Maple Thyme Roasted Carrots

Photo: Martha Stewart

Easy and pairs perfectly with almost everything.  We had them with my modified version of Nom Nom Paleo's Green Sliders.  Yum!

Ingredients:

• a pound of organic carrots, cut into 2" chunks
• 3 T pure maple syrup
• 2 T ghee or butter, melted
• 1 t fresh, chopped thyme
• salt to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400˚F.
2. In a shallow baking dish mix all ingredients together.
3. Roast for about 20 minutes.

Bacon Garlic Green Beans

Photo: Galonamission

Easy and super yummy.  This will round out our Thanksgiving dinner nicely and won't take up any precious oven space.

Ingredients:

2 lbs organic green beans, ends trimmed
1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
3-5 garlic cloves, chopped or 1T garlic powder
2T butter
Salt to taste

Directions:

• In a large pot boil water and add salt. 
• Add green beans to salted boiling water and parboil for about 5 minutes or until softened but still crunchy. 
• Drain green beans.
• Melt butter in a skillet and add garlic.
• Add green beans and toss to evenly coat.
• Add salt to taste.
• Top with bacon and serve.

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.

Bacon Butternut Squash Soufflé

Thanks to PaleOMG for the inspiration for this one.  This would be a nice addition to your side dishes but also a great post-Thanksgiving creation using leftover mashed yams or sweet potatoes.

Photo: PaleOMG

Ingredients:

• 2 cups butternut squash, pumpkin, sweet potato, or yam, pureed
• 4 eggs, separated
• 1 heaping tablespoon arrowroot starch
• 4 slices of bacon, diced
• 2 tablespoons bacon fat
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 shallot, sliced
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
• 1 teaspoon fresh sage, chopped
• salt and pepper, to taste
• butter
  

Directions:

1.    Preheat oven to 400˚F.

2.    Cook bacon until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a plate with a paper towel.

3.    Add puree, 1T bacon fat, and egg yolks to the food processor. Puree until smooth, pour into a large bowl.

4.    Heat 1T bacon fat in a skillet over medium heat and add garlic and shallots.

5.    Cook until shallots are tender and translucent.

6.    Add shallots, bacon, arrowroot starch, herbs, salt and pepper to the bowl of puree and mix well.

7.    In a separate large bowl beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. With a spatula, fold egg whites into your squash bowl until no white streaks remain.

8.    Grease a glass baking dish with butter and pour in mixture. 

9.  Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Roasted Garlic and Parsnip Mash

I really enjoyed this possible Thanksgiving side dish.  Turns out, though, my daughter doesn't like parsnips - too much like cooked carrots.  Just found out she doesn't like sweet potatoes, either.  Yikes!

So we won't be enjoying this dish for Thanksgiving, but you might.

Photo: Paleoaholic

Ingredients:

3 big parsnips, peeled, and cut into chunks
2 Tbsp olive oil or other fat suitable for high temperatures
1/4+ cup homemade bone broth or raw milk
2 whole garlic bulbs
sea salt to taste

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 400˚F
• Place parsnips in a baking dish and drizzle with oil.  Sprinkle with salt.
• Cut tops off of garlic bulbs to expose cloves.  Place on a square of foil, drizzle with oil, and fold up sides of foil to create a pouch.
• Roast parsnips and garlic until soft, about 40 minutes.
• Place parsnips in food processor and add liquid.  
• Squeeze garlic cloves out of bulb and add to food processor.  
• Blend ingredients together until they are the consistency you desire.  Add more liquid and salt to taste.

Green Bean Casserole With Crispy Shallots

We usually pass up green bean casserole due to it's unhealthy ingredients.  This year it sounds good so I'm hunting for the perfect recipe.  Here's my version of The Urban Poser's recipe.

 

The Urban Poser

Ingredients:

1½ cups of Creamy Cashew Gravy*

1 lb haricots verts

2 large shallots

¼ cup coconut oil or ghee

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400˚F
• Blanch the green beans in boiling, salted water for about 2 min. Drain. If you are not going to bake green beans immediately, you will need to shock them in a bowl of ice water to stop them from cooking.
•  In a large bowl, combine the green beans and gravy. Transfer to a casserole dish and bake at 400˚F for about 20 min or until the gravy begins to bubble.
•  Meanwhile prepare crispy shallots.  Peel and slice the shallots into thin rings.
•  Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium/low heat until oil bubbles slightly. Reduce the heat to low, add the shallots and cook for 5 - 6 min or until they reach a golden brown color. Stir occasionally to ensure even browning.
•  Using a slotted spoon, remove shallots from the oil, drain well and let cool on paper towels until ready to use.
•  Remove green beans from oven, top with crispy shallots, and serve.

