When I find an item at a restaurant that I love, I order it just about every time i go. Especially when I am in a hurry, which is practically always. But for some reason, restaurants seem to love to discontinue my favorite menu item. …
Primal Shortcut Baked Beans
This past Memorial Day, my family got together, as we do for every occasion, for a big ol pot luck supper. We had our traditional smoked pork butt with all the fixins. I don’t know what quite goes better with barbeque pork than….barbeque baked beans. True, legumes are not a favorite among the paleo peeps, but every once in a while you just have to indulge, ya know? These particular baked beans are still gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and Primal friendly. The best part is, they only take 30 minutes to make!
Baked Beans
serves 16
Ingredients:
- 2 16oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 16oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 16oz can navy beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/4 C paleo ketchup
- 1 TB instant coffee
- 1 TB coconut aminos
- 3 TB molasses
- 3 TB cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp mustard
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 4 strips bacon
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350
- Pour beans into a baking dish and set aside
- Add remaining ingredients to a small sauce pan over medium heat and stir until combined.
- Add salt to taste.
- Remove from heat and pour over beans.
- Top with bacon and cook 20 minutes.
Sweet and Spicy Pickled Onions and Peppers
This sweet and spicy combination is delicious spooned over my Slow Cooker Pulled Pork. Brine the onions and peppers when you put your roast in the slow cooker, and they will be ready just in time for supper. The longer they sit, the better the flavor. You may want to make a double batch to enjoy some later!
Sweet and Spicy Pickled Onions and Peppers
Ingredients:
- 1 Vidalia onion, sliced thin
- 3 mini bell peppers, sliced (I used a variety of colors)
- 1 C rice vinegar
- 1/2 C apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 C honey
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
Heat vinegar over medium-high in a small saucepan. Add honey and stir until dissolved. Toss together onions and peppers, and top with red pepper and vinegar mixture. Cover and chill for 6 hours.
Crispy Onion Straws
These crispy litte fellas made the perfect topping for my BBQ loaded sweet potatoes. Well…..what was left of them, after my husband ate half the batch 😉
I see a great future in store for this recipe. Obviously, they make an awesome appetizer. I’m also thinking a green bean casserole is in order. Oh boy, this will be fun.
I see a great future in store for this recipe. Obviously, they make an awesome appetizer. I’m also thinking a green bean casserole is in order. Oh boy, this will be fun.
Crispy Onion Straws
Ingredients:
- 2 onions, spiralized (if you don’t own a spiral slicer, just cut these into thin onion rings.)
- 1 C almond flour
- 1/2 C tapioca flour
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp paprika
- dash black pepper
- 2 eggs, whisked
- olive or coconut oil for frying
Directions
- In a shallow dish combine almond flour and seasonings.
- In a second dish, add tapioca flour, and in a third dish add eggs.
- Dip onions into eggs, then into tapioca flour, then into almond flour mixture. (in batches)
- Cover the bottom of a skillet with oil and heat to medium-high.
- Fry onions in batches for 2-3 minutes per side.
- Drain on paper towels, and sprinkle with just a tiny bit of salt.
Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Mashed Potatoes. My favorite food in the entire world. Ask any member of my family. I request mashed potatoes for every birthday dinner, every holiday, and pretty much any occasion that I think they would be yummy with whatever else we are eating. I have been known to just eat an entire bowl of mashed potatoes for dinner. Like I said. Favorite. Food. EVER.
So you can bet your bottom that I have perfected my own recipe for the creamiest most de-dang-licious mashed potatoes you will ever eat.
This recipe is considered “primal” because of the use of dairy, however substitutes will be listed for a dairy-free version.
Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Serves 2
Ingredients:
- 4 small-medium potatoes, peeled and cut in half
- 6 TB butter [sub: ghee]
- 1/2 C sour cream [sub: coconut kefir, or coconut cream*]
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
*if you plan ahead of time, Paleo Cupboard has an awesome recipe for Paleo Sour Cream!
Directions:
- Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water.
- Turn heat to medium-high and bring to a boil.
- Boil for about 8-10 minutes, until easily pierced with a fork.
- Drain potatoes and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- Add butter and sour cream, and blend with hand mixer on high until smooth.
- Mix in salt and pepper and serve.
Are potatoes paleo?
I will be the first to tell you that I am not a doctor, nor a nutritionist. I am not qualified to tell you what you may and may not eat.
That said, I will refer you to these articles written by those more qualified than myself:
http://www.primalpalate.com/paleo-blog/are-potatoes-paleo/
http://ancestralchef.com/why-arent-potatoes-paleo/
So there you have it. Mashed taters are one food I am very thankful to not have to give up!
