Grilled Artichoke Pesto Zucchini Bites

I found this recipe on Pinterest a couple months ago and have been dying to try it for the sole reason that I thought they looked cute. Turns out, they taste great too! They make a great side dish or appetizer, or you could even use the filling for spreading on a sandwich! A couple of things that I've noted for the next time I make them are to not overdo the garlic, a little goes a long way! And also be sure to use both parsley and basil so the filling is a brighter, prettier green color. I didn't have parsley this time so the filling looks a bit dull. 

Grilled Artichoke Pesto Zucchini Bites

Ingredients

2-3 large zucchini

1 can artichoke hearts, squeezed of excess water

Zest of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 cloves garlic

1 cup fresh parsley leaves

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup walnuts

Pinch of salt and pepper

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano

Directions

Cut the ends off the zucchinis, then use a mandolin, cheese slicer, or another tool to slice them into long thin ribbons. They should be about 1/8 inch think, so they will be easy to roll and stand up on their own. Sprinkle each side with salt and pepper.

Heat the grill to high, and quickly sear the zucchini. They should only take about 30 seconds on each side, just enough to take the raw edge off and give them some pretty grill marks. Remove the grilled zucchini ribbons to a plate.

In a food processor, throw in the artichoke hearts, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, parsley, basil, walnuts, and pinch of salt and pepper, and parmesan. Process for about 20 seconds, until everything is finely chopped. With the food processor running, stream in the olive oil. 

Place a spoonful of pesto into each zucchini ribbon, spread it out, and roll it up. The pesto is sticky and will hold it together well. 

Recipe adapted from Fifteen Spatulas: http://www.fifteenspatulas.com/grilled-artichoke-pesto-zucchini-bites-and-a-50-oxo-goodie-bag-giveaway/

Sirloin Steak with Avocado Salad

If you have a friend who you are trying to convince to try paleo, feed them this meal. They will be sold on their first bite. Better yet, make this meal and don't share it with anyone! Thanks to Luke for finding this recipe. Served here with Grilled Artichoke Pesto Zucchini Bites, see next post for recipe.

 Sirloin Steak with Avocado Salad

Ingredients
2 big sirloin steaks
1 avocado, diced
1 large red bell pepper, with seeds removed
1/2 cup of celery, sliced
2 green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Garlic powder
Worcestershire sauce

Directions
Rub steaks with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Place in ziploc bag, and sprinkle with Worcestershire sauce, and set aside. Combine avocado, green onion, celery, lemon juice and olive oil in bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Cover bowl while preparing red pepper so the avocado doesn't brown. Remove seeds from red pepper, and grill for 30 seconds to one minute each side, until slightly charred but not soft. Dice and add to salad. Grill steaks to your liking. Lest rest before slicing, and serve topped with avocado salad.

Recipe adapted from Paleo Diet Lifestyle: http://paleodietlifestyle.com/sirloin-steak-avocado-salad/

Whole Wheat Pancakes

It isn't very often that Luke has a hankering for pancakes, so when he requested them the other morning, I decided to go all out and make them Montion style. What is Montion style pancakes, you ask? Well, it is when you don't just pour some syrup on and call it good. First, you spread butter all over the pancake, then smother it with homemade fruit syrup with fruit picked from the yard, then pour maple syrup all over it, and finally, a nice big dollop of freshly whipped cream. The real kicker, is that you also have to magically stay skinny as a toothpick after eating them. I have yet to figure that one out.
For these pancakes, I used Mom Montion's whole wheat pancake recipe, and then topped with butter, Mom Montion's homemade raspberry jam, maple flavored agave nectar, and fresh blackberries. Thanks Mom! No whipped cream this time. They were a real treat, because they were the first pancakes that Luke and I have eaten since we started paleo in January. Everyone needs a break now and then!

Whole Wheat Pancakes

Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
2.5 cups milk (I substituted 3 cups almond milk)
1 teaspoon butter, melted (optional)

Directions
Combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients. Add wet to dry. Stir only until mixed, to avoid getting tough pancakes. Grease skillet, and use 1/4 cup of batter to make perfectly sized pancakes. Flip when the bubbles break on the surface of the pancake. Serve warm.

