Owning Up

Hey, there! Did you miss me? I know, I know... I said I was taking a little time off, and that turned into a couple months. Whoooooops. Sorry, y'all!  I've been working on the house, traveling a bit, job-hunting, and binge-watching some tv shows here and there. 

I've also been EATING CARBS! 

SAY IT AIN'T SO!!! 

Ugh, but it IS so... so disappointing! But it happens to the best of us, yes? 

It started out when I was traveling... About a week into my nearly 3 week roadtrip the whole "I'm on vacation!" mindset took over. I didn't go craaaaaaaazy, but carbs are a slippery slope. 

And now I'm back at the bottom of the mountain, people! 

Shit!

So the plan is to go back to basics - fats, greens, and proteins. And easy on the cheese and nuts for now.  *whine*

And for the first couple weeks - NO PORK RINDS! OR MUG CAKES! These are my gateway drugs, people! They may not be offenders in the carb department, but their calories (at least in the quantities I want to shove in my face) add up quickly. So back to the kitchen I go, because cooking for myself and my family is the BEST way to control my eating.

On the menu for tonight is mini meatloaves with roasted yellow zucchini and mashed cauliflower, so I'll take some pics and share the recipe tomorrow!

Scotch Scotchy Scotch... Eggs

This was my first time ever making OR eating Scotch eggs, and I have just one question to ask:

WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG????

Holy shitballs, they were fantastic! They tasted like a sausage-egg-and-cheese McMuffin. Only better!

I saw them a few weeks ago on the I Breathe I'm Hungry blog, and I was really excited to try them. My only issue with the recipe was the deep frying - it yields delicious (and in this case more authentic) results, and I have nothing against the cooking method, really... but it's messy, wastes a lot of oil, and mostly I'm just too lazy to want to bother with it.

I decided to give oven-roasting them a try, and I figured it would work nicely with the high fat content of the sausage I used... hooray for being right! They had a light crisp texture on the outside that wasn't greasy at all. If they weren't so filling, I seriously could have eaten the whole batch!

Oven-Fried Scotch Eggs

These babies lend themselves perfectly to a make ahead meal. Giving them a chance to rest/set in the refrigerator after assembly really makes the "breading" process much easier. At a minimum, I'd refrigerate them for 30 minutes before coating, but a day would be even better.

Ingredients

1 tube pork sausage

7 eggs, soft-boiled and shelled

1 egg white, whisked

2 Tbs grated parmesan

2 Tbs coconut flour

salt and pepper

Line a large plate with plastic wrap. Separate the sausage into 7 equal portions. One by one, flatten each portion into an oval shape on a piece of plastic wrap. Place an egg in the center and use the wrap to help you mold the sausage around the egg, then carefully peel it off and gently press together any gaps. Make sure there's no egg peaking out. Set aside on the prepared plate and repeat for the rest of the eggs. Store the prepared eggs in the fridge for at least 30 minutes and up to a day or two.

Preheat the oven to 425F. Line a sheet pan with nonstick foil or parchment paper. Prepare 2 wide, shallow dishes (like a couple of paper plates or 2 pie plates). In one mix the coconut flour, cheese, and a little salt and pepper. In the other, whisk the egg white, adding a little water if necessary to make it cover the bottom of the plate. Coat each egg first in the egg white, then in the flour mixture, gently tapping off any excess, then set aside on the lined sheet pan. You should have just enough coating for all the eggs without much leftover waste. Leave a couple of inches between each egg on the pan, something like this.

Bake at 425F for about 20 minutes, or until the sausage is cooked and the eggs are golden brown. They're great hot, at room temperature, and even cold!

Makes 7 eggs

Approximate nutrition per egg ~ 285 calories, 27.2g fat, 0.6 net carbs, 

14.1g protein