Grain-Free Stuffed Mushroom Caps September 20, 2015

Following an impulse buy of some grocer-packaged stuffed mushrooms last weekend, only to discover at home that they were filled with crappy processed ingredients including fake bacon bits and dextrose, I thought I’d try a homemade variety this weekend. The result: pretty damned good! Photo forthcoming…

4 large portobello or stuffing mushrooms, with stems removed and chopped
4 slices of nitrate free bacon, baked and chopped
1 egg
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and ground black pepper, to taste
3 tbsp almond flour
1 tsp parmesan cheese
3 tbsp (or roughly 3 oz) shredded cheddar cheese

Bake bacon at 400 degrees until crispy. Cool and chop. Remove mushroom stems and arrange caps on baking sheet, gill side up. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees; drain juice and chop stems. Beat egg, garlic, salt, and black pepper together in medium sized bowl. Mix in almond flour, bacon, chopped mushroom caps, and cheese. Divide mixture across four mushroom caps and bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes, until cheese topping is golden brown. Enjoy!

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Buffalo Chicken Dip

Decidedly un-paleo, but very much unprocessed! The 10-year-old has been raving about this since her cooking camp this past summer, so Sunday Funday Football called for it. I tweaked it, including using Applegate grilled chicken (taking the lazy route from cooking it myself) in lieu of canned chunk chicken (though word has it BJs has an organic free range version which I’m going to have to check out ASAP since this was such a hit) and Tabasco with added garlic powder and paprika in place of Frank’s Red Hot (since I didn’t have any on hand…ETA: made this again a week later and it was even better with Frank’s Red Hot, though with less of a kick). I was nervous as to how this would go, but the 10-year-old, the BF, his sister, AND both of their kids pretty much devoured it, so…I’d say it was a success! It’s not my cup of tea, but it will be made again….

Ingredients:
1 8-oz. package organic cream cheese, softened to room temperature
12 oz. organic sour cream
3 tbsp Tobasco sauce plus 1 tsp garlic powder OR 1/4 cup Frank’s Red Hot
1 tsp paprika, divided (optional)
2 cups chopped/chunk grilled chicken
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided  (1.5 cups for mixture; 1/2 cup for topping)

Mix together all but 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Some cream cheese lumps are okay since they’ll melt during baking. Spread mixture into an oven safe baking dish and top with 1/2 cup cheese. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Grain-free Swedish Meatballs September 14, 2015

The 10-year-old came home with a recipe book from cooking camp over the summer and has been asking me to make these, which of course I had to tweak a bit. They are not dairy-free, but they are grain-free, and unprocessed. The original recipe calls for ground pork in addition to ground beef, but I just used beef. It also called for allspice (which I didn’t have on hand) and nutmeg (which I don’t like), so I subbed with ginger. Finally, it called for frying the meatballs in a skillet, which I did for about half, but found it much easier (and just as tasty) to bake and then add to the gravy.

Meatball Ingredients:
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 onion, diced
1 pound grass-fed ground beef
1/4 cup almond flour
1 large egg
1/4 tsp ginger

Gravy Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup almond flour
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1/2 cup sour cream
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, taste
1 tbsp chopped parsley

Cook onion in 1 tablespoon coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently until translucent. While onions are cooking, egg, almond flour, ginger, and hamburger; season with salt and pepper as desired and add onions when ready. Mix well, and combine into small meatballs. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until cooked through and browned.

Prepare gravy by melting butter in the skillet used for the onions; whisk in the almond flour until evenly thickened, about one minute. Gradually whisk in beef broth and cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened (about 2 minutes). Stir in sour cream until fully dissolved. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and stir in meatballs. Cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through and thickened, 8-10 minutes.

Before serving, sprinkle with copped parsley…and enjoy!