Morning Glory Muffins

2 1/2 cups almond flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups carrots, peeled and grated
1 large apple, peeled, cored and grated
1 cup shredded coconut
zest of 1 orange
1 cup raisins
3 large eggs
1/2 cup coconut or olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a standard-sized muffin pan.
2. Combine almond flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.  Add carrot, apple, orange zest, coconut and raisins and combine well.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, oil and vanilla extract together.
4. Pour the wet mixture over the dry ingredients and mix very well. The batter will be very thick.
5. Spoon the batter out into muffin pan and place on upper or middle rack of your oven for 40-50 minutes.
6. When a toothpick inserted into the top of a muffin comes out clean, the muffins are done.
7. Cool muffins in the pan for 8-10 minutes and then remove to a rack to finish cooling

Beet and sweet potato fries, and a quick dinner idea

Around our house, we make french fries out of any kind of vegetable. Squash, zucchini, sweet potatoes, and now... beets! I am not normally a beet fan. I think they smell funny, and they turn your pee a shocking pink. But... they make really good fries!

So, here is a simple dinner that we whipped up. In total it took about 30 minutes and is super easy!

First off: The beets and sweets fries:
Skin 1 beet and 1 sweet potato. Slice into french fries. Toss with olive oil, garlic powder, italian seasoning and a sprinkle of chili powder. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes. Make sure to flip with spatula about half way through.

Next up: Cod
We get the bag of frozen cod from Sams Club. We put the pieces in the fridge the night before to thaw them. After you put the fries into the oven, take a large piece of foil, and add 1-2 pieces of cod with some sliced mushrooms, garlic powder, italian seasoning, and some olive oil. Make a pouch out of the foil, and place the pouches on a cookie sheet. Add to the oven about 1/2 way through the cooking of the fries. These take 15-20 minutes to cook. They are done when the fish easily flakes with a fork.

Next up: Broccoli 

We are big fans of broccoli at the Grenell house. It makes a regular appearance. We buy this in bulk at Sams Club too. I think we once bought 3 huge bags of the frozen broccoli at Sams and it lasted us 3 weeks. Yum. Basically, about 10 minutes before the fish and fries are ready, you can start the broccoli. Just put the frozen broccoli in a pan with a little water and steam on the stovetop over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Drain and add to the plate. 

Squash, and a word on food prep:

I added a little mashed squash to the plate. I made this ahead of time, and just microwaved a large spoonful just before plating the rest of the meal. 

Food prep makes eating paleo easy. Basically, part of Sunday's food prep is baking one whole squash in the oven for about 1 hour. Just put it in the oven. Any sort of squash works. I usually use butternut or acorn because they mash up well. They make a nice alternative to mashed potatoes. After you cook the squash, cut it in half to remove the seeds and scoop out the squash. Add the squash to the food processor with some garlic, a tiny bit of chicken stock, and a tablespoon of butter. Puree, and then store in tupperware. I do this with carrots and parsnips too. There is another blog post on this: http://cfppaleo.blogspot.com/2013/01/carrot-and-parsnip-puree.html

Crock Pot Pork with Apples and Veggies

The secret to this is delicious pork, obviously.  I got something called Beeler's Stub Tenders from the local food co-op.  It ends up being sort of a pork stew and it makes your house smell wonderful!

Ingredients:
2 pounds pork tenderloin
2 stalks celery, cut into chunks
1/2 yellow onion, sliced
2 large carrots, cut into chunks
1 large apple, peeled and sliced
1/2 Tbsp tarragon
1/2 Tbsp cinnamon
chicken broth, about 4 cups
salt and pepper to taste

Put all ingredients in a crock pot, just covering everything with chicken broth.  I then salted it pretty generously because the broth was homemade.  Feel free to add other herbs to your liking!  Cook on high 4-5 hours or on low 8-9 hours.

