Archive for the ‘Recipes’ Category
Spinach Bacon Quiche
Spinach Bacon Quiche
Our chickens have been laying eggs like crazy this spring so I was looking for some good recipes. I have to say, this is the best quiche recipe I’ve ever had and the family agrees. This is my version from the excellent cookbook, Low-Carbing Among Friends, Vol 1 – link below. It’s full of great low carb, gluten free and Keto recipes and I use it all the time.
Almond Parmesan Crust:
2/3 cup ground almonds or almond meal, preferably organic
1/3 cup grated organic Parmesan cheese 2 tbsp organic butter, melted
1 organic pastured egg
Filling:
6 organic bacon slices
1 small organic onion, finely chopped
1, 10 oz package frozen organic spinach
8 oz organic cream cheese, softened
1 cup organic sour cream
5 organic, pastured eggs, beaten
4 oz organic feta cheese
1/4 cup organic grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
Almond Parmesan Crust: In medium bowl, combine ground almonds, Parmesan cheese, melted butter and egg. Using plastic wrap, press crust into 9-inch springform pan or 10” deep dish pie pan. Bake in 350°F (180°C) oven 10 minutes.
Filling: In large skillet, cook bacon until it gets somewhat crisp. Set aside to drain on paper towels. In bacon fat, cook onions over medium heat until soft.
Squeeze liquid out of spinach and add to onions along with bacon.
In food processor or in bowl with electric mixer, process cream cheese. Add sour cream and process. Add eggs one at a time, while processing, until smooth. Stir in feta cheese and Parmesan cheese and process again. Pour mixture over vegetables and bacon; stir to combine well. Pour over prepared crust.
Bake in 350°F oven 50 minutes, or until set. Allow to stand 10 minutes before cutting. Sprinkle with extra Parmesan cheese, if desired. Enjoy!
Hazelnut Blackberry Jam Muffins
I had some muffins similar to these at our local health food store. They were so good that I was determined to replicate them. I’ve had a bag of hazelnut meal in my freezer for a year and didn’t know what to do with it. I also had some homemade sugarless blackberry jam that needed using up.
This recipe was a winner!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup hazelnut meal/flour
- ½ cup almond flour/almond meal
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Celtic Sea salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) organic butter, melted
- 4 organic, pastured eggs
- 1/3 cup water
- Sweetener to taste — about 1/3 to 1/2 cup usually works well – I use Swerve
- ¼ cup organic jam – I use sugarless (sweetened with stevia or erythratol) and homemade
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 -25 minutes
- Yield: 12 Muffins
Preparation
1) Preheat oven to 350 F.
2) Butter a muffin tin. You can also use paper or silicone muffin liners.
3) Mix dry ingredients together well.
4) Add wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix well.
5) Fill each muffin cup about 1/3 with batter, then put about 1 tsp of jam on top of that, then fill all muffins evenly with batter
6) Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes until lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean.
Enjoy!
Italian Cheese Pie – gluten free
Italian Cheese Pie
I had bought some ricotta cheese, and ended up not using it for the original recipe so searched around online and found this.
It was very good and you could use just lemon or orange. The first time I made it I used one orange and all of the zest and juice – it was great.
2lbs organic ricotta cheese
1 organic orange, zested + 1 tbsp. orange juice
1 organic lemon, zested + 1 tbsp lemon juice
2tsp guar/xanthan gum mix or 6 tbsp. almond flour
1T good organic vanilla
4 organic pastured eggs
1 ½ cups sweetener of choice: rapadura, organic sugar, erythritol, stevia equivalent.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease a 9 inch pie plate {glass is good}.
- Combine the cheese, orange and lemon zest and juice, guar/xanthan or almond flour, and vanilla in a bowl. {I use my food processor}.
- In another bowl, beat the eggs, then slowly add the sweetener and continue to beat eggs until foamy {I used my whisk}.
- Put the egg mixture into the cheese mixture, and mix well, and pour into prepared pie plate
- Bake in oven for 1 hour or until filling is firm.
- Cool and slice for serving (I like it cold)
Enjoy!
Slow Cooker Coq Au Vin
Slow Cooker Coq Au Vin
This is a great winter stew. Very rich and satisfying too.
Browning the bacon, chicken and vegetables briefly before adding them to the crock pot creates deep rich flavors in both the chicken and sauce.
We served it over zucchini noodles, you could also have it with crusty bread, potato’s, or cauliflower rice or mashed cauliflower.
Ingredients:
1 whole organic chicken, cut up
Celtic salt and pepper to taste
4 slices organic bacon, cut into 1” strips
1 (12-ounce) package organic white or baby bella mushrooms, quartered
2 organic carrots, chopped
1 medium organic yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves organic garlic, chopped
1 ¾ cup red wine (I used Pinot Noir)
¼ cup Cognac, Brandy or
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp dried thyme, or a large sprig fresh
1 bay leaf
Directions:
In a bowl, mix together wine, cognac, tomato paste and dried herbs and set aside.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until golden and just crisp, 3 minutes. Drain bacon on paper towels and set aside.
