Slow cooker Donair Meat

We love donair meat, what I don't love is how full of preservatives and MSG the store bought stuff is. I really like to make two loaves in my slow cooker and freeze one for later.  Donair meat is pretty versatile, some of our favourite ways to eat it include: 

-In pitas with lettuce , cucumber, tomatoes, quick pickled onions and dill sauce.

- In a salad

- On pizza with a white sauce

I've tried many recipes of Donair meat and none were quite right. I started doing the dash of this, dash of that method and came up with a version I was happy with. Today I measured it to share with everyone. 

Method: 

Whisk spices together in bowl

Knead spices into meat

Meat before kneading

Form meat into a ball, 

Using a big bowl (metal preferably) raise meat to shoulder height and smack into the bowl, it should flatten into a pancake shape. 

Repeat 40 times, before forming into a loaf check meat fibre make sure they look like little strands. (See picture) 

In this picture the meat fibers are just starting to look like strands, I slaped/kneaded 20 more times to finish it.

It should be consistent throughout, if not knead some more. 

Form into loaf

Place into greased medium crockpot in high for at least 4 hours, depending on your crockpot it could take longer or shorter. 

I prefer to let chill before slicing but at the very least let it rest  for 15 minutes before slicing. 

This was only rested 15 minutes. 

Full recipe:

Slow cooker Donair Meat

Makes 4 servings 

1/2 tsp salt 

2 tsp oregano leaves

1/2 tsp ground black pepper 

2 tsp Italian seasoning 

1 tsp garlic powder 

2 tbsp onion flakes

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp paprika

1 tbsp parsley

1 tbsp cornstarch

1/4 tsp mustard powder

1 lb ground beef

Whisk spices together in bowl

Knead spices into meat

Form meat into a ball, 

Using a big bowl (metal preferably) raise meat to shoulder height and smack into the bowl, it should flatten into a pancake shape. 

Repeat 40 times, 

Before forming into a loaf check meat fibers to make sure they look like little strands. (See picture) It should be consistent throughout, if not knead some more. 

Form into loaf

Place into greased medium crockpot in high for at least 4 hours, depending on your crockpot it could take longer.

I prefer to let chill before slicing but at the very least let it rest  for 15 minutes before slicing. 

World's best chicken dipping sauce

Ok, world's best might be stretching it a bit, though this is darn good sauce. We are having roast chicken for dinner and I came across a recipe for a dipping sauce. My darling husband mentioned he would love some sauce with dinner so a challenge was born, make a super awesome sauce comparable to a Canadian chicken chain. I googled and googled some more, found a recipe that looked good except I didn't want to make it on the stove and it was missing a little something. I added my magic touch, documented cooking times and voila!







World's best chicken dipping sauce "Swiss style"






3 cups water
3 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp lemon juice
4 drops hot sauce

1 chicken broth cube
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1 tbsp white sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp poultry seasoning
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp ground sage
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp all spice
1/4 tsp dry mustard powder
1 tsp onion flakes
1 bay leaf
4 tbsp cornstarch


In a large microwave safe measuring cup whisk together wet ingredients.
In a bowl mix together dry ingredients.
Whisk dry mixture into the wet.
Microwave for 12 minutes on high whisking after every 2 minutes.

Note: My microwave is only 700kw, keep an eye on your sauce if your microwave is stronger.



The original unaltered recipe that I used as a starting point is here:

Puffed Brown Rice chocolate squares

When Orion was really little we used to give him  organic puffed brown rice to snack on, or to let him feel like he was included in the meal. I still have multiple bags in my pantry, I was struggling to find something to do with them and thought of how much I used to love puffed wheat squares. Now the original version would not work with our allergies and the fact that I have an aversion to corn syrup. I had to laugh at all the versions I found that labeled them as healthy when they contain cups upon cups of sugar. My recipe is by no means healthy but it isn't made with refined sugars so I consider it ok in moderation. This would be really tasty with coconut stirred in but my husband hates coconut and would be very disappointed if he couldn't eat these.

