Grilled (or Baked) Pesto Vegetables

We go camping with friends several times a year and are always looking for something easy to cook over a campfire or on a camp stove. These veggies are quick, easy and delicious, although the pesto seasoning is not 100% Paleo, I figure that you only get a small amount on each vegetable. This recipe does have a small amount of dairy because there is parmesan cheese in the pesto seasoning.

Ingredients

1. 1 envelope Knorr Pesto Seasoning mix
2. 2-3 Zucchini and/or yellow squash, sliced fairly thin or you can use onion, bell pepper or any other vegetable you want
3. 2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

1. Mix the pesto seasoning mix with the olive oil and pour into a recloseable plastic bag.
2. Add the vegetables to the plastic bag.
3. Roll the vegetables around in the seasoning mix so they get coated.
4. If you grill them, a vegetable basket or skillet is the easiest way; OR you can put them on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake them in the oven at 350ºF. I usually bake them about 10-15 minutes, then turn them over and bake for 10-15 minutes more. Baking time will depend on how thick you slice your veggies and how crispy you want them.
5. Serve immediately.

Note: Even though it looks like a lot when you first start out, they do shrink so make more than you think you need.

You can also leave off the pesto seasoning and just use spices (like a little cumin or paprika or garlic powder) on your veggies. Play around with different spices and veggies.

Pizza Sauce

Ok, last one for today. I really need to get something else done; I mean, I have monsters to kill in WoW who have been lonesome today because I haven’t been in there! This recipe for pizza sauce is taken out of a bigger recipe for a whole pizza. It was published by George at Civilized Caveman Cooking, but the recipe comes from a new cookbook called “Gather” by Hayley Mason and Bill Staley who have written other cookbooks together. I have preordered “Gather” and can’t wait to get it and then invite all my friends over for a dinner made from their recipes.

Ingredients

1. 14 ounces crushed, fire-roasted tomatoes
2. 6 ounces tomato paste
3. 1 clove garlic, pressed (I just minced mine up)
4. 2 tablespoons finely minced onion
5. 1 teaspoon dried oregano
6. 1 teaspoon dried basil
7. Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan, heat the fire-roasted tomatoes and tomato paste over medium heat.
2. Add the pressed garlic, minced onion, oregano, basil, salt and pepper.
3. Stir to combine and let the sauce simmer for at least 10 minutes. (It can simmer while you make the pizza crust.)
4. Smooth a small portion of the sauce on the pizza crust, using more or less depending on your preference.

Direct link: http://civilizedcavemancooking.com/reviews/gather-review/

Pizza Crust

This is a great Paleo grain-free pizza crust. It holds up to adding stuff on top so you can actually pick it up and eat it. You could also make this a bit thicker with no toppings as a Focaccia bread. This recipe is from The Unrefined Kitchen which I’ve just found thanks to a bundle of e-books I purchased. I can’t wait to peruse the site when I have more time.

Ingredients

1. 2 cups almond flour
2. 1 cup arrowroot powder (I substituted tapioca flour and it came out fine)
3. 1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
4. 1-1/2 teaspoon salt
5. 1-1/2 teaspoon oregano
6. 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
7. 3 eggs
8. 1/2 cup almond milk

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425ºF.
2. Grease a round pizza pan (no holes) or cookie sheet. (She used a 15″ round baking stone.)
3. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk to blend together.
4. Add eggs and almond milk to the dry ingredients. Mix well. (The batter will be runny-not like typical pizza dough.)
5. Use a spatula to spread batter onto greased pan.
6. Bake crust in preheated oven 8-12 minutes.
7. Remove crust from oven and top with sauce and desired toppings.
8. Bake for another 10-15 minutes.

Direct link: http://www.unrefinedkitchen.com/2012/04/14/pizza-crust-primalpaleo/

Paleo Thanksgiving Sweet Potato Gratin

The official name of this is printed above, but my name for it is “Heaven on a Plate”. Everyone that has tried this has agreed with me, so maybe I should write Juli at paleomg.com and suggest she change the name. I think she would totally go for it. Anyway, this is another one of my absolute favorite vegetable recipes. It does take some time, so be patient; it is well worth the wait.

Ingredients

1. 2 sweet potatoes, sliced thin (best way is to use a food processor or mandoline type slicer)
2. 1 yellow onion, sliced thin (see above for best way to slice this also)
3. 1/4 cup almond meal
4. 1 can coconut milk
5. 4 tablespoons coconut butter
6. 4 tablespoons almond butter
7. 2 tablespoons agave (or honey)
8. 1 teaspoon garlic powder
9. 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
10. Salt and pepper, to taste
11. Enough bacon to cover the top OR cook and put inside