Steakhouse Chili

My sister, Faye, suggested this recipe to me and said that it would be right up Luke's alley. Well she surely wasn't kidding. A delicious smoky flavor combined with the bacon in this chili recipe makes it just a bit different than your everyday chili. It is a Rachel Ray recipe, and I tweaked it just a bit by adding beans, substituting agave nectar for the brown sugar, and topping it with plain Greek yogurt. 

Steakhouse Chili

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 slices lean, smoky bacon, finely chopped

2 pounds ground sirloin beef

1 large onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

4 tablespoons chili powder (I used 2.5 tablespoons)

Salt and pepper

1 15 ounce can tomato sauce

1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup dark brown sugar (1/4 cup agave nectar)

2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce (I used a dash)

2 cups beef stock

2 cans kidney beans

Sour cream or plain greek yogurt, for topping

Directions:

In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the bacon and cook until the fat renders, about 2 minutes. Add the beef and cook, stirring, until browned, 8-10 minutes. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and chili powder, a little salt and lots of pepper. In a bowl, stir together the tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, agave and hot sauce. Stir into the chili. Stir in beef stock and beans and bring to boil, then lower the heat and cook until thickened, 6 to 7 minutes. Serve, topped with greek yogurt.

Recipe adapted from Rachel Ray: http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/rachael-ray-30-minute-meals/steakhouse-chili

Barbecue Pulled Pork

With the weather getting nicer, I've been spending more time outside in the sun and less time on my computer, hence the lack of recent posts. What little time I have been on the computer has been spent researching my future place of residence, Alaska! One very exciting thing that I found while researching is the Home Grown Market in Fairbanks. Everything they supply is fresh and local, from produce to grass fed beef to salmon! Sounds like a paleo friendly place to me.

Getting back to the purpose of this post, another delicious recipe. Barbecue pulled pork is a favorite of both Luke's and mine, and it can be served a couple different ways. One way we like to eat it is on a plate with a fork, alongside some broccoli. To switch up the leftovers, make sweet potato and pork sliders. Slice a sweet potato, skin and all, and toss with olive oil, chili powder, garlic powder, pinch of cumin, salt and pepper, and then spread out on a greased cookie sheet. Bake on 400 for about 10 minutes each side, or until browned. Assemble sweet potato, pork, coleslaw, and then another sweet potato and you've got a delicious little slider. Don't like barbecue sauce? Neither does Luke, but he loves this homemade barbecue sauce. So give it a shot even if you don't typically like barbecue flavor.

Paleo Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients:

1 onion, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 can (6oz) tomato paste

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cup honey

3 tablespoons mustard

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 pinch ground cloves

1 pinch cinnamon

Smoked paprika to taste

Hot sauce to taste

Directions:

Heat a bit of olive oil in a skillet and add the onion. Once browned, add the garlic and cook another minute. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes. Taste the sauce and adjust seasonings to your liking. Poor right over pulled pork, or cool and store in the refrigerator. 

Turkey Bacon Egg Cups

Happy first day of Spring! One advantage to living in the deep South is the sunshine and warm days in the Spring, unlike the snow up North. We took full advantage of the beautiful weather today by having a picnic at Beaver Lake for lunch. On the menu were carrots and peppers with hummus, grapefruit peeled Grampy Tom style, turkey bacon egg cups, and green smoothies. The turkey bacon egg cups worked out perfectly for the picnic because they were easy to pick up and eat, and using mason jars for the green smoothies kept them from spilling in the basket on the way there.

Turkey Bacon Egg Cups

Ingredients:
6 slices turkey bacon
8 eggs
2/3 cup all-natural egg whites
2 tablespoons Italian spices
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Dash of cayenne pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375ºF and spray muffin tin with Pam. Cut slices of turkey bacon in half and criss-cross two pieces in each hole in the muffin tin. Beat together remaining ingredients and pour over the turkey bacon until holes are about half full. The eggs will expand a bit during baking, so do not overfill. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. After taking out of the oven, let sit for a few minutes before removing from the muffin tin. Eat while they are still warm.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

As you can see from my previous posts, I've been deviating from the paleo diet a little too often lately, so for dinner last night Luke asked me to make something that was seriously paleo. He also said my blog is starting to look like a normal foods blog instead of a paleo food blog. Well I'll show him. Get ready for some delicious paleo recipes these next few weeks! To start it off, I made Chicken Lettuce Wraps with a side of honey lemon carrots. My secret ingredient: you must pretend you are sitting in PF Changs while eating them.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

