Chocolate Paleo Cake

I didn't get a better picture of this before it was no longer in any condition to be photographed. I will warn you, leaving this cake out on the counter with a knife is DANGEROUS. 

Chocolate Paleo Cake:

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/4 cup almond flour
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• coconut oil

Melt chocolate over low heat, slowly adding coconut milk. Once melted, transfer to a mixing bowl and add eggs. Add in dry ingredients, including shredded coconut and mix well.  Sprinkle almonds on top and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

A Night of Stolen Recipes

Dear blog: I'm sorry for neglecting you. Love, Brittany. P.S. Sorry readers who have come to rely on me for kitchen inspiration.

I hope this massive post of recipes will make up for my lack of posting, which has been a result of an acute hip flexor injury and a few stressful weeks at work.  Luckily my best friend and I both managed to carve out an evening to spend in the kitchen. Lots of laughs and yummy noises came from my kitchen that evening. All three recipes were stolen from other blogs, which I will give ample blog cred to below. Although bringing creativity into food is something I love, after a long few weeks it was nice to follow instructions without much thinking. On top of that, these recipes were actually fairly simple and yielded delicious food (with leftovers, score!)

Paleo Beef Stew:

Recipe: http://paleodietlifestyle.com/hearty-beef-stew/

Our additions: We added lots of fresh herbs and a couple tablespoons of arrow root powder at the end of cooking time to thicken it up.

Fall Harvest Salad with Warm Maple Bacon Vinaigrette:

Recipe: http://www.simplyscratch.com/2012/10/fall-harvest-salad-with-warm-maple-bacon-dressing.html

We followed this recipe exactly and it was AMAZING. The dressing doesn't keep, so plan accordingly.

Pumpkin Bars:

Recipe: http://www.spoonfulofsugarfree.com/2011/12/01/grain-free-pumpkin-bars-with-creamy-frosting/

Our additions: We added maple syrup because the batter isn't very sweet as written. We also didn't plan ahead by putting the coconut milk in the fridge, so we beat the thick top half of a can of coconut cream for 8-10 minutes until it reached desired consistency.

Rosemary Dijon Chops

Rosemary Dijon Chops:

Ingredients:

• 1 lb butterfly pork chops
• 2 tablespoons raw honey
• 3 tablespoons stone ground Dijon mustard
• fresh rosemary
• coconut oil

Pat pork chops dry with a paper towel. Mix honey, mustard, and rosemary in a bowl adding a dash of salt if you choose. Heat a skillet with coconut oil on medium heat. Brush mixture onto chops immediately before frying in coconut oil. Cook about 3 minutes each side. 

Burgers, Two Ways.

Paleo friendly burger options two ways! 

Avocado Sliders:

Ingredients:

• 1 lb grass fed beef
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons almond flour
• salt and pepper
• 2 avocados
• garlic

Mix beef, egg, almond flour, and salt and pepper in a bowl. Mix ripe avocados and minimal garlic in another bowl. Form beef into 16 flat patties, spooning avocado mixture into the center of 8. Seal the patties together by pinching around the edges. Broil on a foil lined baking sheet 10-15 minutes, flipping halfway through cooking time. 


Kale Turkey Burgers:

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon coconut flour
• salt and pepper
• 3 cups kale
• 1 tablespoon chopped shallots
• 1/2 onion
• 2 tablespoons garlic
• 3/4 cup chopped mushrooms
• coconut oil

Saute onion, garlic, and shallots in coconut oil- low heat 5 minutes. Add kale and mushrooms and saute another 5 minutes. Mix ground turkey, egg, coconut flour, and salt and pepper. Form into 8 flat patties, spooning the cooled kale mixture onto 4 of the patties, sealing them off with the other four. Bake at 375 on a foil lined baking sheet 20 minutes, flipping halfway through cooking time.

Basil Steak Stir Fry with Avocado Puree

This is awesome with the avocado puree for dinner, but the leftovers made for a great scramble the next day. Scramble with eggs or kale (or both). Enjoy!

Basil Steak Stir Fry with Avocado Puree:

Ingredients:

• 1 lb steak
• 1 red pepper
• 1 yellow pepper
• 2 cups mushrooms
• 1 white onion
• 1/8-1/4 cup fresh chopped basil
• 1 avocado
• 2 tablespoons garlic
• 2 tsp lime juice

Cook steak however you want. Saute all chopped veggies in oil (coconut or olive oil), and add basil. Add chopped steak and saute everything together for about a minute. For the puree: pulse avocado, garlic, and lime juice in a food processor, 4-5 pulses or until desired consistency. 

Fluffy Cookies

I'm calling these fluffy cookies because my job requires a lot of brain cells and I wasn't able to come up with a more creative name. These are really good, and probably the fluffiest paleo cookies I've managed to produce. Definitely dinner party material people.

Fluffy Cookies:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond butter
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
• 1 tablespoon raw honey
• 1/2 cup Enjoy Life Chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Mix almond butter, eggs, and vanilla, then add baking soda, honey, and coconut sugar. Fold in coconut flakes, chocolate chips, and walnuts. Bake at 350 degrees for ten minutes. Makes 12 cookies, so share with a buddy! 

Spinach Stuffed and Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin

So I really want a fancy digital camera.. and a nice big set of white square dishes. I think it would really improve the quality of my food photos. However that's an investment of several hundred dollars and I would rather go to CrossFit for the next few months, so until my photographic talents are discovered by Canon or someone else with a lot of money it's just me and my IPhone camera.  I think photography would be a super fun hobby; my Facebook friends would probably be pumped to see even more photos of my two neurotic dogs :-) Anyway, about the food I cooked this week. Pork wrapped in more pork. Here it is!

Spinach Stuffed and Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin:

 
Ingredients:

• 2 small pork loins
• 1 package nitrate free bacon
• 2 cups frozen spinach
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and pepper

Thaw spinach, then saute in olive oil. Lightly salt the pork loins. Cut a slit in each, and stuff with spinach and garlic mix, then wrap bacon around each (pictured below)

Grind fresh pepper over each bacon wrapped pork loin. Put in baking dish, bake at 375 for 50-60 minutes.