Flat breads & Focaccia

These are the closest to naan bread I think we can get in the paleo world. They can be used for so many different things! I use them with lamb meatballs as pita, dip them in soup, sop up sauces and roll up sandwiches. They are lightly seasoned and go well with anything.

Flatbread

You will need: 

1 bag of The Primal Pantry pizza crust mix
3 eggs
1/2 cup of broth or water

Directions

Mix all of the ingredients thoroughly in a mixing bowl. Pour about 1/3 cup into a non-stick pan that is on medium heat. In a really good pan, you shouldn't need grease. Rotate the pan on an angle to move the batter around creating a large circle. You will start to see air bubbles coming up through the top side. Once it is holding together, flip the entire bread like a pancake and cook on both sides until it looks the way you want. You can also drop a spoonful of batter into the pan first as a tester. If you want more seasoning, this would be the time to add it.

This is the stuff that makes you forget about real bread. Remember dipping bread sticks in olive oil and balsamic? This is the paleo version. You can cut it into sticks or enjoy whatever you can rip off with your hand. Go easy... you don't need to eat all of it in one sitting as tempting as it may be. Cut off pieces the next day and throw them in the broiler to toast up again. If you make a sandwich with this, I'd love to see it!

Focaccia

You will need: 

1 bag of The Primal Pantry pizza crust mix
3 eggs
1/2 cup of broth or water

1 tsp of baking powder

1 tablespoon of organic balsamic vinegar

Sea salt, organic oregano and organic basil for dusting

Organic extra virgin olive oil

Directions

Mix all of the ingredients thoroughly in a mixing bowl. The reason for adding the balsamic is not only for that added sweetness but because it has a reaction with the baking powder and creates a fluffier bread. Pour the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread it out evenly and sprinkle the top with the extra seasoning. Bake it in the oven on 375 degrees for about 15 minutes or until it is a golden brown color. Drizzle it with olive oil once it has cooled.

Pancakes, Muffins, Waffles and more...

The below recipes are using The Primal Pantry grain-free, sugar-free, dairy-free Pancake/Muffin Mix seen on the right above.

Blueberry Muffins
You will need:
1 bag of mix for 10 - 12 muffins
3 eggs
1/2 cup of full fat organic coconut milk
1 cup of fresh or frozen organic blueberries

Directions
Empty the bag of mix into a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs and coconut milk and whip until smooth. Fold in the blueberries and pour into muffin cups. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown. It's that simple!

Waffles
You will need:
1 bag of mix
3 eggs
1/2 cup of full fat organic coconut milk

Directions
Empty the bag of mix into a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs and coconut milk and whip until smooth. Pour into a waffle-maker on medium heat and let it sit for about 5 - 8 minutes. After this time check every minute until it is to your preferred level of doneness. Drizzle with a tiny bit of maple syrup or add fruit and voila! You can also add blueberries or chocolate chips to the batter. Yum!

Simple Pancakes
You will need:
1 bag of mix
3 eggs
1/2 cup of full fat organic coconut milk

Directions
Empty the bag of mix into a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs and coconut milk and whip until smooth. Pour into a greased or non-stick pan and well... you know... make pancakes! 

Other uses for this mix:
Banana nut bread, gingerbread, blueberry lemon etc.....
Cakes
Cookies
Cupcakes
Pie crust
Doughnuts
Crepes

Any other ideas? Please share your recipes!

Hard and Soft Taco Shells

To make these, you will need 1 package of The Primal Pantry pizza crust mix... which I may start calling my "Magic Mix" since it can take so many different forms.

What you also need
rolling pin
parchment
muffin tin
1 egg
1/4 cup of water

Directions
Mix the ingredients of the bag in a mixing bowl with the egg and half of the 1/4 cup of water using a fork. Slowly add the remaining water until the dough sticks together but doesn't stick to your finger. You may not need all of the water. 
Once your dough is mixed, divide it until you have about 1 and 1/2 inch dough balls. You should have 10 to make 10 large taco shells or tortillas. If you want more, you can make them smaller. Remember that the larger they are, the harder it may be to keep them upright in the mold when making hard shells.


Take each ball and using your rolling pin, roll it into a circle between two pieces of parchment paper or one folded in half. I use this small one-handed rolling tool so that I can hold and rotate the parchment with my other hand. It definitely makes things easier!

