A PALEO THANKSGIVING!!!

Gird your loins, cuz this is one long paleo party.  I am going to preface these recipes by reinforcing that this is a Thanksgiving Meal.  Capital Tee capital Em.  While I follow a Paleo diet and agree with the idea of keeping the usage of things like honey and clarified butter to a minimum, as far as I'm concerned they are quite welcome in a setting such as this.  It's Thanksgiving, not an every day occasion.  So if you prefer not to use them, more power to ya.  You could substitute coconut oil and/or just deal with no sweetness in your pumpkin pie.  But I promise you the flavors will sing if you make the following as listed.

I was really excited to plan this dinner and went back and forth on trying certain things, but ended up with the following menu:

The Turkey, and onions
Sweet Potato Stuffing
Yams & Apples
Brussel Sprouts with bacon, celery root and onions
Garlicky Green Beans
Cranberry-Orange Sauce
Crustless Pumpkin Pie
Baked Apples
Coconut Milk Ice cream

You will probably be familiar with many of the above recipes but perhaps not all of them.  I grew up having the Yams & Apples (family recipe y'all) and hope you'll find it an excellent substitution for your usual yams, especially if you're used them being donned with marshmallows.  The turkey is for the most part, your typical turkey, but I added a bit of my own flair to it.  It is important to note that I started preparing this meal the day before, and I have posted the recipes below in order of how I prepared them.  I also have two ovens in my home, so if you were to cook all of the above it may take some extra planning work to get it all done.

Lastly, I was so excited to eat once the food was all done, and by how well it came out, that I completely forgot to take pictures of the dishes.  L.A.M.E. I know.  Isn't the whole point of this to show you how to prepare a paleo thanksgiving of your own?  And what's a recipe without pictures?  Ugh.  Luckily I have awesome friends who took a few pictures for me, but you'll just have to trust me and the 12 people I had over for dinner, that everything is scrumptious.  I mean flat out tasty.  Can I say that about my own food?  Cuz I just did.  If you try any of these recipes, please let me know how you liked them! 

To Do The Day Before:

Crustless Pumpkin Pie

1 - 15 oz can organic pumpkin (not the pie filling - helloooo sugar!)
1 - 15oz can regular coconut milk, not lite
Scant 1/2 cup dark agave nectar (scant means a little less than)*
2 small eggs, or 1 jumbo
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
few shakes of cloves, pinch of salt

*I used dark agave nectar.  I've also seen agave that was clear, and I'm sure that would be good too, but I thought the darker one gave it more of a molasses-type flavor, reminiscent of gingerbread when it's all said and done.  Honey would work too if you're all out of agave.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In a large mixing bowl, add the pumpkin, coconut milk and agave nectar.  Mix well with a whisk.  Add in the eggs and whisk to blend.  Then add in the spices and whisk again.  Pour into a 9-inch pie plate greased with coconut oil, and bake for about 70-75 minutes.  The pie is done when the edges are dark and set, and the center isn't too jiggly.  Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack.  Refrigerate overnight.

Important Note: towards the end my pie was bubbling and looked like craters might be forming.  This is okay.  No, your typical pumpkin pie doesn't look like the moon or volcanic eruptions, but it will still taste awesome.  Maybe this means I needed to turn the temperature down, but then it would have taken longer to bake :).  I also successfully doubled the recipe above, while decreasing the eggs to 3 small and cooked it in a 9x13 baking pan for about 80 minutes.  Check it every 5-7 minutes after the first 60 just in case. 

Baked Apples

Just a time saver tip...while the crustless pumpkin pie is baking, begin coring the apples and mixing the filling, especially if you have only one oven.  You can easily double the baked apple recipe, you just may end up with a little extra filling.  You will be thankful, trust me on this one.  I had extra filling (I made 10 apples) and happily ate it the following day for breakfast.  Tasted like cookie dough, no joke.

After baking the apples I let them cool to room temp and then placed them all on a baking sheet in the fridge.

