"Comfort is Key" Parsnip-Sweet Potato Soup

What continues to blow my mind about living in the US is all the amazing conveniences that are at our fingertips to make our lives easier and how so many people tend to forget or just don't realize how good we really do have it here in the land of plenty.  It takes living in in multiple countries to really realize this and I never want to forget how great we have it!! So in my quest to keep my life simple and clean I finally joined a type of Farmers Co-Op, Fresh Harvest, props to CrossFit NorthAtlanta for brining this amazing service to our gym...it is a no brainer...all Locally farmed seasonal veggies and fruit basket with add ons like grassfed milk, cream, beef, organic chicken and pork, and gluten free bread delivered right to our BOX!!  The beauty about eating seasonal is that it not only forces you to venture out of your routine and find new recipes but holy FLAVOR!!  Everything is so fresh and full of taste that I have made, even the Mustard Greens taste amazing!!  Mmmmm goodness!  This soup is full of all kinds of fresh Fall yumminess and by far one of the BEST I have made and tasted.  Enjoy!!

Chicken and Artichoke Fricassee

I've been making this recipe for years now and finally decided it was time to blog this one!  As I'm typing in the title I'm thinking what in the heck is a Fricassee dish... never thought about it or looking it up until now and wow does it make this dish sound even more appealing.  The first definition that came up was this, "a method of cooking meat in which it is cut up, sautéed and braised, and served with its sauce, traditionally a white sauce."  I have made this dish without the sauce to make it 100% paleo and it is still great but wow when you add that sauce it is to die for!!  So lets just call this a Primal Paleo dish that will knock your socks off.  The culprit ingredient is only a 1/4 cup of creme fraiche.  

The original recipe that I have slightly altered is from Bon Appetite so it has a few more steps then an Everday Paleo recipe might but prep time is still not too bad, approx 30 minutes while cooking time after that is an additional 35 minutes.  Well worth it especially if you increase the amount of chicken and make it a little larger for your bigger dinner parties.  Enjoy this little slice of heaven!

Bullet Proof Coffee

Bullet Proof Coffee has been around for awhile now so this might not be anything new to most of you, but if you are like me and have never gotten around to trying it because you weren't sure how to make it or you just never want to give up your cream this is something worth learning!!  I have put this off way too long and finally I decided to take a moment this morning to give up my regular cup of Joe and start a new morning routine.  Wow... I am shocked at how much better my coffee tastes and can't wait to share this with my husband!  I wish I had known about this 6 years ago when we did our first Paleo Challenge and I about died when I had to remove the half and half out of my coffee and drink it black.  That was a rough 30 days.

What you will need:

• A blender: regular blender, nutribullet, handheld blender that has a low speed, a vitamixer or even a babybullet with the larger attachment
• 2 tablespoons of grassfed unsalted butter (KerryGold brand is best)
• 1 tablespoon of organic coconut oil
• 1/2 scoop of SFH Fuel, Coconut (optional or other protein powder of choice)
• 2 cups of your coffee of choice (preferably something organic)

Instructions:

1. Place ingredients in this order into your blender of choice; butter, oil, protein(optional) and hot coffee
2. Blend for about 20 to 30 seconds until you see some froth
3. Pour in favorite mug and enjoy!

Paleo Zucchini Bread Mini Muffins

My son was hoping for donuts when he got off the bus today and smelt the aroma throughout the house from these little gems baking.  "DONUTS YEAH!!!" Haha, I wish!  I love making fun delicious and nutritious treats for my kids after school snack and I know they look forward to it everyday.  I was supposed to pick up a donut pan today but ended up spending 4 hours at various DMV's trying to get a Georgia drivers license.  Ugh.  If you ever live in a US Territory, don't ever give up your state side drivers license.  Georgia doesn't honor Territories so you have to retake the written and road test... Anyway, I don't always hit the jack pot with both boys but occasionally I do.  One likes it a little and the other will eat the whole batch if I let him.  You never know.  These mini muffins were a big hit but then again I did add 1/4 cup of mini chocolate chips to ensure the love factor was high.  The chocolate chips are definitely optional for those of you on a more strict Paleo Diet.  I would also take out the extra bit of maple syrup and keep your sweetener to just the apple butter.  Maybe had a little extra apple butter if you need it.

Green Bean Onion Stew

My mother-in-law introduced me to this recipe which is by far the only way to cook green beans in my mind.  She found it in the Boston Globe Magazine, a great find!  I usually never buy them because I have never been a fan of green beans but there is something about the slow cooking process that makes these beans melt in your mouth.  I usually double the batch so that we have plenty of leftovers.  This is a great side dish to go with just about any main dish you create especially this time of year when comfort food is in full force.  And when my husband is on travel I can make this one and it will last me almost a week.  Gotta love leftovers!

A Meatloaf to Love... Husband Approved!

I haven't made this recipe in a long time and in fact I think it has been since we lived in Germany where we spent the longest snowy winters ever.  This is by far a great comfort food and definitely my husbands favorite meal that I make.  You can serve this over a bed of Arugula or any simple green salad and it will really hit the spot.

Incredible Hulk Waffles (1/2 Paleo)

Nothing makes a mom happier then when her kids rave about something that she makes and this morning I hit the jackpot with what I'm calling 1/2 Paleo Incredible Hulk Waffles.  You can't tell by the picture but they have a light hint of green in them, just enough to clue my kids in to ask me..."mommy are these Hulk Waffles??"  Eventually I'll get them back to 100% Paleo but for now I'm happy that they scarfed these "Hulk Waffles" down and I will definitely be making them again.  You will need to order one ingredient or find something similar to it at the health food store.  It is a Paleo Greens powder that is packed with nutrients.  The one I use is made by PaleoPro and called Paleo Greens Powder.  These also make great snacks to grab and go.  Enjoy!!

Over the Top Cinnamon Beef Stew

I'm embarrassed on how long it has taken me to blog about this amazing dish!  When I'm cooking and creating in the kitchen I often think of my mother-in-law especially when I make a dish that I know she would absolutely love and the second I took a bite into this meal my first thought was "oh man Kathy is going to love this one".  I made this dish in St Thomas a few times, first time was for Conor when Chris was out of town.  Conor was coaching the night classes and I was putting the kids to bed and finishing up this feast but too tired to stay up so I had a bowl and then this tired mom was down for the night.  I left a small note for Conor with some instructions on how to put his plate together and the next morning there was this yellow sticky on my computer...  "omg Jenn, that was the best meal I have ever had!!"  This recipe was altered from the awesome Paleo cookbook, Well Fed by Melissa Joulwan.  I love how she explains it..."it's sophisticated comfort food" and that it is!