Meatza!

So I believe I first read about this on freetheanimal.com, which is a paleo blog.  For anyone who has read up on the paleo diet and is a foodie, the thought of giving up all grains and the tasty foods that they are in can be overwhelming.  For me, one of the biggest things I would miss is pizza.  And there have been many attempts to create a paleo-friendly pizza, including ones with cauliflower crust, coconut-flour crust, etc.

But none have really whet my appetite as much as the meatza!  Basically, a meatza is a pizza with a meat crust.  How could it get any better than that??  Let's find out ...

First, I started with not just ground beef, but ground Italian sausage (spicy version, of course).  I love eating this stuff, especially for breakfast.  But it is rather oily ... so I think it's not the best suited for this application.  Spread it out like a crust (rectangular is optional but easiest since most of the packages of ground meat come in a rectangle) and put it in the oven at 350 degrees F for approximately 10 minutes, until browned like this:

Yeah ... a bit too much oil there for my tastes, so I soaked some of it up with some paper towels.

While the ground sausage was cooking, I sauteed some chopped shallots over medium heat with a little butter until they were cooked through.

Then I spread some tomato sauce, grated cheese, and the sauteed shallots on top of the ground (cooked) sausage base.  Back into the oven at 350 for approx 8 minutes!

Fresh out of the oven - mm looks really tasty!

I have to say, this was quite delicious.  I would definitely make this again (and I have!).  It makes me not miss pizza that much.  A couple of variables I have played with:
 - Trying to get the bottom of the "crust" more done
 - Using less fatty meat so that the bottom is more crust-like
 - Adding different cooked and raw toppings

Sausage Casserole

Perfect for those lazy Saturday morning brunches!  I love brunch, btw, I think it's probably my favorite meal ever.  That or breakfast.

Necessary ingredients:

First, brown the sausage!

Then, mix the sausage to the frozen hash browns and add some cheese!

Stir with abandon!

I like to use the hot Italian sausage in this case because I feel it really adds a nice kick to the finished casserole.  Mmm!


In a separate bowl, scramble 4-6 eggs (also depending on how much of the hash browns you used - I think I used about 2/3rds of the bag) with some milk/cream.



Mix everything together and pour into a 9x13 casserole dish.  Bake covered for approximately 30 minutes and then uncovered until the top browns slightly (or until you think it's done ... there's plenty of room for adjustments)!

The biscuits are an optional but tasty addition, especially if you put the mixture inside the biscuit like a breakfast sandwich!

Quick Dinner and the 5 Hour Egg

So one day I got home and had approximately 20 minutes to make and eat dinner before I had to leave again.  What was I to do??

I opened the fridge and surveyed the contents ... pulling out the things that looked tasty to me:
- 1 bag of spinach
- 1 kielbasa
- 1 block white cheddar cheese
- 1 container teriyaki sauce

Then I set about combining the ingredients in a delicious manner:

1. Slice the kielbasa - easy enough, right?
2. Toss into a pan with a little oil over medium heat
3. Rinse the spinach and put into a bowl
4. Add the sauteed keilbasa
5. Shred some cheese on top
6. Drizzle some teriyaki sauce over the mixture

Total hardware used: 1 pan, 1 knife, 1 cutting board, 1 grater.
Total time used: ~5 minutes
Taste: amazingly delicious!

To me, this dish works because of all the contrasts.  The cool crisp greens and the warm tender kielbasa, the sweet tanginess of the teriyaki sauce and the creamy goodness of the slightly melted cheddar cheese.


Some Saturday after that, when I had more time, I decided I would try another extreme experiment, this time with eggs!  I had come across this post earlier and so I thought I'd try it.

It's pretty easy!

Oven -> 200 degrees or so.
Eggs -> into oven.

Wait 5 hours!

Very interesting flavors.  I could definitely taste the "nuttiness" and "browned flavors" that were talked about, but I'd say it's not worth 5 hours except as a novelty thing.

I'll have to try this again, except in more controlled temperature conditions - sous vide, perhaps?  =]

Maybe like this.  4 hours at 154 deg F, here I come!