Paleo Ketchup Perfected!

I got this from Ryan Wilder's Not in Moderation Blog who claims to have "nailed it", but I wasn't quite convinced so I came up with my own version.

Paleo Ketchup

Ingredients

12 oz tomato paste

1.5 cups water

4 Tbsp vinegar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp fresh ground pepper
the juice of 1/2 orange (about 4 Tbsp)

Directions

Combine all the ingredients in a small sauce pan.  Bring to a simmer on medium-low heat and then simmer for several minutes on low heat, stirring frequently, to let the flavors meld.

Pour into a glass jar and refrigerate.

It's that easy!!

Notes

Be generous with your spices!!  No need to measure carefully and scrape the excess off here.  If you like more flavor, load it up!  If you like your ketchup toned down, shake the excess off.

Dip and enjoy!

Chicken Nuggets

An absolute must try from a recipe posted by Multiply Delicious.  No modifications were necessary with this recipe; total perfection!  I have had success with doubling the amounts for leftovers.

Photo courtesy of Multiply Delicious

Paleo Chicken Nuggets

Ingredients

1 pound ground chicken

1 egg yolk

1 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 cup and 1/3 cup almond flour

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup coconut oil

Salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a bowl combine 1/4 cup almond flour, 1/2 cup shredded coconut, and S&P to taste.  Mix to combine.  This is your "breading".

In a separate bowl, combine the ground chicken, 1/3 cup almond flour, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, sea salt, pepper, and egg yolk.  Mix well until everything is incorporated.  Gather about 2 Tbsp of the chicken mixture into a ball and then coat generously with the "breading" mixture.

Melt the coconut oil in a sauté pan or skillet.  When the oil is ready, place small batches in the hot oil and cook on each side for 3-4 minutes or until a dark golden brown.  Transfer the nuggets to a parchment lined baking sheet and place in the oven for 4-5 minutes to allow the chicken to cook through.  Repeat with remaining nuggets.

Allow nuggets to cool slightly before serving.  Serve with paleo BBQ sauce or paleo ketchup (recipes to be posted later).

Notes

I just edited this post because I noticed a couple of typos!!  Sorry about that folks!

Peppermint Klondike Cups

Photo courtesy of PaleOMG

This treasure of a paleo treat was born from a recipe posted by my latest paleo idol, PaleOMG.  Modified slightly, these were very quick and easy and were a BIG hit at our CrossFit RTP holiday party.

Peppermint Klondike Cups

Ingredients

1.5 cups unsweetened shredded coconut

1/2 cup coconut butter (melted)

1/2 cup coconut oil (melted)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp peppermint extract

pinch of salt

1 bag (10 oz) dark chocolate chips

Directions

Place all ingredients except for the chocolate chips in food processor and blend until the texture is only slightly chunky.

Place about 2 Tbs of the mixture in silicone muffin liners and press down until flat (I found my fingers worked best for flattening).  Place mixture-filled liners in the freezer to cool while you melt your chocolate (either by microwave, double-boiler, or, like what I did when in a pinch, a warm oven).

Pour about 1 Tbs of the melted chocolate over the coconut mixture in each cup.  Put filled cups back in the freezer for about 20 minutes or until the chocolate has hardened.

They are now ready to enjoy!!

Notes

When the cups first come out of the freezer the chocolate will be very hard so you may want to have them sit a room temperature for a couple minutes before biting into them.  Leftovers keep very well in the fridge afterwards.

It is my suspicion that reversing the coconut and chocolate layers (swirling the chocolate to get some up the sides) might be a good idea.  Although, when eating, the chocolate does tend to melt onto your fingers; and mouth; and any other body part that comes in contact...

ENJOY!!  I know I did...  ;)

Paleo Herb Crackers

Just tried this recipe over the weekend from Multiply Delicious to go with some guacamole and they came out much better than expected!  Therefore, this recipe is largely unaltered from the original and I will definitely be trying more of their recipes in the future...

Paleo Herb Crackers

Ingredients
2 cups almond flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 Tbsp favorite herbs of choice (I used pizza seasoning and dried rosemary)
2 Tbsp water
1 egg white
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp coconut oil, melted

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350° F.

Combine almond flour, salt, and herbs in a medium mixing bowl.  In a small bowl, whisk together the water, egg white, oilve oil, and coconut oil.  Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir until stiff dough forms and all dry ingredients are wet.

Place dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll out to an even thickness of about 1/8 of an inch.  Transfer parchment to a baking sheet pan and remove the top piece of parchment.  Using a pizza cutter trim off uneven edges of dough, then cut the sheet of dough into cracker size pieces/squares.

