#1,097: Charred Autumn Squash Mash with Bacon

I am a huge fan of squash and I enjoy mashed potatoes...not together, but separately of course.  So when I saw this recipe, I was very intrigued.  The photo above does not do this recipe justice. I love the bacon in this.  It gives it such great flavor and texture.  In fact, I wish it had more bacon.  Definitely making this one again!

6 slices applewood-smoked bacon, coarsely chopped
3 (6-inch) sprigs fresh thyme
3 (6-inch) sprigs fresh sage
3 lb. buttercup squash, halved lengthwise, seeded, cut into wedges (I used an acorn squash) 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (I used ghee)
1/2 cup sliced shallots
3/4 to 1 cup hot whole milk (I used coconut milk)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

 Heat oven to 400ºF. Cook bacon in large nonstick skillet over medium heat 4 to 5 minutes or until brown and lightly crisp; drain on paper towels. Reserve 2 tablespoons bacon drippings in small cup; discard remaining drippings. Reserve skillet.

 Line large rimmed baking sheet with foil; lightly coat foil with cooking spray. Arrange thyme and sage on baking sheet. Lightly brush cut edges of squash with 1 tablespoon of the reserved bacon drippings; place cut-side-down over herbs. Bake 20 minutes; turn squash. Bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes or until browned and tender.

 Remove squash; let stand 10 to 15 minutes or until cool enough to handle. Reserve herb sprigs. Scoop squash from skin, place in large bowl; discard skin. Using potato masher, mash until smooth.

 Heat remaining 1 tablespoon bacon drippings and butter in reserved skillet over medium heat until hot. Add shallots; cook 1 minute or until softened, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to low; stir in mashed squash. Slowly stir in 3/4 cup milk, adding additional milk to desired consistency. Crumble roasted herb leaves over squash, discarding stems. Reserve 2 tablespoons bacon for garnish; stir in remaining bacon, salt and pepper. Cook 3 to 5 minutes or until hot, stirring constantly. Serve garnished with reserved 2 tablespoons bacon.

(Squash can be made up to 1 day ahead; cover and refrigerate. Reheat, covered, in large microwave-safe bowl on high 5 to 8 minutes or until hot. Or, bake, covered, in 4- to 6-cup baking dish at 350ºF. for 20 to 30 minutes or until hot.)

6 (2/3-cup) servings

#1,096: Skillet Sweet Potatoes

I can't believe I waited this long to make these sweet potatoes.  I think they were on my pinterest board all summer.  These were ridiculously easy to make and tasted fabulously!  This would be really good with some chicken sausage.  Of course, I added some bacon to this to make it even more wonderful!!

I need to go shopping for more sweet potatoes now. 

Sweet Potato

½ tsp Sea Salt

½ tsp Dried Parsley

Ground Cinnamon, to taste

2 tsp Coconut Oil

3 slices cooked, crumbled bacon

Peel and dice the sweet potato into bit size pieces, about ½” cubes.  (I then cooked mine in the microwave for about 4 minutes to cut down on the cook time below).

 

Heat a skillet over medium heat and add the coconut oil. When the oil is hot, add the potatoes. Stir to coat all of the pieces with the coconut oil and add the salt, parsley, and cinnamon. Mix well.

 

Cook the potatoes, stirring occasionally, for about 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat when they are soft on the inside and crispy on the outside.

#1,095: Crispy Chicken Cutlet With Radicchio and Pear Salad

 

So I don't have a picture of this together since I didn't eat the chicken and my family didn't eat the pear radicchio salad.  :)  My family seemed to really enjoy the chicken, but there really wasn't anything special to it.  Next time I will probably spice up/season the panko more.  The pear radicchio salad was wonderful!  That was my first time buying/eating radicchio and I will definitely be buying it again and making this salad.  YUM! 

 

 



8 chicken cutlets (about 1 1/2 pounds total)
kosher salt and black pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 small head radicchio, leaves torn
1 pear, cored and thinly sliced


Season the chicken with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Place the eggs and bread crumbs in separate shallow bowls. Dip the chicken in the eggs, shaking off any excess, then coat with the bread crumbs, pressing gently to help them adhere.                                 

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the cutlets in 2 batches until golden and cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes per side, adding 2 more tablespoons of the oil to the skillet for the second batch.                                 