Cranberry-Orange Sauce

1 - 12oz bag of fresh cranberries
1 large orange
Honey to taste (about 1/3 cup or more)

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, pour in the cranberries and get them warmed up.  Then zest the orange and add into the pan.  Juice the orange and add this into the pan as well.  Stir to combine and continue stirring occasionally until the cranberries are really cooking.  They will start to pop and kind of fall apart.  This is good.  After stirring for about 8 minutes, cover the berries and let cook over low for another 10 minutes.  If the berries look real dry, add a splash of water before covering.  Then, add in the honey to taste.  Start with 1/4 cup and go up as needed.  I like to keep it tart for a taste contrast with all the other food, but if you're accustomed to the slice-and-go canned variety you may add a smidge more.  Then stir well and continue to cook another few minutes more and take off of the heat.  Let cool to room temperature and refrigerate over night.

To Do The Day Of:

The Turkey, and onions


I will admit that this was my first time cooking my very own Thanksgiving Turkey.  It was a bit of a daunting task, mostly because I had never cooked anything that massive before.  I worried that I wouldn't have enough time to get it cooked, and ended up having a bit too much time, if you know what I mean...  I went here to get basic instructions on cooking a good turkey, and changed it up a bit.  In my worry of not having enough time to cook I put the turkey in an hour early, and it actually cooked a bit longer than it needed to.  It was still delicious, but if I'd stuck to the instructions on that site it would have been perfect.  However, I took the turkey out an hour before we started to eat, and that was perfect timing.  The turkey was still warm but not too hot when we ate it, and for those of you with one oven that will work out perfectly for baking the yams and stuffing after you take the bird out.

1 - 20lb Turkey, thawed that same site tells you how to thaw it out properly also
2 tablespoons coconut oil
3 tablespoons mulling spices, divided
salt and pepper
4 large white onions, quartered

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.

Pat the turkey dry with paper towels and make sure the neck, giblets and any other surprises are removed from BOTH ENDS of the bird.  Momma didn't raise no foo' but that doesn't mean we all know where to look for these things.  In a small bowl mix the coconut oil with 2 T of the mulling spices and a few shakes of salt and pepper.  With your hands, separate the skin from the breast of the turkey, trying not to break the skin.  Since my bird was so large I separated half from one side and then turned it around and separated half from the other side of the breast.  Then take your coconut oil mixture and rub this between the skin and the breast meat.  Try to get the mulling spices evenly distributed if you can.  If it looks like you have enough of the mixture on the bird and have leftover, just spread it inside the bird cavity.

Next, shake some sea salt and pepper all over the skin of the bird and rub it in a little with your hands.

Place the bird in a large baking pan with a rack, boobs up, and bake in the bottom rack of the oven for 20 minutes.  (In my oven, it would only fit on the lower rack).  Watch the oven for the last 5-7 minutes of these 20, as it may begin to smoke out of the oven.  Just open the oven a crack and continue cooking a few more minutes.  Then immediately lower the temperature to 250 degrees and continue cooking for another 20 minutes for each pound of bird.  I know, I know, this temperature seems incredibly low.  But it really produces a moist, tasty bird.

*When the bird has one hour to go for cooking time, add the quartered onions underneath the rack of the turkey along with the remaining 1 tablespoon mulling spices.  Drop it all right into the juices from the turkey, and continue cooking for that last hour.  If you don't have a pan with a rack, just put the onions around the turkey as best you can.

When the turkey's done (between 170-180 degrees) pull it out of the oven and set it on the counter to cool.  Before serving, remove the rack or turkey, and spoon out the onions into a serving bowl along with some of the juices.  Try to remove the big pieces of mulling spices, and just let your guests know to take them off their plates :).

Yams & Apples

The Yams & Apples are in the middle of the above picture.  They aren't fancy, but they are gooooood.

