Posted in Holiday, Keto Friendly, Sugar Free, Sweets

Sun Butter Cups

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1.5 Bags Lily’s Dark Chocolate Chips
  • 1 Cup Sugar Free Sun Butter
  • 5 TBSP Arrow Root Flour
  • 1 tsp Coconut Oil

INSTRUCTIONS:

  • 1. Mix the Sun Butter and Arrow Root together in a small bowl and set aside.
  • 2. In a double boiler, gently melt the Lily’s and the coconut oil together.
  • 3. Spoon melted chocolate into Cupcake Liners. Using a soup spoon, cover the bottom of the liner with melted chocolate. The amount should be on the thinner side as it will thicken as it solidifies.
  • Add the Sun Butter/Arrow Root on top of the chocolate. Use a soup spoon for this too.
  • Spoon on the top layer of the melted Lily’s using the remaining chocolate. Remember, it will thicken as it solidifies, so don’t make it too thick, It will be hard to bite into.
  • 4. Let them cool in the fridge for an hour.

Dishing On This Dish: This is super easy to make. The trick is to keep the chocolate on the top and bottom thin so it isn’t hard to bite into. I used foil lined cupcake bottoms and the foil stuck and it was a disaster. Parchment paper Cupcake liners worked better.

Posted in Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Snacks, Soy Free

Oat Crackers

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp pink Himalayan salt (or to taste)
  • 4 tsp nutrional yeast
  • a pinch of organic dandelion herb (optional)
  • 4 cups organic, gluten free oat flour

Instructions:

  1. Whisk the first three, wet ingredients in a large bowl
  2. Add in the baking powder, salt, yeast, dandelion and whisk them.
  3. Add the oat flour and stir with a large, metal spoon, until thick.
  4. Knead the dough into a nice, smooth little ball.
  5. Pull the ball into 4 equal parts. Since you’ll work with one ball at a time, keep the other balls covered.
  6. With a rolling pin, roll out one ball at a time between parchment paper. You want the dough to be very thin, like a cracker. Go for 1/16 of an inch.
  7. Using a round pizza cutter, cut the rolled dough both vertically and horizontally so that squares are about 1 x 1 inch. You can make them larger if you wish!
  8. I like to use a fork to quickly but gently puncture each cracker, encouraging even baking.
  9. Since your scored dough is already on parchment paper, simply move the whole thing – paper and cut dough – onto a nice big baking sheet. A professional 1/2 size pan is perfect.
  10. Bake at 350 Fahrenheit. Check the crackers at about 10 minutes. Ovens bake at varying times and I usually check mine at 13 and see that they need a little more time. But they should bake up with a nice, light color. The outsides will bake first, so you can easily remove these and then continue to bake the more centered ones, gradually removing them, getting closer to the center as they get baked.
  11. While your crackers are baking, you can roll out the next ball in the same manner.

What’s in the Cupboard: You can add other fresh herbs if you like, you may just need to add a bit of water to the recipe if you are adding a lot of extra dry ingredients. If you are fresh out of coconut oil, you can substitute olive oil although it changes the flavor to a more bitter cracker. You can also use ghee.

Dishing on this Dish:1. You can make oat flour using a food processor to grind up whole oats or steel cut oats. Grinding a few cups of oats first on low and then on high for a couple minutes each makes a really nice, soft, flour. If you spoon your flour from the processor into the measuring device you may find you need to add a couple more spoons to the recipe to be able to knead your ball. When you spoon it versus pouring it the measured amount is slightly less, so just add a bit more if your dough ball is too sticky to knead. 2. This recipe is low/no oxalate. If your looking for a cracker that is keto minded, click here.3. Crackers are really easy to make once you get all the kinks figured out. The biggest issues are rolling them thin enough. 1/16 – 2/16 of an inch is just right. They will bake quickly and crisply. Also baking them just right by removing outer squares while leaving the center ones to bake a little bit longer is key. It just takes a few times to get into your cracker baking ‘zone’. This recipe provides four dough balls so you’ll be an expert by the time you are done. This is enough crackers to snack for the day as well as having enough to box up in savvy bags and boxes for gifts or snack trays for parties. These crackers are thin yet hardy enough for topping with salsa, avocado, meats or cheeses. Air-tight containers will keep the crackers for several days.

Posted in Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Main dishes, Soy Free

Chicken Pot Pie

INGREDIENTS FOR CRUST

  • 1 1/2 Cup Garbanzo Bean Flour
  • 1/2 tsp Sea Salt (or Himalayan Pink Salt)
  • 1/8 tsp Xanthum Gum
  • 1/2 Cup Cold Earth Balance Butter
  • 3 TBSP Coconut Milk (or other)

INSTRUCTIONS FOR CRUST

  • Mix flour, salt, and xanthum gum into a large bowl. Whisk together.
  • Cut in 1/2 Cup Cold Butter until crumbly.
  • Add 3TBSP milk. Stir until able to mix with hands and shape into a ball.
  • Roll out between two large pieces of parchment paper, shaping into the rectangular size of your pan.

