Apple Tartlets Almost-Biscuits

These little puppies were a partial inspiration from Health-Bent's Peach Frangipane recipe.

I love apples. I love apple pie. I love almost all things apples. So when we knew we were heading to my boyfriend's parent's house for Thanksgiving, I knew I wanted to make some sort of apple treat. Thanksgiving is not the same in my mind without some apple-y dessert!

I made a version of Health-Bent's tart with a blueberry topping and I really liked it! But I wanted to cut out the sugar and figure out a way to use the same basic ingredients they used (almonds, eggs, coconut oil) to make a quick and easy apple tart. Thus, this recipe was born. It's got a pretty dense almond layer, and without the added sugar it has a more savory, biscuit-like taste (hence the "Almost-Biscuits" in the title!).

You can certainly add sweetener to the base if you want something sweeter. I'd recommend a few tablespoons of honey.

These tarts did not last very long! They were a perfect treat to eat alongside a hot cup of tea or coffee.

Ingredients

1) 1 1/2 cups of almonds (I used roasted and salted)

2) 3 eggs

3) 4 tablespoons coconut oil (1/4 cup), melted

4) 2 apples, finely diced

Optional:

5) 2 tablespoons of honey or maple syrup to add sweetness. But I made mine without and even the non-Paleo guys liked it.

Instructions

**Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1) Add the almonds, eggs, and melted coconut oil to a food processor.

                                                    

2) Blend until it makes a paste. This is your base of the tartlet.

3) Chop up your apples into small pieces so they cook easier and stick easier.

4) Into silicone muffin tins, or paper muffin cups, or well greased muffin tin, add in a scoop of your tartlet base. This made 12 muffins perfectly for me, so spread the batter out evenly between the muffins. Press the batter down so it's level.

5) Add a mound of chopped up apples to each muffin, evenly dividing the two chopped apples.

6) I sprinkled my muffins with cinnamon for some extra flavor and some visual appeal. 

7) Bake at 350 for 18-25 minutes, until your tart is thoroughly cooked and firm when you press it.

8) Let cool and remove from your muffin tins. Enjoy!

Chicken Pot Stew (Paleo, Zone)

So this is kind of like chicken pot pie, except there is no crust on the top and I instead mixed what would have been the crust into the filling to make it creamy and rich. So it tastes like chicken pot pie, Paleo-style, but it is stew! And I pretty much call everything stew!

Man, it is freezing in Texas this week! It is 30 degrees right now and I would happily heat some of this tasty stew up and warm my insides!

Working out in this weather has been interesting...My second CrossFit competition is coming up in TWO WEEKS! Yikes, where did the time go? My only hope is that it's not 30 degrees, and that my boyfriend brings me some of this chicken pot stew for a happy post-WOD celebration!

This meal is also Zoned, but if you are not following the 40-30-30 guidelines, you don't need to be as specific with your measurements, and you certainly don't need to use as many vegetables if you don't want. But I like the bulk that it adds without the added guilt!

Ingredients
1) 1 1/2 pound of cooked shredded or diced chicken (24 ounces = 24 zone blocks protein)
2) 3 pounds of carrots, thinly sliced (10-11 zone blocks carbs)  --- you can add less if you don't want it as carrot-y, but I like all the bulk it gave to the meal
3) 3 large onions, diced (8 cups raw = 13 blocks carbs)
4) 2 cups of chicken stock (or water, but it won't give as much flavor)
5) 3/4 cup of almond flour (24 blocks fat)
Optional: Salt & Pepper to taste

I made chicken stock in the crockpot the day before, via this recipe of mine, and then used the cooked chicken AND the stock from that recipe. Easy peasy!

Instructions
1) Get out the biggest pan you have, because this is a lot of veggies!
2) Chop up your carrots and onions, and add them to your large pan over medium-high heat.

3) Let your veggies cook and soften, stirring about every 5 minutes, until they are very tender. Mine took about 30 minutes. Your veggies will slightly cook in the oven, so make sure you get them 90% of the way there in the saute pan.

***Preheat your oven to 350 degrees now***
4) Once the veggies are cooked, stir in your two cups of chicken broth and your 3/4 cup of almond flour. Mix completely.

5) Add in your cooked chicken, and stir to incorporate.

6) Pour into a large cooking dish, and put in the oven for 60 minutes on 350 degrees.

7) Enjoy! It's hot, so be careful!

Simple Banana Bread Muffins (No Added Sugar)

We went to my boyfriend's parent's house for Thanksgiving break, and when we came home I had a bunch of overly ripe bananas that we hadn't eaten before we left. In this house, we absolutely love banana bread and I've tried a few different grain-free versions (most of which were awesome!), but I had never tried to make my own 5-ingredient version. I wasn't really sure how this would work out or taste, but it came out delicious!

