Eggs

Pork Fried Rice (Paleo & Whole30)

December 28, 2017
Cuisine
Course

Does anyone else always want Chinese food on Mondays – the day that every Chinese restaurant is closed? Or is that just me? I just love good Chinese food…which, honestly, is RARE! Good as in tasty AND healthy! This “rice” is all of the above. Jam-packed with protein and veggies, this dish is one you can feel good about eating!

If you can find all of the prepped ingredients in your grocery store’s freezer section and have leftover ham (or have a go-to clean, natural brand of already-cooked pork), this dish comes together in MINUTES, is made in one pan, tastes so similar to take-out, AND is Whole30 approved!

Make it a complete meal by pairing it with my Instant Pot General Tso’s Chicken! That can also be Whole30 compliant and, the best part, it’s made in under 15 minutes with the help of that handy pressure cooker!

Print Recipe
 Pork Fried Rice (Paleo & Whole30)
Course Dinner, side dishes
Cuisine Chinese, paleo
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings
Ingredients
Course Dinner, side dishes
Cuisine Chinese, paleo
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. In a large sauce pan, add 1 tbsp cooking fat and chopped onion and sauté over medium high heat for about 5 minutes or until onions become translucent.
  2. Once the onions have softened, add your chopped ham, riced cauliflower, and remaining fat. I like to crank the heat up and get a nice char on the meat and cauliflower - so much flavor! (that's always my favorite rice - the stuff that has some charred bits in it!)
  3. After about 3-4 minutes, add the remaining ingredients (except for the eggs), and cook until the vegetables are fork tender. This should take about 5 minutes. Note: I used all organic, frozen veggies that were already chopped and riced. HUGE TIME SAVER!
  4. Once the vegetables are cooked to your liking, add your beaten eggs. I make a divet in the pan in the middle of my rice and pour the eggs in there. Once they begin to cook, I just keep stirring everything up until they're all the way cooked. This only takes a couple minutes! No need for another pan - in my opinion! We love eggs, so I add 3 to this recipe. Feel free to add more or less!
  5. Taste now and adjust your seasonings and add more salt, coconut amines, or sesame oil. Just a bit though! You can always add more, but you can't take it out! Personally, I tend to go a bit heavier on the coconut aminos and salt. I love that soy sauce flavaaaa!
  6. Finally, stir in your chopped green onions and you're done! I like them crunchy, but feel free to cook your rice a minute or two longer after stirring them in! ENJOY!
Share this!

Sweet Potato Soufflé with Bacon Crumble

December 2, 2017
Course

Any casserole-type dish, I pretty much love. This one has a fancy name though 😉 AND it has bacon in it, so….that’s reason enough to try this out. PLUS you can say you made a soufflé and sound all fancy! Ha! It’s so easy to make – always a plus.

This dish has been something I brought to family dinners for years. However, it’s only recently been paleo-fied and doesn’t taste a bit healthy! It’s not filled with tons of brown sugar or marshmallows, and the eggs make the texture AMAZINGGG. I love sweet potatoes, but their texture can be somewhat dense and just. gets. old. This soufflé is like scoops of sweet pillows with bacon on top. Is there anything better?

Enough already, here’s the recipe. 🙂

Print Recipe
 Sweet Potato Soufflé with Bacon Crumble
Course Casseroles, Side Dish
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes (plus cooling)
Servings
Ingredients
Crumble
Course Casseroles, Side Dish
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes (plus cooling)
Servings
Ingredients
Crumble
Instructions
  1. Peel and cook the sweet potatoes. I used my Instant Pot. I peeled them, chopped them into 1 1/2"-2" chunks, added 1 cup of water and cooked them for about 8 minutes. BOOM.
  2. Once your sweet potatoes are cooked, combine them with the remaining ingredients with the exception of the crumble ingredients. You should get a light orange, somewhat runny consistency.
  3. To make the crumble, combine your flour, butter, sugar, and bacon. USE COLD BUTTER. The crumble consistency will change if you use melted or room temperature. It will still taste delicious, it just won't be as crumbly. 🙂 It takes a few extra minutes to combine it all, but it's worth it!
  4. Pour your sweet potato mixture into a deep baking dish. I used one that was about 4" deep. If you use a more shallow one, it will change the consistency a bit and cook quicker.
  5. Top with your crumble and bake for 35-40 minutes until it's deep brown.
  6. ...that topping, though. **drools** Let the soufflé rest for a good 20 minutes. If you don't it will fall apart slightly when you serve it. Again, it'll still be delicious...just not as pretty. 🙂 ENJOY!!
Share this!

