Pork Shoulder Roast

• New Years Eve is around the corner, and I am already feeling tired of all those sweets. I feel a detox coming on, and I am ready to ban all sweets from the house starting now! Hearty foods with substance, protein, and vitamins is what I am craving now! This roast has it all, flavorful, and filling, you will want to go back for more. I loved the tarragon flavor that we added in this recipe, so much so that I made a Roasted Chicken with the same vinaigrette. 
• This is the perfect New Years Day Roast, or a winters evening dinner!
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Ingredients

• 1 boneless pork shoulder (about 4 pounds)
• 5 garlic cloves, smashed
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 3 tablespoons Kosher or Sea salt 
• 1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 tablespoons tarragon white wine vinaigrette

1. Make a paste out of the ingredients above but leave out olive oil and tarragon white wine vinaigrette. Slit pork shoulder in various spots and rub the paste into pork. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate over night, for up to 4 hours.
2. Remove Pork from refrigerator, sitting to room temperature for 30 minutes. Add Olive oil, and tarragon white wine vinaigrette. 
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Roast for 3 hours, uncovered, or until the skin is crispy-brown. Let the meat cool for 10 minutes before slicing.
4. Serve and enjoy!

Serve with Butternut Squash and leeks, seasoned with oregano and garlic!

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Winter Vegetables

Christmas is almost over, and we have successfully pulled off a gluten free Christmas that was mostly Paleo. Last year when we started the diet, this would have been an impossibility for us to successfully pull off. It seems easier this year, thanks to all the wonderful bloggers out there, who have contributed to expanding the world of Paleo diets. This Christmas instead of dreading the menu, and feeling it was hard to stay gluten free, I found myself looking forward to planing a menu that would be fun, and creative. And, yes, perhaps to many sweets…

This is a healthy dish that is hearty and goes beautifully with meat, particularly Prime Rib. 

Ingredients.

• 14 Thyme sprigs
• 2 large beets, one gold, one red beet (peeled and quartered)
• 3 carrots (peeled and quartered)
• 1 Parsnip (peeled and quartered)
• 2 turnips (peeled and quartered)
• 1/3 cup of Olive Oil
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 1/2 teaspoon of Himalayan Salt
• pinch of pepper
• 4 garlic cloves (diced)
• 1 onion (sliced)
• 1 fennel Bulb, cored and diced

Preheat to 325.

In a casserole dish coat Olive oil on the bottom of the dish. Add all veggies and spices, and toss , coating olive oil on the vegetables. Feel free to add extra olive oil to drizzle on top, and cover with foil.  Bake for 

90 minutes.

For more flavor add Romano Cheese, and two tablespoons of butter.
Serve and enjoy.

Candied Walnuts

You can use this candied walnut recipe on pecans or walnuts, or any nut you would like to sweeten.

Ingredients.

5 cups of nuts
1 cup of coconut sugar, or 1/2 cup of maple syrup.
1 teaspoon of ground Cinnamon, plus 1/2 teaspoon
1/2 teaspoon of Pink Himalayan salt
1/3 cup of Almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375, and spread nuts on a parchment paper on a Baking sheet, and bake for 10 minutes.

In a saucepan, heat milk, and all the first four ingredients listed above. Add vanilla extract last. Drizzle mixture on the nut, and stir.

Roasted Spaghetti Squash

How to roast a spaghetti squash.

There are many different techniques, and I am sure they are all great and will work. Roasting is pretty standard, and simple.

1 Spaghetti Squash
Salt
pepper
2 tablespoons of olive oil

Preheat oven to 425. Slice squash lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds with a spoon.
Each side drizzle one tablespoon of olive oil, and salt and pepper, slightly.

On parchment paper, place squash face down, and roast.

Once done, and it is soft enough to poke with a fork, take out and cool, Then you can begin to take your fork run along the inside of the squash to make the spaghetti.

Serve and Enjoy!

Asian Pear Spaghetti Squash Pomegranate Salad

    
            
What is that expression.. iimitation is the sincerest of flattery.
These last two post, seem to be inspired by my latest trip to Colorado. Once again, Denver has it right, with the fine dining, and gluten free alternatives, Root Down is an amazing restaurant, with an awesome menu. My recipe here is inspired by a dish that I ate, while at Root Down.   With some simple tweaks, by omitting the Star Anise Vinaigrette sauce because it had rice and making my own little vinaigrette, and using an aged Cheddar I was wanting to create a dish that would satisfy my craving until I can get back for a visit! 