1/2 cup palm shortening (You could sub coconut oil here if you would like)
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup Palm sugar
1/3 plus 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

8 cups organic puffed brown rice
1/4 cup chia seeds

Line a 9x 13 pan with wax paper
In a medium sauce pan, on medium heat melt shortening and honey together, mix in palm sugar and cocoa powder until a smooth consistency is reached.
In a extra large greased bowl mix brown rice puffs and chia seeds, Pour chocolate sauce over it all and mix until it is all evenly coated.
Firmly press mixture into your pan refrigerate for 30 minutes. Pop out of pan and cut into desired pieces

Crockpot Chipotle bacon baked beans

I really enjoy using my slow cooker for anything involving beans, for some reason if I cook them on the stove I always seem to burn them. I haven't ever tried cooking baked beans in the oven since I don't own a dutch oven. As always these are dairy free, egg free, soy free,  nut and sesame free. They also happen to be gluten free. My husband is in love with these beans, he says he will never go back to eating canned beans again :)

Chipotle Bacon baked beans

3cups dried white beans (I buy my beans at the market and they aren't labeled but I am almost certain that they are great northern beans)
2 cup bacon chopped fine (I used bacon ends that I buy by the case and sent it through my food grinder)
1 onion minced
5 cloves garlic minced
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup black strap molasses
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 400 ml can of tomato sauce
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup boiling water
1/3 cup palm sugar
1 tsp Chipotle chili powder



Soak beans in ample water and 1 tsp of baking soda overnight
In the morning boil beans with ample fresh water for 10 minutes
Drain and rinse
Put the rest of ingredients in crockpot  and mix well
Cook on high for 4-6 hours stirring periodically, until beans are cooked.
Serve with bread, biscuits or corn bread.

Delicious biscuits I made, I will post the recipe another day

Lemon dill shrimp with green beans

Sometimes you have a night that you just really don't feel like cooking, or you get home late and don't have much time. In these cases it is nice to have an easy meal to fall back on, everything in this meal is something from the pantry or freezer. If I am in a big hurry I will make brown basmati rice or sprouted brown rice. Tonight I wasn't in a huge hurry so I made Calrose brown rice. This recipe is dairy less, casein free, gluten free, egg free. It contains no soy or peanuts. We are lemon lovers in our house, I have included a less lemony version.

2.5 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup lemon juice + 1 tbsp (For the less lemony version only use 1/4 cup lemon juice)
3 tbs lemon dilly dip mix (Epicure)
4 cloves garlic minced
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 tbsp coconut or other high heat stable oil
2 cups cooked shrimp
 3 tbsp corn starch (For the less lemony version only use 2.5 tbsp of corn starch)
2.5 cups Frozen green beans (I used mixed green and yellow beans since that's what I had in the freezer)

Thaw shrimp, toss shrimp in tbsp lemon dilly, 1 tbsp lemon juice pepper, pepper and garlic, set aside.
Whisk together lemon juice, chicken broth and and remaining  dip mix, reserve 1/4 cup liquid and whisk in corn starch.
On medium high heat sautee shrimp 2 minute in the coconut oil , take out of pan and set aside.
Pour first broth mixture in pan scraping pan bottom well,  add beans bring to boil, then lower to a simmer covered for 3 minutes. Whisk in reserved broth (You may need to give it a little stir before you pour it in), making sure you are stirring constantly, mixture should thicken nicely.
When mixture is thickened put your shrimp back in stir well and simmer for 2 minutes.
Serve over rice

Dairy free left over turkey enchiladas

I look forward to this season every year for the leftovers. I love turkey, there are so many ways to use it.We had no left over turkey from Christmas celebrations with my family this year. I decided I would bake a turkey for New years day. I made a simple turkey dinner and have tons of left overs. I already made two batches of stock from the carcass, I will be canning the broth tomorrow and we will be having soup. Today I wanted to make enchiladas, they seem fairly labour intensive but it is more time then effort. Almost every enchilada recipe I have seen includes copious amounts of dairy. My recipe is gluten free, dairy free/ casein free, egg free, sesame free, nut free and soy free. If you prefer to not use fresh tomatoes you can use drained canned tomatoes. This makes a HUGE recipe, enough for two meals for the three of us, After I cooked it I froze half to thaw for a quick meal at a later date. This isn't too spicy so it is a toddler friendly meal :)

Sauce:

11 small to medium size cored and halved tomatoes (If you are using a variety of tomatoes that isn't very watery like paste you don't need to core unless you dislike seeds)

10 pickled jalapenos slices (I found this great little jar at superstore)

5 garlic cloves 

1 red onion quartered

1 400 ml cans of pure tomato sauce

1 tsp chili powder

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1/2 tsp salt

1/2  cup mild salsa

Filling:

2 cups finely chopped Left over turkey (I used a mix of white and dark) (You really could use almost any meat here)

3 cups Mild salsa (I used frozen salsa (Whenever I make a fresh salsa I freeze the leftovers, mine has corn, peppers, onions, cilantro) 

1\4 cup nutritional yeast

(If you have really runny salsa add 2 tbsp of cornstarch)

 12 corn tortillas

Make Sauce

In a large pot put your tomatoes, onion, garlic and jalapeno on medium heat, 

Bring to to a boil, boil for 10 minute, mash tomatoes coarsely 

Turn heat down to a simmer and simmer with lid on for 1 hour, stirring occasionally, take lid off and cook for another hour, Puree,

Then add chili powder,  canned tomato sauce, nutritional yeast and  canned sauce, Simmer for 15 minutes

Make filling

Put everything in a pot and bring to a boil, then turn heat down and simmer for 5 minutes stirring often.

