Pumpkin Cheesecake Pull-Apart Bread

Pumpkin Cheesecake Pull-Apart Bread

Recipe adapted from Pillsbury.com

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
2 Tablespoons Pumpkin Pie Spice
Two -16.5 oz. containers Refrigerated Biscuits (such as Pillsbury Grands – 8 count)
1 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Canned Pumpkin Puree
1/2 cup Butter
3 oz. bar Cream Cheese

Directions: In a large freezer bag, combine granulated sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Cut each refrigerated biscuit into quarters and place them each in the bag to coat with sugar mixture. It helps to work in batches and to shake bag. Place half of the dough pieces in the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan

On the stove in saucepan, melt and stir butter, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, and cream cheese. Pour half of pumpkin mixture on the first half of dough pieces. Add the rest of the dough pieces and pour the remainder of the pumpkin mixture over top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes until golden (Watch carefully as this is a guess for now). Let stand in pan for a few minutes. Serves 8.

Double it

Zucchini Relish- From Grandma Brown

Grind and measure:
10 cups zucchini
4 cups onion
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper

Cover and water and soak these overnight with 5 Tbsp Pickling Salt

Drain, not to dry, Add 4 cups of vinegar and boil for 20 minutes.  Then add dry ingredients:

1/2 tsp celery seed
4 cups sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp dry mustard
1 Tbsp Tumeric

Boil for an additional 10 minutes.

Pour into 10 prepared pint jars. Put on seals and lids and they will seal on their own.

Frozen dinner rolls

Frozen dinner rolls

Originally from Dana Robinson

3/4 cup warm water

2 Tbsp yeast

2 Tbsp Sugar

Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water, let rise.

8-9 cups flour

2/3 cup sugar

2 cups evaporated milk

2 sticks butter (1 cup)

2 tsp salt

6 eggs

Mix seven cups of the flour with the butter, sugar, and salt until crumbly.  (I mix up my butter first and then add the dry ingredients) Add water and yeast mixture that has doubled in size.  Beat eggs and milk together and add to flour mix.  Add the last two cups of flour until dough is soft, but manageable. The softer the dough the softer the rolls.

Knead ten minutes in mixer, then turn onto a cutting board.  (I sometimes add a little more flour as I start to work with it)   Separate into five equal parts.  Roll each part into a ten inch circle.  Cut like a pizza into 12 parts.  Roll from the wide end to the narrow end to make a crescent roll.  Put on a greased cookie sheet very close together and freeze for one hour.  Place in a plastic freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.

To use, remove rolls from freezer four hours before baking and place two inches apart on a greased cookie sheet.  Let rise.  Bake at 275 degrees for eight to ten minutes.  Makes 60 rolls.

Breakfast casserole

Breakfast Casserole

1 pkg. (24 oz.) frozen hash potatoes, thawed

½ cup buer

2 cups diced ham

8 oz. Grated cheddar cheese

8 oz. Grated jack cheese

6 eggs

1 ½ cups milk

1 can (4 oz.) diced green chilies

½ tsp salt

Place potatoes in a buered 9x13 dish. Brush with melted buer and bake at 425 degrees for 25

minutes. Layer ham, cheeses and chilies on potato crust. Whip eggs, milk and salt together with a fork

and pour over the ham and cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Coconut Chicken Curry Soup

Thai cuisine - Looks lengthy, but goes together very quickly. A very hardy soup with fabulous flavor. This recipe was put together by a personal chef who cooks for professional athletes. It is on the regular rotation at our house. I got it from my friend Eve about six years ago, and have been making it regularly since.  Every time we have made it for guests, they have asked for the recipe. It was originally from "Eating Well" magazine, but I have made some changes to simplify, decrease cooking time, and decrease the amount of pans I have to wash afterwards. Definitely a pleaser!

Ingredients

• 1 T canola or olive oil
• ¼ C thinly sliced onion, chopped
• 2 tsp red curry paste (essential – find it in big grocery stores or health food store)
• 1 ½ tsp curry powder
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 C chicken broth (can use low fat, low sodium) I use boullion cubes or better than boullion
• 1 (13.5 oz) can light coconut milk (I used regular)
• 2 ½ C shredded cooked chicken breast or turkey (about 1 lb) I usually pre-cook and chop chicken breasts, sprinkling them with salt and pepper after baking. Could use shredded rotisserie chicken or whatever chicken you have on hand.
• ½ C chopped green onions
• 2 T sugar
• ½ C fresh chopped cilantro
• ¼ tsp crushed red pepper OR 4 small hot red chiles, seeded and chopped (I used 1/8 t ground)
• 3 C fresh spinach leaves
• ½ lb snow peas, trimmed and cut in half crosswise (I often omit this b/c I don't have it on hand, could use peas)
• 1 (5 ¾ oz) package pad thai noodles, aka: wide rice noodles (4 packages ramen worked okay in a pinch, but definitely not optimal)
• 7 lime wedges 

Directions:

1.  Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and the next 5 ingredients (through garlic) to pan; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly.
2.  Add chicken broth to pot and bring to a boil. Add coconut milk to pan; reduce heat and simmer for five minutes. Add remaining ingredients, except for lime wedges.  Simmer for about three minutes to soften the noodles.
3.  Serve with lime wedges. I like to serve some kind of bread on the side, such as muffins, naan, or peasant bread.

