Chicken Nuggets

I was nervous to make these chicken nuggets because I thought my hopes were set to high, and by too high I mean I just wanted them to taste like chicken nuggets. Ya know? Well, I am happy to report these chicken nuggets are BOMB (and in a good way)!
My husband is leery of all paleo meals, but is often a good sport and will sample them. Both my husband and my Owen loved these!
They seriously taste like chicken nuggets, and by chicken nuggets I mean way better than any frozen kind you will buy at the grocery store. Seriously, no joke!
I paired these with my homemade ranch, and my homemade ketchup! YUMM! So good!

Chicken Nuggets

1lb chicken breast, cut into 1-2inch pieces
1 egg, beaten
1c almond flour
1/2tsp salt, or seasoning salt
coconut oil

Mix almond meal and salt together in a bowl.
Dip chicken in egg, then dip in almond meal mix and coat well.
Heat enough coconut oil to coat the pan, on medium-high heat.
Cook chicken for 2-3 minutes on each side or until done.
Transfer to paper towel to absorb extra oil.

Recipe originated from Homemadetoast

Creamy Clam Chowder

I can not believe all the things you can do with cashews! It is truly amazing, and their flavor just takes on whatever you pair it with. I am in awe every time I think about a cashew.
Also, I am a sucker for chowder so I was really happy to have this experiment WORK OUT! I feel as though cashews have opened a whole new door to cream based soups, and now that fall is approaching I foresee a lot of cashew cream soups, and squash in my future. I can't wait. Literally.
The soup is just as creamy, thick and delicious as chowder made with loads of cream. This was even better as leftovers, I love leftovers!
Also, the potatoes are just fine to leave out to make it 100% paleo. The only regret you will have after making this, is not making it sooner. Seriously!

Creamy Clam Chowder
2c raw cashews (soaked over night under water)
3-6 slices of bacon (make sure it is compliant)
1c yellow onion, chopped
1/2tsp celery seed
1 1/2c celery, chopped
1c potato, chopped
4c water
1/8tsp ground thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2tsp sea salt
1/2tsp table salt
1/2tsp pepper
4 (6.5oz) cans of minced or chopped clams AND their juice (make sure there is no sugar added)

Chop up your bacon and cook it in a soup pot for a few minutes until the fat has rendered.
Stir in the onions, celery, celery seed and potato. Saute for about 12 minutes or until veggies are cooked.
Add the water, juice from the cans of clams(approx 2 cups), thyme, bay leaf, salts, and pepper. Cover and simmer 15-20 minutes.
Drain and rinse the cashews place them in the blender, remove 2 cups of soup broth from pot, and pour it in the blender with the cashews and blend until smooth.
Pour cashew mixture back into soup pot
Add clams to pot, stir, and cook for 5-10 minutes more.

Note: as the soup cools, it will thicken up a little more.

Plantain Chips

I seriously love plantains. I need to move to the Bahamas so I can have a tree in my back yard I think. 
These chips actually taste a lot like tortilla chips, and are great to eat with guacamole, or by themselves, or with anything really!! I prefer green plantains, because the riper they get the sweeter they are and I don't like them super sweet. This takes me a while to cook a whole plantain because I like to use a small pan so I don't use a ton of coconut oil, because lets face it, coconut oil is precious.

Plantain Chips:
Green plantains
Coconut oil
Salt (optional)

wash and peel the plantain(s), slice into thin rounds. the thinner the better, mine are about as thick as a dime.

Heat coconut oil in small pan (1/8in deep with oil), medium- medium high.

Add plantains to hot oil and fry until golden browned on each side, remove cooked plantains and let them dry on a towel so they crisp up (now is the time to add the optional salt).

Repeat until all plantain rounds are fried!

Whipped Coconut Cream

This whipped coconut cream is to die for. Seriously. I love it. I have been wanting to make this for years, like, since Pinterest first got started! I think this tastes even better after it has been refrigerated for 24 hours. Go stick a couple cans of coconut milk in the fridge right now, you will thank me in two days.
This is great to dip fruit it, use as s frosting, or just sneaking a spoonful of heavenly bliss.

PLEASE NOTE:
This is NOT a WHOLE30 recipe and although can be made compliant, it is most definitely considered SWYPO! (Don't know what SWYPO means? Neither did I for a long, long time. Sex With Your Pants On, it's just not worth it ;)


Whipped Coconut Cream

1, 13.5oz canned coconut milk (unsweetened) refrigerated for a minimum of 24hours
1 tsp honey (optional, I leave it out)
natural cacao powder (optional)

Place a metal, or glass bowl and the beaters to your mixer in the freezer to chill, thirty minutes prior to whipping the cream.

