Butternut Squash Banana Pie (Paleo)

A new Thanksgiving dessert recipe! Well, kind of. I wouldn’t limit this to Thanksgiving. It’s too good to eat only once a year.

Fear not if you think butternut squash is weird to include in a dessert (I have my Butternut Squash Chocolate Pudding, Butternut Squash Chocolate Truffles, and Chocolate Almond Butternut Squash Cookies to prove you wrong, by the way) because the taste of it is not detectable! This tastes like a good ol’ banana and peanut/almond butter pie. The butternut squash acts as a filler to make extra volume. And who would complain about a more voluminous pie?

Not this girl here 😉

And as a Thanksgiving special, I’ve included a 2 in 1 recipe! Pie filling and a pie crust. I have long stopped using store-bought pie crust. This recipe is a lot healthier than what you can find in a store. Plus it takes only 3 seconds to make!     

Butternut Squash Banana Pie (Paleo)

Pie Crust Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup of raw nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts…whatever you fancy!)

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1.5 tbsp water

1/4 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place nuts and and coconut in food processor and pulse until fine. Add in rest of ingredients. Pulse, scraping sides if needed. Dump pie crust into a 9-in pie pan and press down and up against the sides. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Meanwhile…

Pie Filling:

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked and pureed butternut squash

1/4 cup nut butter of choice

3 ripe bananas

2 tbsp coconut oil, melted

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp salt

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in food process and blend until smooth. Spread in a prepared pie crust and freeze for 3-4 hours. If freezing for a longer period of time, allow to thaw before eating. 

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Avocado Lime Pie

A few weeks ago, I was at Whole Foods with my dad when I picked up some lime juice. Automatically, my dad leapt to the conclusion that I was going to make key lime pie. I had never had key lime pie, nor was it on my mind to make. But then I thought, heck, why not. So, I went fishing around the internet to find out what’s exactly in the pie besides the lime. To my disappointment, every recipe included sweetened and condensed milk. Bummer. Luckily, however, we had avocados on hand. Avocados are the perfect bases for desserts. Plus, it has a nice green color that brings out the thought of lime. I am ashamed to say that I did not have time to make the crust and had to use store-bought (next time, I’ll be sure to make my own). Since I have never had key lime pie, I’m not sure if this tastes exactly like it should. Either way,my family and I loved it and it was enough to satisfy my dad’s craving, so it’s definitely a keeper.

 

Avocado Lime Pie

Ingredients: 

2 large avocados

4 tbsp lime juice

3-4  tbsp honey

2 tbsp unrefined coconut oil

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp salt

9 inch pie crust

Directions:

Combine all ingredients (except the crust) in a food processor and process until smooth. Pour into a pie crust and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Chicken/Turkey and Chard Pie with Yogurt Crust

Yes, again with the chard. What can I say? We have a lot of it at the moment. Which is okay with me because I’ve found some pretty good ways to cook it. This time, in a pie. A yummy pie. Or maybe this would be considered a quiche because of the eggs? I don’t know and I really don’t care cause it’s good no matter what it’s labeled as. Quick note about the crust. It’s made out of flour, yogurt, and water and it does its job as the crust and keeps the pie together (and it’s strong enough it hold it if you want to eat it as a pizza.). However, don’t expect a flaky crust that you can simply eat by itself. Not to say it’s not good, of course. But if you need a buttery crust, you might want to try a different crust recipe.

Chicken/Turkey and Chard Pie with Yogurt Crust 

Ingredients:

Chicken and Chard Filling:

1 tbsp olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 onion, chopped

1 bunch chard, shredded and stems removed and set aside for later

1 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp rosemary

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 cup frozen corn

1 tbsp pimentos

1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used 1/4 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup provolone)

3 eggs

1/2 cup milk

shredded and cooked chicken or turkey

breadcrumbs

Yogurt Crust:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/3 cup plain yogurt

2 tbsp water

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in a deep skillet. Add and sauté the garlic cloves, onion, and chard stems for about 8 minutes. Add in the chard and cook until wilted. Add in thyme, rosemary, red pepper flakes, corn, and pimentos and cook for 3 more minutes. Next, add in the shredded cheese. Pour the chard mixture into the yogurt crust (Look below for the crust recipe). In a bowl. mix together 3 eggs and 1/2 cup milk. Pour the egg mixture over the chard mixture. Top with a layer of shredded chicken/turkey and sprinkle with breadcrumbs and more thyme. Bake for 45 minutes.

To make the yogurt crust, combine the flour, yogurt, and water. Form a dough ball, adding a little extra water if needed. Place in a 9 inch pie pan and spread until the dough reaches and climbs up the sides. Bake for 8 minutes in a 350 degree oven to harden.