Fried Apple Coffee Cake

I like to make a special breakfast on one of the weekend days, but I am really working hard to steer away from added sweeteners, even in the Paleo form (honey, maple syrup, date, ect). This one turned out great... you get a little sweetness from the apples, but other than that there is nothing.

Fried Apple Coffee Cake
1 1/2 C Coconut Oil Fried Apples*
1/2 C Coconut Milk (Canned)
6 Eggs
1 Tsp Vanilla
1/4 C Coconut Flour
1 C Almond Flour
1 Tbsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Baking Powder

Preheat oven to 350. In the bottom of a casserole dish, spread fried apples.

 In a large bowl combine coconut milk, eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Stir dry ingredients into wet and stir till there are no more dry parts. Pour batter over fried apples.

 Place in preheated oven and bake for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (may have to adjust depending on the size dish you use).

Enjoy!

If anyone is still looking for a Christmas/Birthday gift for me (Mom? Dad? Naomi?), I am now in need of a new measuring cup set. ;-)

*Coconut Oil Fried Apples
These are so simple to make. Just peel and slice apples. Heat a couple Tbsp of coconut oil on the stove top and throw in the apples with a sprinkle of cinnamon.  Allow the apples to cook till soft. For recipe purposes, the apples generally cook down by about 1/3-1/2, so I would start out with about 3C of sliced apples for this recipe. Enjoy!

Chocolate Peppermint Fudge

I came up with this recipe at the request of my friend, Nicole.  Please let me warn you, these are ridiculously good! Maybe it's because I am a HUGE peppermint fan, but these are amazing. Yes, these are technically all Paleo ingredients, but there is quite a bit of date (which is a sweetener my body tolerates better than others) in here, so you wouldn't want to eat these everyday!  I will be making these for one of the Christmas parties I have coming up next week, garnished with some fresh mint leaves. Enjoy!!

Chocolate Peppermint Fudge
1 1/2 C Dates
1 1/2 C HOT water
3oz unsweetened baking chocolate (use whatever 'darkness' you like)
1 C Coconut Oil
1 Tbsp Pure Peppermint Extract
2 C Almond Flour

Place dates in hot water and allow them to soak while you do the next steps.  Melt chocolate and coconut oil on the stove top or in the microwave.

Place into a large mixing bowl.  Place dates and water into the food processor and process until the mixture becomes a paste with no lumps or pieces of date.

Pour the date paste into the chocolate mixture and stir. Add in the peppermint extract.

Add in almond flour and stir until everything is combined.

Pour into a coconut greased dish and allow to set up in the fridge for a couple hours.

I tried to make mine into a snowman pan at Loralei's request, but when I submerged the pan in hot water to slightly melt it I over melted and it became too runny to see the features. Colton didn't mind taking care of a bit of the extra left in the pan. ;)

 But it is still delish! I will be making it in a 9X9 next week. Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Latkes

This is one of the simplest recipes I make, but it is so delicious I had to share it.

Butternut Squash Latkes
1 Butternut Squash
2 Tbsp Onion Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
Fresh cracked Pepper
Coconut Oil for frying

Cook the squash till it is soft. I use my pressure cooker to steam it, but you could bake it, stovetop steam, or whatever other method you use.  Once it is cooked, allow the squash to cool and scoop out.

In a large bowl, mix squash with all remaining ingredients except the coconut oil.  In a heavy bottom skillet, heat coconut oil.

  Once oil is hot, scoop squash mixture into small pancakes in the oil.

Allow the squash to cook till it become crispy and brown on the first side (5-7 minutes) and carefully flip.

Allow squash to cook for additional 5 minutes or so until it is crispy again.  Add additional salt if you want while the pancakes are still hot.

 Enjoy!

Chocolate Covered Pecan Pie Balls

I made these for a Thanksgiving Dinner we attended with extended family.  They were a great treat for me to bring for everyone to enjoy, and give myself an option without having to deal with the gluten in pie.  We were not particularly concerned with what we would be eating that day, as it was important for us not to make the host family go out of there way at all; though we did try to avoid the blatantly gluten dishes. I was able to eat turkey, sweet potatoes (I dug a bit underneath to stay away from the marshmallow, though I am sure there was sugar in there), green beans (not the casserole kind) and brussel sprouts with cashews. Everything was delicious, and I am so blessed we had family to spend the holidays will when we are so far from our real home!