Remove the coconut milk from fridge and open it carefully so you don't shake up the can mixing the water and cream, scoop cream into mixing bowl.

Beat cream on high for a couple minutes until stiff peaks form.

Is your cream stiff? If you choose to add honey now is the time to do it, also add cacao powder now if you choose. How strong do you like your dark chocolate flavor? I like it light so I only added between 1-2tsp of the cacao powder.

ENJOY!!!

 This recipe is super easy to do in large batches, I would do 2-4 batches if it is for a party.

Twice Baked Squash

I loved this recipe because it is such a Fall dish! I love everything about Fall and I love everything about this dish, it's super cozy and will make you want to slip on a sweater and sit in a rocker on the front porch with something hot to drink, and a bowl of this of course! Unfortunately the weather here never feels like Fall. Oh well. But, make this up if you are a squash lover. Heck. Even if you're not a squash lover!

1, 2lb butternut squash sliced lengthwise
1/2 T coconut oil
1/2 small yellow onion, diced
1 apple cored, diced
1lb country pork sausage
2tsp dried parsley
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place the butternut squash cut side down on the baking sheet, and bake for 30 minutes or until soft.
Remove form oven and let cool
turn oven down to 350F
While squash is cooling, heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. add onion and apple and saute until onion is translucent.
Add pork, parsley, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Cook, for about 10 minutes until no pink is left in the meat.
Remove and discard seeds from squash, then scoop out flesh and place in bowl (leaving a 1/4in 'wall'/skin), mash squash flesh with fork and then mix it with meat mixture. Place hollowed-out squash in baking pan and fill with mixture.
Bake for 10 minutes, serve immediately.

Stuffed Bells

I am weird in that I like to watch people eat food I have prepared. That is the best kind of feedback you can get, those first facial expressions, words/noises, and compliments are the most sincere and I love them. The last two weeks we had a few guys staying with us that were working with my husband, I tried a couple new recipes on them and they really liked them (I saw their faces!)! So, these recipes were deemed share-able ;) This is a very pizza/Italian flavored dish and it has SO MUCH FLAVOR!!! Enjoy!!

1T coconut oil
1/2 red onion chopped finely
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1lb Italian sausage or country sausage (make sure it is compliant!)
3-4 bell peppers
4 mushrooms, chopped
10 black olives

1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup tomato paste

1 tsp red pepper flake

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp dried oregano

Heat oven to 375F
Heat oil in pan over medium heat, add onions and cook until soft.
Add garlic, and cook for 1 minute.
add Italian sausage, red pepper, and mushrooms and cook until browned, around 10 minutes.
Drain meat mixture and add to bowl along with remaining ingredients. Mix well.
Divide the filling evenly between the bell peppers and fill them. Place peppers standing up in glass pan. Bake 30-45 minutes until peppers are soft, and filling is heated through.

Tip: If making for a large crowd skip the stuffed peppers and instead dice up a green bell pepper and saute it in with the onions, finish the recipe as stated above (skipping the stuff the peppers step, obviously), pour into a glass baking dish, or cupcake liners for a single serving, and bake 15minutes until heated thoroughly! 

Artichoke and Shrimp Salad

The other night I was thinking about dinner and what I was going to do about it. I had fresh shrimp, and I had canned artichokes I wanted to try. I have never had canned artichokes before, I'm a straight off the leaf kinda gal. I was pleasantly surprised the canned ones were nearly as good as the fresh. So I mixed these ingredients together and was pleased, as were my taste buds, and my health! ;)
This would taste so good on top of a sweet potato, or zoodles but, I just ate mine like a warm salad straight out of a bowl. It was delicious and my little boy loved it too! I know a recipe is a win when he approves.

Artichoke and Shrimp Salad

1/2 T coconut oil
1 clove minced garlic
1/4 cup minced onion, yellow
1lb fresh wild shrimp
14oz canned artichoke hearts
1/4 cup chicken broth
1-2 T lemon juice
2tsp dried parsley
salt and pepper

Heat oil on medium heat, add garlic and onions. Saute for 2-3 minutes.
Add shrimp, artichoke, broth, and lemon juice. Cook for 4-5 minutes until shrimp are fully cooked.
Stir in parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve right away.