Lemon Bars with Almond Crust

Ya'll these bars are sooo good, you'll be sneaking down to the fridge at 1am for a late night snack.  These lemon bars really are delicious and I've already made this recipe four times! My older son helps me mix the ingredients. He loves to see how the lemons can be sliced and squeezed to make the flavorful topping.

Ingredients

Crust

1 and 1/2 cups blanched almond flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 Tbsp butter (or grapeseed oil for dairy free)

1 Tbsp honey (local and raw is best)

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

Topping

1/4 cup butter (or grapeseed oil)

1/4 cup honey

3 large eggs

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2-3 lemons)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-inch square baking dish with butter (or the oil) and dust with almond flour.

To make the crust, combine the almond flour and salt in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk together the butter, honey, and vanilla extract. Stir the wet ingredients into the almond flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Press the dough into the prepared baking dish. Below is the crust all ready for the oven.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until lightly golden. While the crust bakes, combine the butter, honey, eggs, and lemon juice. Blend until smooth. I have one of those little hand held blenders you can just use in the same bowl, but a food processor works just as well. Pour the topping evenly over the hot crust.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the topping is golden. Let cool in the baking dish for 30 minutes, then refrigerate for 2 hours to set. Cut into bars and serve. I wish I had a photo of the final dish, but my oven mitt grazed the topping as I pulled it out...leaving it most "unblogworthy." We certainly enjoyed eating it though! It's almost like the lemon and honey were made for each other.

Spaghetti Squash with Puttanesca Sauce

Every now and then a recipe will inspire me to give it a go even if it's a bit out of my comfort zone. Before GAPS, I had very little experience with spaghetti squash. We ate a lot of gluten free pasta made with rice flour, so there was really no reason to go this route. Boy, am I glad to have found this alternative. It is an incredible dish and due to popular demand, I've already made it several times. I found the recipe in Eat Well Feel Well, by Kendall Conrad.

Ingredients

1 large spaghetti squash

3 Tbsp olive oil

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

5 cloves garlic, chopped

10 plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

2 Tbsp drained capers

1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

10 fresh basil leaves, cut into thin ribbons

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Rub the squash with 1 Tbsp oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet, cut side up, and roast for 45 to 60 minutes, or until tender.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 Tbsp of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the red pepper flakes and garlic, and saute for 1 minutes, taking care not to brown the garlic. Add the tomatoes, capers, and olives, and simmer gently over low heat for 30 minutes.

Turn off the heat, swirl in the butter, and stir in the basil. Run a fork over the spaghetti squash to separate it into strands. Place the squash on a serving platter or divide among individual bowls. Pour the sauce on top, sprinkle with the Parmesan, and serve!

Bacon, Egg and Cheese Muffins

I found this amazing recipe on Cheeseslave.com, a wonderful blog full of yummy GAPS recipes. I had the ingredients on hand this morning and decided to treat my boys to a savory brunch. Some of you may look at this recipe and feel these muffins are too fattening. Just keep in mind that this diet is low in carbs and very high in animal fats. This is the best way to heal your gut, immune system and various neurological behaviors. These muffins are unbelievably delicious too, so enjoy!

Ingredients

3 pastured eggs

2 Tbsp bacon drippings (add more if you wish)

1/4 tsp sea salt

3 Tbsp coconut flour

1/4 tsp aluminum-free baking powder

6-8 strips nitrate free bacon (pastured is even better if you can find it)

1/2 cup natural cheddar cheese

Butter or lard to grease your muffin tin

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Fry the bacon in a skillet until crispy and then set aside. Blend eggs, bacon drippings and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the coconut flour and baking powder, then mix to remove lumps. Put the bacon and cheese in a food processor and pulse until crumbled; stir into batter. Grease your muffin tin and pour batter in. Bake for 15-20 minutes. I use Natural Stone by Haeger. For you and your family, it is much safer than non-stick!

Note that this recipe only makes 6 muffins, so you will need to double the recipe if you want to bake more. If you happen to have extras, wrap them up and keep them in the freezer to serve for a quick breakfast on another day. I only made 6 the first time, so if you look below you can see what happened approximately 20 minutes after they came out of the oven.