Slow Cooked AppleSauce

Above is a sneak peak of the recipe I am sharing with you today! I have been hinting for two weeks at the delicious apple recipe to come and tada.... It is applesauce. I know what you are thinking, that is baby food and I have had jarred applesauce and it is not that great. But hang in there because this is the most delicious thing I have tasted in a while, and I cook good food every night of the week.

First I want to show you the beautiful winter wonderland we had last week. It snowed Wednesday and Thursday nights. It was our first true snow since living in Colorado and it was gorgeous. As we rode to work Thursday morning I said to Evan, "I hope I always find the snow this magical." It was a mesmerizing site. The craziest part is that as I went shopping with my friend on Friday I reached out to touch some of the leftover snow on a bush. I realized that was the first time I had actually touched it! Praise God for busy days of serving. Here are a few pictures.

Sunrise after crossfit. My husband Evan out in the street with our neighbors house in the picture. He was trying to get a picture of the beautiful aspen for me. 

Aspens

Guess we will hang out on our back porch another day!

There is one more thing I want to chat about that has been on my mind. As you know, this blog is all about giving your body the foods it requires and was designed to eat. We originally came across this knowledge from Dr. James Chestnut, DC and his research on humans, genes and the wellness lifestyle (eat well, move well, think well). We immediately began to change our diet by adding even more good, whole food to the point that we now eat a "hunter gatherer diet" better known now as the paleo diet. I have been hesitant to label our diet because we do not consider it a specific diet at all, rather we eat the way we know is best for our bodies. But I do feel it would be wise for me to begin to give some guidance to my readers in addition to recipes. So, in the future you can expect more application on eating well and reference to the Paleo diet.  This recipe is a perfect example! 

Fall is apple season and slow cooking is the best way to cook. These apples are delicious and are perfect eaten still in large wedges (although they wonderfully fall apart when you touch them with your fork) or you can mash them into applesauce. These are so good I actually plan to serve them as a Paleo dessert at thanksgiving this year with coconut milk ice cream! I hope you will let me know what you think.

Also, remember you can sign up to follow this blog and receive emails of the posts!

SLOW COOKED APPLESAUCE

Serves: this makes a lot of applesauce (at least 8 cups) but my husband and I still finished the first batch in three days!

30 small apples or 20 large apples

2 Tbs cinnamon (or more to taste)

1/4 cup apple cider (make sure it is natural, unfiltered and no sugar added)

1. Peel apples and cut the sides off of the core. Place apple pieces in crock pot. 

2. Add cinnamon and apple cider. Stir.

3. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. 

4. Eat as is or mash into applesauce with a fork or potato masher. 

Sweet Potato and Apple Sausage Hash

Hello all! I know I said I was going to post a delicious apple recipe and I have not forgotten. This is note the one I was originally talking about but is definitely one of them. The original will be coming next week when I am not too lazy to load the new pictures from this week:) But since I am too lazy it means you get to hear about this amazing recipe that is good for breakfast, lunch or dinner. This hash is fabulous. It is sweet and hearty all at the same time. We have literally had for all three meals of the day and often have to discuss who gets to eat the last of it. Another great thing is that it is easy!

Other than delicious hash I do not have too much to share. I did find out a few weeks ago that I will be an aunt again and am thrilled about it! I love being an aunt so much... the only thing that would make it any better would be to get to see all of my sweet family more often. We got to do some beautiful hiking yesterday and today. Fall is still alive and beautiful here and it is breathtaking. The mountains in the distance have snow on them, the skies are blue and the trees are all sorts of autumn colors. God is good.
Also our dear friends had a baby on friday and we got to go see them today. He is a beautiful baby and mom and dad are thrilled. I am grateful to have so much love and new life in my life (and delicious food :) I hope you all have a great week until next week!

SWEET POTATO AND APPLE SAUSAGE HASH

Adapted from Multiply Delicious

Serves: 3-4

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced small

1 apple, peeling optional, diced small

1 tsp cinnamon

3 links fresh chicken apple sausage from your local grocer (make sure it is fresh made in house with good chicken and no nitrates- ask for an ingredient list to check)

1/4 cup onion, diced

3-4 cups fresh spinach, chopped

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat 1 Tbs coconut oil. Add sweet potato, apple and cinnamon. Stir. Cook until tender- approximately 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep potatoes from burning. 

