Bacon Guacamole Stuffed Burgers!

Even more deliciousness!!  How does it keep just getting better and better?!?!  This recipe is super easy because you are already a pro at the bacon guacamole, so now you just need to stuff some burgers with it!

Nobody in my house ate this other than me, so you just have to take my word for it that its delicious.  I was worried about heating up guacamole.  I thought it would brown or just go funny, but it stayed just as delicious as it was before it went in the burger!

Super easy, the original recipe is for pork, but I used ground turkey and added some lime juice to the meat.  Maybe next time I will throw some of my homegrown cilantro in the meat.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb pork sausage links, removed from casings (I used ground turkey)
• 1/3 batch of bacon guacamole, about 4 oz,  

Directions:

1. Measure your pork/turkey into 8 evenly sized portions. This is so much easier with a kitchen scale!Who the heck has a kitchen scale?!?!  I just make my best guess.
2. Lay out a sheet of parchment paper and flatten your portions of pork into thin patties.I hate parchment paper, but I do use it for things like this
3. Spoon 1 oz of bacon guacamole (from your 4 oz container) onto 4 of the burger patties, spreading it evenly, but leaving a gap all around the edges. (i just scooped it on until it looked full enough) 
4. Next, lay one of the remaining thin patties on top of each guacamole-topped patties. Pinch the edges to seal the two patties together, use the edge of your palms to make sure the patties are round, then flatten the tops gently. (if you dont pinch the sides your burger patties will seperate, still tastes just as good though)
5. Cook thoroughly on the stovetop or the grill, approximately 5 - 6 minutes per side. (we bbq'ed ours, not sure on the time.  use your best judgement)

 Original recipe is from Paleo Parents, but I got it from: http://meatified.com/stuffed-bacon-guacamole-burger/

Hope you enjoy!  Happy BBQ-ing!

JoJo!!

Bacon Guacamole

Yes, you read that correctly!  Bacon Guacamole!! What could make guacamole taste better?!?!  Bacon of course!!  Everything tastes better with bacon!!  I have seen recipes for bacon guacamole, but not really looked at them in detail until i saw the recipe for bacon guacamole stuffed burgers (recipe to follow), well i just had to give it a try! I was also super duper excited about all of the fresh cilantro I was growing in my garden, I had to do something with it!

Sneak peak at the burgers!

Super easy recipe, only 5 ingredients! (although I add 6).  My husband likes avocados, but doesn't like guacamole.  He didn't mind the bacon guacamole.  I absolutely loved it.  I made a double batch today!! I'm very excited!

Ingredients:

• 4 – 6 slices of bacon, depending on size (always go for more bacon!)
• 2 avocados
• Juice of 1/2 or to taste (I used the whole lime)
• 1 tbl finely chopped fresh cilantro (I used quite a bit more)
• 5 green onions, chopped 
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat a flat bottomed pan over the stove at medium heat and begin to fry bacon until crisp, about 8 – 10 minutes.
2. While bacon is frying, cut the avocados, then remove and discard the pits. Use a spoon to scrape out the avocado flesh into a bowl. Use a fork to gently mash the avocado, leaving chunks of whole avocado. I find it easier to chop with a knife initially and then mash with a fork.  If I start with a fork the avocado just slides around
3. Squeeze the lime juice into the bowl and add the cilantro. Add the green onions & stir the guacamole together.
4. When the bacon is done, remove to a plate lined with paper towel to absorb any excess grease. When cool enough to handle, chop the bacon into crumbles and stir into the guacamole.
5. At this point I throw in some salt to taste too

Yummy Yummy Yummy Yummy!  I love guacamole.  I am quite confident it would be good without the bacon.

Original Recipe is from Paleo Parents, but I got it from:  http://meatified.com/stuffed-bacon-guacamole-burger/

Enjoy!!

JoJo!!

Paleo Mayonnaise

I love egg salad, ranch dressing, I love sauce.  When I switched to eating paleo and cut out the processed pre-packaged foods, I really missed the sauces and dips.  I set out on a mission to make a good mayonnaise.  I read recipes and recipes, and I tried more than I care to admit before I found one that 1. actually worked, and 2. tasted good.  I had given up, it was becoming quite expensive to keep failing.   I decided to try one more time when I saw the recipe in the EveryDay Paleo cookbook.

I can't be bothered to look the recipe up in the book, so I am just going to tell you how I make it!  Techniques used have developed over my multiple failures. lol

Glad I have saved all my containers!!

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 squeeze of yellow mustard (approximately 1 teaspoon - no more otherwise it tastes mustardy)
• salt - (i have a few grinds of my sea salt grinder)
• pinch of cayenne pepper (this is totally optional, i only do it occasionally) 
• 1/2 -1 cup light olive oil (add olive oil until you get the consistency you want)

Directions:

• You need an immersion (stick) blender, and a mixing bowl that the blender fits into snugly.
• add the egg yolks, mustard, vinegar and salt to the bowl and pulse a few times
• very very slowly add the olive oil little bits at a time (that's how slowly you need to add it)
• start the blender at the bottom of the container and gradually move it to the top. repeat.
• continue to add the olive oil slowly until you get the consistency you want
• once the liquid starts emulsify (thicken), you can add the olive oil a little quicker

This is my go too recipe for mayo, and the family loves it!!

Happy Mixing!

JoJo!!

