Meatloaf, Baby

I know.  Another meatloaf recipe.  Really.  Just call this Paleo Meatloaf Recipe #1001.  But, hey, we all need one, right?  Right.  

Actually, my meatloaf tweak came from two simple facts:  (i) I didn't have any tomato paste (and my go-to meatloaf recipe used to be this one by the genius over at Everyday Paleo); and (ii) I had it in my mind that I wanted to use pork rinds instead of almond flour (not really sure why...but I like pork rinds better than almond flour now that I've tried both).  

Now, I'm not one who generally understands why certain ingredients are added to a recipe.  Eggs - they are binder; that makes sense.  I wasn't quite certain about the tomato paste.  I was guessing it both added thickness to the mixture and a slightly sweet taste (because in non-Paleo recipes you often see ketchup as an ingredient).  I decided that I would first caramelize some onions (sweetness) and then blend with spices to form a paste (thickener).

Surprisingly, this came out good.  Even non-Paleo mom really liked it.  Hope you do as well.  Enjoy.

Ingredients:

• Fat (ghee, coconut oil, etc.)
• 1 large yellow onion
• 2-3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2-1 tsp cayenne powder
• 1 tsp paprika powder 
• 2 lb ground beef (or any combo of ground meat you like)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup crushed pork rinds (or, you can sub almond flour)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F.
2. Heat a pan over medium heat.  Meanwhile, peel and then chop your onion (you don't really need a fine dice unless you have great knife skills -- you are ultimately going to puree this in the blender or food processor).  
3. Add your fat to the pan (I used ghee).  You don't need a lot - just enough to keep things from sticking (and maybe add a little flavor:)).  Add onions.
4. Cook onions until they are caramelized.  Be patient - this takes awhile.  Your onions are going to be brown, really brown.
5. Break out your food processor or blender.  Add onions, garlic, and spices.  Blend until you have a nice thick paste.  You don't need to add water or other liquid -- you want this to be fairly thick.
6. In a good-sized bowl, combine meat, eggs, pork rinds, and onion paste.  Use your hands (really - this is the best way to get everything combined!) and mix everything really good.
7. Put in a pan and pop in the oven.  I used a square glass baking dish instead of a loaf pan to reduce the cooking time.  Cook about 30 minutes (longer if you use a loaf pan).
8. Serve and enjoy.  The leftovers (if you have any!) are great as well.

Eggplant Crisps

I intended to make eggplant Parmesan, without the Parmesan (I'm dairy intolerant) (but don't ask me what I was going to call said dinner...).  

Obviously, from the title of my post, eggplant Parmesan without the Parmesan didn't happen because (mainly) we were eating these little babies right off the pan and it seemed like too much work to cook them again with the sauce.  

Seriously, these are GOOOD, like Lays potato chips...bet you can't just eat one!  Served here with an Italian meat and veggie sauce.

Ingredients:

• 2 eggplants
• 2 eggs + 2 Tbs water
• 1 cup pork rinds, ground (the 1 cup is measured once the rinds are ground)

Directions:

1. Peel and slice eggplant.  Then, in a pan with a lip (to catch the dripping water), liberally salt both sides of the eggplant.  Let sit at least 15 minutes, but closer to an hour is better.  (I don't actually know if the liquid that comes out is "bitter" and needs to be released, but the end result is pretty tasty, so I went with the common thought process regarding eggplant.  Anyway, I digress.)
2. Rinse salt from eggplant and pat dry.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
4. Beat together eggs and water.
5. Pulverize pork rinds.
6. Take a piece of eggplant, dip into egg mixture, shake off, dip into pork rind mixture.  Place on a baking sheet (I'd suggest some parchment paper here...otherwise, a few of them stick awful bad to the baking sheet.)
7. When they are all breaded, place into the oven and cook between 30 and 40 minutes.  You want the outside to be crispy, but not burnt.
8. Eat and enjoy.  Tender on the inside, crispy on the outside.  Yum!