I love treats! After almost two years off of refined and artificial sweeteners, I've been on the hunt for special treats for holidays and special occasions. This is the recipe that inspired my search (and helped me realize how DELICIOUS real, whole treats taste!). Thank you to my dear friend and fellow whole-food buddy Angelica for bringing these over.
Honey-Sweetened Peanut Butter Cups (Paleo, GF, DF)
1/2 c. coconut oil
1/2 c. natural peanut butter (or almond butter)
1/3 c. cocoa
1/3 c. raw honey
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. sea salt
Heat all ingredients in a sauce pan on medium heat until melted together. Use mini muffin pan and liners, and fill cups 3/4 full. Makes 24. Store in refrigerator (because of the coconut oil, they melt quickly). I store these delights in my freezer and pull them out for special treats. So yummy and quick! Happy snacking!
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Grain-Free Meatballs/Meatloaf
When we went off of grains and starches, I missed meatloaf and meatballs. I played with recipes until we created this one, which we LOVE! If you need to make it dairy-free, omit the cheese.
Ingredients:
2 lbs ground beef, turkey or pork (we usually use beef, but pork has been cheap lately...we like to blend two types of meat when we can)
1 egg
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup shredded cheese (hard cheeses like Romano or Parmesan work best, I've subbed cheddar with good results)
1/2 cup shredded zucchini or summer squash
1/4 cup shredded/diced onion
Directions:
Combine ingredients in a mixing bowl or large ziploc bag. Mix until combined. I like to use my Bosch mixer with the dough hook to do the work for me. If you are using a ziploc bag, just leave a little air in the bag, seal the top, and knead/massage the bag until everything is mixed.
Now you can form into a meatloaf or meatballs. If a 2-lb meatloaf is too big for your family, you can make it in mini-loaf pans. They cook faster, and are great portion control. ;) You can bake the meatloaf immediately, or freeze the uncooked mixture for cooking later. When baking unfrozen, cook at 325F for 30-45 minutes, or until cooked through. If cooking from frozen, it doesn't work well in the oven. So thaw 24 hrs in the fridge before using. We freeze ours and then cook it in the crockpot. The top doesn't brown like in the oven, but it is juicy and delicious! If cooking from frozen, simply remove meatloaf from the freezer, place unwrapped meatloaf in crock pot and cook on low for about 8 hours, or until cooked through.
If you are making meatballs, use a cookie scoop to scoop the mixture onto a cookie sheet or into mini-muffin tins. Space meatballs so they are not touching. Bake at 400F for 10-18 minutes, depending on the size of your meatballs. We make little ones for the kids and use the big scoop for the adults. Cook until no longer pink in the middle. Enjoy immediately, or cool on wire rack and then freeze for later use. I like to freeze them on a cutting board, then put them in a ziploc bag for storage in the freezer. This keeps them from sticking together in a big lump in the freezer. To reheat, simply place meatballs on a plate and warm in the microwave.
We love to serve with steamed veggies or salad, and natural yeast bread. Potato wedges are a good side, as well. Happy eating!
Ingredients:
2 lbs ground beef, turkey or pork (we usually use beef, but pork has been cheap lately...we like to blend two types of meat when we can)
1 egg
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup shredded cheese (hard cheeses like Romano or Parmesan work best, I've subbed cheddar with good results)
1/2 cup shredded zucchini or summer squash
1/4 cup shredded/diced onion
Directions:
Combine ingredients in a mixing bowl or large ziploc bag. Mix until combined. I like to use my Bosch mixer with the dough hook to do the work for me. If you are using a ziploc bag, just leave a little air in the bag, seal the top, and knead/massage the bag until everything is mixed.
Now you can form into a meatloaf or meatballs. If a 2-lb meatloaf is too big for your family, you can make it in mini-loaf pans. They cook faster, and are great portion control. ;) You can bake the meatloaf immediately, or freeze the uncooked mixture for cooking later. When baking unfrozen, cook at 325F for 30-45 minutes, or until cooked through. If cooking from frozen, it doesn't work well in the oven. So thaw 24 hrs in the fridge before using. We freeze ours and then cook it in the crockpot. The top doesn't brown like in the oven, but it is juicy and delicious! If cooking from frozen, simply remove meatloaf from the freezer, place unwrapped meatloaf in crock pot and cook on low for about 8 hours, or until cooked through.
If you are making meatballs, use a cookie scoop to scoop the mixture onto a cookie sheet or into mini-muffin tins. Space meatballs so they are not touching. Bake at 400F for 10-18 minutes, depending on the size of your meatballs. We make little ones for the kids and use the big scoop for the adults. Cook until no longer pink in the middle. Enjoy immediately, or cool on wire rack and then freeze for later use. I like to freeze them on a cutting board, then put them in a ziploc bag for storage in the freezer. This keeps them from sticking together in a big lump in the freezer. To reheat, simply place meatballs on a plate and warm in the microwave.
