Eggs en Cocotte

This is a quick and easy breakfast that feels a little fancier than just mixing stuff together in a frying pan. It's very easily adapted to whatever you have on hand. Today I made it with bacon, collard greens, onion, and sweet potato - but feel free to use whatever you have on hand. I love it with kale! I think the sweet potato would go nicely with prosciutto. Fresh herbs are always a bonus, and varying types of cheeses, as well.

Eggs en Cocotte
primal / paleo option / grain-free / gluten-free

Yield: 2 servings

3 slices bacon

1/2-3/4c sweet potato, 1/4in dice

1/4 onion, 1/2in dice

1c greens, chopped

1T butter, softened

2T cheese, grated*

4 eggs

2T cream**

S+P

Herbs

*Omit for paleo
**Coconut cream/milk for paleo

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and butter up your ramekins or mini cocottes.

Begin by cooking the bacon in a 12 inch skilled over medium-low to medium heat until it reaches desired doneness. Meanwhile, add the sweet potatoes to a small skilled with 1T water; season with salt and pepper then cover and cook on low. Drain the bacon on paper and set aside. Drain bacon drippings from the pan except 2-3T. 

When the sweet potato is nearly done, transfer it to the large skillet. Add the onion. Saute over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, until the onion is softened, and the sweet potato browns a bit. Season with desired herbs (I used thyme and also added cumin) and add the greens. Saute for 1 minute, until the greens soften a bit and turn bright green, then kill the heat. 

Chop the bacon and add it back to the pan. Mix everything together. Divide the hash evenly amongst the ramekins/cocottes. Top each with a tablespoon each of milk and cheese. Crack two eggs over the top, being careful not to break the yolk, and set the cocottes on a rimmed baking dish. 

Bake for 12-17 minutes depending on how you like your eggs and how deep your dishes are. Mine are the Le Creuset Mini Cocottes and it took 17 minutes to get the whites completely cooked.

Season with salt and freshly cracked pepper; serve and enjoy.

What's your favorite thing to eat with eggs? Bacon? Hehe.

Honey Mustard Chicken

cell phone photo again. sorry.

Honey Mustard Chicken
primal / paleo / grain-free / gluten-free / egg-free

Yield: 2

2 chicken leg quarters

1/2 onion, sliced/diced/whatever you want

3T dijon mustard (grainy preferably)

1.5T honey

1T balsamic vinegar

1/2-1t salt

1/4-1/2t pepper

1t granulated garlic 

or

2-4 cloves garlic, minced

Mix the sauce together in a plastic bag. Add the chicken pieces and the onion. Place in a dish just in case, and let hang out in the fridge for at least an hour, or up to overnight.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and remove the chicken from the fridge. Place the chicken in a baking dish skin side up (if you have time you can start the chicken skin side down, cook for 20 minutes, then turn over for the remainder of the time), and pour any remaining sauce over it. You can add some oiled and seasoned vegetables/fingerlings/sweet potato chunks at this point as well.

Cook for 45 minutes-1 hour, or until the internal temperature reaches 178 degrees. Let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes to reach 180 degrees, and to redistribute the juices. Enjoy.

What's your favorite kind of potato? I love sweet potatoes, which would also go well here.

Pulled Pork with Apple Butter BBQ Sauce (Primal/Paleo)

Pulled Pork with Apple Butter BBQ Sauce in the Slow Cooker
primal / paleo / grain-free / egg-free

2-3 lb pork shoulder/pork butt

Rub:

1T garlic powder

1T paprika

1t salt

1/2t pepper

1/4t dry mustard

Apple butter sauce:

1/2c apple butter

1/4c apple cider vinegar (with the mother!)

1/4c bone broth (or stock)

1T grainy dijon

1T worcestershire

2T tomato paste

S + P

The night before (if you can) rub the pork down with the spice mixture and let it hang out in the fridge.

The next day, combine the sauce ingredients in your slow cooker. Stir together, and add the pork. 

Cook on low for 8-10 hours or so, until the pork is falling apart enough to shred. Remove the pork from the slow cooker and use two forks to shred it. Meanwhile, if the sauce is too thin, bring to a boil on the stovetop and simmer until thickened to your preference. 

Add the meat to the sauce and serve. We like to shred, reduce the sauce, and add the pulled pork back to sauce an hour before eating. Tastes delicious on a pile of broccoli slaw, with some sweet potato on the side! Enjoy :)

http://www.etsy.com/listing/108586896/felt-applique-felt-pig

Where's your favorite BBQ joint?

Morning Glory Muffins (Primal/Paleo)

For my sister's birthday she didn't want cake. She wanted me to primalize my Morning Glory muffin recipe. Little did she know I was already making her a (Log Lady) cake anyway for her surprise party...  So I didn't have a ton of time to work on tweaking an existing recipe, but, luckily someone did the work for me and I came across a morning glory muffin recipe that was primal and super close to my own recipe! Yay! Of course, I tweaked it just a touch. They turned out amazing. Just as good as the grainy original, just slightly denser, and less sweet. Perfect! As always, you can use various fruits and veggies such as sweet potato, zucchini, parsnip, etc. You can also use any combination of add-ins for the 1c of raisins and walnuts I used. A favorite is 1/2c walnuts, heaping 1/2c dark chocolate chips.

Morning Glory Muffins
primal / paleo / grain-free / gluten-free

Yield: 12 muffins

Adapted from Paleo Comfort Foods

2.5c almond flour

1.5T cinnamon, ground

1t nutmeg, ground

2t baking soda

3/4t salt

2c carrots, grated

1 large apple, grated

1c coconut, unsweetened shredded or flaked

Heaping 1/2c raisins

Heaping 1/2c walnuts, chopped

3 large eggs

2T honey

1/2c coconut oil, melted

1t vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease and line a muffin pan (I recommend silicone liners).

In a large bowl combine the first 5 ingredients. Stir together and add the carrots, apple, coconut, raisins, and walnuts.

In a small bowl combine the honey with the coconut oil. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated. The batter will be very, very thick.

Using a 3T disher or scoop (I use this one) to portion the batter. Use your hands to shape each ball of batter slightly smaller at the bottom and place in the muffin tin, pushing and shaping to the hole.

Bake for 35-45 minutes. Cool slightly in pan, then cool fully on a rack. 

Store in an airtight container in the fridge, or freeze for up to 6 months for optimal flavor.

What's your favorite kind of muffin?