Chocolate Chip Cookies....Gone Paleo!

My dear friend Deb Casares gave me this amazing recipe...THANK YOU so much for sharing! Even Mr. Picky Pants (my 13 yr old son Harrison) thinks these cookies are the bomb and he was truly shocked to find out they are paleo friendly.

2 cups  Almond Meal/Flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tbsp grass-fed butter  or coconut oil, softened (I used butter)

1 egg

1/2 cup raw almond butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup coconut palm sugar (Whole Foods)

1/3 cup dark chocolate chips or chunks

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine the flour, salt and soda and set aside.

Cream the egg, almond butter, butter (or coconut oil) and sugar. Add  the vanilla and mix well.

Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix well.

Fold in the chocolate chips.

Shape generous tablespoons of dough into 18 balls and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

Press each dough ball down with the palm of your hand.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until brown.

Let cool on a wire rack and store in an air tight container

 

Grilled Coffee Rubbed Bacon Wrapped Chicken

My family LOVES this recipe!!! I make it on a weekly basis these days...juicy, full of flavor and wrapped in bacon...what more could you want on your dinner plate??? Skip the bbq sauce to keep this meal totally paleo, but let me tell you the bbq "sauced" version rocks too!

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Tommy's Brand Coffee Rub*
2 packages Applegate Organics brand Sunday Bacon
BBQ sauce - optional



Preheat gas grill to medium high heat. Place chicken breasts on large cutting board or baking sheet. Sprinkle both sides of meat with coffee rub. Wrap each chicken breast with bacon slices, slightly overlapping each slice (you will not use both packages of bacon...toss the leftover bacon in the freezer for next time). Place chicken on grill. Let cook 8 minutes before turning over. Turn over and cook another 8 minutes. Baste chicken with bbq sauce at this point if using. Continue grilling chicken, turning frequently to prevent burning, until chicken is cooked through and bacon is crisp. Remove from grill and let rest 5 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!!!

*You will find Tommy's coffee rub at Whole Foods and HEB....no time to head to the store? Combine 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp chile powder, 1/4 tsp black pepper, generous pinch kosher salt and 1/2 tsp instant coffee powder and rub over chicken.

Positively Paleo Friendly "Hummus"

Want to know a secret? I LOVE Hummus!!! No joke...love, love, love it! I can eat it with pita, veggies, on a sandwich, heck I can just eat it straight up with a spoon. I ate waaaay too much hummus over Spring Break and paid dearly with tummy troubles. Paleo means no legumes or beans...I decided to splurge while on vacation...bad idea....very bad idea. This was so not going to work for me...this no hummus thing...I love hummus...so what's a girl to do? Go home and find/create a paleo friendly hummus, that's what!

I immediatley began searching for a paleo friendly hummus and found some really tasty recipes. Most used zuchini instead of chickpeas and while it tasted like hummus (for the most part) it just didn't have that silky smooth, creamy to the max mouth feel of traditional hummus. I am huge on the textural qualities of food and knew there had to be a way to create the silkiness I so adore in hummus.

What veg could I use? I racked my brain and had a Eureka moment...roasted sweet potatoes! Soft, creamy, silky smooth sweet potatoes.

this is really a base recipe for you to creat to suit you tastes. Add more or less garlic...tahini...lemon...you know my motto..."whatever makes you happy".

2 - 2 1/4 cups mashed sweet potatoes (I used two rather large ones)
1 1/2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup organic tahini
juice from one small lemon
pinch kosher salt

Drop garlic into food processor and pulse a couple of times to mince. Add remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Scrape down sides. Taste your hummus and correct seasonings to suit your tastes. Put into a tupperware container and refrigerate  a couple hours to allow flavors to blend. Serve with carrots, celery, zuchini chips, top a burger, the possibilities are endless!