In a large bowl, whisk together the mustard, honey, vinegar, the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Add the radicchio and pear and toss to coat. Serve with the chicken.

#1,094: Paleo Slow Cooker Chili

This recipe was supposed to be super spicy, but since I don't like spice, I omitted a lot of it.  I made this last night so it cooked all night in the crockpot.  My kitchen smelled wonderful this morning when we woke up, so I ate it for breakfast.  It was really, really good.  This will be even better tomorrow when I eat it with avocado chunks. 

1 large onion (chopped)
1 green pepper (chopped)
8 oz sliced portobello mushrooms
2 cloves garlic
2-3 tbsp paprika (If you don’t want it really spicy, go ahead and use 3 tbsp and no cayenne pepper. If you do want spicy, use 2 tbsp of paprika and 1 tbsp cayenne pepper)
0-1 tbsp cayenne pepper (it’ll be spicy! so put less or even none if you don’t like spicy!)
1 jalapeno (optional, add only if you like it very spicy like me!)
1 lb ground beef or turkey
2 28 oz cans of diced tomatoes (undrained)
2 tbsp butter (I omitted)
Salt, pepper as desired

Place the diced tomatoes along with the tomato juice in to your slow cooker.  Stir in the paprika.

In a large skillet on medium heat, heat up 1 tbsp of butter, and then add the ground beef.  Cook until there’s only a little pink left, and make sure to break it down in to small chunks while doing so. Place in the slow cooker.

Next, add another tablespoon of butter to the sauté pan and sauté your veggies (onions, green pepper, jalapenos if using, mushrooms, garlic).  Cook until your onions are translucent.  Add this mixture in to your slow cooker and stir.  Add salt, pepper and the cayenne pepper (if using) now, and mix well.

Cover crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours, until chili is thickened.

#1,093: Ginger Apple (sauce) Puree

Technically, this is a baby/toddler puree.  I still give Matthew the baby food pouches (store bought or homemade) because I know that's one way I can get that little bugger to eat his veggies and he can feed himself and not make a gigantic mess.  So even though this doesn't have veggies in it, I made it for him because 1. we had apples and 2. it sounded delicious. 

This is one of the best applesauce I've had in a long time!  I loved it...and so did he.  I'll be making another LARGE batch of this next week for the kids AND I. 

Go here to check out the original website and watch the video on how to make this recipe. 

2 sweet apples, diced
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated ginger

Bake all ingredients wrapped in parchment paper at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.  Puree in food processor.

#1,092: Strawberry, Banana, Coconut Breakfast Bowl

I first have to start by saying I can't remember where I found this "recipe."  Although it's not really a recipe, it's more of a throw-things-together-and-call-it-a-recipe kind of meal.  So I apologize to the original owner. 

This recipe also called for almond butter, but I used homemade cashew butter.  BUT you could use any nut/butter that you have on hand. 

The only thing I would do differently next time, is to toast my coconut flakes.  I think it would give it a better taste/texture/crunch.

Okay now that I've got all that out of the way...this was really good.  I loved it. I'll definitely be eating this again and again for breakfasts especially when I'm doing Whole30 (on day 10....).

Strawberries, sliced
Banana, sliced
Unsweetened coconut flakes
Almond butter

In a bowl combine all of the ingredients.  (Yep, that's it!)

#1,091: Strawberry Cheesecake Jars

Seriously, how cute are these?  Don't they look delicious?!  My kids LOVED these.  I was going to let Allison help me make them but it took her too long to get into the kitchen because she was singing Mama Mia on the I-pod and didn't want to take a break.  :)   Could this possibly be my child or what?!  The original recipe called for raspberries, but mine went bad and I didn't want to wait for our frozen ones to thaw.  So I just used strawberries instead.  Even 18 month old Matthew loved this!  It was messy, but worth it since he enjoyed it. 

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

3 tablespoons honey (you could also use raspberry preserves or white sugar)

1/4 cup whole milk

zest from 1 lemon

2 cups fresh raspberries (I used strawberries)

6 graham crackers, crushed (about 1 cup)

6- 8 ounce mason jars

 

Using an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, honey, milk and lemon zest until smooth. Layer in each jar: 6-7 raspberries, 2 tablespoons of cheesecake filling, and 2 tablespoons of crushed graham crackers. Repeat to fill the jar, then repeat with the remaining five jars. Serve immediately or store in the fridge for up to three days.

