Jazzing up an old favourite

I said I was done with bacon for the week, but it called to me at the grocery store and I caved. I made a delicious BLAST sandwich (bacon, lettuce, avocado, spinach, tomato) for lunch one day, and tonight I'm making Super Awesome Roast Beef. I added about 6 whole cloves of garlic to the crockpot, and I also sprinkled a handful of flour all over the roast to help thicken up the sauce a little. And then of course, I cooked up 4 slices of bacon, and crumbled it over top of the roast. My house is going to smell amazing when our friends come over tonight!
I'm also making a Caesar salad (with more crumbled bacon in it) although I think I'm going to use Epicure's new Smoky Ranch Dip Mix to make the dressing. It has veggie bacon in it, so it seems appropriate.

SMOKY BACON RANCH DRESSING
1 tbsp. Smoky Ranch Dip Mix
1 tbsp. mayonnaise
1/2 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp. milk
2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp. olive oil
4 slices of bacon, crumbled (fat removed)I also diced up 4 potaoes, 4 carrots, and an onion and drizzled them with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. I roasted them at 450 F for 45 minutes.

I think the roast beef recipe would be so yummy with beer or wine instead of Coke. (But I resisted the urge.) I really should have named this blog "Bacon & Booze", since those seem to be my two favourite ingredients lately. But I also contemplated naming it "Lime & Mint", since those were my two favourite ingredients before the bacon & booze came along. I wonder what the next flavour combination will be....

(I'll post a picture later on tonight, although I'm sure you all know what roast beef and salad look like. I'm also serving it with roasted potatoes and carrots, and maybe some French bread. Use your imaginations until I get the picture uploaded. Don't forget to picture the bacon.)