Carrot Soufflé (Paleo)

Easter recipe! I’m not sure if this constitutes as a dinner dish or dessert… I serve it as both! So it’s either an indulging dinner item or healthy dessert. Your pick!

Carrot Soufflé (Paleo)

Ingredients:

1 lbs carrots, chopped into bite-sized pieces

2 tbsp coconut sugar

2 tbsp ghee or butter, melted

2 eggs

1 and 1/2 tbsp tapioca flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp dried ginger

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place carrots in a pot, cover entirely with about 2 inches of water, and bring to a boil. Continue to boil for 10 minutes.

Drain carrots and transfer to a food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth. Transfer mixture to an oiled baking dish (about 9-10 inches in diameter) and spread evenly. Bake for 45 minutes.

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Protein Waffles (Grain-Free)

Simply put, waffles are awesome. I could (and do) eat them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. Leftovers make great sandwich bread as well (especially when toasted)!

And with these waffles, you get a major boost of protein. As if I need another reason to eat them. Without further ado…

Protein Waffles (Grain-Free)

Ingredients:

1/3 cup vanilla or maple-syrup flavored whey protein powder (I use Dr. Mercola’s brand)

1/3 cup coconut flour

2 tbsp tapioca flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 pinch of stevia

1 cup water

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

Directions:

Spray your waffle maker with oil and place on medium-high heat. In a bowl, whisk together all of your ingredients. Spread in your waffle maker and let cook until desired softness/crispiness (about 2 minutes).

No-Dye Green Cookies (Paleo and Nut-Free)

Say what? Another post? All in the same week? This must be a record.

Anyway, I HAD to share this recipe before St. Patty’s day. It’s too perfect not to!

Here we have a grain-free and nut-free paleo cookie. But wait for it… take a bite and the inside is COMPLETELY GREEN. And nope! No color dye or spinach was used to achieve this effect.

So what’s the secret? The combination of sunbutter and baking soda! It creates a chemical reaction that results in a green cookie. Just make sure to wait a few hours for the green to show up. I HIGHLY recommend waiting until the next day for the best results!

If you have little kids, I suggest making these the night before St. Patrick’s day and telling them that the leprechauns used their magic to jazz up the cookies. It works every time 😉 

No-Dye Green Cookies (Paleo and Nut-Free)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup organic sunbutter (I use the Once Again brand)

1 egg

2 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

pinch of stevia

Optional: 2 tbsp cane sugar (for a sweeter cookie. I usually omit)

3 tbsp coconut flour

3 tbsp chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking pan with parchment paper.

In a bowl, combine the sunbutter, egg, honey, and vanilla. Mix in baking soda, salt, stevia, and sugar (if using). Add in coconut flour and chocolate chips.

Roll into 12 balls and place on baking sheet. Press down slightly. Bake in the oven for 13 minutes. Allow to cool completely. Eat now OR wait a few hours for the green color to appear. I HIGHLY recommend allowing the cookies to sit overnight. The next day, the cookies will be completely green on the inside!!!

Cheesy Chicken Skillet and some VERY BIG news!

Ahhhhh Spring Break. Here at last. This semester has been challenging for a number of reasons. But one of the major reasons is because I’m taking foreign politics.

I am so out of my element in this class. Of course, this is my last semester in school, so I knew it wasn’t going to be a cake walk. However, I’m pretty disappointed that the 4.0 that I’ve maintained for the past 5 years is likely to go down the drain. Ugh.

I should have definitely known this was going to happen when on the very first day my professor made the comment “I always wonder why an education major would take this class.”

Well, ma’am clearly said education major is out of her mind and/or had no other option for trying to fill her graduation requirements 😦

Although I’m complaining, I have to say, I’ve never learned so much information from one class before. I actually find everything I’m reading and learning to be really interesting.

And okay, there might be another reason why I haven’t thought to drop the course (the big news!)

Those who’ve kept track of this blog know that I traveled to India last year to teach in village schools. Well, I’m very excited to announce that I’m again going abroad.

This time, to teach in THAILAND for 1 YEAR!

I’ve been bursting to tell for a while now! In fact, I wasn’t going to post anything until later this year… but I’m too excited to hold it in any longer!

I first broke the news to my family at Thanksgiving dinner back in November. I thought someone was going to choke on their turkey, but nobody even blinked an eye! They’ve been really supportive and excited themselves (largely because I suspect that they want an excuse to vacation down there…).

So, I’m planning to leave after I graduate (May 2017)!

And I know, that’s over a year from now, but I still have to student teach in the fall and I need that time to get everything in order. It’ll go by fast though, so yes, I’m excited!

And, bringing it back to my foreign policy class, I explained to my professor about how I’m going abroad and she’s given me permission to do my research paper on East Asia. Just making the best of a hard situation 😉

Now, to the recipe. When procrastinating one night (probably before my foreign politics midterm) I cooked this up! It was super easy to make and very comforting in the face of a long studying night. Enjoy!

Cheesy Chicken Skillet

Ingredients:

1 lb uncooked thawed chicken, cubed

1 onion, chopped

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp salt

pepper, to taste

1 large head of raw broccoli, chopped into florets

3 tbsp spicy mustard

1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese, divided

Optional- chives and chili powder

Directions:

Spray a skillet with oil, add in the chicken cubes and cook over medium-low heat. When completely cooked, remove the chicken and set aside.

Add in the onions and season with paprika, salt, and pepper. Cook until translucent and then add in the broccoli. Cover with a lid and cook until the broccoli has softened, stirring every so often. Once broccoli is cooked to desired tenderness, mix in the mustard and add the chicken back in.

Stir in a 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese. Top with the remaining cheese and cover the skillet with the lid. Cook until the cheese on top melts. Before serving, garnish with chives and chili powder, if desired.

Cheese Sticks (Grain-Free)

I apologize for going MIA so much lately. With all the craziness of school right now, I haven’t had much of a life. The only thing that’s getting me through is my Spring Break next week. Hopefully I’ll have time to work on several new recipes! I’ve been itching to get back in the kitchen lately. Until then, I’m picking recipes to share from my recipe vault!

Cheese Sticks (Grain-Free)

Ingredients:

1 cup tapioca flour

3/4 cup + 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 tbsp onion powder

1/2 tbsp garlic powder

1/2 tbsp oregano

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

2 tbsp water

2 tbsp mustard 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine tapioca flour, 3/4 cup cheese, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, and salt in a bowl.Add in the egg, water, and mustard. Mix altogether for about 20 seconds (do NOT add extra water). Grease a bread pan and spread in dough. Top with the remaining 1/4 cup cheese. Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool for 2 minutes, take out of pan, and use a pizza slicer to cut into sticks. Sprinkle with salt and garlic powder before serving.