FOOD!

I love food. I love to cook food and I love to eat food. I love shopping for food. I love the way it looks and smells. I have always said that a woman that would wear Ode to Bacon would forever have my heart. Bacon is one of my favorite ways to make grease. If a recipe calls for butter or oil, I usually substitute bacon grease for a little added flavor. I put bacon on salads, in soups, on eggs, in my mouth. I know that bacon, or at least the grease, is not very good for you, but hey, we all got to go sometime why not happy being full of bacon! Another favorite meat of mine has got to be HAM! I love ham cooked or cold, on a sandwich or just a plate. I like it in beans, white, green, and black. We all could eat more ham and beans. Beans are very good for you. But aah enough about pork, on with the recipe.
My wife and I love this simple appetizer. Every time we take to out to a party or pot luck we receive many compliments. So here it is.

Pull Apart Bacon Bread
12 bacon strips, diced
1 one pound loaf of frozen bread dough, thawed
2 Tbs Olive oil, use your taste preference here, I like EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 envelope ranch dressing mix (the dry make your own kind) I like Hidden Valley

In a large skillet, cook the bacon over a medium heat for about 5 minutes. It won't be completely cooked yet but that is OK. This will render most of the grease out, drain it off and save it to cook some fried potatoes or add it to some green beans.
Roll out the bread dough to about 1/2" thick and brush it with about 1/2 of the EVOO and cut it into pieces about 1" square.
In a large bowl, toss the bread dough cubes, bacon, cheese, remaining oil, and the package of ranch mix. Make sure everything is coated and you don't see lots of the ranch mix in one area.
Turn the bowl out onto a greased cookie sheet and spread it out but it is OK if they are stacked up a little. If you are wanting to make it fancy, pile the bread cubes up into a loose cone or pyramid shape. Cover this with a piece of wax paper sprayed with Pam. Let it rise in a warm place for at least 1/2 an hour. The longer you let it go the larger and more fluffy the cubes will get but remember it does have partially cooked bacon on there so don't let it set out too long.
Remove the wax paper. Make a loose tent of aluminum foil over the cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes, or a little longer if you want the bread more browned.

This stuff is great when it is just out of the oven. It is also an easy recipe to play with. I can see pepperoni instead of bacon, and a few black olives. Maybe even some sauteed onions. Try this one out and let me know what you think. We got the recipe from "Taste of Home Holiday 2003".