3 large yams (the orange ones)
3 red rome apples*
splash of lemon juice - bottled is fine
6 tablespoons clarified butter, preferably pastured (plus a little to grease the pan)
1/3 cup honey

*These are the deep red ones you only find this time of year.  They are not good for eating like other apples since they are very soft and a bit grainy.  But they are very sweet and awesome for baking.  If you can't find them, other sweet apples will do (no granny smith).

 (If you have one oven then begin this dish when you have about 2 hrs before you plan to eat, and 1 hour of turkey cooking time - allowing 1 hour for the bird to rest while you use the oven).

Cut the yams in half, and place in a large pot of boiling water.  Cook until they are soft on the outside but still a bit firm in the middle, about 20 minutes.  Drain and let them cool so you can easily handle them.

While the yams are cooking, core the apples and slice them into rounds about 1/3 inch thick.  Splash the apples with lemon juice and set aside.  When the yams are cool, remove the peel and slice them into 1/3 inch rounds.

In a 9x13 glass baking pan, coat the bottom with clarified butter.  Place the yam slices on the bottom in an even layer, and top with apple slices.  Repeat one more time to have two alternating layers each of both yams and apples.  In a small mixing bowl whisk together the butter and honey along with another splash of lemon juice, until combined.  Pour this over the yams and apples and set aside to begin baking when you have 60 minutes before you plan to eat.  Then bake at 350 degrees for about 60 minutes (detailed out below in the stuffing recipe since you'll be cooking them at the same time if you have one oven).

Sweet Potato Stuffing

When I originally planned to do a Paleo Thanksgiving meal, I was going to avoid an attempt at making stuffing.  I didn't think anything would resemble stuffing made with bread, and just wasn't very excited about it.  Then someone had to ask me what I was going to make for stuffing, and I had to go for it.  Mission accomplished.  Trust me when I say that this has all the flavors of stuffing.  It tastes just like the stuffing I grew up with, and BONUS, won't make you feel like you have a brick in your stomach afterwards.

3 large sweet potatoes (the white ones)
4 chicken apple sausages, cooked
2 stalks of celery, halved lengthwise and chopped small
2 braeburn apples, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1/2 onion, chopped into bite sized pieces
Turkey stock (or juices from the turkey pan)
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp sage
sea salt and pepper
olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch pieces.  Toss in a mixing bowl with a couple tablespoons of olive oil and pour onto a large baking sheet.  Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly browned and crispy on the outside, but soft on the inside.  Turn them over after 10 minutes.

Remove sweet potatoes from the oven and allow to cool while preparing the rest.

While the taters are baking, in a small saute pan add the chopped onion with a little olive oil and cook until they begin to carmelize - 10 minutes.  Cut the sausages into small pieces and place in a large mixing bowl.  Add the celery and apples and toss.  Then add in the taters, thyme, sage and turkey stock/juices, and toss carefully with a spoon, trying not to break the sweet potato pieces too much.  Shake a little salt and pepper in there and pour into an oven-proof baking pan with a cover that can go in the oven.  I used a ceramic pot that you see in the above picture - the white one.

At this point you should be about 1 hour out from eating, give or take.  Set your oven to 350 degrees and place the Yams & Apples on one side of the middle rack, and the stuffing pan on the other side.  Bake both of them uncovered for 20 minutes.  After 25 minutes place the cover on the stuffing, leaving the yams uncovered.  Continue baking them both another 35 minutes or until the apples are slightly browned.  Remove both from the oven and allow to cool briefly before digging in.

Brussel Sprouts with Bacon, Celery Root and Onions

For the Brussels I began cutting off the ends and slicing in half about 1 hour before we planned to eat - so...after you stick the yams and sweet potatoes in the oven.  While slicing you can cook the bacon on the stove and flip in-between cutting and washing sprouts.  This will also give you time to peel and chop the celery root if you aren't using leftovers.  I actually used 2 cups of leftover celery root/onion mixture from a few weeks ago, that I had put into a ziplock bag and frozen.  So take note, it freezes well :)

Cut the brussels and cook the bacon at the 1 hour marker, but wait to cook them until 30 minutes before you plan to eat, following the cooking directions in the link.