I felt slightly hesitant that my family wouldn't love this dish as much as I did. My husband who does not like Spaghetti squash loves this dish, and had seconds, and will be taking some to work tomorrow. It turned out amazing, even though we were unable to make it precisely the same.


Ingredients


1 Spaghetti Squash
2 Asian Pears (sliced)
4 Tablespoons of Pomegranate
1 cup of Candy Walnuts (paleo Recipe here)
3/4 cup of sliced mushrooms
2 garlic cloves
2 Chicken Breast (if desired, but not needed)
Kosher Salt
Pepper
4 tablespoons of Olive oil 
1 tablespoon of butter
4 cups of Arugula


Dressing
1/2 cup of olive oil
2 tablespoons of Balsamic vinaigrette
1/4 tsp of pink Himalayan salt 
Dash of pepper
2 teaspoons of lemon juice ( fresh squeezed)
Dash of granulated garlic


Pre- heat oven for 425 degrees, and roast Spaghetti Squash 45 minutes to an hour. If you are new to roasting Spaghetti Squash I have a standard recipe here. This is great time to salt and pepper your chicken and bake it covered for 30 minutes or until done. 


While Spaghetti Squash is roasting, roast your sliced pears for 10 to15 minutes. Sprinkle one tablespoon of olive oil or grape seed oil on top, to keep moist.

Start Candied Walnuts. 

Saute diced garlic, and sliced mushrooms in one tablespoon of butter for ten minutes. 


Once Spaghetti squash is roasted, and soft. Take your fork along the inside of the squash, and shave out the squash. 

Layer, the squash on the bottom adding all the other ingredients as you desire them. Add cheese if you chose, we used Kerrygold Dubliner cheese, Toss and serve!

Powerful Antioxidants, and adds so much color to this dish!

CocaoCoco-nut Raw Balls

I had the pleasure of taking a trip to Boulder Co, recently and visited a little coffee shop called the Unseen Bean. To my surprise they had candy, caramels made out of coconut, and little Raw balls made by Simply Dara. I picked out my choice of candies and one Raw Ball, to take home and share with my husband, which never made it home because I indulged myself on my plane trip back home.

Skip forward to Sunday, I knew that I wanted to make these balls, and all I had was the ingredients but not the measurements of the the recipe. So off to whole foods we went. This recipe is my first try and pretty good, but it is really rich. My husband insist it is a winner, but I am wondering if it may be too sweet, and will revisit and revise this recipe and add a little less agave.

You can flavor this differently, and next time I am thinking of using a Cherry extract to just for fun.
The time it took me was only ten minutes, and the balls were done, and better yet there was no cooking time. The girls were able to snack on it immediately, with no fears of food poisoning from raw eggs.
And all around these Balls were a great winters treat, with no guilt.

Ingredients

• 1 cup walnuts 
• 1 cup slivered blanched almonds
• 1 cup dried dates, separately
• 1/2 cup cocoa nibs blended
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder (1 tbls cocoa)
  
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 agave
• 1/2 Cup of Coconut flakes

(Note this recipe is very sweet, so at first I would add less Agave, and if desired add more to until you get to the 1/3 cup.)

Place 1 cup of walnuts in the food processor and use setting on the blender "chop". Add almonds, Cocoa Nibs, and then place the dry ingredient's in a medium to large bowl. Add one cup of dates to the food processor, and puree, until it is almost a paste. Add to the bowl and all wet ingredients, and stir well, until the mixture is all mixed well. 


Next step is a little messy because dough will be sticky, but roll into balls. On a plate, or flat surface spread out Coconut flakes. Roll the balls in flakes, until covered on all sides. 


Serve and indulge, and enjoy!!! Remember these are very rich, and you will only need just a little!

Lime Fiesta Salad!

• 2 cups of Herb mix, or Spring mix
• 2 vine tomatoes
• 1 lime
• 2 mushrooms, 
• 1 Avocado
• 1/4 green pepper,
• Feta Cheese as a garnish
• Dressing ( Martha Stewart)
• 1 Lemon
• 1 lime
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 1/4 tsp of Koasher salt
• 1/4 tsp of ground white pepper

Squeeze the lemon and lime in a bowl, and mix with olive oil, salt and pepper. Dress salad, and serve!

