Bacon & Caper Topped Scallops

After spending the day with The Domestic Man a couple of weeks ago, he inspired me with his talk of seared scallops.  With a photo result and the idea of delicious scallops and bacon in my mind, I went to town on a version of my own.  We had purchased capers for another recipe, and I have always loved how they paired with salmon and salads.

Coq au Vin (sans Vin)

While visiting my parents in Virginia, we were lucky to visit the local farmer's market.  We found some great local produce as well as a few local farmers.  This chicken (and our turkey on its way for Thanksgiving) is from Moving Meadows Farm, and it was absolutely delicious.  I really am looking forward to the turkey later this month, as well as visiting them more often when we go to visit my parents.  

Hearty Stovetop Chili

It may come as a surprise, but Heather and I are huge fans of chili.  Even in the peak of summer, it's likely that we have plans to make chili, are making chili, or are eating leftover chili.  Our recipe has always relied on cooking up the meat, onions, and peppers in a skillet, transferring that to a crock pot with salsa and diced tomatoes, and then cooking it overnight or all day.  While this makes a great chili, we wanted to attempt something in one pot, and done in under an hour.  This worked out quite well, and I think this may be my preferred method of making chili.  We also experimented with a faux-corn bread, which is so close to being ready.  We will link to it as soon as it's perfected.

Ingredients

2 lbs ground beef

2 chorizo chicken sausages

4 slices of bacon

1 and 3/4 cup bell pepper slices
1 onion, diced

8 cloves of garlic

1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes with green chills

1 16 oz jar of chipotle salsa

1 8-oz can of tomato paste

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp chipotle pepper

1 tsp smoked paprika

Method

Place bacon and crushed garlic in dutch oven over medium heat until both bacon and garlic are fragrant (approximately 3-4 minutes).

Add in ground beef and stir frequently to brown on all sides.

Add in onion, jalapeño, bell pepper, and chorizo.  Mix in and simmer for 2-3 minutes.

Add in salsa, diced tomatoes with green chilis, and spices.  Simmer covered for 15 minutes.

Add in tomato paste, and mix thoroughly.  Simmer an additional 5 minutes uncovered.

Enjoy this fantastic chili.  It's got great flavor and is not an all-day endeavor.  Keep an eye out for when I have the faux-corn bread figured out because it's an amazing companion to this chili.  Right now it's just not quite there.  Soon.  

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Bacon & Sweet Potato Jalapeño Boats

This was an experiment that Heather and I have been tossing up back and forth for about two weeks now.  We weren't sure exactly how to execute it, but we finally pulled the trigger yesterday morning when we decided we were going to attend our first meat-up hosted by Stacy and Matt, of Paleo Parents fame.  We have lived in this area for some time and always had or found an excuse to not go, but it was absolutely amazing!  We also spent some time chatting with The Domestic Man.  Both of these blogs are great resources, if you're not already aware of them.

If you are in the Northern Virginia area, I highly suggest you attend. If not, try to get together with friends monthly--the positive reinforcement and social gathering is very powerful. 

Asparagus, Bacon and Broccoli Soup

Hearty and savory, we think you are going to love this stuff!

Brent aptly pointed out that it is very reminiscent of split-pea soup. But we agree, it's so much better than that! It's thick and rich... First, you taste that bold broccoli. Then, a hint of asparagus, quickly followed by a smokey, salty, bacon-y goodness. Last, but not least, a warmth from the red pepper flakes rounds out the flavors on your palate.

Warning: this recipe makes A LOT of soup. How much is A LOT? Four quarts. Or 16 cups. Or 3.78541 liters. Yea... it's A LOT. We froze one quart immediately. I'm excited to have it on hand once the weather chills out a bit. 

Asparagus, Bacon and Broccoli Soup 

Bacon, Leek, Zucchini and Tomato Frittata

As you all probably know by now, we eat scrambled eggs and bacon A LOT. Like, nearly every morning for breakfast. We love eggs and bacon. Still, we like to switch things up sometimes, so last Sunday I created this delicious frittata with the spare ingredients I had laying around the kitchen.

Honestly, I was on a roll that night. I made a whole rabbit stew, chicken and leek soup, and this frittata. The rabbit stew was the only thing I made from a recipe. The other two--yep, that's right! I made them up. Why? What sparked that surge of creativity? And was I seriously successful?

Well, to the latter, "yes!" The soup was way better than I thought it would be, and the frittata... well, I really believe it's hard to mess up frittata. It's like a pizza--you take leftover whatever, toss them together, add a few standard ingredients and poof! You have a yummy dish. 