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Natural Yeast Sourdough Pizza Crust
I love pizza. And being grain-free for a year meant being very creative with crusts. I can't do standard yeast and gluten (my body reacts violently), but I can tolerate Natural Yeast with whole wheat flour that has been cultured by the yeast. The inspiration for this recipe is a bread recipe from Melissa Richardson's "The Art of Baking with Natural Yeast." It's a great resource for those wanting to explore the world of Natural Yeast.
And without further ado...YUMMY, FLAVORFUL Natural Yeast Sourdough Pizza Crust! It is a light whole wheat sourdough infused with garlic and oregano flavor...hungry yet? Add your favorite toppings and voila! Delicious, healthy dinner for all!
Remember that these Natural Yeast recipes involve at least 6 hours of time when the dough is culturing on the counter. So make the dough in the morning, set it on the counter and it will be ready for dinner. :) Recipe makes 2-3 pizza crusts, depending on how thick you like your crust. We stretch the crusts on to 3 cookie sheets that have been greased with butter or coconut oil. One gets made into cheesy bread sticks (stretch to pan, pre-cut dough with pizza cutter into desired sized breadsticks, brush dough with melted butter, sprinkle garlic salt on top, add cheese and cook), and the other two are for pizza.
Natural Yeast Sourdough Pizza Crust
Dough Ingredients:
1 c. Natural Yeast Start
4 c. lukewarm water
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. olive oil
10-12 c. whole wheat flour
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 T. garlic powder
Combine Natural Yeast Start, water, salt, olive oil, oregano, garlic powder in a mixing bowl and mix until combined (you can do this by hand or use a KitchenAid/Bosch-style mixer). Add 6 cups whole wheat flour and mix until combined. Add additional flour 1/2 cup at a time until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl and cleans the side of the bowl (if you need more instructions on this, there are tons of great tutorials on the internet). After dough is desired texture, cover bowl in plastic wrap and leave on the counter for 6-12 hours (overnight if you want breakfast pizza).
When ready to eat (after at least 6 hours of dough culturing on the counter):
Preheat oven to 425F.
Remove plastic wrap from bowl. Divide dough into two or three pieces. Turn dough out onto a flat surface to shape. Remember that if you are trying to achieve a low-gluten recipe, DO NOT ADD FLOUR to the dough. Flour added at this stage has not been cultured by the yeast, so it will not be nutritionally available to your body, and the gluten has not been broken down for you.
Use a rolling pin to shape the dough as desired. Place shaped dough in a greased pan (we use butter on Pampered Chef Stoneware). Prick the dough with a fork 10 times in various places to prevent the "bubbles" in the crust. Bake for 7 minutes. Remove from oven, add toppings, and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, depending on thickness of crust (until your crust is desired doneness and cheese is bubbly and gooey).
Need toppings inspiration? How about Alfredo-chicken topping? Or gourmet butternut squash sauce with spicy sausage and jack cheese? Ranch pizza with bacon and chicken? Or go classic cheese and pepperoni...ham and pineapple.
Want garlic breadsticks? Roll out the dough, place dough into greased pan. Brush dough with melted butter, sprinkle with garlic salt. Then use a pizza cutter to pre-cut the dough into strips the size of breadsticks you want (leave them in place on the pan). Top with cheese. (Optional: let rise for up to an hour...but we are never patient enough for this step). Bake 10-12 minutes, done when bottom begins to brown, dough is cooked in the middle, and cheese is bubbly and gooey.
I'm playing with the freezing directions for the crust. I'll let you know when I get it mastered. I think it will freeze best after being par-baked.
And without further ado...YUMMY, FLAVORFUL Natural Yeast Sourdough Pizza Crust! It is a light whole wheat sourdough infused with garlic and oregano flavor...hungry yet? Add your favorite toppings and voila! Delicious, healthy dinner for all!
Remember that these Natural Yeast recipes involve at least 6 hours of time when the dough is culturing on the counter. So make the dough in the morning, set it on the counter and it will be ready for dinner. :) Recipe makes 2-3 pizza crusts, depending on how thick you like your crust. We stretch the crusts on to 3 cookie sheets that have been greased with butter or coconut oil. One gets made into cheesy bread sticks (stretch to pan, pre-cut dough with pizza cutter into desired sized breadsticks, brush dough with melted butter, sprinkle garlic salt on top, add cheese and cook), and the other two are for pizza.
