Dark Chocolate Mug Cake - Gluten Free too!

Who doesn't love a good mug cake?  Easy and quick to make... you can satisfy your craving without making a whole big batch of cookies or an entire cake or pie.  We've been trying different options lately, and I think this one is a winner!  It's very chocolaty, so we were happy to share one between two of us.  A little bit of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream would be the perfect complement!  Bonus, it's gluten-free!

Dark Chocolate Mug Cake

1 TBSP butter
1 egg
Scant 1/4 tsp vanilla
3 TBSP monk fruit sweetener (or other granulated sweetener)
3 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder
Pinch of kosher salt
About 6 dark chocolate chips

Melt the butter in a microwave-safe mug (about 20 seconds).  Crack and egg into a separate dish, whisk the vanilla into the egg.  Pour the egg mixture into the mug and whisk.
Add remaining ingredients except chocolate chips.  Whisk until well combined, scraping side as necessary.
Sprinkle top with chocolate chips.

Microwave on high about 75 to 90 seconds.  Test by inserting a toothpick into the center.

What are you eating today?  Whatever it is, Keep it Clean!

Quick Cake For Two (Or Just You)!

Lemon Sponge Cake for One (or Two)

4 TBSP fine almond flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 TBSP heavy cream or half-and-half
1 heaping TBSP coconut sugar (or preferred sweetener)
1 egg
2 TBSP lemon juice
Small handful of dark chocolate chips, optional

Grease the inside of a small dessert dish or ramekin with butter.
Mix almond flour and baking powder together in a bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the cream (or half-and-half), the sweetener, and egg.  Slowly add lemon juice, whisking constantly.
Stir liquid ingredients into dry.
When well mixed, pour batter into prepared dish.  You will need to allow about 3/4" - 1" head room so don't fill to full.
Microwave on high for 2 minutes.
Remove from microwave and immediately scatter about half the chips on top of the cake (just stagger them around randomly).  Place a small plate on top of the bowl and flip it over.  Tap on the bottom and sides of the bowl and slowly lift it.  Scatter the rest of the chocolate chips on top and allow them to soften.
Alternatively, you can melt the chocolate chips and drizzle them on the finished cake.
Serves 1 or 2.

The taste is much better than the picture!

Recipes Worth Noting!

Sometimes I gather my recipe links on a blog page for the sole purpose of being able to quickly find them when it comes time to make supper.  This week was so full of wonderfully tasty recipes, though, I am sharing my menu - with links! - with you.  Enjoy!!

SUN - Chicken caesar salad
We had leftover chicken that I had grilled last week, so just chopped this up with some Romaine, added store bought Caesar dressing, a little freshly shredded Parmesan and pepper.  Voila!

MON - I had a meeting which included a potluck. I made two-ingredient pot roast in the slow cooker (the recipe says you can also use Instant Pot) using 3 pounds of beef cubes and two 16 oz. jars of my marinara.  I received a lot of accolades... it was the bomb!!  (Pro tip:  I made a bunch of this marinara earlier in the season and canned it which is making my life even easier these days!)

TUE - Thai Chicken is still a favorite.  You can serve it on naan for pizza, over rice or cauliflower fried rice.  I made the cauliflower fried rice recently and I can eat that stuff any time!  I used this recipe but admit that I tweaked just a little... used a whole egg instead of whites and skipped the scallions because I didn't have any!

WED - Oh my!  Oh my!  Oh my!  Peach bbq short ribs in the slow cooker and an apple-cranberry salad was better than I could have even imagined.  Interestingly, I had it for lunch (more than once!) using warmed up leftover ribs to top leftover salad, and it was even better!  I made  peach bbq sauce (using frozen peaches) because I didn't have time to order... and because I can!  It seems like a lot of steps, but you can make the peach bbq sauce in advance.  And it's so worth it!

THU - Who doesn't love grilled cheese and tomato soup?!  I used this fabulous tomato basil soup recipe and made a regular grilled cheese for MR.  I am not eating grains, so I experimented with using a frozen Trader Joe's cauliflower pizza crust for my bread.  I baked the crust on 350 for about 12 minutes on each side.  Then I cut it into 6 equal pieces.  I made it just like a regular grilled cheese, with the only difference being that my "bread" was cauliflower crust.  I haven't perfected it yet, but it definitely was better than tomato soup and NO grilled cheese!!

BONUS!  I put one of the slices of cauliflower crust in the toaster this morning, then spread it with softened butter, and sprinkled with cinnamon-coconut sugar blend.  It was so good!!!!

And just for the fun of it, I added the Vegan Chocolate Mousse recipe...

Carne Asada and Spanish Cauli Rice

I've been getting more serious about my eating this winter. That means no sugar and no grains since Thanksgiving.  The only thing I've missed is brown rice occasionally.  Fortunately, cauliflower can fill that gap.  I made this carne asada recipe yesterday. (A little bit of honey won't hurt me!)  MR had nachos, but I skipped the chips and just made a rice bowl.  Lots of good flavor and not much effort.

The original recipe calls for Instant Pot, but I think the meat would be more tender done in a slow cooker.  If time is of the essence, though, use the pressure cooker!