Lettuce (Romaine holds up well)

1 pound chicken breast, ground or whole

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

3 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons agave

Dash of cayenne pepper

1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained, chopped

1 bunch of green onions, sliced

2 teaspoons sesame oil

Directions:

If using whole chicken breasts, bake in the oven and then shred and set aside. If using ground chicken, cook in skillet until nearly cooked through. Add onion, garlic, ginger, soy, agave and cayenne pepper, and continue to cook until chicken is fully done. If using shredded chicken, add it now. Add water chestnuts and green onions and cook until onions are softened, about 2 minutes. Take off the heat and stir in sesame oil. Scoop mixture onto lettuce leaves and eat like a taco.

Note: I did not have water chestnuts or green onions in the house, so I left them out this time and it still tasted delicious! They certainly add a nice crunch, however, so they are worth adding.

Reuben

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Because celebrating this holiday warrants eating warm delicious reubens, it stands as one of Luke and my top four favorite holidays. Important note: reubens need not be reserved only for St. Patrick's Day, but may be consumed any day of the year. If Luke had it his way, we would probably be eating them at least once a week. Unfortunately, they are not the healthiest meal, and they certainly are not paleo, but read on and I'll give you an almost paleo version.

Reuben

Ingredients:
Corned beef with spice packet
Rye bread
Sauerkraut
Swiss cheese
Light thousand island dressing
Panini maker or skillet

Spices (if your corned beef doesn't come with spice packet):
1 tablespoon coriander seed
1 teaspoon black peppercorn
2 teaspoons crushed bay leaves
1 teaspoon whole mustard seed
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2-4 whole garlic cloves

Directions:
Place corned beef and spice packet or spices in a crock pot early in the morning and cover with water. Set on high and simmer. The longer it simmers, the better. A minimum of about 3 hours will be necessary in order for internal temperature to reach 170ºF. I've simmered for up to 9 hours and had great results.
When meat is fully cooked, remove from the crock pot and slice against the grain. The meat should easily fall apart while slicing. Prepare remaining ingredients by heating sauerkraut in microwave or on stove, slicing swiss cheese, and preheating panini maker or skillet to medium high heat.
Once all the ingredients are prepared, sandwiches can be assembled by layering the corned beef, swiss cheese, sauerkraut and thousand island dressing between two slices of rye bread. Place the sandwich on the panini maker and press the lid closed. Remove after the bread is light brown and crisp. If using a skillet, cook the first side until light brown, and then carefully flip and cook until light brown. Finally, slice the sandwich and serve while warm.
Paleo version: place a pile of warm sauerkraut in a bowl, and then layer with corned beef, and swiss cheese. Optional: thousand island dressing, although it is not paleo. I haven't tried a paleo version of thousand island dressing yet, but I plan to attempt one soon!

Black Bean Soup

One challenging thing about living at Fort Rucker is that we are a solid 40 minutes away from the closest Panera. We try to make it there on the weekends, but this black bean soup recipe is great for any time we don't want to drive all the way there. The soup tastes just like Panera's black bean soup, if not better. Before we started paleo I served this soup with artisan bread. Now I avoid the bread, and I like to serve it with a spinach salad. This soup is very filling, and is a great meatless meal for Fridays during lent.

Black Bean Soup

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 celery stalks, chopped

¼ large red bell pepper, chopped

1 ½ cups chicken broth

2 (15 oz) cans black beans, undrained

½ tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

½ lemon, juice of (about 1 Tbsp)

1 ½ Tbsp cornstarch

Directions:

In a pot, combine onion, garlic, celery, red pepper, and chicken broth; simmer for 10 minutes. Add half a can of beans, salt, and cumin; cook for 5 min. Puree soup. Add rest of beans. Combine cornstarch with 2 Tbsp cold water and stir to dissolve. Add lemon and cornstarch to soup and cook until thickened.

Click here to download of PDF of this recipe.

Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's pie... One of the dishes that is guaranteed to bring Luke back for thirds. This recipe takes quite a bit of prep time, but it is completely worth it. The recipe calls for a mashed potato topping, but I've tried substituting mashed sweet potatoes, and also mashed cauliflower, and it is delicious every way. If you want the traditional flavor, however, stick to the mashed potatoes. I like to cover two-thirds of the pie with mashed potatoes and one-third with mashed sweet potatoes. Also, the more veggies, the better. Don't go easy on them!

