Bacon and Pork Patties

Flavorful and tender, these delicious bacon and pork patties are simple to make and are a very tasty alternative to the more traditional beef burger. 

I’ve mentioned more than a few times in this space, my love of Costco's bacon crumbles. There was a little panic on my part a couple of years ago when I thought they had been discontinued because I couldn’t find them in any of my nearby stores. I managed to order some online so a crisis was averted but they are, thank goodness, back in stock again. 

In most cases, I fry the bacon crumbles a little bit so they are nice and crispy before adding them to a recipe but for these bacon and pork patties, the little bit of extra fat helps keep the patties tender and moist. Also, no one really wants crunchy bits in a patty. 

This is also why I blend the onion with the egg. Do I like slices of onion on a burger? Absolutely! Do I want even small chunks of raw onion in my patties? I do not, thank you very much.

Bacon and Pork Patties

As you can see from the ingredients list, I don’t add any salt to the mixture because the bacon crumbles are a bit salty and that’s enough for us. If you are unsure, fry a teaspoon or so of the mixture and give it a taste before forming the patties. You can add salt then if needed.

Ingredients

1 lb or 450g ground pork

1 cup, firmly packed, or 120g bacon crumbles

1 small onion (about 125g)

1 egg

A few generous grinds of black pepper

olive oil

Method

Peel the onion and cut it into chunks. Use a hand blender or food processor to blend the onion and egg until liquidized. 

Put the ground pork and bacon in a large bowl. Add the pureed egg/onion mix and some generous grinds of fresh black pepper. 

Mix the lot together thoroughly. Divide the meat into four even pieces, then form these into patties. Mine each weighed 170g or 6 oz.

To cook them, heat a skillet over a high flame and drizzle in a little olive oil. Cook the patties for several minutes on each side, until they are cooked through and nicely browned. 

Serve on a hamburger bun, or if you want to get fancy, you can make my large cheddar herb scones instead. That's how I served mine! 

These bacon and pork patties would also be great served with a salad or accompanied by some vegetables. 

Enjoy!

Welcome to the 16th edition of Alphabet Challenge 2026, brought to you by the letter P. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the P recipes below:

• Airy Focaccia with Pecorino Romano and Herbs from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Bacon and Pork Patties from Food Lust People Love
• Italian Baked Pork Chops from Blogghetti
• Orange Posset from Culinary Cam
• Paloma Cocktail from Jolene’s Recipe Journal
• Panchmel Dal from Mayuri’s Jikoni
• Paneer Pudinawale (Cottage Cheese in Mint Sauce) from Sizzling Tastebuds
• Peach and Carrot Streusel Muffins from A Messy Kitchen
• Piña Colada Rolls from Magical Ingredients
• Ribbon Pakoda/Ola Pakoda from Sneha’s Recipe
• Southwestern Honey Mustard Pork Tenderloin from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Yogurt Bowl Popsicles from A Day in the Life on the Farm

Here are my posts for the 2026 alphabet challenge, thus far:

A: Ají de Cerdo aka Peruvian Pork Stew

B: Baby Cos Peach Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing 

C. Traditional Cullen Skink 

D. Coconut Cream Date Caramel 

E. Edamame Summer Salad 

F. Lamb Feta Mint Patties 

G. Ricotta Gnocchi à la Poêle 

H. Hazelnut Vodka 

I. Italian Sausage Stuffed Mini Peppers - this post!

J. Jägersuppe - Hunter's Soup 

K. Easy Chicken Kapama 

L. Easy Lamb Shoulder Roast 

M. Miso Chocolate Cookies 

N. Duck Egg Narjissiya 

O. Marinated Apéro Olives

P. Bacon and Pork Patties - this post!

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Ají de Cerdo - Peruvian Pork Stew

Ají de Cerdo aka Peruvian Pork Stew is a twist on the classic chicken dish made with yellow chili peppers called ají amarillo in Spanish. It’s spicy, rich, irresistible sauce makes it a favorite in our house. 

When I was growing up, my father worked/lived for many years in northern Peru so when school let out for the summer, I’d pack up and head south. While the little town didn’t have a lot to recommend it, it was an ideal place to be a free-ranging child with nothing but time on her hands! They were wonderful summers.

Daddy employed a cook named Cata who came in every morning to prepare our main meal which was served at midday. She was an older local woman who had years of experience cooking for her own family and made her living cooking for others.

One of her specialties was ají de gallina, a traditional Peruvian chicken stew served with white rice and garnished with hard-boiled eggs and black olives. It was always a good day when that was for lunch! A bad day included sweet stewed beets.

I hadn’t thought about Cata or her ají de gallina for years, when a great neighbor gave me a couple of chili pepper plants, one growing the bright yellow peppers I’d need to make it! We had been eating a lot of chicken at the time so I decided to make a variation on the classic recipe using pork instead. It was an excellent decision!

