Bacon and Onion Mini Quiche

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These little convenient egg quiches have been around for a long time.  I’ve never made any for the blog until now!  This is a quick and easy, grab and go breakfast for busy folks (or those who like a few extra minutes of sleep, like me!)  They are extremely versatile and can be changed up to fit whatever you have on hand.  Don’t make it too complicated.  I was running low on veggies this weekend, but I always have a couple things, onions, garlic, and some type of herb.  So…that’s what I used! Make enough on Sunday that you can grab them everyday for breakfast.  No more hungry mornings.

Bacon and Onion Mini Quiche

Ingredients:

  • 8 eggs
  • 2 strips bacon, chopped and crisped up
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 shallot, finely diced
  • 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk
  • handful of parsley, chopped
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F.  Saute your bacon pieces into lardons.  Whisk the coconut milk and eggs together.  Then add all the other ingredients.  Pour mixture into 12 greased or lined muffin tins (I use silicon baking cups for easy removal!) Bake for 12 minutes or until the center is not giggly anymore.  Let cool and store in an airtight container in the fridge for the week!

Cinnamon Rolls (grain-free, dairy-free, nut-free)

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I have tried several versions of cinnamon rolls that use no wheat in the past, and I always came out with a disappointing , somewhat dry, fake cinnamon roll.  If it isn’t gonna taste like the real deal, then don’t spend the effort!  These are nice for a couple reasons, they are gooey and moist, they taste sweet and cinnamon-y, the dough rolled up easily, and they aren’t crazy expensive to make! These would be a great option for Easter Sunday morning!

The only warning I will give you is that there is some “rest time” involved.  So be prepared to let the dough chill while you enjoy some coffee, let them bake for more than 15 minutes, and put your mind somewhere else while you are letting them cool!  You could make them ahead of time and just pop them in the oven if you feel like doing all the work the night before!

Cinnamon Rolls (adapted from Detoxinista)

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups arrowroot powder
  • 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp coconut flour, sifted
  • 1/2 cup grassfed butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup coconut sugar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 eggs, whisked
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Filling:

  • 1/3 cup coconut sugar
  • cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix all the dough ingredients together until there are no clumps.  Place the dough in the fridge for 15-20 minutes to chill.

Dump the dough onto a piece of parchment paper and cover with another sheet of parchment paper.  Use a rolling pin (or a bottle of wine) to roll out the dough to an 8×11 ish rectangle.  Use a knife to cut off round edges and just pat the dough into gaps where you may need to make a corner.  Sprinkle the 1/3 cup coconut sugar on the dough and sprinkle a generous amount of cinnamon on the entire thing.  Using the edge of the parchment paper, begin to the roll the dough into a log from the end that is shorter.  Use a sharp knife to slice your log into 6-7 rolls, and transfer them onto a parchment lined round pan.

IMG_1024 This is what my dough looked like before cooking it.

(I used the pampered chef baking stone dome to cover mine)  Use aluminum foil to create a tent over the rolls. AKA just make sure the steam will stay in without anything laying on top of the rolls. Bake the rolls for 20 minutes then remove the cover and bake for another 7 until the outside of the roll have a firmness to them.

Cool for 10 minutes.

Serve with a tab of grassfed butter on top!

*Eat these warm or they won’t be as delicious.  That means right after you make them or heat them up.

*I tried a few different forms of storage and tried them all!  On the counter, in the fridge, and in the freezer.  All work great!  I just made sure to cover them in the oven at 350F for about 8-10 minutes when I reheated them so they didn’t lose too much moisture.  I do not use microwaves, but if you try that method, let us know how it turns out!

 

Carrot muff-a-cake

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I love carrot cake. I love the typical cream cheese frosting too because it is rich, creamy, and not too sweet. However, I usually only have cream cheese once a year…homemade cheesecake on my birthday! However, that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the same flavors throughout the year.

What’s the different between a muffin and a cupcake? Typically it’s the sweetness and frosting. This carrot cake is not super sweet. So, it can be used as a morning muffin or you can up the sweetness and frost it in order to go the cupcake route.

