Depression Brownies

I found this cake recipe online, I read it was popular during the depression because it doesn't have any eggs. I made some substitutions and tried to make cupcakes out of it. They turned out delicious- kind of like cookies on the outside, easy to hold without getting your hands dirty, and like half cooked brownies on the inside. I let Sarah have some (even though they have Splenda, bad mommy) and she loved them.


Ingredients

•1 cup Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour

•1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum

•8 packets Splenda

•1/2 tsp Salt

•1 tsp Baking Soda

•2 T Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

•1/4 cup melted coconut Oil

•1 tsps Vanilla Extract

•1 T Torani sugar free syrup

•1 Tbsps Distilled White Vinegar

•2/3 cups Cold Water



Directions
Mix everything together.
Divide between 6 muffin tins.
Bake at 350°  for 20 minutes.

Nifty New Gadget and Zucchini Spaghetti

Here's Sarah demonstrating our newest fun kitchen gadget, the World Cuisine Tri-Blade Plastic Spiral Vegetable Slicer.

She's making zucchini spaghetti!

I sauteed the spirals in some coconut oil.

It made super long strands.

Yummy!

This is Sarah's lunch for tomorrow, chicken in marinara sauce over the zucchini spaghetti.

 

 

 

Eggs en Cocotte

Ingredients:

Eggs
Heavy Cream
Cheese
Salt and Pepper


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and put a cup of water in the microwave for 2 minutes.

Butter ramekin, or spray with cooking oil. Put about a tablespoon of cheese in the bottom. I've used parmesean and feta which were both good. Break egg into ramekin, taking care to not break the yolk, and top with a bit of salt and pepper.

Pour a Tablespoon or so of heavy cream or half and half on top of the egg until just covered. Place all of the ramekins in an ovenproof casserole. In the larger casserole, but not in the ramekins, carefully pour the boiling water so that it reaches a half to two-thirds up the sides of the ramekins.

Carefully place the casserole, uncovered, in the preheated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the white is set but the yolk is still hot and a bit runny.

Variations:

• Use a sharper cheese, like Gruyere.not meatless, but oh so good! And a great way to use up a tiny bit of leftover meat)

• Add a tablespoon of pesto to the bottom before adding the eggs

• Saute a bit of spinach in olive oil and garlic and add to the bottom of the ramekin to make Baked Eggs a la Florentine

• Add marinara to the bottom of the cup (or top and bottom) for an Italian Baked Eggs

• Add chopped meat or fresh herbs

Thai Consuming Salad

I'm calling this the "Thai Consuming Salad" because it took freaking forever to make!

Ingredients:
1/2 head of Napa Cabbage, shredded
2 cups chopped, cooked chicken or seafood
2 bell peppers (red, yellow, or orange) cut into matchsticks
2 large carrots cut into matchsticks
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 cup mung bean sprouts
1 cup fresh sliced shitaki mushrooms
1 cup roasted macadamia nuts, finely chopped
1 cup chopped cilantro leaves

In a large bowl toss the shredded cabbage in some of the dressing,. Arrange the cabbage on a large platter., Scatter the cooked chicken or seafood on top of the cabbage. Artistically arrange the prepared bell peppers, carrots, green onions, and tomatoes around the edge of the salad, and scatter the mung bean sprouts on top. Whisk the dressing and spoon some more evenly over top.

Garnish the salad with 1/2 cup of the chopped macadamias and the cilantro. Pass more dressing if desires.

Spicy Dressing

3/4 cup seasoned rice wine vinegar
1 cup organic cold pressed sesame oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
Juice of one lime
2 tablespoons minced garlic
4 tablespoons microplaned ginger
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

In a bowl whisk together all the dressing ingredients. This dressing keeps well in the refrigerator.

Thumbs up from my assistant!

Protein Donuts

Ingredients:
1 cup Almond Flour
1/2 cup Max Protein Powder
1/2 cup Gluten Free Baking Mix
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
2 T shredded unsweetened coconut (or 2 T unsweetened cocoa for chocolate)
1 Egg, beaten
3 Tablespoons Sugar Free Torani Syrup (I used SF Vanilla)
1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil
1/4 cup Water

Preheat oven to 325. Spray mini donut pan with Pam. Mix all ingredients till well combined.
Fill pan 1/2 full with batter.
Bake 8 minutes.
Remove from pan and cool on wire rack. Makes 24 mini donuts.

