Thanksgiving Stuffing Meatballs [P]

This recipe is directly from Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo

THANKSGIVING STUFFING MEATBALLS

2 lb ground pork

2 Tblsp Spice blend [1/2 tsp sea salt, 1/2 Tblsp ground fennel seeds, 1/2 Tblsp ground sage, 1/2 Tblsp garlic powder, 1/2 Tblsp onion powder, 1/8 tsp white pepper, 1 tsp dried parsley]

2 tsp coconut oil

1/4 cup onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup celery, finely chopper

1/4 cup carrot, grated or shredded

1/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the pork and spice blends until the spices are well incorporated evenly throughout the meat.
• In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the oil. Place the onions, celery, and carrots in the pan, and saute until the onions and celery appear translucent. Add walnuts and cook for another 2 minutes.
• Set the onion mix aside to cool until you can touch it comfortably  Then, combine the mixture with the meat, and form the pork into 24 meatballs.
• Place the meatballs in an oven-safe dish or baking sheet and back approximately 25-35 minutes or until cooked all the way through.

This recipe is directly from Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo

Pumpkin Quesadillas

PUMPKIN QUESADILLAS

1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 tsp ground cumin
8 8-inch flour tortillas
4 oz goat cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted
1/4 cup veg oil

• In a bowl, combine pumpkin and cumin. Spread over 4 tortillas. 
• Sprinkle with cheese and walnuts. Top with remaining tortillas.
• In large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-low heat.
• Cook quesadillas 1 at a time, flipping once and adding more oil between batches, until lightly browned. (about 3 minutes)
• Slice and serve.

Pumpkin Granola

PUMPKIN GRANOLA

5 cups quick cooking oats
2 cups chocolate rice crisp
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 (15 ounce) can of pumpkin
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup sliced almonds
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup chopped pecans

• Place two oven racks on the top and bottom 1/3 of the oven. Preheat the oven to 300°. Set aside two baking sheets with sides lined with a silpat, liner, parchment paper or aluminum foil. 
• In a large bowl, combine both oats, brown rice crisp and pumpkin pie spice. 
• In a separate bowl, combine the canned pumpkin, honey, brown sugar, canola oil and vanilla extract. 
• Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. 
• Pour the granola on the baking sheets, splitting evenly between the two baking sheets. With a silicone spatula (or any other flat tool), push down the granola to make a compact, flat and even layer of granola. 
• Place the baking sheets in the oven for 20 minutes (one on the top, one on the bottom). 
• While that is in the oven, chop your nuts and combine them in a bowl and set aside. 
• With a large spatula flip over the granola, cut the larger clumps in half and add the nuts to the baking sheet. 
• Bake for another 20 minutes stir around and break up any clumps that wouldn’t fit in one bite. 
• Bake for a final 20-30 minutes, until completely dry and golden brown. Let the granola cool completely on the baking sheets.

recipe from Chocolate & Carrots September 2011

T&T: Natural Medicine: God's Pharmacy

It's been said that God first separated the saltwater from the fresh, made dry land, planted a garden, made animals and fish...All before making a human.  He made and provided what we'd need before we wereborn.  These are best & more powerful when eaten raw. We're such slow  learners...God left us a great clue as to what foods help what part of our body!

God's Pharmacy! 



 

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye..  And YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow toand function of the eyes.

 

 

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red.  All of there search shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.

 



 

 Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart.  Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

 

 



A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums.  Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like theneo-cortex.  We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

 



 

 Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.


 

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength.  Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23%sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak.  These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

 

 Avocados, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female -they look just like these organs.  Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers.  And how profound is this?  It takes exactly nine (9)months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

 

 Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow.  Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.

 



 

 Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

 

 



 

 Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries

 

 

Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

 

 Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells.  They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers ofthe eyes.

Daring Bakers Challenge: Povitica

The Daring Baker’s October 2011 challenge was Povitica, hosted by Jenni of The Gingered Whisk. Povitica is a traditional Eastern European Dessert Bread that is as lovely to look at as it is to eat!

Daring Bakers Challenge 

POVITICA 

(1/2 Batch)

Half Batch Dough Ingredients (Makes two loaves each 1.25 lbs/565 grams)

To activate the Yeast:1 Teaspoon Sugar
½ Teaspoon All-Purpose (Plain) Flour
¼ Cup Warm Water
1 Tablespoon Dry Yeast

Dough:
1 Cup Whole Milk
6 Tablespoons Sugar
1½ Teaspoons Table Salt
2 Large Eggs
¼ Cup Unsalted Butter, melted
4 cups All-Purpose Flour, measure first then sift, divided

Topping:
¼ Cup Cold STRONG Coffee
1 Tablespoon Granulated Sugar
Melted Butter

Half Batch Filling Ingredients
3½ Cups Ground English Walnuts
½ Cup Whole Milk
½ Cup Unsalted Butter
1 Whole Egg, Beaten
½ Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Sugar
½ Teaspoon Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
½ Teaspoon Cinnamon

