Oven Baked Meatballs

 Our neighbor gifted us with many pounds of elk! These easy to make, healthy meatballs from Heather at mommypotamus.com taste great using the ground elk. 

What you need:

2 lbs groud elk (or other ground meat)

1 cup shredded carrots

1 1/2 cup shredded zucchini

1 large onion, minced

1/2 cup finely chopped kale or spinach

1/2 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp basil

1/4 tsp thyme, rosemary and/or sage

1/4 tsp garlic powder

3/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

What you do:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

In large mixing bowl, mix the veggies, spices, salt and pepper

Add the meat and mix everything together with clean hands

Form the meat mixture into 1 to 1 1/2 inch balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet

(Make sure there is space between so the meatballs cook evenly. You may need 2 baking sheets)

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until inside is no longer pink

Enjoy!

These freeze well. To freeze, place meatballs on the baking sheet in the freezer to freeze for about 2 hours. Then transfer to a freezer storage bag and store up to 3 months.

For a quick dinner, I serve with store bought organic marinara sauce over Jovial organic cassava pasta.

Pecan Pie with Coconut Flour Crust

This is a great alternative to conventional pecan pie! The recipe for the pie (not the crust) is from Katie Wells. She has great recipes.

What you need for the crust:

1/2 cup butter (or coconut oil)

2 eggs

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup coconut flour

What you need for the filling:

3/4 cup maple syrup

3 eggs

3 Tbs butter (or coconut oil)

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup coconut sugar

2 to 2 1/2 cups pecans

What you do:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

In medium bowl beat butter, eggs and salt together with a fork

Add coconut flour and stir until dough holds together

Gather the dough into a ball, then pat into a 9" greased pie pan

Prick the dough with a fork

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly brown (I cover the edges with aluminum foil)

Let cool

Turn oven down to 375 degrees

In small saucepan, bring the maple syrup to a simmer and simmer for about 5 mins

Pour into a bowl and add the butter, vanilla and coconut sugar

Use an immersion blender to combine

Add eggs and blend until smooth

Place pecans in pie crust and pour the liquid mixture over the pecans

Bake for 30 minutes or until the center is mostly set. Do not overbake

Enjoy!

Tip: 

A key to making a good pie crust is to keep your fats cold and not over mix

Thai Chicken Stew

 I found this recipe on Danielle Walker's Instagram. She cooked it in a Instapot. I used my Crockpot. Super easy, healthy and delicious!

What you need:

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken (I prefer thighs)

1/2 chopped onion

2 to 3 cloves chopped garlic

Juice from 1 lime

2 Tbs. fish sauce

2 Tbs. coconut aminos

1 jar Thai Curry Paste

7 oz. tomato paste

Finely chopped ginger

1 can coconut milk

Veggies- sliced mushrooms, yellow, orange or red pepper, broccoli, 

What you do:

Place all ingredients in a Crockpot, except vegetables

Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours

The last hour, add the vegetables

When cooked, shred chicken with two forks

Serve over sprouted brown rice

Enjoy!

Einkorn Pizza

Enjoy your Valentine's dinner, Maryann and Nick! I love you dearly! 

What you need: 

Einkorn dough (When making Einkorn dough for pizza, I divide the dough into 2/3 for a very large loaf of bread and 1/3 for pizza crust. So follow the directions for Einkorn bread, except for this measurement change, and place the dough in the refrigerator for a few hours or more, until you're ready to make your pizza.)

Pizza sauce

Olive oil

Mozzarella cheese, grated

Cheddar cheese, grated

Parmesan cheese, grated

Pepperoni and/or sausage

Mushrooms, sliced

What you do:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Place parchment paper on top of baking sheet

Add olive oil to parchment paper and spread out with your hands

Place pizza dough on parchment paper and shape (into about a 12 inch round) with your hands 

Bake in the middle to upper-middle of your oven for 10 minutes

Remove from oven and add:

1) sauce 

2) then layer of mozzarella cheese

3) meat and mushrooms (or whatever toppings you prefer)

4) layer of cheddar cheese

5) sprinkle of Parmesan cheese

Bake for another 10 minutes (I broil for the last minute or so)

Slice and enjoy! 