Add chicken to bacon drippings and cook until lightly browned all over, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a large plate as done and set aside.
Then in the same pan, add all the vegetables and cook until they just begin to soften. Transfer vegetables to crock pot. Arrange chicken on top. Sprinkle bacon over chicken. Pour wine/ herb mixture over the tops. . Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Season with salt and pepper, then serve.
The Best Sweet Potato Pie
The Best Sweet Potato Pie
I found this recipe around 10 years ago and tweaked it to make it gluten free, and you can make it sugar free as well. It’s SO good and what we’re serving for dessert this Thanksgiving.
To make a gluten free crust, put in your food processor:
2 cups almond flour
dash salt
2 tablespoons coconut oil or pastured lard
1 organic pastured egg
Pulse the processor until the dough forms a ball and then press into your pan.
For the Pie:
Ingredients:
2 pounds organic sweet potato’s
1/3 cup melted organic butter
¾ cup organic sugar (or swerve, or stevia equivalent)
3 organic eggs
¼ cup organic half and half or cream (or coconut cream/milk)
1 tsp organic lemon extract
Dash or organic cinnamon
Directions:
Wash potatoes and put them in a pot with cold water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook until soft, about 45 minutes.
Pour off hot water and then run cold water over the potatoes and drain, twice.
While hot, Peel potatoes and put them in your mixer bowl. Mix or whip until smooth. Add melted butter and stir until mixed in.
Add sweetener, taste for sweetness and add more if needed. Add eggs and stir until mixed in.
Add half and half, lemon extract and cinnamon. Mix well.
Pour mixture into pie shell and bake at 350° for an hour or until set.
Cool and enjoy! Serve with whipped cream if desired.
Read more, great Fat Tuesday posts here: http://realfoodforager.com/fat-tuesday-november-25-2014/
Read more, great Real Food Wednesday posts here: http://kellythekitchenkop.com/real-food-wednesday-11262014-real-food-recipe-blog-carnival.html
Gluten Free Zucchini Fries
I still have almost a dozen zucchinis in the refrigerator from our garden. I’ve been having a hard time decidimg what to do with them, that we haven’t done too many times before and decided to try oven fries. They are very good. Gluten free and low carb too!
Ingredients:
2 organic Zucchini
1 tablespoon course Sea Salt
2 Organic Pastured Eggs
½ cup Almonds Meal
½ cup Organic Grated Parmesan Cheese
½ tsp. Italian Seasoning or any herbs you’d like
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. You don’t have to, but I put a cooling rack on top of the parchment paper as shown in the picture. It kept the fries lifted up and I didn’t need to turn them over.
Cut zucchini into 3-inch lengths, then cut each piece into 9 fries. Place zucchini fries into a colander and sprinkle with salt. Let the zucchini pieces drain for at least 1 hour to remove excess liquid
Beat eggs in a shallow bowl. Mix almonds, Parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning in a second shallow bowl. Rinse salt off zucchini and pat dry with paper towels.
Dip each zucchini piece into beaten egg and roll in the almond coating. Place coated fries on prepared baking sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven until the zucchini are tender and the coating is crisp and browned, about 25 minutes, turning them halfway through cooking time.
I served it with a little ranch dressing on the side. Enjoy!
Yellow Squash Casserole
Yellow Squash Casserole
I haven’t eaten yellow (aka Crookneck) squash in a long time. This year I decided to grow one plant, along with my Zucchini. Found some recipes and this was our favorite by far. We’ve made this a number of times and it’s always a hit.
I will grow two plants next year. 🙂
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon organic olive or coconut oil
1 teaspoon organic pastured butter
1 small organic onion, chopped
2 cloves organic garlic, minced
4-6 cups organic yellow squash, cubed
1 teaspoon Celtic Sea Salt
½ teaspoon organic freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup Almond Flour (or almond meal would work too)
1 cup shredded organic cheese – I’ve used cheddar, Swiss or Monterey Jack – they’re all good.
½ organic heavy cream
2 organic pastured eggs
1/3 cup chopped roasted salted almonds (I’ve used other roasted/ salted nuts successfully too)
Directions:
Preheat over to 400° F
Heat oil and butter in a skillet over medium high heat. When the butter melts, cook and stir onion and garlic until softened, about three minutes. Add squash, salt and pepper. Stir, and cover pan. Let cook, stirring occasionally until the squash is softened, about 5 minutes.
Put squash mixture into a 8×10 or 9 x 13 inch pan.
In a separate bowl, mix almond flour and ½ cup of the grated cheese together and stir into the squash mixture. In another bowl whisk cream and eggs together and stir into squash mix. Top with remaining cheese.
Bake until golden brown and bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes. Enjoy!
Zucchini ‘Spaghetti’
I bought a spiral vegetable slicer a few years back and haven’t had the right occasion to try it out. This year are garden is growing giant zucchini’s so I decided to pull it out and make ‘spaghetti’ with our zucchini. It was great!
