Paleo Sweet Potato Alfredo with Caramelized Brussels Sprouts & Bacon

I have been craving a fettuchine alfredo for weeks, but doing Paleo foods instead of grains, dairy & processed foods has made me think outside of the box.. I try to cook things that aren't just the Paleo way but tastier than the regular food so that I not just enjoy eating it but would rather have it Paleo style than the processed junk. It took a few times to get the correct amount of measurements and right ingredients to make it taste delicious... Here is the reciepe: 

Alfredo Sauce: 

Ingredients: 

- Juice from Half a Lemon

- 3/4 lb. Chopped Califlower

- 1 Sliced Onion

- 1 Cup Coconut Milk

- 1/2 Cup Chicken Stock

- 1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt

- 2 Cloves of Garlic Minced

- 1 Tablespoon Basil

Directions: 

- Before making the Alfredo sauce I make fry a 1/2 lb. of bacon and use 1/4 of the grease from the bacon to sautée the califlower and garlic in.

- Set aside another 1/4 of the grease to caramelize the Brussels Sprouts(you can just leave it in the pan on low so it doesn't become a solid form).

- Combine the juice from the lemon, coconut milk, chicken stock, onion,  sea salt & Basil in a food processor. 

- After the califlower and garlic are sautéed I combine it with the ingredients in the food processor and make sure it is in liquid form. 

- Than transfer to a deep pan to warm on medium heat, than turn down to low once it's simmering. Continue to stir so it doesn't stick in the pan.

Caramelized Brussels Sprouts: 

Ingredients: 

- 1 pound Brussels Sprouts

- 1/4 Cup Bacon Grease

- 1 Teaspoon Sea Salt

- 1 Teaspoon Pepper

Directions:

- Heat the grease on a low-medium heat, mix the Brussels Sprouts, sea salt & pepper together & make sure all of the Brussels Sprouts are evenly coated. 

- Stirring occasionally so all sides are able to be evenly cooked, simmer until soft. 

- Set aside on low heat.

Sweet Potato Noodles 

Ingredients:

- 2 Sweet Potatoes

- 1 1/2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil

Directions:

- Heat a pan of water to boiling point. 

- Wash and peel the sweet potatoes.

- You can either grate the sweet potatoes using a cheese grater or you can use a sprializer to make the sweet potatoes into long sprialed noodles. 

- Put the sweet potatoes in the boiling water and cook them until they are soft.

- Drain the water off of the sweet potatoes and than combine them with the white sauce, Brussels Sprouts & crumble bacon on top. 

Enjoy!! 

Homemade Paleo Spaghetti & Elk Meatballs

It sure is a cold, blustery day up here today. Where a warm, hearty & delicious pasta sounds soooo good. I decided to make some Spaghetti and Meatballs to fill my craving and what better way to do it than to not just have it homemade but made Paleo friendly as well. Im so thankful that I still have organic produce and many tomatoes still canned from this last year's share from Kragnes Family Farm, it makes being able to make many things just as great as if it was still summer and the shares would come weekly with the endless options of recipes, all of my measurements are used for herbs that I use are dried from the farm this last season as well.. 

For the Spaghetti Sauce:

Ingredients:

- 1 1/4 cups Diced Onion(about 2 large onions)

- 4 Minced Cloves of Garlic

- 5 pounds Tomatoes (diced or cut up enough depending on how chunky you want your sauce to be)

- 3 Tablespoons Rosemary

- 3 Tablespoons Basil

- 3 Tablespoons Sage

- 1 Tablespoon Caynanne Pepper(more or less depending on your preferred spice level)

- 1 Tablespoon Fennel

- 2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil

- 1 Tablespoon Oregeno

Directions:

- Dice the onion and garlic up.

- Warm the Coconut Oil in a medium skillet

- Sauté the onion for 8 minutes, make sure to stir often so that it is evenly coated with the coconut oil.

- Add Garlic and sauté for another 3 minutes, stirring often. 

- If onions start to brown, turn the lead on low.

- Move the sautéed onion and garlic into either a deep skillet or into a deep pot, than add the rest of the tomatoes.

-Stir in the tomatoes really well, add the remaining ingredients & mix thoroughly. 

- Simmer on medium heat, stirring occasionally and make sure you realize that if you do not have it in a deep pot that it will most likely splatter… so be careful..

