Bacon Mushroom Mooseloaf

Or how about just a Bacon Mushroom Meatloaf… named this way as I substituted moose meat for ground beef.  I’m pretty lucky to have a family that hunts and shares their freezer full of meat with me. 

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. ground meat
• 1 lb. nitrate-free bacon, chopped (I used Maple Leaf Naturals)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 8 oz. mushrooms of any kind, chopped
• 1 cup  almond flour
• 2 eggs, beaten
• pinch of Himalayan sea salt
• pinch of black pepper
• 1 – 3 Tbsp. hot sauce and 1/2 cup Ketchup

How to put it all together

1. Preheat your oven to 350F and grease a medium sized casserole dish
2. In a frying pan, sauté the bacon until crisp.  At this point you will want to drain some of the fat as there is a fair amount.  Then add the onions and mushrooms and continue to cook until they are translucent. 
3. While the bacon mixture is cooking, crumble the beef in a bowl, then add the eggs and flour and mix with your hands until well combined. 
4. Drain the rest of the fat from the bacon mixture.  Then add the bacon/onions/mushrooms to the beef.  It will be hot, so you may want to use a spatula to fold in.  Also add the salt and pepper. 
5. Transfer everything to the greased casserole dish.  Round the top off a bit. 
6. Pour the ketchup/hot sauce over the top and spread it evenly. 
7. Place on the middle rack in the oven, but put a baking sheet under it in case of spillage. 
8. It should cook in about 45 minutes, but use a thermometer to be certain to have the proper internal temperature. 
9. Serve along side a side salad. 

Sunday Cooking Marathon

I hope everyone is having a great weekend.  The weather sure has changed in this neck of the woods.  Bye bye summer, hello Fall.  I do love the fall for it’s crisp morning air and all of the changing colors. I especially love the morning dog walks on days like these:

 It also means the start of pumpkin time and I love anything pumpkin, especially pumpkin pie. 

I made some pumpkin tarts with my class this year right before the Canadian Thanksgiving Holiday.  The kids were so stoked…they each got to take home 4 tarts…some didn’t quite make it home as they ate some before going home.  (And I didn’t take any pics…woops).

This week I also stepped up my fitness regime to another level.  I joined a local gym and signed up for 1 month of unlimited Crossfit.  For those who may not be familiar with Crossfit, the definition is as follows: 

Constantly varied, functional movements at high intensity. 

I did a bit of Crossfit over the summer while visiting family in Vancouver and was hooked from day 1, but this was the first week back at it since coming home.  Crossfit is relatively new in my city..and I am so happy that the gym is offering it.  My goal is to get in the best shape of my life, to tone down, get strong and leaner and I know that this is the way for me to get there.  I can’t wait to explore the next part of my fitness journey and see where it takes me. 

Now the title of this post is “Sunday Cooking Marathon”.  That’s right.  I spent about 3 hours today cooking meals for the week.  I am limited in time during the week and sometimes my nutrition lacks when I don’t have the time I’d like to cook the meals I’d like during the week.  So my trainer gave the a tip:  spend a few hours on Sunday cooking your meals for the week.  They are easy to freeze and heat up in the microwave or stovetop during the week.  How smart is she?  Thanks Kaiya!

After figuring out the final details to my meal plan for the upcoming week, I took off to the store to grab the necessities.  And I even found something for the dog today, which he loved instantly. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I sit here typing this, my house is beginning to smell of chocolate goodness from the yummy no-grain cocoa granola.  So what is on the menu this week?  Voila!  Take a look and let me know what you think   I think this week is going to rock.

  No-oat Cocoa Granola

Cauliflower Rice for Tuesday’s Salmon dinner (this is a previous pic)

Bacon Mushroom Mooseloaf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paleo friendly Pumpkin Pie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spicy Thai Beef and Noodle Soup

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Back soon with more goodies

Bea

Hey mom…look what I can do!

Wahoo..it’s hump day…which means one more day of work before Spring Break.  My district goes on break from March 18th to the 28th.  I’m looking forward to some time off.  My break will be spent with family and friends.  I’m also taking all but one of my recertification courses for lifeguarding while off.  My first course will be this Sunday – Standard First Aid and CPR-C.  This was the course I didn’t have the last time I tried to take my NLS recert back in February. 

Trevor also left for camp today   He’s going to be in camp until Sunday this week, which means I won’t get to see him before the end of the month as I will be out of town by the time he comes home.  I’m hoping he may be able to make it out of town for a bit as well, but chances are slim.  Oh well. 

As for food, here is what I’ve been up to……

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STUFFED PEPPERS

My mom used to make these when we were growing up and they have always been a favourite of mine, but for some reason I just don’t think to make them more often. And they are so easy to make…….

First brown some ground moose/beef/turkey/chicken/pork with 1 chopped onion, a couple of chopped garlic cloves and 1 cup of chopped mushrooms.  Then add one can of chopped tomatoes with the juice and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until most of the liquid has dissipated. 

While the meat mixture is cooking, prepare the peppers for filling.  I cut mine in half and poured one can of spicy diced tomatoes into my large pot.  Then I placed the peppers in the pot.  I then filled the peppers with as much of the meat mixture that would fit into them.  Cover with lid and place on stove over medium heat. 

You want the tomatoes to simmer and will want to cook the peppers for about 30 minutes, or until they are tender when poked with a knife.  Just before serving, top with some grated cheese.  I used Dill Havarti.  We ate ours over a medley of rice.

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OMELETTES

I needed a quick meal since I got home really late tonight.  So I decided to use up the majority of my veggies in the fridge and created an omelette…something else I haven’t had in ages.

Along with 3 eggs and 1/4 cup milk, into my omelette went the following ingredients……

2 cloves of garlic, 1 orange pepper, 1/2 onion and 1 cup chopped spinach. 

