Paleo Sweet Potato/Ham/Onion Quiche

Today I want to share one of my tastiest and easiest paleo meals. This is a sweet potato, ham and onion quiche. I make this recipe at least once a week for brunch or even dinner. 

1. Cut sweet potato into slices and bake at 400 degrees until soft and cooked all the way through. I got ahead and bake them in the pie dish to avoid unnecessary cleanup. 

2. While the sweet potatoes are baking, slice and cook onion until translucent and a little caramelized.  

3. When the sweet potatoes are cooked, take the pie pan out of the oven. Add three to four slices of ham over the sweet potato. Then, whisk 6 eggs. Pour the eggs over the ham and sweet potato. 

4. Top with the caramelized onions and bake at 350 for about fifteen to twenty minutes. You just want to make sure the egg is cooked all the way through. My oven runs extremely hot, so I would just keep an eye on it. 

 I love this recipe because the sweet potato makes a wonderful sort of crust that you usually don't get with paleo foods. The ham and sweet potato are delicious together. I am a fan of onion on pretty much everything. 

If you have ever wanted to try a paleo recipe, this is a great introduction. It is easy, tasty, and looks great. 

More Baking Adventures

I have been on a baking spree this week. I saw a recipe on Pinterest for raspberry macaroons, and knew I wanted to create a Paleo version. 

Original Recipe

I simply left out the sugar and added two tablespoons of honey instead. They were really delicious, although did not look as nice as the pictures from the original website. Mine had a solid pink color all the way through, instead of the marbling of pink and white. 

I made mine in a muffin tin because I don't have the right kind of baking tray. This worked really well. They were delicious without the sugar. I highly recommend substituting honey for white sugar if you try this recipe. 

I also made banana bread using this recipe. I made two substitutions; maple syrup instead of honey and coconut oil instead of palm oil shortening. 

It was outrageously good. I actually like this better than normal banana bread. The middle got a little dense, but I've always had the same problem when I made regular banana bread. The macaroons were the perfect dessert, but I had the banana bread for breakfast today. It has a ton of almond flour, so I probably will only make this once a month if that. Almond flour is too pricey to make this an all the time kind of food. 

Even though these are paleo, I still consider them desserts and eat them sparingly. The banana bread doesn't have much sugar in it ( 1 tablespoon of maple syrup) but we try to limit our almond flour intake too. 

Two food posts in one week! I know this isn't a food-blog, but cooking is a huge part of my life. I love finding ways to adapt regular recipes to the paleo requirements. 

Pancake Recipe

While Lane was in Ranger school I developed a Monday morning ritual. I would make pancakes and watch Sunday night's Downton Abbey. Although Downton isn't airing right now, I still make the pancakes. I use a fantastic recipe from a website I adore called Primal Palate. 

The Recipe
1/4 Cup Coconut Flour
4 Eggs
1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
1 Tablespoon Water
1 Banana
Cinnamon and Nutmeg to taste

I modified this slightly today, because I am out of vanilla extract. I also like to use almond milk instead of water. What I love about this recipe is that it is mostly egg. Lane says they taste more like french toast than pancakes because of the egg. I think these are a great choice for breakfast, because you get a ton of protein from the egg and fiber from the coconut flour. 

I just mix everything in together, but it is important to note that it takes quite a while to get everything to blend smoothly. I would use a hand-mixer, but I hate washing that thing so I just rough it by hand. 

Batter before being sufficiently mixed

Closer to the right smooth consistency

Once the batter is smooth ( meaning no lumps of flour). Pour 2 Tablespoons of batter onto a non-stick pan heated to medium-high heat. 

Ignore my dirty cast iron pan from making scrambled eggs.

Add banana and cook until no bubbles are coming through the top layer. I am a terrible judge of this so I usually just use a fork to check how brown they are by pulling up the side.

Flip over and cook for another three minutes ( approximately)

I will sometimes indulge with some pure maple syrup. Y'all after you have had this syrup, nothing else will be good enough. 

These are so delicious and good for you. I like them better than conventional pancakes. I have made them with other fruits as well as pecans. 

Little change like this are such a great way to cut out some white flour and add in more protein and fiber. Coconut flour can be a little pricey, but you can find it online for a reasonable price. I would love to hear if any of y'all try these. 

Eating Like a Dinosaur

It is hard to believe that I have been eating ( quasi ) paleo for a year. It seemed so daunting at first, but now just feels like second nature. I absolutely feel a difference in my body and my skin. Pancakes were one thing that I missed terribly at first. Until I found this recipe. These pancakes are delicious, and taste great with some grilled bananas and cinnamon.

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• 3 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 ½ cups blanched almond flour
• ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• grapeseed oil, for cooking (or for Paleo use coconut oil)

1. In a large bowl whisk together eggs, water, vanilla and honey
2. Add almond flour, salt and baking soda and mix until thoroughly combined
3. Heat coconut oil on skillet over medium low to medium heat
4. Scoop 1 heaping tablespoon of batter at a time onto the skillet
5. Pancakes will form little bubbles, when bubbles open, flip pancakes over and cook other side
6. Remove from heat to a plate
7. Repeat process with remaining batter, add more oil to skillet as needed

Y'all, these pancakes are amazing, without having the huge amounts of sugar that regular flour provides. 

Nerd Excitement

In perhaps the most exciting news ever, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman are coming to Syracuse. I am trying to get tickets, and will be the happiest girl in the world if we can go. I love MythBusters and am so excited to see them in person.

 In case this post wasn't nerdy enough; I discovered last night that I can now sing the entire theme song to Big Bang Theory.

For Goodnight Moon's link-up I am adding Grace Potter and The Nocturnal's Paris (Ooh La La). This is a great song to play while getting ready in the morning. I love Grace Potter and how she sounds amazing in so many styles.

I miss my kitchen. I never thought I would have an emotional connection to my food processor, but the lack of cooking is killing me. First thing when we get the house is to unpack the kitchen. The bedroom and living room can wait, but I am dying to make some tasty recipes. Here are some of the first culinary items on my list 

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If you want a great muffin without all the added sugar, I would highly suggest these. They use dates for a sweetener, so you avoid all the processed sugar. 

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I love Thai yellow curry. I will leave out the noodles when I make this, but it looks amazing. 

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These braised short ribs are from a website I LOVE called Primal Palate. Eating paleo can be a little intimidating, but this recipe is one of the easiest. It is so good, and my husband couldn't get enough. Ah, this makes me miss my crock pot.

 

Blood Orange Salad

One of my favorite things to make right now is a green salad with blood oranges and goat cheese. It is so simple, but delicious.

I toss:
Mixed Greens
Red Onion
Shredded carrot
Goat Cheese
Blood Orange

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I just use oil and vinegar dressing, but it would delicious with all sorts of salad dressings. Luckily for us, our local grocery store has been stocking really amazing blood oranges. I am taking advantage while I still can.

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Another great option is a beet and blood orange salad. It is beautiful to look at and the flavors are great together. I found this recipe on Bonappetit.com 

2 medium red beets, tops trimmed

2 medium golden beets, tops trimmed

3 blood oranges

1 medium navel orange 

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1/2 small fennel bulb, very thinly sliced crosswise on a mandoline

1/4 red onion, very thinly sliced on a mandoline (about 1/3 cup)

Good-quality extra-virgin olive oil 

Coarse sea salt, such as fleur de sel or Maldon sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro and/or chervil leaves

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