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.

Boeuf Bourguignon

Another recipe I tried from Mark's Daily Apple this week was his Boeuf Bourguignon recipe.

I'll tell you right off the bat that I've never smelled anything so amazing in my life as this stuff cooking in the oven for hours. Seriously. If I could bottle that smell, I'd be rich!

Anyway - this is basically just a French beef stew. You start with bacon (how can you go wrong?!), render some fat out of it, then brown a bunch of chunks of beef (I used a big chuck roast that I bought on sale and cut up into bits myself) in the hot bacon fat. The beef and bacon then go into a casserole dish, some seasoned flour is sprinkled over it, and it goes in a 425 degree oven for about 10 or 15 minutes, until the flour is absorbed and it starts to crust a little. Meanwhile, you saute a chopped onion, some minced garlic and a couple sliced carrots in the remaining bacon fat, then add some tomato paste, oregano, bay leaf, parsley, beef stock and wine (I used a cheap cabernet sauvignon to great effect). The liquid simmers for 10-15 minutes and is then added to the meat in the casserole dish. The whole thing goes in the oven for anywhere from 1.5 to 2.5 hours. This is where that whole smell thing comes in. Brace yourself for that, because it's fairly maddening. ;)

The recipe I was working off of called for browning the mushrooms separately and adding them after, but next time I'll just throw them right in with the meat and liquid before it goes in the oven, as I found the un-incorporated mushrooms kinda...meh. I think if they'd had a couple hours of soaking up wine and beef and bacon flavors, they would have added more to the dish. Also, the original recipe called for straining the meat out of the liquid and then reducing the liquid a bit before serving but I decided mine was thick enough and so I skipped that step.

This stuff was truly wonderful. Rich, thick, velvety, with amazing depth of flavor. All of the connective tissue in the beef (which there's a LOT in chuck cuts) melts during the braising and leaves the meat amazingly tender without being fall-apart soft or mushy. I think this has become one of my new favorite dishes. Even writing about it after the fact is making me salivate. I might have to go pick at the leftovers now. ;)

mushroom mini-meatloaf

May I please just say...OMG SO GOOD!!! There are not words to describe the utter nomminess that these meatloaves contained. Seriously. Maybe it was just because I was really hungry and had already put away a hefty glass of wine, but I'm pretty sure these were the best damn meatloaves I've ever eaten, let alone made!

I used a mix of ground turkey, pork and beef - about half a pound or so of each, along with 3 tablespoons of Worchestershire sauce, a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, a teaspoon each of garlic powder and onion powder, a little salt, a good teaspoon or so of coarsely ground black pepper, a tablespoon of dried thyme, and one egg. You'll notice there's no bread crumbs. This is where the mushrooms come in! I chopped up about a cup of button mushrooms and mixed those in rather than the breadcrumbs. Wasn't quite sure how this would work, but I was willing to give it a chance!

The meat mixture was packed into four mini-loaves and seared both sides in a non-stick frying pan. Just to gild the meaty lily, I had a lone slice of bacon hanging out in the fridge that needed to be used up, so I cut it into four equal pieces and laid one on top of each mini-loaf, then placed on a foil-lined baking sheet and popped into a 500 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Searing the outside makes it nice and crisp, and then cooking it quickly in a super-hot oven preserves the crispness and doesn't allow the loaves to dry out as they might in a longer cook in a slower oven. When the loaves hit about 140, I pulled them out and let them sit for 5-7 minutes while I steamed some broccoli for a side-dish.

The mushrooms worked perfectly. They kept the loaves juicy, and unlike breadcrumbs, actually contributed to the flavor. The bacon was impossibly crisp on the edges and melting in the middle, and the juices from it sort of basted the meat loaves as it rendered. I am not lying when I tell you that I could eat one of these a day for a week and be a very happy woman!

steak night

We don't actually eat that much red meat, but sometimes...I just want steak. This was one of those nights. I had a hankering for a nice thick steak with a mess of sauteed mushrooms and onions.



I found a couple of perfectly-sized pieces of sirloin filet at the grocery store. I was a little worried about using sirloin because while it's usually very tender, it's not always that flavorful. I salted and peppered both sides of each steak lightly, then put them in a ripping hot stainless steel frying pan. The steak cooked for 3 minutes on one side, and about 3 minutes on the other, and came out medium-rare. I pulled the steaks out and set them aside on a plate, then deglazed the pan with half a cup or so of chardonnay I had hanging around in the fridge. I know, I know, red wine goes with red meat, blah blah, but trust me on this one. I added a sliced onion and a cup or so of sliced button mushrooms, and turned the heat down a little. I let the onion and mushrooms simmer until the onions were mostly soft, then added a tablespoon of butter and stirred to melt and combine.

