Zuppa di Zucca (Pumpkin Soup)

What You Need:

1 Whole Pumpkin 

1 Yellow Onion or  4 Shallots 

Olive Oil

Truffle Oil 

Salt

Red Pepper

Pumpkin Spice

Shredded Pecorino cheese

Step 1

Preheat oven to 175 Celsius. Cut your pumpkin in half & remove the innards, save the seeds! Then brush the pulp with olive oil, put face down on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake for 45 minutes.

Step 2

Take out the pumpkin and let cool 10-15 minutes. (Put seeds on a tray, sprinkle with salt, pumpkin pie spice & olive oil, put in oven until ready to serve)  Meanwhile, cover the bottom of a pot with olive oil, add ½ tsp red pepper (optional), 1 tsp salt and diced onion. Blonde onions. Peel or cut skin off pumpkin, cut into chunks and add to onions. Cook together for 5 minutes.

Step 3

Put everything in the blender, slowly add 1/4 cup of fresh olive oil. Blend on high until smooth. Put back in pot, cover, cook on low for 10 minutes. Ladle into serving bowl, top with pecorino, spicy or normal olive oil, pumpkin seeds (fresh cooked bacon bits are good too😋). Serve & Enjoy!!!

Jalapeño Simple Syrup

For Jalapeño Margaritas! 

What you need: 

3 glass jars with lids

12 oz. jar of sliced jalapeños 

8 limes

Water

Sugar

1. I used the emulsion blender on the jar of jalapeños with jalapeño juice to break them up and release heat. 

2. Juice about 8-10 limes. Don't be lazy here!!! Fresh is best and it's totally worth it! 

3. Depending on your measure of sweetness, half the jar to a full jar of sugar (half was good for me, but you do you!)

4. Add it all to a pot, plus 1/2 - 1 jalapeño jar of water (depends on how much lime juice you squeezed). Bring this to a rolling boil for 3-5 minutes. Then turn off heat and let cool. 

5. Divide into jars. This is good for 1 week in fridge and 6 months frozen. 

Just add a tablespoon or 2 to your favorite margarita and you will never look back!!!! Enjoy! 

Linda's Coconut Cream Cake

What you need:

1 box of butter yellow cake mix or white cake

Almond Extract 

1 can of Carnation sweet milk

1 can of cream of coconut 

Cool Whip Extra Creamy 

Coconut Flakes

1. Cook cake by box directions (add a tsp of almond extract) in a 9x13 pan. Let it cool. 

2. Poke holes with a small end of a wooden spoon.

3. Pour both cans of milk over cake.

4. Cover with cool whip.

5. Toast coconut and sprinkle over the cake. 

6. Cover and cool in fridge. 

Enjoy!!!!!!

Best Rice Krispie Treats... EVER!!!

See those specks of black in there, that's real vanilla and it makes these treats the best you will EVER have!!!!

What you need: 

9 cups Rice Krispie cereal 

16oz bag of miniature marshmallows 

1 2/3 sticks of salted butter 

1/3 cup butter for buttering pan

1/2 vanilla bean

1/4 tsp pink Himalayan salt

1. Put cereal in a large bowl.

2. Butter 13x9in pan

2. Heat 1 2/3 cup butter over low heat, scrape vanilla bean into butter and add salt.

3. Once butter has melted, add marshmallows and stir until smooth.

4. Pour over cereal and stir until well mixed.

5. Pour into pan, smooth, let cool, cut and ENJOY!!!! 

Coconut Pie

1 cup coconut 

3/4 cup honey 

2 cups buttermilk or coconut milk

1 1/2 tsp vanilla 

1/4 cup butter or ghee

1/2 cup gluten free bisquick

4 eggs

Mix everything and pour in a pie pan sprayed with non stick baking spray. Bake at 350F for 50-55 minutes. 

This pie is gluten free and totally delicious! Enjoy!!!!

Paleo Pecan Delights

Day 20 of the Whole 30 paleo challenge and I want a treat! So. This is loosely based off a recipe my dear friend shared with me. But being a South Carolina girl, I needed my pecan fix and well, this is my creation!!!!

What you need:

1 1/2 cup of pecans 

1/2 or 3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1 cup soft pitted dates

2-3 Tbsp coconut oil

3-4 Tbsp raw almond butter

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp vanilla

1. Put pecans & coconut in your food processor with a S shaped blade. Process until it's crumbley. 

2. Add all other ingredients and pulse until you form a dough. If it's too crumbley, add more coconut oil or almond butter. 

3. Shape your balls and store in fridge for a week or freezer for longer storage. 

Note: If you want to impress, roll in cocoa powder or coconut to serve! 

Speck wrapped Dates

J

What you need:

Thinly sliced speck

Dried dates

Heat the oven to full blast. Wrap your dates in speck, put them on a raised pan &  pop them in the oven for 6-8 minutes. They come out sweet & chewy, sort of caramel like and smell like heaven. 

If you want to step it up, put blue cheese & or an almond in the center of the dates.

Thank goodness for these because I may make it another paleo day! ;)