More Pancakes...

I have another post about pancakes, but tried another recipe and just had to write about them.  These are soooo good!  And the topping took some time, but so worth it!  Fruit puree or plain fruit works just as well for a topping.  These taste and have the texture more like "regular" pancakes.  They are dairy-free, gluten-free and sugar-free - added bonus.  :) (Well, I made them sugar-free by substituting the agave nectar with applesauce)


Pancakes
(The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook)
2 large eggs
1/4 unsweetened applesauce
1 T. vanilla extract 
1/4 c. water
1 1/2 c. blanched almond flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1 T. arrowroot powder
2 T. grapeseed oil


In blender, combine eggs, applesauce, vanilla extract, and water; process on high for about 1 minute, until smooth.  Add almond flour, salt, baking soda, and arrowroot powder, and blend until thoroughly combined.
Heat grapeseed oil in large skillet over medium-low heat.  Ladle 1 heaping tablespoon of the batter onto the  skillet for each pancake.  Cook until small bubbles form on the top of each pancake; when the bubbles begin to open, flip each pancake.  When fully cooked, transfer the pancakes to a plate.  Repeat with remaining batter.


Cinnamon Apple Syrup
(The G-F Almond Flour Cookbook)
2 c. apple juice
2 medium apples, peeled, cored, sliced 1/4" thick
1 t. ground cinnamon
2 T. arrowroot powder
1/4 water
In large saucepan, bring apple juice and apples to boil.  Whisk in cinnamon, then decrease heat to a simmer for 5 minutes.
In small bowl, dissolve arrowroot powder in water, stirring to make a slurry.  Raise heat under saucepan to high.  Add arrowroot slurry to apples and stir constantly until the mixture thickens, about 1 minute.  Simmer over medium heat for 12 -15 minutes, until the mixture reaches the consistency of syrup.
Store in a glass Mason jar in refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Disappearing Tenderloin

Dean is the master of the grill.  Sun, rain, wind snow - nothing will stop him from grilling us the most amazing meals.  So, we got him his own cookbook "Weber's Big Book of Grilling" (he calls it his "man book").  Everyone that enjoys grilling should get this cookbook!  This meal was so good - we fought for the leftovers.  Don't be afraid of all of the ingredients - I promise this tenderloin is worth it!

Disappearing Tenderloin with Pico de Gallo

Marinade:

1/3 c. fresh squeezed orange juice

2 T. extra-virgin olive oil

2 T. worcestershire sauce

1 T. honey

1 T. minced garlic

2 pork tenderloins, about 1 pound each

Rub:

2 t. chili powder

1 t. cracked black pepper

1 t. salt

1/2 t. ground cumin

1/2 t. dried oregano

1/4 t. granulated garlic

Pico:

2 c. finely diced ripe tomato

1 c. finely diced red onion

3 T. finely chopped fresh cilantro

1 T. fresh lime juice

1 T. extra-virgin olive oil

1-2 t. minced serrano chiles, including seeds

1 t. salt

To make marinade: In small bowl whisk together the marinade ingredients.  

Trim any excess fat from the tenderloins.  Place tenderloins in large, resealable plastic bag and add the marinade.  Press the air our of the bag and seal tightly.  Turn the bag to distribute the marinade, place in a bowl and refrigerate for 1-2 hours, turning occasionally.

To make rub: In small bowl, combine rub ingredients.

To make pico de gallo:  In medium bowl combine the pico ingredients and mix thoroughly.  Cover wiht plastic wrap and allow to stand at room temperature for about 1 hour to fully incorporate the flavors.

Remove tenderloins from the bag and discard the marinade.  Coat evenly with the rub and lightly brush or spray with olive oil.  Allow to stand at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before grilling.

Grill over indirect medium heat until the centers are barely pink and the internal temperature reaches 155º, 25-30 mins.  Turning once halfway through grilling time.  Remove from the grill, loosely cover with foil, and allow to rest for 3-5 mins. before cutting in thin slices on the bias.  Serve warm with pico de gallo.

