fridge-emptying Paleo breakfast bake

I am not a morning person. That's not to say that I don't LIKE mornings, because they're actually my favorite time of day - but I do not like being expected to function in any sort of productive manner before about 10am. Trying to feed myself and my husband a decent breakfast tends to be at odds with my desire to maintain a sloth-like morning agenda.

Most mornings lately, I've been having a pumpkin smoothie for breakfast because a) it's fast and b) it fills me up. There's also some nutrition in there somewhere I'm sure - but the simple fact is, dumping things in the food processor doesn't take a whole lot of mental fortitude. That's key in the blurry pre-10am hours around here, trust me.

However, this coming week we're going to be traveling, which means two things (well, more than two, but for the purpose of this blog post, I'm saying two) :

 1. I need to use up some leftover food in the fridge, and

 2. I want to create as few dirty dishes as possible, because the less dishes I have to wash the night before going on holiday, the better.

To be fair, the less dishes I have to wash EVER, the better...but you know what I mean, I'm sure.

This breakfast bake checks both those boxes. Not only did it use up all the leftover bits in my fridge, but since I did the washing up directly after making it, it becomes very un-dish-intensive. Also, it gets bonus points for me not having to do anything TO it in the morning except put it on a plate and warm it up. BREAKFAST LAZINESS GOLD MEDAL! Literally the only thing lazier would be, like, cracking raw eggs into my mouth, which...no.

So, what I had hanging around was:

half a red bell pepper
half an onion
half a box of mushrooms
about 3/4 of a pound of pork sausage
nine eggs
one large Russet potato

Aside from the chopping involved, this could not be easier. I browned the sausage, then scooped it out to drain on paper towels while I sauteed the chopped veg in a little bit of the leftover fat. I washed the potato, poked it with a fork a few times, then stuck it in the microwave for about nine minutes. While the veg was getting soft in the pan, I cracked the eggs into a bowl and whisked them up. When the veg was read, I scooped it and the sausage into my baking dish (which I had swiped with olive oil just to ensure things wouldn't stick). When the potato was almost done, not quite cooked through, I pulled it out of the nuker, chopped it up (HOT POTATO, be careful, learn from my mistakes), tossed it with a little kosher salt and then threw it into the frying pan with the rest of the leftover pork fat. I cranked the heat up and let the potato get kind of brown and crispy in the pan, then scooped that into my veg and sausage mix. The egg got dumped over the top, dish got a little shake, then it went into a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes.

Ta Dahs:

It's like a craggy landscape of nom.

As long as you use a sausage that doesn't have added sugar, gluten or processed weirdness, this is a Paleo- and Whole30-compliant dish. If you don't like sausage, you could use bacon, ham, ground bison, really whatever floats your canoe. There's also no saying that you have to eat it for breakfast - you could stick some in your facehole when ever...I don't judge.

spinach, sausage and caramelized onion quiche

Pretty much what it says on the tin. I had a pound of sweet Italian pork sausage that needed to be used up ASAP and a package of frozen chopped spinach. I've always got eggs in stock, and usually have an onion hanging around, so this was no sweat to make.

I didn't really measure much - I know I used 6 eggs, probably a cup of cream, just a pinch of nutmeg, a pound of sausage, a medium onion, salt and pepper, some Parmesan cheese and a package of frozen chopped spinach. The sausage was removed from the casings and browned in a pan, then I removed it to my pie plate while I cooked a sliced onion in the accumulated fat in the pan, letting it get nicely browned. The residual sugar from the sausage caramelized the onion well. Onion went into the pie plate with the sausage, then I added the spinach, (which I had cooked in the microwave according to directions on the package and then squeeeeeeezed all the moisture I could out of it). I beat 6 eggs with a little salt and pepper, a pinch of nutmeg and the cream. I grated about half a cup of Parmesan cheese into the eggs, beat well, then dumped it into the pie plate over the sausage, onions and spinach. It went into a 350 degree oven for...I'm not really sure how long, honestly. I just kept checking it to see if the middle was set, and when it was, I took it out and let it cool. It was very yummy!

breakfast of champions

One of my favorite things to have for breakfast is sauteed kale with runny-yolked eggs on top and a drizzle of Sriracha.

Mmmm, buddy.

egg-drop soup

I find myself coming down with a bit of a cold. When I'm feeling stuffed up and with a sore throat, the only thing I really want is soup. I usually make just a simple chicken soup with carrot and celery, but tonight I wanted something a little different. I ended up settling on egg-drop soup because it's loaded with protein and is very simple and inexpensive to make.

Egg-Drop Soup

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
4 cups water
3 eggs
1 bunch scallions
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 2-inch piece of ginger root
salt and white pepper to taste
toasted sesame oil to taste

Combine broth and water in a large pot, add salt to taste if desired. Smash six scallions and chop into thirds. Peel ginger and slice. Add scallions and ginger to liquid and bring to a simmer. Add chicken breasts and allow to poach in simmering liquid for about 15 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Once chicken is cooked, remove and let broth simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Shred chicken and slice the remainder of the scallions. Remove ginger and scallions from the broth (I put a strainer over a large bowl and carefully dumped the contents of the pot into it, then dumped the strained broth back into the pot). In a separate bowl, beat three eggs with a whisk until combined, then pour the egg in a slow steady stream into the simmering broth while constantly whisking. Remove from heat and ladle into dishes. Add shredded chicken and chopped scallions, and drizzle toasted sesame oil across top, to taste.

It was a nice change from our usual soup, and filled us up for not a lot of money or effort, which is always nice. :) Plus, this soup fits nicely in with our Primal eating, as it's high-fat, moderate-protein and low carb, with no grains in sight!