Tag: paleo

Creamy Chicken Soup

Leave a comment

There are a lot of soups that I used to enjoy as a kid that came out of a can.  Cream of chicken soup was one of them.  I’m almost certain that I would feel ill if I tried to eat them today.  And while making soup from scratch take a little more effort, you are rewarded with amazing flavour and quality that you can feel good about feeding your family!

IMG_8623.JPG

Creamy Chicken Soup

  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, diced
  • 3 stalks celery, chopped
  • 3 carrots, chopped
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil or butter
  • ½ cup gluten free flour
  • 6 cups organic chicken broth
  • 2 tbsp fresh thyme
  • 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
  • 1 cup canned coconut milk
  • salt and pepper to taste (I think I used approx a tsp of sea salt)

Chop up the onion, celery, and carrots and place in a large soup pot with the coconut oil or butter over medium heat. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and cook an additional 1-2 minutes.

Add the flour and cook for an 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the chicken broth and thyme and bring to a boil. Chop up the raw chicken breast into bite sized pieces and add to the boiling soup. Turn down the heat to low/medium and simmer for 10 minutes, until chicken is cooked.

Transfer soup to a high-speed blender and add the coconut milk. Blend until smooth. Return soup the pot and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

 

Cranberry Orange Muffins

Leave a comment

These muffins took a few weeks to perfect but they were worth the wait!  The recipe makes 15 muffins because each time I tried to change the amount of batter, the muffins didn’t turn out as well as this exact recipe.  I ended up just placing the 3 extra silicone muffin cups on top of the filled muffin tin (each at a joint between 4 muffins in the tin).  I hope that makes perfect sense to you…  If I overfilled the silicone cups, the muffins would cook over the edges and were impossible to remove.

I happen to have xylitol in the pantry, so if you don’t you can either skip it or use a pinch of sugar.  I love the extra hint of sweetness on top since cranberries are quite tart.

IMG_8622.JPG

Cranberry Orange Muffins

  • 1.5 cups + 2 tbsp almond flour
  • 3 tbsp chia seeds
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp vanilla powder (vanilla extract works also)
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1 ripe banana
  • 1 tbsp orange zest (zest of 2 naval oranges)
  • 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
  • 1 cup fresh cranberries
  • xylitol for garnish

Line a muffin tin with silicone cups.

In a large bowl, mix together almond flour, chia seeds, baking soda, vanilla powder, and sea salt.

In a separate bowl, mash the banana, and add the orange zest, orange juice, eggs, maple syrup, and coconut oil.  Mix well and add to the dry mixture.

Mix in cranberries.

Scoop the muffin batter into the silicone muffin cups, filling them each 3/4 of the way.

Bake for 25 minutes.  Let cool completely in pan to avoid muffins falling apart!

Enjoy!

 

 

Moroccan-Style Meatballs

Leave a comment

This meal came together very quickly and it was so good that I’ll be making it again very soon.  It was a hit with our 3 year old but the 18 month old won’t eat meat, and apparently is rebelling against carrots now too…

We served it with quinoa, but it can be a stand on its own dish served with a side salad.

meatballs

Moroccan-Style Meatballs adapted from here.

Serves 4-6

  • 1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
  • 1 lb ground pork
  • 1/3 cup grated onion
  • 1 egg
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp chili
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp dried ginger
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper

Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix with your hands.  Form meatballs slightly larger than golf balls, place onto a plate and set aside.

Stew

  • 2 tbsp coconut oil (or butter)
  • 3 onions, chopped
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 2 cups beef broth
  • 28oz can diced tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup organic raisins
  • 3 medium carrots, chopped
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

In a large oven-safe pot, cook onions in coconut oil over medium heat until soft and translucent, about 10-15 minutes.

Add cinnamon, turmeric, and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add broth, tomatoes, raisins, and carrots, and bring to a boil.

Carefully press meatballs into the stew mixture until covered, sprinkle with cilantro, and cover the pot.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until carrots are tender.