Now, I claim no fame to the BLT sandwich. You could argue that one doesn’t need a recipe for this because, duh, it’s a BLT.

Fact: the very first time I had a BLT, I was in high school and out with some friends. I needed the cheapest thing on the menu because I was paying for it with my minimum-wage grocery store job. I saw the BLT listed under sandwiches so I ordered it…because it was the cheapest sandwich. When I got it, I was so confused because, like, where was the meat?? That’s when my brain clicked everything together. That BLT was actually an acronym for what the ingredients were in the sandwich. Lesson learned.

Anyway, the point of this whole thing is that I never, ever make bacon because it’s so darn messy and I do not like messy. Last week, on my husband’s cousin’s wife’s blog [read: she’s family; I’m not a stalker), I saw her post about bacon and how she makes it so I decided to give it a try doing it her way (with just a few adjustments). (Thanks Aprille!)

This is what you need:

• bacon, any kind you like
• lettuce (we like spinach instead)
• tomato
• bread
• mayo

This is how you make it:

1. Do not preheat oven!
2. To fit the bacon into my 8×8 glass baking dish, I cut the strips of bacon in half (so they’re shorter, not skinnier) which also makes them fit onto a sandwich easily in the end.
3. Place the halved bacon strips into the baking dish. I can fit 6 halves into an 8×8.
4. Place the dish/bacon in the oven and turn the oven to 400.
5. Set the timer for 25-35 minutes (for thicker bacon, do 35 minutes) and walk away. I don’t know the magic involved in this, but when 35 minutes is done, the most delicious bacon awaits, nearly mess-free. (You still have to discard the grease, of course.) I always press the bacon between paper towers before serving to get rid of some of the grease.
6. Toast the bread, put mayo on both slices, spread with lettuce/spinach, sliced tomatoes, and bacon.

(Obviously, you don’t want to put the grease down the drain so I make a little bowl-shape out of tin foil and pour it in there and let it set until it’s cool, then ball it up and toss it in the trash.)