I’ll put a link below to the slicer I used. It was SO easy and made long wonderful strands from the zucchini.
This is a pretty free form recipe. You can use any kind of sauce and or meat that you’d like. It would be great with Pesto as well.
Ingredients (for the recipe pictured)
1 pound organic hot Italian pork sausage (ground – you could use ground beef, or lamb too)
1 large organic zucchini (it was really big! – I’m guessing at least 2-3 pounds)
1 jar of organic spaghetti sauce any type.
Directions:
Brown sausage in a pan until cooked through. Add sauce and simmer for a few minutes. Add Zucchini noodles and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if desired and enjoy! (Serves 4-6)
Here’s the link for the one I used.
Gluten Free Zucchini Bread
We have one zucchini plant that is producing like crazy already. I am looking for and trying out many new recipes for zucchini and sharing the crop as well! This was really delicious and I will make and freeze some loaves for winter and potlucks.
3/4 cup almond flour, organic if possible (homemade works well)
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons organic flax meal
1 1/2 teaspoons organic cinnamon (I’ve been using Ceylon lately)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
½ to 2/3 cup organic sugar or equivalent (stevia, erythritol, etc)
3 organic pastured eggs
¼ cup organic coconut oil, melted
1 1/2 teaspoon organic vanilla
1 packed cup grated organic zucchini
1/2 cup chopped organic walnuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a bread pan with parchment paper.
In a small bowl stir together the dry ingredients. In another bowl use a fork to beat together the wet ingredients until well blended. Mix dry and wet ingredients together.
Stir in the zucchini, then the walnuts (you could also use raisins). Spread in the pan and bake 40 to 45 minutes until the center is set. Remove from pan immediately and let cool completely before slicing with a serrated knife. Freezes well. Enjoy!
Read more great, Fat Tuesday posts here: http://realfoodforager.com/fat-tuesday-july-15-2014/
Read more great, Real Food Wednesday posts here: http://kellythekitchenkop.com/real-food-wednesday-7162014.html
Easy Chicken Tikka Masala
Chicken Tikka Masala
I have been making versions of this for months now. Sometimes with chicken, sometimes with shrimp or white fish. I always add veggies (see below).
It’s easy to make and delicious too. The original recipe is by Aarti Sequeira on Food Network, this is my simplified organic version. Enjoy!
Serves: 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients:
1 ½ pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into large bite-sized chunks. (or shrimp, or firm white fish)
Sauce:
2 teaspoons organic olive oil
3 tablespoons organic pastured butter
1/3 cup Ginger-Garlic Paste, recipe follows (or 6 cloves garlic and 2-inch thumb ginger minced)
2 organic serrano peppers, minced (seeds removed if you don’t want it spicy)
2 tablespoons organic tomato paste
1 teaspoon organic garam masala
2 teaspoons organic paprika
1 jar of organic crushed tomatoes (15-18 oz) or two cups of chopped fresh tomatoes
1 teaspoon Celtic Sea Salt
1 to 2 cups water
1/2 cup organic heavy cream (you can use coconut milk instead if you like)
Minced fresh organic cilantro, for garnish
Cooked rice, naan, or crusty piece of bread, for serving (although we often eat it without)
Directions:
For the chicken: Pan cook chicken until cooked through, I use a little coconut oil, or homemade pastured lard, if I have it. If you make this with white fish or shrimp, just put it into the simmer sauce and simmer until cooked through.
If you want to add veggies – which I always do – cook lightly in the with the chicken and then add to the sauce. You can use everything from eggplant to broccoli and it’s all delicious!
For the sauce: When you’re ready to make the curry, place a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil and butter.
When the butter has melted, add the Ginger-Garlic Paste and serrano peppers. Saute until lightly browned around the edges. Add the tomato paste and cook until the tomato has darkened in color, about 3 minutes. Add the garam masala and the paprika and saute for about 1 minute to draw out their flavors.
Add the tomato sauce, salt, and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer, and cook until thickened, about 20 minutes.
You may need more water depending on how much liquid the tomatoes give off.
Add the chicken and vegetables, if using. Take the heat down to a simmer and cook for about until cooked though. Add the cream and stir through. Garnish with minced fresh cilantro, and serve over rice, with naan, or a crusty piece of bread!
Ginger-Garlic Paste:
I usually make at least a double batch in my food processor and with coconut oil it’ll keep for a least a month in the fridge.
1/2 cup cloves garlic, whole and peeled
1/2 cup fresh ginger, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1/4 cup coconut oil (or olive oil)
Throw the garlic, ginger, and canola oil in a mini-food processor and let it go until it forms a semi-smooth paste. There will still be tiny little pieces in there, but overall, it should resemble a paste.
Save what you don’t use in a small glass jar. It should last in the fridge for 2 to 3 weeks. It’s a delicious addition to marinades, pasta sauces, stir fry sauces, slow-cooker recipes, gravy etc. We always had a jar of this stuff in our fridge growing up.
It’s SO good.