Fruit and Meat For Breakfast

Another tasty little breakfast that my hubbie really enjoyed!  The dark purple grapes were some of the sweetest grapes I've ever had - tasted just like grape juice!   Thanks Farm Fresh!

The Meat

- 2-3 pieces of bacon

- 2 breakfast links,

- 2 eggs

- salt, pepper, basil to taste

The Veggies

- 1/2 heirloom tomato, sliced

- 1/4 onion, sliced

The Fruit

- 4-6 large chunks of musk melon

- 12-15 grapes

I always start cooking the breakfast links first, since they take the longest to prepare.  I make the entire breakfast on the same griddle pan, using high heat to cook the meat and medium heat for the eggs.

After the links have been cooking a few minutes, roll them over and then add the bacon to the pan.  Flip the strips of bacon after 2-3 minutes and cook until crispy.  Make sure to save the grease for future meals!

After I remove the bacon from the griddle pan, I lower the heat to medium and cooked the eggs over easy.  It only takes 2-3 minutes for the egg to be solid enough to flip, and I usually only let it cook on my "easy" side approximately 30 seconds before removing from heat. While I cooked the eggs, I also cooked the sliced tomato and onions in some of the leftover grease, making sure the onions got soft and full of flavor, around 3 minutes.  

I plated the eggs and meat and put my heaping serving of grapes and melon onto the plate also.  YUM.

Garlic Jack Cheese, Pesto, and Bacon Steaks

Yay for steaks!  This meal is classic, and the loaded steaks make you want to lick the plate.

The Meat

- 3-4 petite sirloin steaks

- salt, pepper to taste

The Veggies

- 1 cup broccoli

- 2 yellow potatoes, cubed

- 1 white potato, cubed

- 6-8 cloves garlic, diced

- 1/2 onion, diced

- 2 tablespoons bacon grease

- basil, salt, pepper, oregano to taste

The Sauce

- Garlic Jack Cheese, crumbled

- 3 strips of bacon

 - 1 (packed) cup of basil

- 3 cloves garlic

- 1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts

- 1/4 cup olive oil

- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

- lemon juice to taste

To start I cubed my potatoes, diced the onion and garlic, and tossed all three together into a medium sized saute pan with the bacon grease.  I seasoned liberally and let them cook on high heat for around 10 minutes, stirring every minute or so.  

While the potatoes were frying, I made the bacon on my griddle pan and also pulsed together my pesto sauce.  To make the pesto sauce, I used my Cuisinart Blender and Food Processor.  I blended together my basil, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil, lemon juice, and parmesan cheese, pulsing and scraping down large chunks to make sure everything was smooth and consistent.  I crumbled the bacon and let it cool a little before mixing it into the pesto sauce.  Last ingredient into the sauce was the crumbled Garlic Jack Cheese.  That cheese is so good, we've been eating a lot of it lately!

After the veggies cooked for 10 minutes, I added the broccoli and lowered the heat.  I let the veggies cook for another 8 minutes or so while I made the steaks.  

To prepare the steaks I used the same griddle pan I made my bacon on, and used the leftover grease to get some extra flavor into the meat.  I cooked my steaks on high heat for around 4 minutes per side, or until the centers were pink when I cut into the steaks.  

When everything was done cooking, I plated the meals, making sure to smother a lot of the sauce onto the steaks - you'll want to ensure you get sauce with each bite, because it is soooooo good.

Mustardy Baked Chicken with Bacon, Chard, and Spinach

The Meat

- 2 bone-in chicken thighs and legs, skin on

- 1 1/2 tablespoons wholegrain dijon mustard

- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

- 1 tablespoon bacon grease

- dill, salt, pepper, savory, fennel seeds, caraway seeds to taste

- 2-3 strips bacon

The Veggies

- 1 1/2 cups of spinach, raw

- 1 cup chard, chopped

- 1 head broccoli, chopped

- 1/2 heirloom tomato, chopped

- 1/4 cup water

- salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Prepare the chicken thighs and legs by placing them in an oven safe baking dish.  Mix together the lemon juice, mustard, and seasoning, and rub the mixture all over the chicken.  Dot the skin with bacon grease and cook for 1 hour.  Check on the chicken occasionally, basting with whatever drippings are there if the chicken looks dry.  Before taking the chicken out completely from the oven, cut open the thickest part of the meat on the thigh to make sure the juices run clear and your chicken isn't undercooked.  

