BirtHday CarrOt CakE

In honor of me getting older but still looking & acting like a 12 year old at heart : ) I made myself a Gluten Free Carrot Cake. I am not calling it paleo because the cream cheese icing is sooooo not paleo. Everything else about it is paleo! Also I want to announce that Maru gave me a wonderful, beautiful, and amazing ORANGE Kitchenaid : )!!!!!!!!!!! So I baked my first cake in my new kitchenaid mixer! Because I used a smaller cake pan I had some extra batter leftover so I baked 4 cupcakes also which means these could work as cupcakes as well : )

(Adapted from food lovers, make it paleo book), I added 1/4tsp ground nutmeg, 1/2tsp orange zest, 1/2tsp ground ginger....
CAKE
Ingredients:
5 large carrots, peeled & shredded (it came out to be about 2 1/2 c)
1 cup pure maple syrup
3/4 cup coconut flour, sifted
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
Date mixture (recipe to follow, but you will need 10 medjool dates, water, & maple syrup.)
10 eggs ( I know it is a lot but coconut flour needs a lot of wet ingredients!!!)
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract (your not going to believe this but I accidently forgot to add this!!!)
1 cup melted virgin coconut oil
1/2 tsp orange zest
Cream cheese frosting (recipe to follow, but you will need cream cheese, maple syrup, vanilla extract, & grated ginger)
Chopped raw walnuts for garnish

Process:

1. Peel and shred carrots (I used a medium sized grater because I like the carrot pieces on the larger side.
2. Place carrots in a large ziplock bag. Pour maple syrup over carrots and let marinade in fridge for 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
4. In a small mixing bowl, add sifted coconut flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, &baking soda
5. Make Date Mixture:

Ingredients:

10 medjool dates, pitted (I took the pit out myself)

4 Tbsp water

1 Tbsp pure maple syrup

Process:

1. Place pitted dates in a microwave safe bowl, and poor 3 Tbsp of water over dates
2. Heat in microwave for 30 seconds and mash with a fork
3. Add one more Tbsp water, microwave for another 30 seconds
4. Mash again
5. Add 1 Tbsp of maple syrup
6. Continue to mash until the mixture has an even consistency

Recipe continued....

1. In a large mixing bowl or kitchen mixer : ) blend date mixture, coconut oil, eggs, vanilla extract, and orange zest.
2. Add dry ingredients to went and blend
3. Remove carrots from the fridge, and drain the excess maple syrup from the carrots using a colander
4. Stir grated carrots into cake batter
5. Grease two 9 inch cake pans with coconut oil (I used a smaller pan)
6. Pour batter into pans (If you want you can line pans with parchment paper for easy removal)
7. Bake for 35-45 minutes depending on oven (I had to bake mine for 45). Test center with a toothpick, if the pick comes out clean the cake is finished
8. Remove cakes from oven and cool
9. Frost cake with cream cheese frosting, garnish sides with walnuts, and serve

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

16 oz full-fat cream cheese

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

2 Tbsp ginger grated, (I only used 1Tbsp because I was nervous that the ginger would take over)

Process:

1. Bring cream chees to room temperature
2. Blend cream cheese, maple sryup, vanilla, and ginger with hand mixer or kitchen mixer : )
3. Use right away or refrigerate

ENJOY : )

RoseMary GaRlic BreAd

This is the bread I made to pair with the chili. It was very simple to make. I adapted the recipe from elana's pantry website. I used her regular bread recipe and then added the rosemary, garlic, and oregano. I also decided to use almond meal instead of blanched almond flour because 1. it is cheaper : ) and 2. I wanted a hearty feel to the bread. Paleo Bread = Success!

Paleo Bread with Rosemary and Garlic

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups almond meal
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour
• ¼ cup golden flaxseed meal
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• 5 eggs
• ¼ cup coconut oil (I would be interested in trying olive oil instead for the flavor.)
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• ~3-4 Tbsp dried rosemary (fresh could work as well)
• ~2-3 tsp crushed garlic (I got min from trader joe's)
• ~2 Tbsp dreid oregano 

Process:

1. Place almond flour, coconut flour, flax, salt and baking soda whisk together
2. Add in eggs, oil, honey and vinegar
3. Add in herbs and garlic
4. Mix well (I just mixed by hand)
5. Pour batter into a greased 7.5"x3.5" (I am not actually sure what size pan I used)
6. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes
7. Cool and serve

ENJOY : )

PaLeo ChiLi

So it doesn't rain very often in california, but last week it did. I am so that person that doesn't leave the house when it is raining... I guess in that sense I act like a true californian, the world stops turning at first site of rain : ) Anyways so I decided to make a big pot of chili and some rosemary garlic bread to go along with it. Both turned out nicely, actually it fed me all week ; ) I changed the original recipe slightly by using chorizo instead of italian pork sausage and omitted the celery. I have made it both ways and they both were very good!

