MOTR Paleo Twice Baked Bacon Acorn Squash

Operation Paleo has been a success this week. Basically I have scoured a ton of resources to find amazing recipes and guidelines to eat more naturally. I am not going to be eating a strict Paleo only diet as this in not realistic for me. What I am going to be doing is making better natural food choices. Instead of tortilla chips, I have my carrot sticks or hard boil eggs. My body responds much better to a low carb high protein diet, with a focus of limiting processed food and refined carbs. I will have to say that I am feeling so much better this week. My focus has been better and I have much more energy. I need both with the amount of things that are on both my work and personal calendar.

This week my kitchen was busy with me creating some great new family friendly meals. I also had some assistance with my new Farberware Restaurant Pro Open Skillet with Teflon® non-stick coating. With all the parties and planning, who has time for the nuisance of cooking and cleaning? Across the board, in the kitchen you can count on cookware with Teflon® nonstick coatings to make your life easier during the holidays.With cookware with Teflon® nonstick coatings, you’ll see that it’s possible to make a hearty, delicious meal for 2 or 20 without spending all day in the kitchen.  The nonstick coating on Teflon® pots and pans make for easy cooking and clean-up every time!

I decided to test the nonstick challenge this week by crisping up some bacon for my kitchen created Twice Baked Bacon Acorn Stuffed Squash. I love the gold Teflon touch of the skillet. Brings out the bacon’s color .

While you begin to drool a little bit here is the recipe that is both sweet and savory. It would be a great addition to any holiday table.

Twice Baked Roasted Bacon Acorn Squash

By : Mom on the Run

Ingredients

• 1 medium acorn squash (1-1/2 pounds each)
• 6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
• 2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• Dash to 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions

• Cut squash in half; discard seeds. Place squash upside down on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.
• Bake at 350° for 50-55 minutes or until tender. Scoop out squash, leaving a 1/4-in. shell.

• In a large bowl, combine the squash pulp, bacon, cinnamon, nutmeg, green onion, and salt and pepper.

• Spoon into shells. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until heated through and top is golden brown. Yield: 2 servings.

This recipe is amazing. It is just enough mix of bacon a squash with a hint of cinnamony goodness. A definite Paleo keeper . I made these to accompany my version of these bacon wrapped lovelies. Great winter dinner. I adore the shape of acorn squash as it makes a great bowl. Thank you so much to Teflon for inspiring Mom on the Run to create this amazing dish.

Do you have a favorite pan that you use to make your kitchen a happier place?

I am going to spend my Sunday catching up with my favorite blog friends. Watch out blog world I am going to be spreading comment love.

Disclosure: This post was made possible by Teflon. I did receive the skillet in exchange for the review but the thoughts are my own. 

Gluten(free), Dairy (free), Paleo Muffin Madness

Thank you so much for the kind thoughts about the interview. It has so much to be a local “celeb” for a few weeks. There is a commercial that also accompanies the interviews that airs locally about 5 times a day. My girls were able to be in the commercial so now they are celebs at school. It was important for me to include them in the process as our story is about the whole family. I am not the Mom I am today without them. I am trying to get a copy of the commercial so I can share that with you. It is too cute for words

I am feeling so much better with cooking and food selection this week due to planning ahead on Sunday. My recipes were set for the week, grocery list and shopping were completed on Sunday, and easy grab and go access was created to make mornings a little bit more bearable. In my search for more natural “Paleo Friendly” recipes I found a great morning muffin recipe. It called for a flour I had never used before. Coconut Flour. I was intrigued how the muffins texture was going to be. I found Organic Coconut Flour at Whole Foods. SCORE!

Let’s Do Organics has many interesting products that also include gummy bears and ice cream cones. The flour was very reasonably priced and I like the healthy benefits that it provides such as fiber and protein. After using the flour in this great recipe from another new to me blog, Multiply Delicious, I know I will be buying it again.

Coconut Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

By: Multiply Delicious

Ingredients:

6 eggs

1/3 cup coconut milk

1 tablespoons maple syrup (optional)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

3/4 cup coconut flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3 bananas)

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips, plus additional for sprinkling on tops of muffin

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400.  Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.