For Hard Shells: 
Take your rolled out rounds and using the underside of the muffin tin, place them upright with the parchment still underneath. These will be baked at 350 degrees until they are hard to the touch and have a little brown on the edges.
If you are having trouble with keeping the shells upright before getting them in the oven, you can also hang them over the bars of your oven rack. Just keep both pieces of parchment on for this method.






For Soft Shells:
Keep your rolled out rounds between the parchment laying flat and bake them at 350 degrees. You are going to really want to watch these carefully. Check them after 5 minutes and every couple of minutes after that. You are trying to achieve cooking without hardening. The pieces of parchment protect the middle from cooking too quickly. So, when you start to see the edges of the parchment curling up and the edges of the tortilla are getting stiff, take them out. The middle should still be soft enough to bend when you pick them up. The degree of difficulty is pretty high for these because you really have to avoid letting them go for too long. If you have a tortilla press (if only!) you are a lucky person and may be able to use that to master the perfect even temp for soft shells.

When you have achieved the perfect tortilla, you can create many amazing things like these delicious fajitas! Good luck!

BBQ Sauce

Ingredients
Two cans organic tomato sauce (or homemade)
1/2 cup brewed strong organic coffee
1/2 cup organic apple cider
1/2 cup organic apple cider vinegar
2 tsps chopped organic garlic
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp organic cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp organic onion powder
1/2 tbsp organic yellow mustard
1 tbsp organic xylitol
1/4 tsp organic stevia extract

Directions
Blend all ingredients into a saucepan to simmer. Once the mixture has thickened, check the taste and add more stevia if you would like it to taste sweeter or more cayenne for extra spice. Add more salt to taste if needed.  If you are familiar with liquid smoke, you can add that smoky flavor as well. You could really make 3 flavors with this recipe: sweet, spicy and smoky. Let it cool and store it in a mason jar in your fridge.

Butternut Squash Homefries

Why not actual potato homefries? Come on now... if you don't know the answer, then I can't help you. Sweet potato homefries would be okay but you can't beat the nutrients in this disguised winter squash. It also has a little sweetness to it.  It's the sweet/savory balance that makes it a perfect breakfast side.

Ingredients
1 large organic butternut squash
2 tbsp pastured lard, bacon grease or butter (Kerrygold)
1/2 organic white onion chopped
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp organic parsley
1/2 tsp organic garlic powder
1 tsp organic mixed seasoning
1/4 cup homemade bone broth (chicken, beef, pork or whatever you have)
2 pieces of bacon (optional)

Directions
Skin, de-seed and cube your butternut squash to about the size of potato homefries. If you are using the bacon, you will want to chop it up into small pieces and start it cooking in a large skillet with the lard, grease or butter. I didn't have bacon to spare, so I left it out of this batch. 
Once the skillet is hot, add the cubed butternut squash and cook it until you get a nice browning on as much of it as possible. Add the chopped onion about halfway through.

After the squash has a good amount of color on it, add the dry seasonings and mix everything together. By this time the squash should almost be cooked through. Pour the broth in the skillet, mix it around and put a lid on it to steam. In about 5 minutes take the lid off and let the excess liquid cook off. 
Serve hot and enjoy!
If you want to spice it up a little, you can add some chopped pickled jalapenos or a pinch or two of cayenne.

Squash cake

This is a variation of zucchini bread that I decided to make because we bought some organic yellow squash at a farm stand. I had a hard time choosing between this recipe and a more traditional spiced zucchini bread. It was the fennel that caught my interest. The original recipe came from the Martha Stewart site where they have around 75 different ways to use zucchini.

Ingredients
1/2 cup lard, butter or coconut oil (or combination)
2 cups almond flour

1/4 cup coconut flour
1 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder (grain-free)
2 medium organic yellow squashes
2 medium organic green zucchini
1 cup shelled, unsalted pistachio nuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 cups xylitol

1/4 tsp stevia extract
3 large organic pastured eggs
1 tsp organic pure vanilla extract
3/4 tsp organic ground fennel

Directions

Melt your oil, lard or butter in the baking dish with the oven preheating at 350 degrees. Mix all the dry ingredients except for the xylitol in a mixing bowl. Then take the xylitol, eggs, vanilla, and your melted oil and blend those in a blender or bullet. Mix the liquids with the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl to which you will add the squash once you have grated it with a box grater or shredded it in a food processor. Lastly, you will add the pistachios and pour into your dish to bake for about 45 minutes to an hour until the top is golden brown. If you have two loaf pans, it might be better to make 2 shallow loaves instead of one big casserole loaf, as I have done.

