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Broccoli Noodle Soup

For lunch on Saturday I made a batch of broccoli noodle soup (trying to use up some milk). This is a recipe from my MIL. A soup Justin grew up eating. It’s very simple to make and very filling. You could make it healthier by using homemade noodles. I used wide egg noodles. And you can use any kind of cheese you like. The original calls for Velveeta. I used sharp cheddar. You can add any veggies you like. I added a few carrots and peas in addition to the broccoli. I’ll post the recipe the way I make it.

Broccoli Noodle Soup

2 Tbsp. butter
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup noodles (homemade or egg)
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 cup chopped broccoli (I use frozen)
1/2 cup chopped veggies (carrots, peas, beans, etc.)
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/4 – 1/2 cup cheese (cheddar, mont. jack)

Saute onion and veggies in butter about 4 minutes. Add broth. Cook 3 minutes. Add noodles and seasoning. Cook 5 minutes. Add broccoli. Let simmer 5 minutes. Add milk and cheese. Cook until soup is hot and cheese is melted.

Overnight French Toast Bake

I found this recipe on my SIL’s blog and thought it would be a great addition to our Christmas brunch menu. I tried it last week to test it before making it for guests. It is easy and good!! And will be on the table Tuesday morning 🙂  Justin and Rebecca both really enjoyed it. I love that you don’t need to add syrup. It’s already plenty sweet and syrupy. Thanks for the recipe, Sara. I replaced the corn syrup with honey to make it healthier. I only made a half recipe when I was trying it. I’ll make the full version for our party.

Edited 12/28/11 – I made the full version yesterday. Instead of doing slices of bread I broke it all into chunks. I think that worked a lot better to absorb the eggs/milk evenly. And it was much easier to dish up.

Overnight French Toast Bake

2 Tbsp. honey
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown cane sugar or sucanat
1 16oz. loaf whole wheat bread, gluten free bread or grain free bread
1 1/2 cups milk
5 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla

In a pan on the stovetop, combine the honey, butter, and brown sugar. Simmer until syrup-like, about 7 minutes. Pour half of the mixture in the bottom of a 13×9 inch pan. Slice bread into 1-inch slices and place on top of mixture in pan. Pour remaining syrup mixture over top of bread slices.

Combine eggs, milk, salt, and vanilla. Beat until mixed well. Pour over bread.

Cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, uncover pan and bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until brown.

Crockpot Pork and Beans (grain free, dairy free, nut free, egg free, GAPS-legal)

For lunch yesterday we had another new recipe for pork and beans from Cheeseslave. This is a very easy crockpot meal. And it is so good!! All three of us loved it. Although Abram wasn’t too happy about me eating so many beans. He’s not a happy camper right now. I guess I won’t be eating this again for a while. Aside from that it’s a great recipe. I didn’t follow the directions completely. I simplified it a bit and made less. For meat I used cut up bacon and cut pieces of leftover pork chops. I’ll post it the way I made it. This is a great, healthy recipe for baked beans. You could use just the bacon or probably even leave the meat out. I love that you use broth to add extra nutrition. I also stirred some coconut oil into my dish for more healthy fat. This would be great served with corn bread or over rice. You could even add in other vegetables for a more complete meal.

Crockpot Pork and Beans

2 cups dried navy beans
1/2 small onion, diced
1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. coconut oil
2 cups chicken broth or stock
meat – ham hock, diced bacon, cut up pork, grass-fed hot dogs (whatever you have on hand)
1/4 cup ketchup (I used homemade fermented ketchup…GAPS legal)
2 Tbsp. mustard
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup total sweetener (honey, maple syrup, molasses…any combo…I used honey…GAPS-legal)
sea salt to taste

Soak beans in water and whey for 7-24 hours. Drain. Rinse. Cook beans in water for about 30 minutes, until just starting to soften (skim foam from water when it comes to a boil). Drain.