Lemon Berry Breakfast Bread

This is the best breakfast bread...ever! Filled with tart lemon and sweet berries, this bread will be a hit with your family. The original recipe comes from Ina Garten (love her recipes)...I added my tweaks, of course. I baked it for a Mother-Daughter weekend at the lake shack and it was a HUGE hit...My sweet girl Tori is already bugging me to make it again! You can skip the berries and bake a straight up lemon bread or add your favorite berries...blackberries, raspberries, even chopped strawberries would be dreamy in this yummy bread.

Lemon Berry Bread

1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup plain greek yogurt
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 tbsp  lemon zest
1 tsp  vanilla extract
1/2 cup canola oil
 2 cups blueberries

Lemon Syrup

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/3 cup sugar

 Lemon Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

 3 tbsp  lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350.  Lightly oil bottom and sides of a 9 x 5" loaf pan; dust with flour, tapping out excess.
In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil. Pour wet ingredients into flour mixture. Stir until just combined.
Pour batter into  prepared pan and bake 60 to 75 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing loaf to a wire rack (set rack on top of a cookie sheet).

 For the lemon syrup, combine lemon juice and sugar in a  small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Cook, stirring constantly for 5 minutes. Remove from stove; set aside.

Use a toothpick (or a fork) to poke holes in the top of the bread. Spoon syrup over top of the loaf . Let the syrup soak into the bread and spoon remaining syrup over top of loaf. Let bread cool completely.

For the lemon glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl (add up to another tablespoon of lemon juice if the mixture is too stiff). Pour the lemon glaze over the top of loaf and let it drip down the sides. Let glaze set 10-15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Caveman Co-Op Stew

The kids helped me name this tasty stew. All the veg came from my produce co-op...Rawfully Organic...if you are here in Houston, you gotta check it out! This stew is definitely Paleo friendly...hence the word caveman in the title :) What I love about this stew is you can swap the veg you use to completely customize it to suite your family's tastebuds. I had a beautiful picture of this recipe, but I killed the computer all my pics are stored on...will update recipe with a picture as soon as the computer geek squad retrieves all my photos.

2 tbsp olive or coconut oil
1 small sweet onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup sliced carrots
1 small zuchini, sliced
1 small yellow squash, sliced
2 tomatoes, cored and chopped
6 kale leaves, chopped
6 collard green leaves, chopped
2 handfuls spinach, chopped
6 turkey Italian sausages, casings removed and cooked until browned
4 cups chicken stock
2 tbsp curry powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper


Heat coconut oil (or olive oil) in a large dutch oven or stock pot over medium high heat. Add onion and saute until onions just begin to brown, about 3 minutes. Add yellow squash, zucchini, celery and carrots. Stir and continue to saute for another 10 minutes, until vegetables soften and become golden brown in spots. Add kale, collard greens, spinach, tomatoes, browned sausage and garlic and saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add curry powder, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, garlic powder and chicken stock. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 30 or until vegetables are tender. Taste and adjust salt & pepper if necessary. Ladle into bowls and enjoy!

Harrison's Chocolate Fudge Caramel Brownies

These ooey gooey brownies are Harrison's absolute favorites!!! He loves unwrapping the caramels and helping assemble the brownies. You can use boxed brownie mix...your fave brownie recipe...whatever makes you happy...this is such a versitile recipe, you can add chopped nuts for turtle brownies, marshmellows and graham cracker pieces for over the top s'mores brownies...the variations are endless.

1 box brownie mix prepared according to directions or my brown butter brownie recipe found here on the blog
1 bag Kraft caramels, unwrapped
1/4 cup evaporated milk
2 Hershey chocolate bars, broken into pieces

Preheat oven to 350. Place caramels and evaporated milk into a microwave safe bowl. Heat in microwave for one minute, remove and stir. Continue heating one minute at a time unti1 carmels are melted. Remove bowl from microwave and stir until smooth. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Pour all but about 1/2 cup brownie batter into pan and spread with spatula. Spoon caramel over batter leaving a 1/2" border. Dollop remaing brownie batter ove top of caramel and scatter chocolate pieces over top of batter. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool at least an hour before cutting into squares. Enjoy!!!