Ají de Cerdo – Peruvian Pork Stew

If you don’t have white sandwich bread, unsalted crackers or fresh breadcrumbs can be substituted. This dish calls for a specific yellow South American chili pepper. If you live in a big city then you may be able to find these in your supermarket or, failing that, you can find yellow ají paste in a jar online. Search for Inca’s Food which is a reliable brand.

Ingredients

4 slices white bread, about 3 1/2 oz or 100g

1 can (1 1/2 cups or 355ml) evaporated milk or light cream

2.2 lbs or 1 kg pork shoulder, cubed

2 tablespoons white vinegar

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil

4 cups or 960ml pork or chicken stock, or more as needed

4-5 yellow ají (yellow chili peppers – see note above ingredient list)

1 large onion, finely chopped

6 cloves garlic, chopped

1 oz or 28g cotija or Parmesan cheese, grated

1/4 cup or 30g pecans

To serve:

Boiled potatoes

Cooked rice

Garnish:

Hard-boiled eggs

Black olives

Method

Soak the bread in the evaporated milk or cream till it softens and gets mushy.

Season the pork shoulder chunks with the white vinegar and a good sprinkle of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Mix well. Set aside for 30 minutes to marinate.

In a large pan, heat a splash of olive oil and fry the pork in batches until the pieces are nicely brown, removing each batch to a big plate when it’s done. 

If you can’t eat too spicy, remove the seeds from the chili peppers and mince. If you love spice like we do, leave them in.

In the now empty pork pan, add another drizzle of olive oil and fry the onion, garlic and chili peppers until soft. 

Scrape them into your blender jug or a measuring vessel for a hand blender.

Add the pork back into your once again empty pan and add in the stock. Bring to a boil then simmer, covered, about 1 hour or until the pork is tender. 

Add your bread mix to the onions, garlic and peppers in the blender, along with the cheese and pecans.

Blend until smooth. 

When the pork pieces are tender, add the smooth blender ingredients to the pork pan, adding more stock as needed to make a thick sauce. 

Simmer for 30 minutes, checking and stirring occasionally and adding more stock as needed.

Serve with the rice and potatoes. Decorate with a hardboiled egg half or quarter and a couple of black olives for each plate.

Enjoy! 

This is our third year to work our way through the alphabet sharing recipes with ingredients or title featuring the letter of the post so welcome to the 1st edition of Alphabet Challenge 2026, brought to you by the letter A. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the A recipes below:

• Ají de Cerdo - Peruvian Pork Stew from Food Lust People Love
• Aloo Bhaji & Poori from Mayuri’s Jikoni
• Amygdalopita from A Messy Kitchen
• Anday Aur Subzi Pulao from Sneha’s Recipe
• Apple Crumb Pie from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Apple Pork Chops from Blogghetti
• Arancini from Jolene’s Recipe Journal
• Argentine-Style Burgers with Chimichurri Sauce from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Artichoke Spinach Rolls from Magical Ingredients
• Atchara: A Pickle from My People…and My Grandmother from Culinary Cam
• Homemade Apple & Whiskey Barbecue Sauce from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Magic Pan Orange and Almond Salad from Palatable Pastime

To see the Alphabet Challenges for 2024 and 2025, click here.

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Cheesy Sausage and Egg Casserole

This cheesy sausage and egg casserole is the perfect make-ahead breakfast or brunch dish that your whole family will love! It rests in the fridge overnight, then baked when ready to serve. 

I was first introduced to a recipe like this a long, long time ago when a Canadian friend gave me a cookbook from home that she loved called The Best of Bridge. It was put together by a group of bridge playing ladies who so enjoyed the food they brought to share on games days that they decided to write a cookbook. 

Their warm and wonderful cookbooks are staples of Canadian culture and are still available today, almost 50 years after the first one was published! In that first book, which I still have and treasure, the breakfast casserole was called Christmas Morning Wife Saver. It called for Canadian bacon, naturally, or you could substitute ham. 

I made some version of it often years ago, sometimes substituting breakfast sausage or cooked crispy bacon instead but somehow it got dropped from the weekend/holiday rotation. Time to bring my rendition back! 

Cheesy Sausage and Egg Casserole

I like to spice things up with the addition of jalapeños but if your family can’t take the heat, feel free to add some chopped green peppers aka bell peppers instead for inside the casserole and to sprinkle on for garnish. I also use the Jimmy Dean “hot” sausage for extra spiciness. Use your favorite. 

Ingredients

1 lb or 450g bulk pork sausage

2 fresh jalapeños

6 large eggs

2 cups or 480ml milk

1 teaspoon mustard powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 oz or 170g sliced sandwich bread – about 4-5 slices 

4 oz or 113g extra sharp cheddar, grated

For baking:

2 oz or 56g extra sharp cheddar, grated

Method

In a skillet, brown and crumble sausage; drain and set aside to cool.

