I Scream, You Scream.....

Yay for ICE CREAM! I absolutely love ice cream! Just like pizza is one of my weaknesses, so is ice cream. Did you know that July is National Ice Cream Month?  Today just happens to be National Ice Cream Day too (The third Sunday of July). I stumbled upon a recipe that doesn't need an ice cream machine. At first I was a little skeptical and thought that it wouldn't taste anything like "real" ice cream. Not only does it turn out creamy and delicious but it is ridiculously easy to make. The base is just Heavy Cream and Sweetened Condensed Milk and then you can pretty much have any kind of "add-in" that you want. I made a coffee, chocolate, and toffee ice cream. My inspiration came from a coffee, chocolate, sugar grinder I got from Trader Joe's last week. It has bits of coffee beans, chocolate chunks, and sugar crystals.  I've been putting in my coffee, but it would be amazing on cupcakes or ice cream too. I will definitely be trying out different variations of the base recipe. I am also in the process of making another homemade, no machine, dairy free, low sugar ice cream! Stay tuned for that recipe :)

Ingredients:

 Directions:

 1. Whip the cream to stiff peaks

2. Mix in any "add ins" to condensed milk (I used about 3 Tbls coffee, 1/2 cup Heath Bits, 1 Tbls Chocolate Syrup)

3. Combine milk and cream and pour into 2 quart container

4. Freeze until hardened (Swirl Magic Shell, Freeze, and break up shell. I repeated this process 2-3 times for lots of chocolate chunks)

5. Enjoy :)

Paleo Pizza

Let me start of by saying I LOVE PIZZA! Pizza is definitely one of my weaknesses and usually my go to meal when I don't feel like cooking! While I have been better about not eating as much pizza as I used to,  I haven't been able to completely say no while trying to eat Paleo! Because of my love for pizza I decided I needed to find a Paleo alternative! I went to my new go to website for Paleo recipes....Everyday Paleo. I used her recipe for my crust and got creative with my toppings. I found another recipe out there that used shredded eggplant in the crust with the almond meal, but I decided to play it safe for this first time. In honor of my love for pizza, I made my crust into the shape of a heart :) I also used my fresh rosemary that was planted this week!  While the pizza was in the oven, the smell was amazing, I couldn't wait for it be done to try it! The end result was delish. The crust was more like a crisp cracker and not like a regular pizza crust at all, but it was very tasty overall! I will definitely be making this again, so easy and a great pizza substitute :)

Ingredients:
Crust:

• 2 cups almond meal
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon rosemary, chopped

Toppings:
I used Trader Joe's Putanesca Sauce because it has capers, olives, garlic, and lots of spices already added to the tomato sauce. I also used artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, yellow squash, and spinach. However, you can use any toppings that you have on hand or like to put on your pizzas!





Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients for crust and form the dough into a ball.

2. Lightly grease pan with olive oil. Use your hands to lightly press dough into desired shape on pan (circle, oval, or heart <3 like I made :)) The dough should be about 1/4 inch thick

3. Bake crust in 350 degrees oven for about 20 minutes 

 4. After crust is done. Spread sauce over the crust and add toppings

 5. Bake in the oven for another 25-30 minutes

Enjoy :)

Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Stuffed Jalapenos

mmmmm....

I just love anything wrapped in bacon! My favorite bacon lately has been the Apple Smoked Bacon from Trader Joes! It is pretty thick, tastes amazing, and relatively inexpensive for bacon. For the Fourth of July I decided to make more of my bacon wrapped deliciousness for appetizers! I have been wanting to make my own jalapeno poppers, so I was very excited when I discovered a "paleo-friendly" version. I also got very excited when I went to a BBQ the day before and they were making a jalapeno popper and they used a skewer to attach all of the "poppers" while grilling (I used toothpicks to secure and then a skewer to attach them all as well to make it easier to move them on the grill). I made my stuffed dates again, but this time I grilled them (which were AMAZING by the way!)

Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Stuffed Jalapenos

Ingredients:

• Jalapenos
• Chicken (cooked and sliced)
• Bacon

Directions:
1. Slice jalapenos in half and scoop out seeds
2. Place cooked chicken inside pepper
3. Wrap in bacon that has been sliced in halves or thirds (depending on the desired length of bacon)
4. Use a toothpick to hold everything together
5. Skewer jalapenos for grilling (or place on parchment lined pan to cook in oven)
6. Grill until bacon is crisp
 

Jalapenos, chicken, and bacon skewered and ready to grill!

Grill until bacon is cooked and crisp---check out that fire!!

 

 

Grilled Bacon-Wrapped Dates

Grilled Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Stuffed Jalapenos...Enjoy :)

Strawberry Popsicles

I just love the summer time! It has been ridiculously hot so I needed something to help cool me down. The answer to that was POPSICLES! These were super easy and only needed two ingredients. They are great to have in the freezer for a sweet refreshing treat during these hot summer months! I found another recipe that I am going to try later this week that is more like a fudgesicle!

Ingredients:   

Directions:

1. Remove stems of strawberries and slice in halves or quarters

2. Combine strawberries and coconut milk in blender until smooth

3. Pour mixture into popsicle molds and freeze for at least 4 hours or until frozen

Bacon-Wrapped Pecan Stuffed Dates

There are a few restaurants in town that we have ordered bacon wrapped dates and I loved them so much I wanted to recreate this wonderful treat at home. These are definitely going to be made again and are great for little appetizers for a party. Just be sure you don't eat them all before serving!

Ingredients:

 

Dates, Bacon, and Pecans

Directions:

1. Slice dates and remove seeds. Slice bacon in thirds or in half

 

2. Stuff dates with pecans

3. Wrap dates with bacon and secure with a toothpick

4. Bake in 400 degree oven for about 12 minutes

 ( I would recommend using parchment paper so they don't stick)

  Enjoy :)

There will be more bacon wrapped deliousness later this week :)

Chicken and Chard

I discovered another favorite recipe from Everyday Paleo. Matt bought some rainbow chard from the Grower's Market a couple of weeks ago so I went on a hunt for recipes with chard. I made it and absolutely loved it! We bought more chard this past weekend so I decided to make it again. It is super easy to make and I just loved all the flavors together!

Chicken and Chard 

Ingredients:

• 3-4 large chicken breasts (cut into bite size pieces)
• 1 large bunch of rainbow chard  (roughly chopped)
• 1/2 red or sweet onion (diced)
• 5 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 (4oz) can of roasted green chiles 
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• salt and pepper to taste
• handful of raisins and slivered almonds for garnish

Directions:

1. Saute onions over medium heat in 2 tablespoons coconut oil

2. Once onions are translucent, add chicken and cook for 3-5 minutes

3. Add garlic and saute for another 2-3 minutes

4. Add green chile and cumin

5. Add chopped chard and cook for a few minutes or until wilted

6. Add slivered almonds and raisins as garnish and  Enjoy :)

 

Birthday Brownies

Last week was my dad's birthday and I am usually the one to make the sweet treats in the family. I had been looking for an excuse to experiment with Paleo Sweet Treats so I used my family as guinea pigs for these brownies :)

They turned out really good and extremely rich! You don't even need a big piece to get the yummy chocolatey and nutty flavor! I combined two different recipes from this website.

Brownie Ingredients 

• 16 ounces of walnut butter (take a bag of walnuts and ground in the food processor)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1 cup agave nectar or honey
• 1tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 ounces chopped dark chocolate

Sauce Ingredients

• 1/3 cup agave nectar
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder

 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease a 8x8 baking pan

2. Mix together walnuts, vanilla, agave, and egg

3. Add baking soda, salt, and cocoa

4. Once the batter is incorporated completely, mix in chopped chocolate

5. Pour batter in greased pan and bake for 30-35 minutes

For the sauce, heat cocoa and agave in a sauce pan and pour over cooled brownies. I also added slivered almonds, which made a nice finishing touch!

Enjoy :)