Paleo Burger night

My friend Adrian started eating Paleo about a week before I did. I didn't know this until after he found out I'd made the switch too. He's in need of some food-inspiration.

Last night I made burgers for the family. The burger itself is just ground beef formed into a patty. Instead of having a bun (since grains are a no-no on Paleo) I put my burger on top of a portabello mushroom cap. Topped with Homemade mayo, a slice of tomato, some homemade guacamole and caramelized onions. It was phenomenal.

Mayonnaise is a finicky thing to make. If you try it and it doesn't work take some deep breaths and try again. Homemade mayo is far superior to anything you can get in the store. It is well worth the time and effort.

Mayonnaise (Paleo friendly):

2 egg yolks
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
pinch of salt
3/4 cup olive oil

1. Whisk everything except for the olive oil together until well combined.
2. VERY slowly drop the olive oil in while whisking hard. If whisking by hand it's easier to have someone else slowly drizzle it in. It should take 5-7 minutes to drizzle that much olive oil in. If you go too fast you'll break the emulsion. Keep whisking until it reaches your desired consistancy.
3. (Only applicable if you are whisking by hand) Go get a KitchenAid.

Peanut Butter Power Bars

Trillian has been a little picky lately. I've been worried about her nutritional needs not getting met. Dahlia eats anything. Trillian on the other hand is on a chicken nuggets diet.
Yesterday I adapted some Peanut Butter Power Bars from one of my favorite cookbooks: Grazing: A Healthier Approach to Snacks and Finger Foods. I passed one to T asking if she wanted a piece of my giant cookie. She gobbled it up and asked for more. Since it was such a success, I wanted to share the recipe here.

Peanut Butter Power Bars - Trillian's Giant Cookie
Ingredients:
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup honey
1 t vanilla extract
2 T canola oil
3/4 c whole wheat flour
3/4 c old fashioned oats
1/2 t baking soda
pinch salt
1/2 c raisins
1/4 c slivered almonds
1/4 c hulled sunflower seeds
1/4 c shredded coconut
2 T ground flax seed

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F
In a large bowl mix wet ingredients (first 6). In a smaller bowl mix flour, oats, baking soda and salt. Add flour mix to wet ingredients, add remaining ingredients and stir until very well blended.
Pat into a greased 8 x 8 pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden.

Mushroom Pies

We went to an AMAZING Tupperware party early in December hosted by Aunt Barbara. She is a drag queen and an absolute riot. When she was demonstrating the can opener my husband got to go up and "handle her cans". As a prize he got a bottle of colon cleanse. (Which later we traded for a scoop)

One of the things we bought was a pie maker. This thing is so neat. One side cuts the dough the right size, the other side is the perfect way to fill and crimp the pies.

I made calzones one night, turns out the pizza dough recipe I have is a little too sticky. But I had a box of Pillsbury pie dough an I decided to make some lunches. They were such a hit that I made another ten of them today.

Mushroom Onion Handheld Pies (yield 5)

8oz sliced mushrooms
1 small onion, sliced thin
1 T butter
1/3 cup shredded mozzarella
single crust pie dough

Melt the butter in a skillet, saute the mushrooms and onion in the butter. Roll out the dough and cut it into large circles. (A single crust will yield 5 circles) Put 1T of mozzarella centered on a dough circle, add 1T of the mushroom mixture. Fold the circle in half and crimp the edges with a fork.
Bake at 425F for 20 minutes or until pies are golden brown.

Vanilla-Almond-Cherry Granola

I love granola. Its one of those staples that's so easy to make! Customizing it is a great way to mix things up for breakfast.
Since I had a lot more of the vanilla syrup than I could conceivably use in coffee (as only an occasional coffee drinker) I knew I wanted to use it in some homemade granola.

Vanilla - Almond - Cherry Granola

Ingredients
3 cups old fashions oats
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup sliced almonds (slivered would work too)
1/2 cup cherries
1/2 cup vanilla syrup (or honey)

Preheat oven to 300F Mix the oats, coconut and almonds in a large bowl. Add syrup and toss to coat. (Or stir with a spoon) spread on a cookie sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes to ensure an even toast. Mix in cherries and allow to cool before packaging in an air tight container.

Eggnog Marshmallow fondant

This week I had some leftover EggNog Marshmallows (I make marshmallows over here)
I took three of them and popped them in the microwave for 20 seconds and then stirred in enough icing sugar to make them kneadable. (about 2/3 cup) Kneaded until smooth. wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in the fridge.
Et Voila!
Egg Nog flavored fondant!

If you don't have EggNog flavored marshmallows on hand (I mean who does normally?) You can make other flavors using store bought marshmallows, food coloring and extracts.