Into my egg mixture went 3 eggs, 1/4 cup milk, some salt and pepper, as well as a dash of smoked paprika. 

I placed the veggies into a hot frying pan with a dash of EVOO and once they were tender, I added the egg.  I let it cook over medium-low heat until the egg was set and then tried to fold my omelette in half, but it kind of fell apart.  Oh well..not the end of the world.. it didn’t make a difference to the taste.  I also added about a 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese.  It was very filling

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CHOCOLATE CHIP AND DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CHIP RAW COOKIE BALLS

Probably one of my favourite things about baking when I was little (and still today) is liking the spoon and bowl.  ESPECIALLY when it comes to cookie dough.  And as we all know, if your dough contains raw eggs, it’s a big NO-NO due to the risk of salmonella and other bacteria.  Well I have a solution for you……. eat as many of these as you want… and they are healthy and taste awesome.

Here is what you do….

Take your food processor and process 2/3 cup unroasted hazelnuts and 1/3 cup rolled oats.  Process until you get a flour-like consistency.

Next, add about 2 Tbsp Agave syrup, 1 Tbsp Pure Maple Syrup and 1 tsp vanilla extract.  Continue to process until your mixture comes together into a ball.  If your mixture is a little dry, add a tiny amount of maple syrup and process until it comes together. 

Now comes the fun part…..take a small amount at a time and add about 4 or 5 chocolate chips and form a small ball.  When done, put your balls in a container and store in fridge. 

To make the double chocolate chip cookie dough balls

I followed the same process, but added 2 Tbsp of raw cocoa powder.  You may need to add a little bit more maple syrup as your adding more dry ingredients. 

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So guys… this will probably be my last post before the weekend.  I’m planning on eating my leftovers tomorrow to try and clean out my fridge before my vacation.  Tomorrow night will be spent doing laundry, packing and taking care of last minute details before travel day. 

I also have to fast Thursday night as I’m scheduled for a fasting blood test Friday morning to check my Iron and Cholesterol levels. 

And don’t forget…tomorrow is St. Patty’s Day… I’ll be wearing something green and going to work with wacky hair for Wacky Hair Day.  I’m also going to be making Green Monster’s for my class tomorrow… we’re studying nutrition and I’m hoping they will be open to trying something new… most said they will   Wish me luck.

Have a great rest of the week everyone and will check back in with everyone this weekend.  Can’t wait to cuddle the puppy too.

With love,

Bea

xoxo

Lasagne

Who is not in love with everyone’s favourite cat?  I love Garfield..I always get a chuckle reading the comic strip.  You know there is something we have in common though…our love for pasta..more specifically Lasagne.  And aren’t you guys lucky today…I’m sharing with you my world famous recipe for traditional Italian lasagne.  It’s made with egg noodles, Ragu and Béchamel Sauce.  Enjoy

Ragu Sauce

• 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 3 Tbsp Earth Balance Butter
• 2 onions, chopped
• 4 celery stalks, thinly sliced
• 1 cup chopped bacon, maple flavoured
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 600g ground moose meat or extra lean beef
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 Tbsp  Sorghum Flour GF
• 14 oz can chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chicken or beef stalk
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 2 tsp oregano
• some freshly grated nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste

1.  Chop up the bacon, onion and celery. 

Heat the oil and butter in a pan over medium heat.  Add the onions, celery, bacon and fry for 5 minutes, stirring.

2.  Stir in the garlic and ground meat, stirring until the meat has lost it’s redness.  Lower the heat and cook for another 10 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.

3.  Increase the heat to medium, stir in the tomato paste and the flour and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. 

Stir in the tomatoes, stock and wine and bring to a boil, stirring.  Season and stir in the oregano and nutmeg, salt and pepper. 

Cover and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring.  You want most of your liquid to be cooked off and the sauce nice and thick.  Your sauce is now ready to be used. 

Bechamel Sauce

• 1 1/4 cup milk
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 cloves
• 1 onion
• 4 Tbsp Earth Balance butter, plus a little extra for greasing
• 6 Tbsp Sorghum flour GF
• 1 1/4 cup light cream (10% or 1/2 and 1/2)
• large pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste

1.  Pour the milk into a saucepan and add the bay leaves.  Press the cloves into the onion, add to the pan, and bring to a boil.  Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool.

2.  Strain the milk into a jug and rinse the pan.  Melt the butter in pan and stir in flour.  Stir for 1 minute, then gradually pour in the milk, stirring constantly so that the mixture does not stick to bottom of pan. 

3. Cook the sauce for 3 minutes, then pour in the cream and bring it to a boil.  Remove from heat and season with nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste.

Lasagne Noodles

• 2 cups Semolina Flour
• 3 eggs
• 1 Tbsp olive oil

This is really easy to make.  In a bowl add the flour, then 2 eggs and oil. 

Mix together and dump onto counter.  Bring mixture together and make a well in center of mound. 

Kneed dough until you have a smooth ball.  Wrap in saran wrap until ready to be used.

Now it’s time to make the lasagne sheets.  

Using a serrated knife, slice 1 inch slices and roll through the pasta roller.  Then boil in hot water for a couple of minutes, pat dry and set aside until ready to assemble lasagne. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To assemble the Lasagne

Assemble in this order. 

• pasta
• ragu sauce
• pasta
• béchamel sauce
• cheese
• pasta
• ragu
• pasta
• béchamel sauce
• top with cheese

 

 

 

 

 

BAKE IN A 375F OVEN FOR 40 MINUTES, COVERED WITH FOIL, THEN REMOVE FOIL AND CONTINUE TO BAKE UNTIL CHEESE GOLDEN AND BUBBLY.