Ingredients

1) 2 cups almond flour (I recommend Honeyville)

2) 3 eggs

3) 2 very ripe bananas (if your bananas are not super ripe, you can still use them and add in some honey to sweeten the batter)

4) 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

5) 2 teaspoons baking powder

Optional Add-ins:

1 TBSP cinnamon

1/2 cup chopped nuts (I added almonds and it gave it a nice crunch!)

1/2 cup dried fruit or fresh blueberries

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

                                    

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) This works best in the food processor but you can use a hand mixer too. Add the eggs, melted coconut oil and bananas to your bowl.

3) Blend until the bananas are completely mixed.

4) Add your almond flour and baking powder, and mix until fully incorporated.

5) Add your additional add-ins here if you are using any. I added cinnamon and chopped almonds, but made half of them plain and they were still super delicious!

6) Cook at 350 for 18-25 minutes, until fully cooked and firm when you press on them. I cooked them in silicone muffin liners, or you can use muffin liners in a regular muffin pan, or you can grease your muffin tin so the batter doesn't stick.

7) Enjoy! These would be delicious with some added butter or honey on top, as well.

Pork Apple Hash (Paleo, Zone)

It's fully into the fall season, which means that apples are finally getting cheaper! Growing up in Washington state, I am a huge apple lover. And what meat goes better with apples than pork? I remember growing up eating pork chops and apple sauce! So this hash is a take on that.

This meal is also Zoned, and it's a one pot dish which is hard to find when it comes to Paleo-Zone meals. This makes 24 blocks, so split it up accordingly!

Ingredients

1) 2 pounds of ground pork or sausage

2) 3 apples, cored and diced

3) 3 large onions, chopped (6 cups)

4) 1 large sweet potato, chopped (12 ounces)

Instructions

1) Heat up a large skillet over medium-high heat, add your pork and cook until brown.   

                                            

2) While your pork is cooking, chop up your apples, onions and sweet potato into bite-sized pieces. Try to make them all the same size to aid with even cooking.

3) Once your pork is cooked, add in your chopped vegetables and fruit.

4) Cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring often, until everything is tender and cooked thoroughly.

5) Eat up! This makes a delicious breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Beef Shepard's Pie with Cauliflower Topping (Paleo)

Have you ever had traditional Shepard's Pie? It's so warm, filling and comforting on a cool night. When I began my Paleo lifestyle, I found a great recipe from Melissa Joulwan's Well Fed cookbook for Shepard's Pie that called for Lamb and about 20 ingredients. I made it with beef, because I didn't have any lamb on hand, and it was absolutely awesome! So warm and comforting.

So it's been getting cooler here in Texas and last weekend was particularly cold. I wanted to make some Shepard's Pie for my weekend cook-up, and had the brilliant idea of trying to make it 5 ingredients. This was going to be a tall task indeed, but I think I pulled it off pretty brilliantly!

This makes a huge meal, so you can certainly cut it in half! It made us 6-8 servings, half of which we freezed. After they were defrosted and reheated they still tasted amazing, so by all means, make this recipe as is and save half in the freezer!

In lieu of using coconut milk and other ingredients to make the cauliflower topping, I just used some of the fat that cooked off the beef as liquid to mash the cauliflower. It worked great! Just try to make sure you use grassfed meat so the cooked off oil is healthier.

Ingredients

1) 2 pounds of ground meat (I used beef, but lamb is more traditional if you like it)

2) 2 pounds of carrots, sliced

3) 3 onions, diced

4) 1-2 large heads of cauliflower or bags of cauliflower florets (I used two because I wanted a lot of topping!)

5) 2 tablespoons of spices of your choice (I used 2T of chili powder, but you could use cumin, Italian seasonings, garlic and onion powder, etc. Just something to give the dish some taste. I like chili powder!)

Instructions

1) Brown your ground meat in the largest skillet you have, over medium-high heat until cooked.

                                              

2) Drain at least 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the oil into a cup to use for your mashed cauliflower. Leave the rest of the oil in the pan to help cook the vegetables.

3) Once you've drained the oil, add in your onions and carrots. Cook these for 25-30 minutes over medium-high heat until they are soft and cooked thoroughly.

4) While the carrots and onions are cooking with the meat, start on your cauliflower. Chop up your cauliflower heads to just leave the florets, then add to a large bowl. If using a bag, just add the bag's contents to a large bowl. Add about a tablespoon of water and microwave on high for 6-10 minutes, until soft.

5) Add the cooked cauliflower to your food processor. I used two bags of florets, so I had to make two batches in my food processor.

