recipes

20 Recipes Using Bacon Fat!

August 27, 2013 by Jackie Ritz 6 Comments

baconfat

Paleo is so liberating! Before Paleo, I used to shun away from fat and gave into the whole “low-fat” culture. I hung that up 2 years ago when I began my journey into eating whole, real, unprocessed foods and realized that saturated fat is not what’s killing us. And the best thing Paleo has done for me is given me a love for BACON! Oh I heart bacon…and I no longer feel bad about eating it, as long as I do in moderation. I’ve continued to lose weight and I continue to feel amazing all the while eating bacon a few times a week. We cook it on our griddle which cooks it perfectly. We prefer thick sliced bacon and try to get bacon that comes from pastured pigs.

A few years ago, I would just throw the bacon fat away, but as I was becoming more aware that bacon fat is not bad for your body and it makes food taste even more delicious, I started saving it and using it in various ways.

How to Save the Fat: once the bacon fat has cooled, pour it into a little jar and store it in the fridge. Some people recommend straining it to prevent any larger clumps of bacon or fat from going into the jar. Scoop it out as needed.

In the fridge, bacon fat will last for months and months (especially if you are careful about making sure all the chunks of bacon are out of it) and even several YEARS! Ask your grandparents! Just give it the “whiff” test before using. If you have large amounts of bacon fat to save, you can toss it in your freezer.

On the countertop, bacon fat will last for several weeks. It’s best to put it in the fridge to prevent it from becoming rancid.

20 Delicious Recipes Using Bacon Fat

1. Roasted Beet & Basil Salad with Hot Bacon Vinaigrette – Oh my!

baconbeetsalad

2. Brussel Sprouts with Bacon

brusselsprouts

3. Make Bacon Mayo.

4. Use it to fry my Fishy Bites in…or anything else!

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5. Make these Silver Dollar Pancakes with it, subbing out the grapeseed oil for bacon fat! (We order our almond flour from here)

gluten-free-pancakes-almond-board-california

6. Sweet Potato Drop Biscuits – these are from my FAVORITE cookbook right now, Beyond Bacon! It’s a beautiful cookbook dedicating to the hog! Use bacon fat in place of lard (it’s really the same thing).

sweet-potato-drop-biscuits-from-BeyondBacon-by-PaleoParents-740

7. Stir Fried Eggs!

8. Bacon Fat Vinaigrette Dressing – we make this all the time and it’s delicious!

9. Maple Bacon Aioli to dip Sweet Potato Fries in!

10. “Cornbread” – follow this recipe, BUT while putting the batter together, add a few TB of bacon fat to the 9″ baking square and melt in the oven. Then add the batter and bake according to directions. No joke…this tastes like cornbread and it’s a staple in our house. (We buy this almond flour)

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11. Bacon Cookies – substitute some bacon fat for the coconut oil!

12. Fry your steak in it!!! OMG!

13. Yellow Lard Cupcakes (or Cake) – I made these and LOVED them. We substituted bacon fat for lard and it was incredible!

unfrosted cupcakes

14. Bacon and Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms – if you do dairy, this is amazing!

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15. Bacon Deviled Eggs – I have had these a few times and they are sooooooo good!

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16. Paleo Roasted Stuffed Tenderloin – doesn’t this look beautiful!

stuffed tenderloin

17. Saute your spinach, in bacon fat!

18. Saute your cabbage in bacon fat!

19. Saute your kale in bacon fat!

20. Spinach Bacon Potato Frittato – eliminate feta if dairy-free. This is on the menu!

fritatta-finished-for-real

So, don’t throw another drop of that delicious bacon fat away! You have no excuse now…eat up and enjoy!

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You can find some of the ingredients for these recipes here:

Shared at Real Food Forager

Thai Shrimp Salad

March 6, 2013 by Jackie Ritz 5 Comments

I miss and love good Thai food. I lived in Thailand for a year and grew to love the flavors and spices involved in making delicious Thai food.