To assemble Enchiladas, 

 Preheat oven to 375F

Heat tortillas single layer on a baking sheet in the oven until just pliable (About 3 minutes) Cover the bottom of a 9x13 pan with sauce.

Dip each tortilla in sauce place in baking pan, put about 1/4 cup of filling in the middle, roll up, continue until finished.

Cover pan with foil and bake for 15 minutes, remove foil  turn up the heat to 400 and bake for another 10 minutes

Let sit about 5 minutes before serving

Vegan Chickpea curry

It has been a busy December this year! I went into it with all the intentions of continuing to post every week. Then some of my recipes flopped, I didn't have the time nor the inclination to make them over to figure out what went wrong, though I do have some suspicions. We celebrated Orion's second birthday early in the month with extended family we see about once a year. We were lucky enough to be graced by the presence of the "Yuletide Flu" which ate up a little over a week of our month. Then preparations for Yule took over, 4 days later it was Christmas. Now it is Boxing day and we can settle back into our normal routine. We have had an overdose on all things white and refined this season, too much white flour, white sugar, white rice and too many treats for all of us (Too many "Fruit" snacks for Orion and too much dairy containing chocolate for me)  The inspiratation for this meal comes from my book club book, "The secret daughter" While it makes me cry regularly as I'm reading it, it also leaves me with a longing for curry, specifically vegetarian curry. So I got up last night at midnight to dig dried chickpeas out of the cold room to soak for today. I have taken my recipe for butter chicken and changed it bit to make a chickpea curry. If you are used to traditional Indian food this is by no means the recipe for you. If you just want something tasty that has curry flavour, yet is mild enough for kids you have found the right recipe. Enjoy!

2.5 cups dried chickpeas (Soaked over night)
1 onion diced
8 garlic cloves, minced
4 Tbsp coconut oil
4 tsp ground cardamom
6 tsp mild curry powder
6 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground ginger
2.5 cup coconut milk (I use coconut dream, if you use a canned milk leave out the cornstarch)
2 Tbsp corn starch (Feel free to substitute for any other type of thickening starch)
1 small can tomato paste


3 cups chopped fresh Baby spinach
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 cup plain Coconut milk yogurt plus 1 tbsp lemon juice (So nice makes a great one) (Reserve for just before serving)


Turn crockpot on high, put Chickpeas in, cover with coconut oil.
In a measuring cup whisk together, coconut milk, tomato paste, lemon juice and corn starch and spices. Pour over everything. Cook on high for 2-3 hours then turn down to low for another 4 or so, Stir occasionally.


15 minutes before serving stir in yogurt, lemon juice and spinach. Serve over rice with fresh Naan (I used this recipe and it was great!  I made it with 100% whole wheat pastry flour) on the side

Sloppy Joes with a twist

I haven't been feeling like cooking this week for some reason, we have Orions birthday party on the weekend and many things to do to get ready for it. I made up this easy recipe to just toss in the crockpot. The twist is that these contain carrots, but you barely know they are there.

Sloppy Joes (Marikas style)
1lb beef (Thawed, never use frozen beef in the crockpot)
1 1/2 cups grated carrots (About 3 medium)
1 tbsp 3 onion dip mix (Epicure)
1 Diced onion
1 400 ml can of tomato sauce
1 tbsp sucanet (or brown sugar)
1/2 tsp EACH salt and pepper
1 1/2 tbsp Apple cider vinegar

Put everything except the liquid smoke in the crock pot and cook on high for 3 hours or low for 8 hours.
10 minutes before serving stir in the liquid smoke.
Serve over buns with a salad on the side.

Dairy free Butter Chicken

Sometimes I just get a craving for something that will not be satisfied until I make it. This time around it was butter chicken, Clay hates curry so I have to pick and choose which ones I make. He actually ate this one without complaining. Orion gobbled his up. I searched and searched for a dairy free butter chicken recipe. The ones I found just seemed to leave ingredients out instead of substituting them, so I found a normal recipe that got rave reviews and substituted items to make it allergen friendly.

