I made fillet mignon last night. It was hard to get all the bacon crisp. Gary said he'd be just as happy with a mat of bacon with a steak on it. Can you tell I showed him Alexs' pic of the lattice bacon mat!

I found this amusing:

Link (I hope it doesn't offend any one, or have been brought up before.)

The website

:D

Wow GD, you honed in on that quick!

Ditto!! Hmm... I wonder how she would react if I requested this? Or I could just do what I usually do when I want a rcipe from her & steal the cook book.

Dearest Morrigoon,

These little piggies don't appear to have been made of any meat. I imagine that they had great difficulty building themselves little houses made of straw, sticks or bricks (check the regulations regarding the latter - 12792 is the current brick count for BBQs/fireplaces - for one family of piglets).

They are like haggis - every part of the sheep except for the meat. I'm only commenting because Stoats like meat with meat attached.

Having said this, please save me some in an air-tight jar for 74 days, and I'll try it all the same...

Love and hugs,

The Stoat XXX.

OK, Bear to the rescue.

I present:

Crock Pot Porcupines With BACON !! (a favourite of mine)

Porcupines:
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 pound lean pork
1/2 pound bacon, minced or really finely chopped
1 beaten egg
1/2 c. milk
1 c. rice (raw)
1 sml onion, chopped very fine
1 Tsp. salt
1 Tsp mixed herbs (or italian herbs)
1 Tsp Cracked Black Pepper

Sauce:
2 1/2 Cups chopped tomatoes
1 Chopped red bell pepper
1 1/2 cups water or broth
1 Large chopped onion
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried basil (or a good couple sprigs of fresh)
1/2 Tsp Oregano
2 Bay leaves

METHOD:

• Combine all meats; add egg, milk, rice and salt.
• Form into 1 1/2 inch balls; brown in a large skillet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray or add a little oil to the skillet.
• Combine tomatoes, water, onion, salt, basil and bay leaves in Crock Pot.
• Drain excess grease from meatballs and add to sauce mixture.
• Cover and cook for 7-8 hours on low.

Serves 6.

Is that ground pork?

No...it's ground porcupine.

Yes, if you have a grinder / processer you can grind all three together to make it easier! (I have a hand-cranked old-fashioned meat grinder that really builds up the biceps....)


...and Stoat, remember Porcupines are only legal [juicy and] tender in the UK, and only if you're of Gypsy descent.