#1,090: Paleo Eggplant Lasagna

The real name of this recipe is "The Best Paleo Lasagna."  Guess what?  It is!  Holy cow is this delicious.  I changed the name of this recipe (for the sake of my blog and finding this recipe again) because I will forever think that I made an eggplant lasagna. This recipe is a little more labor intensive since it has a lot of steps, but it is SO worth it!

I decided to skip the nut/seed layer of this recipe because I didn't want the extra fat or calories AND I didn't want to have to buy that much at the grocery store.  Could that layer have made this better?  Possibly, but I loved it as is.

1lb of ground pork sausage
1lb of ground beef (I used ground turkey)
4 minced garlic cloves
1 chopped, large yellow onion
1 can of tomato sauce (8oz)
1 can of diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)
1 can tomato paste (6oz)
1 tbsp oregano
2½ cups of frozen spinach
2 eggplants (sliced julienne)
1½ cup of raw walnuts (I omitted)
¾ cup of almond milk (I omitted)
½ cup of raw pumpkin seeds (I omitted)
½ tsp of nutmeg (I omitted)
¼ cup of warm water (I omitted)
Salt and pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

  

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.  Cut your eggplants into halves diagonally and use a slicer to make them into thin strips.  Spray each strip with olive oil and put them on cook them on a baking sheet.  Heat a saute pan over medium heat. Add about 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.  Cook the onion and garlic in the pan for about 5 minutes. Add the ground beef and pork sausage and cook for another 3-4 minutes.  Add oregano and stir thoroughly.  Once the meat is cooked, add the tomatoes and the tomato sauce. Stir for aprox. 3 minutes.  Add the tomato paste in order to thicken the sauce.  Cover and simmer on low until all your eggplant is cooked and its ready to serve

Add your walnuts, pumpkin seeds, almond milk, nutmeg and water in a blender and blend them

 

Take your 13 x 9in Pyrex pan, spray with olive oil and place about half a cup of the meat sauce on the bottom. Spread ½ of your eggplant slices on top of the thin layer of tomato sauce.  Spreading evenly, add half of your spinach.  Add half of your walnut sauce.  Add a hefty portion of your meat sauce, about half of what you have left.  Repeat the above assembling order for the remainder of your ingredients.

 

Cook in the oven, uncovered for 45 minutes on 375 degrees.

#1,089: Paleo Peach Mango Ginger Chutney

As the weather gets slightly cooler, (I love fall by the way...the weather, not the fact that I'm at the beginning of a school year!) I have a huge taste for squash.  Any kind, any variety.  I think I need to start trying to grow some in my back yard!  Anyhow, I found a recipe for roasted acorn squash with some of this Paleo Peach Mango Ginger Chutney to go on top of it.  It sounded WONDERFUL so I ran out and got the few ingredients I didn't have on hand. 

This was really, really good.  I love the sweetness of the fruit and the bite of the onion.  It goes great together.  This was good hot or cold. 

2 Tablespoons ghee
1/4 cup onion, minced
3 peaches, diced
1/4 cup mango, diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 Tablespoon orange juice
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Zest from 1 orange
 
 
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the ghee, and minced onion. Cook until the onion is translucent, a few minutes. Add the peaches, mango, garlic, orange juice, apple cider vinegar, ginger, red pepper flakes and orange zest. Turn heat to low and continue to simmer until the fruit is softened but not overly mushy. Spoon over pork burgers or chops, chicken or even salmon...OR place in some roasted acorn squash as I did!

#1,088: Black Bean and Pumpkin Chili

(Photo taken before I added the avocado)

It's the first day of fall so what does that mean?  A crockpot full of thick, hearty, yummy soup!  I love fall.  I love when it's cool enough to wear jeans and a t-shirt.  Not too hot, not too cold.  This soup was so easy to make and I made a few substitutions as I changed the meat and I added more veggies.   This is really good, especially if you add some diced avocado on top.  This is going to make great lunches this week!