I served the steak and onion / mushroom mixture with a side-salad of spring mix and grape tomatoes tossed with vinaigrette. The steaks came out very nicely - tender and juicy, and with pretty decent beef flavor as well. As for the onions and mushrooms - it was quite easily the best batch I've ever had. I could have eaten a whole plate of just those. Writing about them makes me want them all over again!

stuffed chicken breast with mushroom pan sauce

Sorry the picture is blurry...I thought I had a better one.

This is my second attempt at the mushroom pan sauce and this time I got something really tasty!

Stuffed Chicken Breast with Mushroom Pan Sauce

4 boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup bread crumbs
3 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tsp dried thyme, divided
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup low-sodium beef stock
1 cup sliced mushrooms
4 cloves of garlic, minced fine
1 Tbsp butter (optional)
canola oil for cooking


For this, I used my large cast-iron pan because it works very well for pan-frying and braising. You could use a large heavyweight standard or nonstick pan just as well. If using a cast-iron pan, make sure you preheat it on medium heat with a tablespoon of oil in it for about 8-10 minutes before you're ready to cook.

- In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs, Parmesan, mozzarella, 1 tsp of dried thyme, and black pepper.

- Make a horizontal slit in each piece of chicken, being careful not to cut all the way through.

- Stuff cheese mixture into the pocket of each chicken breast and press closed.

- Place chicken pieces into a preheated and oiled pan. Allow to sear for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until nicely browned.

- Once both sides of the chicken pieces are browned, pull the chicken out and set it aside momentarily.

- Deglaze pan with white wine, being sure to scrape up brown bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.

- Add beef broth, mushrooms, garlic, and remaining thyme. Add chicken back to pan, making sure to dump in any juices that have accumulated.

- Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 15-20 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken breast registers about 150 degrees. Carry-over heat will ensure the chicken cooks through the rest of the way.

- When chicken is done, remove from pan. If desired, add butter and allow to melt, stirring to thicken sauce a little. If you want to skip the butter, just spoon the sauce over the chicken when you serve it.

pork chops with mushroom pan gravy

These boneless sirloin chops were on special and looked really nice, so I snapped them up with the intention of trying to replicate my Nana's mushroom pan gravy for them tonight. What I ended up with wasn't quite Nana's pan gravy, but it was pretty tasty all the same. I worked from my treasured copy of Mark Bittmann's "How To Cook Everything" to come up with this recipe. Bittmann has yet to lead me astray in over 10 years. He might not be too pleased with me using boxed stuffing, though...;)



Note: I used boneless pork chops, which take a little less time to cook. Bone-in chops will work great for this...just let them cook 3-5 minutes longer. Also, I used white button mushrooms because that's what I had, but this would also be good with some porcinis added to the mix.

Pork Chops with Mushroom Pan Gravy

4 pork chops
1 1/2 cups chopped mushrooms
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced or grated
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp dried thyme
1-2 tbsp flour
salt and pepper

Season chops generously with salt and pepper.

Put a large pan on medium heat and allow to heat for 2-3 minutes. Add olive oil, and just when the oil starts to show wisps of smoke, carefully place chops into the pan. Turn heat to high and allow chops to brown, moving around to get good color all over, 3-4 minutes tops. You're only browning, not cooking through yet!

Turn heat to medium, add wine and garlic. Allow to cook 3-4 minutes more, until wine is nearly evaporated, flipping chops once or twice. Add mushrooms, chicken stock and thyme. Turn heat to medium-low and cover. Allow to cook for about 10-15 minutes, until chops are cooked through (about 150 degrees - meat will feel firm to the touch). If the liquid in the pan looks to be dwindling, you can add more chicken stock, wine, or even water, a 1/4 cup at a time.

When chops are cooked through, remove meat from pan and turn heat up to medium-high. Add two tablespoons of butter and stir, allowing to melt. Sprinkle flour over the sauce - start with just one tablespoon, whisking until smooth. Allow to cook down for a minute or two, to desired thickness. If you want the sauce thicker, you can add more flour, or allow it to reduce further. I prefer to just let mine reduce because I like the flavor better.

Place chops on plates, spoon sauce over, and serve. I served mine with stuffing (from a box!! Oh noes!!) and steamed fresh green beans.