Carne Asada Nachos

2 TBSP lime juice
2 TBSP orange juice
1 TBSP apple cider vinegar
2 TBSP honey
1 tsp ground cumin
1 or 2 small jalapeños, seeded and diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (or 4 TBSP dry)
3 Tablespoons avocado oil, divided (or olive oil)
2 pounds flank steak
1 1/2 cups beef broth

Combine lime juice, orange juice, apple cider vinegar, honey, cumin, jalapenos, garlic cilantro, and 2 tablespoons oil in a small bowl. Place the meat in a large zip bag,  Pour the mixture into the bag and make sure the meat is coated on all sides. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  
When ready to cook, set the Instant Pot to Saute.   Heat 1 tablespoon oil.  
Remove the beef from the zip bag, preserving the leftover marinade.
Sear meat 4-5 minutes on each side. 
Add beef broth. Lock lid.  Turn vent to seal!
Press the Meat button and set cook time to 15 minutes. When the timer beeps, let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes then quick-release. 
Remove the meat.  Shred or slice thinly to serve.  Serve as nachos or tacos or over Spanish Cauli-Rice (below).


Spanish Cauli-Rice

1 bag frozen riced cauliflower (or clean and chop a head of cauliflower)
Leftover marinade from above recipe
1 can Ro-tel tomatoes with green chiles

Pour riced cauliflower into medium saucepan.  Stir in leftover marinade and can of Ro-Tel.  Cook over medium heat until jalapeños are tender, stirring occasionally (about 15 minutes).

Easy Cauli Crust Pizza (with a little help...)

I just discovered the frozen cauliflower pizza crust at Trader Joe's.  Now you can bet there is one in my freezer at all times!  With this little helper, making a pizza couldn't be easier.  I also make my pizza sauce ahead of time so my life just got real easy!  The sauce keeps well in the freezer too.

Making pizza couldn't be much easier...  Use the pizza sauce recipe below and just add Trader Joe's frozen cauliflower pizza crust and your favorite toppings.



Pizza Sauce

1 TBSP olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves chopped garlic
2 TBSP minced sun-dried tomatoes
2 tsp dried oregano
1-1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 cup dry white wine (optional)
1 cup water
6 ounce can tomato paste
saltblack pepper

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add onion and garlic.  Saute until soft.

Add sun-dried tomatoes, oregano and basil.  Stir and cook a minute.
If using wine, add now and allow it to simmer and reduce by about half.
Add tomato paste and water.  Using a wire whisk, stir until combined.  If it's too thick, add a little more water until you get the right thickness.  Season with salt and pepper.
Reduce heat and simmer about 15 minutes.  Allow to cool slightly (or freeze or refrigerate for future use).  If you like a smoother sauce, you can use a stick blender to puree it.

Blueberry Pancakes... it's what's for breakfast!

Sometimes I just want pancakes.  Not often.  But sometimes!  Today was a sometime.  Enjoy these pancakes, adapted from a recipe I found here on Facebook.

Single Serving Blueberry Pancake Recipe

(double or triple for more servings)

1/2 cup almond flour
Scant 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 egg
sprinkle of cinnamon
Scant 1/2 tsp vanilla
2/3 tsp sweetener (optional)
1/24 cup cream or unsweetened almond milk
Blueberries
Butter for pan

Mix together all ingredients.  Add additional milk to get desired consistency, if necessary.  Melt butter in a heated pan.  Pour in desired amount of mixture to make one pancake, spreading out to desired size.  Cook over medium heat until begins to firm up.  Flip and cook a little longer.  Repeat to make more pancakes!  (Add a topping if you desire.)

The Hardest Part About Eating Clean is....

The hardest part of any lifestyle change is the change.  Whether you're giving up smoking, cutting back on alcohol, adding more exercise, or any big changes! Making the changes from the habits you have created is tough.  For us, switching to clean eating wasn't a huge change because we had always done some cooking from scratch.  The hardest part was the treats and sweets!  MR particularly has a sweet tooth and I just love cookies of all kinds!

To help you get started, I have listed and linked a roundup of our favorites!  If it's entree and sides ideas you crave, browse my other posts for some really great tastes such as Cauliflower-Taco Bowl,
Thai Chicken Pizza, or Oven Fajitas, and more! But, as I said, for us it's the sweets...

Fresh fruit tart - This is so good and can be made ahead!

Chocolate chip skillet cookie - Be sure to have someone to share this with!

Thin Mints and Samoas cookies - If you enjoy the flavor of these Girl Scout cookies, you'll love these!

And our all-time favorite....

Almond Joy Bars

• 4 large eggs
  
• ¾ cup coconut milk
• 2 teaspoons almond extract
• ¾ cup coconut sugar
• ½ cup blanched almond flour (or almond meal)
• ½ cup coconut flour
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• ¾ cup chocolate chips (we like Ghirardelli 60%)

Instructions

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, coconut milk, almond extract and coconut sugar.   In a smaller bowl, combine almond flour, coconut flour, salt and baking soda.  Mix dry ingredients into wet with a handheld mixer.  Stir in ½ cup of the chocolate chips.
Grease an 8x8 baking dish.
Pour batter into prepared dish, then sprinkle shredded coconut and remaining chocolate chips on top.
Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.  Cool for 1 hour before serving.