On a griddle pan, fry up the bacon on high heat.  Cook until crispy on both sides.  Save the produced bacon grease for the veggies.  Set aside the bacon to cool some, and then cut it into bite-size pieces to mix into the veggies later. 

To make the vegetables, I sauteed the broccoli, chard, and spinach together in bacon grease and a small amount of water.  I seasoned just with salt and cook for 10 minutes on medium heat, constantly stirring.  Then I tossed in the crumbled bacon and chunks of heirloom tomato.  I continued to cook the mixture on low heat for another 15 minutes, stirring pretty often.  When everything is all done, plate it and enjoy!  If you wanted to be extra fancy, you could melt a slice of swiss on top of the chicken to give this meal a Cordon-Bleu twist.

Garlic, Parmesan, And Bacon Scramble

Breakfast is a meal of champions, and bacon is king.  Eating this bacon scramble ensures you to be KING OF THE CHAMPIONS.

The Meat

- 2 breakfast links

- 5 slices of bacon, divided

- 2 eggs, whipped with 1/4 cup milk

The Veggies

- 3-5 cloves of garlic, sliced

- 1/2 cup spinach, raw and chopped

- 1 green onion, diced
- 4 Padron peppers, diced

- parmesan cheese, dill, salt, pepper, marjoram to taste


Fry up the breakfast links on high heat, turning every 5 minutes.  Make sure they cook all the way through - I usually cut one open to make sure there isn't any pink left in the center.


When the links are halfway done, add the bacon.  The bacon will cook quicker than the links, and grease up your pan nicely to fry the garlic.  








Take the cooked, crispy bacon off the pan and toss on the sliced garlic.  While that is frying, crumble three slices of the bacon, and then whip your eggs, milk, raw spinach, peppers, green onion, and the crumbled bacon together in a bowl with a fork.  Get it nice and bubbly so your eggs are fluffy.  Pour the egg mixture over the fried garlic and season everything liberally.  After 3 minutes, flip your eggs and break it up into a scramble with your spatula.  Plate everything and cover the eggs with grated Parmesan cheese.  

Beef Patties with Garlic, Bacon, and Fresh Mozzarella

Another patty meal - these are my "easy" meals, where I use different kinds of stuffed ground meat to make a quick and cheap entree that still tastes awesome.  I asked my hubbie if he ever gets bored of eating ground meat and I got a pretty serious NO as a response.  Enjoy!

The Meat

- 1 pound ground beef

- 8 cloves garlic, sliced

- 2 mushrooms, sliced

- salt, pepper, dill, basil to taste

- 3 slices bacon

The Garnish

- green onion, sliced

- mozzarella cut into large chunks

The Veggies

- 1 zucchini, sliced

1 summer squash, sliced

- 2 turnips, sliced

- 2 cups spinach, raw

- 1 cup water, divided

- 1 tablespoon of olive oil

- salt, pepper, dill to taste

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the sliced garlic, mushrooms, and ground beef with the seasonings. Form the patties by picking up a fistful of the mixture and rolling it into a ball, then patting the ball flat on both sides.

In a large pan, bring the zucchini and turnips to a boil with the oil and 1/2 cup of water.  Season liberally and let cook for 15 minutes or until the turnips are soft.

Fry up 3 slices of bacon on high heat on a griddle pan.  Once cooked crispy, cut up the bacon and mix it with the zucchini and turnip mixture.  On the still greasy griddle pan, cook your patties, around 6 minutes a side - check with a knife to see how the centers of the patties look - you want them to still be a little pink in the middle so the meat is juicy and full of flavor, not dried out or burnt.