(Adapted from everydaypaleo.com)

PaLeo ChiLi

Ingredients:

2 lbs grassfed ground beef

1 lb pork chorizo

6 carrots diced

1 white onion

6 cloves of crushed garlic

4 Tbsp olive oil

1 16 oz can of diced tomatoes with juice

16 oz chicken broth

2 pinches of sea salt

2 Tbsp dried oregano

2 Tbsp dried basil

1 Tbsp cumin

3-4 Tbsp chili powder

1 tsp cayenne pepper (more if you like it spicy) (Also if using the chorizo, it has its own spicy aspect going on.)

Process:

Saute veggies in olive oil for about a minute and add meat and brown.  Season the meat mixture with all the spices.  Add the tomatoes and chicken broth and simmer for 35 minutes.  Taste and add more seasoning if desired. 

So easy!!! I heart chili... If you want to do it crock pot style you can just brown the meat before placing in the crockpot!! As always..

ENJOY : )

Lasagna, Butternut Squash Style

Hey Everyone!!! So I got this great recipe idea from the PCF Nutrition blog! Butternut Squash Lasagna, I kind of followed the recipe but subbed in different stuff according to what I had on hand! So if you want to try the original recipe just check it out on the PCF blog, I have the link on the side. My version turned out great and I can't wait to make and eat it again!

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef, sausage or turkey (I used ground turkey)

1 red onion

3 cloves garlic
14.5 oz Diced & Fire Roasted tomatoes with green chiles (Organic from TJ's)


Couple Handfuls of sundried tomatoes + some for sprinkling in each layer

1/4 c olive oil


few leaves of fresh basil


1 small butternut squash 

Process:

1.Preheat oven 400ºF. 

2. In a pan saute the onion & garlic, then crumble the turkey and brown it. 

3. Cut the top and ends of the squash off and peel it. Split it into 1/4′s then cut into 1/2 inch slices. (these will be your lasagna noodle layer.)

4. Make the sauce by pureeing the diced tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, olive oil and basil in a blender or food processor. Make sure you taste the sauce and adjust if needed : )


5. Using an oven safe baking dish, put down enough sauce to lightly cover the bottom of the dish. (This keeps the squash from sticking to the pan.) Next add the squash, trying not to overlap the pieces, then spoon on the turkey mixture, followed by the sauce, sprinkle some sundried tomatoes on the sauce. Repeat until all your ingredients are used up…trying to reserve enough sauce to cover the top of the lasagna. (I sprinkled some sundried tomato on top and they burned so don't place the sun dried tomato on the top for the last layer.)


6. Bake for 45 minutes. You’re looking for a bubbly pan with a crispy, browned top. Right out of the oven, the lasagna may by liquidy, let it set for a good half hour before cutting into it, as it will solidify.


~Finishing touch Chiffonade Basil leaves on top!

ENJOY : )

Butternut Squash Soup

Hey Everyone! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, I know I did! Missing my family around the holiday season makes me want to have warm and comforting food! So soup is the ANSWER! I made this very tasty Butternut Squash Soup. I adapted the recipe from the "Primal Palate" cookbook but added some sage to it. It turned out really well! We have been getting squash in our veggie delivery lately so instead of roasting or grilling it this is an easy way to change it up!

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
2 tbsp coconut oil (Virgin, unrefined)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp sage
1 tsp salt
1 quart of chicken stock

Process:

1. Sauté chopped onion in coconut oil in a large pot
2. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, sage, and salt
3. Add chopped butternut squash to pot, and pour in broth
4. Boil the squash in the broth until tender
5. Puree soup in a food processor or high-speed blender until smooth
6. Garnish with a sprinkling of cinnamon and chopped walnuts

ENJOY : )

TurKey Day

So this is an exciting post for me because this was the first turkey day dinner that I have ever cooked for MaRu and I. And on top of that I did it PaLeo Style : ) I would say that it was a success, alot of work but totally worht it!


