Paleo Pecan Raisin Bread!

And the best part is (1) it's like bread, (2) it is super easy to make and (3) NO AGAVE!!!

Seriously, try this today.

Pecan-Raisin Bread

3/4 c creamy roasted almond butter @ room temp
4 lg eggs
1/4 c blanched almond flour
1/4 c arrowroot powder
1/2 t sea salt
1/2 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
1/2 c pecans, coarsely chopped **
1 c raisins

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 7x3 loaf pan with grapeseed oil and dust with almond flour.

In a large bowl, mix the almond butter with a handheld mixer until smooth, and then blend in the eggs. IN a medium owl, combine the almond flour, arrowroot powder, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Blend the almond flour mixture into the wet ingredients until thoroughly combined, then fold in the pecans and raisins. Pour the batter into the loaf pan.

Bake for 45-50 min on the bottom rack of the oven, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the bread cool in the pan for 1 hour, then serve.

To store: wrap the bread in a paper towel, place in a resealable plastic bag and refrigerate. WIll keep for up to six days (as if it would last that long!).

Thanks Elana's Pantry for the recipe!

**the only change I would make would be to toast the pecans first.

Paleo Meatloaf

I wanted to create a flavorful and delicious meatloaf for lunch. So, I took some advice from CrossFit Dallas Central and made a couple of alterations. It resulted in a delicious meat-y dish that I now love. It's ridiculously fast and forgiving and you can add your favorite things to it!

Paleo Meatloaf:

2 lbs. Ground Beef (I used 1# 91% Laura's Lean and 1# Kroger "natural's")
1 Bell pepper finely diced
1 White or yellow onion (approx. 1/2 lb.) finely diced
2 large eggs
Black Pepper to taste
1/2c Almond Flour
3+ Strips bacon

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and adjust to the middle rack. Combine everything except for the bacon, put in a loaf pan. Top with bacon slices. Bake for 35-45 minutes.

Next Time:
I would add a little more salt and pepper
I would add garlic
I would add more bacon
Add carrots

Carrot Cake

I made this as-Paleo-as-a-carrot-cake-can-get recipe for Easter. Even non-Paleo people liked it! I didn't make the frosting, but I am sure it is delish!

Carrot Cake:

3 cups blanched almond flour
2 teaspoons celtic sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
5 eggs
½ cup agave nectar
¼ cup grapeseed oil
3 cups carrots, grated
1 cup raisins
1 cup walnuts

In a large bowl, combine almond flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg
In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, agave and oil
Stir carrots, raisins and walnuts into wet ingredients
Stir wet ingredients into dry
Place batter into 2 well greased, round 9 Inch cake pans
Bake at 325° for 35 minutes
Cool to room temperature and spread with coconut cream frosting
Serve

Coconut Cream Frosting

1 cup coconut milk
1 cup agave nectar
pinch celtic sea salt
5 teaspoons arrowroot powder
1 tablespoon water
1¼ cup coconut oil

In a medium saucepan, heat coconut milk, agave and salt, simmer for 10 minutes
In a small bowl, combine arrowroot and water to form a smooth paste
Pour arrowroot mixture into saucepan
Mix contents of saucepan with a hand blender and bring to a boil, briefly
Remove pot from heat and very gradually blend in coconut oil
Place pot in freezer for 30-40 minutes, until frosting solidifies and turns white
Remove from freezer and blend again, until fluffy
Spread over cake or cupcakes

Cinnamon Rolls - Not AT ALL good for you

I love Ree Drummond. I want to be her and live on her ranch and cook all the time. Everything except for the five kids; that's a lot of work! Anyway, I made her cinnamon rolls for a food day at work. They were amazing, delicious and life changing. They are not good for you. Not at all. But they are oh so good .. try these. Just note the recipe makes 7 or 8 (mine made 8 - a total of 56 rolls) round baking dishes of cinnamon rolls. Not that that is a bad thing. Also make sure your read her instructions on her site, they are good and fun. Just click on the words "Cinnamon Rolls" below. Oh, and if you feel if-y about the coffee , don't be. I hate coffee but added it anyway and it was delish. I asked people at work and they said it's great!

