Morning Glory Muffins

Morning Glory Muffins
via; Paleo Comfort Foods

2 1/2 cups almond flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups carrots, peeled and grated
1 large apple, peeled, cored and grated
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup raisins
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons honey (optional)
1/2 cup coconut or olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a standard-sized muffin pan.

2. Combine almond flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Add carrot, apple, coconut and raisins and combine well.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, honey, oil and vanilla extract together.

4. Pour the wet mixture over the dry ingredients and mix very well. The batter will be very thick.

5. Spoon the batter out into muffin pan and place on upper or middle rack of your oven for 40-50 minutes.

6. When a toothpick inserted into the top of a muffin comes out clean, the muffins are done.

7. Cool muffins in the pan for 8-10 minutes and then remove to a rack to finish cooling.

**If you are looking for variety, sub out currants or chopped dates for the raisins. You can also add a little orange zest to give them a bit more citrus flavor.

Orange Beef Stew

BEEF & ORANGE STEW
via: Greedy Gourmet

Serves 2-3
Preparation: 10 mins – Cooking Time: 1 hr 45 mins

15ml (1 tbsp) corn flour/corn starch
500g (1 lb) braising beef, trimmed and cut into small cubes
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
15ml (1 tbsp) vegetable oil
1 orange, grated rind and juice
15ml (1 tbsp) soy sauce or Tamari
few sprigs of fresh thyme leaves

Put the corn flour into a paper bag. Season with salt and pepper, then add the meat cubes and toss to coat.
Fry the onion in the oil until soft.
Add the meat and fry while turning to seal, until evenly browned.
Transfer to a flameproof casserole with a lid. Stir in the orange rind, thyme, orange juice and soy sauce.
Top up with water, bring to the boil and put on the lid.
Bake in a preheated oven at 170°C/fan150°C/325°F/gas mark 3 for about 1½ hours. Serve hot.

SERVING SUGGESTION
Serve with baked jacket potatoes and green vegetables.

Chicken Florentine Pasta

Chicken Florentine Pasta
via: The Pioneer Woman

Prep Time: 10 Minutes | Cook Time: 20 Minutes | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 10

1 pound Penne
4 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
Salt And Pepper, to taste
2 Tablespoons Butter
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
4 cloves Garlic, Minced
3/4 cups Dry White Wine
3/4 cups Low-sodium Broth, More If Needed
1 bag Baby Spinach
2 cups Grape Tomatoes, Halved Lengthwise
4 ounces, weight Parmesan Cheese, Shaved With Vegetable Peeler

Cook pasta according to package directions in lightly salted water. Drain and set aside.

Cut chicken breasts into chunks and sprinkle on salt and pepper.

Heat butter and olive oil over high heat in a large skillet. Add chicken chunks in a single layer and do not stir for a minute or two in order to allow the chicken to brown on the first side. Turn the chicken and brown on the other side. Cook until done, then remove chicken from the skillet.

Turn heat to medium. Add garlic and quickly stir to avoid burning. After about 30 seconds, pour in wine and broth, stirring to deglaze the pan. Allow the liquid to bubble up, then continue cooking until it's reduced by at least half (most of the surface of the liquid should be bubbling at this point.)

Turn off the heat. Add spinach, tomatoes, chicken, and cooked pasta to the skillet. Toss to combine; the spinach will wilt as you toss everything. Add plenty of Parmesan shavings and toss to combine.
Serve with extra Parmesan shavings.

Dodie's Sweet Potato Casserole & Honey Beans and Spinach Slow Cooker Dinner

Dodie's Sweet Potato Casserole

6-7 large sweet potatoes, peeled, sliced thin (It is best to get two different kinds yams and/or sweet potatoes and alternate layers for a fancy look)
1/2 - one stick of melted butter
1/2-3/4 cup Romano or Parmesan cheese, grated

1. Peel and slice the jams/sweet potatoes.

2. Pour some of the melted butter into the bottom of a 9" x 13" pan and spread so that it is greased with the melted butter.

3. Cover the bottom with a layer of overlapping potato slices.

4. Brush the layer with melted salted butter, sprinkle cheese across the layer (about 1/4 cup per layer)and sprinkle with just the tiniest bit of nutmeg, along with a few twists of black pepper. Repeat, til you use up all your potatoes! Covered tightly with foil.

