Pumpkin Pie Coffee Cake

I love fall! Everything about fall is wonderful, and this year in the Pacific Northwest it is even better than normal because we have not had rain in months! The fall feeling has started translating into my kitchen as well, so when I had a brunch to bring a 'baked item' to I took the opportunity and ran. Here is what I came up with, and it was a hit for Paleo and non. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie Coffee Cake
Cake:
1/2 C canned Coconut Milk
3 Eggs
1/4 C Honey
1 C Pumpkin (I used fresh that I made into puree, but canned will work)
2 Tbsp Vanilla
3 C Almond Flour
1 C Arrowroot Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
2 Tbsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Ginger

Topping:
1/3 C Coconut Oil (solid)
1/2 C Pecans
3 tsp Cinnamon
1 Egg

Preheat oven to 325. Grease a 9 X 12 baking dish with coconut oil. (I put about a tsp of coconut oil and place the pan in the oven while it preheats, then just swirl it around to get it coated.)  In a stand mixer, combine the wet ingredients for the cake. Turn the mixer to medium till the ingredients are incorporated and smooth.

 In a small separate bowl combine the dry and add it into the wet ingredients in the mixer. Mix until the batter is smooth.

Transfer the batter into the greased baking dish.

Place topping ingredients into  the stand mixer and allow them to come together into a chunky topping.

Dollop topping onto the batter and use a knife to roughly incorporate it.

You want streaks, of the topping, not blended in.

Place cake into preheated oven for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Allow cake to cook and enjoy!

Bacon Balsamic Brussel Sprouts

This is my absolute favorite side dish! My husband called me out recently at a friends house for having made this 4 times in a week. While I think he was exaggerating a bit, it is true that I love this dish! I made it on the stove top tonight because my oven was full, but I actually prefer to make it on baking sheets in the oven because the sprouts get a bit crisper. I hope you enjoy!

Bacon Balsamic Brussel Sprouts
2 lb Brussel Sprouts
1 lb Bacon (the cleanest you can get because you will be using the fat)
2-3 tbsp Onion Powder
1/4 C Balsamic Vinegar (extra to drizzle if you are big fan, like me)
Salt

Slice the bacon and begin rendering the fat over medium heat in a large heavy bottomed pot.

While the bacon is rendering, trim and quarter the brussel sprouts.

Allow the bacon to get nicely crisped and remove from the pan.

Leave the bacon grease in the pan and add the quartered sprouts to the hot oil. Mix gently to coat them all and allow the sprouts to begin browning on the bottom of the pan.

After about 5 minutes scrape the browned sides off the bottom, stir and let cook for another 5 minutes. Scrape and stir again, allowing them to cook for an additional 5 minutes.

 After, add onion powder, stir to incorporate. Add in balsamic, about 1/2 of the crisped bacon (or more if wanted, but I generally save the other 1/2 for breakfast).

Serve with additional balsamic if wanted and enjoy!!

Stretch the budget where you can... Coconut Oil Sale

I've received a couple emails and in-person questions lately about the affordability of the meat we eat, so I quickly want to touch on it as the opportunity has presented itself. We can't always afford the highest quality meat, however we do as much as we can to ensure we get the lowest toxicity meats we can.

For us, that means that while our red meats (mostly bison and beef) are almost always Grass Fed, our chicken is generally not (unless I find a phenomenal deal). Reasoning being, the majority of the toxins in meats are in the fat. We avoid most of the toxins by buying boneless/skinless chicken breasts and adding good fats to the meal to supplement what we are missing out by buying conventional.

Right now Tropical Traditions is having a great deal on one of our favorite ways to do this, Coconut Oil. The have their Expeller Pressed Coconut Oil (odorless and flavorless, so perfect for savory cooking) on sale Buy 1 Get 1 Free. Additionally, when you use Coupon Code 11126 you get free shipping! Because these are high quality, glass jar packaged, coconut oils they can be very expensive to buy and have shipped. By stocking up when they have a great deal like this I am able to feed my family well, and still stay within budget!

Crispy Primal Lasagna Bites

These turned out awesome! The pepperoni on the bottom got nice and crispy while the cauliflower and ricotta filling got crispy on the outside and nice and ooeey gooeey in the middle! This was a great way to squeeze lots of extra veggies into the kids (and adults). Try these as is, or dipped in your favorite marinara sauce. They are delicious!