Natural Yeast Sourdough Pizza Crust
Dough Ingredients:
1 c. Natural Yeast Start
4 c. lukewarm water
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. olive oil
10-12 c. whole wheat flour
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 T. garlic powder
Combine Natural Yeast Start, water, salt, olive oil, oregano, garlic powder in a mixing bowl and mix until combined (you can do this by hand or use a KitchenAid/Bosch-style mixer). Add 6 cups whole wheat flour and mix until combined. Add additional flour 1/2 cup at a time until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl and cleans the side of the bowl (if you need more instructions on this, there are tons of great tutorials on the internet). After dough is desired texture, cover bowl in plastic wrap and leave on the counter for 6-12 hours (overnight if you want breakfast pizza).
When ready to eat (after at least 6 hours of dough culturing on the counter):
Preheat oven to 425F.
Remove plastic wrap from bowl. Divide dough into two or three pieces. Turn dough out onto a flat surface to shape. Remember that if you are trying to achieve a low-gluten recipe, DO NOT ADD FLOUR to the dough. Flour added at this stage has not been cultured by the yeast, so it will not be nutritionally available to your body, and the gluten has not been broken down for you.
Use a rolling pin to shape the dough as desired. Place shaped dough in a greased pan (we use butter on Pampered Chef Stoneware). Prick the dough with a fork 10 times in various places to prevent the "bubbles" in the crust. Bake for 7 minutes. Remove from oven, add toppings, and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, depending on thickness of crust (until your crust is desired doneness and cheese is bubbly and gooey).
Need toppings inspiration? How about Alfredo-chicken topping? Or gourmet butternut squash sauce with spicy sausage and jack cheese? Ranch pizza with bacon and chicken? Or go classic cheese and pepperoni...ham and pineapple.
Want garlic breadsticks? Roll out the dough, place dough into greased pan. Brush dough with melted butter, sprinkle with garlic salt. Then use a pizza cutter to pre-cut the dough into strips the size of breadsticks you want (leave them in place on the pan). Top with cheese. (Optional: let rise for up to an hour...but we are never patient enough for this step). Bake 10-12 minutes, done when bottom begins to brown, dough is cooked in the middle, and cheese is bubbly and gooey.
I'm playing with the freezing directions for the crust. I'll let you know when I get it mastered. I think it will freeze best after being par-baked.
Natural Yeast Bread
After one year on the GAPS diet to heal our tummies and minds, we felt it was time to give natural yeast products a try. Natural yeast is amazing. It breaks down the grains before they hit your digestive system, so the body can access the nutrients it needs from the grains without fighting tough-to-digest gluten and other parts that are hard on the tummy. After being gluten and grain-free for a year, I was stressed about trying it...we had a few experiences with gluten (most of them accidental snacks shared by friends to my children), and we knew we had gluten-sensitive tummies. I attended a class and got a natural yeast start. We gave it a go, and WOW. We've been eating bread every day for two months without tummy problems. I was making two batches a day (4 loaves), so I tweaked the recipe around until it tasted good to us and gave me three loaves, one for each meal. It costs around 50 cents a loaf to make (we grind our own wheat), and is saving my family over $200 a month in food expenses. So grateful. Happy breadmaking!
Whole Wheat Natural Yeast Bread
3/8 cup natural yeast
3 1/2 cup warm water
1 tablespoon of salt
2 tablespoons of olive oil
10-12 cups of whole wheat flour
This recipe makes 3 loaves of bread. I burned out two KitchenAid mixers making this daily, so I've switched to Bosch and have had success without killing the motor. If you need instructions on how to work with bread, and what to look for in textures, you can find many tutorials on YouTube. I adapted recipes I've used for years from Kathy Summers' book Handmade Breads as well as the knowledge from Melissa Richardson's book The Art of Baking with Natural Yeast.
Place natural yeast, warm water, salt, and olive oil in mixing bowl. Stir. Add 7 cups whole wheat flour, mix until combined. Add additional flour, 1/2 cup at at time until desired consistency is achieved. Knead well. Place in a large covered bowl on the counter to sour for 6-12 hours. I use plastic wrap or plastic lid to keep dough from drying out in my dry mountain climate. After souring is complete, divide dough into 3 pieces, and shape in to loaves. Remember that any extra flour you add at this point will not be pre-digested by the yeast, so if you are gluten sensitive, it can cause a reaction. When shaping the dough, I use butter on my fingers to keep the dough from sticking to my hands. Place shaped dough in greased pans. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes, of until cooked through.
Whole Wheat Natural Yeast Bread
3/8 cup natural yeast
3 1/2 cup warm water
1 tablespoon of salt
2 tablespoons of olive oil
10-12 cups of whole wheat flour
This recipe makes 3 loaves of bread. I burned out two KitchenAid mixers making this daily, so I've switched to Bosch and have had success without killing the motor. If you need instructions on how to work with bread, and what to look for in textures, you can find many tutorials on YouTube. I adapted recipes I've used for years from Kathy Summers' book Handmade Breads as well as the knowledge from Melissa Richardson's book The Art of Baking with Natural Yeast.
