Zucchini Linguine

I saw this in a magazine called "Southern Living". Which.. you'd think would be full of fried foods and okra, but it actually has a LOT of paleo foods in it! The first one I wanted to try is this one.

I omitted the Shallots. I had a bad experience with them one time and they ruined the whole dish... too spicy. So now I don't trust them because they bit back. I used green onions instead of chives. And I used a mandolin slicer to make the zucchini REALLY super thin, so it really had the texture of pasta. The roasted pecans seemed to tie in all the flavors. I added grilled chicken. Without the chicken this is vegan and raw but would taste as equally good sauteed!

My picture:

WIN!

Plum-Blueberry Italian Soda

I made some honey Sweetened Plum-Blueberry Jam with this recipe
 http://christensenka.squarespace.com/imported-20100106014405/2010/9/5/honey-sweetened-plum-blueberry-jam-gluten-free-sugar-free.html

But I don't know what I did, I think I didn't use enough pectin for the amount of puree I had, but it was too watery. At the suggestion of a friend I decided to make an Italian Soda.

What you need:
   A couple of cubes of ice
   3 Tbl of Homemade Jam
   1 Tbl of Xylitol    I don't know how that would translate to other sweeteners maybe 1 tbl or 2 of honey depending on how sweet you like it. I used 3 for my brother who is practically begging to be diabetic.
   Club Soda

What you need to do:
   Put the ice in, add the Jam, and sweetener, add the club soda to the top of glass and mix until fully combined.

Serve it to your family as a delicious wholesome treat and watch as they BEG for more then laugh in delight when you cackle, "NO it's miiiineeee muahahahahah"

not that i did that. Just sayin, you might want to. Because it's just THAT good.

Cucumber, Tomato, Basil Salad

I let my 5 yr old son cut up the cucumbers so that's why they're weird shapes lol But whatevs! he had fun with it. I got this from "The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook" http://www.amazon.com/The-Whole-Life-Nutrition-Cookbook/dp/0979885906  A bunch of the recipes are totally paleo (although not labeled as such hence why they're on this blog lol)

Green Beans with Garlic Dressing

I saw this in "The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook." Not a paleo specific cookbook, but still, has some AWESOME recipes! http://www.amazon.com/The-Whole-Life-Nutrition-Cookbook/dp/0979885906

Baked Sweet Potatoes with Raisins and Pecans

I used Pure Maple Syrup, and Kerrygold Butter (grassfed cows)

I haven't posted in a while because I've been sticking to the same recipes just varying them a little. But I went shopping for raisins at Winco for Bugs in a boat (almond butter on celery with raisins) and found that winco has raisins with no sugar added! YAY!! Anyways. I'm standing there all happy that I found these raisins when I got SUPER happy because I saw the recipe that was TOTALLY "Accidentally Paleo"! So I tried it at home, and this is what I got.

I made it with Crock pot rosemary chicken, btw.  It's really good, but it's also a bit sweet.


So then I got to thinkin'. What if I put bacon in it? Apples? Ask the hubby and he says to omit the raisins, thinking the raisins combined with the apples would be TOO much sweet. He was right.

This time I made it with Dry Rub Grassfed Beef Burgers (a recipe adapted from Everyday Paleo book). Good combo! The flavors really compliment eachother.


I realize that syrup on paleo is ok in small amounts, but so far I've had this dish 2 nights in a row, and I know I'm jonesin for a 3rd. So I try honey, and it turns out, it's the best tasting of all of them! And it's even more paleo. Yeah basically, I'm pretty much in love with this recipe. It's flippin easy. It tastes flippin amazing. And the fam loves it (except mathias but he's a freak anyway so whatevs.)

It also makes a really good side for breakfast when you use the syrup.

"Notella, But it'll Do" (nutella, purposely paleo)

Did you really want a large fry after seeing "Supersize Me"? Me too. Well I saw this article on Nutella http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-exchange/today-food-finance-nutella-not-broccoli-162956191.html and like a perfectly sane person, I REALLY wanted some nutella. But seeing as how it has both milk, and sugar in it, and it's obviously unhealthy, I decide to throw some stuff together to make my own. 3 out of the 5 kids here loved it. 1 adult wouldn't even try it (pansy) 1 adult thought it was "meh" and 1 adult loved it. One child said it tasted like chocolate pudding.

1 1/2 Cups Hazelnuts
2 Cups Coconut Milk (I only had vanilla flavored, but ideally you'd use unsweetened)
6 Tbl Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (next time I'm trying dark chocolate)
4 Tbl Honey (or honey to taste- I prefer mine sweeter and darker and the more chocolaty it is, the more
     honey you will probably need)            
dash of Vanilla Extract

Blend 1 cup of hazelnuts in your vitamix (if you're lucky like me) with 1 cup of coconut milk. Keep adding milk until it's decently creamy. Add all the other ingredients, adding the rest of the hazelnuts at the very end. I blended it on high for about 5-7 mins, until it looked like all the chunks had been blended smooth. Pretty sure it needs to be refrigerated.

Upside Down Potato & Onion Tart

This is originally where I got the idea http://hizzoners.com/recipes/vegetables/285-upside-down-potato-a-onion-tart-  but it obviously needs some adjustments because we typically don't eat cheese.  So this is the way I prefer to do it. My husband grew up with a diabetic, so he likes things to be less sweet, which is why I use the yams. Cuts down on the sweetness of the sweet potatoes. For the cheese, I used Yancey's Fancy which you can buy on their website yanceysfancy.com Mine didn't turn out as pretty as the one in the photo, but I PROMISE it is delicious!

2 1/2 Tbl of Kerrygold Butter (it's made with grassfed milk and antibiotic/hormone free)
2 Tbl dried thyme leaves
1 Onion (Cut in thick slices)
1 Yam
1 Sweet Potato
      (Both washed and thinly sliced. If you like the skin on, scrub them before cutting)
2 Tbl Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2-3 Cups Grated Yancy's Fancy Smoked Tangy Applewood (double cream cheddar) It's raw milk cheese.
*Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400°.  Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat and cook the onions and thyme for about 6 mins. While this is cooking, toss the potato slices in a bowl with the Olive Oil, 1 cup of cheese, Salt, and Pepper. Layer onions in a pan, and spread a layer of cheese on top. Put the rest of the potatoes on top of the cheese and put the rest of the cheese on it. If you're like me, you want to make sure just about every inch is coated in cheese :o) Sprinkle some sea salt on top and bake for 45 mins or until golden brown. If you want, you can turn it upside down and attempt to make it look as pretty as the one in the photo of the original recipe lol.

Do it. Your taste buds will rejoice!