- Adjust the heat if you need to so that it won't burn on the bottom of the pan, continue to simmer for 45 minutes or until it is all cooked throughly. 

- Serve over noodles right away or you can freeze/can it.

Zucchini Noodles

I simply took Zucchini and shredded it with a cheese grater, sautéed it in a couple tablespoons of coconut oil and than add the spaghetti sauce. 

Elk Meatballs: 

I took some Elk meat(Thanks Uncle Ken), and combined rosemary, basil, dill, spearmint and sea salt with a little touch of black pepper in it, rolled it into ball like shapes and cooked it in coconut oil in a pan. On a side note my Zucchini Noodles and Elk Meatballs had been made prior to making this so I just heated it all up in a pan.. 

And the final product, a slightly different picture from above: 

ENJOY! :)

Paleo Bacon Wrapped Chicken with a Homemade Honey Mustard Glaze

Ingredients:

- 1 Large Package of Chicken Breasts
- 2 Tbsp. Ground Pepper
- 3 Cloves Garlic Crushed
- 2 Packages of Bacon
- 1/3 Cup Raw Honey
- 1/2 Cup prepared Ground Mustard
- 3 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
- Dash of Cayenne Pepper(optional)

Directions:

( I have also marinated the chicken in the honey mustard glaze overnight and it turned out so delicious!)

- Preheat oven to 400F. Sprinkle Chicken breasts lightly with ground pepper and crushed garlic.
- Slice Chiken strips to about 1 1/2 inches thick and wrap in bacon.
- Place each on a wire rack and place rack over a baking pan wrapped in aluminum foil to catch drippings.
- Mix the raw honey, mustard, vinegar and cayenne pepper in a small mixing bowl until combined well.
- Baste the top of the chicken strips with the honey mustard mixture and place in the oven for about 12-15 minutes or until bacon is crispy. Turn over every few minutes so the bacon and chicken are evenly cooked.
- Remove from oven and serve.

Shrimp Tacos & Pineapple, Peach & Mango Salsa(Paleo Friendly)

I have been craving shrimp tacos for a good week now, it has been something that I was able to take an hour today to prepare & enjoy it. During today's blizzard warning I was able to eat it while thinking back to when I was on the warm beaches of the Carribbean & Hawaii today.. It was delightful. I am someone who could eat Mexican food daily & not get sick of it, but a lot of Mexican food is really unhealthy despite if tasting so good, so I set out to find a way to make it taste amazing without all the extra fattiness(is that even a word? Ha). Here are my renditions of it all.

Pineapple, Peach & Mango Salsa: 

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 cups Pineapple

2 Mangos

2 Peaches

1 Jalapeño

1/4 bunch Cilantro

1 small Onion

1 Lime

Directions: 

- Cut up the pineapple, mango & peach into bite sized pieces.

 - Dice up the jalapeño, cilantro & onion into even smaller pieces. 

- Combine the above ingredients in a bowl, and squeeze the lime so a good amount of the juice comes out. 

~Enjoy!~

Paleo Friendly Taco Shells(Makes 3-4 Taco Shells): 

Ingredients:

2 Eggs 

2 Tablespoons Coconut Flour

2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil

1 Teaspoon Lime Juice

1/4 Cup Water 

1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1 Teaspoon Cumin

1 Teaspoon Basil

1 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

Directions: 

- Wisk together the eggs & remaining liquids. 

- Mix together the dry ingredients & slowly add it to the liquids,stir together to ensure there are no clumps and everything is mixed thoroughly. 

- Heat 3-4 Tablespoons of Coconut Oil in a small pan on medium heat.

- Once the oil is hot, pour enough of the batter into the pan so that there is a thin layer of batter covering the bottom of the pan, let it be for 1 minute. 

- After 1 minute, cover the pan with a lid for another minute, flip the tortilla and repeat method. 

- Let them cool on a paper towel so that it absorbs the oil from the tortilla.

- Continue to repeat the process until you run out of batter; you may need to add more coconut oil in between each tortilla.

Chili Lime Shrimp: 

Ingredients: 

1/2 Pound of Small Shrimp

1/2 of a Lime

1 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

1 Teaspoon Cumin

1 Garlic Clove

2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil

Directions:

- Heat the Coconut Oil in a medium pan, once hot combine the remaining ingredients in the pan, put the lid on the pan but stir frequently.