Chipotle Orange Chicken

I have several recipes for roasting a whole chicken and this one is my favorite.  We all (yes, even my little gals) love the flavor.  Spicy, tangy - yum!  I have made this a couple of times already.  






Chipotle Orange Chicken
(elanaspantry.com)
1 whole chicken
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tablespoon herbes de provence
¼ cup of 1/2 raw honey, 1/2 grapeseed oil 
1 teaspoon celtic sea salt
1 tablespoon chipotle chile
1 cup orange juice, freshly squeezed
-Rinse chicken and pat dry with paper towel.
-Place chicken in 9x13 baking dish.
-In small bowl, combine garlic, herbs de provence, honey, grapeseed oil, salt, chipotle chile.
-Rub mixture onto chicken.
-Pour orange juice over chicken.
-Marinate chicken in refrigerator, up to 3 hours.
-Bake at 350 for 1.5 to 2 hours.

Whoopie Pies

Yep, that's my little one licking the beater. I am not the only one adjusting to a new "diet." My girls have had to try lots of new things, too. They don't seem to mind testing out my desserts, though. :) These "Whoopie Pies" (which I call "Oatmeal Creme Pies") were a hit in this house. I don't make baked goods often, but I don't feel guilty when I do. I would rather feed my family a "healthy" dessert, than a packaged, processed one with ingredients I can't pronounce. :)

Whoopie Pies

(from The Label Says Paleo)

2 cups of blanched almond flour - subbed 1 c hazelnut flour, for 1 c each of almond and hazelnut
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of ginger (dried)
1/2 teaspoon of allspice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon of cloves
1 cup of honey (or other sweetener)
2 eggs
1 tablespoon of vanilla
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
-Blend all the dry ingredients together, and then add all the wet ingredients and blend well.
-On baking sheets covered with parchment paper, place heaping tablespoon about 2 inches apart in circles, across the sheet.
-Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. The smaller and thinner the cookie, the less time this will take.
-Cool completely – at least 15 minutes – before sliding them off the mat with a spatula.
-Take one pie and spread frosting on it. Place another pie on top of the frosting. Serve.

Coconut Frosting

(The Label Says Paleo)

8 tablespoons of shortening (I used coconut oil)
4 tablespoons of honey (adjust sweetness to your liking)
1 teaspoon of vanilla
-Blend all the ingredients together with a whisk.

-Spread, serve, and store sealed at room temperature.

Ribs and Salad

Looks good, right? Well it was! :) We recently received our butchered 1/4 grass-fed cow and are enjoying the beef. Dean made us some tasty ribs and I made the yummy salad/dressing.

BBQ Ribs

4 grass-fed ribs

olive oil

garlic pepper

Bottle of BBQ sauce

Sprinkle ribs with garlic pepper, spray with olive oil. Grill for a few minutes to brown the meat. Add ribs and sauce to crock pot. Cook on low for 5-6 hours.

Pine Nut Salad

(Creme de Colorado cookbook)

1/4 c. pine nuts

2 cloves garlic

1 cup water

1/4 t. salt

1 t. dijon mustard

2 T. white wine vinegar

1/2 c. olive oil

1 large head romaine lettuce, torn into pieces

1/4 c. coarsely shredded parmesan cheese (optional)

Toast pine nuts under broiler until golden brown; watch carefully. Set aside.

In small saucepan, boil garlic in water for 10 minutes; drain. In large salad bowl, mash garlic and salt to a paste. Whisk in mustard and vinegar. Add oil in a stream; whisking dressing until oil is emulsified. Add romaine; toss well and season with pepper. Sprinkle parmesan and pine nuts over salad and serve.

Stuffed Peppers

Sometimes Dean and I need a "to go" dinner - without ordering food from a restaurant. These peppers were a great solution! I had prepared them earlier in the day and just had to bake them before we had to go. The stuffed meat and veggies stayed nice and warm and they were easy to transport. So, the original recipe called for stuffed eggplant, which I fully intended on doing until I noticed the eggplant I had had gone bad. Oops. These were a good substitution, though. :) I added a little more spice and zucchini - yum. Enjoy!

