Featured ingredient: Quick bacon crumbles

It's well over 60 degrees today in Chicago, and in honor of that, we are grilling steaks outside. I decided to make some twice-baked potatoes to accompany the steaks, and since we have lots of bacon in the fridge, bacon crumbles will be a key ingredient.

That said, I didn't want to fry up the bacon on my stovetop or bake it in the oven (my usual go-to method). Grilling should decrease the number of pots and pans in my sink, and the thought of bacon grease stinking up the house wasn't appealing. My answer? The microwave.

I lined a plate with a paper towel, topped it with four slices of bacon and put another paper towel on top. This was microwaved for four minutes on high (one minute per slice). The bacon came out crisp as can be, and all of the grease was absorbed into the towel. I quickly crumbled up the bacon, and it is now sitting on my counter ready to be put into my potato dish. Easy, easy, with no bacon smell at all.