Frying bacon without curling

Ok, I'm back... just couldn't stand it when I have only a little to say. :)

You could buy something to hold the bacon flat when you're frying it (it can curl even in the microwave, I've found!), but simpler and cheaper because you don't have to buy anything extra: Lightly dust the bacon strips with flour before frying. The fat will fry out of it, and the flour will lightly crust and make the bacon hold its shape. It tastes great, too!

Free meat for omelets or pizza

Save all the little bits of leftover sausage, bacon, or ham - even the tiniest - and keep it in the freezer. It doesn't matter if it's not all the same type (or even flavor) when you use it on a pizza or in an omelet. You can mix it into cornbread, too, and serve with beans or dried pea soup, but that's not as frugal as using it in the main course.

Minimize bacon shrinkage and curling

I read this once in an old fashioned recipe book and it really works. Simply dredge slices of bacon in flour before frying and the bacon won't shrink so much and won't curl as it fries. The drippings make excellent milk gravy, too.

Cooking fat

If you eat bacon, you might as well save the bacon grease to use in other things. Try it instead of butter on popcorn, or put it in green beans or use it to grease the pan for cornbread. It's free and you eat it anyway when you eat the bacon.