Paleo Egg-In-The-Hole

PALEO EGG-IN-THE-HOLE

Yield: Yields 6 Egg-in-the-Holes

NF based on 1 of 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 2 acorn squash
• 6 whole eggs
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 5-6 pitted dates
• 8 walnut halves
• Fresh parsley to garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. Slice squashes crosswise in order to get at least 3 slices with complete holes per squash*. Your good slices should be about 3/4" inch thick.
3. Remove the seeds and place the slices on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
4. While the squash is in the oven, place walnuts and dates on a cutting board and chop them simultaneously until their texture resembles that of coarse sand.
5. Take the squash out of the oven and drizzle each slice with a little bit of olive oil.
6. Crack an egg directly in the center of each slice, sprinkle eggs with a little bit of salt and pepper and sprinkle date/walnut crumble over the entire surface of the squash slices and eggs
7. Return to the oven for 8-10 minutes or until the eggs are done to your liking
8. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve immediately.
9. Drizzle with maple syrup if desired.

Creamy Delicious Paleo/Vetetarian Mac & Cheese

Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
Yield: 6 servings
Active Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

2 large heads cauliflower
2 cups cashews, soaked overnight
1 shallot, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/4 cup ghee
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Topping (Leave off if vegetarian)
4 ounces bacon, chopped
1/2 cup pine nuts, roughly chopped
1/2 cup hazelnuts, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:

Put a pot of salted water to boil over medium-high heat and preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Break cauliflower florets into bite-sized pieces (these are your "noodles") and cook in boiling water 3 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Drain cashews from soaking water and place in bowl of food processor. 

Process with shallot, nutritional yeast, ghee, tomato paste, mustard, lemon juice, and apple cider vinegar. Process until smooth. Add in turmeric, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne, along with salt and pepper and process until completely homogenous and smooth. If need be, dilute with a bit of filtered water or coconut milk to achieve the consistency of a creamy sauce. 

Toss sauce with cauliflower and place in a cast iron skillet.

For the topping, cook the bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat until fairly crispy and toss with pine nuts, hazelnuts, and garlic. Sprinkle over top of cauliflower mixture and roast in oven 5 to 10 minutes to warm through.

Reminder: To keep things vegetarian, skip the bacon “breadcrumb” topping. 

Photo credit: Paul Delmont

Recipe courtesy of  www.thrivemarket.com blog by Merce Muse

 I shop at Thrive Market and can recommend them. The shipping package will arrive in perfect order. From California I give it about 5 days.

S

S

Spicy {Slow Cooker} Sweet Potato and Chicken Stew

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 8 hours

Total Time: 8 hours, 10 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

Serving Size: 1/6 of recipe

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces

1 large sweet potato or yam, peeled and chunked

1 yellow onion, diced

1 red pepper, seeds removed and diced

1 large zucchini, chopped

2 large carrots, peeled and chopped

5 cloves garlic, smashed and minced

1 tablespoon curry powder

1/2 tablespoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (more or less to your liking)

3 cups low sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons corn starch

1/2 cup fat free half & half or light coconut milk

salt to taste

Directions

1.            Pull out the slow cooker (duh).

2.            Throw all the vegetables (including garlic) and the chicken into the slow cooker.

3.            Sprinkle the spices over everything and toss with a wooden spoon to mix.

4.            Pour the chicken broth over everything.

5.            Set your slow cooker to high heat (for 4 hours) or low (8 hours).

6.            In the last half hour of cooking, mix the cornstarch with a few tablespoons of the broth from the crockpot in a small bowl and pour the mixture back into the stew. Let cook for another 20 minutes to half hour to thicken, on low heat.

7.            Right before serving, stir in the half and half or coconut milk. This will give the broth a velvety texture!

8.            Season with salt to taste and serve with a sprinkling of flat leaf parsley or cilantro.

OH SO...CHEESY ORGANIC CAULIFLOWER BREADSTICKS!

INGREDIENTS

·  4 cups of riced cauliflower (about 1 large head of organic cauliflower)

·  4 eggs

·  2 cups of your favorite cheese

·  3 tsp oregano

·  4 cloves garlic, tsp of minced

·  salt and pepper to taste

·  1 to 2 cups mozzarella cheese (for topping)

DIRECTIONS

1.  Preheat oven to 425 F degrees. Prepare 2 pizza dishes or a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

      2.  Make sure your cauliflower is roughly chopped in florets. Add the florets to your food processor and pulse until cauliflower resembles rice or hand chop or grind.

      3.  Place the cauliflower in a pot with a little water and bring to a quick boil for about 2 minutes. Place the cooled cauliflower in a large bowl and add the 4 eggs, 2 cups of cheese, oregano, garlic and salt and pepper. Mix everything together.

      4.  Separate the mixture in half and place each half onto the prepared baking sheets and shape into either a pizza crust, or a rectangular shape for the breadsticks.

      5.  Bake the crust (no topping yet) for about 25 minutes or until nice and golden. Don't be afraid the crust is not soggy at all. Once golden, sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese and put back in the oven for another 5 minutes or until cheese has melted.

      6.  Slice and serve with your favorite organic marinara sauce

NOTES

I don’t recommend a microwave, it kills so many of the good enzymes in our food. If you have no other method, use it for just long enough to make the riced cauliflower soft.

It's Summer Party Time!!!

