Thursday, December 19, 2013

Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce from NoblePig!

I found this post for Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce on the Noble Pig.  Skip the pasta and pour it over some cauliflower!

Butternut-Squash Pasta Sauce
1-1/2 pounds butternut squash, cubed
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
7 garlic cloves, peel on
3/4 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
coarse salt and ground pepper
Toppings such as fresh sage and bacon are optional

Click here for the recipe.....

Be sure to check out Noblepig.com....it's got some fantastic recipes, especially if you are not a follower of Paleo/Primal.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Roasted Vegetables

 I saw a recipe somewhere for roasted mushrooms.  Yum, I thought to myself.  I could not get it out of my head. So I bought two packs of baby bella mushrooms and a pack of asparagus at Aldi.  Their produce is so much cheaper and fresher than my local grocery store.  The carrots were from the frozen section at Trader Joe's. My husband raved about this dish!

Ingredients:
2 packs of baby bella mushrooms, halved or quartered, depending on size - stems removed
1 pack of asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup carrots
1/3 c oil, whatever you kind choose
1/2 t oregano or Italian seasoning
1/4 t granulated garlic
salt & pepper to taste


Mix the oil and seasonings together.
Cut and cut the vegetables.  Add to large bowl.
Pour flavored oil onto vegetables.
Put onto to foil or parchment covered baking sheet.

Roast in the oven @400 F for 25- 30 minutes.  When the carrots are soft, it is ready.

Serves: 4 as a side dish OR 1-2 as a main dish.


Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Pineapple Cake

My daughter had accidentally opened a can of crushed pineapple.  I did not want it to spoil so I made this cake.  Boy, did I get lucky with this recipe!! It tasted so good.


Pineapple Cake

Ingredients:
1/2 c butter (1 stick) or coconut oil/vegetable shortening
1/2 c sugar or dry sweetener of your choice
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 c almond flour/meal, packed
1/2 c tapioca flour
1/4 c coconut flour
1/2 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
3/4 -1 cup canned crushed pineapple

Mix first 4 ingredients together.  Mix dry ingredients and add to the liquid mixture.  Then add pineapple.
Bake in 9x9" greased pan or equivalent at 350F for 35-40 minutes until edges are brown and crispy.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

BBQ Chicken Sandwich

I had a sandwich for the first time in ages!! I used the Paleo Waffles recipe from realsustenance.com with my BBQ Chicken in the last post.  It was wonderful.  Last night I used the waffles and made myself a grilled cheese. What a treat.

Monday, September 16, 2013

BBQ Chicken Salad


I made BBQ Crockpot Chicken  last night.  My husband wanted it on some romaine with greek olives.
The chicken was so delicious but don't let it overcook.

People are always posting photos and recipes on Facebook. There was an interesting one the other day. Of course I have to make it primal.

Original recipe:
Sweet Baby Ray's Crockpot Chicken

4-6 chicken breast
1 btl Sweet Baby Ray's sauce
1/4 c vinegar
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 c brown sugar
1 tsp garlic powder
Mix everything but chicken
Place chicken in crockpot (frozen is ok)
Pour sauce mixture over chicken
Cook on low 4-6 hours
Be sure to SHARE so this stays on your timeline. For more healthy recipes and weight loss encouragement check us out 
https://www.facebook.com/groups/237334256346297/ 

I remade this recipe with an idea posted by Vanessa @ Healthy Living How To on Facebook. She's got a great website about low carb and healthy living.

BBQ Crockpot Chicken

4-6 chicken breasts
6 oz can of tomato paste
1/2 c Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 c water
1/4 t red pepper flakes
Fresh Cracked Pepper to taste

Mix the ingredients together and pour over chicken breasts in crockpot. Cook on low for 4 hours. 

I used frozen chicken so I cooked it on high.
I made my own BBQ sauce instead of using the bottled sauce mentioned in the original recipe.
I did not need the sugar from the original recipe because of the sweetness of the balsamic vinegar. 

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms


These are absolutely delicious! You can make as an appetizer or a dinner entree depending on the size of mushroom you buy.  We had them for dinner.

