Apple Crumble

To round out our Thanksgiving feast here is Cooper's favorite: apple crumble.  

Photo: Our Paleo Life

Ingredients for pie crust:

• 3/4 cup raw walnut halves or pecans
• 1/2 cup pitted, medjool dates
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Grind nuts in a food processor until finely ground and almost starting to turn into butter, or just starting to clump together.
2. Add dates, butter, and salt to the food processor, pulse until combined.
3. Press into a 9” pie plate.
4. Set aside.

 For the pie filling:

• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 4 apples, peeled, cored, cubed
• 1/4 cup apple cider 
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon arrowroot starch

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.
2. Melt butter in a large saucepan and add apples.  Cook for 8-10 minutes or until just starting to soften.
3. Add remaining ingredients, except arrowroot starch, and mix to combine.
4. Remove from heat and use a slotted spoon to transfer ingredients to prepared pie dish.
5. To the remaining liquid add arrowroot starch and whisk over low heat for about a minute until mixture is thickened.  Pour over apples.
6. Bake for 10 min.

For the streusel topping:

• 1 cup raw almonds
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• a pinch of cardamom
• a pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons raw honey

Directions:

1. Pulse all ingredients, except honey, together in a food processor until coarse crumbles.
2. Add honey and mix with hands to form a sticky, crumbly mixture.
3. Remove pie from oven and top with struesel.
4. Return to oven for 5 more minutes.
5. Remove and allow to cool for a few minutes.  It is best served warm.

Roasted Root Vegetable Salad

Thanks to PreppyPaleo for the inspiration for this delicious side dish.  We have officially added this accompaniment to our Thanksgiving lineup.  My husband loved it so much he had it again for lunch the next day.

Photo: Preppy Paleo

Dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil
3 tbs. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1 tsp. raw honey
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Salad:

6 cups mixed greens
4 cups chopped root vegetables - beet, parsnip, sweet potato, carrot
2 tablespoons unsweetened apple cider
1 tablespoon melted butter

salt to taste

4 slices of bacon
1/2 cup chopped raw almonds

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425˚F.
• Toss root vegetables with cider and butter. Season with salt and bake for 20 minutes or until just starting to brown.
• While vegetables are roasting combine all dressing ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.
• Cook bacon until crispy and crumble.
• Toss mixed greens with dressing, top with root vegetables, bacon, and almonds.

Traditional Cranberry Sauce

My husband is becoming less and less frilly with his food.  So, this year we're not adding pears, apples, nuts, chipotles, or anything (almost) to our cranberry sauce.

Photo: Can You Stay For Dinner?

Ingredients:

3 cups of fresh cranberries
juice of one orange
zest of one orange
1 teaspoon of cinnamon

Directions:

• Combine all ingredients in a saucepan on medium heat.  
• Cook for about 30 min or until consistency is jam-like. 

Serves 5-8

Double or triple your recipe as needed. Fresh cranberry sauce should be used within a week.

Recipes to gobble it up:

Baked Sweet Potato with Citrus topped with cranberry sauce
As a topping for Coconut Waffles
Add to Apple Cider Vinaigrette and serve with Kale Cranberry Salad
Spread onto warm Apple Cinnamon Muffins