Cinnamon Rolls

1 quart Whole Milk
1 cup Vegetable Oil
1 cup Sugar
2 packages Active Dry Yeast
8 cups (Plus 1 Cup Extra, Separated) All-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder
1 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda
1 Tablespoon (heaping) Salt
Plenty Of Melted Butter
2 cups Sugar
Generous Sprinkling Of Cinnamon
_____
MAPLE FROSTING:
1 bag Powdered Sugar
2 teaspoons Maple Flavoring
½ cups Milk
¼ cups Melted Butter
¼ cups Brewed Coffee
⅛ teaspoons Salt

Preparation Instructions
Mix the milk, vegetable oil and sugar in a pan. “Scald” the mixture (heat until just before the boiling point). Turn off heat and leave to cool 45 minutes to 1 hour. When the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot, sprinkle in both packages of Active Dry Yeast. Let this sit for a minute. Then add 8 cups of all-purpose flour. Stir mixture together. Cover and let rise for at least an hour.

After rising for at least an hour, add 1 more cup of flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir mixture together. (At this point, you could cover the dough and put it in the fridge until you need it – overnight or even a day or two, if necessary. Just keep your eye on it and if it starts to overflow out of the pan, just punch it down).
When ready to prepare rolls: Sprinkle rolling surface generously with flour. Take half the dough and form a rough rectangle. Then roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape. Drizzle 1/2 to 1 cup melted butter over the dough. Now sprinkle 1 cup of sugar over the butter followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon.

Now, starting at the opposite end, begin rolling the dough in a neat line toward you. Keep the roll relatively tight as you go. Next, pinch the seam of the roll to seal it.

Spread 1 tablespoon of melted butter in a seven inch round foil cake or pie pan. Then begin cutting the rolls approximately ¾ to 1 inch thick and laying them in the buttered pans.

Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. Let the rolls rise for 20 to 30 minutes, then bake at 400 degrees (see note below) until light golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes.

For the frosting, mix together all ingredients listed and stir well until smooth. It should be thick but pourable. Taste and adjust as needed. Generously drizzle over the warm rolls. Go crazy and don’t skimp on the frosting.

Almond Flour

Almond Flour

I recently bought 25 pounds of almond flour. I had no idea how much 25 pounds of almond flour was until the huge box came. It's a lot of almond flour. I'm going to have to bake a lot ...

If you need any, check out honeyvillegrain.com they are great with incredibly low shipping rates.

Paleo Pancakes

Eek! Sorry for the posting hiatus! I drove to New York for a late Easter with the fam and then got sick! But, I'm back and so are the recipes!!

Breakfast it by far my most favorite meal of the day. Historically, pancakes are my favorite thing, specifically banana-walnut pancakes. So I miss them! These pancakes are a delicious alternative to regular pancakes. You can even add your favorite ingredients to them if you want! Make a big batch and store them in the fridge, heat them up for 25-30 seconds for a super quick breakfast treat!

Paleo Pancakes (thanks for the recipe Elana's Pantry!)

2 eggs
¼ cup agave nectar**
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups blanched almond flour
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
grapeseed oil for sautéing

In a blender, combine eggs, agave and vanilla and blend on high until smooth
Add almond flour, salt and baking soda and blend again to incorporate dry ingredients into batter
Let batter sit for 15-20 minutes to thicken up
Warm grapeseed oil in a large skillet over medium heat
Ladle pancake batter onto skillet - make silver dollar size
Pancakes will form little bubbles, when bubbles open, flip pancakes over and cook other side
Remove from heat to a plate
Repeat process with remaining batter, adding more oil to skillet as needed

**In an effort to reduce my sugar I halved the amount of agave.