Bacon with onions and apples

I've been doing a dairy version of Paleo (lacto-paleo), or grain-free, for the past week. Eggs seem to be making me sick in the mornings, so I'm trying other things for breakfast. Oatmeal and cereal are definitely not grain-free, so I've looked on paleohacks.com for some ideas.

Today I cooked 5 pieces of center cut bacon, 1 thinly sliced small granny smith apple, and 1 thinly sliced medium onion. I cooked the bacon first, then poured off most of the grease, then sauteed the apple and onion on medium or a little lower for 20 minutes or so until very soft. I ate it with the bacon, not mixed together but often some bacon and saute in each bite. It was so divine. I'm not going to eat bacon every day or anything, but this is definitely going to happen once or twice a week.

(I had center cut left over from some cooking light recipes, and I think regular bacon slices are longer so I'd probably only use 4 of those.)

David didn't try this. I ate it all. All mine.

According to daily plate, this meal is 406 calories if you assume 1.5 tbsp bacon drippings.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/tuna-noodle-casserole-10000001949756/
Tuna Noodle Casserole

This was creamy and good, but the serving size is really small. I used cut up green beans for peas, as usual.

422 calories for each 1 1/3 cups. (which is not enough in my opinion)

Salmon Cilantro Burgers

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/fresh-salmon-cilantro-burgers-10000001891952/
Salmon Cilantro Burgers

This is also in my Cooking Light 1500 calorie cookbook. I liked it quite a bit. David liked it too.

341 calories per sandwich.

Lentil Granola

http://thestonesoup.com/blog/2012/05/lentilgranola/

This is really good. I think I boiled it too long, like 8 minutes instead of 5. I had to bake it an extra 30 minutes to get it dry because of the longer boil I think. This is calorie dense like granola tends to be, but more because of the almonds than anything else. It is mildly sweet. I made it with cinnamon, and had one serving mixed with some fresh blackberries I happened to have (rare occurrence) and two scoops of plain yogurt.

The finished product fits in a 1 quart yogurt container. (Mine is in a 1 kg container and has a tiny bit of extra room).

Servings: 12. Each serving 1/3 cup.
Calories 220 per serving

Crab Cakes

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/crab-cakes-with-roasted-vegetables-tangy-butter-sauce-10000001723371/

I liked these. I didn't have the sides or sauce to go with them though, so it wasn't the complete experience. It is a fun way to have crab though.

4 servings. 443 per serving, (including sauce and veg)

Parisian Lentils

Adapted from http://thestonesoup.com/blog/2012/12/a-lesson-from-my-new-favourite-cookbook/#

I love love this recipe. It is so fast and healthy too, with tons of fiber and protein and very minimal effort. I used part-skim ricotta, regular brown lentils, and halved the olive oil. Everything else the same, and it was so tasty.  The lentils cooked in 20-30 minutes. I wasn't watching because people came to visit during cooking.

Serves 2. 370 calories/serving (with like 30 g protein, 33 g fiber, crazy! I need to do lentils more.)

note: I think the calories are low. THe lentils I used said they were 80 cal per 35 g. But it also had 20 carb+10 protein per serving, which is 120 calories. So assuming 120 is correct and 80 is not, the cals would be 480 per serving.

Cafe Rio Cilantro Ranch Dressing

http://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/2008/09/cafe-rio-cilantro-ranch-dressing.html
Cafe Rio Cilantro Ranch Dressing

I ate this at a friends house and loved it. I made it recently myself with fat free mayo. I used 4 canned tomatillos. I left the seeds in the jalapeno, and put the entire half bunch of cilantro (including stems) into the blender. It turned out really good. Might be too spicy after it sits in the fridge.

Calories: 430 (entire recipe with ff mayo). Estimating 2.5 cups yield, 21.5 cal / 2 Tbsp.

Butter beans, roast beef, and green beans

12 oz can Roast Beef in beef broth (I get it from costco)
1 can green beans (or use fresh/frozen and cook in beef broth)
1 can butter beans

Heat beef and broth in a skillet. Add other ingredients. Simmer until broth is reduced.

David loves this. I like it a lot too and it is so easy. I eat it for lunch a lot.

Calories: 457 per serving / 2 servings

Mexican baked eggs and beans

http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2009/10/recipe-for-mexican-baked-eggs-with.html

David really liked this. It is also very fast and easy. I used an oven safe skillet. I put a ton of parsley in it (like a cup) because that's what I had. I think cilantro would be better, which is what the recipe calls for. David still liked it a lot with parsley, even with the bitterness associated with it. I also baked the dish for like 5-7 minutes which was way too long. The eggs were cooked solid (which I don't like). I'd try again for only 2 minutes next time.