*If you have never made your own Ricotta cheese I recommend you try to. It is so easy, much less expensive, and you know exactly what quality product you are working with!*

Crispy Primal Lasagna Bites
4 C Cauliflower- mashed (1 head)
1 C Mashed Sweet Potato
1 C Ricotta (I make my own, but you can find a good quality at several stores)
2 1/2 Tbsp Dried Oregano
2 Tbsp Onion Powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 Eggs
1/2 lb Nitrate Free Pepperoni (The large slice ones work better)- 1/3 of it diced up, 2/3 of it left in whole slices (about 30 slices left whole)

Preheat oven to 400.
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except the whole pepperoni slices.

Place pepperoni slices on 2 cookie sheets (I used a silpat mat on one and one without and it didn't seem to make a difference).

Place a large dollop of the cauliflower mixture in the center of each pepperoni.

Place into the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until crispy, rotating trays after 15 minutes.

Remove from oven  and enjoy!

Banana Bread with Almond Butter Swirl (NO added sweetener)

This was a recipe Loralei and I came up with on the fly today. We had some bananas getting brown in the bin and decided to make a special treat for the week with them. It turned out SUPER moist and plenty sweet for our taste. Both kids gobbled up a slice for snack after their naps today and wanted more. I hope you enjoy as much as they did!

*We made ours in a heart shaped pan, but you can use whatever you have, you will just need to adjust the time a bit depending how different the size. My pan is about equivalent to a 9X9.

Banana Bread with Almond Butter Swirl
3 Speckled Bananas
4 Eggs
1/2 C Almond Milk (or coconut)
1/2 C Almond Flour
1/2 C Coconut Flour
1/8 C Arrowroot Powder
1 tsp Baking Powder
2 Tbsp Melted Butter (or you could use coconut oil)

Swirl
2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
1/4 C Almond Butter

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, mash bananas and mix with eggs and milk.

In a separate bowl, combine remaining bread ingredients except melted butter.

 Stir dry ingredients into the wet until everything is incorporated.
Add in melted butter and stir well.

Pour into a coconut oil greased baking dish.

In a small bowl, melt the coconut oil and almond butter for the swirl.

Pour over the bread in the pan and use a butter knife to swirl it throughout.

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until it is cooked through.

Allow it to cool and enjoy!

Smokey Mustard Pork Steak with Mushrooms

As I have mentioned before, I'm not a big pork fan. Growing up we didn't eat it and I never really thought too much about it. Now that we eat clean I am constantly on the lookout for local grass-fed/pastured meat products.
 On my weekly trip to the farm stand on Sunday morning I was surprised to not only find Pastured Pork, but several different cuts. I ended up leaving with a bit of everything (except the sausage because I was unsure what was added) and a determination to find ways to enjoy it. So with my Pork Belly brining in the fridge for a couple days (I will share my experience making bacon later) I set out to conquer some Pork Steaks.
I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome! These turned out great and I will be picking up some more of this cut when I got to the farms stand this Sunday. I hope you enjoy!

Smokey Mustard Pork Steaks with Mushrooms
1.5lb Pork Steaks (I had 2- .75lb steaks)
2 Tbsp Onion Powder
1 Tbsp Paprika
1 Tbsp Mustard Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
4 oz White Mushrooms
1/2Tbsp+3 Tbsp Grass Fed Butter
1 C Chicken Stock or White Wine

In a small bowl, combine onion powder, paprika, mustard powder and salt.

Liberally sprinkle the seasoning on both sides of the pork steaks.
Heat 1/2 Tbsp butter in a large cast iron skillet.
When the skillet is very hot, sear the pork steaks for 3 minutes on the first side and 2 minutes on the second side.

You may need to do this in 2 batches so as not to overcrowd the pan and decrease the temperature.

 While the steaks are cooking wash and slice the mushrooms.

After the pork steaks are seared on both sides, removed them both from the skillet and add remaining butter to the pan.

 Once melted add chopped mushrooms and allow them to fry for 3-5 minutes when the pan begins to look dry.

Add in chicken stock or white wine and scrape the bottom of the skillet with a spatula to make sure all the yummy bits from the bottom come off.

 Add pork steaks back into the pan and nest it down into the sauce.

Turn down the heat to medium and cook for an additional 7-10 minutes (depends on the thickness) or to your desired degree of done (145 degree internal temperature is safe to consume, which can still be a bit pink). The sauce will be nicely reduced. Plate and enjoy!