Carrot cake muffins:

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups almond flour
  • 1/4 cup arrowroot powder (or tapioca)
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp cardamom
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • Zest of one lemon
  • 1 1/2 cup grated carrots
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven at 350F.

Whisk together dry ingredients.

Whisk together the olive oil, eggs, vanilla, syrup. Once well combined, add the carrots, walnuts, and lemon zest.

Combine the dry and wet ingredients. Distribute among 12 silicon muffin liners. Bake for 18 minutes or until set. Let cool completely before frosting.

Homemade Vanilla Extract

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I pretty much feel like I’m a vanilla expert at this point.  Ok, so that was a joke.  However, let me save you some time with my experiences.  A couple years ago, I did a “homemade month” where I decided I was going to make everything that I felt like I spent too much money on to see if it was worth the hassle.  I kept lots of those things in my routine!  Vanilla was one of them.  The only annoying thing about making vanilla is having to wait a few months to use it.  That means forethought and patience.  However, you SAVE SO MUCH MONEY!  My first batch I did with vodka.  It tasted like vanilla but not the depth of flavor that I was used to.  So, my next batch I did with bourbon.  This is the way to go.  So rich, bold, and perfect! I was also doing this in a mason jar before.  That is sort of a disaster because it gets caught up around the rim and sometimes sticks.  I found these cute flip top bottles at Meijer for nothin’.  So I decided this go round I would make my vanilla in this.

Ingredients:

  • 5 vanilla beans
  • 12 oz bourbon

Shake the bottle every few days for a couple months.

I used these ratios but really this is open to interpretation.  Use as many or as little as you want in order to get the intensity of vanilla flavor you want.  Penzey’s makes a double strength vanilla that you can use at half the dose for the same flavor or you can up your vanilla flavor by using the double strength in the same quantity the recipe calls for.  All this vanilla is, is double the amount of beans to make the same amount of extract.  Moral of the story, they more beans you add, the stronger the vanilla will be.

Pesto and Caramelized Onion Pizza

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I have posted a pizza recipe before with a different crust.  All crust that is grain-free has a different texture.  So, in my opinion, you are just searching for the most desirable characteristic for your taste.  If you like it thin, crispy, with a slight chew, then this may be your crust.  I don’t make pizza often, but if you do, then here’s my recommendation, find 4 different recipes and every Friday night for a month, make a new one and find out which one your family likes best!  I will say this one is nice because you can pick it up and eat it just like pizza, and not all grain-free options can say that.

I did not want to leave the house, and that forced me to look through what I had.  I settled on basil pesto as the sauce because I had that in the freezer from summer.  I also had three onions and couldn’t resist caramelizing them as my topping addition.  That’s it.  No cheese, no meat, and I didn’t miss them either.  You could easily use whatever topping you’d like though, so play with them!

Pizza Crust (adapted from Ancestral Table)

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups tapioca flour
  • 1/4 cup canned coconut milk
  • 2 Tbsp grassfed butter
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • pinch of white pepper
  • 1 egg, beaten

Directions:

Preheat oven to 500F. On the stovetop, over medium-low heat add the coconut milk, butter, and salt.  Stir to combine and let it heat until it just starts to boil.  Add the mixture into a bowl with the tapioca starch.  Mix in the oregano and white pepper.  Let rest for a few minutes to lower the temp of the mixture.  Then add the egg.  Use your hands to knead the dough together.  If it is glue-like, sticky and runny, add more tapioca flour until it forms a workable dough.  Place half the dough on a cast iron skillet, pizza stone, or baking sheet and spread it thin with your finger tips.  Bake in the oven for 8 minutes.  Get the pizza out, add the toppings and bake for another 10 minutes.