Chocolate Covered Pecan Pie Balls
1/2 C Date Paste
1 C Pecans
1/2 C Coconut Oil- Melted
1 Tbsp Maple Syrup
1 C Almond Flour
4 oz Dark Chocolate

Melt the coconut oil.  Chop the pecans till about pebble size, but not quite flour.

 Combine all the ingredients except the chocolate in a large bowl. (At this point you may want to taste and adjust it to your liking. This is when I added the bit of maple syrup because I knew they would be for a non-Paleo crowd, but if I were making it for the family I would have left it out.)

Using two spoons (the mixture will be sticky, so I wouldn't try to use your hands) spoon the mixture into Tbsp size balls onto a freezer safe dish. (They don't need to be perfectly round at this point.)

Place in the freezer for about 15 minutes. While they are in the freezer, melt the chocolaate over a double boiler or in the microwave.  Remove the balls from the freezer and roll them into more perfect balls, as they will now be less sticky.  Dip each ball into the melted chocolate and allow them to set up.

Serve and enjoy!
And this is what it looks like when the cutest 21 month old steals a square of the chocolate during the process ;)

Paleo 'Corn' Muffins

I was faced with a bit of a challenge this week. My daughter has a 'Thanksgiving Feast' at her preschool tomorrow, and unfortunately the menu is very difficult for a gluten-free child to eat around! While there will be turkey and fruit, all the other items (gravy, trail mix w/ pretzels, box corn muffins, traditional pie) contain gluten.
So, after talking to the teacher, we decided I would tackle the menu for the handful of gluten-intolerant kids at the school. This is the corn muffins I came up with, and I must say, they are really really good. I already know my hubby is going to go after them with the jar of honey when he gets home from work! I'm also thinking these would be great in a cornbread stuffing!

Paleo 'Corn' Muffins
1/3 C Coconut Flour
1/3 C Almond Flour
2 Tbsp Arrowroot Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
6 Eggs
1/2 C Melted Butter

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, crack eggs and whisk till fluffy.

Pour eggs into the dry ingredients and stir to combine.  Melt butter and stir into prepared batter.

 Scoop into greased muffin tins and place in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.

These would be great served plain, with some honey, in a 'cornbread' stuffing, or as the bread in a breakfast sandwich. Enjoy!

Spicy Paleo Chili

Spicy Paleo Chili
2-3 lb beef roast- trimmed and cubed
1 lb spicy sausage
3 Celery Stalks- chopped
1/2 Chopped Onion
Avocado Oil- for browning beef
30 oz Tomato Sauce (2 cans)
3 Tbsp Onion Powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp Cumin
2-4 Tbsp Chili Powder
1 Tbsp Paprika

Brown cubed beef, sausage, onion and celery in Avocado oil.

 (My pressure cooker has a 'BROWN' and 'SLOW COOK' option, so I can do it all in the same pot, but you could do the first step on the stove top and transfer it to the slow cooker.)

 Once all the meat is browned, add in remaining ingredients and stir well.

Allow chili to slow cook all day (6-8hrs) and enjoy with the toppings of your choice (avocado, cheese, chives, sweet onion, sour cream, hot sauce, olives, ect.).

Creamy Dijon Chicken and Veggies

I've stated before, we do quality dairy on occasion. This is a good example of a once a month or so dish that we have. For me, this mimics the creamy pasta dishes of the past, and it is a nice comfort food after a couple stressful days! I'm not really an emotional eater, but I do love a creamy, homey feeling dish when I am under a lot of stress.

Creamy Dijon Chicken and Veggies
2 Chicken Breasts
2 Tbsp Oil
2 C Chicken Stock
2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
1/2 C Whipping Cream
4 oz Mushroom
1 C Carrots
1 C Beet Greens
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a heavy bottom skillet, cook salted and peppered chicken breasts in oil.

While it is cooking, chop carrots, mushrooms, and beet greens.

Once chicken is cooked through, remove from pan and set aside.

Add chicken stock and carrots to the pan and allow it to reduce by about 1/2.
Once reduced, add in cream, mustard and remaining veggies.

 Add in chicken breast and allow chicken and veggies to heat through.

 Serve plain or over spaghetti squash. Enjoy!