birthdays and bacon

James' birthday was on Wednesday- the big 27! He's getting dangerously close to 30. I feel like once we're 30, then we're really just getting old. 

I made his traditional birthday breakfast (a few days late this year since we got back from Florida the night before his birthday) which always consists of pancakes or waffles and bacon. James is to bacon as peanut butter is to jelly. So much in fact, that his present from his coworkers was a package of bacon. 

I tried out these puffed pancakes (German pancakes) from Taza @ the rockstar diaries. They did not disappoint (and they're much prettier than regular pancakes...and don't you enjoy eating food that is pretty?)

We used James' birthday present bacon to make sweet and spicy bacon. After you make it this way, you will probably make it this way until you die (which may occur sooner than you had planned because you'll eat so much of this bacon). 

Sweet & Spicy Bacon

1 package of any thick cut bacon

about 1 cup of brown sugar

some cayenne (red pepper)

6-7 turns of a black pepper grinder

Put foil on a baking sheet and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix the brown sugar, black pepper, and cayenne together (the more cayenne you use, the spicier it will be be...I never measure, I just kind of do it by sight...but it's probably..1/2 to 1 teaspoon?). Dredge each piece of bacon in the brown sugar mixture and lay on the baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Remove from baking sheet within 5 minutes of removing from the oven (and clean up your pan as well, or you'll never be able to get the bacon or foil off of that pan...maybe it should be sweet, spicy, and STICKY bacon). 

Birthdays 'round here are DELICIOUS.