Bacon and Egg Morning Cups

Bacon and Egg Morning Cups

Printable Recipe

 

 

Well, hey there! How are you? Do you need an awesome breakfast, snack or super fast meal idea? You've come to the right place then because this one is loaded with delicious protein and carbs and is sure to keep your taste buds happy and belly full. I won't lie, I've seen photos on pinterest with something similar but have truly never looked at a recipe. Why? Because I wanted to make my very own and deliver it to you!

You're welcome.

 

So, it's pretty simple and you can make you own version with different meats, or leave the meat out if you don't have anything on hand. What I'm giving you is a recipe that makes exactly 12 morning cups and I will give you instructions on how to refrigerate/reheat and freeze/reheat. Again... you're welcome.

 

Top with avocado slices or salsa or both and enjoy a very delicious paleo and gluten free meal!

 



Ingredients:

(Recipe makes 12 regular sized muffin cups)

12 slices of bacon. I use the pre-cooked but use your paleo version if you like
6 whole eggs

1/2 cup liquid egg whites

1/4cup chopped turkey meat - I use deli meat so find a paleo version if you'd like *Sub any cooked/chopped meat if you prefer another over turkey*1/2 bell pepper, chopped. I like red, orange or yellow *Make it spicy with a jalapeno!*

1 cup chopped spinach
Salt and Pepper to taste

 

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Line a regular sized muffin tin with precooked bacon. If you are going to use raw bacon, precook it in a skillet or in the oven until it is almost all the way cooked. It needs to be pliable enough to put in the muffin tin.
In a bowl, scramble the eggs and egg whites together with the salt and pepper. Add the remaining chopped ingredients and stir to combine.
Using 1/4cup measurement or an ice cream scoop (which is my preferred method), pour one scoop of the egg mixture into each cup. You may have a little left over in the bowl so make sure you put all of that goodness into a cup that may not have gotten enough.

 

Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until the eggs have cooked entirely through. My cooking time is somewhere between 23-25 minutes so keep an eye on them.
These will puff up in the oven and then will deflate just a little bit so don't be too disappointed when they come out. It's suppose to happen this way.

When you refrigerate these and are ready to reheat, you can pop them into the microwave for a minute or back into a 400 degree oven for 10-15 minutes and they will be perfect.

For freezing, place on a plastic-wrap lined cookie sheet and freeze for about an hour then transfer to a freezer safe container. When ready to reheat, place the amount you want to serve on a cookie sheet and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. By the time your oven reaches temperature, it should have been given enough time to thaw out a little. Bake 25-30 minutes to reheat.

Serve and enjoy!

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Printable Recipe

 

I've been super busy preparing for our local farmer's market that I sell my gluten-free baked goods at. Thanksgiving is also around the corner and I've had to mentally prepare for that so I needed something quick and easy to throw together and this was truly delicios!

Other things I'm thinking about lately is opening up a food truck business (Paleo and GF items only), writing an e-book, and selling to one of our local mom&pop shops.

Life is busy, isn't it? Phew!
 

Well, here's a delicious paleo and/or primal meal all in one. It has the carbs, proteins and fats all in one pretty little package. Now, this recipe does include cheese so if you don't eat cheese, leave it out. Just add some salt and pepper and you're good to go!

 

Ingredients:

Serves 2

2 green bell peppers

1/2 - 3/4 pounds ground meat. beef, chicken, turkey, sausage.. whatever you like

3/4cup crushed tomatoes

1/2cup onion, diced

1/4cup bell pepper, diced (see notes below)

S&P (salt and pepper) to taste

1/4cup cheese, shredded

 

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and preheat a skillet over medium heat.
Slice off the tops of the bell peppers and reserve them for future use. Remove the seeds/ribs on the inside and discard. Using a knife, remove the stem from the tops of the bell peppers you just sliced and dice into bite sized pieces.

In a medium skillet, add the ground meat, onions and bell peppers and cook thoroughly (about 8-10 minutes) and season with salt and pepper. Drain the excess fat and place back in the skillet or clean bowl. Add the crushed tomatoes and stir thoroughly. Scoop the mixture into the bell peppers and top with cheese.

 

In an oven-safe dish, add a tiny bit of water - about 1/4 cup - and place the bell peppers inside and then bake about 40-45 minutes until the peppers have softened.

 

*Tip* If you want to make a lot of these and freeze them, make it all the way up to where you stuff the peppers then freeze them. When you want to bake these, transfer to an oven-safe dish and immediately bake. Do not defrost these. Baking times will be longer since it's frozen.

 

Eat and enjoy!



Greens. Southern Style.

Greens. Southern Style.

Printable Recipe

 

 

 

To me, growing up in the south meant that there was usually greens and cornbread on every menu in town. It's surprising how that has somewhat gone away now but I guess people just forget what makes a good and healthy meal.

My mother's garden is so much more vibrant than mine. She keeps reminding me "It's been 5 or 6 years that I've been planting and harvesting and working on my soil." Compared to her green bean harvest, I only have about 15 beans and I planted a day before her! Oh well.. my soil sucks and I know it but hey, my eggplants and peppers are abundantly producing so go me.

Back to her garden. She was kind enough to let me have a bag full of fresh cut mustard greens the other day and wanted me to try a recipe she found online and of course I gratuitously accepted her garden veggies and went home and cook them. Let me tell you, there is nothing better than baby mustard greens cooked fresh. Tender and delicious.

 

Thanks, mom.

 

Ingredients:

1 pound mustard greens, washed and de-veined

1/4 diced white onion

1tsp minced garlic

2 pieces of bacon

1/4cup chicken stock

1tsp olive oil (or coconut oil)

S&P (salt and pepper) to taste

Pinch of red pepper flakes

 

 

Directions:

In a large skillet, pre-heat olive oil over medium low and add the bacon. Cook until crisp and remove from pan, drain on a paper towel and crumble. Set to the side.
While the bacon is draining, add the onion and cook 2-3 minutes and season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes then add the garlic. Once the onions are soft, add the greens, chicken stock and 3/4 bacon pieces (1/4 will go on top as a crunchy garnish). Stir until the greens have wilted. Once the greens have wilted, cover and reduce heat to low and cook 30-45 minutes until soft. Garnish with remaining bacon pieces and serve hot!

 

 

Let me tell you something.. I never was a big fan of greens until the past few years and this is by far the best tasting recipe. Give it a shot.. and if you eat cornbread, smother it in butter and indulge!

Pie. Sweet, Glorious Pie.

Pie. Sweet, Glorious Pie.
Printable Recipe

 

What's the one thing you miss since you've been on the paleo ride? Me? I miss desserts. I tell you what, I used to be a candy/cake/cookies/brownies/pie crazed woman. I used to pick out the red and purple skittles and eat those in bed. Once those flavors were gone, I would eat the green - then yellow - then orange. Sometimes my husband would look at me like "What the heck are you doing? How do you eat that garbage." But as sweet as he is, he smiled and continued watching tv with me. I love that man :)
 

 

 

I've made several pies that have been very tasty. Check out my paleo strawberry pie here! My sister recently made a paleo pumpkin pie and it was out of this world amazing! I hope you post your recipe soon so I can link up with you .. ahem, ahem. I'll be making a pumpkin pie soon and we'll see who's is better. Pumpkin pie and October/November just go hand in hand.

 

Well, I recently made a non-paleo sweet potato pie that is my mother's recipe. I don't know where she got it from or if it is a secret family recipe but I'll share with you my paleo version of it here. I have a non-paleo blog that I'll share the sugar-laden recipe to.. I'm not giving you that blog website unless you ask. Nicely. I don't want to be the bad influence, okay?

 

Let's move on to this pie. It's light and airy and is simply sweet. It has a little maple syrup for the sweetener along with the natural sugars from the sweet potatoes. This pie is so quick to throw together and it tastes great. I live for simplicity.

