Sunnyside Up Eggs and Pork Sausage

Sunnyside Up Eggs and Pork Sausage
I just recently learned how to cook sunnyside up eggs. I know, I know...It's not rocket science. Actually, cooking sunnyside up eggs ended up being easier than cooking scrambled eggs. Even the clean up has been easier. The basic golden rule is...wait for it...butter. Lots of grass fed butter. Or ghee. I like using ghee when I can (ghee is clarified grass fed butter). Using lots of butter makes for super easy cleanup because the eggs slide right out of the skillet and onto whatever delicious food you may (or may not -- who needs anything else!) have on your plate.

Ingredients:
2-4 Pastured Eggs
2-3 Tablespoons of Grass Fed Butter or Ghee
1lb of Pork Sausage
Salt/Pepper to taste
2-3 Handfuls of Baby Kale

Instructions:
1. Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium/high heat and drop in your pork sausage. Stir it occasionally so it doesn't burn while you're cooking the eggs.

My pork sausage from Blue Valley Meats. Nice and local.

2. Heat another small/medium cast iron skillet over medium heat and add the grass fed butter/ghee.

Lots. Of. Butter.

3. Once the butter is shimmery and melted (but not burning), crack your eggs gently into the skillet.

Eggs in the skillet, ready to be covered.

4. Cover the eggs and let them cook for 2-5 minutes depending on how well you like everything cooked (and how solid you want the yokes to be).

Cover the eggies ;).

5. Plate some baby kale and pork sausage for a bed and then add your sunnyside up eggs on top! They should slide easily out of the skillet if you used enough butter.

Breakfast is served.

6. Enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

-Perry, The Simple Paleo Cook

Twitter (@SimplePaleoCook) | Email | Pinterest

Sweet Potato Hash / Bacon and Paleo Blueberry Pancakes

Sweet Potato Hash

I used my Cuisinart and it's shredding disc to shred up the sweet potato and then basically fried it up in some grass fed butter and a couple spices.

Ingredients/Tools:

-As many sweet potatoes as you wish. I only had one to use this morning.

-2-3 Tbsp. Grass Fed Butter / Ghee

-1/2 Tsp. Garlic Powder

-1/2 Tsp. Onion Powder

-1/2 Tsp. Dried Rosemary

-1/2 Tsp. Black Pepper

-Food processor with a shredding disc

Instructions:

1. Cut your sweet potato(es) the long way (think hot dog, not hamburger).

2. Shred the "hot dog" slices of sweet potato using a food processor.

3. Add the seasonings to the shredded potato(es) and mix well.

Sweet potatoes shredded and spiced. Ready to fry 'em up.

4. Melt your butter in a cast iron skillet (or in my case, because all my cast iron was in use for the pancakes and bacon -- a large pan/skillet).

Grass fed butter! This is some Kerrygold (even available at stores like Safeway!).

5. Once the butter is...glistening (shimmering -- warmed up but not burning), add your shredded sweet potato.

6. Mix it around a little bit on medium/high heat and then LET IT SIT.

I was so excited as this point I can't even tell you. I love sweet potatoes. So. Much!

7. Let it cook for about 3-5 minutes.

8. Uncover and flip it around. You want to cook it until there are some brown bits and your hash

approaches crispy but not burnt. I didn't quite find the optimal balance this morning (it was my first time). I only used medium heat. Next time I'm going to use medium/high heat while watching it closely. 

9. Enjoy! I cooked some bacon as well as some paleo blueberry pancakes.

The bacon notes: I used a package of Bacon Ends and Pieces. At $5.59/lb it was a bargain for such high quality local bacon.

Mmm...bacon...

Cooked bacon placed on a plate lined with some paper towels. Note the saved bacon grease in the top left corner. Save that bacon fat! It's great for so many things...

I also cooked some bacon and paleo blueberry pancakes. Yum. Full on delicious breakfast.

I want to hear from you! Really! If you have any suggestions, comments, questions please feel free to comment here or find me on Facebook (simplepaleocook@gmail.com), Twitter, or by email.

Thanks for reading!

-Perry

Twitter (@SimplePaleoCook) | Email | Pinterest

Bacon, Spinach, Brocolli, and Avocado Frittata with an Oven Baked Acorn Squash

Oven Baked Acorn Squash

I love acorn squash. It's a little nutty, very squashy, warm, and easy to prepare in several ways. This morning I had a little time so I went with an oven baked route-to-acorn-goodness. Squashes of all kinds are a great thing to have under your paleo belt. They are a great source of alpha-carotene and beta-carotene among other things. You'll want to spring to get organic squash if possible.

Ingredients:

Acorn Squash

Coconut/Olive Oil

(Optional) Cinnamon

(Optional) Grass Fed Butter

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds.

3. Add a little bit (1 Tbsp or so) of oil to the inside of the squash and oil it up ;).

Oiled and ready to bake.

4. Bake for about 45 minutes - 1 hour and 15 minutes depending on the size of the squash.

5. (Optional) I like to sprinkle some cinnamon and/or butter on my squashes after they come out of the oven.

While the squash is cooking you can throw together some frittatas!

Bacon, Spinach, Brocolli, and Avocado Frittatas

Frittatas are an excellent vehicle for eggs and other veggies you may have in your fridge. I decided to add spinach, brocolli, avocado, and of course, bacon. Everything is better with bacon. Feel free to switch up the ingredients and the baking vessels; The eggs are mandatory though.

Ingredients:

12 Eggs

2 Slices Cooked Bacon

1 Head Broccoli

1/2 or 1 Full Avocado

Large handful Baby Spinach

Salt/pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Prep. all your filling/extra ingredients. In my case this entailed chopping up the broccoli, avocado, spinach, and cooked bacon into little pieces. I threw my cooked bacon in the freezer for about 20 minutes to make slicing it easier.

2. Whip up a whole lot of eggs. I used a dozen. This part, along with all of the quantities, depends on what your going to cook your frittata in. I was using my mini-loaf pans. I figured about 4 eggs per pan seemed right and thus ended up cooking 12 eggs.

Prepped and ready to go.

3. Add your ingredients to your eggs and mix well. Don't forget to add your spices.

4. Grease the pans/tins. I used some coconut oil. Pour the mix into your pans/muffin tins/other vehicle for frittata-goodness ;). Leave a little room on top for the eggs to expand.

Ready to bake eggy goodness.

5. Bake at 425 degrees for about 10-20 minutes. The size of your cooking vessel will affect the cooking time. You want your eggs to start to puff up but not to burn. I'm good at burning things so after 10 minutes I kept adding 3 minutes to the timer and watching my frittatas like a hawk.

Watching like a hawk. These are just about done. Feel free to pull one out and do a fork/taste test =).

6. Enjoy!

Breakfast of champions =). Time for a full day of work and yoga.

-Perry (The Simple Paleo Cook) | @SimplePaleoCook on Twitter | Email/FB simplepaleocook@gmail.com