-way, or you risk scalding yourself if the liquid escapes while blending. Tip: When blending hot liquids, be sure to remove the center lid piece of a stand blender so the steam can escape. Cover the hole with a dish towel while blending. Stir the nutmeg into the soup. Once the soup is blended and smooth, spoon into serving bowls and garnish each bowl with 1 tablespoon of sour cream and some of the bacon pieces. Be sure to remove fresh thyme springs before serving. Serve with your favorite toasted gluten-free bread, or a delicious salad, for a wonderful meal.

Just about everyone I know loves baked potatoes. And bacon. Let's face it, even the most militant vegans get weak in the knees when they get a good whiff of bacon. Bacon makes so many dishes even better. Especially baked potatoes. So imagine a warm hour that smells like bacon. Imagine taking two favorite things, baked potatoes and bacon, and turning them into a delicious, savory soup that will warm your house, entice your nose, and put happy bacon-induced smiles on the faces of your guests. This recipe delivers a soup that will do just that. Ingredients: 4 bacon slices 3 pounds baking potatoes 2 cups gluten-free chicken broth 2 cups onion, chopped 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 bay leaf 4 cups whole milk ¾ teaspoon black pepper ½ cup sliced green onions ¾ cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded 1 teaspoon salt Directions: In a large soup pot, cook bacon oven over medium heat until evenly crisp. Remove bacon from pot; crumble into a bowl and set aside. Remove pot from heat, but keep the bacon drippings in the pot. Use a fork to poke holes in the potatoes. Cover potatoes with aluminum foil, and bake at 400° F for about 1 hour or until tender when poked with a fork. Remove potatoes from the oven and allow them to cool slightly. Use a potato masher to partially mash potatoes, including skins, then set them aside. When potatoes are mashed, add onion to bacon drippings in pan, and sauté for about 5 minutes, until onion is soft. Add salt, garlic, and bay leaf, and sauté for another 2-3 minutes. Add potato, milk, pepper, and broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for another 10 minutes. Remove bay leaf. Spoon soup into serving bowls and top each with bacon, green onions, and cheese. Enjoy!

Celiac.com 03/17/2011 - Frittatas are great because you can serve them right out of the skilletand they are perfect either warm, or at room-temperature. This Italian-inspired dish takes on a sultry personality with the added saltiness of the bacon. I think the fontina gives this dish a little more sophistication, but cheese is a mere state of mind; use whatever is handy. A tip for you spice-fiends: add some hot sauce to the egg mixture for a little extra bite. Ingredients: 2 small russet potatoes, peeled and diced into ½-inch cubes 1 zucchini, grated 3 strips cooked bacon, crumbled 4 large eggs 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped 1 small onion, diced 2 cloves garlic, mined ½ cup grated fontina cheese 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon pepper Directions: Preheat oven broiler. Place potato cubes in a pot of cold water and bring to a boil. Cook over medium-high heat for about 8 minutes, until tender. Drain potato cubes and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, cilantro and salt. Set aside. Heat olive oil in a medium-sized ovenproof skillet. Cook garlic and onions for about 2 minutes, until softened and translucent. Add grated zucchini and cook for another five minutes. Add cooked potatoes, stirring occasionally, until they have browned, about 5 additional minutes. Slowly pour egg mixture over vegetables. Cook over medium heat, tilting pan to evenly distribute eggs. Top with grated cheese and bacon pieces. Transfer to broiler and cook for about 5 minutes, until eggs begin to puff up. Remove and serve.