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium sweet yellow pepper, chopped

I also added some diced carrots and sweet potatoes

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, rinsed and drained (I used 1 can)
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
3 cups chicken broth
2-1/2 cups cubed cooked turkey (I used some ground pork sausage and bacon)
2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
2 teaspoons chili powder
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cubed California Avocado and thinly sliced green onions, optional

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and pepper; cook and stir until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Transfer to a 5-qt. slow cooker; stir in the remaining ingredients. Cook, covered, on low 4-5 hours. If desired, top with avocado and green onions. Yield: 10 servings (2-1/2 quarts).

#1, 087: Paleo BBQ Sauce #2

Later this week I'm making some grilled pork chops and really wanted/needed a paleo friendly BBQ sauce to go with it.  I made one a few weeks ago which was chunky but I didn't love it.  So I figured it was time to try a second one.  I think this recipe was on the stove in about 1 1/2 minutes...it's so easy to make.  It simmered for well over an hour so that's the worst part of making it.  I really liked it.  This will be great with our meats this week!

16 oz tomato sauce
1cup water
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
5 Tbsp. raw honey
1/2 Tbsp. ground black pepper
1/2 Tbsp. onion powder
1/2 Tbsp. ground mustard
1 tsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium high heat and stir to combine. Taste and adjust any seasonings to your liking. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for 1 hour. Pour that stuff on some meat and get elbows deep in some BBQ!

#1,086: Sweet n’ Savory Quiche

I was looking for a Whole30 approved meal to make ahead for breakfasts this week and came across this recipe.  Doesn't it look good?  Maybe I'm just hungry so it's looking extra yummy right now.  Yeah that must be it, because that's not a very good photo.  :) 

You can really taste the cinnamon in this which makes this sweeter rather than savory, but it is still good.  I love the bacon and sausage in this.  Of course this would be even better with cheese but I'm not eating that these days.  :(
9 Eggs
1/2 lb ground beef (I used natural ground pork sausage and some bacon)
2 C Spinach
1/2 Sweet Yellow Onion
1/2 t unsweetened cocoa powder
1 and 1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t vanilla extract
1/2 t salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small pan over low-medium heat, brown onions in coconut oil (or bacon fat) until tender. Add ground beef and cook until brown. Mix in 1 t cinnamon and salt. Then mix in the cocoa powder. In a medium-large bowl, whisk eggs, remaining cinnamon and the vanilla extract. Grease a 9×13 baking dish with coconut oil or bacon fat and pour egg mixture into the dish. Spread the chopped spinach onto the egg mixture. Finally, pour the meat/onion mixture into the dish on top of the eggs. Spread the meat out evenly and make sure the spinach gets covered in egg. Place in the oven and cook for 45 minutes or until the quiche starts to lightly brown on the top or begins to rise.

#1,085: Pumpkin Hummus

After I put some pumpkin in my pumpkin chili, I had some leftover and needed to find a whole30 approved recipe to use it with.  Enter this recipe.  :)  

Now, this hummus is good, but in my opinion, it's not great.  It's not as good as say.....sweet potato hummus!  I'll definitely eat it and enjoy it but I probably won't make this recipe again.  I do like the addition of cilantro to this recipe but it has a slightly off taste which I can't figure out what it is.  The cumin maybe??

1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree
1/4 cup roasted tahini
1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp ras el hanout (optional)
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbs lemon or lime juice
1 Tbs fresh minced cilantro or flat-leaf parsley

Put everything in a food processor and pulse until combined.

#1,084: Sweet Potato Hummus

I have tried making hummus with other ingredients several times, and it hasn't been my favorite thing to eat.  Usually I eat a little bit and then end up throwing the rest away.  That is until I found this recipe.  Holy cow is this good.  It's "eat-straight-from-the-bowl" good.  Mmmm!!  I need to go get another sweet potato because this isn't going to last long in my house!

Best of all, this is only 5 ingredients and crazy easy!

1 Large Sweet Potato

1/4 c Tahini

Juice of 1 Lemon

2 Garlic Cloves, chopped

Salt and Pepper to taste

Bake and peel your sweet potato until it is very soft (I baked wrapped in foil at 425 degrees for just over an hour) Once it’s done baking, allow to cool slightly and remove the skin.  Place in a food processor with the remaining ingredients. Pulse until very smooth.