Add butter, coconut oil and onion to crockpot. Turn to high. Let fat melt. Add beans and remaining ingredients (except hot dogs). Cook on high 6-10 hours. Add more stock if it gets too dry. Add sliced hot dogs (if using) about an hour before serving. Remove ham hock if using.

Everything Salmon (grain free, dairy free, egg free, nut free, GAPS-legal)

On Rachael Ray recently I saw her make a recipe called everything salmon. It’s a play on an everything bagel…same flavors, different medium. It sounded good, so I made it for dinner last night. It was super simple. And Justin and I both really liked it. Rebecca wouldn’t eat it…”it’s too spicy!” For her spice means any strong flavor. I didn’t have the ingredients for the sauce, so I made my own. Basically a sour cream and onion sauce (the “cream cheese” component). I think it paired really well with the salmon. Plus I got to eat lots of yummy, healthy raw sour cream with my dinner. Definitely a very healthy dish with fatty fish and cultured raw dairy. A keeper. The measurements are in Racheal Ray terms (“palmful”). Just season to your taste.

This post is linked to Fat Tuesday at Real Food Forager.

Everything Salmon

A palmful dehydrated onion

A palmful poppy seed
A palmful sesame seeds
A palmful garlic flakes
Sea salt and pepper
1 Tbsp. EVOO (I used lard and butter)
2 salmon fillets
——————————
3 scallions
1/2 cup low-fat sour cream or low-fat Greek yogurt
(I used raw sour cream and salt, garlic powder and dried minced onion)

Sprinkle salmon fillets with onion, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, garlic flakes, salt and pepper. In a small skillet, heat EVOO, one turn of the pan. Place salmon skin-side down and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Flip and finish cooking another 2-3 minutes, until cooked to your desired doneness.

While salmon is cooking, mix sour cream with scallions in a small bowl.

Avocado Bird’s Nest (grain free, dairy free, nut free, GAPS-legal)

I’ve been watching The Next Iron Chef on Food Network. And on this week’s episode someone made a bird’s nest using avocado. I’ve seen it done with bread, zucchini, various things. But never avocado. I thought it sounded like a neat idea since one of my absolute favorite things to eat with egg is avocado. So I made one for lunch yesterday. Yum!! I don’t think I’ve ever actually cooked an avocado. But they are quite good when they get warmed. This is a quick, nutritious breakfast, lunch or dinner. I let the yolk sit in the hole and the whites run over the edges to cook. I’ll definitely make this again! I added a little extra butter and another egg yolk to mine for extra nutrition just before taking it out of the pan.

This post is linked to Fat Tuesday at Real Food Forager.

Avocado Bird’s Nest

1/2 avocado
1 egg
butter, coconut oil or lard for cooking

Remove pit from avocado. Slice a little piece off the back of the avocado so it can sit flat. Make the hole large enough for an egg yolk all the way through. Heat butter in skillet. Add avocado. Crack egg over avacado so the yolk sits in the hole. Push the whites over the edge/onto the pan surface to cook. Sprinkle with salt. When the whites are cooked remove the bird’s nest.

Pepper Steak (Grain Free, Dairy Free, GAPS-legal)

Once in a while I ask Justin if he has any specific requests for dinner. This week he asked for pepper steak and mashed potatoes. So that’s what I made last night. It’s a recipe from my MIL. It’s very simple and very good. I adjusted the ingredients to make it healthier (since I don’t use soy sauce or bouillion). The full recipe is not GAPS legal. But just the steak part is (minus the gravy). The gravy uses flour, so that part is not grain free. But the meat is great without the gravy. There is plenty of sauce in the pan that you can use as gravy even if you don’t thicken it. I put mine on top of squash. Justin had his over mashed potatoes. We all enjoyed it. The one thing I have never understood is why it’s called pepper steak…there is no pepper in it 😛  The recipe calls for round steak. Use whatever you have. I used sirloin because that’s what I could find first buried under all of our pork 😛  This is a great recipe to use with grassfed beef since it simmers a long time and the meat gets very tender. I hadn’t intended to post this recipe at first, but after serving it I realized I should. So I had to take pictures of what was left after dinner and what I packed for Justin’s lunch.