For toppings I dipped in melted sugar free chocolate and then in some more of the shredded coconut.

Review: These were amazing, much better than expected. And more filling than regular donuts.

Blueberry Muffin Showdown

This morning I made two different grain free blueberry muffins, and left it up to my family taste testers to determine the winner.

First, the Almond Flour Blueberry Muffins:


2 cups almond flour (almond meal)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

4 eggs

1/3 cup water

12 drops liquid Splenda

1 cup blueberries

Preparation:

1) Preheat oven to 350 F.

2) Mix dry ingredients together well.

3) Add wet ingredients and mix thoroughly.

5) Put in muffin tins (about 1/2 to 2/3 full), top with blueberries, and bake for about 15 minutes.

Next, the Coconut Flour Blueberry Muffins:

3 eggs

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons coconut milk

1 tablespoons honey

8 ounces organic fresh or frozen blueberries

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup coconut flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

6 drops liquid splenda

1. Blend together eggs, butter, coconut milk, honey, salt, and vanilla.

2. Combine coconut flour with baking powder and thoroughly mix into batter until there are no lumps.

3. Drain blueberries and dry with paper towels. Add to batter with a spoon.

4. Pour batter into muffin cups. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes.

The winner?

The coconut muffins, by a unanimous vote!

Cottage Pie with Mashed Yams

Ingredients:


• 1 lb grass-fed ground beef

• 1 cup homemade beef stock or organic beef broth

• 1/4 cup cream

• 3/4 stick butter

• 1 large onion, chopped

• 1 cup frozen peas

• 1 cup diced carrots

• 2 medium sized yams or sweet potatoes

• 3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

• 1 T arrowroot powder

• 1 T finely chopped fresh rosemary

• 1 tsp dried thyme

• 2 T organic tomato paste

• 1 tsp organic Worcestershire sauce

• real sea salt and crushed black pepper to taste

1. Bake yams in a 375 degree oven for 30-45 minutes or until soft when pricked with a fork. Peel yams, discarding the peel and mash them with 1/2 stick butter, 1/4 cup cream and a dash of salt in an electric mixer. When the yams are nicely mashed set aside.

2. In a large cast-iron pan saute onions and carrots in 1/4 stick butter on medium heat, stirring until onions are translucent and carrots are slightly browned. Add in ground beef, breaking up meat into small pieces with the back of a wooden spoon. Stir occasionally until beef is cooked through, about 10 minutes.

3. Pour in beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary and thyme, stirring to incorporate and turn heat to low. Allow the liquid to reduce a bit, about 15 minutes or so. Add in the peas, and sprinkle the arrowroot on top. Briskly stir to prevent the arrowroot from clumping, then continue stirring gently until the sauce has thickened, less then 5 minutes. Add in salt and pepper to taste. Remove pan from heat, turn oven to 375 degrees.

4. Spread mashed yams evenly on top of the meat and veggie mixture. Sprinkle cheese over the yams. Bake for about 25 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and starting to brown.

Review: Grandpa declared this the "Winner of the Week". Something about the thyme and sweet potatoes together gave this an amazing flavor. I'll definitely be making this again.

Mexican Sweet Potato Salad

Ingredients:
2 large sweet potatoes, in small cubes or diced
1 red onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 red peppers, seeded and chopped
1/2 bag frozen corn
3 large stalks of swiss chard, including stems, chopped
1 jalepeno, minced (we skipped this since we were making this for the kids)
olive oil

for dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/8 cup water
1 Tbl. chili powder
1 Tbl. cumin
S+P to taste

Directions:
1. Heat 2 Tbl. oil in a large pan and add chopped sweet potatoes. Mix and allow to cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.

2. Heat 2 Tbl. oil in the pan, add onion and cook until translucent. Add garlic, stir and cook until garlic is golden. Add to bowl.

