My family all pitched in yesterday and we created an amazing holiday feast. We ate a lot, laughed a lot, and stayed up way too late on a school night; but it was well worth it. We even managed to throw together a cooking demo for my Everyday Paleo Pumpkin Pie which we all had way too much fun filming, probably because of how blurry eyed and tired we were at that point! As far as the meal was concerned, I personally am proud of how the stuffing turned out, and I am now forever in love with Prosciutto Wrapped Pears… Jaden’s favorite was the Broccoli Casserole, and Rowan ate a pound of turkey before it even made it to his plate!
I hope that these recipes will at least offer a few ideas to make the holidays easier – and most of all have fun and enjoy! This meal should serve 5-8 adults.
The Turkey!
I understand that the turkey is often an area of concern. I have cooked a few turkeys in my day and I always end up freaking out and calling my mother-in-law to make sure I’m doing it right! With that said, here’s what we did, and it actually turned out pretty darn tasty!
1 turkey
4 tablespoons grass fed organic butter
Several fresh rosemary and thyme stalks
Preheat oven to 400. Wash and dry the turkey with paper towels – make sure you remove the giblets. Place the turkey in your roaster breast side up. Pull back the skin from the breast (as pictured) and in between the skin and the meat, place the butter, rosemary, and thyme. sprinkle the entire bird with sea salt and pepper. Cover and roast for 20 minutes. Lower the heat to 350 and cook for an additional 20 minutes per pound, uncovering the bird for the last 30 minutes to brown the turkey. Remove and let rest for 20 minutes before carving. Make sure you use a meat thermometer to ensure that your turkey is done!
Appetizers
Crab Stuffed Mushrooms
15 -20 white button mushrooms, wiped clean with a paper towel and stems and gills removed
2 cups cooked crab claw meat, canned or fresh and finely chopped (I used canned and it was surprisingly good!)
½ cup jarred roasted red peppers, finely diced
3 tablespoons minced chives
3 garlic cloves, minced
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ cup paleo mayo
black pepper to taste
Mix together the crab and all remaining ingredients. Stuff each mushroom with heaping tablespoons of the crab mixture. Bake on a baking sheet greased with olive oil for 15 minutes.
Prosciutto Wrapped Pears
½ red onion, very thinly sliced
2 pears
1 package of prosciutto di parma
Baby Spinach leaves
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
Preheat oven to 400. Heat the coconut oil in a small skillet and sauté onions until they are carmelized. (onions should be brown but not burnt). Peel and slice the pears into thick slices. Top each pear with a little bit of carmalized onion and one spinach leaf, wrap tightly with a piece of prosciutto. Grease a baking sheet with a little bit of grassfed organic butter, and place the pears on the baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes. While the pears are baking, add the balsamic to a small sauce pan, heat over medium low until the balsamic is reduced down to a syrup like consistency, stirring often. Drizzle a small amount of the balsamic reduction over the pears and serve.
Side Dishes
Stuffing
1 lb mild Italian pork or chicken sausage, casing removed (I used chicken sausages from my local butcher)
4 ½ cups mushrooms, diced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
6 celery stalks, diced
4 carrots, diced
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon diced fresh sage
½ tsp minced fresh thyme leaves
½ cup dried cherries, finely chopped
½ cup slivered almonds
½ tablespoon garlic powder
4 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350. In a large soup pot, sauté onions in olive oil until translucent. Add the sausage and brown. Add the carrots, celery, mushrooms, chicken broth, cherries, almonds, sage, thyme, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix well, bring to a simmer, and cook for 5-10 minutes or until the veggies begin to absorb the chicken broth. Transfer to a large glass baking dish, cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
Paleo Holiday Yams
5 large yams, peeled and cut into 2 inch rounds
2 small apples, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ cup 100% pure maple syrup
4 tablespoons organic grassfed butter
1 cup chopped pecans
Cook the yams in a pressure cooker for 6-8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, move the cooked yams to a large mixing bowl. To the yams, add the apples, butter, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and maple syrup and mix well. Spread the yam mixture evenly into a 11×7 glass baking dish. Top with pecans and bake uncovered at 350 for 30-35 minutes.
Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole
2 ½ cups broccoli florets, finely chopped
1 ½ cups of cauliflower, finely chopped
1 shallot finely chopped
2 eggs
1/3 cup coconut milk
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon sea salt
4 garlic cloves, minced
In a medium sized bowl, mix together the shallots, broccoli and cauliflower. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, coconut milk, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour the egg/coconut milk mixture over the broccoli, cauliflower and shallots and mix well. Bake in an 11’ round glass baking dish, covered at 350 for 45 minutes.
Cranberry Sauce
4 cups fresh cranberries
1 cup water
1 cup unfiltered apple juice
Juice from 1 orange
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
½ tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons raw organic honey (make it 4 tablespoons if you like a sweeter sauce)
In a large soup pot add the cranberries, water, apple juice, and orange juice and bring to a boil. Add the ginger, cinnamon, and honey and simmer, stirring often until the cranberries are broken down and the sauce becomes thick, about 10-15 minutes.
Dessert
Everyday Paleo Pumpkin Pie
Crust
1/2 cup hazelnuts
1 cup pecans
4 tablespoons melted organic grass fed butter
pinch of sea salt
Preheat oven to 350. Place the nuts in a food processor and process until the nuts are a flour like or almond meal like consistency. Pour into a small mixing bowl, add the butter and salt and mix into a thick dough. Using your hands, spread evenly into a pie pan and back for 10 minutes.
Filling
1 – 14oz can of organic pumpkin puree (nothing added, just pumpkin)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
2 eggs
1/2 cup raw organic honey
1/2 cup coconut milk
While the crust is in the oven, whisk all of the pie filling ingredients together. Pour into the curst that has been baked for 10 minutes, return to the oven and bake for and additional 45 minutes. I hope you enjoy the demo!!
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