Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp Cakes

Yay, bacon! I really wanted some bacon wrapped shrimp, but all I have is these little baby shrimp at the moment, and (thankfully) they do not make baby bacon strips. Thus: shrimp cakes. These were pretty tasty on their own (surprisingly, pan-fried plantain mush is really, really good), but in the bacon sleeve, they were unstoppable.

Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp Cakes (makes about 10)

-1 large plantain, green

-1 cup shrimp, chopped

-4 or 5 green onions, finely chopped

-Black pepper and garlic salt to taste (I think I used between 1/4 and 1/2 tsp of each)

-Coconut oil for frying (maybe 3-4 tbsp)

-10 strip of bacon

Peel the plantain, and chop it into a few big chunks, then whiz in a food processor until it's a fairly smooth "batter." Mix in the shrimp, green onions and seasoning. Form the mixture into 1" - 1.5" balls and place on wax paper (yes, your hands will get gross, but deal with it--your reward is bacon-wrapped treats). Heat the coconut oil over medium heat. When the pan is hot, carefully place a ball in, and squash it into a 1/2" thick patty. Repeat until the pan is full--I was able to cook 4 at a time. Cook a few minutes on each side, until nicely browned and crispy, and move to paper towels when done.

After all cakes have been cooked, wrap each cake in a slice of bacon, such that the "seam" is squarely in the middle of one side. Place each cake seam side down in the pan, and press the top with a spatula to help the seam close. Cook on each side until the bacon is crispy. From time to time, it's helpful to tip the cake at a 45 degree angle in the pan for a few seconds, so that the bacon on the sides of the cakes isn't still raw when the rest is done cooking.

Bacon it up!

~Losterman

Seafood-Stuffed Bell Peppers

Yay, this is the tastiest thing I've made in quite some time. Traditional stuffed peppers usually include rice, but I didn't miss it at all--these were crazy good.

Seafood-Stuffed Bell Peppers, Paleo Style

-2 green bell peppers, halved and cleaned

-2 tbsp grassfed clarified butter

-1/2 onion, diced

-1/2 red bell pepper, diced

-4 green onions, diced

-1 clove (or 1/2 tsp) garlic, minced

-1 6oz can of crab meat, drained

-4 or 5 oz frozen tiny shrimp (fully cooked/cleaned), thawed

-1/4 tsp...

...chili powder

...oregano

...basil

...black pepper

-1/8 tsp...

...red pepper flakes

...salt

...cayenne pepper (optional, but really tasty)

-1/4 cup tomato puree

-1/4 head cauliflower, grated (I used a cheese grater; this should come out to be a generous cup)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prep all veggies. Cover the bottom of a baking dish with about 1/8" water, and set aside. Bring water to a rapid boil in a large pot, and parboil the 4 green pepper halves for 2-3 minutes (they should be just beginning to soften); place on paper towels to drain.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions, green onions, red bell peppers and garlic. Stirring constantly to avoid burning, saute until onions become translucent and begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add shrimp, crab, and spices, and cook until thoroughly heated (2-3 min). Finally, add tomato puree and cauliflower, cook until thoroughly heated (1-2 min).

Place green bell peppers in baking dish, and stuff with filling. Bake until peppers are soft, about 20 minutes.

I easily ate an entire pepper (2 stuffed halves), and was sad when I could not eat anymore. This one is seriously a winner. I'd really like to try this with ground lamb or pork as well--maybe both.

Enjoy!

~Losterman

Paleo Pizza Bake

The semester is finally over, I am for realz ABD, and I realized that I could really go for some cheese. I'll pay for it later, but it was worth it. And honestly, this is barely even a recipe, but it's delicious, so here we go:

Paleo Pizza/Lasagna Bake

-1 pkg large pepperoni (around 20 slices)

-1 pkg large Canadian bacon (around 10 slices)

-1 2.25oz can sliced black olives

-6 oz package of sliced portabella mushrooms

-1/2 lb Italian sausage, cooked

-1/2 lb fresh mozzarella (preferably pastured, of course), grated

-2-3 oz parmesan, grated

-2 cups pizza sauce (I used my recipe)

Preheat oven to 400 F (actually, I initially set it to 350, but the cheese wasn't melting well after 10 minutes, so for the remaining time--6 minutes--I cooked it at 400). Cook up the sausage in a pan, and grate the cheese. In an 8"x8" casserole dish, layer the toppings in the following order (I guess you could do it in whatever order you'd like, but this seemed to create impressive cohesion):

1. 9 slices pepperoni (this should completely cover the bottom of the dish)

2. 9 slices Canadian bacon

3. Half of the mozzarella

4. Black olives

5. Mushrooms

6. Italian sausage

7. Pizza sauce

8. Pepperoni (another 9 slices)

9. Remaining mozzarella

10. Parmesan

Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until thoroughly heated, and cheese is melted.

Eating this was enlightening: traditional pizza is totally overrated. The crust just slows you down. Pure toppings is definitely the way to go.

~Losterman