I adapted the recipes from Primal Palate through there blog and cookbook. I am in love with there cookbook it is so amazing! I would definitely recommend buying it.


Also sorry about the post being after Thanksgiving but it was a crazy week and just cooking the dinner was enough for me at the time. If you are having a late Thanksgiving over the weekend then you may get some use out of these recipe ideas.

MENU:

Roasted Rosemary Turkey

Pork Stuffing

Bacon Brussel Sprouts

Carrot Soufle

Cranberry Sauce

Pumpkin Pie with Almond Flour Crust

Roasted Rosemary Turkey
Ingredients:

• 6-7lb Turkey Breast
• Rosemary
• Olive Oil
• Kosher salt & Pepper

Process:
For the Turkey

1. If frozen, defrost turkey breast. Best done by placing in refrigerator at least 24 hours in advance.
2. Preheat oven to 325.
3. Drizzle olive oil over turkey breast, brush to coat.
4. Separate rosemary from stems, roughly chop and sprinkle liberally on turkey.
5. Add kosher salt and cracked pepper to taste.
6. Place turkey in shallow roasting pan.
7. Cook turkey approximately 2 - 2 3/4 hours (turkey is done when a meat thermometer inserted into the breast reads 170 degrees) Periodically baste turkey with juices in the pan, especially towards the end of the cooking.
8. Let rest for 10 minutes, carve, and serve!

I used a 5 lb Turkey Breast and cooked it for about 2 hours.


Pork Stuffing
Ingredients For Stuffing:

• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 packs of button mushrooms, chopped
• 1 cup celery, chopped
• 4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons each, rosemary, thyme, and sage, minced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tsp each, fennel seeds, anise, and paprika
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp coconut oil

**Note: Adjust stuffing measurements accordingly depending on amount of people being served. This stuffing filled a 16 lb turkey, as well as a 5 qt braising pan.

Process For Stuffing:

1. Heat coconut oil in a large skillet on medium heat.
2. Place bell pepper, mushrooms, and celery into skillet and saute.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine ground pork, onion, garlic, rosemary, thyme, sage, fennel seeds, anise, paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper.
4. Add ground pork mixture to skillet, and cook until pork is browned slightly.
5. Remove from heat, and discard any liquid in the pan.
6. Stuff turkey with pork stuffing.
7. Place any remaining stuffing into a baking dish, cover and place in the fridge.
8. Place outside stuffing in the oven, uncovered for the last 20-30 minutes of cooking, or until the stuffing is crispy on the tops, and the pork is cooked through.

For the stuffing I used less celery because I don't love it and I only had one pack of mushrooms so that is all I used. Everything else was the same. I did not stuff the turkey but next time I will because I felt that the stuffing was a little dry, very good just on the dry side. I think the moisture inside the turkey would have fixed that.


Bacon Brussel Sprouts
Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or bacon fat : )
• 3-4 cups brussel sprouts
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Bacon (nitrate/nitrite free and make sure you read the ingredients.) I buy one that is sweetened with honey.

Process

1. Rinse brussel sprouts and cut off ends
2. Place in pyrex dish and cover with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper to taste
3. Toss brussel sprouts in olive oil and salt and pepper until evenly distributed
4. Place Bacon on a baking sheet and bake in oven at 350° for 10-15 minutes. You want it crispy not burnt (so keep a close eye on it)
5. Take bacon from oven when crispy and place on paper towel to soak up extra grease
6. Roast brussel sprouts at 400° for 30-40 minutes.
7. In the last 5 minutes of cooking crumble Bacon over brussel sprouts.

When I made the brussel sprouts I used a combo of olive oil and bacon fat. I cooked them at a lower temp because I only had one oven and I cooked them when I was cooking the turkey. After I took the turkey out I roasted them for about 10 minutes to get the crispiness.

Carrot Soufle
Ingredients:

• 2 pounds baby carrots
• 1 quart of Trader Joe's Free Range Chicken Broth, or Imagine Free Range Chicken Broth
• 3 omega 3 eggs
• 2 tablespoon minced onion
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon coconut flour
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Process:

1. Cook carrots until soft in free range chicken broth.
2. Preheat oven to 350.
3. In large bowl, combine pureed carrots, onion, lemon juice, melted coconut oil, coconut flour, salt, cinnamon, pure maple syrup, and eggs.
4. Beat all ingredients until smooth.
5. Pour into a 2 quart souffle dish, lightly greased with coconut oil.
6. Bake uncovered for 45-60 minutes, center should be firm to the touch before eating.
7. Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired, and serve.