- Make sure everything is combined throughly & cooked evenly. 

When everything is finished, put together your taco. I combined avocado, onion,  red pepper(it was frozen, so I cooked it in a tablespoon of coconut oil in the pan, which I highly recommend), the fresh salsa, shrimp, tomato, cilantro & fresh squeezed lime juice to top it off. Yum!!! Guaranteed you will start thinking your in paradise too!! 

Paleo Egg Salad Wraps

Hey All!  

I love putting new twists on traditional foods, exp. If I can make it Paleo too! Here is my version of Egg Salad, I wrapped it up in Butter Lettuce(which is even tastier & healthier for you). I am so thankful I still have organic veggies from this last years share from Kragnes Family Farm, yum! 

Here are the ingredients: 

- 6 Hardboiled eggs (You  can easily put them in a muffin tin and bake them in the oven for 25 minutes at 325 degrees, they taste better and the shells come off easier). 

- 1 Cucumber

- A Head of Butter Lettuce 

Pesto Ingredients: 

- 1 Small onion 

- 2 Handful of cranberries 

- 2 Tbsp. Dill

- 1 Bunch Basil

- 3/4 - 1 Cup Coconut Oil 

- 3/4 Cup Walnuts

- 2 Tbsp. Crushed Red Pepper

- 1 Tbsp. Fennel

- 1 Clove Garlic

- Juice from half of a Lemon

- 1 Tsp. Sea Salt

- 1 Tbsp. Sage

- 2 Tbsp. Rosemary

Directions:

For the pesto:

Combine all ingredients in a blender to a purée form(I also put 1/4 of the cucumber in the purée so it wasn't so chunky in the salad). 

Egg Salad: 

- Cut up the cucumber & combine with the hard boil eggs, mash it up really good before combining it with pesto in a medium sized bowl. 

Than take your butter lettuce and carefully take each leaf off, place on a clean surface & scoop a good spoonful onto it. Than wrap it up burrito style... And enjoy! :) 

Hopes & Dreams for 2014

Mom always has a good reminder that is centered in our kitchen for us to remember:

First off let me tell you how blessed I truly am. I have a place to call home, not just my apartment although it is very cozy and makes me not want to leave it as often as I do, but my parents home, the families that I am so deeply connected to both in the cities, fargo and other states and even countries. I am so grateful to not just have one place to call home but the many places and people that are more like family than friends to me. I am grateful for such loving and caring people in my life that although sometimes I will admit I don't want to hear their input they give it to me straight and make me really think about my life and what it may hold. I am grateful for parents who really have trusted in God for everything, they continue to hold Him number one in everything they do and it is such testimonies to what God can and has done in their lives. 

Things that I have a plan on accomplishing in 2014 are and no this is not all concrete but they are things that have been on my mind for quite some time and I really am focused on accomplishing them all by the end of this next year, because really we have a whole 365 days and to put it on a better view 8,760 hours to complete it in! 

- Make more time for myself, reading, studying God's Word, Digging deeper in my relationship with Him and making sure that I become more of the woman Christ wants and less of a woman that the devil wants.

-Go on a missions trip, It doesn't have to be half way around the world, even though I would gladly go, but even down to the cities and do something there or another state. As long as I am able to serve God, and show others Christ's love. 

- Learn how to(I know I will sound like an old lady now) but knit, sew, crochet, read more, and I would LOVE to make my first quilt this year as well. 

- Complete two more semesters of school with all A's.

- Road trip out to Hamilton, Montana to see where my dad has been living, working and where the family will reside. 

- Road trip or fly to my Grandpa and Grandma Smith's house, because let's face it they aren't getting any younger and the time literally does fly when you get older. I want to spend as much time with them as possible and being able to see 11 cousins I haven't seen since 2009 will be nice too! :)

- Go to GERMANY the end of June to see some of my closest friends from Capernwray, finally live my dream of driving on the Audubon, seeing the gorgeous castles, where my friends live, what they do for fun and of course have that delicious German food! 

- Get a car that I can not worry about the windows staying down in the frigid weather, or not starting when I am supposed to be on my way to work and it WILL have an Auto start, because in -50 degree weather everyone should have one. 

- Complete my Modules for work. Everyone who works with me or has worked with me at friendship is probably laughing at this one, but I honestly only have 1 1/2 pages of my last practicum to complete.

