Pumpkin Coconut Beef Sauce/Soup (Paleo)

Last week, I had my annual Super Bowl Sunday Home-Alone-Cook-Off. Not going to lie, I’m no a football fan. I’ve tried watching games, but every time my mind begins to wander off to the 100 things I could be doing instead. And no, the Super Bowl is not the exception.

So every year, I have the house to myself and have my own party where I create my own recipes that I know my family would put their noses up to if they were around.

The arrangement works out nicely: I get to experiment in the kitchen and end up with a week’s worth of yummy food. I then eat while watching some Netflix with the game on in the background (for the halftime show and commercials).

Anyway, this was one of the end results:

Pumpkin Coconut Beef Sauce/Soup

Ingredients:

1 tbsp red palm oil (or avocado oil)

1 onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp sage

1 lb. organic, grass-fed ground beef

1 cup chopped carrots

1 (13.5oz) can of full-fat coconut milk

1 (15oz) can of pumpkin

2 handfuls of fresh spinach

salt and pepper

For soup version– add in 1 cup vegetable/chicken/beef broth (if you just want a sauce, omit)

Directions:

Heat the oil in a pot and add in the onion, garlic, and sage. Sauté for 5 minutes. Add in the carrots and meat and cook until the meat is entirely brown. Add in the coconut milk and pumpkin and bring to a boil. Add in the spinach and cook until wilted. Adjust with salt and pepper, to taste. If you are making the soup: Stir in your broth here. If not, serve over rice or cauliflower rice.

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Pumpkin Cookies (Paleo)

Time to join the blogging world’s festivities and post my holiday recipe! And what is more holiday-ish than cookies!?

I know, I know. Everybody has had their fair share of cookies by now, but these cookies have actually kept me a bay from eating any other this season. Chewy and soft with a pumpkin flavor, I’ve been munching on these instead of the sugar-filled goodies. Plus, the recipe yields 25 decent-sized cookies- distributing the honey to a small amount per cookie.

Bonus: You can store these in the freezer and take them down as desired. They thaw very nicely! (Although, I just eat them straight from the freezer 😉 )

Pumpkin Cookies (Paleo)

(Makes 25 cookies)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup coconut flour

1/4 cup tapioca flour

3 tbsp GROUND flaxseed- do NOT omit! (helps thicken batter)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cardamom

1 egg

1 cup pumpkin

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup plain, whole milk yogurt

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 375 (Note: it is very important that the oven is at this temperature! I tried experimenting with lower and higher, and it did not work well flavor-wise )

In a food processor, mix together coconut flour, tapioca flour, flaxseed, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cardamom. Add in egg, pumpkin, honey, yogurt and vanilla and blend altogether. Stir in chocolate chips by hand. Let sit for 5 minutes to thicken.

Drop batter onto parchment covered-baking pans. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes for the bottom rack, and 25 minutes for the top. Check near the 20 minute mark to prevent burning.

Happy Holidays!

Pumpkin-Nut Butter Dip

I have to say, one of the benefits of dual-majoring in education is the many parties we have throughout the semester. After all, teachers need to know how to throw classroom parties! Ummmm, or so our professors tell us…

Well, my one education course is an 8am class.

And surely none of my classmates wanted to eat sugar and chocolate for breakfast, thought me. Wrongly.

And so, Halloween started off with brownies and cupcakes galore (and the little assembly of fruit I provided). Yup, everyone now knows who the health nut in the room is.

So for our Thanksgiving party, I created a more “treat-like” recipe. However, I think this dip is perfectly acceptable for a special occasion breakfast when paired with apple slices.

Luckily, college students make perfect guinea pigs and I got great feedback on this dip. My professor even asked for the recipe. For a second, I thought of giving her a completely messed up recipe- she’s not exactly my favorite teacher- but my professionalism got in the way.

Stupid conscience.

Anyway, thanks to my classmates, I have a final recipe to provide- and just in time for the holidays 🙂

Pumpkin-Nut Butter Dip

Ingredients :

3/4 cup pumpkin

1/2 cup almond butter or peanut butter

1/3 cup plain, whole milk yogurt

1/2 tbsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp allspice

Optional: 1 tbsp pure maple syrup

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients (except maple syrup) in a food processor. Taste and add in the maple syrup if you believe you need more sweetness (sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t- it depends on the brand of nut butter I’m using).

No-Bake Pumpkin Cookie Dough Balls (Paleo)

Tragedy struck at my house a few days ago: my oven stopped working. Right before Thanksgiving too! Go figure. According to handyman dad, something behind the oven snapped or broke, meaning the whole oven has to be torn out of the wall for it to be fixed. Fun.

It made Thanksgiving this year especially fun too. Fortunately, my house has an in-law suite and I was able to run back and forth between my kitchen and my grandma’s tiny kitchen. So this year, I am thankful for my family, friends, and my gma’s oven 🙂

Since the death of my oven, I’ve been turning a lot to no-bake recipes. And since I have some left over pumpkin from Thanksgiving, I’ve been playing with pumpkin-y treats!

No-Bake Pumpkin Cookie Dough Balls (Paleo) 

Ingredients:

1/3 cup organic canned pumpkin

3 tbsp maple syrup

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup coconut flour

Optional: 2 tbsp chocolate chips and/or raisins

Directions: 

In a bowl, combine pumpkin, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt. Gradually mix in coconut flour. Add in chocolate chips and/or raisins, if desired. Store in the fridge.

Trying to use up your leftover turkey too? Try these! 

Chicken/Turkey and Chard Pie with Yogurt Crust

Turkey Tortilla Soup

Paleo Pumpkin Sauce over Black Bean Pasta

I think I will always be a kid at heart. No matter how old I get, I will always love Halloween.

And it was never about the candy (well, almost never), I just love the decorations, costumes, parties, movies, and just the overall feeling in the air (plus, my birthday is a few days before!)

Every time before trick or treating, we went over my aunt’s house who is the best at making creatively holiday-themed food. It just made Halloween all that more better.  Unfortunately, my decoration skills suck. Still, I try.

Anyway, the pasta is a dark purple color, which is kinda Halloween-ish, right? And then I got the orange in there with the pumpkin sauce.

Yes? No?

Oh well. It’s the thought that counts. And the taste compensates for it anyway.

Especially the sauce. Oh goodness, I’m in love with it.

Just a note though- it is thick. So add more coconut milk if you want to thin it out. I actually just starting eating the sauce cause it’s like a meal in itself 🙂

In other news, this is a special post today. Why? It’s my 100th recipe I’m posting. Whoo!

Since I made it to the 100th, I’m thinking about making some minor changes, like having a page with all the recipes so everybody doesn’t have to go searching throughout the whole blog.

Any suggestions? Or any types of recipes or specific recipes you guys want me to post? Feedback would be very much appreciated. So please let me know!

Paleo Pumpkin Sauce over Black Bean Pasta 

Ingredients: 

7oz of Explore Asian Gluten Free Organic Black Bean Spaghetti

1 tbsp organic ghee

1 small onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp dried thyme

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1 15oz can organic pumpkin

1/2 cup full-fat canned coconut milk (add more for a thinner consistency)

1 and 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp salt

pepper

Directions: 

Cook black bean pasta according to packet instructions and set aside. In a pot, melt ghee over low heat. Add in onion and sauté until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add in garlic and continue cooking for 2 minutes. Add in crushed red pepper, thyme, cinnamon, and curry powder. Sauté for another 2 minutes. Add and mix in pumpkin and canned coconut milk. Stir in apple cider vinegar and salt. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Let cook on low heat, stirring occasionally, for 15 more minutes before serving over pasta.