Garlicky Green Beans

This is very, very basic.  I wanted to get one more veggie in the dinner since green beans are a typical staple, and not everyone likes brussell sprouts.  

1.5 pounds haricot verts (fancy for thin green beans)

3 T. clarified butter

3 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped

sea salt and pepper

Wash and trim the green beans.  

In a large saute pan (large enough to hold all the beans) heat the butter with the garlic.  Add in the green beans and cover, cooking 3-4 minutes.  Uncover and stir the beans around in the butter, and continue cooking until the beans are crisp-done.  Salt and pepper them and serve for consumption!!

The above picture is of everything but the pie and baked apples on one plate.  Clockwise from top left: Yams & Apples, The Turkey and onions, Sweet Potato Stuffing, Garlicky Green Beans, Brussel Sprouts with Celery Root and Onions.  Looks like they forgot the cranberry sauce!  Doh!  I know it's a little cramped on that plate, but we had to fit it all on there! :)

Bacon-y Brussels with Celery Root and Onions

Ahhhhhh brussel sprouts.  The vegetable I wouldn't taste until a year ago.  They can stink, that much is true.  But they are also darn tasty if you cook them right (i.e. don't over-cook them).  And who knew they grew in such pretty bunches like in the picture below?  I will assure you that the different flavors in this dish will soften the blow if you are weary of consuming this vegetable, and if you are already a fan, will make them that much tastier!

1.5 pounds of brussel sprouts, washed (or about half of what you’d cut off a fresh stalk)
½ celery root bulb, peeled and cut into strips
1 yellow onion, in ¼ inch slices
1 tablespoon coconut or olive oil
4-6 strips of bacon

First off, peel the celery root and cut it into strips like you would in this recipe. If you make the salad with celery root this would be a good recipe to use up the leftovers (hint: that’s exactly what I did here). Slice the onion and add it all to a frying pan along with the oil. Cook over medium heat until the celery root is softened, but still a bit “al dente”. Remove from heat and set aside. If you’re using leftover root and onions, skip to below:

Heat a large frying pan over medium high heat. Add the strips of bacon and cook until just crispy. While the bacon is cooking, cut the ends off the brussel sprouts and cut them all in half, lengthwise. Remove the bacon and reserve about 1-2 tablespoons of bacon grease in the pan. At this point, you want to remove any blackened bits that are left behind from the bacon. What I do is I scrape the bottom of the pan and all the black bits to one side of the pan with a spatula. Then tilt the pan with the black bits up and grease at the bottom. Then remove the black stuff with the spatula.

Return the frying pan to the heat and add in the brussel sprouts. Turn to coat them in the bacon grease and lower the heat to medium. Cover the frying pan and continue cooking, turning occasionally, for another 6 or 7 minutes. (while that’s cooking chop the bacon into bite-sized pieces). Add in the bacon, celery root and onions and toss well. Cover again and continue cooking until the sprouts are cooked but not mushy, another 5 minutes or so.

Lasagna with Eggplant "Pasta"

When starting out this recipe I wasn't so sure that I would enjoy eating lasagna that did not contain layers of ricotta or cottage cheese along with vats of mozzarella.  I WAS WRONG TO DOUBT.  If you get the meat and tomato sauce packed in with a lot of herbs you will mimic the flavor without needing the cheese.  I did add a little gouda cheese to the top though, to appease the members of my family that eat dairy :).  The key to even cooking here is cutting the eggplant nice and thin.  If you don't react well to eggplant (nightshade) you could sub zucchini slices.  You'll just need a bunch more of them unless you have one of those colossal zucchinis hanging around.