Wilt the spinach with the remaining half cup water.  Drain the spinach and toss it with the bacon, zucchini, and turnip mixture.  Layer the veggies on the plate, then the patties, and cover everything with green onion and mozzarella.  Yum-o.

My Hubbie's Birthday = Veal Piccata

Happy Birthday to my hubbie!  I wanted to make him his favorite, so I went all out and whipped up some veal piccata.  He loves capers and garlic so I loaded up the sauce with extra of both.  The mashed potatoes got whole milk to make them extra creamy, and the spinach was cooked in bacon.  I did my best to make his birthday extra special and full of goodies. :)

The Meat

- 1 1/2 pounds veal, thinly sliced

- 2 cups potato flour

- salt, pepper to taste

The Sauce

- 6 tablespoons of butter

- 3-4 tablespoons of lemon juice

- 1/2 cup pinot grigio wine

- 1/8 cup of capers

- 6-8 cloves of garlic, sliced

The Veggies

- 8-9 small potatoes

- 1/2 cup milk

- salt, pepper to taste

- 2 cups spinach, raw

- 4 slices of bacon, diced

- 1/4 onion, sliced

Okie dokie.  This took some prep but was a lot of fun to do.  Set up your "stations" so you can streamline your productivity, and make less of a mess! On a Pyrex cutting board, lay out yer meat fer beating.  On another Pyrex cutting board, sift the potato flour, salt, and pepper.  Peel and boil the potatoes for around 15-20 minutes.  While they are boiling away and getting ready for beautiful mashed potato-dom, beat the veal with a tenderizer and enjoy it!  Dredge the beaten meat in the potato flour and set them aside for cooking. 

In a large saucepan, sear each side of the slices of veal.  Remove them from heat, they will complete the cooking process in the piccata sauce you're about to make.  In the same pan, pour the wine, butter, and lemon juice together.  Bring everything to a simmer.  After you've brought it to a simmer, add the garlic and let it cook for 5 minutes before adding in the veal and the capers.  Lower your heat and let everything cook for another 15-20 minutes.

In a different large saucepan, cook the diced bacon and onion on high heat.  While that cooks, drain your potatoes and put them in a large mixing bowl with the milk, salt, and pepper.  Use your masher to create creamy delicious mashed potatoes.

Once the bacon is a little crispy and the onions are soft, lower your heat and add the raw spinach a little bit at a time, stirring constantly and adding more as the cooking spinach begins to wilt. When the spinach is ready, plate the mashed potatoes and spinach first, then smother the edges of their sections of the plates with the veal and sauce.  The potatoes especially taste good with the leftover sauce on top.  Generously pile capers and garlic on top of the veal, and serve to happy people.

Avocado Omelet Delight

Another morning, another breakfast.  We had gotten some avocados this week, and I decided to make my husband a very happy man by making an avocado omelet for him today.

The Meat

- 4 strips of bacon

- 4 breakfast links

The Omelet

- 5 eggs, whisked

- 6-8 slices of Port Salut cheese

- 1/4 cup onion, diced

- 1/4 cup spinach, raw and chopped

- salt, pepper, dill, red chili pepper flakes to taste

- 1 avocado, pit removed

- 4 slices of slicing tomato

On your griddle pan, bring the heat up to high and cook the sausages for around 8-10 minutes, turning them at regular intervals so they cook evenly.  Throw the bacon on for 3 minutes and then turn the slices over and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes.  

While the meat is cooking, crack open the eggs into a mixing bowl and whisk them until frothy bubbles start to form.  This ensures your omelet will be nice and fluffy.  You can even add 1/4 cup of milk if you so desire, to make them even lighter and fluffier.  Add in the seasoning, chopped spinach, and green onion.

When the meats are finished cooking, plate them and then lower the stovetop to medium heat.  Pour the egg mixture onto the griddle pan, directly into all that delicious bacon grease.  Dot the omelet with the Port Salut cheese and if you'd like, add some of the avocado to the cooking, bubbly pan of wonderfulness.  Let the omelet cook for around 4 minutes or until the bottom is a golden brown and can easily be moved around.  Slowly and carefully use a spatula to fold over the omelet, trapping all that bubbly, gooey awesomeness inside, and then cook the omelet for 3-4 more minutes, flipping it once.  Use the spatula to divide the omelet into two and plate the two pieces.