Tips:

When I make my Einkorn bread, I often do the 1/3-2/3 measurements and only bake the 2/3 into a loaf of bread and freeze the 1/3 in a Ziploc bag for pizza at a later time. When we're going to make the pizza, I place the Ziplock bag with the dough in the refrigerator for about 24 hours to defrost. Super easy!

I buy organic, raw, 100% grassfed grated cheddar cheese. Great time saver to have it already grated! The mozzarella I grate myself, because I haven't found a pre-grated one that doesn't contain extra ingredients. 

Sliced mushrooms are also a time saver.

If we have left over pizza sauce, we set it in a little bowl on the table to dip our pizza crust into. Yum!

Easy Cauliflower Crust Pizza and Pizza Sauce!

Our little grandson, Cruzer, is two years old. This little guy eats so healthy! Since he has not eaten many grains yet, he does not eat my Einkorn-crust pizza. So, when he was visiting, I made this cauliflower crust pizza. And...so started the "PIZZA! PIZZA!" chant!

This crust is from Mommypotamus.

What you need:
Cauliflower head, cleaned and broken into pieces
 or fresh riced cauliflower (my preference)
2 Tb. coconut flour
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
2 large eggs
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder

What you do:
Place large baking sheet in oven and preheat to 450 degrees
Grind cauliflower in VitaMix until it looks like rice
Place 2 1/2 cups cauliflower "rice" in bowl
Sprinkle salt, onion powder, coconut flour and cheese over cauliflower
Add eggs and stir until thoroughly mixed
Form mixture into a ball and press into the shape of a pizza crust on parchment paper (apx. 11-12 inches wide)
Slide heated baking sheet under the parchment paper and place in oven
Bake for about 25 minutes
Add pizza sauce (recipe below), grated cheese, pepperoni, sausage, olives, mushrooms, onions, whatever
Bake for additional 8-10 minutes
If desired, broil for the last few minutes


For the pizza sauce (from allrecipes.com)

What you need:
1 7oz. jar tomato paste
4 to 7 oz. water (I empty the tomato paste, then use that jar for the water)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1/2 Tb. dried oregano
1/2 Tb. dried basil

Fresh rosemary
Salt and pepper to taste

What you do:
Blend all ingredients in a VitaMix
Put in glass jar and let sit for a few hours to let flavors blend

Arugula/Cilantro Pesto

What you need:

 1 bunch cilantro

 1/2 bag Trader Joe's arugula

 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

 1/2 cup properly prepared walnuts (or other nut)

 2-4 cloves garlic

 Juice of one lemon

 1 tsp. Celtic Sea Salt

 Dash of pepper

What to do:

 Place all ingredients in Vita-Mix

 Blend

 Enjoy!

Our New Favorite Breakfast Drink

When Greg and I were following a low lectin, keto food plan, we had a morning drink, made with lots of raw greens. I'm a bit cautious about consistently consuming too many raw greens that are high in oxalates. So, we came up with this, and I feel like I've taken a "happy pill" after drinking it!

What you need:
1/4 to 1/3 head of celery, finely chopped
1/4 to 1/2 turnip or rutabaga, peeled
Large chunk of daikon radish, peeled
4 to 6 mushrooms
Handful of cilantro
Chunk of turmeric, peeled
Chunk of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
Pith, peel and juice of one lemon
Juice of one more lemon
High quality sea salt
Pepper
Filtered water

What you do:
Put all ingredients in VitaMix
Add the filtered water to almost the top of the VitaMix
Blend well (I scoop off the foam after blending)
Enjoy!

This makes enough for 4 to 6 12oz. servings.
I have refrigerated any leftovers for up to 24 hours.
If this is all I'm having for breakfast, I will add 1/4 to 1/2 avocado to my portion and blend.