Paleo Pad Thai

http://theclothesmakethegirl.com/2011/05/08/paleo-pad-thai/
Paley Pad Thai

I adored this dinner. Love. I doubled the egg portion (and the thing mixed in it), and used 4 chicken thighs, and a whole sweet onion. I cooked them over 4/10 heat slowly over almost an hour. I had to put the lid on for the last 20 since they were still red next to bone. That made a nice texture to the chicken. Also, I baked spaghetti squash for 40 minutes on a small half, and 50 min. on the larger half (see this http://theclothesmakethegirl.com/2008/09/30/eat-your-vegetables-spaghetti-squash/)

Also, I used peanut butter in the sauce. It was great, and there was more than enough for us all. I would add more snap peas next time. Use a 10 inch skillet for the eggs. A 12 inch was too big.

Green Plantain Pancakes

http://www.thepaleomom.com/2012/09/perfect-paleo-pancakes.html

I had some old green plantains that I'd put in the fridge at least 3 weeks back. They must have been a little riper than I thought, since these pancakes turned out sweeter than expected, but they were so fantastic. Now I know how to use up old plantains. This was barely enough for us (2 adults 1 little kids) with a vegetable and sausage patties on the side. They are light and fluffy, more so than other pancakes I make. They should be cooked at a little lower temp for longer time though, since the insides cook a little more slowly than regular pancakes.

Mayonnaise

This is the 3rd time I have tried to make it with a stick blender and it finally worked this time! yeah!
I did it just like this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3xx8Bpau0E

I used 1 tsp white vinegar, 1 tsp lemon juice, 1/4 tsp dijon mustard, and 3/4 cup cold pressed sunflower seed oil (very low PUFAs), and 1 room temp whole egg.  I buy pasteurized eggs for this so david doesn't worry about it. This recipe is from my Meals Made Simple cookbook.

If it doesn't work and you have to save it, just add an egg yolk to a bowl and slowly whip it while drizzling wrecked solution into it. It will save it, but the old fashioned way.

Deviled Eggs IV

This is how I like to make deviled eggs now. I use homemade mayo for it.

approx for 12 hard boiled eggs, add to yolks:

1-2 tsp white wine vinegar
1 T sweet mustard (a squirt, really)
1/2 - 1 tsp horseradish
1/2 cup mayo
salt

paprika on top

I've made this so many times now I can finally do it "to taste" and it works well. I just mash with a fork and spoon into the whites. It is easiest.

Makes 24 deviled eggs.

Calories are 130 for 2 deviled eggs. With miracle whip it would be 97 calories.

Garbanzo Bean Chocolate Cake

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/garbanzo-bean-chocolate-cake-gluten-free/

I made this with a regular size can of beans. I did not have choc chips so subbed 1/3 c cocoa and 1/4 c coconut oil instead. This DEFINITELY needs frosting. I made some but it was too sugary. A more creamy frosting would work better than sugary icing.  The icing I made was  with a little soy milk (2-4 T) and palm shortening (3 T), and cocoa and powdered sugar(2+ cups? did not measure) (too much). Next time use more shortening and less sugar.

Also I made this in muffin cups and the paper does not peel off well. It tasted best after being chilled a little.

Pesto Pasta

This is one of my favorite quick meals.

Boil or saute 2 chicken breasts, then chop up. Also boil 1/2 lb rotini pasta. If gluten free, make sure to use 3 quarts of water in a 5 quart pot and stir a lot at the beginning so it doesn't stick together. When done, add pesto, a can of corn, toasted pine nuts, and avocado. Or, add chopped sundried tomatoes (drained). Any additions are fine. Use ~1/3-1/2 cup pesto.

Gluten Free Crepes

http://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/gluten-free-crepes-xanthan-gum-free/
Gluten free crepes

I made 1/3 of this recipe. I used cashew milk and the result was too thick, so I added extra. It made 5 crepes. They were great.

Sugar Free Nutella

https://iquitsugar.com/recipe/sugar-free-nut-ella/

Sugar Free Nutella

This turned out great. I would make only half next time. The full recipe makes over 1.5 cups. I used dry roasted unsalted hazelnuts from trader joes, and the skins were mostly gone so there was no need to roast and remove skin. We ate it on crepes.

Note: the link is different from the book which is where I made it the first time. The ingredients on the website are correct except it should be 1/3 cup brown rice syrup. Using only 1 T is not enough. You need more to counter the bitterness of the nuts.

Biscuits and Gravy (gf/df)

Semi based on this: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/06/quick-easy-drop-biscuits-recipe.html

I used coconut oil in place of butter, 8 oz of gluten free flour and 3/4 cup of soy milk. The flours I used were not measured individually, so this is approximate: 2 oz sorgham, 2 oz buckwheat, 1 oz tapioca flour, 1 oz almond flour, 1 oz millet flour, and I can't remember another--perhaps the add .3 oz to the first 3 listed.

Anyway, I baked it 20 minutes and they were good. I think it was done after 15 but it crisp on the bottom after 20.

For the gravy, I used 1/2 lb ground pork sausage, 2 cups cashew milk, 1 cup water, 2 T tapioca starch, and salt and pepper plus some green garlic I had. The cashew milk is from the recipe on my blog. Also I added 2-3 tbsp lard. It was really tasty. Ila loved it, and even wanted leftovers when I was eating them for lunch the next day. The tapioca starch could be switched for a different starch. It does have a strange gumming effect, but it was tasty and smooth anyway.

Strawberry Mascarpone Tart / Instructions for mini tarts

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/strawberry_mascarpone_tart/

I used my mini tarts (3 inch diameter at top) to make these for a baby shower. I made 18 tarts using a double crust recipe, and a single recipe for the tart filling seen above. I used all the cream filling, but had some leftover strawberries I couldn't fit into the tarts. Also, I had some crust leftover. I added 1 tablespoon sugar to my regular recipe for double crust, and the sweetness was just right.
I whipped 4 oz cream and mixed it with 8 oz mascarpone for the cream (along with other additions) and it worked well. Make sure to spread syrup when it is very hot, don't let it cool or it is too hard to spread well.

If you want a dozen tarts, a single recipe for 9 inch crust should be just enough. You will definitely have extra strawberries, so using 1 lb or 1.5 lb may be sufficient.

Six of the tarts I used a muffin tin to set them. For those I cut out large circles using a round tupperware container, with a diameter of nearly 5 inches.