How to Bake Bacon

Need to make 2 lbs (or more) of bacon in 25 minutes?

No problem!  Just set the oven to 400 degrees, lay the pieces flat on baking sheet (i use the industrial type with 1" sides) and bake 25 minutes (more or less, depending on how crunchy you like it).

The slices come out straight and pretty, just like in a restaurant.  And the bacon grease won't pop you in the arm either.  Just tilt the pans to drain the drippings into another container for future use.  Done!

Turkey No-Noodle Soup

 It's that time of year.  You know, the one when everyone gets sick.  So here's a recipe i came up with for a soothing meal that can be eaten when you really don't feel much like eating.

It could also make a good gift to a loved one, friend, or office mate that isn't feeling so awesome.

Turkey No-Noodle Soup*

Turkey Stock** from one medium (appx. 12 lbs) turkey
Chicken Broth (2 cans)
2 cups turkey, cubed
3 stalks celery, cubed
1 small sweet potato, cubed
2 cups shredded coleslaw mix

1.Bring stock and broth to boil over medium-high heat
2.Add cubed vegetables and meat; continue boiling until vegetables are soft, but not mushy.
3.Turn off heat and add shredded coleslaw

*all quantities are suggestions only; feel free to make substitutions

**add 16-24 oz water and two cloves garlic, minced, to carcass, neck, and organs. Cook in crockpot, 8 hours on low. Strain and use immediately or refrigerate.

Two Paleo/Primal Recipes

I took the both of these from the Fitness magazine, July/August issue from 2009 and modified them to make them more Paleo friendly. Basically because the food porn pictures looked very good. Also due to my wife getting a bit tired of meat lately, so I felt that I could try to spice things up in the kitchen instead of the usual burgers and other grilled meat that I am perfectly okay with eating daily. Especially the berry-mango salsa in the second recipe, I am very interested in trying that.

Update of the Feta-Stuffed Celery

Made the Feta-Stuffed Celery today as per the recipe for my kids. My youngest did not want anything to do with them but the other two loved the flavors and ate a few stalks each. My wife decided that they were decent and filling, but not her favorite thing ever. Then again, she isn't all that much of a fan of feta when  it is not in a salad.

Anyways, pictures are now up on the original post since my wife was kind enough to showcase us with her l33t photography skills.

Bacon Fruit Cups

These are perfect for buffets, picnics, and other single-serving, no-utensils eating extravaganzas.

Feta-Stuffed Celery

My wife and kids seem to get tired of meat as a large part of every meal, so I am looking for items that I can make for them that does not have meat, like the following Primal recipe:

6 stalks of celery
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup chopped almonds, toasted
1/4 t. dried dill

Rather simple, clean the celery and cut off the ends as normal. Mix all of the above ingredients with each other, though only use half the almonds. Fill the celery with the mixture and top it with the remaining almonds, sprinkled lightly. Cut into 4 inch pieces and serve.

While this will not be edible by myself due to the fact that dairy and I are incompatable, my wife and kids love dairy and this would make a quick and easy snack for them.

Should have 4g carbs and 3g protein per serving, which is perfect for those of us who are eating this way.

Friariello Barese Pepper Snacks

A delicious snack, Pimientos de Padrón is a Spanish dish of fried peppers with sea salt. Most of the peppers are sweet, but occasionally you come across a hot one. However, Padrón peppers are not all that easy to find in the States, so for this, use Friariello Barese peppers especially since they are all sweet and you never get one that is very hot.

Coconut Flour Banana Pancakes

Confession: our kids are still cereal junkies.  We buy the 'good' stuff: whole grains, no corn syrup.  But let's be honest: it's all sugar.  However, there is one breakfast food i can manage to get them to eat, and that i can make completely healthy with no added sugar or grains--Pancakes!

2 bananas, mashed
7 eggs
3 tsp coconut oil, melted
1 tsp vanilla
6 Tbsp coconut flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon

Mix all the ingredients, and fry each large spoonful in about 1 tsp coconut oil or butter over medium heat.  If you don't like the dark color, a different oil would probably fix that.

Wonderful Primal Brownies

2/3 cup Almond flour (found out later that I was using meal, not flour, which could have been the source for the textural problems)
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs
1 stick butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp coco powder

Mix.

Preheat oven to 350.

Spread mixture into a pan, 8x8 or whatever.

Bake 25-30 minutes.

It will be soft when first out of the oven, though the toothpick will be dry. Waiting for it to cool will let it harden up a bit.

According to my wife and kids, the texture takes some getting used to. However, I freaking loved them... 2 small squares was my dinner and it was nice and filling. Also due to the high almond content (and high Omegea 6 content due to that) we have tried using coconut flour.

Coconut flour needs a LOT of liquid to make it work, and he have not found the correct amount yet. They have came out extremely dry, so we reduced some berries with a little honey to pour on top of the brownies which counteracted their dryness. My wife and kids also said that the texture was perfect, for which I am glad.

I'm not big on using Primal/Paleo-friendly foods to recreate Standard American Diet edible items, but I do love brownies (even when my wife used to make them using tofu) and this recipe is the closest thing to a "cheat" food that I have.