Bake for 10 minutes.  Turn off oven and let crackers sit inside oven for an additional 10 minutes, until golden.

Enjoy with some guacamole or any other favorite paleo dip!

Guacamole

This is your basic guacamole recipe, which evolved from a recipe by the ever-awesome folks at Cook's Illustrated.  Feel free to adjust and play with the recipe to find your favorite variation.  Try this recipe with some Paleo Herb Crackers, yum!

Guacamole

Ingredients
2-3 medium ripe avocadoes
3 large scallions, thinly sliced OR 2 Tbsp minced red onion
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin (optional)
6 slices of bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled, reserving 1 Tbsp of rendered fat (optional)
1/2 medium tomato, seeded and diced small
2 Tbsp lime juice

Directions
Mash the flesh of one avocado with the scallions/onions, garlic, cilantro, salt, cumin (if using), bacon and fat (if using), and tomato with the tines of a fork.  Cube the flesh of the remaining avocadoes and gently add to the mashed avocado mixture (if you want a more chunky guacamole) or continue to mash in with the avocado mixture (if you want a smoother guacamole).

Sprinkle the lime juice over the mixture and stir entire contents of bowl until well combined.

Adjust seasoning with salt, if necessary, and serve with some raw veggies or crackers!

Enjoy!!

Cinnamon Stewed Apples

There is more than one way to stew up some apples.  Here is a simple, basic recipe that I like to start with.  Note that this recipe from Boston Organics originally called for BROWN SUGAR.  I regularly substitute maple syrup for the brown sugar almost 1:1 (sometimes the apples don't need that much sweetening), and I would rather have more spices (hence the larger amounts of cinnamon and nutmeg).

Cinnamon Stewed Apples

Ingredients
6 cups apples (Granny Smith or basic cooking apples), peeled and chopped
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup apple juice or apple cider
Dash of lemon juice (optional)
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp sea salt

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a large, heavy saucepan (I like to use the Dutch oven).  Cover and cook on medium-low heat for 45 minutes or until the apples are tender, stirring occassionally.  Let stand 5 minutes.

Enjoy!!

Ratatouille

It has been a long hiatus!!  Sorry about that folks.  The format from now on will be a little different: a very brief recipe will begin my post, with any details at the bottom.  Let me know if you have any comments/suggestions!

Here's our latest "favorite" from the ever awesome folks at Cooks Illustrated.  We deconstructed this and paired it with our Paleo Meatballs to have an excellent meal of meatballs on a bed of roasted veggies, covered in a tomato sauce.  Yum yum!

Ratatouille

Ingredients

2 large eggplants (about 2 to 2 1/2 pounds) cut into 1-inch cubes
2 large zucchini (about 1 1/2 pounds) cut into 1-inch cubes
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
2 medium ripe tomatoes (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into 2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste


Directions

Prepare the eggplant (see details below).

Adjust two oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions, heat oven to 475 degreees F, and line 2 rimmed baking sheets with aluminum foil.

Toss eggplant, zucchini, and 2 tablespoons of oil together in a large bowl.  Spread mixture evenly in a single layer between the two baking sheets.  Sprinkle with salt and roast, turning the veggies and rotating the sheets every 10 minutes, for 30-40 minutes.

Heat remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add onion, season to taste with salt and pepper, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until soft and golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.  Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes.

In the original recipe, everything is then cooked together, but we kept them separate.  At this point, we added the chopped fresh herbs for about 1 to 2 minutes and then served with the tomato portion ladled over the roasted veggie portion.  Season with salt and pepper or additional fresh herbs to taste.


Notes and Details

To prepare eggplant for cooking, it is important to remove the bitter juices (especially with the larger, globe eggplants).  Believe me, I've tried going without this step and the dish can almost come out inedible, depending on the eggplant.  It's simple, you just have to plan on doing this step ahead of time.  I did this first and then worked on the meatballs while the salt was working its' magic:
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Place cubed eggplant in a large colander set over a large bowl.  Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of table salt and toss until the eggplant is evenly covered.  Let the salted eggplant stand in the colander for at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours.  Rinse the eggplant well under running water to remove the salt and remaining bitter juices.  Spread the eggplant evenly in a single layer over a triple thickness of paper towels, cover with another triple thickness of paper towels, and press firmly on the eggplant with the palm of your hands until the eggplant feels dry and compressed.
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Summer squash can be substituted for one or both of the zucchinis.  I did a 2:1 summer squash to zucchini substitution for this recipe.

If you don't have a Dutch oven, any heavy-bottomed sauce pot will do.  And you can substitute your choice of cooking fat for the oil in this step.

That's it!  Buon appetito!!