Shepherd's Pie

Garlicky Potato Topping:

4 large russet potatoes, peeled and quartered

10 whole garlic cloves, peeled 
1/2 cup sour cream or coconut milk 
4 tablespoons butter, softened 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Filling:

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 medium onions, chopped 
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus 1/2 teaspoon 
1 teaspoon sugar 
1 pound ground Italian sausage 
2 to 3 medium carrots, roughly chopped, (about 1 cup) 
1 cup frozen peas 
1 cup frozen corn 
2 garlic cloves, minced 
1 can tomato paste 
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 
1 (12-ounce) bottle light or dark beer 
1 teaspoon finely minced fresh rosemary leaves 
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
1/2 cup grated Swiss or Cheddar

Directions:

Prepare potato topping: In a large saucepan add the potatoes and garlic and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook, uncovered, until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain. Transfer the potatoes and garlic to a large bowl or stand mixer with whisk attachment. Add the sour cream, butter, salt and pepper, and beat on low speed until the potatoes are light and fluffy, about 1 to 2 minutes. Do not overmix. Cover and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13 casserole dish with nonstick spray. Prepare filling: Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and cook until the onions are very soft and just beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle in the sugar, and cook until the onions begin to caramelize, about 3 minutes. Stir in the beef and cook over medium-high heat, until the beef begins to brown, about 7 minutes. Add the carrots, peas, corn and garlic and cook until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and flour and cook until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add the beer, bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, and scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, about 2 minutes Add the rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and the pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the sauce thickens, about 15 minutes. Spoon the meat mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Spread the potato topping evenly over the beef mixture. Bake until the filling is hot, the topping is lightly browned and the edges are bubbly, about 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the cheese. Return to the oven and bake for 10 more minutes. Let rest out of the oven for 10 minutes before serving. 

Click here to download a PDF of this recipe.

Celebration Brownie

Today was a great day for Luke and I. All of Luke's hard work finally paid off, and he selected the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior as the helicopter that he will fly for the rest of his career. It was the aircraft that he has wanted ever since our first week at Fort Rucker. I couldn't be more proud of my wonderful husband and how motivated and hard working he is. To celebrate, I made him this brownie with frosting, and of course 58 for the Kiowa. No secrets to this dessert, just box mix and a can of frosting, however, I was out of oil so I used applesauce instead and it turned out very moist. Yay for Lukie!

Traditional Apple Pie

Apple pie is hands down Luke's favorite dessert. I had never eaten an apple pie, much less made one myself, when I decided to try my hand at one this last year for Luke's birthday. I found this recipe in the cookbook, How to Cook Everything, and the pie turned out perfectly! I made it again for Thanksgiving and it came out of the oven looking beautiful, but a few hours later the crust was soggy. That is when I learned the importance of not letting steam build up inside the pie.
Bright and early this morning Luke had an extremely important APFT, so I made this pie while he was gone, and by the time he got home and told me he got a perfect score, I had a fresh out of the oven, absolutely perfect, apple pie for breakfast to congratulate him. The pie isn't exactly paleo, but we got over it. Follow this recipe exactly, and chances are good you will end up with a scrumptious pie of your own. I should note that I don't like pie as much as Luke, so I tried making a slice if the pie with a streusel topping instead of a top crust, and it couldn't have worked out better. I just rolled out the top crust like usual, and then before laying it over the pie I cut a slice out of it. Then after sealing up the pie, sprinkle the streusel topping on the open part, and you're good to go! Now everybody is happy. And Luke is very, VERY happy.

4/5 traditional apple pie, 1/5 streusel topping

Traditional apple pie, all it's missing is the vanilla ice cream

Streusel topped apple pie with vanilla Greek yogurt

Traditional Apple Pie

Ingredients for the traditional crust:

2 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

16 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

6 tablespoons ice water

Ingredients for the streusel topping:

8 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup flour

Ingredients for the filling:

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Pinch salt

6 or 7 apples, I used granny smith and gala

1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits

Milk as needed

Directions:

            Preheat oven to 450ºF. Start with the pie crust. Combine flour, salt, and sugar in food processor and pulse a few times. Add the butter and process until the butter and flour are blended and the mixture looks like cornmeal, about 10 seconds. Place mixture in a bowl and sprinkle ice water over it. Use a wooden spoon to gradually gather the mixture into a loose ball; if the mixture seems dry, add an additional ½ tablespoon ice water. Make the dough into a ball with your hands and wrap it in plastic wrap. It should be very dry and difficult to get it all to stick in a ball, but that’s ok. Wrap the plastic wrap tightly and place in the fridge for 30 minutes or the freezer for 10 minutes. Dough can also be stored in the fridge for several days, or put in the freezer for several months.

