Paleo Peach Crisp for One (or two!)

Living on my own, I don't always get to my produce when it's in the best shape for eating raw, so when I was faced with a giant peach that smelled delicious, but was slightly soft, I thought I could either cut it up and mix it into my yogurt, or I could make myself a delicious Sunday morning treat.  With no grains/gluten and no refined sugar in the house, this was pretty much a no-brainer.  I dug through my pantry and fridge, and came up with a recipe that I think will become a staple in my kitchen (I plan on replacing the peach with apples in the fall - yum!)

Paleo Peach Cobbler for One

Ingredients:

Peach mixture:

• 1 ripe peach, peeled and cut into small chunks
• 1/2 a vanilla bean 
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Crisp mixture:

• 3 tbsp ground flax seeds
• 1/4 cup almond flour
• 2 tbsp shredded, unsweetened coconut
• 3 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• dash of sea salt
• slivered almonds (optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place peaches in a bowl.  Scrape vanilla beans on top of peaches, add cinnamon and combine.

Place the fruit mixture at the bottom of a small oven-proof dish (I used a 23cm dish) or individual ramekins & set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine flax, almond flour and coconut until blended.  Add the wet ingredients & spices, and mix until combined.  

Top the peaches with the crisp mixture.  Add slivered almonds if desired.  

Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until the topping is a light golden brown.  

This makes an awesome breakfast when served warm... or throw some homemade vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt on the side for a quick and easy dessert.  

Paleo General Tso-Inspired Chicken

When I found some ground chicken on sale for a great price at the grocery store, I just had to pick up a package... but then I found myself wondering what to make with it.  I could have made fajitas or meatballs, but I wanted something different - and I was really in the mood for broccoli.  Fajitas and broccoli just don't go together in my mind, so I had to come up with something new!

I used ingredients that are staples in my fridge & pantry - and because I was super hungry, I had to come up with something quick.  The little bit of tapioca included in the sauce thickens it up nicely, and it tastes so good.  This recipe serves two, but I must admit - I definitely went back for seconds after finishing my first dish!

Ingredients:

Sauce:

• 2 tbsp chicken stock
• 1 tbsp tamari sauce
• ½ tsp sesame oil
• ½ tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• ½ tbsp. tomato paste
• ½ tbsp. raw honey
• ½ tsp hot sauce (optional, according to preference)
• ½ tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp tapioca flour
• Spices to taste (I used a few shakes of chili pepper, and crushed red pepper)

Chicken:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 250 grams ground chicken (1/2 package)

Side:

• 1 cup frozen broccoli

Method:

• Add all ingredients for the sauce to a bowl and whisk together until smooth. Set aside.

• Heat olive oil on medium high heat in a pan. Add the chicken once the oil is hot. Once the chicken is browned, add the sauce to the chicken. Cook a few minutes longer until the sauce thickens.

• Meanwhile, steam your broccoli using a steamer and a shallow pot of water.  If desired, you can add a little bit of minced garlic to the broccoli for a little bit of extra flavour.

• To serve, place the broccoli in the bottom of a dish, and spoon the chicken on top, allowing the sauce to drizzle over the broccoli.  

Note: this would also taste great with some jasmine or basmati rice, if you allow rice into your diet!

Servings: 2

The recipe doesn't take long at all to prepare - maybe 30 minutes max from ingredient gathering to final meal, so it makes it perfect for a work night.  I think it would taste great as leftovers too, however, I would probably steam the broccoli fresh the next day - microwaved/reheated broccoli doesn't always have the same flavour.

I'm pretty sure that this recipe will be added to my current rotation of weeknight dinners - how about you? Are you going to give it a shot?  Leave tips in the comments if you try it or customize it for yourself!

World Nutella Day 2014: Pinterest pin tested!

For World Nutella Day (that's today - February 5th!) - I decided to celebrate by testing out one of my easiest recipes on my Recipes To Remember Pinterest board - the 3-Ingredient Nutella Brownie.  Unfortunately, this does not in any way fall into the "paleo" or in any way healthy category... but if you're looking for an easy and delicious treat, this pin is definitely approved!

With only three ingredients involved (nutella, flour and eggs), this recipe had the potential to be either REALLY good, or REALLY bad.

Thankfully, it turned out to be really good!  The ingredients are all things I had on hand, so it was easy to just pull everything out and not have to worry about shopping for anything special.  If I'd had nuts or chocolate chips, I might have mixed them into the batter, or put a few on top.  But they tasted great without any additions at all!

The batter was a little bit sticky, but easy to work with.  And once they were in the oven, the entire house smelled divine within 15-20 minutes!

My brownies only needed about 25 minutes to bake (and even then, I could have probably taken them out a minute or two earlier to get that gooey centre!), but they were perfect with an afternoon cup of tea!

They puffed up nicely after being baked and they looked and tasted awesome!

Future serving options:
- with vanilla ice cream and maybe some raspberry coulis
- with fresh strawberries and whipped cream
- with nuts or chocolate chips mixed into the batter.

So many other ways to serve this!  How would you do it?

Happy World Nutella Day!