Butternut Apple Ginger Soup

butternut

• 4 pounds whole butternut squash (about 2 medium), halved lengthwise and seeds removed
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/4 stick)
• 1 medium Granny Smith apple (about 8 ounces)
• 1/2 medium yellow onion
• 8 fresh sage leaves
• 2 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds, for garnish (optional)

1. Heat the oven to 425°F and arrange a rack in the middle.
2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the squash pieces cut-side up on the baking sheet. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and brush all of it over the tops and insides of the squash halves (alternatively, you can rub it on evenly with your fingers). Season generously with salt and pepper. Roast until knife tender, about 50 minutes to 1 hour.
3. Meanwhile, peel, core, and cut the apple into medium dice. Cut the onion into medium dice. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the apple, onion, and sage, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 7 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
4. When the squash is ready, set the baking sheet on a wire rack until the squash is cool enough to handle. Using a large spoon, scoop the flesh into the saucepan with the sautéed apples and onions; discard the skins.
5. Add the broth, water, and measured salt and pepper, stir to combine, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally and breaking up any large pieces of squash, until the flavors meld, about 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cream.
6. Using a blender, purée the soup in batches until smooth, removing the small cap (the pour lid) from the blender lid and covering the space with a kitchen towel (this allows steam to escape and prevents the blender lid from popping off). Alternatively, use an immersion blender. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Serve garnished with the pumpkin seeds, if using.

http://www.chow.com/recipes/30466-roasted-butternut-squash-soup

Turkey Bacon Meatloaf

2 lbs of ground turkey

1 lbs of bacon cut into pieces

1 large yellow onion diced

4 garlic cloves minced

2 eggs beaten

2 Tbl coconut flour or 1 cup of almond meal

1 tbl Cumin

1 tbl Oregano

Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and put in a large bread loaf pan or you can do two small pans. I used one large one.

Bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until no longer pink in the middle. Remove from the oven and let rest for about 10 minutes. Slice and eat!

Raisin Clusters

 

If you like coconut and you like candy - these little treats are the best!

These are GAPS friendly and are actually good for you. You can add a variety of dried fruit, nuts, seeds, spices, or different extracts to give them a variety in taste. Have you tried other no-bake treats? Steph's Energy Bites, or Amee's Date Balls I store these in the freezer. When I want one I take out and let sit for just a couple of minutes and devour.

Ingredients:

1 cup Coconut Butter

1 - 2 TBSP Local Honey

2 TSP Organic Vanilla Extract

1/4 cup Raisins

Other Nuts and Seeds Optional

Mix coconut butter, honey, and vanilla until creamy. Add in your raisins. Use your hand or a small scoop to form 1 inch balls. Place the ball on a glass baking dish or a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Press down to flatten the bottom. Repeat with each one. Place the baking dish in the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes to allow candies to harden. Once chilled put the into a air-tight container and store in the refrigerator or freezer.

original recipe inspired by Internal Bliss Cookbook

Homemade Coconut Butter

YES!! you Can make your own coconut butter.

All you need is Full Fat Unsweetened Coconut

and a reliable blender

Instructions

Homemade Coconut Butter: Take your shredded coconut  and simply blended it in your blender for about 3-5 minutes. (Note: If you use a food processor, blend for 10-ish minutes.) That's all there is to it!

Side note: Depending on where you live--and the temperature/altitude--you might have trouble with this recipe. It works perfectly for me, just a little patience. Coconut butter is very temperamental and reacts oddly in different climates. So please know before trying that there's a chance this recipe might not work for you. Also, if it refuses to turn to butter for you, it might be worth a shot to add some coconut oil to the blender... sometimes that fixes things right up!

These instructions are provided by Chocolate Covered Kate's Blog. She has a FAQ page to guide you along.

Grain Free Nut Free Pumpkin Pancakes

The world according to pumpkin facts over one billion pounds of pumpkin are produced each year in the US.  Scientifically speaking, pumpkins are a fruit (they contain seeds) but when it comes to cooking, they are often referred to as vegetables. Pumpkins are low in calories, 100 grams of pumpkin produces around 26 calories of energy. Thanksgiving is a time that I pull out all my favorite pumpkin recipes.

Pumpkins were an important food source for the pilgrims, as they stored well, which meant they would have a nutritious food source during the winter months. It is documented that pumpkins were served at the second Thanksgiving celebration. When mentally picturing an early Thanksgiving, we usually think of a Pilgrim woman in a bleached starched white apron holding a pumpkin pie with a perfectly fluted crust . The truth is in fact, quite the opposite. The Pilgrims cut the top off of a pumpkin, scooped the seeds out, and filled the cavity with cream, honey, eggs and spices. They placed the top back on and carefully buried it in the hot ashes of a cooking fire. When finished cooking, they lifted this blackened item from the earth with no pastry shell whatsoever. They scooped the contents out along with the cooked flesh of the shell like a custard. Yumm! The Pilgrims were also known to make pumpkin beer. They fermented a combination of persimmons, hops, maple sugar and pumpkin to make this early colonial brew.