INGREDIENTS FOR SAUCE

  • 1/4 Cup Gluten Free Flour
  • 2 cups Chicken Broth or Filtered Water
  • 1 cup Coconut, or other, milk
  • 2 TBSP Earth Balance Butter

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SAUCE

  • Melt butter in a saucepan
  • Add Chicken Broth (or water) and Milk.
  • Warm the mixture a bit then stir in Flour.
  • Simmer on medium low heat until thick.
  • Season if needed with Sea Salt and Pepper.

INGREDIENTS FOR PIE

  • Cooked Chicken (or Turkey)
  • Organic Corn
  • Organic Peas
  • Organic Broccoli
  • Sea Salt (to taste)
  • Seasonings to taste. I like Rosemary, Thyme, Parsley, and Basil

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PIE

  • Warm all the ingredients for about 15 minutes in a large pan.
  • Strain liquid if there is any.
  • Put well mixed ingredients into a 9 x 13 baking dish.
  • Pour the Sauce over the top and stir in.
  • Place crust on the top and shape and form to the edges of the dish.
  • With a knife, slay a few slits in the top of the crust so steam can escape.
  • Bake at 425 for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.

DISHING ON THIS DISH: I love making this Pot Pie for so many reasons. First, it’s in one dish and easily feeds four. Second, it handles leftovers. Third, all of the ingredients are versatile. Use chicken, turkey, steak, pork – anything that is cooked or left over – go ahead and toss it in. Same with veggies – add red bliss potatoes, carrots, or cauliflower if you like. Fourth, this can be a quick meal. I’ve completely left out the sauce, many times, and just tossed in left over turkey or chicken with frozen veggies, added the crust and popped in the oven. That’s my kind of fast.

Posted in Breakfast, Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Soy Free

Pancakes that Perform

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 TBSP ground chia (or whole psyllium husks or 2 ripe smashed bananas)
  • 1/3 cup filtered water (omit if using bananas)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 TBSP Baking Powder
  • 1/4 cup Coconut Sugar
  • 6 to 7 TBSP coconut oil (melted) or olive oil
  • 3 1/2-4 Cups Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Baking Flour (can also use Teff flour)
  • 2 1/4- 2/1/2 Cups Coconut Milk
  • (optional) Cinnamon to taste

DIRECTIONS:

  • Tip a large mixing bowl on it’s side and add the chia and water. Whisk and let it gel. Once it is firm, set the bowl down flat.
  • On the other side of the bowl, add salt, baking powder, and sugar.
  • Add in the oil and whisk everything together.
  • Add flour and milk and whisk together until thick yet pourable.
  • Ladle on to medium heat, greased, griddle by 1/4 measuring cup.
  • Cook until bubbly, then flip. Continue cooking until light brown on both sides.
  • Serve with butter, organic maple syrup, organic jellies, or whatever you like.

DISHING ON THIS DISH: This recipe will feed two hungry kids, Dad, and enough for Mommy. What I really love is making a huge batch the night before. Stored and covered, in the fridge, it’s a huge time saver in the morning.

WHAT’S IN THE CUPBOARD: Pancakes seem so easy, but they can be really tricky! For example, this recipe does not work with Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Baking Flour Mix, but works great with Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Baking Flour, King Arthur’s Gluten Free Baking Flour or any mix of both, but 3 cups Bob’s and 1 cup KA is the best. I’ve also used Teff Flour as a sub which works great mixed in or on it’s own. I’ve even added coconut flour to the mix in a pinch, which worked. In addition, 2 ripe bananas, smashed sub great for the chia seed OR use chia and bananas for extra flavor and extra volume. Whole psyllium husks can also sub for the chia and make fabulous pancakes.

Posted in Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Main dishes, Meat, Nightshade Free, Soy Free

Meatloaf

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs organic beef
  • 1/4 cup chia seeds
  • 1 cup filtered water
  • 1/2 cup fresh pureed Butternut Squash
  • 3 slices gluten free bread, diced into small squares
  • 1 tsp each thyme, rosemary, basil, salt, pepper (all to taste and to allergies)
  • an extra 1/2 cup of fresh pureed Butternut Squash for topping (if desired)

DIRECTIONS:

  • Tip a large mixing bowl in order to add the chia seeds on the side of the bowl.
  • Whisk in the water and let the ‘chia eggs’ gel. When the chia mixture is firm, set the bowl down on its bottom. ( I do this to avoid having to use/wash an extra bowl to mix chia eggs)
  • Mix in 1/2 cup of fresh pureed Butternut Squash.
  • Add all seasonings.
  • Add the diced bread. Mix well.
  • Add in the beef and continue to mix well, probably with hands.
  • Bake at 375 for 1 hour.
  • Spread on topping and bake 20 minutes more.

DISHING ON THIS DISH: Kind of funny, but I switched phones while starting this blog and so many photos of my dishes were on my old phone. I wasn’t able to email them to myself (without swapping SIM cards) so I figured I’d take a pic of my pic. I forgot to edit out my cell phone. Oh well. The meatloaf is absolutely as good as it looks. Enjoy!