Stuffed Peppers

(marksdailyapple.com)

4 bell peppers
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, drained

1 zucchini, chopped
1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
16 oz ground bison, cooked - seasoned with chipotle chile pepper
¼ cup almond flour
2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cut tops off of peppers and clean out seeds and pit. Add oil to skillet and sauté onions and garlic for 2 minutes over medium heat. Add tomatoes, zucchini, thyme, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper to taste and cook over medium-high heat until the majority of the moisture evaporates and you are left with a stew-like mixture. Remove from heat and mix in cooked meat. Next, stuff the peppers with the stew-like mixture, top with almond flour (a stand in for breadcrumbs) and bake in a 350° pre-heated oven for 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven, top with chopped parsley.

Veggie Meatballs

Meatballs

(everydaypaleo.com)

Mix together (with your hands):

2 lbs. grass-fed beef

1 lb. pork sausage

chopped celery, onion

shredded carrots, zucchini

3 eggs

1/2 c. almond meal/flour

lots of dried oregano, garlic powder, cracked black pepper, a little cayenne

small drizzle of raw honey

Form into large meatballs and cover bottom of crock pot. Cover with jar of spaghetti sauce. Cook on low all day. Or bake meatballs (without sauce) in shallow baking dish at 350 for 40 minutes.

If you can't tell, we love meat in this house. I have no problem getting everyone to eat meat, but getting the girls (and me) to eat vegetables is another story. So, I made these meatballs and we all ate them with no problem. The girls didn't even notice the hidden veggies. :)

Chicken and Shrimp Soup

I have been trying to get a little more creative with dinner. So, I figured a soup should keep things interesting for us. This Chicken and Shrimp soup was soooo good! Took a little time to do all of the chopping, but so worth it. The ingredients combine to make for a hearty, flavorful soup (with a little kick). Dean even had 2 bowls! I will be making this again soon.

Chicken and Shrimp Soup

(marksdailyapple.com)

• 1/4 cup bacon fat, lard or olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 yellow pepper, chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 2 tbsp chopped garlic
• 2 cups diced tomatoes
• 2 cups cauliflower “rice” or more to taste (for 2 cups worth take a bag of defrosted frozen cauliflower or 1/2 a head of fresh cauliflower and put in food processor or food “chopper” and process until cauliflower is the size and shape of rice)
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 2 cups chopped chicken (For those on the go, rotisserie chicken works very well)
• 8 cups chicken stock
• 1 bag peeled and cleaned, uncooked shrimp
• 1/4 cup chopped scallions, or green onions
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

On medium heat, melt bacon fat or other fat in a large cooking pot. Add onions, yellow pepper, jalapeno, celery and carrots. Cook five minutes. Add garlic and cook for an additional two minutes. Don’t let the garlic brown. Add tomato and the cauliflower “rice”. If you want soup that’s a little less soupy and more like meat and vegetables with a little broth, simply add a few more cups of cauliflower rice. Add cayenne pepper, black pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and salt and sauté a few minutes then add chicken and cook for about five minutes, stirring frequently. Turn down heat to low/medium. Add chicken stock and simmer 20-30 minutes. Add shrimp, scallions, and cilantro and simmer for an additional 5-10 minutes.

Beef stir-fry

I have been struggling a little lately getting enough veggies in my day. Ok, who am I kidding, I struggle with this everyday! :) I came across this recipe and thought it was worth a try... It was fantastic! We even made another stir-fry with chicken the next day for lunch. This is such a great way to get lots of colorful vegetables all in one dish!

Beef Stir-Fry

1 pound flank steak
2 Tablespoons gf soy sauce
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 scallions, minced
3 Tablespoons fresh ginger, finely slivered
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
30 snow peas
2 Tablespoons gf oyster sauce

Slice steak into thin strips. Toss with 1 tablespoon soy sauce and let stand for 20 minutes.
Heat a large, heavy skillet or a wok over high heat. Add oil and swirl to coat pan evenly. Add scallions, ginger and garlic; stir-fry until fragrant.
In batches, add beef and stir-fry until browned, about 2 minutes. Return beef to pan and add in peppers and snow peas. Stir-fry for about 1 minute. Stir in remaining soy sauce and oyster sauce. Stir-fry for 1 minute more.

Pork Loin/Brussel Sprouts

Pork Tenderloin

pork loin

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

black pepper

sea salt

onion powder

ground mustard

Mrs. Dash - Onion & Herb

olive oil

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Trim any visible fat from pork loin and rub with a little olive oil. Season with garlic, pepper, sea salt, ground mustard, Mrs. Dash, and onion powder. Bake for about 30-45 minutes (or until internal temperature reaches 175 degrees).

So, I baked this a little too long and it ended up dry. :( The seasoning has great flavor, though.

A friend shared her recipe for brussel sprouts with me to help me vary the kind of vegetables I make for my family. I had never tried them before and like them (at least prepared this way).

Sauteed Brussel Sprouts

1 lb. brussel sprouts

1/4 c olive oil

juice from 1-2 limes

sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Cut sprouts in half. Lay flat on cutting board. Cut each half into julienned strips. (I used the slicing disc on my food processor). Heat large skillet over medium hight heat. Heat olive oil. Add sprouts and saute until tender about 6-10 minutes. Season with lime juice, salt, pepper.

Roasted Banana Ice Cream

We are ice cream fans in this house and finding a dairy-free, sugar-free version was important. Well, we found one we really like! We added raspberries and pecans and that was a fantastic touch. Even our girls ate it (with some sprinkles, of course)! I found it on one of my favorite blogs : elanaspantry.com

Roasted Banana Ice Cream

4-5 medium bananas, sliced into 1" pieces

2 dates, chopped

1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoon coconut oil

1 (13.5 ounce) can coconut milk

Place bananas and dates in 11x7 Pyrex baking dish. Drizzle with vanilla and coconut oil. Bake at 375 for 35-45 minutes, until bananas begin to caramelize and smell fragrant - do not let burn. Place banana fixins and coconut milk in blender and puree until smooth. Place mixture in ice cream maker and freeze according to directions. Top with nuts, berries or sprinkles and serve.

Onion-baked Chicken

So, I used to do a lot of cooking out of a box. You know, Shake n Bake, Hamburger Helper, etc. I definitely got made fun of for my lack of cooking skills. I bring this up because I don't cook that way any longer, but I found a recipe that reminds me of "Shake n Bake." The seasoning that coats the chicken is great! Definitely worth a try.

Onion Baked Chicken

3 lbs. chicken parts

1 T. oil

1 T. onion powder

1 1/2 t. italian seasoning

1 t. sea salt

1/2 t. garlic powder

1/2 t. paprika

Brush chicken with oil. Mix seasoning in small bowl. Coat chicken evenly with seasoning mixture. Place chicken in shallow baking pan. Bake at 375 for 45-50 minutes or until chicken cooked through.

Sweet Potato Chips

Sometimes I just need chips! Since I don't want to tear into a bag of greasy potato chips, I make sweet potato chips. These chips are amazing! We like to have them with chili, burgers, as a snack. Really anytime will do. :) (I got the recipe from my friend, Lauren, who comes up with some great recipes.)

Sweet Potato Chips

2-3 large sweet potatoes

olive oil

coconut oil

grapeseed oil

salt

Peel the sweet potatoes. Cut potatoes using the slicer in food processor so they come out uniform. If you don’t have access to one of these you can cut them by hand. They can be as thick or thin as you like. Just remember the thicker they are the longer the cooking time will be.

Place an amount of oil in a large skillet so that the oil is about 1/2 inch high, enough to cover your chips. Heat to med high. Test one chip and get a feel for if the oil is hot enough, too hot etc and how much cooking time it needs. Watch the chips at all times. When one side is golden brown, flip it over. The point here is to get rid of the moisture in the potatoes, so if your chips are coming out and ending up a little soggy, they need to cook longer.

When your chips are done place them on a plate with some paper towels to catch the excess oil. Salt them immediately after taking them out of the oil so the salt sticks, then put in a large bowl.