Bacon and Egg Muffins

In preparation for starting another Whole30 Paleo Challenge today, I have been doing a lot of food prep the past few days.

If you you know anything about eating Paleo, you know that it takes planning and preparation… so that you have suitable things on hand to eat, especially for days that you are running short on time.

Yes, you can always throw together a salad and open a can of tuna to plop on the top of it… but you likely don’t want to live on salad… as much as I love salad, I don’t want to eat it 3 times a day either... no matter what the variations might be.

So, a couple of days ago, I made some Curried Coconut Sweet Potato Soup..

and a large batch of Beanless Beef Chili…

This morning, I made some Bacon and Egg Muffins…

and I have a couple of pork roasts with some apples and onions cooking in the crock pot right now, which will become Pulled Pork when done…

It is smelling pretty good around here right now!

I want to share these Bacon and Egg Muffins with you… over the years I have been privvy to some ideas shared by my Weight Watchers friends for easy and quick breakfasts.  Several of them make what they call ‘Breakfast Quiches’.  They mix eggs or egg whites with a variety of chopped veggies and then bake them in muffin cups.

These little quiches are very handy as they can be kept in the fridge for several days. They make quick breakfasts or easy snacks and they are portable and quite tasty.  They are easily reheated in the microwave oven.

But today I wanted something just a bit different, so I added some cooked bacon to the mixture…. they are delicious.  Now, I am sure that in a pinch, you could use pre-cooked bacon bits in these muffins and they would be fine… but I had some bacon in the fridge so I used that… they are truly delicious!

Change the proportions if you like to make more .. or add different veggies too, such as chopped peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, or spinach.

I used silicone muffin cups, set inside a muffin tin, so no other preparation was needed, but if you use a regular muffin pan, you may want to coat it with a non-stick spray.  I haven’t tried paper liners so cannot vouch for them.

And please don't be afraid of these recipes we label 'Paleo'... all it means is that the recipe will be grain free, dairy free and sugar free.  What's scary about that?

Bacon and Egg Muffins
Makes 9 muffins

• 6 slices bacon, cooked till crispy, then cut into small pieces
• 6 eggs, beaten
• 1/8 cup diced white onion
• 1/2 cup kale, cut into small pieces 

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare your muffin tins.
2. Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl.
3. Spoon the mixture into 9 muffin cups, trying to make sure the proportions of bacon, eggs, and veggies are approximately the same in each.
4. Bake for 20 minutes.
5. Allow to cool a bit before removing the muffins from the pan.

Per serving of 1 muffin.
Weight Watchers P+ = 2.
Calories 72; Protein 5g; Carbohydrate 1g; Fibre 0g; Fat 5g.

Printable Recipe

I took the opportunity to bake an egg in each of the 3 empty muffin cups in my 12-cup tin.  I love Baked Eggs… give them a try too!

Silky Smooth Curried Coconut Sweet Potato Soup

Several months ago I pinned a recipe for a soup that I thought looked very good.  And I had another look at it when I had a craving for a sweet potato and coconut dish a few days ago.  It is a good looking soup, very thick and you may want to check it out.

This soup of mine was definitely inspired by that one so I wanted to be sure to give it credit,  but I do prefer to use my own tried and true vegetable soup method, and I changed up the spices a bit, too.

I used a full fat version of canned coconut milk in this soup and it feels like silk in your mouth.  The texture is really fabulous.  I know it would be good with a light coconut milk, too, and of course the calorie count would be lower… and for my Weight Watchers friends, the P+ values would certainly be less as well.

Your choice, of course. 

Any leftovers can be frozen or just kept in the fridge for use within a couple of days.

Here is how I made it.

Curried Coconut Sweet Potato Soup
Makes 5 one-cup servings

• 1 Tbs coconut oil
• 16 oz sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
• 4 oz white onion, peeled and chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled, smashed and minced
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup coconut milk

1. Place the coconut oil in a large soup pot over MEDIUM heat.
2. Saute the onions and garlic until translucent, being careful not to let them brown.
3. Add the sweet potato chunks and saute about 5 minutes.
4. Add the spices and stir to coat the veggies.
5. Add the water, bring to a boil and then cover the pot, and reduce the heat to LOW and let the mixture simmer for about half an hour.
6. Remove the pot from the heat and using your immersion blender, puree the veggies and combine with the broth. You don’t want any lumps left.
7. Add the coconut milk to the mixture and stir or blend well.
8. Place soup in serving bowls, and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Per serving.
Weight Watchers P+ = 5.
Calories 159; Protein 6g; Carbohydrate 25g; Fat 6g; Fibre 3g.

Make sure your heat setting is not too high so that your garlice and onions do not brown when cooking.

Chop the sweet potato into 1/2 inch chunks so that it cook fairly quickly.

Still steaming when I opened the lid and started to puree.

That’s better!  Don’t want to melt the blender!

Almost done. You can see it it still a bit lumpy.

And ready to enjoy!

Printable Recipe

Easy Granola Wedge Cookie

I really wanted to bake something new for The Captain this week – he is not following my new eating plan  although he does very well with, and enjoys the paleo meals I make, he is not about to give up his own favorite carbs… pasta, cookies with milk, pancakes, waffles, cupcakes, white potatoes, and the occasional handful of praline peanuts!

So, I have like to make an effort to make something just for him once in a while. 

I reread a blog post I got recently in my mailbox from spabettie that had a recipe for a Spicy Granola Wedge Cookie that you bake an then cut into wedges. She had a link to the original recipe, too, upon which her own vegan and gluten free adaptation was based.

So I followed the link and found a cookie that would be more suitable to The Captain’s taste buds, but along the way made a few changes of my own.

We don’t use canola oil so I opted for coconut oil in its place.  And I also used salted cashew pieces instead of the pecans, so I left out the salt and the baking soda.

This wedge cookie is so easy to put together and because you just spread the dough and bake it like a cake, there is none of the fuss and time involved in shaping individual cookies… I almost felt guilty, they were so easy and quick.

Apparently I no longer have a pie plate…  have not a clue where it might have run off to, so I spread the raw cookie dough into the shape of square, well approximately a square, in the bottom of a cake pan. 




It’s a nice thick dough that holds together very well.




I baked it for a couple of minutes longer than the recipe suggests…




And then let it cool for a few minutes before cutting it and serving a slice to my Mr. Sweet Tooth for his morning coffee treat.




It is a nice thick cookie, not too sweet…



And we found out that it holds up well in a baggie tucked in your pocket when you go hiking too!

Even with my changes, the N.I. is going to be pretty much the same as that which the author gives.

For my Weight Watchers buddies, that makes each of the 8 wedges worth 5 P+.  Not bad for a hefty heavy serving and of course you could always share it with a friend!

So, check out the original recipe, and also the vegan and gluten free version from spabettie.  And do use a round pie plate if you have one… the triangular wedges are cuter!

What’s your favorite easy cookie recipe?  Have one to share?