Ingredients:
3/4 -1 lb Sweet Italian Sausage
1/2 half large onion, diced
1/4-1/2 c bell peppers, diced, any color
1/2 c almond flour/meal
1 egg, beaten
3 8 oz boxes of mushrooms
4 T butter OR oil of your choice
1 c shredded cheese, your preference
Salt and Pepper

1. Add 1 T butter to a medium pan.  Add onion and peppers.  Saute until almost soft.
2. Remove sausage from casing.  Break up and add to pan. Cook until brown.
3. Remove from heat and cool.
4. Clean mushrooms and remove stems.
5. Melt 3 T butter in a saucepan and dip the mushroom cap in the butter. Place on a lined baking sheet.
6. Place the sausage mixture in a large bowl. Add the almond flour, egg, cheese and seasonings.  Mix well.
7. Fill the mushrooms with the sausage mixture.
8. Bake at 350F for 25- 30 minutes.
9. Serve warm.

You can make many variations on this recipe with different sausages and cheeses.


Before they went into the oven.
I made about 35 mushrooms.  If you have larger mushrooms, you will get less.

Friday, September 13, 2013

Turkey Guacamole Salad



I made a turkey.  It was a nice sized one so of course I had leftovers.  Since I seem to be obsessed with avocados lately I made guacamole with turkey.


My Basic Guacamole Recipe:
1 ripe avocado
1 tomato - chopped
garlic salt to taste
a few shakes of Penzeys Granulated Onion
juice of 1/2 lime

I added some shredded cooked turkey and mixed it together.  Then put it on top of romaine lettuce.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Banana Pancakes

I had two bananas to use up.  If I make banana bread I am usually the only one to eat it.  I don't need that!!
I am always trying to recreate fried bananas that I had as a kid when we lived in Guam.  They were so good.
I have never had anything like them since.

So today I made these.

Banana Pancakes

2 ripe bananas
1 egg
2 T tapioca starch
a dash or two of salt
1 t baking powder - I use Rumford
1/2 t freshly grated nutmeg

Mash the bananas in a bowl.
Add the egg and beat.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Let the batter sit a minute so the baking powder starts to work.

Put a few spoonfuls in a medium hot pan with a little melted ghee. You need to cook these on a lower heat because they will burn on the outside and still be raw inside.

Yield: 3-4 waffles or 8 pancakes

Boy, were these tasty!!

This is what the mixture looks like.

Yummy

I wondered how these would be if I cooked them in the waffle iron.  So I tried it.

The waffles came out well but they were not crispy.  The batter did not stick to the iron.  I had to make the second one on a lower heat setting.  I liked them!!  So sweet.  I did not have to add anything except a bit of butter!

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Another cereal recipe from RealSustenance.com

This was Sophia's breakfast this morning.  She was very happy.  She was one of those kids whose breakfast was always cereal.  When we realized that we had a problem with wheat and we were going to give up wheat, that meant cereal was out!!

I found this recipe, Paleo Cookie Crisp at RealSustenance.com. Click on the link for her site to find the recipe. We made this yesterday. It was fun to make them together.


We made them very small!!


Sophia would put the mini chocolate chips on after I piped the dough on the sheet.


Fresh from the oven.


This is how many we made. I put 3 of these containers in the freezer!

These are delicious as cereal or snacks!

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Paleo Cocoa Puffs Cereal by way of PaleOMG and Real Sustenance

Yesterday I was surfing on Facebook and came across this post from PaleOMG: Guest Post: Paleo Cocoa Puffs with this photo.


Here is Juli's post with the recipe. Or get it here Paleo Cocoa Puffs Cereal. (Gluten/Dairy/Refined Sugar Free) from Real Sustenance. Please look at both of these blogs.  They are fantastic!!

I said to myself, "OK, this is one recipe I have to try."  My kid loves cereal and since we are trying not to eat grains she had to give cereal up. I had all of the ingredients so I made the puffs.


 These are the "puffs" before they went into the oven.

These are baked halfway. See how much larger they got!

These are finished baking.

These taste so good!!  My daughter had some for breakfast this morning as cereal.  She only ate a little bit before she felt full.  The puffs are great as a snack too.  They get very crispy like amaretti cookies.  It got over 60 with this batch.  I put half of them in the freezer for another time.  A person COULD make a sandwich cookie with these using coconut butter as a filling.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Healing Foods from DK Publishing

Take control of your life and your health through what you eat with Healing Foods — an indispensable resource that shows you exactly what foods are best, and how to optimize their super-food potential.
With more than 200 healing foods, from carrots to clementines, and 150 easy-to-prepare recipes that heal, Healing Foods empowers readers to practice optimum nutrition, and shows how certain foods can be incorporated into daily life to target specific health issues, from the publisher.



There is some very interesting information in this book.  I appreciated the beginning of the book where they list Foods that Heal. They list everything you can think of from fruit to oils and tell the reader what is beneficial for the body and how it can help you.