*Creamy Cashew Gravy

Ingredients:

1 cup raw cashews

1 cup homemade bone broth + ¼ cup

1 tablespoon coconut oil or ghee

½ onion, chopped

3 large garlic cloves, chopped

½ tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon dried thyme

sea salt to taste

Directions:

• Soak the cashews for 4 hours then rinse and drain. Transfer to food processor 
• Sauté the onions and garlic in 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat, cook until caramelized.  
• Add onion & garlic to food processor with the cashews. Set the pan aside.
• Add 1 cup of broth to the food processor and blend until smooth.
• Pour the cashew mixture into the onions & garlic pan. Add the thyme and whisk the cashew mixture over a medium heat for a few minutes or until it thickens and darkens up a little bit.  Whisk constantly so that it doesn't burn.
• Whisk in the ¼ cup broth, lemon juice, and salt.  Stirring constantly, allow it thicken for a few minutes. 
  

Brown Butter and Caramelized Onion Cauliflower Mash

I love mashed potatoes but they don't love me.  Instead of subjecting my family to the big insulin spiking bomb of mashed potatoes we're on the hunt for an amazing mashed cauliflower recipe.  Oh, we're no strangers to using cauliflower as potatoes (not to mention rice, pizza dough, or tortillas) we're just out to find the best dish for Thanksgiving.

I really like this recipe but it's not quite amazing enough for Thanksgiving.  I'm sharing it with you because you may just LOVE it!  In the meantime I'll make more mashed cauliflower recipes and try to share them with you.

Here's my recipe adapted from Running to the Kitchen's guest poster, KatieDid.

Photo: Running to the Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 head of cauliflower

5 Tbsp of salted butter
3 cloves of garlic
2 medium Vidalia or other sweet onion
sea salt to taste

Instructions:

• Slice onions and caramelize in 3 tablespoon of butter over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring constantly to avoid burning. The last 5 minutes, throw in the garlic cloves to release some of their flavor.  Once onions are completely caramelized remove from the pan and set aside.
• Meanwhile cut up cauliflower into florets. Place in a casserole dish and add about a cup of water. Microwave for 5-7 minutes until they are soft.
• Place cauliflower and garlic cloves into a food processor and process for a few minutes.
• Over medium heat add 2-3 tablespoons of butter to your onion saucepan and stir constantly until just beginning to brown, about 3-4 minutes. 
• Add ½ of the caramelized onions, all the browned butter, and a healthy pinch of salt to the cauliflower in the processor. Process until fully incorporated and a smooth, creamy mash has been formed. This may take several minutes depending on your food processor. Taste and adjust salt.

Cauliflower Mash

Summer is so busy and most days I don't want to cook.  I end up serving tried and true dishes that I don't really have to think about, hence the few posts over the last couple of months.

We're getting down to the last few servings from our 1/4 cow (see my "we're buying a cow" post).  Last night I made a chuck roast from I breathe... I'm hungry... (which gave me the idea to do the Whole30, but that's another post).

Photo: Eating With Purpose

I served the roast over cauliflower mash.

Ingredients:

• 1 head cauliflower, cut off the stalk and broken into small pieces
• 2-4 tablespoons grass-fed butter
• 2 tablespoons ghee, butter, mct oil, or olive oil
• splash of raw milk or heavy cream (if dairy intolerant, use broth)
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Sauté all ingredients (except liquid) in a heavy stainless steel skillet until slightly softened 
2. Stir in a splash of liquid - I like my mash thick and lumpy, use more if you like yours thinner
3. Use an immersion blender in the pan to mash the cauliflower
4. Stir to incorporate all ingredients 

Serve alone as a side dish, as the topping for shepherd's pie, or in a bowl under a roast and all the yummy juices.

Cucumber Salad

Photo: Kaylyn's Kitchen

What do you do with the abundance of cucumbers growing in your garden or, as in my case, your husband brings home beautiful, giant cucumbers from the farmer's market?

You make cucumber salad!  Thanks to Kaylyn's Kitchen for this delicious recipe. Makes 2 generous servings or 4 side-dish servings.

Ingredients:

• 3 cucumbers, peeled
• 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
• 1 avocado
• 1 T apple cider vinegar 
• sea salt and ground black pepper to taste
• gorgonzola or feta cheese, optional if you can tolerate dairy

Directions:

1. Cut cucumbers in half lengthwise then slice into half-moons.  
2. Peel and cut up the avocado into small cubes.
3. Combine the cucumber, tomato, onion, avocado, and vinegar in a bowl and gently toss together.  
4. Add in gorgonzola cheese and combine.  
5. Season to taste with sea salt and fresh-ground black pepper. 

Cauliflower Poppers

Easy and super yummy as a side dish or afternoon snack.

Turn on the oven to 425º and by the time your oven is preheated you'll have your head of cauliflower chopped up.

Drizzle cauliflower florets with extra virgin olive oil and season with sea salt.

Place on a cookie sheet and bake for about 20 minutes.

The first time I made this my kids and their friends devoured it within seconds.  Seriously!

I tried to tell my popcorn-loving friend this would be a good substitute for her popcorn cravings but after making and eating it again, it really doesn't take care of that need for crunch.

It is delicious, though!  I hope you try it.