By the way, it is amazing! Considering that it is 75% veggie and egg, how can you go wrong eating a ton of this? The fennel flavor reminds me of the traditional italian pitzelles which use anise. I think next time I bake this I will add a hint of lemon in there too.

Breakfast Sausage

This is something we would eat everyday if it was in the fridge. It is the easiest thing to make and a good substitute for bacon (but why would you not want bacon...?). Because this is just as amazing. I don't know if my husband is aware, but I mentally keep tabs on how much sausage he has eaten, just so I can make sure I'm getting my fair share.

Ingredients:

1 lb of ground pork (preferably pasture-raised)

1 tsp organic onion powder

1/2 tsp organic garlic powder

1 tsp organic thyme (if ground use 1/4)

1/4 tsp organic ground sage

3/4 tsp sea salt 

pinch of organic pepper

pinch of organic cayenne (or more if you like spicy)

3/4 cup almond flour

Directions:

Mix all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl with your hands. I add almond flour to bulk up the volume that this recipe produces. It soaks up the flavor and juices from the meat and when you eat it, you would never know it's in there. It also gives a good crispy texture when you cook it. If I didn't add this (and it's totally optional), I fear the sausage rations would last half the time. If you decide not to use almond flour, you may want to cut the amount of salt down by 1/4 tsp.

Once everything is mixed thoroughly you will want to form the sausage into a big log and wrap it in cling wrap. This way, you can just cut a slice off the end in the morning to have a ready-to-cook sausage patty.

Brown on both sides, cook a couple of eggs in the grease and you have a complete primal breakfast in minutes.

Gingerbread with Orange Cream Cheese

This was a special request for Thanksgiving that sounded something like, "Hey you need to come up with a recipe for gingerbread and orange cream cheese." My friend didn't actually think I was going to make it, and neither did I.  Damn I'm sure glad I did.
One thing about this recipe is that the almond does tend to overpower the ginger... so I had to up the ante about 1/4 tsp.  Make sure you taste the batter before you pour it and see if it still needs more. And try to stop yourself from sitting on the couch with a spoon and the bowl of cream cheese because it will tempt you.
This would be a great cupcake and frosting situation.  ... I'm thinking minis...

Gingerbread
10 pitted organic dates
1 organic orange (juiced)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 pastured eggs
1/2 tsp baking powder (Grain Free)
1/2 tsp arrowroot powder
1 tbs xylitol
1/8 tsp stevia extract
1/4 tsp organic cinnamon
1/8 tsp organic ground clove
1 1/4 tsp organic ground ginger
1 1/2 tbs coconut oil (lard or butter)
1/2 can organic full-fat coconut milk
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 3/4 cups almond flour
pinch of sea salt


Directions
Put the dates in a bowl or container with the orange juice and vanilla extract and leave it at room temperature for about an hour. This is to soften them. When it looks like some of the liquid is disappearing, they are ready. Preheat the oven and put your oil (butter or lard) in a loaf pan and stick it in the oven to melt.  Add your spices, the eggs and stevia to the date mix and blend it all together until you have a nice smooth liquid. In a large mixing bowl put all the other dry ingredients together then add the blended date mix, coconut milk and melted oil. Mix with a hand mixer and taste it to check the sweetness and ginger. Pour the mix into the loaf pan (or cupcake molds) and bake in the middle of the oven at around 375 until there is some color on the top. Serve with delicious orange cream cheese.


Orange Cream Cheese
1 package organic cream cheese
4 tbs organic coconut milk
1/4 cup organic orange marmalade (I make my own - see below for substitution*)
pinch of organic ground ginger
1/8 tsp stevia extract


*If you can't get organic marmalade or one without sugar, you can take a whole orange and puree it, put the puree in a sauce pan with a tiny bit of liquid (water or fruit juice) and simmer it with a tbs of xylitol. Taste it for the level of sweetness you want but try to keep it a little tart. Once it seems to have reduced or thickened, let it cool.


Directions
Whip the cream cheese and coconut milk together in a bowl and add the other ingredients while you mix. Check the taste as you go, adding more marmalade or sweetener as you desire. It is not supposed to be an overpowering orange flavor... it is more of a hint. Smother on a piece of gingerbread and welcome to heaven.

Steak sauce

One thing I really miss is A1 Steak Sauce, and with all those steaks we eat, there has to be a substitute. So, this is what I came up with.