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 375ºF.
2. Grease a 9×13 baking dish with whatever kind of fat you’d like. (Her note is that she used bacon fat because she is incredibly intelligent but you can do what you want.)
3. Thinly slice your sweet potatoes and onions.
4. Now you’re going to start the layering process. Start layering the sweet potatoes in lines so you can’t see the bottom of the dish. Then layer with a little onion and a little almond meal. No need to pile it on, you’ll have many layers to go.
5. Keep on layering until all your sweet potatoes are gone.
6. Now make the saucey sauce. Pull out a saucepan and put over medium heat.
7. Add your coconut milk, coconut butter, almond butter, agave (or honey), and spices to the saucepan and stir until the coconut butter and almond butter have cooked. Don’t boil. We don’t need caramel.
8. Once everything is mixed together, pour the mixture over the sweet potato layers. Then top off everything with a little bit more almond meal.
9. Cover the rest of the dish with strips of bacon (unless you chopped and cooked it to add into your gratin).
10. Cover your baking dish with aluminum foil and put in the oven for around 30 minutes.
11. Once the 30 minutes are up, pull out the dish, remove the aluminum foil, and put the dish under the broiler for about 3-5 minutes, or until bacon is nice and crispy (or however you like yours).
12. Let cool for 10 minuts or so then dig in. (Seriously, this is another one to let cool the whole 10 minutes unless you want to burn your taste buds right off.)

Direct link: http://paleomg.com/paleo-thanksgiving-sweet-potato-gratin/

Sweet Potato Chips

This is another one of my favorite quick vegetable dishes from Paleomg.com. I make these for lunch a lot, especially when I am craving some kind of chips. The easiest way to slice these is in a food processor, but you can also use a mandolin slicer or a knife & your muscles.

Prep time: 10 minutes; Cook time: 20 minutes

Serves 4+

Ingredients

1. 4 sweet potatoes (try to grab skinny ones)
2. 2-3 tablespoons coconut oil
3. Salt, to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 400ºF.
2. Cut your sweet potatoes thin, about the thickness of a silver dollar or maybe a little thicker.
3. Put some parchment paper down on a cooking sheet.
4. Place sweet potato rounds on the parchment paper.
5. Melt coconut oil and use a pastry/cooking brush to paint some coconut oil on top of each sweet potato round.
6. Sprinkle salt on top.
7. Place in the oven to bake for around 8-10 minutes.
8. Flip sweet potatoes over and bake for another 5 minutes or until edges are brown and have curled up a bit.
9. Let cool.

Direct link: http://paleomg.com/superbowl-snacks-sweet-potato-chips/

Spicy Parsnip Wedges

The first time I tried these, I sat them down in front of some friends that were over for a BBQ, came back 5 minutes later and they were gone; I mean, to the last crumb. There weren’t that many, so since then, I’ve doubled the recipe if we have anyone else over for dinner. This recipe came from FastPaleo.com which has lots and lots and lots of recipes. You can get lost in there for weeks on end. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Cooking time: 20 minutes; Serves: 2 (or maybe only 1 – just sayin’)

Ingredients

1. 3 large parsnips, peeled and cut into wedges (this is one vegetable that I always peel because they taste “woody” to me if I don’t)
2. 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3. 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4. 1 clove garlic, minced
5. 1/2 teaspoon cumin
6. 1 teaspoon paprika
7. 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (be sure and look at the label before adding because it looks exactly like paprika from the back, trust me)
8. 3 tablespoons coconut oil

Instructions

1. Put the wedges in a bowl, pour over the coconut oil and stir until they are well coated.
2. Sprinkle over the rest of the ingredients and give it a final stir. (Instead of those two steps, I combine the spices & oil then pour it over the parsnips in a recloseable baggie and then kind of smash them around so they get coated well).
3. Transfer to a greased or lined baking tray. (Parchment paper is your friend here.)
4. Bake at 400ºF for 25-30 minutes until they are soft and nicely golden.

My Variation

I do 1/2 & 1/2 of parsnips and carrots. They take about the same time to bake & are really good together.

Direct link: http://fastpaleo.com/spicy-parsnip-wedges/

Middle Eastern Chicken Wings

These are really good and super easy to make. We actually use chicken thighs instead of wings (more meat!) and bake them in the oven instead of on the grill. This recipe comes from Ruth’s Real Food (see direct link at the bottom of this post).

Ingredients

1. 10 chicken wings (we use about 6 chicken thighs instead)
2. 2 tablespoons olive oil
3. 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
4. 1 teaspoon ground cumin
5. 1 teaspoon ground curry
6. 1/2 teaspoon salt
7. Cayenne pepper to taste (optional)

Instructions

1. Pour the olive oil into a large bowl.
2. Add all the spices and mix to make a paste.
3. Don’t make it too thick, though. It’ll have to coat all the wings (or thighs). Add olive oil if needed.
4. Add the wings and mix.
5. Spread the wings on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil for easy clean-up.
6. Grill for about 15 minutes on one side until crispy, then turn and grill for another 10 minutes on the other side. (Her note is that she likes them really well done, almost burnt, so grill them to the crispiness you prefer.) We just bake them in a 350ºF oven until they are done. Yummy!

Direct link: http://www.ruthsrealfood.com/2011/07/middle-eastern-chicken-wings.html

Grain Free Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Need a dessert in a hurry that no one will imagine is grain free and that everyone will ask for seconds? Then make this coffee cake. This recipe comes from cleaneatsinthezoo.com, I don’t know how this lady does it with 5 (count them FIVE) small children and a husband, but she comes up with this most amazing food that all of her kids and her husband likes. Now, go like her!