Then there is a section with recipes.  I especially liked the Almond and Raspberry Cake on pages 286.

Everyone would benefit from this book.  All kinds of eating plans can use the recipes.


Pages: 351

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Bacon-a-mole

I LOVE guacamole.  This is my take on the typical recipe when I am in the mood for BACON.  I like onion flavor but I do not like raw onions so I left them out.  But you could use any onions or scallions you like.

1 ripe avocado
1 tomato - chopped
garlic salt to taste
a few shakes of Penzeys Granulated Onion
juice of 1/2 lime
3-4 slices of bacon, chopped and cooked

Mix the ingredients together.  You can use this as a dip or serve as a salad over greens. OR throw it in a bowl and chow down!



Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Italian Style Frittata

From Wikipedia:  
Frittata is an egg-based dish similar to an omelette or quiche, enriched with additional ingredients such as meats, cheeses, vegetables or pasta. It may be flavored with herbs.
The Italian word frittata derives from fritta, the feminine past participle of "to fry" (friggere),[1] and was originally a general term for cooking eggs in a skillet, anywhere on the spectrum from fried egg, through conventional omelette, to an Italian version of the Spanish tortilla de patatas, made with fried potato. Outside Italy, frittata was seen as equivalent to "omelette" until at least the mid-1950s.
In the last fifty years, "frittata" has become a term for a distinct variation that Delia Smith describes as "Italy's version of an open-face omelette".When used in this sense there are four key differences from a conventional omelette:
  • There is always at least one optional ingredient in a frittata and such ingredients are combined with the beaten egg mixture while the eggs are still raw rather than being laid over the mostly-cooked egg mixture before it is folded, as in a conventional omelette. Eggs for frittata may be beaten vigorously to incorporate more air than traditional savory omelettes, to allow a deeper filling and a fluffier result.
  • The mixture is cooked over a very low heat, more slowly than an omelette, for at least 5 minutes, typically 15, until the underside is set but the top is still runny.
  • The partly cooked frittata is not folded to enclose its contents, like an omelette, but it is instead either turned over in full, or grilled briefly under an intense salamander to set the top layer, or baked for around five minutes.  (wish I had a salamander in my kitchen!!)
  • Unlike an omelette, which is generally served whole to a single diner, a frittata is usually divided into slices. It may be served hot or cold, accompanied by fresh salads, bread, beans, olives, etc. 
Ingredients:
1/2 sweet onion, sliced
1/2 bell pepper  ( I used Trader Joe's frozen pepper mix)
3-4 slices Italian Dry Salame (I used Colombus brand)
2-3 slices Pepperoni
2 whole eggs
5 egg whites  (You can use all whole eggs if you wish)
salt and pepper
fat of your choice to cook

1. Heat pan and add fat, enough to cover pan over medium heat. Put eggs in medium bowl and beat.
2. Add onion.  Saute for a bit
3. Add peppers and meat. 

4. When the onions start to look cooked through add the eggs. Lower heat. Let the eggs set a little and form a thin crust.  Lift the eggs and let the raw mixture cover the pan. Add salt and pepper.
5. When the eggs are firmer, flip the frittata.  It is not an easy thing so don't be upset if it breaks.

6. You may have to flip once or twice more until the eggs are fully cooked.

Tada!!
 
You can vary your ingredients however you like.  Use different vegetables and meat.  Or even leftovers!
We had frittatas for dinner when we lived in Sicily. 
 My sister in law made a fantastic one with potatoes.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Homemade Ground Meat

Right after Christmas we got a really really good deal
on a Kitchen Aid Mixer through Bradsdeals.

Pretty isn't it!




 We bought the mixer from Kohl's and got $70 in Kohl's cash. 
We bought this.


Now we can buy some big blocks of cheese and grate our own.  
OR buy some meat and grind our own hamburger.

So we did!  We bought a 3 and a
 half pound roast and made this!
It was very easy.


We got 4 packs of 3/4 pounds of hamburger and 2 1/4 lb. patties.
YAY!!

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Left-Over Roast Salad

When you have some leftover beef roast and wonder just what to do with it  - make a salad.  It was warm here over the weekend and I was in the mood for a salad.  I never seem to want salad when it's chilly.  I used warmed up leftover roast beef, half of a sweet onion, sauteed in Olive oil; 3 small tomatoes, chopped; baby lettuce; a handful of cherry sized fresh mozzarella balls, chopped and balsamic vinaigrette.  I topped it off with a grind of Pink Himalayan Salt.