Paleo & Gluten Free Buffalo Chicken Nuggets

If you are like myself, I am always on the lookout for tried & true recipes that the whole family enjoys. I love cooking from scratch and do so whenever I can. Today's recipe falls in line with not only "from scratch" cooking, but is also Paleo & Trim Healthy Mama friendly AND gluten free!! The bonus?? It was a hit with my kids!! What is it??

Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers

As the gardening season is winding down, I feel like a squirrel frantically gathering nuts to store for winter time! I've been in freezing & canning mode again lately. I had a ton of peppers, zucchini, broccoli & cabbage to do up. While I've been freezing a lot of the veggies plain to use over winter time, I also wanted to try some new recipes.

I happen to have gotten some roast beef lunch meat in the marked down area of the deli. I love this section as I can often find the more expensive lunch meats that are either sliced too thin or are the chunked up ends for only $1.99lb (otherwise, roast beef is NOT a staple in our house! lol)

As I looked at the roast beef & peppers, I thought that a Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Pepper sounded like a good idea. It wasn't until I started cooking that I realized this was going to turn into an awesome recipe so I quickly dug out my camera to snap some photos so I could share the recipe with y'all! Let me just say the photos don't do this recipe justice! The kids and I absolutely LOVED these and the next time I get some cheap roast beef, we will be making this again!! A bonus is that this is gluten free and low-carb!

I started off sauteing chopped up mushrooms, onions & garlic. Once they were nice and ccaramelized I added in the sliced roast beef.

I sliced 2 whole peppers in half and took out the seeds. You can use any kind of cheese you prefer but I used a slice of pepper jack and laid it in the bottom of the pepper half.

I divided up the meat mixture evenly between all 4 peppers then laid a piece of cheddar cheese on top.

I popped the peppers in the oven and baked them for about 15-20 minutes.

YUM!!!

If you are looking for another stuffed pepper recipe, check out my Mexican Stuffed Peppers with Quinoa & Black Beans!

Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers

about 1/2lb of roast beef lunch meat sliced into strips

8 slices of cheese

2 whole peppers cut in half

2 Tbsp butter

1 medium onion sliced

6oz of mushrooms sliced

2 cloves of garlic minced

salt & pepper to taste

In a saute pan, saute the mushrooms,onions & garlic until caramelized. Add the strips of roast beef & toss with the veggies. Cook for about 5-10 minutes. Lay a piece of cheese inside each pepper then evenly divide up the meat between them. Cover the meat with another piece of cheese. Bake in the oven at 400 for 15-20 minutes.

Printable Recipe

Gluten Free Molasses Oatmeal Bars

I was recently looking for a new recipe to try using blackstrap molasses and coconut oil. Why those 2 things? Well, the health benefits of both are great!  

Blackstrap molasses is a good source of calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium and a whole host of other essential minerals. Seriously look it up some day. One of the simple ways I consume it is to heat a mug of water up, add a tablespoon of blackstrap molasses (it sort of tastes like black licorice) and squeeze half a lemon into it. Makes a great morning tea! 

Coconut oil is also great for your body, both inside and out! You can use it on your skin as a moisturizer as well as using it in cooking. It helps boost your immune system, contributes to weight loss, kills viruses, helps digestive issues and so many more things! You can use coconut oil like you would butter in cooking. Or if you enjoy coffee, make a cup of bulletproof coffee using coconut oil.

Back to my newest recipe. I know most recipes calls for baking molasses so I set out to try using my blackstrap molasses and this recipe turned out great! I used blackstrap molasses & coconut oil from Golden Barrel. If you don't have these products in your local store, no worries! You can order them online. 

My other challenge for this recipe was to make it gluten free. AND I did! To make sure it's gluten free, use gluten free oats, gluten free flour and make sure your baking powder is aluminum free.

If you've never used coconut oil, it is typically solid. Once temperatures reach about 75 degrees, it does turn liquid which is perfectly normal. (that's how I knew my house was warm over summer time! Ha!) I simply melted it down for this recipe which made it easier to blend. You could measure it out like you would crisco.

Once your ingredients are combined, it does produce a thick batter which you need to spread out. These molasses oatmeal bars come out thin like you would expect a bar to. I would imagine doubling the recipe in the same size pan would give it more of a thicker, cake-like texture. Either way, these bars came out so soft!!! They tasted good both warm and at room temperature. It reminded me of a mix of gingerbread and molasses, it felt like Christmas time on my tastebuds, yum!!

Gluten Free Molasses Oatmeal Bars

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ginger

1/8 tsp allspice

1/4 cup blackstrap molasses (1/3 cup if using regular)

3 Tbsp of coconut oil, melted

1 egg

3/4 cup gluten free flour (or use regular)

1/2 gluten free quick cooking oats (or use regular)

1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350. Spray an 8x8 pan with non-stick spray. Mix together brown sugar, spices, molasses, oil and egg. Add in oats, flour and baking powder. Spread in a baking pan and bake for about 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Check out Golden Barrel on Facebook.

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Disclaimer: I was provided a jar of both products in exchange for coming up with a recipe to share using their products. All honest opinions are my own.