Ingredients

1. 5 cups almond flour
2. 1/2 teaspoon salt
3. 1 teaspoon baking soda
4. 1 tablespoon cinnamon
5. 3 eggs
6. 1 cup refrigerated, canned coconut milk (make sure it’s stirred up)
7. 1 cup pure maple syrup

For the Swirl

1. 3 tablespoons cinnamon
2. 5 tablespoons pure maple syrup
3. 3 tablespoons coconut oil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF and grease a 9 x 13 pan with coconut oil. 
2. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, coconut milk and 1 cup maple syrup. Add to dry ingredients and stir until combined.
4. Pour into greased pan (it will be thick and may need to be spread into the pan).
5. In a small bowl, heat together the cinnamon, maple syrup and coconut oil until warm.
6. Spoon over cake mixture and then take a butter knife and “swirl” the swirl mixture through the cake (going in a up-and-down motion).
7. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
8. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving (trust me on this, let it cool the whole 10 minutes, that swirl mixture is like volcanic lava when you first take this out of the oven)

Direct link: http://cleaneatsinthezoo.com/index/2012/08/11/grain-free-cinnamon-coffee-cake/

Grain-Free Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Granola Bar Recipe

Boy, that title is a mouthful isn’t it? But, that’s how it originally appeared, so I’m keeping it. This is from joyfulabode.com, a Navy wife & mom who cooks grain-free. She has pictures of how a recipe should look at each stage, which I find very helpful. The direct link is posted at the bottom of this post.

Ingredients

1. 2.5 cups assorted nuts & seeds
2. 1 cup dried fruit
3. 2 cups shredded coconut (unsweetened – but I didn’t have to tell you that, right?)
4. 1/4 cup coconut oil
5. 1/2 cup honey (this is a little sweet for me, so next time I make these, I’m going to try 1/4 cup)
6. Splash of vanilla extract (or three)
7. 1/2 teaspoon salt
8. Generous sprinkle of cinnamon
9. Some more cinnamon (a woman after my own heart!)

Instructions

1. Roughly chop 1 cup of the nuts and seeds. Place in a bowl (the largest bowl you own).
2. Use your food processor to pulse the other 1.5 cups of nuts and seeds into a finer “chop”. Add to the bowl. (If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a coffee/spice grinder or a hand chopper).
3. Add your fruit.
4. Stir in the dried coconut.
5. In a saucepan over medium-low heat, combine oil, honey, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon. Cook until the mixture bubbles, then pour over the fruit/nut mixture.
6. Stir to combine completely.
7. Press your mixture into a parchment-lined pan of some sort. Press HARD (and she’s not kidding).
8. Cool 2-3 hours, then remove from the pan & cut into bars.

These are my favorite “granola” bars or non-granola bars as the case may be. They are a little crumbly, but they are really great for a quick breakfast bar or snack.

Direct link: http://www.joyfulabode.com/2010/09/12/grain-free-granola-bars/

Paleo Stuffed Peppers

I was just thinking in the shower (why is it I do my best thinking there and then when I get out, it’s like “what was I just thinking?”); anyway, I don’t have a good recipe (surprise!) for Paleo Stuffed Peppers so I’m trying to come up with one in my head. Here is what I have so far:

Ingredients

1. 1/2 lb hamburger meat (80/20 mix)
2. 1/2 lb ground sausage
3. 1-2 eggs for binding
4. Some grated carrots (maybe 1/2 – 1 cup)
5. Chopped onion
6. Chopped bell pepper
7. Almond flour (start with about 1/4 – 1/2 cup)
8. Salt, pepper & seasonings to taste
9. Oh, and some pizza sauce I made the other night for a zing on top maybe

Instructions

1. Mix the meats together in a big bowl with some seasonings (salt, pepper, cajun seasoning, garlic powder, etc.)
2. Saute the onions, bell pepper & carrots in a little olive oil or coconut oil until almost done, let cool
3. Mix the sautéed veggies in with the meat, add the eggs & almond flour until it feels right (almost like a meatloaf I’m thinking)
4. Stuff the peppers, add some of the sauce on top & bake at 350º until done (you may want to preheat your oven as step #1)

Sounds like it should turn out ok, right? I’m going to try them tonight & I’ll let you know how they taste (unless they are really bad, then I’ll just delete this whole post – ha!).

No link – just out of my head.

 

Update

These turned out really good! I did not use chopped bell pepper inside since we only had 4 peppers left for stuffing and I didn’t saute the onions, just put them in raw & they cooked with no problem. I used 1/2 lb each of the meats and a little over 1/4 cup of almond flour with 2 eggs. The grated carrots in there went well with them. They gave the stuffing some bulk & chewiness. I used 4 regular carrots that were pretty thin. And I added some of the pizza sauce (a little over 1/2 cup) into the meat, then added a dollop on top after cooking the peppers for 45 min. Before putting the peppers into the oven, I poured about a cup of water into the bottom of the corning ware pot so the bottoms didn’t burn. I totally forgot my seasonings, but just added a little salt and pepper at the table & that was fine.