 

Ingredients:

Makes 1 pie crust and 1 pie filling

 

Pie Crust Recipe:

2cups almond flour

3Tbsp liquid egg whites or 1 egg yolk

pinch of salt

1/4cup ghee or unsalted butter

 

 



 

Sweet Potato Pie Filling:

2oz. butter, softened

1cup cooked and mashed sweet potatoes

3/4cup pure maple syrup

1/4cup almond milk or coconut milk

1tsp vanilla

2eggs, beaten (poor eggs.. why are they always so abused?)

1tsp cinnamon, or pumpkin pie spice

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, add all of the pie crust ingredients together and pour into a lightly greased pie pan. Gently press down on the bottom and along the sides of the pie plate. Set aside.
In another large bowl, add the butter, sweet potatoes, maple syrup and milk and beat until well blended. Add the vanilla, eggs and cinnamon and mix well. Pour into the pie pan and bake approximately 60 minutes or until the middle has set.

  

I always ask my kids to try my recipes because if they like it, I know you will, too. They both scarfed it down quickly and gave me a thumbs up. If you try this recipe, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think about it!

Oh, and don't feel guilty if you splurge on this treat. You're special and you deserve to bake a pie and eat it too!

 

~Angela

Lightly Fried Potatoes

Lightly Fried Potatoes
Printable Recipe

 

Shall I touch on the topic of white potatoes; how, to some, they are a nightshade (an irritant)? My family is not affected by any type of potatoes, thankfully. We rarely eat potatoes anymore in this house, but when we do, I have to make sure they taste good.

Okay, so back to white potatoes and how they're not really paleo-friendly. In my world, I cut out everything that could have been a problem for my gut. Zero grains, sugars, processed foods and white/red/whatever potatoes. I slowly added them back into my normal diet to see if I had any gut or elevated glucose problems, and I didn't. I didn't notice anything out of the norm and was happy with my diagnosis. I do know that white potatoes are very starchy and aren't too healthy but they do have electrolytes and vitamins so I can't count them out altogether.

If I had to choose between a white and sweet potato, the sweet potato would win. Hands down. Any vegetable with a vibrant color would win out over something so drab and plain.

Anyway, here is a simple recipe if you consume white potatoes. If not, use a sweet potato or yam or zucchini! This recipe is pretty alternative to your needs so go with what you have and enjoy your foods. Sometimes foods are meant to be fried.

Amen.

Ingredients:
Serves 4
1/4cup olive oil or coconut oil (oil of your choice)
3 medium sized potatoes; white, red, purple, orange.. whatever floats your boat
S&P (Salt and Pepper to taste)

Directions:
In a medium skillet, add the cooking oil and heat on medium-high. If you don't like the skin on the potatoes, peel them first and then rinse any remaining grime off.

Slice the potatoes into thin pieces, keeping them as uniform as possible for even cooking. Add a handful at a time to the heated skillet and turn every minute until lightly golden brown. About 6-8 minutes total depending on how you've cut them. Remove from the oil and drain on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Yes, even sweet potatoes taste great with salt and pepper!

 

Tip: Sprinkle cinnamon and salt on the sweet potatoes for a different taste.

If your stomach cannot handle a white/red potato, please give this a shot with a sweet potato or zucchini or squash of choice. The possibilities really are endless.

Enjoy!
~Angela


Paleo Breakfast Scramble

Paleo Breakfast Scramble

Printable Recipe

 

 

Who gets tired of eating the same thing every single breakfast? I know I do and I just had to mix it up this week. I started by cleaning out my fridge. Anything that needed to be consumed that day was going into my breakfast. It's a fun way to reinvent breakfast and use leftovers from previous meals.

 

Here's what I did for this super fast and tasty breakfast.

 

Ingredients:Serves 1

1 small handful diced red potatoes

5-6 broccoli heads, diced

1 small bell pepper or any pepper of choice

7-8 slices of turkey meat

2 eggs

S&P (salt and pepper) to taste

1tsp cooking oil of choice, I prefer olive oil here

 

Directions:

In a skillet, heat up the oil on medium heat and add the diced vegetables. Saute until warmed through and add the turkey meat and cook until slightly browned. Next, add the eggs and scramble in the pan with the vegetables and turkey and cook thoroughly. Add salt and pepper and eat!