 

Nutty Chocolate Bars

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There have been a lot of takes on the peanut butter bar with chocolate.  I am all about ease and therefore, “peanut butter” cups seems a little too much work…although if I’m honest, probably no more work than these little bars of goodness.  There is just something nice about pouring it all into a pan and pulling it out on parchment paper!  These bars are rich.  The texture is slightly dense, crunchy, fudgy.  They melt in your mouth, and this is one recipe that is addicting but not in the “I could eat 100” kinda way because of the richness. My palate tends to be sensitive to how sugary something is, so if you are like me, you could easily decrease the amount of sugar in this recipe and get the same satisfaction! This is also one that can stand a TON of interpretation without issue.  Use the nuts, nut butters, and chocolate you have on hand.

Nutty Chocolate Bars

Ingredients:

  • 1 stick grassfed butter
  • 1/2 cup pecans
  • 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
  • 3/4 cup coconut sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup nut butter (I used my own homemade almond/sunbutter)
  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips
  • 1 Tbsp of butter

Directions:

Start melting the butter over low heat in a sauce pan.  While that is melting, put the nuts and the coconut sugar in a food processor and pulse until grainy.  Once the butter is melted, pour the nuts and sugar mixture into the butter, and add the salt, vanilla, and nut butter.  Stir until thoroughly incorporated. Place parchment paper in an 8×8 dish and pour the mixture into the pan.  Let it sit in the freezer for an hour or so until solidly set.  Once set, melt the chocolate chips and add a TBSP of butter.  Pour the chocolate over the set nutty bars and tilt the pan until the chocolate is all across the top.  Put in the fridge to set for 15 minutes or so.  Cut into squares and serve!

Fennel and Tomato Pork Chops

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This dish represents a lot of cooking technique that everyone should learn.  Once you learn some basics, you can sub any protein, and veggies, and any spices to suit your palate. I happen to also love this dish because it incorporates fennel, which most people have never tried.  I’m a big proponent of trying new things, so if you have never tried it, here’s your fool-proof chance! If you have a big family, just multiply the recipe for your needs.

Searing the meat gives nice carmelization which lends tons of flavor.  Deglazing the pain picks up all those flavors and let the deglazing liquid reduce and intensify in flavor.  Add herbs is the key to making a dish packed full of flavor and looking pretty!  You eat with you eyes first.  Add chopped parsley to the top of anything and it instantly looks more appetizing!

Fennel and Tomato Pork Chops

Ingredients:

  • 2 pork chops
  • 1 bulb fennel plus the fronds (which are the top green tassle-like things), sliced
  • 1 can tomatoes
  • 1 shallot, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup dry red wine
  • 1/2 cup parsley, chopped
  • zest from one lemon
  • salt and pepper

Directions:

Over high heat, melt oil until hot.  Season both sides of the pork chops generously with salt and pepper.  When the oil is hot, sear both sides of the chops until a nice brown crust forms (about 2 minutes each side). Once seared, remove the chops from the pan and put in the fennel, shallots, and half the parsley.  Saute for 5 minutes.  Deglaze the pan by pouring in your wine and scraping the brown bits from the bottom.  Add the tomatoes and stir.  Nestle back in the pork chops into sauce and reduce heat to medium.  Let cook for another 12-15 minutes.  Take out the pork chops and add in the remaining parsley, lemon zest, and another generous seasoning of salt and pepper.  Serve!

 

Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

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I have a standard chocolate chip cookie recipe that I use as my go-to, but every once in awhile, you gotta kick it up a notch.  I have had an obsession with this chocolate bar that is made with grassfed browned butter.  When I get obsessed with a flavor profile, I tend to use it a lot in my own baking and cooking.  That’s how these were born! Browned butter gives these cookies a toffee-like flavor.  This is a crispy cookie because it has no egg or leavening agents.  So, it kind of reminds me of a perfect coffee accompaniment.  Toffee like, crispy cookie….makes you wanna go “mmmm.”  Just dated myself…oh well.

Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups almond flour
  • 1 cup arrowroot powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup browned grassfed butter
  • 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a saucepan on the stove, heat over medium heat and put the butter in.  Break the butter up in the pan into smaller chunks for even melting.  As it begins to heat up, the milk solids will separate and it will begin to foam slightly.  Keep swirling the pan or stirring.  Keep a close eye.  As soon as the butter begins to turn to an amber color, take it off the heat.

