Paleo Granola in 2 minutes!

I accidentally discovered this and it's my new favorite breakfast go to. 

I am a big granola fan and missed having it since doing the paleo challenge. One night as Andrew was having his usual bowl of cereal I gave in and came up with this...

Despite the bird seed appearances...it's an awesome granola.

Paleo 2 Minute Granola

In your cereal bowl, toss in:

1 Handful of sliced almonds
1 Handful of chopped pecans
1 Large handful of shredded unsweetened coconut flakes
1 small handful of flaxseed meal.
1 small handful of chia seeds (I learned the fascinating facts of about them in this book. The ultra-marathon runners ate them on their 100 mile runs. Super food)
! handful of Cranberries or Raisins....or blueberries or sliced bananas.
Cinnamon - I usually give the bowl a good dusting on top
Honey - to taste

Add in milk of choice - doing paleo I did unsweetened vanilla almond milk.

Best part about this granola- so easy and very filling for breakfast.
Voila! My granola cereal fix is satisfied!

Halloween 2015

The Royals Baseball player, the kind witch, Belle, and a little pink pig. 

 Despite appearances, this was the only tearful moment. It was a night full running and laughing and of candy sorting and trading.

Paleo Tomato Basil Soup

This weather....

Calls for this soup....

It's adapted from this recipe...converted it so it's dairy free.

Of course I make it with grilled cheese for the kids. I had mine with this Paleo Rye bread and some Cesar  salad and it was delish!

Paleo Tomato Basil Soup
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 Tbs. minced garlic
14 oz chicken broth
3 Tbs. Honey OR 2 Tbs. coconut sugar
1/3 c. ghee
1 Cup of Full Fat Coconut Milk
15 chopped basil leaves or 2 Tbs. of dried basil

Directions: 
Combine tomatoes, broth, and garlic and bring to a boil. Boil 10 minutes, then reduce heat to low and stir in honey(or sugar) and ghee until dissolved.

Pour in coconut milk until combined with soup.

With an immersion blender, puree soup until smooth and creamy!

Stir in basil.

It was a great cold weather night dinner.

Sunday Dinner: Paleo Chicken Tenders

WOW. These HIT THE SPOT! I love them better than any other chicken tenders I've made.

Hello Wonderful! We served ours with a honey mustard dipping sauce....EEEIIII happiness!! I thought maybe I did something wrong because it tasted so good it couldn't be paleo! 

Serve with some cauliflower mashed potatoes and kale salad and BAM. I could have these every Sunday. It's a great change up to red meat and the a big hit with my kids too! 

Paleo Baked Chicken Tenders

Ingredients:

3-4 Chicken Breasts cut into strips or about 10 Chicken Tenders

4 Tbs. Ghee 

1 C. Almond Meal 

1 1/2 Tbs. Sea Salt 

1/2 Tsp. Pepper 

2 1/4 Tsp. Paprika 

1/8 Tsp. Turmeric 

1/8 Tsp. Onion Powder 

1/8 Tsp Garlic powder

Directions: 

Preheat Oven to 400. 

Line a baking sheet with silicone baking mat or foil. Place ghee on prepared baking sheet and place in oven for a minute or two to melt. 

Place almond meal and seasonings in a large ziploc bag. 

Rinse chicken and blot dry with a paper towel. 

Toss in chicken into seasoning mixture and shake until well coated. 

Place chicken strips on baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. 

Take out and flip over, baking another 10-12 minutes. You can bake an additional 5-10 minutes if not done. (Mine took only about 20-25 minutes). 

Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce: 

3/4 C. Paleo Mayonnaise (I like this version best)

3 Tbs. Honey

2 Tablespoons of Yellow Mustard 

1 Tablespoon of Lemon juice (or 1/2 lemon) 

2 Tablespoons of fresh Squeezed Orange Juice 

Combine all ingredients and whisk together. 

Cover and chill for 2 hours. 

Paleo Pumpkin Hot Cakes

With anything pumpkin, many are in the pumpkin camp or way out. But if you are, I recently made these for my siblings and kids over Fall break and we all loved them.

There are lots of paleo pancake recipes around and I've played around with a few and came up with this one that is by far my favorite!

They are are thick and I can feel full after eating them. I love them with the teeniest bit of ghee and pure maple syrup.  There's no food coma like after four pancakes, but your belly and body are full and happy afterwards!

Paleo Pumpkin Pancakes

Ingredients:
1 Banana mashed
1 Egg
1/4 Almond Meal
1/4 Coconut Flour
1/4 Tsp. baking powder
1/2 Tsp. Vanilla
1 Tsp. Cinnamon
2 Tbs. Canned Pumpkin
2 Tbs. Unsweetened Almond Milk or Coconut Milk
Coconut Oil or Coconut Oil Cooking Spray

Directions
Mix all Ingredients together.
Heat skillet or griddle medium-low heat and spray with cooking spray.
Batter will be somewhat thick. With a spoon, spread batter out for about 4 to 6 hotcakes.
Flip after about 4-5 minutes and brown on other side for about 4-5 minutes.

Serve with maple syrup, pecans, or fresh fruit.

***As with most paleo recipes I double or triple to save time. So when on the go in the mornings I reheat left over hotcakes in the toaster oven for breakfast and only have to "make" them once.

Pure Joy

My goodness they give me so much joy! 

I didn't expect to love motherhood so much. 

Oftentimes, in college when I would think about having kids, I would assume it was just work, an extended babysitting job, time and commitment. And yes, of course, there are equally hard days mixed with the wonderful ones. 

Thank you God for allowing me glimpses of Heaven by the happiness they give me. How lucky I am for the gift of motherhood. 

Paleo Fried Sweet Potatoes

 My go-to Paleo side dish, these leave me FULL and SATISFIED when I eat them and they are SO GOOD! 

Ingredients: 
2 Tbs. Olive Oil
2 Tbs. Ghee (I get this one on Amazon and when I'm not doing Paleo I just use regular butter) 
3 Medium Sweet Potatoes 
1 Medium Onion 
1 Medium Tart Apple (I prefer Johnathan) 
About 1/2 Tbs. Garlic Powder (I usually just dust over the top of them while they are in the skillet.)
1/2 Tsp. Sea Salt (or more to taste)

Directions: 
Cut and quarter sweet potatoes and cut into 1/2 inch wedges. Turn wedges flat on their sides and cut in half again so they are in even strips. 

Cut onion and apple in 1/2 inch slices as well. Frying sweet potatoes can be tricky as you don't want them to be hard or too soggy.  

In a large skillet heat oil and ghee over medium high heat. I have a huge Cuisinart skillet at about 375-400. Make sure skillet is large enough that all sweet potatoes have enough room lay flat so as to fry up evenly if you can.

Place sweet potatoes and onions in heated skillet. Toss and stir. 

Sprinkle with garlic powder and sea salt. Continue to stir and flip so they cook evenly and don't burn.

After about 8 minutes add in apples. Fry for about 8 to 10 minutes more turning often until onions are translucent and sweet potatoes are tender when poked with a fork. 

Sometimes I'll even do a sprinkle of cinnamon for a twist and it's good too! 

May your bellies be full and your heart happy!

For My Grandma Slonkosky

I promised you a long time ago I would publish a post just for you. For my family far away...here's Julia's 1 year pictures.