Paleo Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Cookies

I was super excited to see these on Just Eat Real Food, I am always looking for great recipes for breakfast. Especially things for Avery, and things that you can take on the go.  Who doesn't love apple and cinnamon?!?!

It turns out that I dont!  I really did not enjoy these cookies.  I found them dry, and they did not have a big apple taste to them.  They were more dry cake than cookie.  I used Fuji apples, it is what we had in the fridge, and the recipe made no apple suggestions.  I think I may try the recipe again, but with more apples.  1/3 of a cup of apples really doesn't seem like enough apple to me.  I think adding more apple would increase the moisture of the cookies a bit.

On the positive side, it was a super easy recipe!  I chucked it all in the food processor and pulsed away!

Ingredients:

• 1 banana
• 2 tbsp almond butter
• 1-2 tbsp almond milk (if needed) (I used coconut milk - didnt have almond milk)
• 2 tsp vanilla (I used extra)
• 1/3 cup shredded apple (I would suggest using more)
• pinch of sea salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ginger powder
• 1/3 cup coconut flour
• 1 tsp baking soda

Directions:

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl. Add a touch of honey if you prefer sweeter cookies. (I used my food processor, and I did add some honey)
• Drop cookies by spoonful onto the parchment paper. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until done to your liking. (I hate parchment paper, the next time I would just grease the cookie sheet)

The original recipe was from http://www.whatrunslori.com/2012/05/paleo-apple-cinnamon-breakfast-cookies/

Let me know if they work out any better for you!!

Happy Baking!

JoJo!! 

Paleo Everyday Cookies

I have made these cookies a few times, and finally got around to taking a picture so I could share the recipe with you!  The first time I made them I did not like them, I found them too soggy.  The next time I threw some coconut in there, so i have kind of stuck with that!  The wetness from the batter will really depend on how juicy your apples are.  You can add more flour or coconut!

I would like to say that Avery loves them, but so far, in my several tries making them, she has only ever picked out the chocolate chips.  That is pretty common for her though.  LOL.  Oh well, I love them.  I have eaten at least 12 over the past 3 days. Hahahahaha!!

Ingredients

• 1 peeled Banana (I keep a bag of very old banana's in my fridge for baking. the riper the better)
• 1 peeled and sliced Apple (I never bother peeling the apples)
• 1/2 cup Almond Butter
• 3 Tbsp Palm Shortening (I used coconut oil this time around - best cookies so far)
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract (I never measure my vanilla)
• 1 1/2 cups Blanched Almond Flour
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp Celtic Sea Salt
• Parchment Paper (This is optional. You can also grease a cookie sheet)
• I added unsweetened coconut, not really sure how much, check the consistency of your cookie dough, if it looks really wet add some more
• I always add chocolate chips
• (dried fruit would also be a nice option 

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Puree the Banana and Apple in a food processor.
• Add the almond butter, shortening and vanilla extract to the processor.
• In a separate bowl mix the Blanched Almond Flour, Baking Soda, and Celtic Sea Salt.
• Combine the dry and wet ingredients in the food processor.
• Mix until combined. (if it looks really wet either add more flour or coconut.  when they are wet they become soggy cookies)
• Tbsp size balls on the parchment paper (which is on top of a cookie sheet). I hate parchment paper, too much fuss, so I just grease my cookie sheet
• squish the cookies flat, they dont flatten much on their own like regular cookies
• Bake for 8 to 16 minutes.
• EAT!

The original recipe is from Paleo Parents "Eat Like a Dinosaur: Recipe and Guidebook for Gluten Free Kids"

 
The recipe made me 24 cookies, so there are plenty for sharing!!

Happy Baking,

JoJo!!

Soy Sauce Substitute

We all know how much I love my fried cauliflower rice.  I make it quite regularly.  Last weekend I ran out of the coconut aminos that I use as a soy replacement.  I made a trip to the enjoy center to buy some more, and well, they have been taken off the shelves!!!  Apparently it has something to do withe the labels, blah blab blah.

I was fortunate enough to bump into the most delightful and helpful staff member at the Enjoy center (who happens to be in my 1/2 marathon clinic - small world).  Rather than just telling me that the sauce was no longer available, she did research and actually brought me recipes to try!!  Amazing service!  

I was given several recipes, so I just tried the first one, and it worked out great.  It was pretty easy to make, not a lot of ingredients, and the nice thing is, it can have as much or as little salt as you would like!  My husband tasted it, and he actually enjoyed it (although he would have preferred more salt)  It worked great in my rice!

Ingredients:
1.  4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
2.  2 teaspoons unsulphured molasses (you can buy this at the Enjoy center or save-on foods)
3.  1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
4.  1 pinch white pepper (I did not have white pepper so I skipped this)
5.  1 pinch garlic powder
6.  1 1/2 cups organic beef or chicken broth (I used chicken broth)
7.  salt, to taste (if needed) (I definitely salted!)

Directions:
1.  in  a saucepan over medium heat, stir together all of the ingredients except the salt. (next time I would salt a little while cooking - cook the salty flavor in the sauce!)
2.  Bring to a boil
3.  Continue to boil until the liquid is reduced to about 1 cup (about 15 minutes)
4.  Taste and season with salt as needed
5.  Store in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for up to a week - shake before using

Original recipe is from:  Cooking God's Way

Hope this works as well for you as it did for me!!

JoJo!!