Mix the almond flour, arrowroot, and salt together in a bowl.

Pour the browned butter into the dry ingredients.  Add the maple syrup and vanilla.  Mix together until a ball of dough forms. Fold in the chocolate chips.  On a lined cookie sheet, put TBSP drops of dough on the sheet and press down slightly.  These do not spread, so make sure you flatten them some. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the cookie just begins to brown on the edges.

 

Lemon Thumbprint Cookies

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Not a fan of chocolate?  Have no fear, these lemon thumbprint cookies are just the right sub!  I like lemon dessert, but you could easily make them blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, etc! You can just use preserves if you would like to bypass the step of making your own!  You could also go more traditional with a sweeter filling that is frosting-like.  Possibilities are endless! I used my lemon curd recipe for the middle.  The cookie is like a sugar cookie meets shortbread. Not too sweet, holds together nicely, but isn’t overwhelming in flavor so it makes a good carrier for the flavor in the thumbprint.

Thumbprint Cookie

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups almond flour
  • 1 cup arrowroot powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/3 cup pure maple syrup or honey
  • 1/4 cup melted grassfed butter

Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine the dry ingredients. Then add the wet ingredients until you get a ball of dough.  Form them into spall golf balls and flatten them a bit.  Use your thumb to put an indent in the center.  Place just enough filling to fill the center!  Bake for 20 minutes.  Let cool before eating. ;)

Venison Backstrap with a Blueberry Sauce

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If your freezer looks like mine, you’ve got deer meat and frozen blueberries piled up!  Game meat like deer, elk, bear, etc. all has a flavor that works really well with fruit, especially berries.  You could make this recipe without the blueberries very easily and it would still taste amazing!  I just thought we could turn it up a notch for those with a hunting hubby around Valentine’s Day!

I wanted to take a moment to mention why game meat might be a really good addition to your diet.  Reason number one, it was wild and foraged for food in an “almost” natural habitat.  For the most part that means it eats what it is supposed to as opposed to a human forcing it to eat things that make it sick.  For deer, that means they eat lots of leaves…probably some of our corn fields too…and run around all day!  Happy and healthy.  Their meat is friendly (no one wants them hit by cars!), lean because of all the activity, and much higher in omega 3 fatty acids than any farm raised animal.  It is often cheaper too because someone hunted it and butchered it without there being a farm or a middleman grocer.

The backstrap is essentially the part that runs down the back that if we cut it into pieces, we would be cutting it into filets.  So, this meat is lean, likes a high heat sear, and should be served medium rare.

Venison

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb venison backstrap
  • salt and pepper
  • dried porcini mushrooms, ground up
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 tsp dried thyme
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup blueberries
  • 2 tbsp grassfed butter

Preheat oven to 400F.

Dry the meat off and cover it generously with salt, pepper, and dried porcini mushrooms that you ground up.  You could leave out the mushrooms but you better replace that flavor with something else!

Over high heat, in a cast iron skillet, place a few tablespoons of saturated fat in the pan (coconut oil, ghee, bacon grease, tallow, etc.) When the skillet sizzles when you flick water at it, sear the meat on all sides for 2 minutes each or until it has a nice crust on it.

Once seared, place in the oven for about 20 minutes.

Take the meat out and put it aside to rest under a tin foil tent. This will ensure the juices go back into the meat.

Throw 2 cloves of garlic minced into the pan over medium high heat along with a couple tsp of dried thyme.  Saute for about 30 seconds and then pour a couple splashes of balsamic vinegar in the pan.  Then pour about 1/2 cup of chicken stock into the pan and stir around until all the brown bits are off the bottom.  Throw in a few handfuls of blueberries and let simmer and reduce for about 8-10 minutes.  It will get a thicker, more concentrated flavor.  When the time is almost up, pour any juices left under the meat into the pan.  Take the pan off the heat, and melt 2 Tbsp of butter to get a nice, rounded, silky sauce.  Serve!