Paleo Family Dinners: Brats and Braised Cabbage

We are still trying to get accustomed to life without bread here.  I think the summer might be especially hard as it is just customary to slap some grilled meat on a bun and call it dinner this time of year.  I saw these brats at the store and they were calling my name so I bought them.  But, how to serve them?  I know it sounds weird but I was also craving cabbage and remembered having tried Nom Nom's suggestion for The World's Best Braised Cabbage.  It really is very good and will be on our menu in the future for sure!  Unfortunately, I didn't have 2 hours to oven braise cabbage.  Instead, I shredded a full head of cabbage in the food processor and grated about 1/2 cup of baby carrots.  I sauteed the cabbage and carrots with butter and coconut oil, 1/2 cup chicken broth and a few shakes of salt (while the broccoli roasted in the oven and hubby perfectly grilled the brats).  Twenty minutes later this is what I had.  Hubby even commented that the cabbage was, "better than a bun"!!! Really?  The kids called the dinner, "Aweteous" (for Awesome and Righteous) and said to put it on the "make again" list (which is the highest compliment in our family).  I love "make again" meals.  

Paleo Treats: Lemon Curd

My husband is a triathlete.  So, being the good wife I am I made him multiple batches of a recovery drink for his post workout consumption.  The recipe is from the book, Sweet Potato Power, which I am reading and liking a lot!  The recipe calls for 2 egg whites and I made six batches...what to do with a dozen egg yolks?  Lemon Curd!  I searched the internet and found this lovely recipe from The Nourishing Gourmet and it turned out really well even though I used regular lemons (not Meyer lemons).  I served it warm over our farmers market peaches and some store bought blueberries.  It was received well by my clan.

Paleo cookies: AKA Cailyn's Cookies

We love us some chocolate chip cookies around here.  We would never be able to be or stay Paleo if we couldn't have some cookies on a semi regular basis.  There are many Paleo cookies recipes out there on the internet.  I guess this recipe is a conglomeration of them all.  I've read many recipes, tried them, tweaked them and this is how we have come to love our cookies!

Cailyn's Cookies:

2 1/2 cups almond flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup coconut oil

1 egg

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  Add in the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.  Bake at 350 degree for 10 min or until edges begin to brown.  Enjoy!

Paleo Family Dinners: Turkey Tetrazzini

Now, what to do with all the turkey leftovers?  Turkey Tetrazzini?  But how do I make that Paleo?  Well, after looking at a few regular recipes online I decided to give it a shot.  Here is what I did:

2 zucchinis zoodled with a julienne peeler

2 cups leftover chopped turkey

1 cup turkey drippings

1/4 cup Paleo mayo

2 eggs

s & p

Zoodle the zucchinis and set aside in large bow.  Add chopped turkey to zoodles.  Mix remaining ingredients together in separate bowl and then pour over zoodles and turkey and mix thouroughly.  Pour into in 9 x 13 casserole dish and bake for 30 min.

I would have to give this recipe 4 out of 5 stars. It was easy to put together and ready rather quickly.  The zoodles were tender but not soggy.  The "sauce" had a little different texture than a normal tetrazzini sauce, but I guess that is to be expected.  Of course, it would be better with some crumbled bacon in it and possibly even some minced roasted bell peppers.  Everyone (all 4 kids and hubby) ate it well and did not complain.  I'll call that good. 

Paleo Family Dinners: Thanksgiving in June!

So, I've had the extra turkey in my freezer since November....its June.  Time to cook it!  I am needing to make room in my freezer for the 1/4 beef we have ordered from Parker Meats Farm!  One of the reasons it has been in my freezer for so long is that I dislike thawing frozen turkeys. Uhhhgg.  But after the bird hung out in the fridge for a few days, this was really one of the easiest meals ever.  I put all the green beans and sweet potatoes around the turkey and they all baked together.  I slathered the turkey with some butter, s & p and stuck the full roasting pan in the oven for 4 hours.  Voila!  The easiest summer Thanksgiving feast ever!

Paleo Chocolate Cupcakes!

When I saw Sara, from The Paleo Mom, post this recipe last week I knew I would be making chocolate cupcakes VERY soon!  Well, when we were invited to a dinner last Thursday night and our contribution was to take drinks (read: I didn't have to make dinner!!!) I had the opportunity to give these a try.  

What I really like about this recipe is that there really is NO added sugar!  No honey or agave or anything!  These have a wonderfully rich dark chocolate taste and the texture is light, not dense or dry like some coconut flour recipes can be.  

The only problem I had was that my frosting did not turn out as beautiful and fluffy as hers did.  I know why. I am impatient.  After melting the chocolate chips I did not wait for them to cool down before I mixed it with the coconut cream.  But, what I ended up with was still very tasty AND I used the leftover icing to frost some donuts on Saturday morning.

Eating Local

I love the Farmer's Market.  That's all there is to it.  I love an excuse to be out on a Saturday morning with my daughter.  I love walking around and seeing all the fresh vegetables, plants and fruit.  I love talking to the farmers and getting gardening tips for my garden.  I love that the food is freshly picked and was grown either in the same county or neighboring county as to where I live.  I love that most, if not all of the produce is organically grown.  You get the point?

This is the loot I brought home this week.

Oh, one more: I love coming home and trying to figure out what to do with it all.  This week my sweet cousin, T., was coming over for lunch so I wanted to make something new and fun.  Cause she is a foodie like me.  This is what I came up with:

Zoodle and tomato salad:

2 zucchini julienned with a julienne peeler

15 cherry tomatoes halved

1 cup fresh basil chiffonade (from my garden)

1 cup chopped black forest ham

Dressing:

2 oz. olive oil

1 oz. balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp. minced garlic (from a jar)

salt and pepper to taste

I wish I could've captured a picture of it before we gobbled it up, but that did not happen.  Don't worry, this was good enough that I am sure I will be making it again sometime in the near future and I will post a picture then.