Grain - Free Granola

This granola is delicious!  It tastes like you're eating real granola only better.  We like to have it with coconut milk and some extra cinnamon sprinkled on top.  This recipe is from my new favorite cookbook, The Paleo Recipe Book (which you can buy here http://paleorecipebook.com/?hop=yilmaz1453).  I've made a few adjustments to the recipe and we love it.  This recipe might seem overwhelming because of all the wait time, but actual prep is minimal.  Give it a try, you won't be disappointed.  The biggest challenge is not eating it all in one day!  Enjoy!

Ingredients
6 Cups assorted nuts and seeds of your choice (I use pecans, macadamias, cashews, almonds, walnuts, pepitas)
1 Tbsp of salt
1 Cup pitted dates
1 Cup shredded (unsweetened) coconut
1 Cup raisins
1 Tbsp cinnamon (more or less to taste)

• Place nuts in a bowl and cover with warm water.  Add salt.
• Let nuts soak overnight*
• Drain nuts and spread onto a cookie sheet
• Bake in 110 degree oven for 10-12 hours (if your oven doesn't go that low, set it to the lowest temperature and keep the door cracked.  Or you can use a dehydrator if you have one.)
• After the nuts have dehydrated, take them out of the oven and allow to cool.
• Place dates in food processor and process until finely chopped.  
• Add the coconut and pulse a few times until it's the desired size
• Empty dates and coconut into bowl
• Place nuts in food processor and pulse until desired size and texture is achieved 
• Combine nuts with dates, coconut, raisins and cinnamon
• Store in an airtight container (I'm not sure how long it will keep for because it has never lasted more than 3 days in our house.  I actually made a double batch this time so it will last a little longer)

*I prefer to soak the nuts all day and cook them all night.  That way, you can throw it all together in the morning and have a great breakfast.

I Love Quiche

What do you do when you are pretty much out of food and don't have enough leftovers for a decent meal . . . make a quiche.  Quiche is so amazing because it can be served for any meal without question.  I didn't plan my meals yesterday and was out of a lot of staples, so I dug out all the veggies that were going bad in the fridge and the little bit of paleo spaghetti we had left and made a quiche.  This one took a little bit of time because of the sweet potato crust but it was well worth the wait!

Ingredients
1 sweet potato, grated
2 Tbsp coconut oil
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 bunch kale, swiss chard or spinach, roughly chopped
1 cup paleo spaghetti, or any leftover meat you want to add
6 eggs
Salt, Pepper, Cayenne

• Preheat oven to 375
• Grate the sweet potato with a grater or with the grater attachment in your food processor
• Toss potato in a large bowl with the melted coconut oil and press into a pie plate to make a crust
• Bake the crust for 25-30 minutes or until it begins to crisp
• While the crust is baking, heat olive oil in skillet and saute onion until it begins to caramelize, about 10 min
• Add the tomatoes and mushrooms and cook until they begin to soften
• Add the kale (or whatever you're using) and cook until it wilts
• Add your leftover spaghetti and mix all together
• When your crust is ready, get it out of the oven and scoop the *veggie mixture onto the crust
• In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and add the salt, pepper and a few dashes of cayenne
• Pour egg over all the veggies and make sure it's evenly distributed
• Bake for 25 minutes or until egg is done and the quiche no longer 'jiggles'
• Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes before serving
• Enjoy!

*I didn't use all the veggie mixture that I made, I saved some for a mid-afternoon snack.

Paleo Spaghetti

This dish is thanks to Rachel and Jr.  They brought me a sample of their dinner and it was delicious.  I made it the very next night with just a few modifications.  My family loved it!  I found a way to sneak lots of veggies in without anyone noticing.  If someone is afraid of vegetables, don't let them see you make this because it will freak them out.  But, I promise they won't be able to tell what's in there . . . the secret's in the sauce.  =) It makes a lot so we were able to eat it for several meals which is always a plus, especially since this dish is better the next day.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 lbs ground beef
1 onion, diced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 jar tomato sauce  (Be sure to check ingredients to look for hidden sugars and soy.  I use Bobby D's Ma's Angry Sauce from Whole Foods, it's yum and 100% paleo)
1 pkg cauliflower
1 pkg broccoli
3 carrots
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp Dried Basil (more or less to your taste)
2 Tbsp Dried Oregano (more or less to your taste)
6-8 zucchini squash

• Brown the ground beef in skillet.  Add onion and cook until onion is translucent.  Transfer to crock pot.

• Add tomato sauce and diced tomatoes to crock pot.  Stir in spices.

• In a food processor, process the cauliflower, broccoli and carrots until they are ground into a fine meal.  Add to crock pot and stir well.

• Slice the zucchini with a *mandolin or repeatedly with vegetable peeler until you have 'noodles' or 'zoodles' as we call them.

• Add the 'zoodles' 2 hours before you're ready to eat and stir well

• Cook on low 5-6 hours (longer won't hurt, you'll just need to add a little more liquid)

*If you don't have a mandolin, you should get one.  They're very inexpensive and allow for so much variety with vegetable prep, it's well worth the $15 - http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=mandolin&x=0&y=0#/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=mandolin+slicer&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Amandolin+slicer