Bratwurst & Bacon Skillet

I am a HUGE fan of one dish meals.  Typically my Sunday of cooking will yield at least two dishwasher loads and sometimes three.  The weeks that I can get everything cooked and only have one load of dishes to unload is like a I've hit the jackpot.  

I know these ingredients don't sound like they all go together, but amazingly once you cook them all you get a tasty, hearty meal with just a bit of kick.   The mushrooms really fill it out and the tomatoes make it not all boring and light colored.  

Life has been really hectic lately, so I haven't had much to say.  I am impressed enough to get my recipes cooked and posted!

Bratwurst & Bacon Skillet

Prep Time: 20 min                

Cook Time: 20 minutes             

Yield: 5

INGREDIENTS:

6 uncooked bacon strips, diced

½ cup onion, chopped

5 cooked bratwurst, sliced

2 cups mushrooms, sliced

1 tbsp jalapeño, diced small

2 cups diced tomatoes with liquid

½ cup fresh Parmesan, grated

DIRECTIONS:

·         In a large skillet, cook bacon and onion until bacon is almost crispy.  Remove bacon and onion from skillet (leave drippings) and set aside.

·         In same skillet, sauté the bratwurst, mushrooms and jalapeño for 3-4 minutes or until mushrooms ae done.  Stir in diced tomatoes and bacon/onion mixture.

·         Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until heated through. 

Allow to cool, add Parmesan, then portion 1 cup per mealpod for freezing.

5 PODS: 409 calories, 28g fat, 1234g sodium, 13G carb, 1g fiber, 25g protein

nutrition information estimated at Livestrong.com:

http://www.livestrong.com/recipes/mealpod-bratwurst-bacon-skillet/

Scotch Eggs

So.  Scotch eggs.  Hard boiled eggs wrapped in sausage.  Mmmmm.  Seriously?  I read about them a couple places this week, my favorites being F.E.D. and Johnny Roadtrip.  I really wanted to do a Pork x 3 egg with Canadian bacon, thick country bacon and sausage.  Sadly, my Canadian bacon was too thick and wouldn't wrap around the egg well enough.  I will defintately be re-trying this recipe with the Candian bacon.

These were really super easy.  I wanted to add an extra Paleo-esque aspect by rolling them in the ground almonds and frying them in the bacon grease before throwing them in the oven.  I am totally a breakfast person and I cannot imagine a more perfect breakfast unless I figured out how to add butter to this.

Scotch Egg

Prep Time: 10 min               

Cook Time: 45 minutes            

Yield: 12

INGREDIENTS:

12 eggs, hard-boiled

12 slices thick cut bacon, lightly cooked

24 oz pork sausage

¼ cup ground almonds

Bacon drippings

DIRECTIONS:

·         Preheat oven to 375˚

·         If you can hard boil eggs the night before and cool in the fridge.  Cook the bacon until done, but not crisp.

·         Wrap each egg in a slice of bacon, then cover in 2 oz of pork sausage.

·         Coat with ground almond, then cook in bacon drippings until lightly browned.

·         Bake in oven on a raised rack for 45 minutes.

Allow to cool, wrap tightly in foil, then freeze.

Nutrition:

12 PODS (serving) 295 calories, 34 g fat, 716g sodium, 3G carb, 0g fiber, 19g protein

nutrition information estimated at Livestrong.com:

http://www.livestrong.com/recipes/mealpod-scotch-egg/

Carrot Cake Pancakes with Honey Butter

Carrot Cake Pancakes were a favorite from my pre-Paleo days.  The original recipe used regular flour and brown sugar and lowfat everything.  I have added coconut oil and use local, organic honey with Kerrygold butter for my topping.  No syrup needed here! 

For photograping purposes I have added some Omelet Muffins and thick sliced country bacon.  In reality, I will eat half of this as my breakfast.  It sure does look awesome, though, all piled up high on the plate!  I could eat all that if I didn't want to eat the rest of the day.  As a formerly obese person, I still have to watch my calories pretty tight, Paleo eater or not.