3. Add the rest of the vegetables to the bowl and combine well.

4. Blend dressing ingredients and toss to coat veggies.

Serve warm, cold or room temperature

Review: This was delicious, and definitely worthy of bringing to a party. A little more starchy than what we usually eat.

Chicken Nugget Showdown

I tried this recipe using both coconut and almond flour. You can see the almond flour nuggets on the left and the coconut flour nuggets on the right. The almond flour nuggets were the clear winner, they crisped up better, tasted better, and looked better too!

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1-2 T coconut oil (enough to generously coat the baking sheet)
1/2 cup almond meal
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp onion flakes
½ tsp salt

Directions:
Turn on the oven to 400F. Brush a baking sheet liberally with coconut oil and put the pan in the oven to heat as the oven preheats.

Trim all visible fat and tendons from chicken breasts, then cut each breast into 5 nugget pieces (or more if you have a very large breast.) Use a meal mallet or something heavy to pound the thicker nugget pieces so they're all the same thickness.

Combine the almond meal and seasoning, mixing together well.

Dip each nugget piece into the almond meal mixture, pressing on with your fingers so it coats the chicken. Coat all the nuggets before you remove the baking sheet from the oven.

When all nuggets are coated, lay them on the hot baking sheet and cook 8 minutes, or until the side touching the pan is lightly browned. Remove pan from oven, turn nuggets, and bake 8 minutes more on the second side, until nuggets are lightly browned and cooked through. (Don't overcook.) Serve hot, with mustard or ranch dipping sauce if desired.

Coconut Pancakes

Ingredients:
4 eggs
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup coconut flour
Butter or coconut oil for frying

Optional:
1 T honey
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 T butter or coconut  oil for batter
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg


Directions:
Melt coconut oil or butter on medium heat in a pan

Scoop out enough batter to make 3-4 in (diameter) pancakes. Cook on medium heat until golden brown on the bottom side and then flip.

Chickpea Fritters

Ingredients:

2 cups water

1 cup chickpea flour

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

Coconut Oil for frying

Directions:

Oil an 8" square or 9 x 12 pan lightly with olive oil and set aside.

Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Gradually whisk in the chickpea flour so that it doesn't form lumps. Turn the heat to low and whisk in the oil ans seasonings. Cook for another minute or so, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens.

Spread the hot mixture evenly in the pan, smoothing the top. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight until the mixture is solid.

Loosen the edges and turn the square out onto a cutting surface.

Slice the square into 16 fingers.

Heat the coconut oil in a large, heavy nonstick skillet. Brown the "fingers" in the oil over medium-high heat until browned on both sides. Sprinkle with salt and serve.

Review: These were delicious! Like big steak fries. I'll definitely make these again.

Nut Butter Snacks

Ingredients:


• One regular-sized jar of nut butter (I used ½ jar almond butter and ½ jar walnut butter)

• 5-10 oz of chopped organic nuts (I used cashew)

• Handful of organic sesame seeds and/or chia seeds

• Handful of organic shredded coconut

• Dash of vanilla extract

• One full brick (room temperature) of KerryGold butter

Optional ingredients:

• Organic coconut flour for better binding

• Organic coconut butter

• Stevia

Blend the above in a bowl thoroughly, then spoon out into little “balls” onto wax paper on a plate or tray. Refrigerate for a good hour, or until these firm up.

Review: I think these taste like cookie batter. My sister says they only taste like cookie batter in "crazy land". My standards are probably lower since I don't actually eat cookies, but I think these are delicious.

Grain Free Breakfast Sandwich (with almond flour)

Ingredients:

Almond flour 1/2 cup
Eggs (2 for making the muffins, more for topping )
Butter

Makes 4 muffins

Directions:

1. Mix almond flour with 2 eggs. It should be the consistency of pancake batter. Add more flour if it's too watery, add milk if it's too thick.

2. Heat up the griddle with butter, then make 4 pancakes out of the batter.

3. Butter the muffins.

4. Top with sunny side up eggs.

A breakfast sandwich, that gets thumbs up from grandpa even without the english muffin!

Review: This was good. Next time I'll make the pancakes a little thinner, and add bacon to the sandwich.