Instant Pot Turkey and Dumplings – Gluten & Dairy free

November 30, 2017
Course
Equipment
Instant Pot

Talk about comfort food! Chicken and Dumplings is always a go-to! During the fall and winter months, everyone has lots of turkey leftovers OR there’s a bunch on sale at the grocery store! However, you could definitely use chicken, if you prefer.

I had to do an Instant Pot recipe right after Black Friday and Cyber Monday – SO MANY Instant Pots were just bought…and so many of them won’t be opened for months, believe it or not. I’m trying to change that! Don’t be afraid. Open it and make this! It’s so easy and you’ll be so impressed! If you don’t have one, put your shoes on and go straight to Walmart or Target and get one! …Or stay comfy and grab one off of Amazon. I have the 8-qt. one and have SERIOUSLY considered getting the new mini. I just don’t know if I really need it…but, don’t you worry, I’m trying to convince myself that I do. 😉

Anyways, I could go on and on about how much I love the IP. I’m not the only one, either. There’s a whole community on Facebook of crazies! It has tons of tips and recipes, plus you can always ask questions there – or simply, search a question and almost always find the answer!

This soup cooks in less than 15 minutes. (plus 10-15 minutes of coming to pressure) Most of that time, you can be doing other things. That’s one of the huge benefits to the Instant Pot! Just set it and forget about it!

If you have any questions about this recipe or how to work your pot, feel free to email me! I’d love to help out! 🙂

Print Recipe
 Instant Pot Turkey and Dumplings Soup - Gluten & Dairy Free
Course Dinner, Lunch
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings
Ingredients
Course Dinner, Lunch
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Press the "Saute" button and cook the ghee, onions, carrots, and celery until the onions become slightly translucent. This takes about 3-5 minutes, depending on how hot you have the pot set at - I use "Normal".
  2. Add your garlic and cook for 30 seconds or so - then add all of your spices! (i.e. pepper, seasoned salt, onion powder, rosemary, thyme, and bay leaves)
  3. Add your shredded turkey meat, broth, and coconut milk to the pot.
  4. Stir everything up, close the lid, seal the pot (you don't want it to vent), press the soup button, and adjust the time to 8 Minutes on High Pressure.
  5. While that's cooking, make your dumplings!
  6. In a bowl, combine the almond flour, arrowroot powder, eggs, oil, and salt. You should end up with a sticky dough, but not runny. If your dumpling mixture seems to wet, add a tablespoon or two more of arrowroot to it - that should do the trick!
  7. When the timer goes off, do a Quick Release (QR) and drop your dumplings into the pot. I make mine about the size of 2 tablespoons or so. They don't have to be perfect!
  8. Close the lid, seal, and set the timer for 2 more minutes at HP.
  9. Once the timer goes off, do another QR and you're finished! You could always add a thickening agent, like a slurry of arrowroot and water, to thicken it up - whatever your preference! ENJOY!!
Share this!

Mom’s Traditional Meatloaf (Gluten & Dairy Free)

November 7, 2017
Cuisine
Course
Prep time
10m
Cook Time
35m

Meatloaf is always a go-to when I need a feel-good meal! If you’ve ever heard people talk about how dry a meatloaf is, you might be scared to make it. Meatloaf is notorious for coming out dry and just, kind of, bland. I’m here to tell you, that is not the case with the meatloaf my mom always made! This paleo version of it does NOT disappoint in any category! It still has all of the comforting flavors that my mom’s meatloaf has, minus the typical breadcrumbs. If you aren’t paleo or gluten free, feel free to sub breadcrumbs in for the almond flour and flax meal. It will still turn out delicious!

Don’t be afraid to give meatloaf a try! This recipe is plenty moist and still holds up nicely when sliced. Hopefully, you have some leftovers too…because the slices make great sandwiches the next day!

