Meat Pie

This is a really easy recipe and a throwback to a meal I used to eat at a friend's house as a kid. All I remember about it is that it was a big hunk of ground beef and I used to put loads of ketchup on it. We didn't eat red meat in my house very often, if at all. Believe me, I make up for it now. I think the original recipe had potato cubes in it but I opted for sautéed onions instead.

Ingredients

1 whole organic onion of any kind chopped

1 pound of ground grass-fed beef

1 pound (approximately) of seasoned pastured pork sausage removed from casing- I used Herondale Farm's sweet italian

2 tbs organic ketchup

6 oz can of organic tomato paste

1/4 cup of red wine

1 tsp sea salt

2 pastured eggs

Crust

2 and 1/2 cups of blanched almond flour

1/2 cup of tapioca, arrowroot or sweet potato starch

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp grain-free baking powder

1/2 tsp organic oregano

1 pastured egg

1/4 cup water

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees while you prepare the crust.

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl before adding the egg and water. With a fork, mix the liquids through the dry ingredients until the crust sticks together without sticking to your fingers. If you need to add more water, do it in small amounts so the mix does not become too sticky. Powder up your hands with a little of the dry starch or flour and press about 2/3rds of the crust mix into a greased pie pan. Make this base as even as possible and bring it all the way up the sides. The remaining 1/3rd of the mix will be rolled out in between two sheets of parchment paper in the same size as the pie pan. Place the bottom crust in the oven for about 2 minutes, so it sets up just a little. You should see some bubbling in the bottom. Now prepare the filling.

With a spoonful of bacon grease, lard, butter or your preferred fat add the chopped onion to a pan and sauté until soft. Add both meats and break into pieces, cooking until almost fully browned. Add the remaining filling ingredients to a bullet or food processor and blend until smooth. Once the meat is done turn off the heat and add the liquid mix thoroughly. 

Now you can fill the pie and add the top crust. Peeling back one of the pieces of parchment paper on your top crust, you should be able to lay it onto the filled pie and pinch or roll the excess to the top of the bottom crust.

Once this is assembled, bake it for about 30 minutes or until there is a nice golden brown color on the top crust.

Flat breads & Focaccia

These are the closest to naan bread I think we can get in the paleo world. They can be used for so many different things! I use them with lamb meatballs as pita, dip them in soup, sop up sauces and roll up sandwiches. They are lightly seasoned and go well with anything.

Flatbread

You will need: 

1 bag of The Primal Pantry pizza crust mix
3 eggs
1/2 cup of broth or water

Directions

Mix all of the ingredients thoroughly in a mixing bowl. Pour about 1/3 cup into a non-stick pan that is on medium heat. In a really good pan, you shouldn't need grease. Rotate the pan on an angle to move the batter around creating a large circle. You will start to see air bubbles coming up through the top side. Once it is holding together, flip the entire bread like a pancake and cook on both sides until it looks the way you want. You can also drop a spoonful of batter into the pan first as a tester. If you want more seasoning, this would be the time to add it.

This is the stuff that makes you forget about real bread. Remember dipping bread sticks in olive oil and balsamic? This is the paleo version. You can cut it into sticks or enjoy whatever you can rip off with your hand. Go easy... you don't need to eat all of it in one sitting as tempting as it may be. Cut off pieces the next day and throw them in the broiler to toast up again. If you make a sandwich with this, I'd love to see it!

Focaccia

You will need: 

1 bag of The Primal Pantry pizza crust mix
3 eggs
1/2 cup of broth or water

1 tsp of baking powder

1 tablespoon of organic balsamic vinegar

Sea salt, organic oregano and organic basil for dusting

Organic extra virgin olive oil

Directions

Mix all of the ingredients thoroughly in a mixing bowl. The reason for adding the balsamic is not only for that added sweetness but because it has a reaction with the baking powder and creates a fluffier bread. Pour the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread it out evenly and sprinkle the top with the extra seasoning. Bake it in the oven on 375 degrees for about 15 minutes or until it is a golden brown color. Drizzle it with olive oil once it has cooled.

Pancakes, Muffins, Waffles and more...

The below recipes are using The Primal Pantry grain-free, sugar-free, dairy-free Pancake/Muffin Mix seen on the right above.

Blueberry Muffins
You will need:
1 bag of mix for 10 - 12 muffins
3 eggs
1/2 cup of full fat organic coconut milk
1 cup of fresh or frozen organic blueberries

Directions
Empty the bag of mix into a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs and coconut milk and whip until smooth. Fold in the blueberries and pour into muffin cups. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown. It's that simple!

Waffles
You will need:
1 bag of mix
3 eggs
1/2 cup of full fat organic coconut milk

Directions
Empty the bag of mix into a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs and coconut milk and whip until smooth. Pour into a waffle-maker on medium heat and let it sit for about 5 - 8 minutes. After this time check every minute until it is to your preferred level of doneness. Drizzle with a tiny bit of maple syrup or add fruit and voila! You can also add blueberries or chocolate chips to the batter. Yum!

Simple Pancakes
You will need:
1 bag of mix
3 eggs
1/2 cup of full fat organic coconut milk

Directions
Empty the bag of mix into a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs and coconut milk and whip until smooth. Pour into a greased or non-stick pan and well... you know... make pancakes! 

Other uses for this mix:
Banana nut bread, gingerbread, blueberry lemon etc.....
Cakes
Cookies
Cupcakes
Pie crust
Doughnuts
Crepes

Any other ideas? Please share your recipes!

Hard and Soft Taco Shells

To make these, you will need 1 package of The Primal Pantry pizza crust mix... which I may start calling my "Magic Mix" since it can take so many different forms.

What you also need
rolling pin
parchment
muffin tin
1 egg
1/4 cup of water

Directions
Mix the ingredients of the bag in a mixing bowl with the egg and half of the 1/4 cup of water using a fork. Slowly add the remaining water until the dough sticks together but doesn't stick to your finger. You may not need all of the water. 
Once your dough is mixed, divide it until you have about 1 and 1/2 inch dough balls. You should have 10 to make 10 large taco shells or tortillas. If you want more, you can make them smaller. Remember that the larger they are, the harder it may be to keep them upright in the mold when making hard shells.


Take each ball and using your rolling pin, roll it into a circle between two pieces of parchment paper or one folded in half. I use this small one-handed rolling tool so that I can hold and rotate the parchment with my other hand. It definitely makes things easier!

For Hard Shells: 
Take your rolled out rounds and using the underside of the muffin tin, place them upright with the parchment still underneath. These will be baked at 350 degrees until they are hard to the touch and have a little brown on the edges.
If you are having trouble with keeping the shells upright before getting them in the oven, you can also hang them over the bars of your oven rack. Just keep both pieces of parchment on for this method.






For Soft Shells:
Keep your rolled out rounds between the parchment laying flat and bake them at 350 degrees. You are going to really want to watch these carefully. Check them after 5 minutes and every couple of minutes after that. You are trying to achieve cooking without hardening. The pieces of parchment protect the middle from cooking too quickly. So, when you start to see the edges of the parchment curling up and the edges of the tortilla are getting stiff, take them out. The middle should still be soft enough to bend when you pick them up. The degree of difficulty is pretty high for these because you really have to avoid letting them go for too long. If you have a tortilla press (if only!) you are a lucky person and may be able to use that to master the perfect even temp for soft shells.

When you have achieved the perfect tortilla, you can create many amazing things like these delicious fajitas! Good luck!