Ingredients
1/2 cup organic orange juice (I squeezed my own)
6-8 pitted organic dates
1/4 cup coconut aminos
1/4 cup organic apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons organic dijon mustard (sugar free)
1/2 cup brewed coffee
2 tablespoons organic ketchup (sugar free)
2 tablespoons chili sauce
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp stevia extract (optional- add after ingredients have cooked down)


Directions
Blend all ingredients in the bullet and pour into a saucepan to simmer. Once the mixture has thickened, check the taste and add the stevia if you would like it to taste sweeter. You can also add a little arrowroot powder to help with the thickness (1/2 tsp or so).

Primal Apple Crumble

Tis the season... of apples! Apples baking makes me not just think of, but feel like fall, Halloween; leaves rustling in the wind and bundling up next to a window with something sweet. Just to have that warm smell in the house, I came up with this recipe and was extremely thankful for the whim.

Primal Apple Crumble
6 organic apples cored and sliced (you can use any variety)
1 tbsp xylitol
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp lard, butter or coconut oil


Directions
Heat the oven to your usual baking temp (mine is about 400 degrees) and put a casserole dish in with the tablespoon of lard, butter, or coconut oil until it melts and you can coat the dish. Throw in the apple slices tossed with the cinnamon and sweetener. This gives the apples a head start while you put together the crumble topping.


Crumble Topping
1 2/3 cups almond flour
1/3 cup coconut flour
1/4 tsp arrowroot powder
1/4 tsp baking powder (Grain Free)
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp grated nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground clove
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/4 cup xylitol
1/8 tsp pure stevia extract
1 pinch of sea salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp lard, butter or coconut oil
1 pastured egg


Directions
Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl making sure to break up any clumps of coconut flour or other ingredients. Use a pastry dough blender to mix in the wet ingredients until you have a crumble that is the same consistency of our quiche crust. This means it is a loose crumble but still sticks together when pressed. Take the apples out of the oven and with a spatula flatten them or move them around until you have a reasonably flat surface for the topping. Pour the crumble on and move it around to cover the entire apple filling, pressing just enough to have it stick together. Put it back in the oven until the topping becomes a little browned (at least 20 minutes). I know when stuff is just about done the good-ol'-fashioned way... when I can smell it. When apple cinnamon starts wafting through the house, it probably only has another 5 minutes or so.

Serve it hot or cold, with ice-cream or custard, whip cream or créme fraiche. You could even add some whole walnuts in with the apples or chopped into the topping. It is an addictive way to use the abundant fruit this season. I will probably make this for my non-primal family for Thanksgiving (win them over with sweets that aren't bad for you).  Enjoy!

Resources: Trader Joe's

Trader Joe's is a grocery store I became accustomed to when I lived in California.  So, when I was visiting these last couple weeks I stopped into many a location to stock up on food for my travels.  Luckily for us Trader Joe's is not just limited to SoCal anymore but unfortunately for myself, Colorado is not yet a future site for one.  For all of you fortunate primal eaters with a location near you, here is a mini-review of some of the products they have in stock that suit our needs.

These are just the items I saw at the Southern California location I was near.  There may be more available at the location near you.  Please share with us what you find!

*organic chicken
*Applegate Farms grass-fed beef hot dogs
*organic leafy greens, herbs, and various fruits/veggies
*wild salmon
*Kerrygold butters and cheeses
*raw milk cheese and/or grassfed milk cheese
*raw milk (yes, lucky Californians can buy it at the store)
*organic condiments
*nut and seed butters
*stevia (only the extract has no other added ingredients)
*raw nuts (the roasted have rice-bran oil or other undesirable ingredients)
*73% chocolate bars that contain no soy  (only $1.99! YAY!)

Beware the dried berries- I made the mistake of buying them before reading that they have added sugar...

I had a major sugar-crash after.  Yikes!  Always READ THE LABELS to make sure!

If you don't have a location near you send an email to the company or keep them in mind when you are traveling.  To download a list of all there locations click here.

Mexican seasoning

Combine:

1 tbs chili powder

2 tbsp cumin

2 tbsp coriander

2 tbsp ground dry oregano leaves

1 tbsp ground dry thyme leaves

1 tbsp garlic powder 
3/4 tsp cayenne

*The majority of these spices are the Organic Spices available at our local health food store, Natural Grocers.

Blackening seasoning

This is definitely a staple in my pantry and runs out pretty quickly when it is out on the counter. Several of my recipes will use this because it is great on everything. I generally just eyeball the amounts of each spice, but here are the specifics:

Blackening Seasoning

1 tbs paprika

2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp ground oregano

*The majority of these are the organic spices offered at our local health food store, Natural Grocers.