Cinnamon Caramel Apples

I make pancakes about twice a week. They are my favorite breakfast!! I usually just drizzle some honey on them and I'm a happy camper, but for my birthday breakfast:) I decided to up it a little:) So I did an apple cinnamon, caramel sauce! Yuuuuuuuuummy!!! I mean really? A little butter, honey, and milk, and it is for real caramel yall! So delicious and took pancake bliss to a whole nother' level!

Serves 4

4 small organic apples, or 2 large ones

2tbls. butter

3-4 tbls.almond milk

4tbls. honey

1tsp. cinnamon

pinch of salt

Chop apples into small chunks

Melt butter in a pan on medium heat. Add in almond milk, honey, cinnamon, and salt. Stir until it thickens a bit, then add apples. Simmer until apples are slightly tender, or longer if you like them completely soft.:) Enjoy!

Note: I used this recipe the other day and topped it with oats, some butter and honey. Put it in the oven until oats were browned and crunchy. Delicious! Like caramel apple granola!

PF Changs....THAT'S RIGHT....PF Changs Orange Peel Chicken

WOW!!!! This was amazing!!!!!I could have sworn I was at PF Changs tonight. It's been over 3 hrs. since dinner and I am still a little stunned at how identical this tasted to their orange peel chicken! If you've ever had it, you know how delighted I must feel right now to have recreated it. It's all in the sauce, and boy was it delectable! I made enough for my whole family tonight, so if you are only cooking for two you could decrease the recipe by half, and still have some leftovers:):)

Serves 6
6 boneless chicken breasts
1 1/2tsp. sea salt
1c. coconut flour
1/2c. coconut oil
Cut the chicken into small chunks. Place chicken in a large bowl, then sprinkle with sea salt and coconut flour and toss to coat completely. It will be just a light dusting. Heat 3tbls. of coconut oil on medium high heat. Once oil is hot, add the chicken and cook until browned on both sides. Repeat in batches until all the chicken is cooked. Set aside.

The sauce:
2tbls. coconut or grapeseed oil
6-8 green onions chopped
4tsp. garlic chopped
Peel from half an orange, cut into small slivers
1 1/2c. tomato puree
4tbls. chili sauce (you can find this at world market or your grocery store in the ethnic food section. It's a spicy japanese sauce)
2tbls. braggs liquid aminos
1/4c. honey
3/4c. water
juice of one orange
Heat the oil medium high and add onions and garlic and orange peel. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Once boiling turn completely off and let it sit on the stove. It will thicken slightly. Toss with chicken and serve over a fluffy bed of quinoa:)
Note: You could use any protein you want, shrimp, beef, or even tofu instead of chicken:)

Craaaaaaaazy Good Girl Key Lime Pie

This past week was mine and my sister Aprill's birthday. I had an entire weekend of dinners and desserts planned for the glorious birthday festivities. Not only did I finally come up with the perfect fudgy brownie recipe....which I will share soon:D....but at Aprill's request, I also made a key lime pie. Now key lime pie can be tricky, cuz some people like theirs a certain way, or from a certain place. But I was intent on making one not only dairy and soy free, but with natural sweeteners and mostly...don't freak out....RAW! Yes a raw key lime pie....no ooey, goopey, nasty condensed milk, no egg yolks, no keebler graham cracker crust! Just natural, pure ingredients, that made me feel good about even having some for breakfast....yes....key lime pie for breakfast!! So now that I've hyped it all up, you be the judge. I promise this recipe will not disappoint!

For the crust:
2c. raw almonds
1c. medjool dates
1tsp. cinnamon
1tsp. lemon juice
1tbls. coconut oil or melted butter

For the filling:
1 very ripe, but not browned, avacado (trust me you can't taste it!!)
1/2c. raw cashews, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes
1/2c. coconut butter ( I make mine in the vitamix with just 2c. raw unsweetened coconut and blend it on the highest speed until creamy)
1/4c. raw coconut sugar, xylitol, or sweetener of choice. ( I used coconut sugar, though next time I will try xylitol, as the coconut sugar gave the filling a slight brown color)
4-6 packs stevia
juice and zest of 4or 5 small limes ( you can always add more if you like )
A note about coconut butter: If you don't have or don't want to bother with the coconut butter, you can sub another 1/2c. of raw soaked cashews. These ingredients are mostly interchangeable.

To make the crust, blend first four ingredients until fine. Add coconut oil. Once combined, pour into a pie plate, and press the dough until it reaches to the upper sides of the pan. Now at this point, you can go on to make the filling and assemble the pie if you want to keep it completely raw. Or, you can bake the pie crust at 350 for 7-10 minutes if you want a real cookie like crust:)
To make the filling, place all filling ingredients into the food processor and blend until creamy. If mixture is too thick, add some almond milk until desired consistency is reached. Be careful not to add too much as this will make the pie runny:) Pour filling into cooled crust. I topped it with decorative lime wedges and some sprinkled coconut sugar:) Refrigerate until ready to eat. This pie can live at room temp, but it's much better cold:)