Cut the bread into 1/2-inch  or 1cm cubes. I leave the crusts on.  

Cut several round slices of jalapeño to decorate the top before baking, then mince the rest and discard the stems. I leave the seeds and ribs in because we like things spicy but you can discard these if you don’t.  

In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Whisk in the salt and mustard powder. Then add the milk and whisk again. 

Stir in the bread cubes, cheese, cooled sausage and minced jalapeños.

Spoon into a greased 9x13-in or 23x33cm baking dish. Cover snugly with cling film and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. 

Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking and preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C. 

Top the casserole with the extra grated cheddar and decorate with the reserved jalapeño slices.

Bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Remove the pan from the oven and let the casserole rest for five minutes, before cutting in squares to serve. I like to put out our favorite hot sauce in case anyone wants to add a sprinkle or two. 

Enjoy!

Welcome to the 19th edition of the 2024 Alphabet Challenge, brought to you by the letter S. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the S recipes below:

• Blogghetti: Air Fryer Sausage Balls
• Food Lust People Love: Cheesy Sausage and Egg Casserole
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Cold Sesame Noodles
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Schezwan Sauce
• Sneha’s Recipe: Shami Kebabs
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Southern Style BBQ Shrimp
• Magical Ingredients: Spanakoparatha
• A Messy Kitchen: Strawberry Mint Spritzers
• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Summer Squash Salad
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Sweet Whiskey Skillet Teriyaki Chicken

Here are my posts for the alphabet challenge, thus far:
A: Anchovy Deviled Eggs
B: Spicy Braised Ginger Pork Belly
C: Cecilie's Favorite Coleslaw
D: Cajun Chicken Eggplant Dressing
E: Everything Pizza Tartin
F: Baked Chicken and Feta Meatballs
G: Grape Juice Jigglers
H: Crispy Bacon-wrapped Chicken Hearts
I: Raspberry Rhubarb Ice Cream
J: Java Dry Spice Mix Chops 

K. Korean Barbecue-style Meatballs 

L. Easy Lamb and Fresh Tomato Curry 

M. Fresh Mint Sauce 

N. Miso Butter Noodles 

O. Spicy Orange Braised Short Ribs 

P. Homemade Piri Piri Sauce 

Q, Cointreau Glazed Orange Quick Bread 

R. Leek and Lobster Mushroom Risotto 

S. Cheesy Sausage and Egg Casserole - this post!

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Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms

These tasty stuffed portabella mushrooms are filled with well-seasoned pork, fresh spinach and tomato, roasted until golden brown. They make a rather hearty appetizer or serve as part of the main course with sides.

I have to start off today with an apology. Somehow most of the process photos for this recipe have gone missing so I have none to show you the steps of wilting the spinach, sautéing the vegetables or assembling the stuffing. 

It’s not complicated though so I hope my directions will suffice. We loved these stuffed mushrooms so much that I still wanted to share them. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. 

Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms

Once I had mixed the stuffing together, I weighed it so I could divide by four and know how big to make the patties. The whole weight was 650g so each mushroom is filled with 162g of stuffing.  For those of you who do ounces, that's 23 1/4 oz and 5.8 oz, respectively. 

Ingredients

2 good handsful or 50g baby leaf spinach

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic

1 shallot

1 small tomato, cored

1 small red chili pepper

4 large Portobello mushrooms

1.1 lb or 500g lean ground pork

several sprigs fresh cilantro, hard stems removed, plus more for garnish

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt and/or Cajun seasonings, to taste

Method

Cook the spinach with a drizzle of water in a covered pan until wilted. Scoop it into a strainer over a bowl and leave to drain.

Trim the stems from the mushrooms and discard any hard bits. Chop the tender parts. 

Mince the garlic, shallot, tomato, chili pepper and cilantro stems. 

Add the olive oil to the pan along with the minced vegetables and mushroom stems. Cook till softened, occasionally stirring and adding in any water that has dripped from the spinach. 

Remove from the heat and transfer to a mixing bowl that will fit the pork as well. Leave to cool. 

Use the back of a spoon to squeeze as much of the spinach water as you can into the pan, then tip the spinach on a cutting board and chop finely with a sharp knife. 

Add the spinach to the bowl with the sautéed vegetables. 

Once everything is cool, add in the pork, seasoning it with about a 1/2 teaspoon of fine sea salt or, if you prefer, Cajun seasonings. Mix well.

If cooking to serve immediately, preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C.

Remove a small teaspoon of the stuffing mixture and cook it in a small frying pan. Taste when cooked through and add more salt or seasonings to the stuffing, if needed. 