Pepper Steak

1 large steak (round or sirloin work well), cut into chunks
olive oil, coconut oil, lard or palm shortening
1 cup beef broth, chicken broth or water (may need more as it cooks)
1/4 cup ketchup (I used homemade fermented ketchup)
salt and garlic powder to taste

1 Tbsp. flour
1/4 cup cold water

Brown meat in oil in skillet. Add water/broth, ketchup and seasoning. Cover and simmer over low heat 1 1/2 hours. Stir periodically and add extra liquid if it gets too dry. You can serve it like this over veggies, rice or potatoes.

To make gravy: Remove meat from pan. Mix flour and water until the lumps are gone. Gradually add the flour mixture to the sauce in the pan, stirring over low heat. Add more water until desired consistency and quantity of gravy. Serve gravy on the side or add the meat back to the pan for serving.

Crockpot Stuffed Peppers (Grain Free, Dairy Free, Nut Free, GAPS-legal)

Yesterday I had a doctor appt. in the afternoon, so I needed a prep ahead dinner. I decided to try making stuffed peppers in the crockpot. I didn’t really use a recipe. I just made a simple meat mixture and stuffed it into a couple peppers. 

It cooked all day in the crockp0t. What a super easy, super tasty dinner! I just ate the meat since peppers bother my little one. But it was still good. Even my daughter ate all of hers.

The peppers get super tender. You can peel the skins right off (a big bonus for kids). You can mix just about anything into the meat…rice, veggies, beans, cheese. I kept it very simple so that I could eat it. I used one pound of meat for 2 large peppers…that could easily serve 4 people.

Crockpot Stuffed Peppers

2 large bell peppers, top cut off, seeds/insides removed
1 lb. ground beef
1 egg
1/3 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp. mustard
salt and garlic powder to taste
(any other fillings you like)

Prepare the peppers.

Mix the meat with the remaining ingredients. Stuff the meat mixture into the peppers.

Put the tops on the peppers.

Put a small amount of water in the bottom of the crockpot. Place the peppers inside (I found it worked well to have them against the sides since they get soft and can tip while cooking).

Cover and cook on high 4-8 hours or low 6-12 hours (I think I had mine on high for a few hours then switched it to low for the rest of the day…about 9 hours total).

Easy Chicken Nuggets…Another Way to Use a Roasted Chicken (grain free, dairy free, GAPS-legal)

On Sunday I roasted a chicken. I love having all the leftover meat to use in other meals. I had planned to make chicken nuggets this week. I usually use boneless skinless chicken breasts for that. Cut them, bread them, fry them. But when I deboned my chicken this week I had very limited time so most of the meat was still in large chunks. Then I thought, wouldn’t it be easier to use that to make my chicken nuggets? So I tried it last night…AWESOME!! Best chicken nuggets I’ve ever made I think. The meat is already cooked, so you just have to fry it until you have a nice crust. So quick and easy…and much less messy…no raw chicken to deal with. I broke the meat into the size of strips/nuggets I thought looked right. Then I dipped them in egg, rolled them in coconut flour and pan fried them in a combo of lard and palm shortening. Delicious!! I served them with homemade honey mustard. It reminded me of eating chicken strips at Fudruckers when I was younger…the flavor anyway…this meat was far superior 🙂  Rebecca absolutely loved them as well. I don’t know that I’ve seen her eat/chew her food that quickly in a long time 🙂  I can’t wait to have leftovers for lunch today. Dip them in honey mustard with extra egg yolk mixed in…tons of nutrition. I think I know what I’ll be making with leftover roasted chicken in the future 🙂  You could even make a huge batch and freeze them for even easier meals on busy nights. Just warm and serve.

This post is linked to Grain Free Real Food Linky Carnival at Real Food Forager.

