PB&J Pork Tenderloin

My copy of Paleo Comfort Foods arrived while we were in Tennessee a few weeks ago. So, I was anxious to try some recipes when we got home. I had a pork tenderloin in the freezer, so I decided to thaw it and try out the recipe for P, B & J Pork Tenderloin since I had everything on hand for it. So I made this for dinner a few nights after we got home. Pork and apples go so well together, I figured it had to be good. And it was so delicious! It reminded me of some other pork and apple dinners I've made in the past, but this was even better with the nut butter sauce. The recipe in the book calls for pecash butter (pecan-cashew). I just used homemade cashew butter - made with crispy cashews. Any nut butter would work, though. If you have some homemade chunky applesauce, you could just sub that in and make this prep even simpler.

This is definitely a keeper. We all loved it. Kevin had seconds and thirds and fourths and finished off the tenderloin at dinner that night. So much for leftovers on nights when he's hungry. :) I have another pork tenderloin in the freezer that I think I'll be making again in the near future.

P, B & J Pork Tenderloin

2 pound pork tenderloin
2 apples, peeled and cored, cut into chunks
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 Tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 cup nut butter, homemade with crispy nuts is best
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon pepper
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup hot water

Butterfly the pork tenderloin lengthwise and fold out into one uniform piece of pork. Use a meat mallet to pound out the tenderloin a little.

Preheat the oven to 350.

Place apples, cinnamon, lemon zest, and honey into a food processor (I used my stick blender processor attachment) and pulse until it looks like a chunky applesauce. Pour the apple mixture onto the tenderloin and spread evenly. Roll up lengthwise and place into a baking dish.

Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until internal temperature is 150 degrees. Let rest in the pan for 10 minutes.

Mix nut butter, garlic, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Add hot water until you reach your desired consistency.

Place pork on a serving platter and pour about half of the sauce over the tenderloin. Serve remaining sauce on the side.

Pecan Crusted Chicken

I've made this quite a few times now, but I just haven't gotten around to posting it yet. I've made chicken and fish this way and want to try it with pork chops sometime, too. I've also made it with other crispy nuts - almonds and walnuts.  All are great, but pecans are my favorite! It's delicious, fast, and so easy! Perfect for a weeknight meal. I originally got the idea from a recipe I saw in my Everyday Paleo cookbook - you can also view the recipe on the Everyday Paleo website. I've made it exactly as written in Sarah's book/site, but it tastes just as great the way I've written it below. Plus its even easier.

Pecan Crusted Chicken (or Fish or Pork Chops)

4 pastured chicken breasts
1/2 cup organic/natural dijon mustard
1 cup crispy pecans
sea salt, to taste
coconut oil or butter, for greasing the pan

Preheat your oven to 350. Grease a glass baking dish with some coconut oil or butter. Set aside.

Place the pecans in a food processor and pulse until the nuts are finely chopped. Pour the chopped pecans into a pie plate or shallow/wide bowl.

Squeeze the dijon mustard into another pie plate or shallow/wide bowl.

Take each chicken breast individually and dip into the dijon mustard. Make sure to coat on both sides. Next, dip the chicken in the chopped pecans. Again, make sure to coat both sides.

Place coated chicken into the greased glass baking dish. Sprinkle each chicken breast with just a little sea salt.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until the chicken juices run clear.

This post is shared at:
Grain-Free Tuesday at Hella Delicious
Traditional Tuesday at Delicious Obsessions
Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop

Peanut Butter Coconut Bars (grain-free)

Carson and I made a new snack last week... peanut butter coconut bars.  I got the recipe on Nourished an Nurtured.  I thought they'd be a nice snack to have on hand that would be full of protein and healthy fats.  They are really tasty, too.  Carson and I both loved them.  Kevin won't try them because he just doesn't think he'll like them (he doesn't care for nut butters).  I thought the texture would be a little different, more like a larabar or something... but I didn't pay attention to the instructions on Nourished and Nurtured.  You process these until they're smooth, so they really resemble more of a fudge.  I cut them into small squares, about 1.5"x1.5."  It's just the right size.  These have been great to keep in my refrigerator at work for times when I need a little energy boost and they're healthy, semi sweet snack for Carson, too. 

For this batch, I used half crispy almonds and half crispy pecans, dates, and I did not add the honey, as I thought they seemed plenty sweet already. 

Peanut Butter Coconut Bars

2 cups crispy almonds and/or pecans
1/2 cup dates or raisins
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon celtic sea salt
1/2 cup unrefined coconut oil (soft enough to scoop easily)
1 Tablespoon honey, optional (I thought the bars were sweet enough w/out it)
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Coarsely chop nuts in food processor. Then add all other ingredients and process until smooth. Grease an 8X8 square baking dish with coconut oil. Pour the nut mixture into your dish and refrigerate to harden.  Store in the refrigerator.