To the former questions: I've never used leeks before, and in order to make the rabbit stew, I had to buy some. After setting up the stew to cook low and slow, I googled "what to do with leeks?" I can't tell you how many potato-and-leek soups I passed over, looking for something Paleo and delicious. Fortunately, someone somewhere on the webs said that leeks can be used in place of onion. "Well that's handy!" I thought to myself. I didn't have any onion left in the house. 

I was staring at the other food in the fridge, and saw my eggs. Wouldn't it be nice if I made something interesting for breakfast this week? Frittata was the first thing that came to mind. I knew it would make breakfast for the week easier (cooking at one time for five meals instead of cooking five separate meals, one per morning). 

Plus, I was excited to switch things up a bit. (As an aside: we should probably watch how much egg we eat. I've heard if you over-do it with any food item, you can develop allergies to it. But eggs are so easy, yummy, and good for us, it's not been easy to take "breaks" from them. We have for a week here or there, but it's not something we feel we could sustain long term. We love our eggs too much, lol.) Anyways, we had plenty of zucchini and small tomatoes. So, I decided I'd make a frittata with the those and the leeks. Oh, and of course bacon. How could I not include bacon?! ;)

Alright, so here it is. I hope you enjoy it!

Bacon, Leek, Zucchini and Tomato Frittata

Quick and Easy Bacon-Burgers

We love bacon on our burgers. Sometimes, though, laying a piece or two of perfectly crisp bacon across the top of a burger just doesn't cut it. So, one day, last fall, Brent or I (we can't remember who) had a spark of genius: chop up the bacon and mix it into the burger meat. YUM.

Apple-Stuffed, Bacon-Wrapped Pork Loin Roast

We love meat. We love bacon. It's just so salty and sweet and oh, so delicious (even when it isn't perfectly crispy and even when it's a smidgen burnt). You just can't go wrong with bacon in my book. :)

Last week while Brent's parents were in town visiting, we made a pork fried "rice" dish (using cauliflower), Health-Bent's Orange Chicken, our Slow Cooker Chili, PaleOMG's Honey Ginger Apple Pulled Pork, etc. One of the items that remained was a pound of pork loin roast (we had bought a 3 lb roast but only needed 2 lbs for the recipe). So, two nights ago, I set out to cook it before it went bad in our fridge.

Anyways, I was rummaging through the fridge and pantry for inspiration. I came across bacon and apples. Bingo! Ultimately, this recipe needs some tinkering. The overall flavor was good, but next time I'll sauté the onions and use a few more spices. I'll be sure to post the improved recipe once I've done it. :)

Ingredients

• 1 1-lb pork loin roast
• 2 small granny smith apples, cored and chopped
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• 6-8 slices of bacon, uncooked
• 4-6 cloves of garlic, crushed (just press down with the flat of a knife to crack them open)
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• coconut oil, bacon fat, or whatever you prefer to grease the roasting pan/baking dish

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Season the roast with a sprinkling of salt and pepper.
3. Cut a pocket into the center of the roast.
4. Stuff the pocket with about half of the chopped apples, chopped onion, and crushed garlic cloves.
5. Wrap the roast with the slices of bacon. (I wrapped four across the bottom and up the sides, and then four across the top and down the sides.)
6. Grease the roasting pan or baking dish.
7. Bake the roast for 30 minutes.
8. Add the remaining apples, onion and garlic to the dish, distributing them as evenly as possible around the roast.
9. Bake for another 30 minutes, or until the pork is cooked through.
10. Slice, serve and enjoy!

Full disclosure: the 1 lb roast smelled a little funny and there were a few greenish spots on the fat. A lot of people I know would have just tossed the whole thing. I hate wasting food, so I salvaged it. How? Check out my post of safety tips on dealing with these kinds of things.

Slow Cooker Chili

I'll admit, I wasn't very disciplined about taking pictures, so please forgive the lack of step-by-step photos. We used to always start our chili with our favorite chipotle salsa and a can of diced tomatoes (sometimes with green chilies, something "zesty" style, sometimes "fire roasted" style). We normally just emptied them into the crockpot, and then got to work on the rest of the ingredients. 

Unfortunately, our favorite salsa and the diced tomatoes are not Whole30-friendly. 

So, instead, I chose to roast my own chopped tomatoes (...perhaps I should have diced them) and I made fresh salsa. Here's more or less what I started with: