Minion Basket

It's my friend Tori's birthday week and what better way to celebrate than with a basket full of her favorite things (minions!)?

Egg Roll in a Bowl

Totally got this idea off of Pinterest and then tweaked it a little. Really easy and good! Forgot to add sesame seeds but they would have been good on top.

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef or pork
Sesame oil
2 bags of shredded cabbage
2 carrots, peeled and shredded
1 cup bean sprouts
3-4 scallions, thinly sliced
Soy sauce
Fish sauce
Fresh grated ginger
Garlic
Coconut oil
Cilantro for topping

Brown meat in a tablespoon or so of sesame oil. Stir fry remaining ingredients over medium heat and add cooked meat. Top with cilantro and dive in!

Turkey Veggie Burgers

Really tasty but I would add some more fat next time to make them more filling, maybe fry them in coconut oil? The original recipe made these into burgers with roasted sweet potato slices and lettuce/tomato/mayo.

Ingredients
1 lb ground turkey
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
1 Tablespoon each of dried rosemary, thyme, and oregano
3 carrots, finely shredded
1 small zucchini and yellow squash, finely shredded
1/2 cup each of chopped cilantro and parsley, minced
3-4 scallions
1 1/2 tsp sea salt, cracked black pepper

Mix all ingredients together well and form into patties. Bake in 425 degree oven for 25 minutes or until firm and cooked through.

Salmon with Leek and Vegetable Succatash

Not strictly paleo because of the corn, but this is what we had in our CSA bag this week, so this is what got used! Shucked four ears of corn, cleaned and sliced five leeks, and peeled/sliced about 5 rainbow carrots on a mandoline and sauteed everything over medium heat in about half a stick of butter for 10 minutes. Added garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, and a single zucchini slided thinly on the madoline and cooked another 5 minutes or until everything was soft. Topped with pre-cooked salmon from Earth Fare (the hubby had chicken on his). Simple, pretty, and yummy!

Baked Chocolate Coconut Donuts

These did not turn out like the pretty picture on Pinterest but they tasted good and were actually stellar the next day after firming up in the fridge over night!

Donut Ingredients
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup coconut sugar
5 eggs
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350. Mix coconut flour, flax seed, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in one bowl until combined. Beat eggs in separate bowl then mix in. Add coconut oil last.

2. Pour into donut pan and bake for 10 minutes or until done.

Glaze Ingredients
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup coconut sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
3 drops peppermint extract or other flavoring (optional)

Mix with whisk in sauce pan over medium heat until smooth. Drizzle over cooled donuts.

Original Recipe:  https://www.grassfedgirl.com/chocolate-baked-donut-recipe/

Paleo Tomato Pie

We got a bunch of colorful, ripe tomatoes in the CSA this week and they were screaming to be made into a tomato pie. I was worried about a paleo crust holding up and how the filling would work without tons of cheese (full disclosure--there are about two tablespoons of cheese on the very top here but it would work just fine without it). The crust was sturdy and flavorful and work well for a quiche too. Definitely doing this again!

Crust Ingredients
3/4 cup almond flour plus 1 Tablespoon almond flour
2 Tablespoons coconut flour
1 egg, beaten
1 Tablespoon ghee
Salt and pepper
2 Tablespoons basil (I used frozen cubes but fresh or dry would work too)

Add flours, salt, and pepper to food processor.  Pulse 5 or so times to combine. Add remaining ingredients. Pulse until ingredients are thoroughly mixed and dough resembles cookie dough. Press into a greased pie dish (dough will be thin) and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.

Filling Ingredients
4 ripe tomatoes
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons almond flour
Garlic salt, parsley, salt and pepper

Slice tomatoes into 1/4 inch slabs and remove seeds. Place on folded paper towels and salt one side. After about 10 minutes (you can do this while crust is baking) flip tomatoes over and salt the other side. Press with paper towels on top right after they have rested on both sides. This should get the majority of the liquid out.

Combine mayo, almond flour, and seasonings, and place a thin layer on top of the pie crust. Layer tomatoes on top and spoon remaining mixture over tomatoes evenly. Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes, until slightly browned on top.

Original Recipe:  http://charlieeats.com/2013/09/16/an-obsession-tomato-pie-paleo-crust/

Paleo Crockpot Mashed Potatoes

Holy delicious, Batman. This is so easy and good. Fill the bottom of the crockpot with about an inch of broth. Add in a bunch of veggies (I used a sweet potato, three medium sized red potatoes, a head of cauliflower, and a few carrots) and a few giant spoonfuls of garlic. I added salt, pepper, ghee, about a 1/2 cup of coconut milk and a little more broth, then let it cook on low 6 hours. Mash or blend with an immersion blender and season more to your liking. Reheats really well and goes with everything!

Shut Your Face Birthday Brownies

My mom wanted brownies for her birthday so I scoured Pinterest looking for a good gluten free recipe. And boy did I find one! I used Trader Joe's GF flour mix and these were incredible (I'm sure regular flour is delicious too). Makes an 8 x 8 pan or you can double it like I did for a 9 x 13 pan.

Ingredients
½ cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoon butter or ghee
2 Tablespoon coconut milk
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅔ cup gluten free flour mix
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt

Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease pan.

In a saucepan combine sugar, butter, and coconut milk; cook over medium heat until it comes to a boil.

Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips until melted.

Add in eggs and vanilla.

Add in flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir until mixture is smooth. Pour into greased pan.

Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake.

Original Recipe:  http://www.yourhomebasedmom.com/gluten-free-brownies/

Paleo Shrimp and Grits

I really love this shrimp/tomato/garlic/zucchini combo and tried it over mashed cauliflower 'grits' this time. The grits are cauliflower steamed in broth and pureed with an immersion blender. I seasoned them with ghee, salt, and pepper and topped with sauteed shrimp, tomatoes, zucchini, sundried tomatoes, and roasted garlic. Yum!

July 4th Berry Bowls

Saw these on PaleOMG and decided to improvise a teeny bit. Instead of bars I made bowls and they were delectable. I think they would work with lots of other fruit combos also!

Crust Ingredients
6 dried dates, pitted
1 cup almond butter
¾ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt and cinnamon

1. Pulse dates in food processor until broken into small pieces. Add in remaining ingredients and blend until well combined.

2. Press down into 8 little ramekins or small bowls and put in the freezer while you continue working.

Filling Ingredients
1 (14 ounce) can of coconut milk (placed in refrigerator overnight), only use the cream on top
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Juice from one lemon
2 teaspoon coconut milk (the liquidy part)
½ cup raspberries
½ cup blackberries
1 tablespoon honey

1. Scoop out coconut cream into a bowl and stir. Combine with remaining ingredients and put back in fridge.

2. Put a few tablespoons of leftover coconut milk liquid into a pot on medium heat and add raspberries, juice from 1/2 a lemon, and honey. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Once it cools use an immersion blender to puree mixture until smooth. Stir raspberry mixture into the coconut cream bowl until combined and then portion evenly into the crust cups from the freezer.

3. Repeat step 2 with blueberries instead of raspberries. Cook over medium heat until just soft, about 5 minutes. Do not puree. Let cool, then spoon blueberries over top of filled crust cups and put back in freezer for one hour to set.

4. Serve and keep leftovers in the fridge. The coconut milk filling melts quickly!

Original Recipe:  http://paleomg.com/berry-cream-bars/ 

West Coast Trip

This was over a month ago, but I had to post! It had been about 10 years since I visited the Pacific Northwest, and my hubby had never been. So we spent a week at a technical writing conference (me) and on vacation (us). We had so much fun eating our way through Portland and Seattle, and driving up the coast. We attended a bunch of crossfit classes in new gyms and did some hiking. Such a fun trip.

Birthday Pressies

This is so overdue but better late than never! We had several birthdays at the gym when I first started and even though there wasn't much to spend, I still wanted to do something cute and fun. So here it is!

Barbaritos

It's been years since I've been to this local Southwestern place, and even though I was underwhelmed the first time I went (back in my vegetarian days of tofu/rice/bean/cheese/burrito nonsense), I wanted to give them another go. They use local ingredients and I was happy to find out that the salads were actually pretty baller. Meat, lettuce, peppers, cucumbers, olives, pico de gallo, cilantro, and some kind of poblano dressing that had just the right kick. I'll be back!