In a large bowl, combine eggs, coconut milk, maple syrup, sea salt, and vanilla extract.  Whisk to combine and set aside.

Sift coconut flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon into the wet ingredients.  Whisk vigorously until no lumps remain.  Stir in melted coconut oil until well combined.  Fold in banana and chocolate chips until incorporated.

Using a large ice cream scoop, add one level scoop to each muffin cup.  Sprinkle each muffin with a few additional chocolate chips.  Bake muffins for 15 to 18 minutes or until muffins are golden and spring back when pressed gently.  Once baked, cool for 10 minutes.

Serve and enjoy! (My pictures do not do these poor muffins justice) They were fantastic. Texture was like any other gluten free muffin that I have had. More spongy than grainy. The mix of all the flavors were a wonderful wake up treat. I will be whipping up another batch as soon as I get more over ripe bananas.

Have you found any new food finds lately? Please share Tis’ the season.

Preparation is the Key to Success

Hope everyone is having of had a great weekend. I love the weekends, especially ones that I feel I got a lot accomplished in. Currently I smelling the sweet smell of our fresh cut Christmas tree (pictures to follow). Tree trimming is a week long event in the Mom on the Run house. Basically we let the tree “fall” and settle the first night. The next night we place the lights and ornaments the next few nights after, until the tree is to our liking. It may seem like a lot of fuss but it works for us. Our Christmas tree is truly an event, and the kids love telling the stories that many of our ornaments have. We try to savor our holiday traditions.

Besides selecting the 2011 Mom on the Run Christmas Tree, I was able to plan my weekly menu. In addition to my dinner plans, I also found recipes for breakfast and snacks. The morning time has been a chaotic nightmare for me as of late. You can usually find me running around like a chicken with their head cut off. To many things and people to prepare before I have to go back to work. There is no one else to blame but myself for my lack of preparedness. I decided to take matters into my own hands today and start my weekly preparation early. Here is what I did to help my morning routine:

• Made another batch my Paleo Chili and divided into individual bowls for lunches for the week. (Easy Grab and Go)
• Prepared all the baby things (this includes clothes and food for tomorrow)
• Packed lunches for everyone else who needed ones
• Packaged snacks for the week

It feels good to be so planned out. We will see tomorrow how it goes but even with those little things life will be about just getting myself ready for work. That should be an easy task. If I can’t handle showering and getting dressed, than I clearly have problems. Are there things you do to help prepare you better for the week ahead? I am open to any and all suggestions.

Here is a snack recipe that I found on Life as a Plate’s site. Like her I am a mom on a budget. If I can make it for less than that is what I do. In the past I have attempted to re-create making protein bars with complete failure. I decided to give this recipe a try and I am so glad I did. Simple, tasty, and easy……..Can’t lose with this recipe.

Homemade Lara Bars 

By: Life as A Plate

What You Need:

• 1/2 c. pecans
• 1/2 c. walnuts
• 1/2 c. almonds
• 1/2 c. dried fruit
• 1 tbsp. sunflower seeds
• 1/2 c. pitted dates
• 2 tbsp. honey (or agave) (I used agave)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 tbsp. Sunbutter w/flax seeds (I used almond butter)

What you do:
1) If your nuts aren’t already the “chopped” variety, give them a coarse chop with a knife.

2) In a food processor or blender, add the nuts and pulse until small chunks. Put in bowl.
3) Chop or put the dates in a food processor and pulse until “gooey” for lack of a better word. Add to bowl.

4) Repeat above step with the chocolate chips if you’re using them.
5) When all nuts, fruit, and chocolate are in the bowl, add in the egg, honey, and Sunbutter and mix thoroughly.

6) Line a 9X9 baking dish with parchment. Yes, you MUST use parchment. Otherwise, it will stick and be a mess and you will hate me and it will NOT be my fault.
7) Press down mixture thoroughly and evenly.
Bake at 250 for 45 minutes, until middle is firm.

9) Let cool completely and cut into bars.
10) Wrap each bar individually in plastic wrap for a quick grab.

My bars are in my fridge wrapped and ready to go. After all this preparation I am exhausted Happy Monday!

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