            For pie with streusel topping: cream together butter and brown sugar in food processor. Stir in the remaining ingredients. If making a combination of traditional and streusel topped pie like the one pictured, reduce the streusel ingredients as necessary. For this pie, I only made a quarter batch. Note: if you are making your whole pie streusel topped, reduce the traditional crust recipe by half. Set aside streusel topping.

            While dough is chilling, prepare the filling. Toss together the sugars, spices, and salt. Peel and core the apples and cut them into 1/2-3/4 inch-thick slices. I use an apple peeler corer slicer if the apples are firm enough. Toss the apples and lemon juice with the dry ingredients, adding cornstarch if you want a less runny pie. Refrigerate while rolling out the dough.

            Sprinkle clean surface with flour and roll out half of the dough, being sure to shift the dough after every few rolls. Once the dough reaches about 10 inches, hold the pie dish over it to be sure it is large enough. After it is to size, fold the dough into quarters, move to the pie dish, and unfold. Press firmly to the bottom and sides of the dish.

            Get the filling from the fridge and pile onto the bottom crust, making the pile a little higher in the center than at the sides. For traditional pie: dot with butter. Roll out the top crust in the same way as the bottom, and then place it over the pie. Trim and decorate the edges of the pie. Brush lightly with milk and sprinkle with sugar. For pie with streusel topping: crumble the topping over entire pie. For combination pie: roll out the top pie crust, and before placing over the pie, trim out the section that you want to have streusel topping. Place over the pie, trim and decorate the edges, and crumble the streusel topping on the pie where there is no top crust. Brush top crust lightly with milk and sprinkle with sugar.

            Place the pie on a cookie sheet, and cut 3 or 4 two-inch-long vent holes into the top crust to allow steam to escape. For traditional or combination pie: bake at 450ºF for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350ºF and bake for another 40 to 50 minutes, or until the pie is golden brown. Do not under bake. For streusel topped pie: bake at 375ºF for 45 to 60 minutes. Do not under bake. Cool before serving warm or at room temperature, preferably with vanilla ice cream on the side.

Click here to download a PDF of this recipe.

Recipe adapted from How to Cook Everything, by Mark Bittman, pages 685-688.

Blackened Tilapia

Blackened tilapia is a new favorite in our house for many reasons. For Luke, it's because he loves the flavor. For me, it's because it only takes a few minutes to make and I always have the ingredients on hand, plus, I can smother it with tartar sauce. With the blackening seasoning on it, you can't detect any sort of fishy taste, so it is great for someone who is afraid of fish. For this dinner, I paired it with roasted asparagus and strawberries for a nice light and fresh meal.

Blackened Tilapia

Ingredients:

8 tilapia fillets

2 tablespoons olive oil

Blackening Rub:

3 tablespoons smoked paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Simple Tartar Sauce:

1/3 cup mayonnaise

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon sweet pickle relish

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425. Combine all spices for blackening rub. Note: combine spices and store in an old spice jar in the cupboard so you always have it on hand. Line a sheet pan with foil and spray with Pam. Rinse and pat dry the tilapia. Brush with olive oil. Cover the fillets with the spices and rub it in on both sides. Place on pan and bake until nicely brown and flaky, about 10-11 minutes for large fillets and a minute or two less for smaller fillets. For tartar sauce, simply combine ingredients. If you don't want the fat of the mayo, try just the relish on your tilapia. You will still get that nice tangy flavor of tartar sauce, without all the fat.

Click here to download a PDF of this recipe.

Recipe adapted from 101 Cooking for Two: http://www.101cookingfortwo.com/2012/08/oven-baked-blackened-tilapia.html#.UT3HbhwekuE

Steak and Potatoes

Our dinner today was planned by Grandpa Smith, and it was right up Luke's alley. Grilled steak rubbed with garlic powder, potatoes and onions grilled in foil with olive oil, salt and pepper, green beans with butter, salt and pepper, and mushrooms sauteed with onions, salt and pepper. It was nice and simple, no recipes required. This is what Luke likes to call a good American meal.