To Activate Yeast:
1. In a small bowl, stir 2 teaspoons sugar, 1 teaspoon flour, and the yeast into ½ cup warm water and cover with plastic wrap.
2. Allow to stand for 5 minutes

To Make the Dough:3. In a medium saucepan, heat the milk up to just below boiling (about 180°F/82°C), stirring constantly so that a film does not form on the top of the milk. You want it hot enough to scald you, but not boiling. Allow to cool slightly, until it is about 110°F/43°C.
4. In a large bowl, mix the scalded milk, ¾ cup sugar, and the salt until combined.
5. Add the beaten eggs, yeast mixture, melted butter, and 2 cups of flour.6. Blend thoroughly and slowly add remaining flour, mixing well until the dough starts to clean the bowl.
7. Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead, gradually adding flour a little at a time, until smooth and does not stick. Note: I did not use all of flour8. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces
9. Place dough in 4 lightly oiled bowls, cover loosely with a layer of plastic wrap and then a kitchen towel and let rise an hour and a half in a warm place, until doubled in size.

To Make the Filling10. In a large bowl mix together the ground walnuts, sugar, cinnamon and cocoa.
11. Heat the milk and butter to boiling.
12. Pour the liquid over the nut/sugar mixture.
13. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix thoroughly.
14. Allow to stand at room temperature until ready to be spread on the dough.
15. If the mixture thickens, add a small amount of warm milk.

To Roll and Assemble the Dough:16. Spread a clean sheet or cloth over your entire table so that it is covered.
17. Sprinkle with a couple of tablespoons to a handful of flour (use flour sparingly)
18. Place the dough on the sheet and roll the dough out with a rolling pin, starting in the middle and working your way out, until it measures roughly 10-12 inches in diameter.
19. Spoon 1 to 1.5 teaspoons of melted butter on top.
20. Using the tops of your hands, stretch dough out from the center until the dough is thin and uniformly opaque. You can also use your rolling pin, if you prefer.
21. As you work, continually pick up the dough from the table, not only to help in stretching it out, but also to make sure that it isn’t sticking.
22. When you think it the dough is thin enough, try to get it a little thinner. It should be so thin that you can see the color and perhaps the pattern of the sheet underneath.
23. Spoon filling (see below for recipe) evenly over dough until covered.24. Lift the edge of the cloth and gently roll the dough like a jelly roll.25. Once the dough is rolled up into a rope, gently lift it up and place it into a greased loaf pan in the shape of a “U”, with the ends meeting in the middle. You want to coil the dough around itself, as this will give the dough its characteristic look when sliced.26. Repeat with remaining three loaves, coiling each rope of dough in its own loaf pan.27. Brush the top of each loaf with a mixture of ½ cup of cold STRONG coffee and 2 tablespoons of sugar. If you prefer, you can also use egg whites in place of this.28. Cover pans lightly will plastic wrap and allow to rest for approximately 15 minutes.29. Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4.30. Remove plastic wrap from dough and place into the preheated oven and bake for approximately 15 minutes.31. Turn down the oven temperature to slow 300°F/150°C/gas mark 2 and bake for an additional 45 minutes, or until done.32. Remove bread from oven and brush with melted butter.33. Check the bread at 30 minutes to ensure that the bread is not getting too brown. You may cover the loaves with a sheet of aluminum foil if you need to.34. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for 20-30 minutes, still in the bread pan. Remember, the bread weighs about 2.5 and it needs to be able to hold its own weight, which is difficult when still warm and fresh out of the oven. Allowing it to cool in the pan helps the loaf to hold its shape.35. It is recommended that the best way to cut Povitica loaves into slices is by turning the loaf upside down and slicing with a serrated knife.

Carrot Cabbage Slaw

CARROT CABBAGE SLAW

4 cups shredded cabbage
2 cups shredded carrots
2 medium Golden Delicious apples, chopped
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup honey
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup (8oz) sour cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 to 1/4 ground nutmeg, optional [go more less rather than more--it has a very strong flavor in the slaw]

In a large bowl, combine cabbage, carrots, apples, raisins and walnuts.

In a small bowl, combine the honey and lemon juice until smooth. Stir in sour cream, salt and pepper and nutmeg if desired. Stir into cabbage mixture.

Chill until serving.

Homemade Granola

I found this lady's blog about a year ago, and have "followed" it since. Simple food, more "home-body" and simple. That's why I like it. This recipe I found a while ago on her page, and use it quite often! This is the only recipe that Patrick (my hubby) actually requests! It makes a lot, and we usually pack and freeze in small containers so it'll last a while.

HOMEMADE GRANOLA

4 cups old fashion oats
2 cups chopped walnuts/pecans
3/4 cup honey
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
dash of salt

In a small saucepan, melt honey, butter, cinnamon, vanilla and salt until blended. In a large bowl, mix oats and nuts, then pour honey mixture over top and mix well. Pour oat mixture on  large jellyroll pan and put in oven. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes--"stirring" every 5 minutes. Let cool on pan a few minutes, and put in air-tight container.

Thank you Brandi for the yummy recipes!

Its really good with  vanilla yogurt in the morning! Enjoy!