Layer sliced tomato and more avocado on top.  Serve and take delight in the creamy avocado, soft cheese, and delicious eggs and meats.

Turkey, Bacon, and Strawberry Salad

Salads are so good.  This was another winner for lunch.

The Meat

- 3 slices pepper turkey

- 2 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

The Veggies

- 1 cup lettuce, chopped

- 1/2 cup spinach, raw and chopped

- 1/2 cup broccoli, chopped

- 1/4 cup red onion, diced

- 3-4 strawberries, sliced

The Dressing

- 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil

- 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar of Modena

- dill, salt, cracked pepper to taste

Put the spinach and lettuce onto the plate, mixing them together well.  Toss all the other ingredients on top, and then drizzle the oil and vinegar over everything.  Use your fork to lift up some of the bottom ingredients to make sure everything gets coated well!  Sprinkle the top with some dill, salt, and cracked pepper and you're ready for lunch.

Roasted and Stuffed Chicken

This meal is doubly good.  Make sure to get boneless chicken breasts that still have the skin so you can create this meal properly.  Instead of stuffing the meat, which would require slitting the chicken breasts, this time around I stuffed all the goodies in between the skin and the chicken.  As it all roasted in the oven the juices from the cheese, tomatoes, and bacon ran down and soaked through the meat, making it completely moist and flavorful.  My husband loves crispy roasted chicken skin, so cutting open his meal and finding all the fun, baconful surprises inside was an extra win for him. :)

The Meat

- 2 boneless, skin-on chicken breasts

- 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

- 2 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

- 2 tablespoons of olive oil

- parmesan cheese, dill, basil, garlic salt, pepper, marjoram to taste

The Veggies

- 1 large zucchini squash, cut into large pieces

- 1 cup green beans, trimmed and cut

- 1 cup broccoli

- 1 cup water

- 1 tablespoon of olive oil

- salt, pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 385 degrees.

Fry up your bacon in a griddle pan using high heat, and turn them once after 2-3 minutes.  While the bacon cooks and then cools, chop your veggies and set them aside to cook later.  Once the bacon is cool enough to touch, crumble it into bits.  Take the bacon, parmesan cheese, and the sliced cherry tomatoes over to your chicken, and make little piles of each.  Setting up your station like this will make it easier to contain your mess, and keep you from spreading too many germs from touching the raw chicken.

Gently separate the chicken skin from the center of the chicken breast with your fingers.  You wan to have a little flap so you can stick stuff in it.  Put in equal amounts of the tomatoes, bacon, and cheese.  I did the cheese first, laying it flat against the meat, and then mixed in the bacon and tomatoes.  Take the extra cherry tomatoes and sprinkle them all around the chicken in your baking dish.  Drizzle the olive oil over everything and season liberally.   Pop the dish into the oven and bake it for 40 minutes or until the juices run clear when you cut into the meat.  

When the chicken is around halfway cooked, dump the veggies in the water and olive oil in a medium sized pan and cook them with high heat, around 20 minutes.  When they are done, season them with some salt and pepper.

Put the veggies on the plate first, and then layer the chicken on top.  Drizzle any pan drippings and the baked tomatoes over the top of everything.  Enjoy. 

A Chipotle Themed Breakfast

Chipotle pepper is a smoky, wonderfully tasty way to spice up your breakfast!  Here I used chipotle powder in the hash browns and chipotle cheese on top of the eggs to incorporate the flavor into my dish.  It was a satisfying Saturday morning meal. 