One of my favorite dishes ever is “Som Tam“, which is green papaya salad. You take a unripe papaya, peel it, and then shred it. Add in some more veggies, shrimp, and special ingredients, and you have a very refreshing salad. I used to buy this salad off the street for less than $1! I loved my “Som Tam” Thai lady who thought it was funny to test my Thai language. The first time I ordered from her she asked me how I would like the salad…”spicy or a little spicy? ” she asked me in Thai. I responded to her in what I thought was proper tone (Thai has 5 tones) and said “no spice please.” I said the word spice with the wrong tone and it ended up coming out, “no sex please.”

She gave me the most memorable face, corrected me, and then we both roared with laughter. It was a joke from that day on that I don’t like no sex!

Anyways, I swapped out the papaya and am using shredded cucumber instead, which makes recipe Whole 30 and 21 Day Sugar Detox approved. Green beans are ok on Paleo even though they are technically a bean, because they are more of a pod than a bean!

Shrimp Thai Salad

1/2lb of cooked shrimp

2 cups of shredded cucumber or 2 cups of shredded green papaya

1 cup of very firm green beans (don’t overcook); cut in 1 inch pieces

1 cup of cherry tomatoes, cut in half

4 TB of sliced or mashed almonds

3 cloves of garlic, minced

juice of 2 limes

2 TB of fish sauce (or soy sauce)

handful of cilantro

1 TB apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Optional: red chile pepper

Directions:

1. Lightly steam your green beans or eat them raw. Mine green beans were from the freezer so they were not too hard so I didn’t have to steam them. You want them to be crunchy.

2. Shred your cucumber and then place it in a colander to drain. Leave it to drain for like 15 minutes, then pat dry with a towel.

3. In a large bowl add your green beans, shrimp, cherry tomatoes, cilantro and chile pepper (if using).

4. Then add your wet ingredients: fish sauce, lime juice, vinegar, and garlic. Sprinkle on some salt and pepper.

5. Add cucumber to the bowl and mix. Taste and adjust seasonings.

6. Top with mashed or sliced almonds!

Spaghetti Squash Goulash

February 27, 2013 by Jackie Ritz 8 Comments

This is extremely hearty and extremely delicious! I am in heaven with this bowl of Spaghetti Squash Goulash sitting in front of me. My kids devoured it and hubby had thirds, so I think that is another one for Mommy! Hope you enjoy it as much as we do. This is a HUGE recipe, so, please, divide and conquer if you need to. I usually make the full recipe and freeze half. Or I take this recipe to a pot luck since it serves 6-10 people.

Spaghetti Squash Goulash

Ingredients:

3lbs of ground beef
2 onions, diced
3 cups of stock (I usually use my homemade chicken stock, but you can use beef stock too) or water
1(29 ounce) can of tomato sauce or homemade marinara sauce
1(29 ounce) can of diced tomatoes
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3 bay leaves
2 TB Italian Seasoning
3 TB of Coconut Aminos (soy sauce)
1 TB of Seasoned Salt (I use this homemade version)
1 ts salt
1 ts pepper
1 ts garlic powder
1 large or 2 small Spaghetti Squash*

Directions:

1. In a large Dutch oven or pot, saute the ground meat over medium-high heat until cooked through.
2. Add the onions to the pot and saute them until tender; about 5 minutes.
3. Add 3 cups of stock (or water), tomato sauce, tomatoes, garlic Italian seasoning, bay leaves, Coconut Aminos, salt, pepper, seasoned salt, and garlic powder. Stir well and then cover the pot and cook for 20 minutes of medium-low heat.
4. Turn the heat to a simmer and cook for another 15 minutes.
5. Remove pot from heat and cool for 15-30 minutes.
6. Either stir in the cooked Spaghetti Squash or just place the mixture on top of the squash on a plate.

*While you are making the goulash mixture, cook the Spaghetti Squash in the microwave or in the oven.

**I served this with Almond Bread.

Green Bean Amandine

February 21, 2013 by Jackie Ritz 1 Comment

One of my most favorite possessions is the homemade cookbook that my M0m made for me. It is filled with recipes that bring me back to my childhood and leave me thirsty for more.

One of my favorites is her Green Bean Amandine. Perfect timing to pull it out because I had just bought a huge bag of organic green beans from Costco! The gravy that this recipe makes is so amazingly delicious!!!!!!! I’m seriously drinking the juices!