Serve with Zesty Chicken Soup and enjoy!




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Zesty Chicken Soup

What is your favorite soup to cook when You feel sick?  For me, I love to cook chicken soups. My taste buds have been off, so I felt like a little more different Chicken soup. Last time when someone was sick in my house I made a more hearty chicken soup, loaded with tons of veggies. This time I opted for a more subtle but zesty Chicken soup. Something that would waken my taste buds with lime, jalapeno, and peppercorn. 

• 10 cups of water in stockpot
• 3 chicken breast with bone
• 1  zucchini (thinly sliced)
• tsp of whole peppercorns
• 1/2 onion (diced)
• 1  jalapeno pepper (thinly sliced)
• 4 cloves of garlic (diced)
• tsp of oregano
• tsp of kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons  fresh lime juice
• serve in individual bowl each bowl 1/4 cup of water crest 2 tablespoons feta
• cheese topped with cilantro.

In your stock Pot, fill with 8 to 10 cups of water, or Chicken Broth. Place Raw Chicken in stock pot. Toss in dice onion, thinly sliced zucchini, peppercorns, jalapeno, garlic, oregano, and salt.

 Boil for about 20 minutes over medium high heat, or until Chicken is done. 


Carefully remove Chicken form the skillet, and slice off the skin, and take off the bone. Slice, and return to the pot, add lime juice. Simmer for 10 more minutes. Carefully remove peppercorns, if needed. 


In the bowl which you are serving, put 1/4 cup of Watercress in, and pour soup on top. Top with Cilantro and Cheese. 


Serve and enjoy!

For an even more enjoyable soup, serve with Lime Fiesta Salad!
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Bacon Cheese Burger Meatloaf

We have a tradition in our household, called the Tracey Original. This is where I take what I have on hand and make a dish. The ingredients below are what we had on hand, and Meatloaf was the craving, but I wanted to put a spin on it, and shy away from the boring traditional meatloaf.

I took some photos, but I am not sure how you make Meatloaf look appealing on camera. Not to mention I was hungry, as was my family. So here is a snapshot!

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 onion, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup of carrot, peeled, and thinly diced
• 3 whole cloves garlic
• 1/4 red bell pepper
• 1/4 Yellow Bell Pepper
• 3 pounds grass fed ground sirloin
• 2 egg
• 3/4 cup of Almond Flour
• 1 cup of Cheddar Cheese (optional)
• 4 slices of Bacon, diced
• Top with Homemade Ketchup

Pre-heat oven to 350.

Dice all vegetables above.

In a skillet fry Bacon slightly, for about 5 minutes total. Do not cook fully. It needs to bake with the loaf, and will release flavors!

In a bowl, mix eggs and spices. With hands mix in ground sirloin, almond flour, cheese, bacon, and all vegetables. 

Use Olive oil to coat two small loaf pans or one larger. 

Bake in Oven about 40 minutes. Add Ketchup on top and bake for 10 more minutes, or until done.

Serve and enjoy!!

Cocoa Mint Santa Cookies

The Season of Christmas is here, and the baking of goodies has begun. Baking Gluten Free around the holiday's can become a chore, and not exciting! However this Almond flour cookie will have all begging for more, and yes will even bring the fun back to baking for the Holidays!!!!

• 2 1/2 cup of almond flour ( Honeyville) Bobs Red Mill won't work….
• 1 1/2 cup of cocoa
• 1/2 tsp of baking soda and powder
• 1/4 tsp of kosher salt
• 1 stick of butter (softened)
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp of Peppermint extract
• 1 1/2 cups of Dark Chocolate Chips
• 1 cup of Pure Maple Syrup
• 1 cup of Coconut Sugar

Pre- heat Oven to 350.
Mix all Dry ingredients together in a bowl.
Mix Butter, eggs, extract and Maple Syrup together.
Combine wet mix and stir into dry mix.

On parchment paper drop about a tablespoon for each cookie, and cook at 350 for 8 minutes, or until done. This is Almond Flour, so I would recommend keeping a close eye on the cookies, as not to burn!