Paleo Granola

Before Luke and I started paleo, granola was a staple food for us. After we started, I was a little afraid to try the granola without any oats. Once I finally gave it a shot, Luke deemed it better than my normal granola! I like to just pull everything out of the pantry that I have, so feel free to try your own combinations. I serve it either with unsweetened vanilla almond milk, or on greek yogurt.

Paleo Granola

Ingredients:
1 cup pecan pieces
1 cup walnut pieces
1 cup almond slices
1 cup shredded coconut
3/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/2 cup flax seeds
2 tablespoons cinnamon
31/2 cup honey or agave
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups raisins

Directions:
Whisk honey and oil together until smooth. Mix together all ingredients until honey is evenly coating the nuts. Spread on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 400 for about 15 minutes or until browned. Add raisins after taking out of the oven, or just add them to each bowl as you eat it.


Click here to download a PDF of this recipe.

Grain-Free Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bites

Unlike its long name, these cookies are made of a few simple, and healthy ingredients. No oil, no sugar, no flour, and no eggs. They taste delicious, satisfy a chocolate craving, and even provide some healthy protein. Luke isn't a fan of the peanut butter flavor, but I can't stop eating them until they are gone.

Grain-Free Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bites

Ingredients:

1 can chickpeas, well-rinsed

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons natural peanut butter, SunButter or almond butter

1/4 cup honey or agave

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

A pinch of salt if your peanut butter doesn't have salt in it

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Combine all the ingredients, except for the chocolate chips, in a food processor and process until very smooth. Put in the chocolate chips and stir it if you can, or pulse it once or twice. The mixture will be very thick and sticky. Use a small cookie scoop and scoop onto a cookie sheet with parchment. They don't rise very much so fill the cookie sheet right up. Bake for about 10 minutes. Let them sit for a minute before trying to remove from the cookie sheet, then cool on wax paper.

Recipe adapted from Texanerin Baking: http://www.texanerin.com/2012/04/grain-free-peanut-butter-chocolate-chip.html

Click here to download a PDF of this recipe.

Skillet Pizza

Although Luke and I try to eat a paleo diet, there is one addicting non-paleo food we always find ourselves craving. Pizza! Once I discovered this fool-proof method to making pizza at home, I vowed never to order gross, greasy pizza again. With this method you will get a deliciously crispy crust every single time, and you can control the quality of all the toppings. I make a homemade dough and then top it with homemade pizza sauce (my mother-in-law's recipe), preservative-free pork sausage, chunks of part-skim mozzarella, and occasionally black olives. I haven't found a good recipe for paleo pizza crust, but I would love to try it using this method, so if you have one let me know! 

Skillet Pizza:

Dough:

(makes two skillet pizzas)

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

Directions:

Combine flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Mix in oil and warm water.

Sauce:

(makes two to three skillet pizzas)

Ingredients:

Olive oil
2-3 crushed garlic cloves
1 can tomato paste

Water (1 tomato paste can)
1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon parsley
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon salt
Ground pepper

Jelly or sugar to taste

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet, add crushed garlic, cook 1-2 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook for 4 minutes until color changes slightly. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for a few minutes.

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 and place a well-oiled cast iron skillet in for about 5 minutes or until it is hot. While it is heating up, divide your dough in half and work it into a circle, roughly the size of the skillet. Remove the skillet and press dough into bottom. Work quickly to get all the toppings on, and then return to the over for about 15-20 minutes, or until cheese begins to brown. Remove from the oven and slide onto a cutting board to cut. Alternate method of cooking: set the oven to broil, and the pizza will brown much quicker. In my oven the pizza still took about 10 minutes on broil, but if you have a better oven, yours will cook even faster.

Dough recipe from allrecipes.com: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pizza-Dough-I/Detail.aspx

Skillet pizza adapted from Bev Cooks: http://bevcooks.com/2012/12/skillet-pizza/

Click here to download a PDF of this recipe.

A double batch of dough, left in the fridge over night, and then used the next morning. Saved time in the morning!

Roll the dough out before putting in the pan. I added Italian spices to this dough.

Pizza assembled before cooking. Make sure you don't touch the pan while assembling it!

I wrapped the pizza in foil and it traveled perfectly to the beach.

Pizza picnic at the beach! Bro approved.