Green Bean Amandine

Ingredients:

1TB Butter/Ghee
3lbs Green Beans
3 cups of homemade chicken stock
1/4ts pepper
1/2 ts salt
2TB arrowroot
1/4 cup water
2TB fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup sliced toasted almonds

Directions:

1. Melt the butter/or ghee in a large skillet over medium/high heat. Add green beans and saute for 5 minutes.

2. Add stock, pepper, and salt. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Combine arrowroot and water, stir well. Stir the arrowroot mixture into the green bean mixture.

4. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute stirring constantly.

5. Remove from heat, stir in the lemon juice and sprinkle with almonds!

Yield: 8 cups

My Top 10 Paleo Necessities

January 29, 2013 by Jackie Ritz 3 Comments

When I first started eating Paleo, I spent A TON of money! Let’s face it, it costs a bit of pocket change to get a Paleo pantry stocked…especially when you are not used to cooking whole, unprocessed foods. In walks Amazon.com…my lifesaver and money saver.

If you haven’t started shopping on Amazon, then you need to. They have some ridiculous deals and shipping is always so fast. When we started Paleo, we signed up for Amazon Prime, which is an annual fee of $79. Wait, wait, don’t get scared away. This includes free 2-day shipping for the WHOLE year, accessibility to Prime Instant Videos which has lots of TV shows and movies to choose from, and the Kindle Lending Library with thousands of books to choose from!

They also have Amazon Mom which gives you 20% off diapers and wipes and, also, 2-day shipping on Prime items. Amazon Mom also has a free trial you can do to test out the waters and see how you like it. You don’t have to be a mom to do it either!

Amazon Student is another great deal! You get a free 6-month Prime trial if you have a valid student email address.

All this to say, I love Amazon! And if you are eating Paleo, some of the items that you find you might need, are so expensive in the grocery store. You can find them on Amazon for a fraction of the cost. Here are some of my favorites…

1) Coconut Oil

You will use coconut oil a lot! Coconut oil replaces all other vegetable oils you may have used before going Paleo. Coconut oil can cook at a higher temperature than any other oil, so it’s a good choice to have! The benefits of coconut oil are mainly from the nutrient value of medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs). The best comparison in nature as to the percentage of MCFAs being consumed in a diet is human breast milk!

2) Coconut Chips

These are delicious! You can snack on them raw, throw them in baked, Paleo goods or make caramelized coconut chips!

Recipes I love: Caramelized Coconut Chips, Paleo Breakfast Cookies, and Morning Glory Muffins

3) Coconut Milk

It’s really, REALLY hard to find coconut milk that doesn’t have any added ingredients, however Natural Value coconut milk only has water and coconut! It’s a great deal off Amazon because in the stores it’s nearly $4 a can! On Amazon you can get 12 cans for $30!

Recipes I love: Ground Beef Stroganoff, Pumpkin Pie in a Cup, and Whipped Coconut Cream

4) Olive Oil

Zoe olive oil is my absolute favorite olive oil. The taste and flavor of it is amazing. It’s great to have both coconut and olive oil on hand in a Paleo kitchen. Coconut oil withstands hotter temperatures better than olive oil, but olive oil is great for marinades, homemade mayonnaise, and salad dressings.

Recipes I love: Homemade Mayo and Marinated Balsamic Chicken

5) Sweetleaf Liquid Stevia

Stevia saved my life when I was giving up the flavored creamers to put in my coffee. My favorite kind is the English Toffee from Sweetleaf. Stevia comes from a plant and is 100% natural. Beware: lots of the store-bought stevia brands are not 100% stevia. Sweetleaf and Kal are reputable brands that are 100% stevia.

6) Almond Butter

Peanut Butter is a no-no if going Paleo because, guess what, peanuts are a legume, not a nut! Crazy, eh? I was surprised too. We really like Barney Butter Smooth Almond Butter , however it does have some evaporated cane juice in it. If you are looking for something with JUST almonds then Maranatha Natural Almond Butter is awesome…just a little on the expensive side.