Form your stuffing into four large patties (see note just above ingredient list) and place one on top of each mushroom. Press down gently. Drizzle the tops with olive oil. 

N.B. The prepared mushrooms may be covered with cling film and refrigerated for several hours, until you are ready to cook them. They will take a little longer to cook through when chilled. 

Roast the stuffed mushrooms in your preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until the stuffing is browned and cooked through. 

Garnish with a little more cilantro, if desired.

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today, this first day of September, we are celebrating National Mushroom Month by sharing mushroom recipes. Many thanks to our host, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm.  Check out the recipe links below. 

• Sue of PalatablePastime served up Chicken and Mushrooms in Wine Sauce
• Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm made Mushroom Paprikash with Homemade Spaetzle
• Mayuri of Mayuri's Jikoni created Mushroom Spinach Hand Pies
• Amy of Amy's Cooking Adventures shares Sauteed Mushrooms, Onions, & Peppers
• Stacy of Food Lust People Love made Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms
• Renu of Cook with Renu served up an Easy Vegan Mushroom Pulau (Instant Pot Lunchbox Recipe)
• Sneha of Sneha's Recipe shares Red Pepper Mushroom

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Korean Barbecue-style Meatballs

These tasty Korean barbecue-style meatballs are made with both pork and beef, seasoned with garlic, ginger, brown sugar, soy and gochujang paste. Roasted in a hot oven, they caramelize beautifully! 

Serve these delightful sweet and savory bites simply with forks or toothpicks as an appetizer or with rice and/or vegetables as a main course. I like to drizzle the rice with kecap manis – sweet soy sauce – or just more regular soy sauce. Either way, the meatballs are wonderful and bursting with flavor.

Korean Barbecue-style Meatballs

The meatball mixture can be made ahead, covered and refrigerated for three hours or even overnight. You can use all beef for the mixture but make sure it is at least 80 lean/20 percent fat so you don’t end up with dry meatballs. I prefer the mix of beef and pork. This recipe is adapted from one in New York Times Cooking. cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019763-korean-barbecue-style-meatballs

Ingredients

8 oz or 225g ground beef 

8 oz or 225g ground pork 

4 whole green onions/scallions

2 in or 5cm knob fresh ginger, peeled

5 cloves garlic 

1/2 cup or 38g panko 

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons gochujang paste

2 tablespoons, firmly packed, dark brown sugar

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

A few generous grinds of black pepper

Optional to garnish: chopped cilantro or parsley leaves

Method

Heat your oven to 425° or 218°C. Use a small food processor to mince the ginger, garlic and the white parts of your green onions. Chop the green part of the green onions with a sharp knife.

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients, including the minced items and the chopped green onion.  

Use your hands or a firm spatula to gently mix it all together till homogeneous.

At this point of any meatball or patty recipe, I always recommend you cook just a little of the mixture to see if it needs more salt. This pan is my tiny one for frying a single egg so you can see how little I cooked. Add more salt, if needed. 

Use a spoon or small cookie dough scoop to divide the meat mixture on to a baking pan lined with foil or a silicone liner. With damp hands, shape the meat into balls. As you can see from the baked photo. I made 27 bite-sized balls.

Bake until golden and cooked through, about 10-12 minutes. Broil for a further 2-3 minutes if you’d like them darker brown. The pan looks like the juices burned but I am here to tell you that once it cooled, we were scraping that off with our bare fingers and eating it! So good! 

Serve warm, sprinkled with a little chopped cilantro or parsley, if desired.

If you are going the rice route, pop the meatballs on top with a little extra soy or sweet soy sauce. 

Enjoy! 

Welcome to the 11th edition of the 2024 Alphabet Challenge, brought to you by the letter K. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the K recipes below:

• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Kwasnica (Polish Sauerkraut and Pork Soup) 
• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Key Lime Pie Cocktails 
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Khamang Kakdi 
• Sneha’s Recipe: Kala Chana Batata Chaat 
• Culinary Cam: Purple Napa Kimchi 
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice Kalamata, Mozzarella, & Tomato Couscous Salad 
• Blogghetti: Key Lime Mousse Tarts 
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Kung Pao Chicken 
• Food Lust People Love: Korean Barbecue-Style Meatballs 

Here are my posts for the alphabet challenge, thus far:
A: Anchovy Deviled Eggs
B: Spicy Braised Ginger Pork Belly
C: Cecilie's Favorite Coleslaw
D: Cajun Chicken Eggplant Dressing
E: Everything Pizza Tartin
F: Baked Chicken and Feta Meatballs
G: Grape Juice Jigglers
H: Crispy Bacon-wrapped Chicken Hearts
I: Raspberry Rhubarb Ice Cream
J: Java Dry Spice Mix Chops 

K. Korean Barbecue-style Meatballs - this post!

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