Update: I made this again according to the recipe using chili powder and fire roasted bell peppers. It was so good, I liked it much more than last time. It wasn't too hot at all. I put cilantro on top and served with a little sour cream. One thing to note, I put  5 eggs on top this time, 4 on edge and 1 in center. They did not cook evenly. So make sure all eggs are the same distance from the edge. The 5 minutes bake and 2 minutes broil time was perfect for the egg in the middle, but the eggs on the edge were a little too solid. Next time put eggs on the edge and bake for 4 minutes only, plus 2 minutes broil and see what happens.

Update: I don't know what I was talking about with the fire roasted bell pepper in the last paragraph. I made it today just as the recipe instructed. I used a 10-inch oven proof skillet with 4 eggs. After simmering I dug out 4 holes around the skillet and put the eggs in it. It needed more baking time then I suggest in the last paragraph. the 4-2 thing was too short. I probably did more like 5 minutes bake and 4 minutes broil this time. But I am using a different oven now. Anyway, the eggs were cooked solid, which I guess is just how this recipe is going to be. It is still really good. We ate it this time with corn tortillas, salsa, and sour cream.

Calories: 275 per servings. 4 servings total. (calculated using 4 eggs)

30 Minute Chili

1 lb ground beef, browned with
1 C. chopped onion. Drain fat.
2 14oz. cans diced tomatoes with juice (or 3.5 cups diced from a giant Costco can)
1 15 1/2 oz can kidney beans
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tbs chili powder


Combine all ingredients and heat to boiling; reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.

I really loved this. I used S&W chopped tomatoes and they were really acidic, which made it even better. Also used 91/9 beef.

Calories: 360 per serving / 4 servings. Makes 1.75 quarts. 1.75 cup per serving.

Zucchini Corn and Bacon Pesto Pasta

Zucchini Corn and Bacon Pesto Pasta
http://www.ahintofhoney.com/2011/08/zucchini-corn-and-bacon-fusilli-with.html

This was so delicious. I used whole wheat fusilli pasta and did everything it said in the recipe. The only difference was that instead of using fresh basil, I used a 4 oz container of chopped basil (comes in the plastic tube in the produce area) since it was cheaper. I'm not sure if it equates to her "1 1/2 cup" of basil, which I think she means to be packed, but the pesto turned out really well. I liked it a lot. Even DH liked it and he is not the biggest pesto fan. I think the bacon was important for him in this dish though. It definitely added a nice touch.

I think we sauteed the veg longer than what it said. More like 15-20 minutes. David wanted the squash cooked a bit more. It turned out just right. It was getting a little soft in the middle where the seeds are, but otherwise was still firm and good.

Next time I will try this with store bought pesto I think--it might be cheaper. The original Gourmet recipe has that instead of homemade--a 5-7 oz container of it. Pine nuts and fresh basil are expensive. (but sooo good). And it saves a bit of prep. Maybe someday I'll have my own herb garden and can harvest a ton of basil in the summer and freeze it for uses like this.

This makes about 4 quarts (16 cups).
Calories: 198 calories / cup

Stuffed Green Peppers

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1626,130178-251195,00.html

STUFFED GREEN PEPPERS

1 lb. ground beef

1 lb. ground pork sausage or ground pork

4 eggs

1 cup Italian style bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 cloves fresh garlic

salt

pepper

Italian seasoning

1/2 cup cooked rice

4 large green peppers, sliced in half
2 8 oz cans tomato sauce

Grease bottom of pan with olive oil. Mix meat, eggs, bread crumbs, cheese, garlic, and all seasonings in large bowl (DON'T ADD TOMATO SAUCE. IT GOES ON AS A TOPPING). Add rice and mix together. Slice green peppers so that you have 8 halves. (You can also slice off the top of the pepper and use the whole pepper instead). Stuff peppers with meat mixture. Place in pan and pour both cans of tomato sauce over top and along bottom of pan. Cook @ 350 F for about 1 hour. Serve with rice or mashed potatoes. Serves 4 people, 2 halves each.

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David and I loved this recipe. We found that there was no need for a side of rice. It is satisfying as is, and there is rice in the filling. It was so tasty. I made a point of not buying diet lean ground beef for this recipe, just "lean" (whatever that is..) so there would be more flavor. The flavor of the filling was fantastic. I used bulk pork sausage instead of ground pork as the original recipe calls for. The peppers I bought were massive and thick, so even after an hour there was still some crunch. So if you don't like that, be sure to buy peppers that are not as big.

Calories: 780 per serving / 4 servings (using sausage and 91/9 beef)