5. Put it in a preheated 375 oven for an hour. After an hour (and judge by eye and touch if potatoes have cooked enough), take off the foil and put back in the oven for about another 15 minutes, until the top layer looks melty and a bit browned.

6. Let sit for 10 minutes or so to tighten up and make it easier to cut - and there you have it!

* You can do the same thing with white potatoes, and can fool around with the kind of cheese you have, but I've found that the harder cheeses work best with this - Asiago, Parmeson, Romano - and that cooking this in a heavy baking pan works best too.

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Honey Beans and Spinach Slow Cooker Dinner
serves 4-6

Dodie's Notes:
I wanted to make a vegetarian dinner that we would all enjoy, and thought about making Honey Lentils, since it's always such a hit, but desperately needed to use up the sweet potatoes and spinach from the produce drawer. The end result was PHENOMENAL (shouting warranted, this time).

1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 onion, diced finely
2 medium (or 4 tiny) sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground corriander
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup honey
1 (12-ounce) bag baby spinach, washed (even if the bag says washed, rinse it off again)
2 tablespoons cream cheese (optional)


Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Drain and rinse both cans of beans, and dump them into your crockpot. Add the onion, garlic, and sweet potato. Add dry spices, and stir in honey and lemon juice-- you want the beans and veggies in the pot to be coated with them. Rinse off your spinach, and add it to the pot. You'll need to squish it all in, but I promise it'll fit. Plop a dollop of cream cheese on top. Cover, and cook on low for 6 hours, or on high for about 3. Stir well before serving over a bed of white or brown basmati rice.

The spinach on top may stick to the edges of the pot and get a bit crispy. This is okay-- just peel them off and stir them in. The bit of cream cheese mixes with the lemon and honey to create a fabulous sauce. If you'd like to keep the dish dairy free, just omit the cream cheese; it's not necessary and won't be missed unless you do a side-by-side comparison, which would be kind of a weird thing to do if you're avoiding dairy.

The Verdict.

I get it that I can't rave about every dish each time I write and have it be believable. BUT I LOVED THIS. Dishes like this make me happy that I've learned how to cook with the slow cooker. I never ever ever would have attempted such a dinner 4 years ago; the ingredient list would have sounded funky.

Paleo Recipes - Tiki Marsala, Curry "Fried Rice" & Asian Salad

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The First Week of Spring

Jambalaya and Snickerdoodles

Jambalaya San Rice

Extra virgin olive oil
(1-2 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, diced - I did not add this.)
10 slices bacon, diced
7 links Andouille sausage, chopped
1-11/2 cup Celery, chopped
1 Red Onion, diced
1/2-2/3 cup Peppers red, orange, yellow and green, diced
2 cups Cauliflower, finely diced
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoon chili powder
4 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
4 Bay Leaves
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
2 cups Chicken Stock
1 lb shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed

1. In a large sauté pan, heat the oil. Cook until the chicken is just browned on the outsides. Remove and set aside.

2. Add the bacon to the pan, and saute until beginning to crisp. Add the Andouille sausage, celery, onion and peppers. Cook until the sausage begins to brown and the vegetables are soft. (Return the chicken to the pan.)

3. Mix in all of the spices,along with the cauliflower stirring well to coat.

4. Pour in the tomatoes and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer. Cook until thickened, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan occasionally, about 1 1/2 – 2 hours.

5. Stir in the shrimp and cook until just barely cooked through, about 3 minutes. Serve.

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Snickerdoolde Cookies

1/2 cup Butter, unsalted, softened
1/2 cup Shortening
1 1/2 cup Sugar (plus 3-4 TBL sugar extra)
2 large Eggs
2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
(1 teaspoon Baking Boda - I might add this next time)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (omit if using salted butter)
2 1/4 - 3/4 cups Flour, all purpose unbleached (start with the smallest amount and add as needed to make a workable dough)
1 TBL Cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Cream the butter and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla and cream. Finally, add in the shortening, cream of tartar and cream. The mix should be very smooth.

3. Add in half of the flour and mix lightly. Add in the remaining amount of flour until you have a semi-soft dough. Work with the dough as little as possible.

4. Combine the reserved amount of sugar with the cinnamon. Don't worry about being too precise.

5. Using a cookie scoop or a tablespoon, form balls of dough and roll them in the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Place them 2" apart on a cookie sheet and cook fr 9-11 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes, or until cool enough to remove.