TheBoltBlog

This chopped broccoli salad was awesome! Fresh greens, bacon, dried fruit, nuts/seeds, and did I mention bacon….simple and delicious. I got the recipe from Health-Bent.com (check them out in the resources tab at the top of the page), and made just a few tweaks.

Feel free to mix or match your favorite dried fruit and nuts to the recipe. I used golden raisins and would like to try dried cherries or cranberries next time. I also added sunflower seeds in addition to the chopped almonds. I prefer cooking bacon on the stovetop, so I ignored baking the bacon. Give it a shot and post a comment on how it turned out!

http://www.health-bent.com/salads/paleo-broccoli-salad

Ingredients
1 lb broccoli
3/4 c slivered or chopped almonds
1/2 c raisins
6 slices bacon
1/2 c rendered bacon fat (drippings) or olive oil
1/4 c red wine or apple cider vinegar
s&p

Method
Set your oven to 375ºF. Place the bacon slices on a baking sheet and bake until they’re brown and crispy, about 25 minutes.

While the bacon is cooking, get out a large bowl. For the broccoli, use your hands to remove the leaves on the base of the broccoli. With a knife, trim off the tough outside of the broccoli stem, so you’re left with the tender, pale green center. It shouldn’t be more than a couple millimeters thick–so don’t hack! Chop up the stem into tiny, bite-size pieces and do the same with the florets. Complete broccoli utilization–woohoo!

Add the broccoli to the bowl, along with the vinegar, almonds, raisins and salt & pepper.

Once the bacon is done, remove from the oven and let it cool. Once cooled, chop or use your hands to crumble up the bacon and add it to the bowl. Pour 1/2 c of the rendered fat (drippings) from the bacon directly into the bowl.

Toss everything to combine. Serve immediately, or wait until it’s cold. It’s good either way.

Who doesn’t love comfort food?  And if blustery winds, freezing temperatures, icy roads, and a possible reprieve from work responsibilities are not prime conditions warranting a serious, carb-filled comfort food craving, I don’t know what are?  As I fought to ignore the delicious musings of my mind (chicken pot pie, waffles, grilled cheese sandwiches, etc), it finally came to me….the frittata!!  Maybe there can never be a true low-carb comfort food, but if there is maybe it’s the frittata!  What is a frittata?  Think a crust-less quiche.

Other awesome qualities of the frittata include simplicity and flexibility.  All you need are some eggs, it helps to have an ovenproof pan like a cast iron skillet, and whatever you can find laying around in the fridge.  Personalize your frittata by mixing and matching whatever ingredients you have on hand (vegetables, herbs, meats, and cheese).  Here is what I did today and a basic guide to making a frittata.

Ingredients

• 10 eggs
• splash of cream or milk
• veggies, herbs, meats and cheese of your choice
• Olive oil
• Salt and Pepper

Here are the ingredients I found to throw into my frittata

• baby spinach
• basil
• chopped roma tomatoes
• colby jack cheese
• leftover pork tenderloin, shredded

Maybe that sounds like a strange combo to you, but this is my frittata so back off and make your own

1. Preheat oven to 425° and whisk together the eggs, cream/milk, herb (basil) and a pinch of salt and pepper
2. Warm the olive oil in a 10-inch ovenproof pan and add the egg mixture, lightly stirring until the egg begin to set but are not scrambling.
3. Stir in your veggies, meats, and cheese
4. Let cook for a few more minutes letting the eggs fully set around the edges
5. Transfer the ovenproof pan to the oven for about 5-7 minutes, until the center of the frittata is just firm

You can serve warm or at room temp, sometimes I like to give mine a little kick with some hot sauce.  Enjoy!