Paleo and Holistic Cold Remedy

Paleo and Holistic Cold Remedy

 

"Let food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be food." - Hippocrates

 

My kids have been sick a lot this year with colds and ear infections. I'm not a fan of sickness (but who is?) and hate it when my kids get sick. I hate it even more when two of them are sick.. and I hate it even more if they get sick and then heal and then I get sick. HATE IT!

I was on a quest for finding a holistic and paleo cold remedy and luckily, I had the mixture right inside my pantry. Fresh, local honey and ground cinnamon. I usually find anything I want to make on pinterest. Everyone said it worked so I tried it early this year when the kids got sick. My throat started feeling scratchy and my lower back started to ache - which for me is the ultimate sign of sickness coming on.

I took the specified concoction and I was surprised that it worked. It warded off the cold and I only had a few aches the first day and I was more tired than usual on the second day and by the third day, I felt normal again. No cold! 

 

So, how does honey and cinnamon work to heal you? Well, let's take a look at the two elements.

First, honey is the only food in the world that will not spoil. Did you know that? I didn't until recently and thought, "wow.. those bees sure do know what they're doing!"
Second, honey is an antimicrobial, which means that it kills microorganisms that carry disease. In other words, it will feast on the germs and kill them before they spread into your body.

And how about the cinnamon? What does that do internally?

Cinnamon treats antiviral infections. Research has shown that it is an antiviral remedy which will kill the cold and flu virus internally.

We put the antiviral (cold fighter) and the antimicrobial (germ fighter) together and the most precious sickness fighter you can imagine has been created.

 

I've tried this twice this year and the benefits are amazing. I am proof that this does work and will continue reaching into my pantry instead of a medicine cabinet from now on. If you look for naturally safe solutions, you will find it. Just keep looking and digging and experimenting.

Cold Remedy Ingredients:

Makes 3 servings (take 3 times a day)
1Tbsp local, raw honey
3/4tsp ground cinnamon

 

Directions:

Stir the honey and cinnamon together in a small container and take 1tsp 3x's daily until all cold/flu symptoms are gone.

 

I mixed up several days worth of this mixture and gladly ate all of it.

I am not a medical professional. This is my own assessment and I will not be held for any misuse of this remedy.
 

Please let me know if you try this and how you like the results!

~Angela

Veggie Packed Paleo Meatloaf with Bacon

Veggie Packed Paleo Meatloaf with Bacon

Printable Recipe

 

 

I have two kids that are mostly paleo/primal and always feel like they never have enough veggies. They eat of lot of fruit, but sometimes they get tired of broccoli and potatoes so I thought I'd incorporate their veggies into the protein and hoped they'd eat it.

The little one is 2 and loves broccoli. The older one is 9 and loves salad and on rare occassions, he'll eat some broccoli. They're good at finishing what's on their plate so if they get something they don't really care for, they know they need to eat it anyways. I like that about them!

 

So anyway. I always have spinach in my fridge or freezer and I had baby carrots this week, too. Threw the veggies in the food processor with the eggs and mixed all of that into the meat, and viola! A super healthy meatloaf.

 

Ingredients:

8 servings

2lbs. ground beef (any ground meat will work)

2-3cups spinach, fresh or frozen. If frozen, thaw and wring out excess water.

1/2cup baby carrots

2 eggs

1tsp salt

1/2tsp pepper

1/2 - 1 tsp garlic powder, the amount is up to you.

1/4cup white onion or 1Tbsp minced dried onion

1/4cup ketchup or diced tomatoes

3-4 pieces of uncooked bacon

 

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and line a cookie sheet with tin foil.

In a food processor, combine the eggs, spinach and carrots until your desired consistency has been met. Pour ingredients into a large bowl and mix everything together thoroughly. Form the meatloaf into whatever shape you desire and cover or wrap in bacon.

