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Paleo Shepherd’s Pie

by | Feb 1, 2016 | Dinner, Recipes

This is a great comfort food dish.  Technically this should be called “Cottage Pie”.  Shepherd’s Pie is traditionally made with ground lamb and this version is made with beef. What is great about this dish is that the vegetables are just suggestions.  You can substitute your own favorites or whatever you have on hand.  Sneak extra greens like spinach or kale for added vitamins.  You can also substitute ground chicken or turkey for the ground pork.  This recipe was tested in my Healthy Cooking 101 – Basic Starters workshop and was highly rated.  Enjoy!

Paleo Shepherd's Pie
 
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Healthy, warm and comforting and can be adapted in a variety of ways. It makes a family size 9 x 13 portion.
Author:
Course: Dinner/ Comfort Foods
Cuisine: American
Serves: 12 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 lb. ground beef, browned (I use organic from Costco)
  • ½ lb. ground pork, chicken or turkey (browned)
  • 1½ cups diced carrots
  • 1½ cups diced mushrooms
  • 1 cup asparagus cut into 1" pieces
  • ½ cup diced red peppers
  • ½ cup diced onions
  • 1 medium sweet potato diced
  • 1 tsp. rosemary
  • 1 tsp. thyme
  • 1 tsp. minced garlic
  • 1 cup beef stock or bone broth
  • ¼ cup tapioca starch
  • 1 lb. yuca root (I use goya brand, frozen)
  • ½ head cauliflower cut into large pieces
  • 1 Tbsp. healthy fat of choice (I use avocado oil)
  • salt and pepper to taste (turmeric to taste optional)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375°.
  2. Bring cauliflower and yuca to a boil.
  3. Brown the ground beef and pork, chicken or turkey in a large skillet. Remove and set aside.
  4. Sauté onions, peppers and onions until moisture is gone and slightly browned. Set aside.
  5. Add oil and sauté carrots, sweet potatoes, carrots, and asparagus until just softened.
  6. Add the meat mix and onion mix back to the skillet. Sprinkle with the tapioca starch and stir.
  7. Add the stock or broth. Cook over medium heat until slightly thickened. .
  8. Add rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper. Stir well.
  9. Place entire mixture into greased 9 x 13 baking dish.
  10. Remove boiled yuca and cauliflower and strain.
  11. Place in food processor and blend until smooth. This may need to be done in two batches.
  12. Add garlic into mixture while processing.
  13. Spread cauliflower and yuca over meat mixture until completely covered.
  14. (Can sprinkle additional herbs on top if desired)
  15. Bake for 20 minutes at 375° until slightly browned on top. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

 

No Fear

by | Feb 1, 2016 | Christian, Inspiration

No Fear

     There are over 300 verses in the Bible dealing with fear; “Fear not”; “Do not be afraid”… A few examples include Joshua 1:9, Psalm 56:3-4, Psalm 91:4-8, Isaiah 44:8, Matthew 10:31, Luke 12:32, 2 Timothy 1:7, and Revelation 1:17.

As I was reading Psalm 18:4-6 it struck me how David often feared for his life, especially from Saul, who was his own king. This was David – who courageously killed Goliath as a young boy; who fought bravely in battle after battle and was victorious. Not only did he experience fear from Saul, but David pretended to be insane to save his life from Abimelech (Psalm 34). He was threatened by his own son Absalom and was forced to flee (Psalm 3). This mighty man of God – a brave warrior – had seasons of great fear.

I started thinking through other biblical heroes who also experienced seasons of fear. I started with Abraham in Genesis 12:10-13 and again in Genesis 20:2 when he was afraid of being killed so he claimed Sarah was his sister. Moses in Exodus 17:4 states “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.” Ester 4:16 “…And if I perish I perish.” Elijah in 1 Kings 19:3 “Elijah was afraid and ran for his life.” Peter in Matthew 14:30 “But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord save me!’” All four gospels record Peter’s denial of Jesus due to fear (Matt. 26: 69-74, Mark 14:66-72, Luke 22:55-62 and John 18:15-18, 25-27. Moments of fear seemed to affect them all.  Fear can sometimes to overtake us as well.

I love going through the Psalms and listing the character attributes of God. All of Psalm 18, written by David, is a beautiful reminder of the strength and power of God in the midst of fearful circumstances. David lists God as his: strength, rock, fortress, deliverer, refuge, shield, salvation, stronghold, help, support, Savoir, avenger and rescuer.

As we go through our own seasons of fear, in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in, I find great comfort in the history of the heroes of scripture and the reminder of the might and power of God whom we can trust in the midst of the storms of life.

Chaos

by | Jan 30, 2016 | Inspiration

Anyone who knows me is abundantly aware that I am technically challenged, especially in the social media arena.  It has only been in the last year or so that I even learned to text!  So here I am, trying desperately to come up to speed with current technology, which includes learning how to navigate a website.  I am totally clueless! (Again, anyone who knows me is saying “Let me show you my shocked face.”)

