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.

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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.