When I don't know what to cook I like to throw stuff at the pot and see what happens. Last night I started with a pack of saffron rice, added about half a pack of cooked, crumbled bacon, and a couple pieces of swiss cheese. It was a success.

I hate having to open a partial pack of bacon and then have it sitting in the fridge for days staring at me. Accusing me of wastefulness when I just don't feel like dealing with the cooking, the draining, the pan full of hot fat that I can't reuse for anything we'll eat. My solution? A sharp scissors. Now, I realize that this doesn't sound like much of a solution yet so bear with me.

I open the package, separate the slices, and cut them up into pieces. About five or six pieces per slice. Half goes into the pan to fry as is, half goes into a freezer bag. The scissors is easier than using a knife to cut the bacon cause of all the fat that makes fingers slippery. Plus if the bacon's any good it has the sort of fat that doesn't want to cut easily. I fry up the pieces, then I drain them into a colander under cold running water. The water helps the fat go down the drain, without clogging everything up all to pieces. It also rinses excess fat off the bacon. The bacon remains crisp and nicely juicy, but not swimming around with lots of extra stuff.

The Toddler remains, as always, against this whole "nap" concept. She wants me to be sure and mention that mommy is mean, making her take naps and not letting her run around naked in the dirt all day.