Honey Mustard Chicken with Bacon and Mushrooms

Click here for recipe.

Thanksgiving Dinner Menu

This Thanksgiving we're eating a gluten-free, Paleo menu:

Turkey with gravy, of course

Savory Sweet Potatoes with Bacon and Gruyere

Creamed Spinach Souffle

Pecan Pie
 
Cranberry Sauce

Stuffing  I just love stuffing, so I'm very exciting to not be deprived of it this year just because we're eating gluten-free and Paleo!

For dessert, we're having pumpkin custard and brownies.

Grain Free (Shhh! They're Black Beans!) Brownie Recipe

This is my Grain Free (Shhh! They're Black Beans!) Brownie Recipe.  They are AMAZING.

• 2 cups black beans (or 1 can of no salt added)
• 3 beaten eggs
• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil (or melted butter)
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup
• 1/2 cup chopped up bittersweet chocolate
• 1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts -optional

Blend ingredients, except for nuts and chocolate which you fold in at the end. Bake in dish greased with coconut oil at 350 degrees Farenheit for 30 minutes or so.

Making Ketchup

I made this ketchup recipe from Nourishing Kitchen yesterday.  It was unbelievably easy!  We already had the whey from making our own raw milk yogurt - which is also very easy.  We'll see how it turns out in a few days!

Grain-Free Pumpkin Custard

In celebration of fall and feelin' good, I thought I'd share with you this delicious concoction I made regularly in our house.  I started with this recipe from Balanced Bites, but tweaked it to my taste.  We eat it for breakfast!

• 1 c. pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
  1/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/8 tsp. cloves
• pinch salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 c. maple syrup
• 1 c. coconut milk, full fat (almond milk works well, too)
• 1/2 bar cream cheese, at room temperature (optional)

Mix beaten eggs into spices, pumpkin puree, vanilla, maple syrup and coconut milk.  Add cream cheese and blend thoroughly. 


Divide evenly into six ramekins or small Pyrex dishes and place in 9x13" glass baking dish.  Pour boiling water into large dish for water bath.  Bake at 350 for 60 minutes.  Cool, refrigerate and enjoy! 

Coconut Oil Tooth Cleaner

I picked up these sweet little palm-sized jars from Hobby Lobby today.  Then I scraped the bottom of our coconut oil jar and whipped up some delicious tooth cleaner! 

Coconut Oil Tooth Cleaner:
Clove on the left, Orange on the right

We've been testing out all kinds of non-fluoride tooth cleaning products over the past months.  Our favorite is some pricey Neem bark and licorice root toothpaste. 

Yesterday I came across a recipe on Facebook and posted it.  A friend commented with her experiences.  She encouraged me to forget the glycerin, which leaves a coating on the teeth that prevents saliva from doing its job to repair teeth. 

Since I have some cavities that I'd like to get rid of, instead of getting them drilled and filled at the dentist, I was excited to try the recipe!

Here is an estimate of my "recipe":

Tooth Cleaner

1/4 c. Coconut oil

1 heaping tsp. Baking Soda
6 drops essential oil (food grade)

1/2-1 tsp. unrefined Celtic Sea Salt

1 full dropper of liquid Stevia

Directions: add ingredients to your container and blend well. 
Dip your toothbrush into the mixture and brush!

I ordered peppermint and tea tree oil today, as well as some Xylitol, which I'm excited to try.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

I made this flourless chocolate cake (also with a bar of Green and Black's Organic Mint Chocolate) for St. Patrick's Day. 

I love that at the end it says, "Cake keeps, after being cooled completely, in an airtight container, 1 week."  As if it would keep a week around this house!.  

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder plus additional for sprinkling

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 375°F and butter an 8-inch round baking pan. Line bottom with a round of wax paper and butter paper.
• Chop chocolate into small pieces. In a double boiler or metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt chocolate with butter, stirring, until smooth. Remove top of double boiler or bowl from heat and whisk sugar into chocolate mixture. Add eggs and whisk well. Sift 1/2 cup cocoa powder over chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined. Pour batter into pan and bake in middle of oven 25 minutes, or until top has formed a thin crust. Cool cake in pan on a rack 5 minutes and invert onto a serving plate.
• Dust cake with additional cocoa powder and serve with sorbet if desired. (Cake keeps, after being cooled completely, in an airtight container, 1 week.)

Black Bean Brownies

A made a version of these last night.  Holy honkin' cow, are they good!  You'd have NO idea they're flourless and made with beans and eggs. 

They're fudgy.  We ate them for breakfast.  Now they are gone.

Ingredients: 

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
3 pastured eggs
1/3 cup melted coconut oil
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup honey
1 bar Green and Black's Organic Mint Chocolate, chopped

Instructions: 

1. Combine the black beans, eggs, melted butter, cocoa powder, vanilla, and sugar. Blend until smooth. (I used my stick blender, but you can use a regular blender or stand mixer to blend until smooth.)

2. Grease an 8x8-inch glass baking dish. Pour the batter into the greased dish. Sprinkle chocolate chips and nuts (if using) over the top and use a spatula to push them down into the batter just a little (but not too much; they will sink some while the brownies bake).

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-50 minutes, until brownies are set in the middle. Watch the edges for excess browning if you're not sure they're done.

I'll take two.

Miss Lizzy's Pumpkin Cheesecake with  Honey, and Almond Crust

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1 3/4 cups ground almond and/or almond meal
• 3 tablespoons honey (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 stick melted salted butter

Filling:

• 3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 (15-ounce) can pureed pumpkin
• 3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 - 2 cups honey
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

For crust:
In medium bowl, combine almond meal, honey and cinnamon. Add melted butter. Mix well. (If the crust seems too dense, just add a little more almond meal). Press mixture down flat into a 9-inch springform pan**. Set aside.

For filling:
Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, honey and the spices. If it needs more honey add more as needed. Add vanilla. Beat together until well combined. Note: The batter may seem sweet but it loses some sweetness in the baking. So better to add a little more honey to be safe.)
Pour batter into crust. Spread out evenly and place in oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.