Bacon and Green Beans
These yummy greens are so quick and easy. I am sure you will all agree that bacon makes everything better!
Bacon and Green Beans
serves 4
Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb fresh green beans
- 1/3 C bacon
- salt and pepper
Directions:
- Trim ends from green beans and add to a medium saucepan.
- Add about 1/2 inch of water and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to medium low.
- Cut bacon into 1/2 in pieces.
- Drain green beans and remove from pan, set aside.
- Add bacon to pan and brown.
- Return green beans to pan and toss.
- Season with salt and pepper.
Avocado Egg Salad
Thanks to our super-food friend, the avocado, this simple egg salad is extra nutritious, not to mention extra tasty! If you have boiled eggs on hand, it only takes a minute to throw together.
Avocado Egg Salad
Ingredients:
- 8 hard boiled eggs
- 1 1/2 avocados
- 1 TB mustard
- salt and pepper
Directions:
- Remove egg yolks and place in a mixing bowl
- Add avocados and mustard to yolks and blend together until smooth
- Chop egg whites and add to avocado mixture
- Season with salt and pepper, to taste
This recipe is very basic. Feel free to spice things up by adding some dill relish, paprika, chopped onions, etc.
For perfect hard boiled eggs:
Place eggs in a pot and cover with water.Bring to a boil, and remove from heat. Let them sit for 12 minutes, and then transfer to ice water.
Squash Potato Tomato Gratin
This beautiful rainbow of veggies can be served as a stunning side dish, or as a meal in itself!
Delicious with or without the cheese, this is a crowd pleaser.
Squash Potato Tomato Gratin
Ingredients:
- 1 zucchini
- 1 yellow squash
- 2 tomatoes
- 4 or 5 red potatoes
- 1/2 onion
- 1/4 C each of parmesan and mozzarella cheese (optional)
- 1 TB olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- thyme
- oregano
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400
- Slice vegetables as thin as you can and arrange all but onions in a baking dish
- top with onions
- drizzle with olive oil and season to taste
- bake for 30 minutes or until edges start to brown
- top with cheese and bake another 10-15 minutes, until cheese is melty
Creamy Cucumber Salad
Pregnancy and Pickles. They go hand in hand. I am absolutely addicted to my mother’s recipe. I could seriously sit down and eat this whole bowl…….somebody stop me.
I had to do a tiny bit of tweaking in order to make her recipe paleo-friendly. Still absolutely ADDICTING.
I also got to use my brand new spiral slicer that Cowboy bought me for my birthday! I love that you can just twirl away like you would spaghetti, and get a nice giant fork-full of this creamy pickled goodness.
Preggers be warned. You may end up eating the entire bowl.
Creamy Cucumber Salad
Ingredients:
- 3 cucumbers, peeled
- 1 sweet onion, peeled
- 1 C raw dairy cream (or coconut cream)
- 2/3 C apple cider vinegar
- 4 TB honey
- 1 tsp salt
- pepper to taste
Directions:
- Using a spiral slicer, slice cucumbers and onions into long noodles. ( if you do not have a spiral slicer, just cut into thin slices.)
- Combine remaining ingredients and pour over cucumbers.
- Chill until ready to serve.
Warm Cabbage Apple Salad
Warm Cabbage Apple Salad
Ingredients:
– 1/2 head of cabbage
– 2 granny smith apples, peeled and cored
– 1/4 C diced onions
– 4 TB butter or coconut oil
– 2 tsp vinegar
– 1 tsp Dijon mustard
– salt and pepper to taste
Ingredients:
– 1/2 head of cabbage
– 2 granny smith apples, peeled and cored
– 1/4 C diced onions
– 4 TB butter or coconut oil
– 2 tsp vinegar
– 1 tsp Dijon mustard
– salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
– In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter or oil
– Slice cabbage into thin shreds and add to pan, along with onions
– Cook about 5 minutes, until tender, stirring occasionally.
– Slice apples into 1/4 in thick slices and add to pan, along with vinegar and mustard. (or you can use your spiral slicer to make some apple noodles!)
– Reduce heat to medium low, Cover and cook 5-7 minutes until apples are tender, stirring occasionally.
– Season with salt and pepper to taste.
– In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter or oil
– Slice cabbage into thin shreds and add to pan, along with onions
– Cook about 5 minutes, until tender, stirring occasionally.
– Slice apples into 1/4 in thick slices and add to pan, along with vinegar and mustard. (or you can use your spiral slicer to make some apple noodles!)
– Reduce heat to medium low, Cover and cook 5-7 minutes until apples are tender, stirring occasionally.
– Season with salt and pepper to taste.