Yield: 7 servings (serving size: 2 cups soup and 1 lime wedge)

A note about some of the more unusual ingredients:  

• The red curry paste is available in the Asian food section of most grocery stores. I have found it at Walmart, Albertsons, and Safeway.
• The pad thai noodles are wide rice noodles. The package that I usually buy looks like this, but any brand is okay.

  

Frittat - Breakfast

EAT THE RAINBOW FRITTATA

Eating Paleo isn't just about the things that you DON'T eat, but rather its about eating a variety of healthy foods in order to obtain a wide range of vitamins and nutrients. Common sicknesses and ailments are not only caused by eating foods that cause inflammation (like grains, legumes, and sugar), but also by NOT eating nutrient dense foods, which can lead to a deficiency in the body. A phrase that is often heard in the real food world is "Eat the Rainbow." Fruits and vegetables are different colors because of the different nutrients that they contain. To learn more, read this interesting post from Mark's Daily Apple entitled "Why you Should Eat Brightly Colored Fruits and Vegetables." As a chef, I also love to use many different colorful ingredients in a dish because I know that we eat with our eyes first.

If you notice, some of the vegetables I used are organic and some aren't. When I buy produce, I try to stick to the guidelines recommended by "The Dirty Dozen" and "The Clean Fifteen" lists. Do yourself a favor and read that article to familiarize yourself with the most pesticide ridden fruits and veggies, and also the fruits and veggies that you don't necessarily need to splurge on. For a while, I had these lists taped to my fridge while I was memorizing them. It can also be a conversation starter for guests in your house, kids, or even your spouse so that you can start spreading the word about the importance of pesticide free, healthy produce. (Note: you will see that corn is on the "Clean Fifteen" list -- corn is not paleo, and for the record, it is not a vegetable dummy, it's a grain, so don't eat it!)

Eat the Rainbow Frittata
Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1/2 pound of good quality sausage (I used Pastured Pork Hot Italian Links from Polyface Farms)
1 1/2 cups of diced red onion
1/2 cup diced organic red bell pepper
1/2 cup diced organic green bell pepper
1/2 cup diced yellow summer squash
1 cup of chopped organic broccoli florets
2 cups of peeled and shredded sweet potatoes
8 good quality eggs (I used pastured eggs from Polyface Farms)
1/2 teaspoon of Salt, plus more to taste
Fresh ground pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon of organic granulated garlic
1/4 teaspoon of organic paparika
1-2 tablespoons of duck fat*, divided, or other desired healthy cooking fat (such as lard, coconut oil, or ghee)

Directions:

1. Remove the sausage from the casings, and brown in a medium sized cast iron pan. Once cooked, remove the sausage from the pan and reserve to a large bowl, but leave the grease in the pan.
2. Next, sautee the onions and peppers in the same pan over medium high heat for about 5-10 minutes until they are softened and starting to caramelize. Season them with a pinch of salt and pepper to help flavor them, and also to allow them to release some of their water, so that they can start to brown. Remove them to the same bowl as your cooked sausage.
3. Next add the diced yellow squash and chopped broccoli to the pan and cook over medium high heat for 5 minutes. You may need to add a few teaspoons of duck fat if the pan is too dry. Also season this batch of veggies with a pinch of sea salt and fresh pepper. Remove cooked squash and broccoli to the same bowl as the sausage, onions and peppers.
4. Add two more teaspoons of fat to the pan and add the sweet potatoes, again seasoning with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for five minutes to partially cook the sweet potatoes, and make sure to stir often so that the sweet potatoes don't stick. Remove the cooked sweet potatoes to that same bowl. (See a theme?)
5. In a seperate bowl, wisk together the eggs, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, another large pinch of fresh ground pepper, paprika, and garlic powder. Fold in the cooked veggies and sausage and quickly pour back into the same cast iron pan.
6. Bake in the oven at 375 for 30 minutes until the eggs are cooked through. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

You can serve this for breakfast, of course, but to round out this dish for lunch or dinner, fix a small side salad with tomatoes, avocados, and organic lettuce, simply dressed with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. I swear, us Paleo Peeps eat #morevegetablesthanavegetarian :) 

*You can find duck fat in the poultry section at most Whole Foods Markets. You can also order good quality duck fat from a new company, Fatworks, however I have not personally tried it. I hear from other Paleo Peeps that it is the bomb, and I keep meaning to try it!

Mexican Rice

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup uncooked long-grain rice
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 2 cups chicken broth

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and add rice. Cook, stirring constantly, until puffed and golden. While rice is cooking, sprinkle with salt and cumin.
2. Stir in onions and cook until tender. Stir in tomato sauce and chicken broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Fluff with a fork.