I did not make pie or beer but I did create a pumpkin pancake that the kids loved! The best part is they are grain free and nut free. Double bonus!

Let's Get Started

Yields about 8 - 10 3" pancakes.

4 eggs at room temp

2 heaping TBL of pumpkin  I used this kind

1 TBL Honey

1/4 - 1/2 cup of coconut flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

cinnamon to taste

nutmeg to taste

ghee or coconut oil to fry your pancake

The down and dirty:

combine your eggs, pumpkin, and honey in a food processor. slowly add in your dry ingredients. You want the batter drippy enough that it comes off the spoon easily, and spreads out in your pan. If you get it to dry - add a little bit of water to thin it out. Fry up in your pan - be cautious when flipping. These were delicious with a serving of honey or maple syrup on top.

Enjoy ~

Copy Cat Lara Bars Coconut Cashew

Love Love my Homemade Bars. Love Joyce's Bar's too- there truly is no wrong way to can make these little delights.

1/4 cup of unsalted cashews

2/3 cup of medjool dates or about 10 dates

2 table spoons of unsweetend coconut flakes

A pinch of Salt

a tad bit of vanilla

Place the dates into your food processor. Pulse until chopped. Then add your cashews, vanilla, and nuts. Pulse til almost a gooey mixture. Then add your coconut flakes - pulse a few more times.

Make a big ball out of your bar mixture and push it down between wax paper.. roll out the mixture to your desired thickness. I like mine about 1/2 an inch thick or a little less.

Cut the rolled out mixture into the desired shape and amount that you would like.  I did not make mine as big as the store bought Lara Bars because they are often too big for my kids and making them into small approximately 2 inch squares seems to be perfect for us!

End of Summer Marinade

I am always looking for a change up when it has to do with chicken. BBQ Chicken is by far a staple in our house.

Here is a simple sweet and savory Marinade without all the usual suspects (sugar, soy sauce, etc.)

1/4 cup Coconut Aminos

2 TBL Coconut Sugar

1 Clove Garlic Minced

1 TBL Fresh Ginger Minced

1 TSP Chili Flakes

1 TBL Sesame Oil

Large Ziplock Bag

4-6 Chicken Breasts or Large Boneless Thighs

Place all in your Ziplock Bag - Seal Tight and lie flat in your fridge for about 4 hours or over night. You can double the recipe and save half for a sauce after you have cooked your meat. You would slowly cook half the marinade in a small pot until it reduces down and thickens up...pour over your chicken.

Brussels Sprouts and Bacon Slaw

It seems that I gravitate towards some veggies more than others and this time of year we are getting large bags of Brussels sprouts in our Bountiful Basket. If you grew up hating Brussels Sprouts this is a sure bet it will change your mind. My theory is that by slicing them thin and then of course adding bacon to anything it will be a hit!

Ingredients

1 pound of Brussels Sprouts sliced thin

1 large apple or 2 small ones cut into bite size pieces

5 slices of bacon

Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until evenly browned, but not crispy, about 10 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon, leaving the grease in the skillet. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease.

Cook in your thinly sliced brussel sprouts. Season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir until it softens, 5 to 7 minutes. Add in your apple cook another 2 minutes. Add your bacon back in and warm through.  Serve with a side of your favorite meat or bowl of soup.

Super Easy and this dish holds well for leftovers.

Sweet Chicken Salad

I don't eat mayonnaise - never have really. I go dry. As I got older I started using more spicy style mustard.

I hate it when I am doing laundry and I try so hard not to totally dry my sorta nice work-out clothing, the dry wick kind....just to find out as I am folding my clothes that I totally baked my work-out clothes. I guess that is why I never buy nice clothing - cause I will totally ruin it.

This idea is great when you have left over chicken in the fridge and it is starting to dry up on you. Okay maybe your chicken isn't dry but I always over cook my chicken.

For your Salad

2 large chicken breasts, cooked and cut up into bite size pieces

1 medium sized apple cut into bite size pieces. The sweeter the better

1 small green bell pepper, diced

For your Dressing

1 ripe avocado

2 tablespoons of mustard preferably a Dijon type.

2 tablespoons of olive

water as needed

1 tsp dried tarragon

1 tsp dried parsley

S/P

Mix your salad fix- ins into a bowl.

Prepare your dressing by adding in your avocado, mustard, olive oil and a tablespoon of water into your blender. Puree until smooth adding in more water as needed.  Pour over your salad along with your spices and stir together. Chill for about 15-20 minutes.

Then Eat!

Pesto

 

Easy Pesto Recipe.  You can make this ahead and freeze it in small containers to use for later recipe ideas such as Chicken Pasta, Veggies or spread on crackers. 1 cup pistachios, unsalted and shelled 1-1 1/2 cup basil leaves (I did about half basil and half spinach) 2 garlic cloves 1/2-1 cup olive oil juice of 1 lemon

and S/P to taste

METHOD

1 Pulse your nuts a few times before adding in your basil and spinach. Combine the basil and spinach leaves in with the nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor.  Add the garlic and pulse a few times more.

2 Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add  in your lemon juice, a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.