 

#1,083: Loaded Baked Potato Dip

I made this for book club last week and had the girls help me prepare it.  I had Chloe making turkey bacon on the griddle since it doesn't splash/sputter like regular bacon.  I want the girls to not only know how to cook and be in the kitchen but I want them to enjoy it as much as I do.  I was so proud of Chloe for trying to help.  Allison mixed the other ingredients for us since she was scared of the griddle. 

This was very easy to prepare and was easily made a day in advance.  It was good, but it was a little salty and I didn't love it.  I liked it a lot, but it wasn't my favorite dip to eat.  I don't know if I would make this particular dip again since there are so many other, better dips, but for the time it was good. 

2 cups sour cream
8 strips of bacon, chopped and cooked
1/3 cup of minced chives
2 tsp hot sauce
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
In a small bowl, mix all of the ingredients until blended; refrigerate until serving. Serve with waffle fries, pretzel, Fritos or crackers. Yield: 2-1/2 cups.

#1,082: Paleo Breakfast Casserole

I've been meaning to post this recipe for a few weeks now and somehow I keep forgetting.  That doesn't mean I keep forgetting to remake this recipe though.  This is wonderful.  Or at least I love it.  Veggies, eggs, sausage...and it's a make ahead recipe?  What's not to love. 

As you can tell by the photo, I may have over cooked this a bit.  The second time I made this recipe I didn't add the cooked sausage right away so it didn't get over done.  It was much better that way.  About 1/3 of the way into the cooking time I added it on top.  Yum!

The recipe suggests putting the ground sausage into a blender like the Magic Bullet.  Only do this if you want TINY pieces of meat.  I prefer my meat that way so I liked it.  But if you like chunkier meat, don't do it.

2 small Sweet Potatoes
3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Sausages (I used pork breakfast sausage)
½ Yellow Onion
4 Eggs
½ c Coconut Milk
¼ tsp Sage
Sea Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Grease a glass 8×8 inch baking dish. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Grate the sweet potatoes (making hash browns) and then place them in the bottom of the greased dish.

Heat 2 Tbsp oil over medium-high heat. Chop the onion and sausage (put the sausage in a blender to break it apart) and add to the oil. Season with salt and pepper and cook until sausage is no longer pink and onions are translucent.

Layer the sausage and onion on top of the sweet potatoes.

Put the eggs, sage, milk, ½ tsp of sea salt and ½ tsp of pepper into a blender and mix thoroughly. Pour this egg mixture on top of the sausage and onions.

Bake uncovered for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

 

#1,081: Shredded Barbecue Chicken

Yesterday while shopping at Kroger, they had containers of pre-cooked and shredded chicken breasts marked down to $3.80.  Normally, I would buy an entire rotisserie chicken and shred it myself but I loved the thought of it already being done.  So I brought it home and figured I'd find a main dish to use it with.  When I dumped the chicken into a bowl, there was so much meat in there, there was enough for TWO meals!  What a deal! 

So for one of the meals I decided to whip together this super fast, BBQ chicken recipe.  There isn't much of an easier meal than this one!  Best yet, the family loved it. 

4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1 1/2 cups ketchup

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

8 buns  

Stir together all the sauce ingredients and cook in a saucepan until heated through. Add the shredded chicken and heat. Serve on buns.

 

#1,080: Roasted (sweet) potatoes, Chicken sausage and Peppers

This is such an easy lunch or dinner to make. Like ridiculously easy!  Chop, toss with olive oil and roast.  Done.  This is my kind of meal.  Oh and you can pretty much use any veggies you have on hand or like.  Next time I'm adding in some broccoli too.  I ate this for three days for lunch...loved it!

1 1/2 pounds of new potatoes  (I used sweet potato)

1 medium onion, chopped into large quarters and separated.
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
3 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
1 teaspoon of fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 pound of Italian chicken sausage, with each link cut into 7 - 8 pieces

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, F. Spray a baking sheet with either olive oil spray or canola oil and set aside.

Cut the potatoes into 1" pieces.  In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, onions, peppers, olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme, smoked paprika and garlic powder. Make sure everything is coated evenly.

Pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and place in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes, tossing occasionally to make sure nothing sticks. After 15 minutes, add the sausage to the baking sheet and toss with the potatoes and vegetables.

Let the mixture continue to bake for 30 minutes and toss the mixture every 10 minutes or so to ensure that nothing burns. Make sure the potatoes are cooked through and serve.