Easy Chicken Nuggets

Leftover roasted chicken in large chunks
1 egg, beaten
1/4 – 1/2 cup coconut flour
salt to taste
lard, palm shortening, coconut oil, tallow or butter for frying

Break chicken into strips/chunks. Coat chicken in egg. Then in flour/salt mixture. Fry in hot grease/oil in cast iron skillet, a few minutes on each side until golden and crispy. Serve with honey mustard or fermented ketchup.

Stuffed Squash (egg free, dairy free, grain free, GAPS-legal)

Last night for dinner I made stuffed squash. This isn’t totally a new recipe. I made stuffed squash before (and it was awesome!). But I made a grain free version yesterday. So I figured I’d do a new post for it. Same concept, though. Just bake the squash and stuff it with what you like, really. I made ours very filling with lentils, cut up green beans, peas, homemade chicken sausage and bacon. And I topped Justin’s with parmesan cheese. I love that these are a whole meal in one (although I did serve other stuff with them). They do take a bit of work to prep all of the components before assembling. But it’s worth the effort 🙂  I did not add any nuts this time, but pine nuts, pistachios or some other chopped nuts add a nice crunch to it.

This post is linked to Grain Free Real Food Linky Carnival at Real Food Forager.

Stuffed Squash

1 small squash of choice (Buttercup works well)
3 slices bacon, cooked
1/3 cup cooked sausage
1/2 cup cooked lentils
cooked, chopped veggies (I just used some leftovers we had in the fridge. If you are using fresh you can saute them first. Peppers, onions, carrots, mushrooms and celery would all be good).
Seasoning to taste (I used sea salt and garlic powder)
cheese (optional…you can mix it into the fill and/or grate it on top)
nuts (optional)

Cut squash in half. Scoop out seeds. Place on baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt. Cover with foil. Fill bottom of pan with water. Bake at 400 until fully cooked (1 – 11/2 hours). Mix remaining ingredients. Stuff each half of the squash with the filling. Top with cheese if desired. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Grain Free Lentil Burgers (dairy free, GAPS-legal)

Last night for dinner I made lentil burgers. I didn’t take any pictuers because I hadn’t intended to post a recipe. This isn’t really a “new” recipe. It’s just a modified version of one I’ve made before. But then I thought I’d post it separately so that I remember it. Mostly because these make a great snack! And I’m always looking for new snacks. I made a very simple version of lentil burgers. 3 ingredients. As usual Justin wasn’t thrilled…never is with meatless burgers. But they must have been pretty good if Rebecca ate her whole burger. Scarfed it down before finishing anything else on her plate (even before french fries and brussels sprouts!). Not one complaint about taste or texture. That sounds like a good recipe to me 🙂  I just made a small batch last night, 4 burgers. I ate one as a bedtime snack with pesto. YUM! And so far my tummy seems to handle the lentils well (wasn’t sure since I haven’t had them in a while). These are very healthy. Lentils and eggs both have tons of protein and nutrients. And I cooked them in lard for some extra fat to help absorb the nutrients. I’m glad I tried these again. A big hit for me! Now I just need to make more to snack on 🙂  And hopefully next week I’ll have time make fermented ketchup to dip them in. I call these burgers. You could call them lentil cakes since I don’t actually eat them with a bun. I just top them with condiments and eat them with a fork. Or you could make some nut butter pancakes to use as buns. You can prep these burgers ahead of time and then just cook them when it’s time for dinner.

Lentil Burgers
~ 4 burgers

2 cups lentils (soaked and cooked)
1 egg
1/4 – 1/3 cup almond flour
seasoning to taste (I used salt and garlic powder)
fat for cooking (lard, tallow, coconut oil, butter)

Smush half of the lentils in a bowl. Add remaning lentils, egg, flour and seasoning. Mix until combined. If mixture is too moist add more flour. From into burgers. Cook in hot oil/butter/fat in cast iron skillet over medium heat, about 7 minutes per side.