Posts Tagged ‘Bacon’

Beef and Bacon Pies

Posted 14 Nov, 2010 in Main Course [ 5 Comments ]

I feel best on a diet of meat and vegetables. Over the last few months, my diet has been more coffee, alcohol, baked almond flour goods, and then meat and vegetables. With the holidays fast approaching, I really need to watch my diet or I know I will be completely burned out by Christmas.

The first step to this is that I stopped drinking coffee. I decided to do so because I was replacing breakfast with flat whites which is good for getting a kick start in the mornings, but not very good for my sleep. Since I stopped drinking coffee, I have been able to get a full 8-9 hours of sleep and I’m waking up without my alarm. This is even on the weekdays when I need to be up around 6:30AM. I feel a hundred times better and I’ve been so much more productive at work. It’s actually pretty amazing to feel so well rested.

So I’m now focusing on cutting every other crap from my diet except meat and vegetables. It will surely prove to be a challenge with the festive season just around the corner but still worth a go. I found this recipe in an old Dish magazine that I found when I was cleaning out my bookshelf. This recipe makes 12 half-cup sized portions which are great to have as breakfast on the go or with a large salad for lunch. Given that I have a crazy schedule during the week, having conveniently ready made foods is the best way for me to stick to a meat and vegetables diet.

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Beef and Bacon Pies

Recipe adapted from Dish magazine

6 slices of middle bacon
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot grated
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup parsley chopped
1 egg
750 grams beef mince
1 tbs curry paste (I used tandoori)
salt and pepper

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
  2. Cut the bacon into halves so that you have 12 pieces.
  3. Line the muffin tins with the bacon.
  4. Cook the onion, garlic, and grated carrot in a skillet with butter until everything is cooked.
  5. Add in the tomato paste and stir through. Take this mixture off heat and cool.
  6. In another bowl, mix the beef, egg, parsley, curry paste. Season with salt and pepper.
  7. Add the onion carrot mixture to the beef mixture. Mix well with hands.
  8. Divide this mixture evenly in the bacon lined muffin tins.
  9. Bake in oven for 40 minutes or until the juices run clear.
  10. Remove from the muffin tins and flip onto a baking tray lined with baking paper so that the bacon side is shown on top. The pies should be easy to remove due to the juices from the beef mince.
  11. Put under the grill for a further 5 minutes so that the bacon gets crisp.

Makes 12 pieces.

Turkey Pot Pie with Almond Flour Crust

Posted 7 Jul, 2010 in Main Course, Recipes [ No Comments ]

I’m definitely a carnivore but I won’t touch chicken. It’s not that I dislike the taste of it. It’s just that I had food poisoning twice from chicken. After two such incidents, I just can’t bear to eat chicken. To my surprise, I found some turkey at the local grocery store. It’s not like America here where turkey meat is widely available. I think this is the first time that I saw turkey at the grocery store in New Zealand.

I decided to make Turkey Pot Pie which is essentially a variation of the classic- Chicken Pot Pie. But I wanted to make a dairy-free and low-carb version of the classic. I made just 2 pies here but you can easily double the recipe to serve 4. It was pretty easy to make and the almond flour crust is so good that you won’t miss the carbohydrate laden pastry. This was a perfectly low-carb, high-protein dinner for a cold Winter’s night.

This recipe is part of Real Food Wednesdays.

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Turkey Pot Pie with Almond Flour Crust

For the Filling

2 rashers of bacon, thinly sliced
1 onion chopped
1/2 tbs ghee
200 grams turkey thigh fillets, cut into chunks
1 carrot cut into cubes
1 cup button mushrooms sliced thinly
chicken stock (just enough to cover the turkey mixture)
2 tbs arrowroot (or cornflour)

  1. In a large pan with lid, melt the ghee and sautee the bacon and onion over medium heat.
  2. Add in the turkey thigh pieces, carrots, and mushrooms until cooked through.
  3. Add in just enough chicken stock to cover the turkey mixture.
  4. Make slurry with the arrowroot powder and a little bit of cold water.
  5. Add the slurry into the stock and turkey mixture.
  6. Lower heat and cook until the stock thickens.
  7. Remove from heat and distribute evenly to 2 remekins or small bowls.

For the Crust (recipe adjusted from this website)

1 1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1/4 cup water

  1. Preheat oven to 175°C.
  2. Mix all dry ingredients together.
  3. Mix the egg and the water in a separate bowl.
  4. Combine the dry and the wet ingredients together.
  5. Spread the dough evenly on the ramekins filled with the turkey mixture.
  6. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the crust is golden.

Makes 2 generous servings.

Bacon and Date Biscuits

Posted 29 May, 2010 in Breakfast, Recipes [ 3 Comments ]

Breakfast is supposed to be the most important meal of the day. During the weekdays, I generally have an omelette made with 2 eggs or just a cup of coffee with cream if I am not hungry. But by the time the weekend rolls around, I want something different for breakfast. Something a little less boring.

The hardest part is trying to decide if I want a sweet or a savory breakfast. These Bacon and Date Biscuits are high in protein, completely grain-free and will satisfy a craving for a sweet or a savory breakfast. I used butter but if you have bacon grease, I’m sure it’ll work just as well.

On a personal note, I’ve been feeling sick all week with some form of a stomach virus. I hate being sick, but it’s also a good reminder to start taking better care of myself. I can be a bit paranoid about any form of stomach illness as I’ve twice been violently ill from food poisoning. My experiences with food poisoning is one of the many reasons why I do pay so much attention to what I eat. Yes, it costs more to buy organic and free range and some may even call it elitist. But as I’m reminded by this week’s illness, I’d much rather invest my money and time into eating well now to prevent being sick later.

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Bacon and Date Biscuits

4 eggs
1/4 cup butter melted
1/3 cup sifted coconut flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup cooked chopped bacon
1/2 cup chopped dried dates

  1. Preheat oven to 205° C.
  2. Whisk together the eggs and butter.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix the coconut flour and baking powder.
  4. Mix the dry and the wet ingredients together.
  5. Add in the bacon and dates and stir through.
  6. Line a baking tray with baking paper and drop batter by the spoonful.
  7. Bake for 15 minutes.

Makes 8 biscuits.

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