I have an incredible and very patient friend who has taken on the challenge of teaching me all that she knows to help me with this website.  She meets with me in person, but she also masterfully talks me through technical mine fields over the phone.

A few days ago, she was trying to teach me how to organize photos into folders in order to find them more easily.  This was hysterically complicated for me, but she was angelically patient and kind.  As we were both on speaker phone with each other, her husband walked by and lovingly joked that I should call my website “Chaos” due to the craziness of ME trying to gain any understanding of technology at all.

As I was learning how to organize, move and attach photos, the very picture we were practicing on was this beautiful butterfly in my garden.  I was needing to practice moving photos and putting them in a post, so we laughingly titled our practice post “Chaos” and attached the picture.

I wanted to write this post to humbly and overwhelmingly thank my precious and very dear friend Janice, who is bringing order to my chaos.  She is my springtime butterfly in the midst of website technical winter storms.  Thank you for all that you are dear friend.

Baked Oatmeal with Bananas

by | Jan 28, 2016 | Breakfast, Recipes

I know that oatmeal (even gluten-free) is not considered paleo, but my family does enjoy it; especially with bacon.  I often make a larger batch than we need, so I started searching for recipes that I could use with leftover cooked oatmeal.  I found several, so I started adapting them together and using whatever I had on hand to improvise (especially on cold winter days).

I buy Colman’s uncured, nitrate free bacon at Costco and cook all three packages in the oven. I use a broiler pan and place a cookie cooking rack on top.  I lay the bacon on the rack (I can usually get nine pieces on the rack at a time), and bake in the oven at 350° until slightly crispy. I cool the bacon on paper towels and freeze the cooked bacon.  It is so handy to have bacon ready whenever you want it.  I always drain the grease from the pan between each batch.  You can store the lard in the refrigerator if you enjoy cooking with it.

My family loves this recipe and now is often disappointed with just plain oatmeal.  This recipe does reheat well, so you can make it ahead when you know your morning may be rushed.  I know diabetics need to be careful with the sugar content in bananas, so I have subbed in apples or blueberries.  You could also add nuts, seeds or unsweetened shredded coconut.  We usually add those on top when it is served because each person likes their own combinations.

I served a version of this recipe during a Healthy Brunch Workshop and it was a big hit.  This has passed the taste test as a keeper recipe for us.

 

Baked Oatmeal with Bananas
 
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Baked oatmeal using certified gluten free oats (not considered paleo) but can be gluten free and dairy free. Can be made ahead and reheated and can be adapted using different fruit. I have used this recipe with raw oatmeal and leftover cooked oatmeal; both work great.
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Serves: 9 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 can heavy coconut cream (I use Trader Joe's)
  • ¼ cup organic maple syrup (I use 365 from Whole Foods)
  • 1½ cups gluten free rolled oats (I use Bob's Red Mill) - left over cooked oatmeal can vary
  • 4 small ripe bananas (sliced)
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tsp. vanilla
  • ½ tsp. ground cinnamon (I use Ceylon)
  • ⅛ tsp. sea salt
  • 1 Tbsp. Coconut sugar for sprinkling on top (optional)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375°
  2. Grease 8x8 pan with coconut oil.
  3. In a large bowl mix together all ingredients except the oats and banana.
  4. Stir in the oats. and transfer mixture into baking dish.
  5. Arrange bananas (or other fruit of choice on top; I have used apples or blueberries as well)
  6. Sprinkle with coconut sugar (optional)
  7. Bake for 30 minutes at 375° until center is set.
  8. Cool 5 minutes and serve with coconut or almond milk if desired.

 

Easy Paleo Breakfast Bars

by | Jan 27, 2016 | Breakfast, Recipes

Easy Paleo Breakfast Bars
 
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Easy to make Paleo friendly breakfast bars.
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Serves: 20 bars
Ingredients
  • ½ cup melted coconut oil (organic, unrefined, cold pressed - I like Kirkland's brand)
  • ½ cup raw honey
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 2½ cups blanched almond flour (I like Honeyville)
  • ½ tsp. sea salt
  • ½ tsp. baking soda
  • 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (I like Bob's Red Mill)
  • 1 cup raw pumpkin seeds
  • 1 cup raw sunflower seeds
  • ½ cup raw slivered almonds
  • ½ cup raisins (I have also used dried cranberries, blueberries, or goji berries)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°
  2. In a large bowl, combine coconut oil, honey and vanilla.
  3. Mix in almond flour, salt and baking soda.
  4. Add coconut, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almond slivers and raisins.
  5. Stir until well combined.
  6. Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish with coconut oil.
  7. Wet your hands and pres the dough evenly into the baking dish.
  8. Bake 20 minutes at 350°.
  9. Let bars cool in pan for 2 hours before cutting into bars.
  10. Refrigerate bars to keep them solid.