Carrot Cake Pancakes with Honey Butter

Prep Time: 10 min               

Cook Time: 20 minutes            

Yield: 6

INGREDIENTS:

1 ¼ cups almond flour

¼ cup chopped walnuts

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp salt

Dash of nutmeg

Dash of ginger

¼ cup maple sugar

¾ cup buttermilk

1 tbsp coconut oil, melted

1 ½ tsp vanilla

2 eggs

2 cups carrot, grated

3 tbsp butter, softened

2 tbsp honey

DIRECTIONS:

·         Mix dry ingredients together until fully blended.  Add milk, oil and eggs, then fold in carrots. 

·         Heat skillet with coconut oil, spoon mixture onto hot skillet, about 2 overflowing tablespoons per pancake.  Allow pancake to cook until you see the edges start to brown.  Flip gently and continue to cook until done.

·         Combine butter and honey in a small bowl and serve with pancakes.

Nutrition: 6 PODS - 392 calories, 30g fat, 356g sodium, 22G carb, 4g fiber, 10g protein

nutrition information estimated at Livestrong.com:

http://www.livestrong.com/recipes/mealpod-carrot-cake-pancakes-honey-butter/

So. I attempted to make something more "Mealpod" and less "Paleo" but I failed. LOL. I tried to add rice to my crockpot recipe and it turned into a gelatinous mass! I think maybe I was supposed to add it at the last hour instead of slow cooking it forever.

Anyway! The chicken tastes delicious and it's moist and bacon-y. Pounding out the chicken was.not.fun. I need to get some better kitchen tools. I think this recipe really has potential and I will probably try it again!

Bacon & Brie Stuffed Chicken Rolls

By mealpod

Published 02/08/2012

Palo crockpot recipe, boneless skinless chicken breasts filled with bacon and brie cheese.

Ingredients

3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts

6 pieces bacon, cooked

6 ounces of brie

1/2 cup almond flour

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1/2 tsp sage

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 cup coconut oil

2 cups chicken broth

Instructions

Flatten chicken breasts to 1/4" thickness. Place 1 slice of bacon and 1 oz brie in each breast. Roll up and tuck in ends, secure with toothpicks

Combine almond flour, parmesan cheese, sage, paprika & pepper. Coat chicken on all sides, cover and refrigerate for an hour.

In a large skillet, brown chicken in oil, then transfer to slow cooker. Add broth and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours.

Yield: 6

Prep Time: 2:00

Cook time: 5:00

Nutrition

• Calories: 344

Fat: 27

Sodium: 723

Totalcarbs: 4

Dietaryfiber: 1

Protein: 24

Sweet Potato, Bacon & Egg Salad

Sunday Cooking with Sis

Week of 1/22

I consider this recipe another Paleo staple.  The dressing is really the star of this dish.  I could eat it by itself (and have) or on a salad, but really the flavors just go so amazing with the sweet potato it's a perfect match.

Someday, I will make my own mayonnaise.  I'm not sure what about it scares me or makes me not want to do it.  I have a lot of recipes for homemade mayonniase.  I know in order to be a true Paleo eater that I totally should ditch the jarred mayo.  I apologize in advance.  Please feel free to make your own mayo for this recipe.

SWEET POTATO, BACON & EGG SALAD

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups cooked sweet potato, diced

4 hard-boiled eggs, diced

8 slices cooked bacon, sliced

8 tbsp dill weed, chopped

4 tbsp mayonnaise

4 tbsp lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·         <!--[endif]-->Start with cooked sweet potato, eggs and bacon

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·         <!--[endif]-->Dice eggs and sweet potato, slice bacon add to large bowl.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·         <!--[endif]-->In a separate bowl combine dill, mayo and lemon juice.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·         <!--[endif]-->Add dill mixture to the sweet potato mixture and stir gently to combine.
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Portion into 8 pods, this will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Note: Serving size is approximately ½ cup as a side dish, as a meal you can eat more!

Nutrition: 8 PODS (servings) 175 calories, 11g fat, 124g sodium, 11G carb, 2g fiber, 7g protein