I'm not going to say anything to you about this recipe except for you're welcome, because it is beautiful and it came to me in a vision the way I picture saints appearing to people in burlap cassocks, standing on old rocky hills somewhere in Italy. 

There's a restaurant in the DC area that I love that has a whipped feta dip with hunks of jalapeno in it, and it is so good but it's a bit too much dairy for me. They also serve it with pita bread, and I had to have cucumbers which is fine, I guess, but I thought I'd make my own version that wouldn't make me feel sick or deprived in any way.

I made my dish more Paleo by using goat cheese instead of feta and then adding bacon, obviously.

Ingredients:

For the sweet potato wedges:

Two sweet potatoes 

(Make more if you want, but you'll run out of dip.)

A liberal drizzle of olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

For the goat cheese bacon dip:

A four-ounce package of plain goat cheese.

Two green onions

Two teaspoons of coconut milk

(More coconut milk if you want your dip to be thinner.)

Four strips of crunchy bacon.

1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Two or three shakes of crushed red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Take the goat cheese out of the fridge, out of the wrapper, and into a bowl to get to room temperature.

2. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

3. Wash your sweet potatoes really well. Leave the skins on if you want (I think you should) and scrub them!

4. Cut each sweet potato into eight wedges, lay on a baking sheet, and drizzle olive oil over them. 

5. Spread the oil around with your hands and get each wedge really covered. Add salt and pepper.

6. Pop 'em in the oven for about 25 minutes, turning them every ten minutes or so.

7. With a hand mixer, whip the goat cheese up until it's a little fluffy, and add the coconut milk. Whip some more.

8. Add salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, and garlic powder. Whip it!

9. Add crumbled bacon and sliced green onion. Whip it good!

10. Put the dip in a bowl and serve with sweet potato wedges. 

Now dip the sweet potato in or smear some of it over the wedge with a knife.

You could also totally use this as a topping on a baked sweet potato.

But I wanted fries.

Seriously, bring this to a holiday party.

This recipe was inspired by several things. First of all, fall is the perfect time for apples, isn't it? But more than apples, I have been eating a lot of dark chocolate recently. Like, really dark. I eat it at night, with a glass of red wine, while I read or listen to music. It's really nice, and it makes me feel fancy. And finally, I don't think I need to remind you how much I love bacon.

I sent my mom a text message before I left work last night that said, "Do we have apples, bacon, and chocolate?" and believe it or not, she didn't say, "Get a grip, Megan!" She actually said "Let me check," and then "Yes," so I rushed home with excitement.

This is what we're going to do--we're going to dip some apples in dark chocolate and then we're going to cover them with homemade bacon bits--because, why not? Ready? Let's do it.

 

Ingredients:

One Honeycrisp apple

A bar of dark chocolate (I kept it Paleo with this one)

Several strips of bacon

1. Cook the bacon until it is really, really crunchy. You're going to turn these into little bacon bits.

2. Once it's cooked, chop it up. I used a chopper to get it as fine as possible. 

We're talking almost bacon dust, people.

3. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler.

4. Slice up your apple and set up an assembly line with apple slices first, then chocolate, then bacon.

5. Dip a slice in the chocolate, let it drip a little, and then sprinkle the bacon bits on the chocolate.

6. Plate them, show your friends, and feel like a culinary genius for a few minutes. 

Two things I consistently hear from people who are having a hard time with Paleo are "it's too expensive" and "it takes too much planning." And I know; it's not cheap, and it's not easy if you have to just grab something and go. But don't give up!

No matter how much you spend or how long it takes you to prepare each week, though, your health is worth it. And isn't that what it's all about? Feeling good and eating well? But it doesn't have to be so costly and time-consuming.

I am so excited to announce that eMeals, a fabulous meal planning service, is launching a Paleo plan that is going to make your shopping and cooking and planning so ridiculously easy. Someone from eMeals reached out to me a few weeks ago and I have had so much fun learning about this company. I'm so excited about my new partnership with them! If you are in school, or you work full-time, or you feel lost about Paleo, or you just wish you had a personal assistant (I know that's not just me!), then this plan is going to be perfect for you.

They sent me a test plan and I was so impressed with the recipes and easy instructions--they even include a shopping list as well as a list of staples needed for the week that might already be in your pantry, so you don't go and accidentally buy a new bottle of olive oil or mustard if you already have some. And they leave little notes for you, like "marinate ahead," so you don't come home from a long day at work to make the Maple Glazed Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potato Wedges and realize that you should have prepared the chicken the night before.

They've really thought of everything, and they offer more than just a Paleo meal plan--you can choose from a huge variety of different plans. And it's as low as $5 a month! I really can't say enough wonderful things about eMeals, so I thought I'd whip up a couple things from the menu they sent me and show you what we're working with!

Everything I've made so far has been delicious and so easy to prepare. I really hope you'll give it a try! 

It's cheap, it's easy, and it's Paleo--you've run out of excuses! It might be time to make the switch!

PS Use code PALEO for 10% off!