This post is linked to: Sugar Free Sunday at Flip Cookbook

Crispy Pecans

I've been soaking and dehydrating all of the nuts that we eat for quite a while now.  I've posted crispy almonds, crispy pine nuts, and crispy cashews, but realized I've never posted crispy pecans, walnuts, or peanuts when I've made them all.  I guess maybe because they are pretty much the same recipe as for the almonds and pine nuts.  I made a batch of crispy pecans the week before Christmas to use with my smoked salmon spread, so I figured I'd snap a quick picture and post them.  These are great to snack on and use in recipes.  Pecans are my favorite nut, I could eat them every day.  Carson loves them, too.  And I feel much better about eating them after they've been soaked and dehydrated. 

Crispy Pecans

4 cups (1 pound) pecan halves
2 teaspoons sea salt
water

Mix pecans with salt and water and cover the bowl with a plate.  Leave in a warm place for at least 7 hours or overnight.  I usually soak them for at least 12 hours, but usually closer to 18-24 hours.  Drain in a colander.  Spread the pecans on a baking pan or dehydrator tray.  If you are using the oven, put them in on the lowest setting (150 degrees) for 12 to 24 hours, stirring once in a while, until completely dry and crisp.  I always use my dehdyrator for about the same amount of time.  Although I've found that pecans usually seem to dry more quickly.  Store in an airtight container.

Almond Butter

I made some almond butter with some of my crispy almonds the other day. I used the recipe in Nourishing Traditions. I didn't think it needed much honey at all - I just put in a small dab and it is plenty sweet. I love almond butter and buy it from Whole Foods quite often. I figured I'd just make some homemade, even though it is cheaper to buy it. I've made cashew butter in the past, but never have made making nut butters a regular thing because there is no cost savings in it. But it is nice to have homemade. And I needed almond butter in a protein bar recipe (to be posted later) that I wanted to make, so I figured I'd make some of my own rather than wait until I get to the store to buy some.

Almond Butter

2 cups crispy almonds
3/4 cup coconut oil
2 Tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon sea salt

Place nuts and sea salt into a food processor. Grind into a fine powder. Add honey and coconut oil and process until "butter" becomes smooth. It will be somewhat liquid but will harden when chilled. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Serve at room temperature.

Crispy Cashews

I also made crispy cashews when I made the pine nuts and almonds. These have a slightly different process/timing than the others, but I just synchronized them so I could dehydrate them all at the same time. The recipe says cashews need 200 degrees, but I just put them all in my dehydrator on 155 (the highest temp my dehydrator will go) and they were just fine. Carson and I love snacking on cashews, so I mainly made these for snacks. I might make some cashew butter with half of them, or not... and just snack on them.

Crispy Cashews

4 cups "raw" cashews
1 Tablespoon sea salt
Filtered water

Some care must be taken in preparing cashews. They will become slimy and develop a disagreeable taste if allowed to soak to long or dry too slowly.

Soak cashews in salt and water for no longer than 6 hours. Drain in a colander. Spread on a stainless steel baking sheet (or on the trays of a dehydrator) and place in a warm oven (or dehydrator) for no more than 200 degrees for 12 to 24 hours. Stir occasionally, until completely dry and crisp. Store in an airtight container.

Crispy Pine Nuts

I also made some crispy pine nuts at the same time I made the Crispy Almonds. I'm planning to use these in spinach pesto - figure I'd make up a few big batches of that this weekend with spinach from our garden and get it in the freezer. I'll also use some in salads and other misc. dishes.

Crispy Pine Nuts

4 cups pine nuts
1 Tablespoon sea salt
Filtered water

Mix nuts with salt and water and leave in a warm place for at least 7 hours or overnight. Drain in a colander. Spread on a stainless steel baking sheet (or on the trays of a dehydrator) and place in a warm oven (or dehydrator) for no more than 150 degrees for 12 to 24 hours. Stir occasionally, until completely dry and crisp. Store in an airtight container.

Crispy Almonds

I decided to give the crispy nuts a try after seeing them on my SIL's blog and her encouragement to dig out my Nourishing Traditions book to re-read through much of it. I had just picked up a bunch of almonds a couple of weeks ago, so I figured these would be perfect to make into crispy nuts. I'll be using most of them today to make into almond butter and then into protein bars (recipes to come later). These are very good and almost effortless to make, plus they're supposed to be more easily digestible. Extra bonus!

Crispy Almonds

4 cups raw almonds, preferably skinless
1 Tablespoon sea salt
Filtered water

Skinless almonds are easier to digest, but the can be hard to find. You may also use almonds with skins on. (I did)

Mix almonds with salt and water and leave in a warm place for at least 7 hours or overnight. Drain in a colander. Spread on a stainless steel baking sheet (or on the trays of a dehydrator) and place in a warm oven (or dehydrator) for no more than 150 degrees for 12 to 24 hours. Stir occasionally, until completely dry and crisp. Store in an airtight container.

Variation: use almond slivers or slices instead of whole almonds.