Recipes I love: The Easiest Bread Ever, Zucchini Brownies, and Paleo Breakfast Cookies

7) Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips

We love these chocolate chips by Enjoy Life. They are the only ones I have found that are gluten, dairy, nut, and SOY free! They are so good and we use them in lots of recipes. The kids love them too and I feel good about letting them snack on them. They are around $3.50 each on Amazon which is an AWESOME deal. In the stores they are around $6 each…yikes!

Recipes I love: Chocolate Chip Cookies, Chunky Monkey Muffins, and Zucchini Brownies

8) Coconut Sugar

Coconut sugar is a great substitution for regular sugar, and even, brown sugar. It comes from coconut tree sap and is one of the lowest glycemic index sweeteners on the market. I have made caramelized onions using coconut sugar and they come out delish!

Recipes I love: 2-Minute Paleo Mug Brownie, Caramelized Onions, and Whipped Coconut Cream

9) Fruit Leather

If you follow my Pinterest page, I post pictures of my daughter’s lunches to help give my followers some ideas for sending whole, unprocessed lunches. You might see fruit leather mentioned in there from time-to-time. They are so good and are 100% fruit. I get these for super cheap off Amazon and my kids, even I, love them! They love it when I cookie-cut them into cute little shapes and hearts.

10) Almond Flour

Almond flour is my favorite alternative to white flour. I LOVE it! You can do so much with it and it Honeyville’s Blanched Almond Flour is very light and fluffy.

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These are 10 staples in our house. A lot of the items have a “subscribe & save” option on Amazon, which makes the cost come down even more.

And once you gather all your kitchen pantry essentials, here is a list of my favorite Paleo cookbooks to get you on your way:

1)Well Fed: Paleo Recipes for People Who Love to Eat

2)Make it Paleo: Over 200 Grain Free Recipes For Any Occasion

3) Paleo Comfort Foods: Homestyle Cooking for a Gluten-Free Kitchen

Ground Beef Stroganoff

February 25, 2012 by Jackie Ritz 60 Comments

This is so good, I just can’t keep it to myself anymore! I make it 2-3 times every month. It’s just so delicious and comforting. I adapted this recipe from a non-Paleo recipe I saw on here. It’s so nourishing and 100% Paleo! You can make it Primal by using sour cream instead of coconut milk cream. Hope you like it!

Ingredients:

2 TB of Butter or Ghee
2 TB of extra-virgin olive oil or coconut oil, divided
1 lg Onion, diced
8 ounces of sliced white mushrooms (slice em’ thick)
1 pound of ground beef
2 TB of tomato paste
1.5 ts thyme
1.5 ts rosemary
4 cloves of garlic
1 TB arrowroot powder
1.5 cup beef stock (I usually use my homemade chicken stock since I make a batch every week)
2/3 cup thick coconut cream (this is the cream off the top of a can of coconut milk). I recommend Native Forest for this because it separates really good in the can.
1/2 ts of sea salt
1/2 ts black pepper
cooked Cauliflower Rice, Sliced Zucchini “noodles”, sweet potato noodle, or Spaghetti Squash

Directions:

In a skillet, melt the butter/or Ghee with 1 TB of olive/or coconut oil. Add the mushrooms and onions, and saute until slightly softened and browned around the edges. Remove to a plate.

Brown ground beef in 1 TB of olive oil until no longer pink. Return onions and mushrooms to pan. Add tomato paste, thyme, rosemary, and garlic. Saute’ for about 3 minutes to allow the flavors to develop. Reduce heat to medium. Sprinkle arrowroot powder over meat mixture and stir to combine until arrowroot is completely mixed in. Add beef stock and stir to mix in.

Sauce will begin to thicken as it comes to a simmer.

Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for a couple minutes.

Stir in the thick coconut cream.

Serve over cooked Cauliflower Rice, sliced zucchini noodles, sweet potato noodle, or roasted Spaghetti Squash with some roasted vegetables on the side!

We made it with sweet potato noodles this time which my kids LOVED!

recipes

20 Recipes Using Bacon Fat!

20 Delicious Recipes Using Bacon Fat