1 eggplant, peeled
1 pound grass fed ground beef
2 links of italian or andoullie sausage (really sausage of your choice)
1/2 onion, chopped small
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1.5 cups organic pasta sauce (I used half a 28oz can of Trader Joes tomato basil sauce)
      *Look for a sauce without added sugars and basic ingredients
1 teaspoon mixed italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon basil
salt and pepper
olive or coconut oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Start by peeling the eggplant (you can eat the skin, but when you bake it like this the skin doesn't get that soft, and I prefer to skip the somewhat leathery texture it can have).  Then cut it into 1/4 inch slices, or thinner if you can.  Lightly salt and pepper the slices and let drain on a paper towel for 10 minutes.  This will bring some of the moisture out of the eggplant before baking, so your lasagna doesn't become all soupy. 

While the eggplant is draining, chop up the onion, garlic and add them to a skillet with 1 tablespoon oil.  Cook, stirring often, until onions are transluscent.  Then add in the ground beef and sausage.  Again cook, stirring often until there is very little pink left in the pan.  Then add in the pasta sauce, italian herbs and basil.  Mix all together and continue cooking another 2-3 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Coat the bottom and sides of a 9x13 inch baking pan with oil and cover the bottom with eggplant slices.  Try to cover as much surface area as possible.  I started out using the larges pieces and then took some of the smaller ones to fit in the corners, though it doesn't have to be perfect.  Cover the eggplant with about a third of the meat mixture and spread evenly.  Repeat two more times so you have three layers of eggplant and end with the meat mixture on top.

Pop that sucker in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes.  If you aren't able to get the eggplant slices real thin you'll need to cook it for the full 30 minutes.  If you want to top it with cheese, add thin slices of cheese of your choice to the top and bake for the last 10 minutes.

Let the lasagna cool about 5-10 minutes before serving.  Since the eggplant slices don't cut the same as pasta noodles would, I used a sharp knife to cut through it and then pulled out slices with a spatula, that way it doesn't fall apart much.

Chicken with fancy mushrooms (or not) in a creamy sauce

Have any of you ever used chanterelle mushrooms? I work near a small family-owned market and one day heard one of the butchers rave about how much he loves these things and every year when they're in season he sautees a boat-load of them in butter and eats them just like this.  Okay, never having tasted them before, I hesitated (they cost a whopping $17-$20/pound!) but finally bought some when they went on sale the other day.  I ended up making this recipe in two versions...one with fancy mushroms and coconut milk, the other with cheapos and whipping cream.  I liked both versions, but preferred the whipping cream recipe.  Below is a picture of the recipe made with coconut milk, and the picture at the bottom of this post is with whipping cream.  I may get chastized for admitting this, but while I thought the chanterelle's were tasty indeed, I didn't think they were worth repeatedly paying that much for them.  Enjoy!

5 chicken drumsticks (why? they're cheap, but you could use any other piece of the chicken, you would need to adjust cooking time though)
1 yellow onion, sliced
1/2 pound mushrooms, cut in half (chanterelle or shiitake and button mushrooms)
2 cloves garlic, smashed
salt and pepper
1/2 can coconut milk or 1/2 cup whipping cream
tiny pinch of saffron** if using coconut milk, for whipping cream I used 1 tablespoon taragon
1 tablespoon coconut oil

Season the drumsticks with salt and pepper.  In a large saute pan heat the coconut oil over medium heat.  Add in the onion and garlic and cook 1 minute.  Add in the drumsticks and toss the onions around so the chicken hits the surface of the pan, not the onion.  Cook for 2 minutes on each side and then pour in the coconut milk and add the pinch of saffron, if using (if using whipping cream, don't add it in yet).  For both versions, add in the mushrooms now and cover, cooking another 10-15 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.

*If using the whipping cream, follow the recipe as above, but do not add the coconut milk. Add in the mushrooms and tarragon after cooking for 2 minutes on each side of drumstick, cover and cook another 10 minutes.  Then once the chicken is just done, pour in the whipping cream and cook, uncovered, another 2-3 minutes to heat up the cream and bring it all together.