 

Bake for 40 minutes, uncovered and check for doneness. If you have bacon on top and wish for it to be crisp, turn the broiler on until desired crispness has occurred.

 

 

I hope you try this and enjoy it like we did!

~Angela



Delicious Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies

Delicious Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

 

 

When you go paleo, you have to give up a lot of normal foods and desserts. A lot of the recipes we make may not taste as great as we'd like, but it's a treat so we'll take it regardless. Fortunately, I've been following a website for a while now and decided I'd try one of her recipes since the reviews have been pretty good. Check out the recipe for Against All Grain: Chocolate Chip Cookies.

My review is this:
I used ghee instead of palm shortening because I don't have it on hand. I also used dark chocolate chips because that's what I like. You can use whatever you have on hand and make this recipe your own. You can add pecans, walnuts, almonds, pistachios, cashews for an added crunch and/or leave out the chocolate chips and add some dried fruit like chopped dates, raisins, or cranberries. The base of the cookie is good on it's own so if you wanted to leave it plain, go for it. Drizzle on some melted chocolate and dip in crushed nuts? Heck ya!

These are the ingredients you'll need and make sure you check out her post on the recipe and photo. I'll be honest, her photo looks a heck of a lot better than mine.

 

Palm Shortening, I used Ghee
Palm Sugar
Honey
Salt
Egg
Vanilla
Almond Flour
Coconut Flour
Baking Soda

Chocolate

One other recommendation is to not flatten out the cookies if you use ghee. Mine spread a little too much.

 

Enjoy this pretty darn good treat!

~Angela

Paleo Mayo-Rubbed Baked Chicken

Paleo Mayo-Rubbed Baked Chicken

Printable Recipe

 

 

 

I'm a big fan of baked chicken when it's cooked right and not dry; which has been what my past baked chicken dishes have been. It's so sad when a great piece of chicken turns out dry. You miserably eat it and regret all the time you put into prepping it.

Thankfully, I made my own concoction of a delicious and simple mixture to spoon on top of chicken then bake it off. It was honestly as simple as putting a few ingredients in a bowl, stirring to combine, spreading on top of the chicken and baking. That's my idea of cooking right there.

 

 

In order to have this dish be paleo, please visit my other website Easy Peasy: Homemade Paleo Mayo. You'll be glad you tried a new recipe and you'll be happy to know exactly what's in your mayo. So, go there and make your mayo and then come back here for the recipe.

 

Ingredients:
Serves 4

4-6 chicken breasts, trimmed (bone in or out.. that's up to you)
1/2tsp salt

1/4tsp pepper

1cup fresh paleo mayo
1/2cup shredded mozzarella, chopped into tiny pieces

 

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, salt and pepper and 1/2 of the cheese. My mozz cheese is always frozen as I don't eat it a lot, so when it's nice and cold, I just chop it with a knife. It makes it much more pleasant to eat when it's in small pieces. Once the chicken is trimmed of the extra fat, pat dry and place in a baking dish. No need to spray the pan if you make your own mayo. Next, spoon the mixture on top of the chicken and spread to cover the entire chicken tops. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese on top of the mixture.

 

Bake approximately 45 minutes or until thoroughly cooked then broil on high, if you trust yourself to not let it burn, or low, for 5-10 minutes to get a nice golden-brown color.
Let cool slightly before consuming and enjoy!

 

This meal took 5 minutes to prepare and then I walked away.. didn't have to babysit something on the stove. It was amazing! I'll be honest with you, I was so afraid the chicken was going to taste tangy and sour from the mayo, but it didn't at all. It was savory and simply delicious. In fact, everyone scarfed it down, requested seconds and thirds and asked me to make it again the following night.

 

You will love this recipe as much as I do. I promise.

~Angela



Perfect Red Potatoes, Two Ways

Perfect Red Potatoes, Two Ways

 

 

There are a lot of people who don't eat white potatoes because it may be a problem for them with the starch and glucose and what-not. There's a long post about potatoes here that you can read if you'd like. It's from Mark's Daily Apple and I happen to like some of the stuff he's written. Although he's primal, it seems that he agrees that a large part of our population can not internally handle tubers (potatoes).