Ginger Roasted Vegetables with Pecans

1. 1 1/2 cups pecans
2. 4 medium carrots (3/4 pound), peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick on the bias
3. 2 large parsnips (1 pound), peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick on the bias
4. 1 medium head cauliflower (2 1/2 pounds), cut into 1-inch florets
5. 1 small butternut squash (2 pounds)—peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch dice
6. 1 pound brussels sprouts, halved
7. 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
8. 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
9. Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
10. 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

1. Preheat the oven to 425°. Spread the pecans in a pie plate and toast until fragrant, about 6 minutes. Let cool.
2. In a large bowl, toss the carrots, parsnips, cauliflower, squash and brussels sprouts with the olive oil and nutmeg and season generously with salt and black pepper. Spread the vegetables on 2 large rimmed baking sheets and roast for 30 minutes, until the vegetables begin to brown. Scatter the pecans and ginger over the vegetables and toss well. Continue to roast the vegetables for 25 minutes longer, until they are tender and golden. Scrape the vegetables into a bowl and serve hot or at room temperature.

Mark Sawyer's Southern Greens

1 bag Southern Greens Blend, washed (mixed turnip, collard, mustard greens- got from Trader Joes)
1 cup bone broth, or chicken stock
1 small diced sweet (vidalia style) onion
1 package of Trader Joe's turkey kielbasa, diced, or 1 package of Trader Joe's Sun Dried Tomato Basil Chicken brats, diced
pinch of salt

Put everything into a ginormous pot. Bring to a simmer, and simmer for about 20 minutes until greens are done and onions are soft. Use a slotted spoon or strainer to get the good stuff out (there will be alot of broth left).

Enjoy

Spinach and sweet potato frittata

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 teaspoons salt - I used Aloha Spice's Pele's Fire Seasoning Salt. If ever in Hanapepe, Kauai, go to their shop! Alohaspice.com
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 sweet potato, thinly sliced
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 10 oz box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and water squeezed out
optional: sliced mushrooms
4 eggs
1 cup almond milk
If going primal, you can add 1/2 cup shredded cheese of choice- we used a Mexican blend and it turned out good.
Non-stick cooking spray- we use olive oil in the Misto: http://www.amazon.com/Misto-Gourmet-Sprayer-Brushed-Aluminum/dp/B00004SPZV

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Put a baking sheet into the oven to preheat.
In a large bowl, combine 1 T. olive oil with 1 tsp. salt, garlic powder, and 1/4 tsp. pepper.
Add the sweet potatoes to the bowl and toss to coat. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, and add the sweet potato slices, making sure they are all in a single layer. Transfer to the oven and bake for 8 minutes.

In the skillet, heat the remaining 2 T. olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 2 minutes. Stir in the garlic, mushrooms (if using them), and spinach, and sauté for another 2 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, almond milk, and remaining salt and pepper. Mix in the cheese, if using, along with the onion and spinach mixture and set aside.

Spray an oven-proof skillet with non-stick cooking spray or olive oil from the Misto. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees. Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven and add them to the skillet in a thin layer covering the bottom of the skillet. Pour in the egg mixture and transfer the skillet to the oven. Bake until the eggs have set, about 30-35 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature, directly from the skillet. Enjoy!

Carrot and Parsnip Puree

This is a great alternative to mashed potatoes. This is also a great recipe to make and put into 2 cup containers for ready made veggies for the week.

Ingredients:
1 pound parsnips, peeled, and diced
1 pound carrots, peeled and diced
1 small onion, diced
8 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup chicken stock... or bone broth - check out my post on bone broth (known as "meat tea" in the Grenell house) - the stuff is awesome, and full of health benefits: http://cfppaleo.blogspot.com/2012/06/bone-broth-so-this-recipe-is-not-fancy.html. Note that any kind of bones work for making stock- I have done combinations of beef, turkey, or chicken. 
seasoned salt
black pepper

In a skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add parsnips, carrots, onions, garlic, and chicken stock. Bring liquid to a boil, cover the skillet, and cook vegetables on low heat for 30 minutes. Add vegetables, a pinch of salt and pepper, and 1 tablespoon of butter to food processor to mash.