Piled High Squash

(Substitute for Potato Skins) Serves 6 (1 squash each or 2 halves)

Ingredients
6 small to medium summer squash or zucchini
Olive oil
1 small sweet onion
1 cup sweet cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters (any color you like)
½ cup fresh cubed mozzarella
6 chopped, canned artichoke hearts
1 cup gluten free breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Cut each squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds. Brush the squash with olive oil and bake(carved out side down) for 20 minutes, until golden around the edges.

While that is cooking, heat a small frying pan with tablespoon of olive or avocado oil and saute the onion for 10 minutes, until translucent. Remove from the heat.

In a mixing bowl, combine the tomatoes, mozzarella, breadcrumbs, and 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with salt to taste, adding as much as you think the mixture needs to bring out the flavors of the tomatoes. Add the zucchini-onion mixture and stir together.

Press the filling into each of the zucchini boats. Sprinkle with the Parmesan. Bake 10 to 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted, the tomatoes have burst, and the tops of the boats are golden. Let them rest for a couple of minutes, then serve, topped with sour cream, bacon crumbles...well you take it from here and let your imagination take over. Let me know what you came up with so I can try it. Write it in the comment section below.

Homemade Organic Sugarless Ketchup

Sugarless Ketchup

Ingredients

1.   1 can (6 ounces) organic tomato paste;

2.   2 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice;( i used red wine vinegar)

3.   1/4 tsp dry mustard;

4.   1/3 cup water;

5.   1/4 tsp cinnamon;

6.   1/4 tsp sea salt;

7.   1 pinch ground cloves;( I muddled one clove)

8.   1 pinch ground allspice;

9.   1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, optional;( i used it and it's not hot)

Preparation

1.   Simply combine all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk well to combine. Refrigerate overnight to let the flavors develop and enjoy!

A BIG "Thank You" to Paleo Leap for your recipe and picture~Nameste my friend!

Stay Healthy!!

Butternut Squash Soup is the Nuts!!

Any Season Soup!

Served HOT or COLD it's delish!

Save the seeds that you carve out of the squash and let them dry on a paper plate for a few days, put them in a paper envelope until next years planting. Be sure to write what it is on the front, or get a surprise in your garden:) 

This can be frozen in small amounts and thawed quickly when that unexpected company is coming to town.

Ingredients: 

·         1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

·         1 carrot, diced

·         1 celery stalk, diced

·         1 onion, diced

·         4 cups cubed butternut squash, fresh or frozen

·         1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh or crushed thyme

·         4 cups water (to cover squash)

·         low-sodium chicken broth( powder, cube or paste) to taste

·         1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

·         1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions: 

    Place in a large pot: all ingredients (because I love to do it quick and easy). Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until squash is fork-tender, about 30 minutes. You can use an immersion blender, blender, bullet, ninja to purée the squash for creamy smooth soup. Alternatively, let the soup cool slightly and carefully purée in batches in an upright blender. 

Three Twists

Apple, Gorgonzola and Almond Butternut Soup
Stir 1 cup unsweetened applesauce into puréed soup. Garnish each serving with crumbled Gorgonzola cheese, toasted almonds, a few slices of thinly sliced apple and a small sprig of fresh thyme. 

Thai-style Butternut Soup
Stir a tablespoon of red curry paste and 2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger into carrot, celery and onion mixture. Add 1/2 cup coconut milk with broth. Purée soup and garnish each serving with toasted coconut flakes and chopped fresh cilantro.

Southwestern-style Butternut Soup
Add a tablespoon chopped chipotles in adobo sauce to carrot, celery and onion mixture. Garnish soup with crumbled queso fresco, toasted pumpkin seeds and chopped fresh cilantro.

Enjoy this winter squash any time of the year!!

Stay Healthy,

Sandra's Vegan Chickpea Salad

Ingredients


2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 small red onion finely chopped
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
A few ribs celery & tops, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced or grated 
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper 
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped,crushed from jar
2 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
 Directions

Combine chickpeas with onions, peppers, celery, red pepper flakes in a bowl .

Then in a processor or bullet/ninja add rosemary,garlic salt, pepper, oil and vinegar to combine the ingredients to make the dressing. 

Dress salad by pouring the mixture over the chickpeas and other ingredients in the bowl and tossing from bottom to top with a big spoon. 

This is best if made a day ahead so it can marinate. You can always do what I do, put it in a tupperware like dish and keep tipping it over every time you visit the frig. That way the bottom is on top and the whole salad gets to soak up the goodness of the dressing.

3 health benefits of chickpeas:

Whether you call them chickpeas or garbanzo beans, these little legumes are both tasty and healthy ! One of the oldest cultivated vegetables in the Middle East, chickpeas have been a favorite for hundreds of years ...see why. 

Here are three health benefits of chickpeas:

1. Hunger control: Chickpeas are high in fiber and protein, and they have a low glysemic index. This powerful combination can help control your weight and blood sugar. Enjoying as little as 1/2 cup of chickpeas daily can keep you feeling full longer.

2. Cholesterol reduction: Including 3/4 cup  of chickpeas (handful) in your diet each day can help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol levels, which reduces your risk of heart attacks, strokes,hardening of the arteries, dementia and more

3. Versatility: Chickpeas can be used in salads, soups, curries, chili and stews. Or consider roasting them with your favorite savory spices. Chickpea flour (also called garam) is gluten-free, high in protein and can be used to make pakoras, pappadams or pancakes, or can serve as a substitute for eggs in baked goods.