I love potatoes and we eat red potatoes about twice a week. I can handle it and it seems that my boys handle it well, too. Only time will tell for them as they're little ones but when they get older, they can decide to continue eating potatoes or eliminate them from their diet.

So, for any of you red-potato-eating-folks, here's a double whammy recipe for you:
1) Baked red potatoes

and

2) Skillet fried red potatoes

 

Paleo Baked Red Potatoes:
Printable Recipe
One small bag of red potatoes washed and cut into quarters

Salt and pepper to taste, approximately 1tsp salt and 1/2tsp pepper
2Tbsp olive oil, or oil of choice
1Tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
1Tbsp fresh parsley, minced

 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400degrees.
Wash and cut red potatoes into quarters and place on a baking sheet. Coat generously with oil of choice and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake approximately (according to the size of the cut pieces) 25-35 minutes flipping the potatoes once half-way through the baking process.
When finished, sprinkle with rosemary and parsley and eat these delicious potatoes.

 

Paleo Pan-Fried Red Potatoes
Printable Recipe

Use remaining ingredients from the above recipe, which are the cooked red potatoes. In a cast iron skillet, heat 2Tbsp olive oil (or bacon fat, or any fat of choice) until the pan starts steaming. When it's hot, place the potatoes in the skillet and cook 15-20 minutes until browned on all sides. Stir and flip potatoes every minute or so. Keep your eye on this as it could burn easily.

Sprinkle with fresh herbs such as rosemary, thyme or parsley. Eat with whatever condiment of choice you'd like (we prefer ketchup!) or sprinkle with cheese and melt then add some chili or sour cream. Yummy in my tummy!

The first recipe is great for a lunch or dinner while the second recipe is great for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Please enjoy and let me know how you like these two recipes.

~Angela

Pumpkin Breakfast Cookies

Pumpkin Breakfast Cookies

Printable Recipe

 

 

 

It's another one of those hot summer days where the afternoon storms roll in to "sunny" Pensacola, Florida and I decided it is time for pumpkin. Pumpkin is great any time of year but it's especially great in the early fall when it's "new" again. Are you a yearly pumpkin or sweet potato eater? There are so many people who think I'm weird that I eat them yearly, like they're supposed to be only reserved for special occasions. Pfft.. Ya'll (oh ya, here comes the southern girl) don't know what you're missing every day by not eating these vitamin-enriched foods.

Us paleo/primal folks know what's up.

 

 

 

Ingredients:
Makes 10-12 large cookies
1/4cup canned pumpkin (not the pumpkin pie mix in a can)
1/2cup almond butter (or any nut butter you prefer)
1/2 cup honey
1tsp vanilla 
1cup almond meal/flour
1tsp pumpkin pie spice or 1tsp ground cinnamon
1/4tsp baking soda
1/2cup dark chocolate chips, or any dried fruit would be wonderful
1/2cup walnuts, or pecans, or whatever you'd like
 

Directions:Preheat oven to 350degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Combine all wet ingredients together then add the dry ingredients and combine thoroughly. Scoop batter to whatever size you'd like and flatten out to the desired thickness since these do not spread on their own. Bake approximately 10-15 minutes, according to thickness.
Remove from baking sheet 2 minutes after cooling and transfer to cooling wrack.
These are wonderful chilled; so I store mine in an airtight bag in the refrigerator and grab a snack when I need one. These can also be frozen on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Once frozen, transfer to freezer bag and thaw before eating.

Note: There really isn't a strong pumpkin flavor to these but if you'd like it strong, add 1/2tsp-1tsp more of the pumpkin pie spice. The dough should be sticky and when you're ready to eat it, the cookie has a nice chewy texture. It's simply delicious!

Unfortunately, I'm terrible with nutrition information but I do plan on incorporating that on my recipes soon so bare with me. I'll update this recipe when I have it all figured out.

 

 

 

Naturally gluten free being paleo/primal, egg free, dairy free.

 

Eat well. Live well.

~Angela