- Complete a half marathon and maybe even a full one by the end of this year.

- Attend one of my best friends weddings in Seattle(Chelsea S.) to the love of her life who is also another good friend of mine while also visiting two of my best friends Brittany and Seth in Spokane.

- Of course I would LOVE to lose 30 pounds or more, but I am finally at the point where I am confident in who I am, although that doesn't mean that I just stop working out, because guaranteed I am FAR from that. But I know that God made my body as a temple and I should honor Him by working out, and being as healthy and in the best shape that I can be, no not skinny minny but def. not where I am now either. I am overweight and I am grateful that I love to run and working out isn't that hard for me because I love to do. I encourage you all, to start if you haven't, get some good tunes and do some simple sit ups during commercial breaks, because that is one thing you won't regret. :) 

- Make sure that I am able to not just work at my two job(s), complete schoolwork but find time to bless others more than myself and to ensure that I do it in such a way that I am not the one who gets the credit but all the credit goes towards God. 

I know this list is a little long, and it will be expensive, but I know God will help me in the long run with all the finances to what he sees fit. I am grateful that I have good jobs that pay well, and that God continues to show me His grace, and mercy when I fail. I am thankful for a God who continues to provide for my very need and than on top of that some of my wants as well. I can't tell you enough how grateful I am for my family and all of you as my friends who are def. more like one big extended family. I hope you all have a wonderful start to 2014.

A Smith Christmas

Christmas was wonderful. All members of the Smith family was able to be home and enjoy my father being able to be home for the first time since this summer and the last time in a long time and possibly ever in Minnesota. He has selflessly taken a job out in Montana where he is a teacher at the Job Corps. To say that he loves it would be an understatement, although our house is still on the market here in Minnesota, dad is loving the quaint cottage he is living in, that is surrounded by the Bitterroot Mountains and he sees many herds of elk on a daily basis. He is loving his dreamy homestead. He is at home, and at peace where he always imagined life when he would retire. However he has yet to retire he loves every part of it out there and wishes we could just all up and move there with him. He has dreamed of this for as long as I can remember.. and I am so thankful he is enjoying it as much as he is. It was truly one of the best Christmas's we have ever had, not just because of the wonderful Heated Blanket I got, or the other presents everyone loved receiving and giving. But because for the first time in many months our dad was with us and we were all together. We enjoyed many cups of coffee, lots of my mom's homemade lefse, reminiscing of many memories and enjoyed lots of laughs..
Pranks are def. a Smith family thing, as my dad is king of pranks. It all started when my brother Josh asked me to make sure that my youngest sister was out of the house for a little while, little did we know he took off her bedroom door, wrapped it up in wrapping paper and put it next to the tree. Let's just say that really made Abby think of some pretty hilarious ideas.. Josh unwrapped a present from her which he thought he was getting an iPhone although it was just the case from my dad's new iPhone and it held a very crappy phone inside.. than Abby brought down his next "present".. a bucket that she had filled with water the night before and put all of his clean boxers in it.. which she than left outside to freeze solid overnight… it was quite the sight.. ha.
We sure enjoyed and soaked up our time with dad, as we are unsure the next time we will all be together and be able to see him. We miss him greatly, it sure has brought us closer together as a family. We are already very tight knit, and our parents did a great job making sure we really appreciate each other, since someday we may not have the friends we do now but we will always have our family and we need to make sure to spend time with each other and appreciate each other for each other's own gifts and talents and not be selfish. I am so thankful for the parents we have and all of my siblings. We are blessed beyond measure. Here are some pictures from our last Christmas in this wonderful house that we have all grown up in for the last 19 years:

This is the way we start every Christmas morning at our house, Dad puts on his favorite Christmas song to wake us up:

Here is Josh's prank to Abby:

Here is Abby's Pranks to Josh:

Mom bought Dad an iPhone for Christmas, when we were teaching him about how to use Siri, he thought the name was Sierra so my sister Britt got him a "Siri for Dummies" but she replaced the name with Sierra, here is his reaction:

Opening Presents:

Dad reading his new Siri For Dummies Book

The girls and mom making cookies:

Some fun family pictures:

The street we grew up on:

Yes even in negative temps we had our bonfire going.. it smelled so good! 

Soaking in our moments together

Tradition has it that we fondue every Christmas and New Years

Than sledding and snowboarding comes afterwards