Blue cheese bacon burger salad

Yesterday I was craving a burger.  Not just any burger, but a blue cheese bacon burger.  My friend and I went to Five Guys Burger and Fries (where he said I could get onion rings, and it turns out he's a dirty liar because they don't have them).  So instead I ordered a (bunless) bacon cheeseburger.

Seriously, it was pathetic.  And between that, the fries and drink, set me back $10.  Total waste.  The burger was so messy and just kind of tossed into the little bowl with condiments on the side.  Lesson learned, there's a reason why I've only been there one time before....

So today, I fixed the craving and I fixed it good!  Make this for the family or, if you're cooking for one like me, you'll get 3-4 lunches out of this.

• 1 pound ground beef (grass fed if you've got it)
• 6 ounces of bacon, sliced (thick cut if you've got it, or use whatever you want)
• 8 ounce package of mushrooms (optional, but I like sauteed mushrooms with my burger)
• 1 large tomato, diced
• Blue cheese (yeah yeah, dairy isn't paleo, but whatever, it is in my world.  Omit it if you want, but if you can do dairy, do yourself a favor and keep it because it adds the perfect creamy texture to it)
• Lettuce

In a large skillet, toss your ground beef along with a teaspoon or so of fat of your choice (I used tallow, and if you have access to it, I HIGHLY recommend it because it adds a delicious flavor to it) along with whatever seasonings you like (I did a few shakes of salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder) and cook.  

Once the beef is done, remove it from the pan and transfer to a bowl.  Then toss your bacon in the pan and cook that, and when that's done, place the bacon on a paper towel lined plate, then toss in the mushrooms to the pan and cook those.

Assemble your salad as you normally would, and drizzle it with some mustard vinaigrette and enjoy.

Mustard vinaigrette:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon ground mustard
• Dash of salt & pepper

Sunbutter!

So I seem to have developed some kind of intolerance/allergy to nuts, so I'm keeping them out of my life for now.  I know, it's sad.  Especially when I do things like crave a PB&J sandwich or something....

And okay, there are a million recipes floating around the interwebs for sunflower seed butter, and I'm not taking credit for anything, I'm just posting how I did mine today.

• 4 cups roasted, salted sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup olive oil (more on this in a minute)
• 3 tablespoons honey (and more on this too)

Get your food processor out and put the seeds in and turn it on.  Now just forget about it for a few minutes until the processor grinds it into a mealy texture.  Now start to drizzle in your olive oil, letting the processor go, and it will gradually start to thin out and turn into a more creamy texture.  You may use less oil, you may use more, just stop the processor periodically and scrape down the sides and see where you're at.  And the same thing with the honey, add in a tablespoon at a time, test it, and if you want it sweeter, add more.

You want a really good treat?  Toss some on a banana with some strawberries, it'll solve the PB&J dilemma.

Makes 3 cups