The Meat

- 4 sliced bacon

- 4 breakfast links

- 4 eggs

The Veggies

- 2-3 yellow or purple potatoes

- 2 slices of red onion, diced

- 1 mushroom, diced

- salt, pepper, chipotle powder, dill to taste

The Garnish

- grated chipotle jack cheese

Fry up your bacon and links on your griddle pan on high heat, turning the meat every few minutes to reduce charring.  Chop up your potatoes into small, mini-bite size pieces and toss it with the seasoning and red onion.  Put the hash brown mixture onto the griddle pan with all that delicious bacon grease.  Fry up those potatoes for 4-6 minutes, turning them occasionally with a fork so they don't get black and charred. They will be a mixture of soft and crispy and taste great.

I made my eggs over easy and my husband's eggs over medium in the same griddle pan, with the same grease and leftover spices/bits of delicious food that was leftover.  Be careful not to break the yolks when you flip your eggs - test the edges of the eggs to make sure the egg is cooked through enough to withstand being flipped, and be delicate with them!  Put everything on your plate when it is all cooked, and sprinkle some grated chipotle jack cheese on top of your eggs. 

I loved this meal not only because it was great tasting, but it only took one pan to make.  Hooray, less cleanup!

Supreme Poached Eggs

I used my poaching pods to make my eggs this morning!  They are so easy to use and make such delicious poached eggs.  It's fun to shake up the breakfast routine every now and then - while my husband never seems to get bored, he does get a lot of the same ingredients presented in different ways.  It's an excellent challenge for me to use the same things over in new ways (if you look at the last three breakfast meals, they all use almost the same basic ingredients, but each are different and awesome in their own way!)

The Meat

- 2 slices bacon

- 3 breakfast links

- 2 eggs

The Veggies

- 3 slices of sliced tomato

- 1/3 cup raw spinach

- 1 mushroom, sliced

- 1/2 green onion

The Sauce

- 1 teaspoon French dressing (it's mostly primal...I'm a bad Grok)

- 1 teaspoon hemp seed oil based mayonnaise


The Fruit
- 1/2 pear, sliced
- 3-4 strawberries, sliced

Cook up the meat on your griddle pan, on high heat.  Flip your bacon at least twice and keep rolling the breakfast links around so they don't char too badly.  After I cooked up the meat all delicious and crispy, I put the spinach, mushrooms, and tomatoes on the griddle pan for around 3 minutes to make them all soft and tasty counterparts to the meat.


Meanwhile, put around 3-4" of water into a simmer pot and bring it to a boil.  Once you get a rolling boil, grease your poaching pods, crack your eggs into them, turn off your heat and slip them into the water.  Cover the pot with its lid and set your timer for 4 minutes.


Put the fried tomato slices on the plate first, then layer the spinach and the poached eggs on top (imagine the tomato slice is an English muffin).  Mix up the French dressing (don't judge me for my small indulgences) and the mayonnaise and spoon it onto the poached eggs.  Cut up the green onion over the top (you could substitute chives if you wanted!) and arrange your fruit in a pretty pattern so you feel all special like.  

Over Easy Eggs + Chipotle Jack Cheese = A Fabulous Breakfast

We love eating over easy eggs for breakfast.  We dip our bacon into the gooey yolks and the addition of the chipotle spice in the cheese is faaaaabulous.

The Meats

- 4 slices bacon

- 8 breakfast link sausages

- 4 eggs

- salt, pepper, dill to taste

The Garnishes

- 1 green onion, sliced

- 12 slices of chipotle jack cheese

The Fruit

- 6-7 strawberries, tops sliced off

- 2 spoonfuls of sliced Galia melon

I fried up the bacon and sausages on my griddle pan at high heat until they were cooked through (around 10 minutes for the sausages, turning them every few minutes).  I cook the bacon for around 6-7 minutes, turning them every two minutes, so they are slightly crispy and crunchy but not overly so.

While the meat is cooking I slice off the tops of the strawberries and arrange the fruit on the plates.  Once the fruit is on the plate and the meat is cooked I quickly break the eggs onto the pan so they can soak up some of the delicious bacon and breakfast link sausage grease.  I season the eggs and after around 1-2 minutes I flip them over briefly to cook the other side for a quick second.  Then they get put onto the plates and the slices of cheese and onion go on top.  

Again, I say...faaaaaabulous.