Raw Strawberry Pie

I've been wanting to expand on our raw food experiments for a few weeks, but I just haven't had the time, energy, or reason to really get into making some new things. I figured our family party for Mother's Day provided me the perfect opportunity to try out a raw dessert. So I decided to make a raw strawberry pie from Gone Raw. My friend, Lina, made this a few weeks ago and brought some into work, so I knew it was good. It ended up being so easy to make, too! Yes, there is some pre-planning (soaking the cashews) and down time (letting the crust and pie set up in the freezer), but aside from that, this was super quick and easy to make! It went over very well at my family party, too! This is definitely a keeper recipe! I can't wait to try out some other raw desserts!

Picture to come later... I'll warn you its not the best picture b/c I took it when it was still frozen, but you will at least be able to get the idea.

Raw Strawberry Pie

Crust:
2 cups almonds or pecans (I used 1 cup of each)
1/2-1 tablespoon coconut oil
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract or half of a vanilla bean
4-5 medjool dates, pitted
pinch of sea salt

Filling:
2 cups cashews soaked 1-2 hours
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4-1/2 cup agave or honey (depending on how sweet you want it)
3/4 cup fresh strawberries
3/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Topping:
1-2 cups sliced strawberries

To make the crust, place almonds or pecans in food processor and process with the S blade until crumbled. Add coconut oil, sea salt and vanilla and pulse a couple of times. Add the dates last, one at a time and pulse until the crust holds together when you squeeze it between your fingertips. If the crust does not hold, add more dates (again one at a time). Press into oiled (with coconut oil) tart or pie pan. Chill in Freezer for 30 minutes before adding filling.

To make the filling, blend all ingredients well in a Vitamix blender if you have one (I used my food processor). Pour part of the filling into the pie crust, just enough to cover the bottom. Take some of the strawberries you cut up for the topping and scatter them on top of the filling. Pour the rest of the filling on top and place in freezer for 1-2 hours until firm. Decorate with the rest of your cut up strawberries.

This pie needs to stay refrigerated to keep its firmness so make sure you keep in cold up until serving. I put mine in the freezer overnight and the just kept it in the fridge (or in the cooler when we were on the road) in the morning.

Pesto Pea Salad

I saw this recipe on my SIL's blog almost a year ago now and have wanted to make it, but I always forget about it. We almost always have all of the ingredients on hand on any given day, so I can't believe it has taken me this long to make it. But like I said, I always forget about it. So anyway, I finally made this for our lunch today since I didn't have anything planned since we were thinking we'd be out in Holland. This salad actually popped into my brain as I was thinking of what kind of salad to make for lunch. This was delicious! And super simple and fast to put together. I think I will probably be taking this salad on a regular basis for my lunches. I didn't have any cooked chicken in the fridge, but it'd be great with chicken and other veggies, too.

Pesto Pea Salad

2 cups of frozen peas, thawed
2 Tbsp. crispy pine nuts
2 1/2 cups baby salad greens
grated parmesan (I forgot to put this on, but it was delicious without it!)
4 Tbsp. pesto, recipe follows (I used some that I had frozen last year)

To assemble, place the spinach leaves in a salad bowl. Sprinkle the peas and pignolis over the spinach. Add the pesto and toss. Top with cheese.

Pesto:
1/4 cup crispy walnuts
1/4 cup crispy pine nuts
3 Tbsp. diced garlic (9 cloves)
5 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 cups good olive oil
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Place the walnuts, pignolis, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process for 30 seconds. Add the basil leaves, salt, and pepper. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until the pesto is finely pureed. Add the Parmesan and puree for a minute. Serve, or store the pesto in the refrigerator or freezer with a thin film of olive oil on top.

Sugared Almonds

I bought some Meijer Naturals almonds a few weeks ago with the idea that I'd try out the recipe my SIL used for pecans with them. I finally broke them out yesterday morning and Carson and I made them. He loves helping me in the kitchen - he just thinks he's a hot shot. He stirred together the sugar, salt, and cinnamon for the almonds and kept pulling his spoon out and licking it, saying "MMMMM" with a big goofy smile. Then in goes the spoon again and the process started all over. :) Yes, I let him double-dip, sorry if that grosses you out, but we're fine with him doing it right now. But anyway, back to the almonds. The sugar never really melted down like it looks like it did for Mary's pecans. Not sure why, really. But they still taste really yummy the way they are. Next time, I think I'll use less salt because I can taste the salt quite a bit. But these things are addicting, so be careful!!

Sugar Coated Nuts

1 egg white (local, organic, free-range)
1 Tablespoon water (I used 1/2 Tablespoon organic vanilla + 1/2 Tablespoon water)
1 pound pecan halves (or any nuts - I used Meijer Naturals almonds)
1 cup white sugar (organic)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I used 1 teaspoon, organic)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Grease one baking sheet (I just used my non-stick sheet and no need to grease it).

In a mixing bowl, whip together the egg white and water until frothy. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, salt, and cinnamon.

Add nuts to egg whites, stir to coat the nuts evenly. Remove the nuts, and toss them in the sugar mixture until coated. Spread the nuts out on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour. Stir every 15 minutes.