2. Meanwhile, heat a second large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tsp coconut oil. Remove sausage from casings and put sausage into pan. Add onions. Cook until cooked through using a spoon to crumble sausage. Add spinach and allow to wilt- this will take 1-2 minutes. 

3. Add potatoes and apples to sausage. Stir and eat!!

Sweet Potato and Kale Chicken Patties

I missed you guys this weekend. Sorry I am so late posting. We had a fall festival and fresh food drive at our chiropractic office this weekend. It went well and we collected fresh food for our local food bank. That brought be a lot of joy because, as you know, fresh food is our passion! If you want to check out the food bank it is Sister Carmen Food Bank in Lafayette, CO.

I have been waiting to share this recipe with you for months. It is from Multiply Delicious and is geniously delicious. I did of course adapt the recipe just a tiny bit but MDelicious is who hit the nail on the head. These are also a great way to sneak in vegetables to little ones... just tell them it is a hamburger:) Warning: this recipe has two steps and requires you let the chicken mixture sit overnight. So read the directions carefully. These must go on your menu this week!

Also, I have been apple picking so stay tuned for recipes using them including homemade cinnamon applesauce that I could eat a whole gallon of!

SWEET POTATO AND KALE CHICKEN PATTIES

Makes: 6 patties

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into TINY cubes

3 cups kale, finely chopped, leaves only

1 garlic clove, minced

1 lb ground chicken breast

1 tsp smoked paprika (the smoked makes all the difference:)

1 tsp dijon mustard or yellow mustard

1 egg, whisked

2 Tbs coconut flour

1. In a large skillet, heat 1 heaping Tbs coconut oil over medium heat. Add onions and potatoes. Cook 10 minutes until tender. Add garlic, stir for 30 seconds. Add kale, stir and cook until wilted, approximately 2 minutes. Allow to cool slightly.

2. In a large bowl, place chicken, paprika, mustard, egg and coconut flour. Add potato mixture. Using hands, combine mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

3. The next day, remove bowl from refrigerator and form chicken mixture into 6 patties. 

4. Heat grill to medium heat. Add patties and cook until cooked through (about 5 minutes per side).

5. Enjoy on a salad or with two vegetable sides.

1/4 tsp sea salt

Chocolate Almond Date Bars with Coconut and Cranberries

I hope you have all had a great weekend. I have! I am a little late posting this week's recipe as we have been so busy. We have also had very cold weather here and our first snow. As you know, it is this kind of weather that makes you put on sweats, grab a good book and not move :) So really, it is the weathers fault that I am late posting.

Since I am only posting once a week now, I have a huge stockpile of amazing recipes that I am just dying to share with you. I am trying to behave, though, and space them out. This recipe is a perfect example of one of the amazing! I made these bars in August to take on a hike with our church group.

This is us on the top of the mountain after we ate our bars. You cannot really see our faces. 

This is our cute Mocha after the hike. We hiked 6 miles with around a 3000 foot climb. It was hot...like upper 90's hot and she still had energy left!

Onto the bars. For the recipe I basically took everything I love in a raw bar and put it all in one. They are my favorite bar I have ever made. Truthfully they are like a dessert. The dates are so sweet, the cranberries tart and the chocolate... well who does not like chocolate? I hope you will make them and let me know what you think!

Chocolate Almond Date Bars with Coconut and Cranberries

Makes 12 bars

2 cups pitted medjool dates (14 dates)

1 ½ cups raw (unroasted, unsalted) almonds

¼ cup shredded, unsweetened coconut

¼ cup dried cranberries

¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips (I love the Enjoy Life brand)

1. Place dates and almonds in the bowl of a food processor. Blend for two minutes until dates are pureed and almonds are finely chopped.

2. Add coconut, cranberries and chocolate chips. Blend two minutes until mixture starts to come into a ball.

3. Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper. Dump blended mixture into pan and press into pan with hands. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour prior to eating. Cut into 12 bars. Store in refrigerator.