Serve with Coconut Mint Chocolate Milk, for Santa, and his little helpers!

Happy Holidays!!!!

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Thanksgiving, and the Gluten Free family!

Thanksgiving has come and past, and I know that I am little late on this post, but I would love to share some photos.

We had an amazing holiday, it could not have been better. Our girls loved every dish, and best of all, none of us felt so stuffed that we had to nap!

It is my goal, to post some of the recipes, but for now the photos will have to do!!

Gluten- Free Molten Cake

Serve as a Holiday treat!

My downfall is my sweet-tooth. I crave chocolate all the time, everyday, and could eat it all day, to fill a craving that can never be really filled. It is not necessarily the chocolate that I am craving. The texture, temperature play a part in filling my craving too. This cake hits that craving. It can be served chilled, or warm right out of the oven.

Moist, but thick, sweet, and very rich, this dessert is sure to please. This dish is sure to be a holiday treat, and can be dressed with Almond whipped cream, or would go well with a homemade cherry sauce. Or Serve as dessert with a coffee. 

Ingredients

• 6 ounces of Bittersweet Chocolate, chopped
• 6 tablespoons of Butter
• 1/4 cup of cocoa powder
• 4 large egg whites
• 1/4 tsp of cream of tartar
• 2 tablespoons of Coconut Sugar

1. Melt Chocolate and butter in a small sauce pan, remove from heat, and pour in a medium sized bowl.
2. Add cocoa
3. In a deep small bowl, carefully separate egg whites, and beat on high speed the cream of tartar, and egg whites. until you form white peaks. 
4. Add coconut sugar
5. 
   
6. Preheat,  oven to 400 degrees, and cook for about 8 minutes. You can put into muffin cups, or a 9 inch classic round.

Sneak Peak, Primitive Foodie Food Porn: Primal Chocolate Molton Cake

Autumn Butternut Squash and Bacon Frittata

Halloween has come and past, and we recently went to the pumpkin patch and bought a variety of pumpkins and squashes. I am unsure which is my favorite between pumpkin and Butternut squash. Both, pumpkin and squash, are delicious, and reminds me of all the wonderful things, I love about fall. 

When I found this recipe, on the Whole Foods, FB page, I had to make it!  Of course, it has been adapted, and changed, to fit our diet. We added bacon, and exchanged almond milk in the place of milk. This dish would be a perfect Thanksgiving morning brunch treat, or the day after Thanksgiving breakfast! It is hearty, filling, and lite in calories!

A great Thanksgiving weekend treat! 

 

Nutrition:

This winter squash is actually a fruit not a vegetable, that has a rich sweet nutty taste. According to Livestrong.com , 1 cup of Butternut Squash has 60 calories, 16 g of carbohydrates and 3 g of fiber. It also supplies almost 300 percent of your daily value of vitamin A , 50 percent of vitamin C, 7 percent of calcium and 5 percent of iron.

Not bad for one cup of extremely filling and satisfying butternut squash.

Four cup of healthy Goodness.. 1200% of Vitamin A!

Ingredients

• 4 cups butternut squash cubes 
• 1/2 red onion, cut into thick slices 
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 
• 1 teaspoon sea salt, divided 
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided 
• 8 large eggs 
• 1/3 cup Almond milk no flavor
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
• Fresh thyme
• 1 cup grated Gruyère cheese (optional)
• 4 slices of Bacon
• Parsley to garnish

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. 
2. Slice Bacon and fry in a cast- iron skillet. Remove excess grease, and set aside. 
3. Add , dice onions, and squash in  a baking pan or in cast iron skillet,  toss with the oil, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. 
4. Roast in oven until the vegetables are browned and softened, about 25 minutes, stirring once or twice during cooking. 
5. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, almond milk, spices and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper together. Pour into the baking dish or skillet and return it to the oven.
6.  Continue cooking until eggs are just about set, 6 to 7 minutes. 
7. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with cheese. Turn on the broiler; place the skillet under the broiler just until the cheese melts and the top of the frittata is browned, about 2 minutes. Cool for a few minutes, cut into wedges and serve.

Autumn Butternut Squash and Bacon Frittata, right out of the oven

Nom, Nom, Nom! Or Violet says Nommy, Nommy!