6) For each batch of cauliflower, do the following: add in half of your cauliflower for the batch to the food processor. Then add in your oil (if you divided this into two batches, only add half your oil). Puree until smooth, then add in the other half of your cauliflower and puree. I had to run my processor for about 5 minutes to get it really smooth.

7) Add the pureed cauliflower to a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper until you like how it tastes. I probably used a teaspoon of each to start with, but start small and add on.

**NOW PREHEAT YOUR OVEN TO 400 DEGREES**

8) Once your onions and carrots are cooked, add in your spices to the dish. Stir to incorporate, and then add your mixture to a large casserole dish or 9x13 pan.

9) Spread your mashed cauliflower on top of the meat mixture. Spread it into an even layer.

10) Cook in the oven at 400 degrees for 45-60 minutes, until the top is brown and bubbly.

11) Once cooked, let rest for 10 minutes before you serve it up, because it's very hot!

Check out those layers!

Portioned and ready for the fridge and freezer!

Macadamia Chocolate Chip No-Bake Cookies

I've been rereading a lot of the cookbooks I have and getting ideas for meals and desserts. This one stemmed from a Paleo dessert book and was adjusted for the ingredients I had in my house, and our current craving!

Ingredients

1) 1 cup of macadmia nuts

2) 1 cup of shredded coconut

3) 1/4 cup of melted coconut oil

4) 1/4 cup of chocolate chips (I recommend Enjoy Life---only 3 ingredients in their chips, and they're phenomenal!)

OPTIONAL:

5) 1 tablespoon of maple syrup or honey ( I used maple syrup)

Instructions

1) Add nuts, shredded coconut, coconut oil (and maple syrup or honey) to a food processor.

                                                  

2) Blend until relatively smooth, 1-2 minutes.

3) Fold in your chocolate chips.

4) Use a scoop and scoop out balls of the dough and flatten into cookie shapes (or keep in balls if you're lazy like I am!).

5) You can eat them now, but they'll solidify if you put them in the fridge for at least 30 minutes and will be more cookie-like.

Enjoy! These were awesome!

Plum-flavored Eggplant Casserole (Paleo, Zone)

Plum-flavored? I used prunes, which are technically dried plums. Plus, who wants to eat a prune dish? Even though prunes are delicious. Plum sounds fancier. And I like fancy pants sounding dishes that are actually super easy and rustic.

This is yet another complete meal that I have tried to make Zone friendly, so there are some pretty specific measurements in the ingredients, but if you don't care about making it zone, then just approximate it! That'll make life simpler, indeed.

Eggplant was on sale at the grocery store, and it made me very happy! So I bought a crap ton of it, and vowed to figure out a way to make it into a tasty, Paleo-Zone meal. And I did it! The addition of prunes to the tomato sauce helps even out the proportions and up the carb count, so that it's equal. If you don't want as many carbs in your meal, or you're limiting fruit, or you don't like prunes (PLUMS!), or don't have any: omit them! Easy peasy.

Ingredients
1) 3 pounds of peeled, cubed eggplant (weighed after the fact) - this was about 4-5 large eggplants (I know this sounds like a lot, but it cooks WAY down)
2) 2 pounds of ground meat (I used beef, but turkey/pork/chicken would equally be tasty)
3) 4 cups of tomato sauce (2 cans of 15oz)
4) 3/4 cup of prunes, chopped after measuring (about 20 prunes)
5) 1/2 cup of almond flour

Instructions
1) Brown your ground meat on medium heat.

Browning your meat

2) While the meat is browning, peel and dice your eggplant. Place in a colander or a large bowl, and sprinkle with a small amount of salt. This will help with some of the bitterness.

Chopped up eggplant

3) Once the meat has browned, strain it from the pan, leaving some oil in the pan to assist in cooking the eggplant. I strained my meat straight into my casserole dish to help cut down on dishes.

Drain your meat

4) Add in the eggplant to the pan with your reserved oil from the ground meat. Continue to cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes, until the eggplant has softened completely.

Add in the eggplant

5) While the eggplant is cooking, let's make our tomato sauce. In a food processor, add 1 can of tomato sauce and your prunes. Puree until smooth.

Sauce and prunes

Pureed tomato mixture

6) Once your eggplant has finished cooking, stir in your tomato mixture and add the 1 additional can of tomato sauce to the mixture. Then add in your ground beef, and stir to incorporate.

Softened eggplant

Eggplant plus tomato sauce/prunes

7) Transfer everything into a large 9x13 pan and spread evenly.
8) Sprinkle your almond flour on top of the casserole as evenly as possible.

Ready to bake!

9) Cook in the oven at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes, until nice and bubbly.

And cooked!