Sour Cream Banana Bread

Not healthy.  Not Paleo.  But good eats...  A friend requested the recipe.  And I am glad to share.

Sour Cream Banana Bread
Bread
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Coconut Topping
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
5 Tablespoons butter
3/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Cream together the butter, eggs, sugar and vanilla.   Add the sour cream, bananas, and pecans. Mix well.  Mix in the flour, soda and salt.   Pour the batter into a greased and floured loaf pan.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour, or until a skewer poked in the middle of the loaf comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes.

For the topping, combine the brown sugar, and butter in a sauce pan and stir until melted.  Remove from heat and stir in the pecans and coconut.  Spoon over loaf while warm.

Makes one heavenly loaf

Kung Pao Chicken-- Almost Paleo

I am collecting my recipes.  The ones I love.  The ones I have adapted to suit the way I am eating now.  It is ridiculously frustrating to forget how I fixed a recipe last time and where did I write it down?  So I put it here and I can find it when I need it.  So thanks for you patience with all my recipes and please accept my apologies for no pictures.

Kung Pao Chicken-- Paleo Style
Chicken & Marinade
2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1 Tablespoon coconut aminos (soy sauce)
1 Tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon sesame seed oil

Sauce & Veggies*
3 Tablespoons coconut aminos (soy sauce)
3 Tablespoons vinegar
2 Tablespoons Hoisin Sauce (recipe here)
1 can water chestnuts, drained
1 onion chopped
1 clove garlic, pressed
2 bell peppers, diced
1/4 cup peanuts (paleo style use almond or pecan pieces)
chili garlic sauce

Marinate chicken in vinegar, coconut aminos, salt and sesame oil for 20 minutes.  Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.  Drain chicken, and place on a baking sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes.

Chop vegetables.  In a large skillet, stir fry garlic, onion and peppers until softened.  Add water chestnuts, aminos and Hoisin Sauce.  Add cooked chicken and peanuts to the skillet and stir to combine.

I put the garlic chili sauce on the table so each person can add as much heat as they desire.

* if you love a thickened sauce for your Asian food and tolerate cornstarch well, double the liquid ingredients in the sauce and add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch.  Cook to thicken the sauce.

Hoisin Sauce

I am addicted to Asian style food.  The seasonings make everything taste better.  And the juxtaposition of tender meat with crisp veggies makes me happy.  A lot of my favorite "Asain" recipes use Hoisin  Sauce as a base.  My problem is that hoisin is full of sugar and soy and other things I am currently eating.  The solution... Erica made Hoisin sauce.

I use this sauce on lettuce wraps, in Kung Pao chicken, and Cashew Chicken (recipe here) and even as a salad dressing.  This makes a large batch so you can use it in a couple different recipes.  Happy eating!

Hoisin Sauce
3/4 cup coconut aminos (you could use your favorite soy sauce)
1/3 cup almond butter
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Mix well to combine

Pumpkin Chili

No really it doesn't taste like pumpkin, I promise.  The pumpkin is an alternative thickener and adds body to the recipe.  Yup, this is another grain free recipe that I found and really like.  I modified this recipe from a friend to make it thicker and to suit my palate.  This makes a good size batch.  I double it and put it in jars in the fridge to eat for lunches each day.  (And, yes, I like it enough to eat it most days for lunch...)

This is a THICK chili, so if you want it thinner or you want to add beans to the recipe, increase the diced tomatoes to two 28 oz cans.

Pumpkin Chili
1 tsp coconut oil
2 lbs ground meat (beef, turkey, your choice)
1 large onion, diced
2 bell peppers, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, minced (optional for heat)
28 oz can tomato juice (lazy confession, I puree diced tomatoes)
28 oz diced tomato, undrianed
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/4 cup chili powder
1 Tablespoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional for heat)
2 teaspoons salt

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Brown meat.  Add in chopped vegetables.  Cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add the rest of the ingredients and seasonings.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour.