Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Nutty Chocolate Chip Bars



These bars are so yummy! I came up with the recipe on Saturday and have already made three batches! True Paleo people will argue they are not Paleo because they have sugar in the chocolate chips and honey, but I would argue they are a great alternative and full of items with great fat and fiber like raw nuts and coconut! So, I will be making them again and I hope you will too!

This recipe is based on the Oatmeal bar recipe I posted a few months ago. Since then we have stopped eating all grains so I just tweaked it a little so they are grain free.

We have friends coming into town next week and I plan to make these as a snack to take on our day of snow tubing and sledding. They are so easily portable. I am not sure I will snow tube since I will be 23 weeks pregnant. We will see if people are staying on the tubes or falling off a lot :) If I do not tube I will have something delicious to do- eat these bars!

 
NUTTY CHOCOLATE CHIP BARS
Serves: 8-9 depending on if you cut the bars long or into squares
 
1 1/2 cups raw nuts (I used 1 cup almonds and 1/2 cup walnuts)
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2 Tbs flax seed meal
4 Tbs raw honey
2 heaping Tbs almond butter
1/4 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips
1/8 cup white chocolate chips (I used the dairy free brand Sunset)
 
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
 
2. Pulse nuts in food processor until they are in fine pieces. Pour into a large bowl.
 
3. Add to the bowl the coconut, flax meal, honey, almond butter and chocolate chips. Combine with a spatula and then with your hands if needed.
 
4. Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper. Pour in nut mixture; spread and flatten with your hands.
 
5. Bake at 350 for 22 minutes. Cut into 8 bars or 9 squares. Allow bars to cool before eating.
 
 
 
 
 
 


Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Breakfast Casserole




I remember the breakfast casserole I grew up on. I'm not going to lie- it tasted amazing. It started with taking white bread and covering both sides with butter. The dish only got more unhealthy from there- jimmy dean sausage, eggs, tons of cheese. Then you let it sit overnight and baked it the next morning. We only had it on special occasions like Christmas morning and I looked forward to it as much as my stocking.

This is my version of breakfast casserole. It still has delicious sausage but is loaded with veggies. I used organic hashbrown potatoes to make it a treat but you could easily leave them out or substitute shredded sweet potato. This casserole saved us last week with the many late nights in the office and fed two people 4 times. I hope you will try it for your next busy week breakfast, family dinner or for a special occasion!

BREAKFAST CASSEROLE
Serves: 8
 
1 lb pork sausage or ground pork that you have seasoned to your taste
1 large onion, diced
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1 large head broccoli, florets chopped and stem tossed or included (whichever you like)
1 cup shredded carrots
2 cups chopped spinach
1 bag frozen organic hashbrown potatoes (I used Organic Valley- the only ingredient listed is potatoes) (optional)
12 large eggs
1 cup shredded raw cheddar cheese (optional)
 
 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add sausage and cook through, using a spatula to crumble meat as it cooks. Remove sausage to an extra large bowl.
 
2. Add 1 Tbs coconut oil to pan (if there is not enough grease from the sausage to cook the vegetables). Add onion, pepper and broccoli. Cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Add carrots. Cook 2 minutes. Add spinach, stir and cook 1 minute. Remove vegetables from heat and add to the same bowl as the sausage.
 
3. Add eggs to a large bowl. Whisk. Add eggs to the sausage mixture. Add hashbrowns. Add 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp ground black pepper. Stir.
 
4. Grease a 9x13 pan with coconut oil. Pour egg mixture into pan. Top with cheese.
 
5. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes until cooked through. Enjoy for any meal of the day!
 
 
 

Monday, March 4, 2013

Asian Beef Broccoli Stir Fry for Dinner and Breakfast


I have been in a cooking rut. I am craving easy food that is wholesome, delicious and does not take a lot of time. Hence this stir fry. This stir is best made ahead and eaten as leftovers because the flavor gets better and more intense.

I also have been over scrambled eggs. So, I have been trying to be more creative with breakfast. So, we had this leftover stir fry for breakfast! It was so filling and satisfying. I was not hungry for hours. I plan to eat meat and veggie meals for breakfast more often now! I just ate a bowl of the stir fry but for hubbie I put two fried eggs on the top of his bowl. He loved it.


Stayed tuned for some yummy breakfast casserole recipes (also in my attempt to not just have scrambled eggs every morning). I love them because they are easy, use what is already on hand and can be made ahead and eaten all week.

 
ASIAN BEEF BROCCOLI STIR FRY
adapted from Stir it Up
Serves: 4
 
 
1 lb grass fed ground beef
1 package (8 oz) sliced mushrooms, diced small
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 bag broccoli slaw
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup chopped fresh spinach
4 Tbs tamari wheat free soy sauce
2 Tbs rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
 
1. In a large skillet, cook ground beef, crumbling it as you cook. Once cooked through, set aside.
 
2. Meanwhile, Heat 1 Tbs coconut oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, 4 minutes.
 
3. Stir in onions, garlic, broccoli slaw and carrots. Stir and cook 5 minutes.
 
4. Turn heat to low.
 
5. Add spinach. Stir. Add soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, salt, pepper and ground beef. Stir and let cook a few minutes to allow flavors to combine.
 
6. Eat for any meal!