I ate this chicken along with a spoonful of the sauce, on top of a bed of fresh spinach leaves and a little chopped avocado.  I also added a small handful of pistachios on top of the whipping cream version for a change in texture. 

**If you are not familiar with saffron, I would just make the recipe as is and forgo it.  The recipe will taste great without it.  Saffron give off a bit of an earthy flavor that some people don't like, plus it's expensive also.  I'd hate you to spend $8 on a little jar of it and not like it!

Pork tenderloin with apples and onions

I am realizing with this post that it seems I'm on a pork kick lately.  I do eat a wide variety of meats but for some reason the recipes that are post-worthy tend to be of swine.  Hope all 5 of the people who read this site like pork! ;)  I took a recipe for pork tenderloin where you would normally bake it for about an hour, and cut it up into smaller pieces to cook over the stovetop so it wouldn't take as long.  It was a busy day and I was lazy, and I think it ended up tasting just as good.

2 lbs pork tenderloin, cut into 4-5 pieces of equal size (as close as possible)
1 whole onion, sliced thin
3 cloves garlic, smashed
2 tablespoons whole grain dijon mustard
2 teaspoons fennel seeds (crush them if you have texture issues, but keep them in because the flavor is awesome)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper
2 apples, cored and cut into 8 wedges each
2 tablespoons coconut oil

In a large saute pan over medium heat, add the coconut oil and melt.  Season the pork with salt and pepper, then add in the pork pieces into the hot pan and sear on all sides (about 1-2 minutes per side).  Once all sides are seared, cover and cook for 5 minutes.  While it's cooking, mix the mustard, fennel seeds and vinegar in a small bowl.  After 5 minutes, add in the garlic and onion slices, filling in the gaps around the pork pieces.  Pour in the mustard mixture, covering the pork with it.  Cover and cook another 5-7 minutes, until the pork is almost cooked through.  Then add in the apple slices and cover again, cooking 3-5 minutes or until the pork is cooked through.

I served it with some basic steamed broccoli.

Breakfast "Muffins"

It needs to be mentioned that I did not come up with this scrumptious snack.  Jason, a friend of mine from Mad Dawg Fitness told me about these muffins one day, and I knew I had to make them for myself.  I mean, they contain bacon.  SOLD.

12 pieces of applewood smoked bacon, nitrate/ite free if possible
6 oz mixed greens, chopped
12 omega 3 eggs
salt and pepper
thyme/basil/whatever spice you like in your eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cook the bacon in a saute pan over medium-high heat until cooked, but not crispy.  You want to keep the bacon somewhat soft so you can easily "mold" it to the muffin tin shape.  Drain the bacon on paper towels but reserve the leftover bacon grease in the pan. 

Chop the mixed greens into bite-sized leafs, like the size of small spinach leaves.  Then add into the saute pan with the bacon grease.  Season with salt and pepper and any other herbs you'd like.  Add a splash of water and cover, cooking over medium heat for about 8 minutes or until softened.  Remove from heat.

Oil a 12-cup muffin tin with olive oil.  (Oil the inside of the muffin cups and also the rims.  When you crack the egg on top, any egg touching the muffin tin will bake quickly and is hard to clean off afterwards.  If you oil the rims it just helps in clean-up).  Cut each slice of bacon in half, and place both halves in a muffin cup, covering as much surface area as possible.  Repeat with the rest of the bacon.  Then spoon in mound of cooked greens on top of each bacon slice.  You need to leave enough room to crack an egg on top without the egg spilling out too much.  Repeat with all of the cups.  Then crack and egg over each.  If some of the white spills out, take a fork and gently move the greens around underneath.  Sometimes if you move them around the white will seep down into the veggies and fit better.  Sprinkle each egg with a little salt and pepper.

Bake for about 15 minutes, until the egg is set.  Then let cool 5 minutes before taking them out of the pan.  I used a butter knife to cut around the edges and they came out pretty cleanly.