I've been working on a Unified Theory of Bacon lately. I have come to realize that anything tastes better with bacon. That's not to say that bacon can make a spew-a-licious carrot salad (you know the one with shredded carrot, mayo and raisins) into an edible side dish, but it wouldn't taste nearly so vile.

To put it simply, I love bacon. I was therefore delighted when I saw a tip on America's Test Kitchen about how to store bacon for easy use. We normally buy an extra package of bacon, cut it in half and freeze each of those. What if you just need a couple slices of bacon, say for some bacon mashed potatoes (which I'm making right at this very moment)? Instead of freezing the whole slab, take each piece and roll it up like it was a cinnamon bun. Toss them into a bag and stick them in the freezer. It's then a cinch to take out exactly how many you need (do plan 20 minutes ahead so they can thaw). It does take a little time to roll up an entire package of bacon, but really not too bad. Certainly no more than it does to split a 5 pound pile of hamburger into half pound portions.