Print Recipe
 Traditional Meatloaf
Course Main Dishes
Cuisine Comfort Food
Servings
Ingredients
Course Main Dishes
Cuisine Comfort Food
Servings
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  2. If you're choosing to omit the onions skip this step. (I'll try not to judge you...even though, I, too, HATED onions growing up) Add the ghee or oil along with the chopped onions to a saucepan. Cook them over medium heat for approximately 5 min or until they start to turn brown around the edges.
  3. While the onions are sautéing, combine* the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl. *Make sure you REALLY mix everything up. You shouldn't be able to see where the meat ends and the egg or flour begins. That won't make for the best meatloaf.
  4. I like to test the seasoning level as I go. Now's a great time to do that! Grab a little bit of the meat mixture and sauté it in a pan. It will cook up fast...barely a minute for each side. If it's not salty enough, add some more salt!
  5. Once you've got the mixture salted to your liking, add your sautéed onions. Mix to combine.
  6. Pour your mixture into a large baking dish. I'm using a 13X9. This is important so the fat and juices have room to cook out a little bit...and your meatloaf isn't just sitting in a pond of all that. I like to shape mine on the flatter side. It helps it cook up faster.
  7. Bake the meatloaf for 25 min. After that time, remove the meatloaf and turn the heat up to 450 degrees. While your oven is heating up, remove the fat that has cooked out of your meatloaf...looks super appetizing, eh?
  8. Once the oven has reached 450 degrees, cook your meatloaf for another 10-12 minutes (or until an internal temp of 160 degrees has been reached.) During this time, even more fat will cook out. You might start to smell some of it burning towards the end of its cooking time. However, this time is key. You want a nice crust to form on the top of your meatloaf!
  9. Remove your meatloaf from the oven. Trim the excess fat away, once again, and transfer the meatloaf to another dish. Allow it to cool for 5 minutes. This will help you to slice it much easier for serving.*
  10. ENJOY!
Recipe Notes

*Personally, I love to slice it and pan-sear it for a minute or two on each side. It adds a smoky, grilled flavor to the meatloaf that I can't get enough of.I place a couple slices in a non-stick pan that I've sprayed with some coconut/avocado oil. The oil helps it to crisp up fast. Searing your slices is ESPECIALLY good when you're using them in leftover meatloaf sandwiches!

Share this!

Buffalo Chicken Casserole (with dairy-free option)

November 7, 2017
Course

This is probably one of my favorite casseroles to make. Then again, anything buffalo chicken sounds great to me anytime! The original casserole is filled with TONS of cheese and milk. That was great and all, but it was so heavy. Delicious, but heavy. I knew I had to change the original up!

The eggs add a fluffiness to the casserole and also help to bind everything together, but if you’re sensitive to eggs, they are not entirely necessary. See the recipe note for a substitute. Honestly, besides the different texture from the spaghetti squash, it tastes like the original. It’s still rich, creamy, and cheesy – if you decide to sprinkle some on top!

So, next time you’re craving buffalo chicken wings, but don’t want all of the grease and carbs, give this hearty dish a try! It’ll surprise you!

 

Print Recipe
 Buffalo Chicken Casserole (with dairy-free option)
Course Casseroles
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Servings
Ingredients
Course Casseroles
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Servings
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Your spaghetti squash can easily be cooked in your microwave in about 15 minutes. Simply cut it in half, lengthwise, and put it face down on a microwave-safe dish. It may need more or less time, depending on the size you have. When it's ready, you'll be able to easily shred it with a fork. My preferred cooking method: 8 minutes High Pressure in my Instant Pot!
  3. After cooking your squash, I drain out as much liquid from it as possible. You can use cheesecloth or a fine strainer.
  4. As for your shredded chicken, cook that on your stovetop, in your Instant pot, or use leftover rotisserie chicken. If you're cooking boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, and you've never tried shredding chicken with a handheld or stand mixer, DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND TRY IT!
  5. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together milk, yogurt, buffalo sauce (more depending on how much heat you like), eggs, and seasonings.
  6. To the liquid, add squash and chicken and combine.
  7. Pour casserole mixture into a 13X9 baking dish and top with shredded cheese, if desired.
  8. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the edges start to brown.
  9. Allow casserole to cool 5-10 minutes before serving.
  10. Top with extra buffalo sauce, ranch dressing, and green onions!
Recipe Notes

*If you are not using eggs, you can substitute 3 tbsp of arrowroot powder to thicken up the sauce. Whisk the powder in with the milk and seasonings.

Share this!