Bacon-Wrapped Chicken

Hello Foodies!

Man, it has been quite some time since I last blogged! A few weeks, actually!

I apologize for being so MIA- I unfortunately had to put my sweet furry baby to sleep 😦 I was an emotional wreck leading up to that and an emotional wreck afterward. Hence my temporary leave of absence from food blogging.

I had to come back with a bang though! And what better way to say ‘I’m back’ than with a recipe that is simple, (somewhat) healthy, and includes one of my favorite foods (bacon)? And so, I bring you… Bacon-Wrapped Chicken!

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Ingredients:
-2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts with rib meat
-8-10 pieces of bacon

Directions:
-preheat the oven to 350 degrees
-wrap each piece of chicken in 4-5 pieces of bacon (mine were kind of crossed and random)
-bake in the oven for about 55 minutes or until the bacon is brown and the chicken is thoroughly cooked
-serve with some great roasted veggies and enjoy!

This came out SO yummy. Everything I hoped for (and more) from bacon-wrapped chicken 🙂

Try out the recipe and post your photos on Instagram! Tag @laurenslovelyrecipes and #laurenslovelyrecipes.

Enjoy!
xo, Lauren
@laurenslovelyrecipes
#laurenslovelyrecipes

Quinoa Egg Casserole

Hello foodies!

I don’t know about you, but I’m a big fan of quinoa. It’s a great addition to salads, stir fry, or as a side dish all on its own! I decided to mix it into my favorite meal (breakfast) for a delicious egg casserole. (Don’t you worry, there’s bacon in there too…)

It was easy to make and came out really yummy 🙂 The casserole is cooked and prepared the same way I made my Anything and Everything Eggs (which I’ve linked to below). I hope you enjoy it!

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Ingredients:
-2 eggs, whisked
-20 tbs egg whites, mixed in with the eggs
-2 pieces of bacon, cooked over a pan
-1/2 cup quinoa dry (we’ll cook it before it goes into the casserole)
-zucchini, onion, and any other vegetables to your liking

Directions to cook the quinoa:
-add one part quinoa and two parts water to a stovetop pan
-bring it to a boil, and then cover it and let it simmer
-stir sparingly and let it simmer until all the water has been absorbed

Directions for the casserole can be found in my Anything and Everything Eggs post 🙂

Viola! A great breakfast casserole!

I’m telling you guys, baked eggs (when you have a little extra time) are the way to go. They are simply delicious!

Nutritional Information (using 2 pieces of bacon and 1 1/4 cups of zucchini):
serving size is 1/4 of the egg bake, recipe makes 4 servings
-200 calories
-6.25g fat
-17.3g carbs
-17.75g protein

Try it out, and post your photos on Instagram! Tag @laurenslovelyrecipes and #laurenslovelyrecipes.

Enjoy!
xo, Lauren
@laurenslovelyrecipes
#laurenslovelyrecipes

Bacon Guacamole

Hi foodies!

This past weekend, my dad went out of town for a business trip. When he got back, he gave me a call, and our phone conversation went something like this.

Dad: Lauren, I have to tell you the most amazing thing that has ever happened.

Lauren: Ok, shoot. (By the way, my dad is known for making up hilarious / untrue stories, so I’m always on my toes whenever he says things like this)

Dad: On Friday night, your Uncle Ron and I went out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant. The waitress asked me if we wanted any appetizers, to which I replied ‘Duh, guacamole.’

Lauren: Ok, so, what’s so amazing about that? I love guacamole, but it isn’t exactly a new discovery.

Dad: Well, the waitress then asked me, ‘Do you want the regular guacamole, or the BACON GUACAMOLE?’

Lauren: *slowly starts wiping the drool off her face

Of course, he got the bacon guacamole.
(side note: my dad and I share the same intense love for bacon AND avocados)

So below is my own rendition of bacon guacamole! (I made a small recipe- you could definitely add more avocados and bacon)

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Ingredients:
-1-2 medium to large sized avocados
-1-2 pieces of bacon (I used Black Forest Bacon from Trader Joe’s)
-1/4 of a red bell pepper, cut into small pieces
-grease from cooked bacon
-salt / pepper / mosquite seasoning to taste

Directions:
-cut the avocados in half and remove the seeds
-scoop the avocados in a bowl and begin mashing it up

-cook the bacon over the stove on medium heat to desired crispiness

-add the bacon grease into the mashed avocado
-add the cut pieces of red bell pepper into the mix and stir

-cut the bacon into smaller pieces and mix in
-add the salt / pepper / mosquite seasoning sparingly and test often until it gets to desired taste
-serve with chips or carrots (or anything else you like) and enjoy!

I can’t believe I didn’t think to combine bacon and guacamole before (two of my favorite foods), but I am so glad I did!

Nutritional Information:
nutritional information is for 1 entire recipe using 1 avocado and 2 pieces of bacon
-424 calories
-35g fat
-16.8g carbs
-17.2g protein

Don’t be startled by those numbers- that’s for the whole recipe! (you typically wouldn’t eat the entire recipe in one sitting…)

Try out the recipe, and post your photos on Instagram! Tag @laurenslovelyrecipes and #laurenslovelyrecipes.

Enjoy!
xo, Lauren
@laurenslovelyrecipes
#laurenslovelyrecipes

Lazy Girl Chili

Hi foodies!