*Carrots may be cooked and pureed hours ahead adding lemon juice and covering tightly until ready to mix other ingredients. You also may bake the souffle, freeze it, and reheat it for Thanksgiving

Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients:

• 1 lb raw, fresh cranberries
• 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1 tsp stevia extract or 1 tbs pure maple syrup

(I only used 1/2lb of cranberries and also did 1/2 oj/1/2 water. Also I sweetened it with Maple Syrup.)

Process:

1. Begin by rinsing the cranberries off in a colander, and pull out any cranberries that have gone bad.
2. Place cranberries and orange juice in a sauce pan and bring to a boil, occasionally stirring.
3. After boiling a few minutes, cranberries will begin to pop open. Continue to stir.
4. Once they have popped, stir in the stevia or maple syrup and let cool.

Pumpkin Pie
Grain Free Pie Crust
Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups almond flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup coconut oil (organic and unrefined)
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract (Gluten Free brand)

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. In a medium sized bowl, combine dry ingredients.
3. In a small bowl, combine wet ingredients (make sure to melt the coconut oil before mixing it into the batter)
4. Stir wet ingredients into dry.
5. Lightly grease pie dish with some coconut oil.
6. Pat the dough into a 9.5 inch glass pie dish (You want to create an even thin layer, the dough will rise a bit when you bake it.)
7. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden.
8. Remove from oven to cool.

Filling
 Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon unflavored Knox Gelatin
• 16 oz pure pumpkin puree
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (I used Almond Breeze)
• 2/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Process:

1. In a saucepan combine gelatin, maple syrup, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, pumpkin, egg yolks, and almond milk. Mix thoroughly.
2. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until it boils.
3. Remove from heat, and chill until set (once the pan is cool enough, you will want to put the filling in the fridge to cool).
4. Beat egg whites until stiff.
5. Once pumpkin has cooled and set in the fridge, remove from fridge and fold pumpkin into the whipped egg whites. ("folding" is a stirring technique that adds air into the batter, check out this quick video)
6. Pour filling into pie crust.
7. Cover pie with saran wrap and cool in the fridge until set.
8. An optional topping is to whip heavy cream and sprinkle with cinnamon

Everything turned out amazing the pumpkin pie and carrot soufle were my absolute favorites!!!!

ENJOY : )

Mashed cauliflower & ground meat thing!

(Guest Post by MaRu)
Alright, as requested by my lovely friend... here is my recipe on how to make a paleo shepherds pie!!!


Ingredients:
- 1 head of cauliflower (medium size will be fine)
- 1 large egg
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Garlic powder to taste
* add cayenne, paprika, parsley and other spices to taste (I usually put way more spices than I usually would because I've found that ground turkey or ground beef don't suck in the flavor as easily)
- Some olive oil (to grease the cooking dish)
- 1 package of ground turkey or grass fed ground beef (either at trader joe's work great)
* tomato sauce is optional (if you use it, don't go crazy, just 1/4 cup would be fine)
- 2 tablespoons of almond flour
- 1/4 cup Yellow Mustard (be careful when buying it because a lot of them have sugar added)


Directions: (Pre-heat oven at 350)
1. Break off cauliflower from stem (like broccoli)
2. Boil cauliflower in salted water or chicken/beef broth for about 15 minutes or until soft (again make sure the broth is organic and doesn't have any sugar or other crap in it)
3. Drain and mash (you can use a little bit of the water or broth you cooked it in... depends on how you like the texture, you can use a hand masher or a blender... make sure you don't over liquify if using a blender)
4. Add salt, pepper and a lot of garlic powder when mixing (you can put some grass fed butter in there as well if you'd like)
5. While working on the mash cauliflower, get the meat all seasoned up with the spices, egg, mustard and almond flour. Brown and crumble meat for 6 to 8 minutes (if there is liquid stuff, take most of it out).
5. Fill a rectangular ceramic dish (or pyrex) with the meat. Depends on what dish you are using you can layer it or simply do the meat in the bottom and the mash on top.
6. Top if off the the mash cauliflower and cook it for about 10 minutes (I like to then broil it on high for a few minutes to get the mash brown, but be careful I have burned it before!!!)


Picture: Coming soon!!! BUEN PROVECHO.