Place natural yeast, warm water, salt, and olive oil in mixing bowl. Stir. Add 7 cups whole wheat flour, mix until combined. Add additional flour, 1/2 cup at at time until desired consistency is achieved. Knead well. Place in a large covered bowl on the counter to sour for 6-12 hours. I use plastic wrap or plastic lid to keep dough from drying out in my dry mountain climate. After souring is complete, divide dough into 3 pieces, and shape in to loaves. Remember that any extra flour you add at this point will not be pre-digested by the yeast, so if you are gluten sensitive, it can cause a reaction. When shaping the dough, I use butter on my fingers to keep the dough from sticking to my hands. Place shaped dough in greased pans. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes, of until cooked through.
Monday, February 16, 2015
Natural Yeast Waffles
Well, I'm back, and it's been quite a wild ride. We've adopted three new children (one is medically fragile), begun homeschooling and had a radical change in our eating. Our family spent one year on the GAPS diet to heal our tummies and brains. That meant no grains, starches, sugars, processed items including pasteurized milk, chemicals, dyes, or flavorings. It is a very strict program, but works extremely well (I lost 30 pounds as a nice side effect, and my chronic body pain all disappeared). Our little girl with severe GI problems (feeding tubes and reflux vomiting) is all better and eating on her own. She is growing and thriving. So it was time to start re-introducing natural whole foods (grains and starches). We introduced Natural Yeast a few weeks ago (after no grains for 12 months). I attended a class and got a start, and have been caring for my yeast and trying new recipes. We all seem to be doing well with the Natural Yeast products, so I've been trying to develop recipes that my family loves. We have missed waffles (the coconut flour ones are ok, but I really missed that waffle crunch!). I tried the basic waffle recipe in "The Art of Baking with Natural Yeast" by Melissa Richardson, but it wasn't exactly what we were looking for (very sour for my taste). I kept researching and tweaking and I finally figured out how to make overnight waffles that we can eat!! These waffles have a slightly sour flavor. If you're not avoiding sugar, you can lather them in jam or syrup (and you can add a Tbsp or two of sugar to the batter). We used homemade strawberry-honey syrup or agave for ours. Here's the recipe:
Overnight Natural Yeast Waffles
(double batch since I'm feeding 9 people)
Ingredients for night before eating:
1/2 c. natural yeast
3 and 1/2 c. lukewarm water
1 c. melted butter (I use salted), cooled to lukewarm
1 c. Greek yogurt (unsweetened)
6 c. whole wheat flour
Melt the butter and let cool to lukewarm temperature (if its too hot it will kill the yeast). Combine natural yeast, water, butter, yogurt in the mixing bowl and mix until combined. Add flour and mix until all of the flour is absorbed into the mixture. I use my KitchenAid to mix the ingredients.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place on counter to sit overnight. The mixture will rise double or triple in size (so make sure your bowl is big enough to accommodate the volume increase).
In the morning, gather:
4 Eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
Whisk the eggs and add them to your overnight mixture. Add the baking soda and mix well. I use a hand whisk.
Pour the batter onto a greased, heated waffle iron. Follow the manufacturer directions for your specific waffle iron.
Enjoy immediately, save some and freeze on a cookie sheet. Once frozen, place waffles in a zip-top bag and store in the freezer. When ready to eat, pop them in the toaster. Happy eating!
Overnight Natural Yeast Waffles
(double batch since I'm feeding 9 people)
Ingredients for night before eating:
1/2 c. natural yeast
3 and 1/2 c. lukewarm water
1 c. melted butter (I use salted), cooled to lukewarm
1 c. Greek yogurt (unsweetened)
6 c. whole wheat flour
Melt the butter and let cool to lukewarm temperature (if its too hot it will kill the yeast). Combine natural yeast, water, butter, yogurt in the mixing bowl and mix until combined. Add flour and mix until all of the flour is absorbed into the mixture. I use my KitchenAid to mix the ingredients.Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place on counter to sit overnight. The mixture will rise double or triple in size (so make sure your bowl is big enough to accommodate the volume increase).
In the morning, gather:
4 Eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
Whisk the eggs and add them to your overnight mixture. Add the baking soda and mix well. I use a hand whisk.
Pour the batter onto a greased, heated waffle iron. Follow the manufacturer directions for your specific waffle iron.
Enjoy immediately, save some and freeze on a cookie sheet. Once frozen, place waffles in a zip-top bag and store in the freezer. When ready to eat, pop them in the toaster. Happy eating!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)