Today is my first official day of my new clean eating / mostly paleo nutrition plan. I’m really excited to start it because 1, it’s something I already follow about 60% of the time, but I wanted to really lay out it and be more serious about it and 2, this weekend while visiting my good friend Ryah, we had ice cream for lunch…. twice. So this is probably a good time to start.

Last night, I made this extremely lazy girl chili, and let me tell you, it was fantastic! The salsa I used ended up not being 100% paleo (it’s not unhealthy by any means, but I’m trying to follow the guidelines I set out), so I’ll have to adjust the next time I make it. Still, totally delicious and really simple!

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Ingredients:
-3 pieces Black Forrest Bacon from Trader Joe’s
-1 package (4 servings) 96%/4% extra lean ground beef from Trader Joe’s
-1.5 containers of ‘Cowboy Caviar’ salsa from Trader Joe’s

Directions:
-chop up the bacon into small pieces, and cook until desired crispiness in a pan over medium heat
-transfer the bacon and most of the bacon grease into a pot and set aside
-with the remaining bacon grease, begin cooking the ground beef in the same pan over medium heat; add desired spices to it as well (I added a mosquite seasoning from Costco)
-once the ground beef is mostly cooked, add the salsa to the pot with the bacon and begin cooking that over medium heat
-transfer the ground beef once it is thoroughly cooked into the pot with the bacon and salsa, and continue mixing until hot
-serve and enjoy!

This is the yummy salsa I ended up using.

And here’s the final product!

It was so easy to make, tasted amazing, and provided me with a lot of protein. Success!

Nutritional Information:
serving size is about 1 cup, recipe makes about 5 servings
-229 calories
-6g fat
-20.1g carbs
-24.5g protein

Try this out, and post your photos on Instagram! Tag @laurenslovelyrecipes and #laurenslovelyrecipes in the posts.

Enjoy!
xo, Lauren
@laurenslovelyrecipes
#laurenslovelyrecipes

Egg, Bacon and Brussels Sprouts Hash

Hi foodies!

Tonight’s recipe comes from a blog post I saw while logging in to My Fitness Pal (I modified it slightly, of course). If you guys don’t use MFP, I highly recommend it. It helps you keep track of your macronutrients, your daily fiber intake, and your important vitamins (like vitamins A & C). MFP has gotten really fancy recently, and they now post links to healthy recipes and cool articles, which is where I found this gem.

This recipe uses Brussels sprouts as the base of the ‘hash browns,’ and it is a great low-carb option for those looking for a yummy breakfast option! It also only uses 3 ingredients and is super easy to make. A win-win in my book!

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Ingredients:
-8 Brussels sprouts, diced
-1 piece of bacon (I use Trader Joe’s Uncurred Black Forest Bacon)
-2 eggs

Directions:
-chop up your Brussels sprouts into small pieces
-start cooking the bacon on the stovetop on medium heat (you can chop up the bacon into smaller pieces if you want before cooking it)
-once the bacon is mostly cooked, add the Brussels sprouts to the pan and cook everything together
-transfer the bacon and Brussels sprouts ‘hash’ to a plate
-cook your eggs however you please (I made mine runny)
-place the eggs over the ‘hash browns’ and enjoy!

Simple and delicious! I had this after hitting the gym, and it filled me up and satisfied my post-workout hunger 🙂

Nutritional Information:
serving size is one full plate, recipe makes one serving
-290 calories
-16g fat (you can cut fat by using egg whites instead of whole eggs)
-12g carbs
-22g protein

Try out the recipe, and post your photos on Instagram! Tag @laurenslovelyrecipes and #laurenslovelyrecipes.

Enjoy!
xo, Lauren
@laurenslovelyrecipes
#laurenslovelyrecipes

Bacon Cauliflower Casserole

Good evening, foodies!

Tonight’s recipe is one of my new favorites: Bacon Cauliflower Casserole! If you know me, you know I love bacon. It was sweet bacon that convinced me to start eating meat again (thank you, bacon).
I found a different recipe online (I believe from Greatist) and tried it, and then adapted it, and readapted it, and kept changing it until I got this.

This casserole is low carb, high protein, and full of deliciousness. It can also easily be made vegetarian (just take out the bacon). Check it out!

Ingredients:
-6 cups cauliflower, pulsed in a processor
-4 strips Uncured Black Forest Bacon (from Trader Joe’s)
-13 tbs egg whites
-4 garlic cloves, minced
-1/2 cup Light Fat Mexican Blend Cheese (also from Trader Joe’s)
-1/2 cup nonfat cottage cheese
-spices to taste (be generous with the spices- I used basil, thyme, and a mosquite seasoning)

Directions:
-preheat the oven to 425*
-chop up the cauliflower and place in the food processor

-once the cauliflower is relatively fine, place it in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 8 minutes
-mince the garlic
-cook the bacon over the stove (**make sure it is cooked, but not super crispy since it’s going in the oven!)

look at how yummy that bacon looks!

-once the cauliflower is done in the oven, mix all ingredients into the bowl
-place mixture into a greased pyrex pan

-cook in the oven for 35-40 minutes, or until casserole is cooked all the way through
-enjoy!

Check it out! so yummy!

Nutrition Information:
information for 1 serving, recipe makes 9 servings
86 calories
3.3g fat
4.5g carbs
9.7g protein

I hope you enjoy it! Try it out, post your photos online and #laurenslovelyrecipes and tag @laurenslovelyrecipes on Instagram!

xo, Lauren
@laurenslovelyrecipes
#laurenslovelyrecipes