Here is the original recipe at "Crockpot 365"


Here is my allergen friendly version:


2 chicken breasts with backs attached, deboned and diced (You could use other chicken this is just what I had in the freezer)
1 onion diced
8 garlic cloves, minced
4 Tbsp coconut oil
1 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
2 tsp mild curry powder
2 tsp garam masala (I only trust Mcormick brand)
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 3/4 cup coconut milk (I use coconut dream, if you use a canned milk leave out the cornstarch)
1 Tbsp corn starch (Feel free to substitute for any other type of thickening starch)
1 small can tomato paste
2 T lemon juice
1 cup plain Coconut milk yogurt plus 1 tbsp lemon juice (So nice makes a great one) (Reserve for just before serving)


Turn crockpot on high, melt coconut oil in bottom.
Place garlic and onion in bottom of Crockpot.
Debone and dice chicken. Place in Crockpot.
Mix spices together and sprinkle over chicken stirring to coat evenly.
In a measuring cup whisk together, coconut milk, tomato paste, lemon juice and corn starch. Pour over everything. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8. Stir occasionally.
15 minutes before serving stir in yogurt and lemon juice. Serve over rice

Roasted garlic and red pepper hummus

It is Grey cup Sunday here in Canada. While I'm not much of a football fan I do love using it as a excuse to spend time with family and eat appetizers for dinner. Every year my mom asks me to make hummus, for some reason hers never turns out like mine. With her kids grown and flown the coop my moms food processor gets little use these days except for making hummus. Since she prefers my hummus she has passed on the food processor and the hummus making duty to me. I find that the key to a good hummus is using good beans. I have never had good hummus from no name brand beans. I will ONLY buy Scarpone canned beans. I have tried cooking the garbanzo beans myself and they just leave something lacking. Since Orion has a sesame allergy I substitute sunflower butter instead, you could leave it out but I find it lacks something in flavour without it. This year I am switching it up a little and making red pepper hummus.

Roasted Garlic and red pepper Hummus
1 medium pepper cut in half
1 head garlic peeled
Scant 2/3 cup lemon juice
2 little cans  (Just under 600ml total)Scarpone Garbanzo beans drained with 4 tbsp of liquid reserved
1/4 cup Sunflower butter (If you run the measuring cup under hot water before measuring the sunflower butter it will slide out easily)
1/4 cup EVOO
1 tsp Himalayan salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
Paprika to garnish if you would like

Preheat oven to 400F
Take pepper halves and spray with Olive oil, Wrap head of garlic in foil. Bake in oven for 1 hour. Let cool.
Put beans, liquid, peppers and garlic in food processor and process until chopped,  Dump in Sunflower butter, lemon juice, blend again. while food processor is going drizzle in olive oil. Taste, then add salt and pepper (Some beans are saltier then others) (I find that  by not rinsing the beans you don't need much other flavourings.
Let sit at least an hour before serving

Sour leaf lazy cabbage rolls

I grew up eating sour leaf cabbage rolls. I love them so much. Hand rolling cabbage rolls takes so much time. Last time I made cabbage rolls I froze the leftover filling and little bits of sour cabbage that were not suitable for rolling, I baked it like a casserole and it was so good! This time I am fine tuning the recipe to make it into lazy cabbage rolls. This recipe is sans tomatoes since that is the way my family eats sour cabbage rolls. You could use sauerkraut instead of the sour head if you like, just make sure that you use non pasteurized sauerkraut. You can fine it in the produce section or a good European deli/grocer , then stuff in jars is nothing compared to the real stuff. I really like Kissel Cabbage.  This is dairy free yet still has the richness of flavour that you expect from sour leaf cabbage rolls. This recipe makes enough for two casseroles.

Yield: 12 servings
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups water

3 cups brown Calrose rice

Sourhead Cabbage

1 Sourhead cabbage diced into 1 inch pieces or 2 bags of sauerkraut (My favourite is made by Kissel Cabbage)
3 medium onions. diced
1 package of bacon, diced into 1 inch pieces
1 tsp pepper
1 cup Dairy free margarine (I like earth balance or vegan becel)
1/4 Coconut oil (Make sure it is descented, I like Omega  Organic coconut oil for this)
1/4 cup bacon fat (I always save my fat in the freezer, so I have or for recipes like this or frying perogies. If you don't have any just add another 1/4 cup of coconut oil instead)
1/4 cup water

Bring chicken stock and water to boil in a large pot on stove, add rice lower heat to just barely simmering. Cook for 55 minutes until all  the water is absorbed.

Bacon frying

Fry bacon until crispy, remove bacon (Leave the grease in the pan)

Add onions to pan, fry until just starting to turn translucent,
Turn heat down, add margarine, coconut oil, additional bacon fat and pepper to pan, cover, simmer for 15 min.
Place diced cabbage. bacon and cooked rice in a large bowl mix well,
Put rice mixture in two greased casserole dishes
Ladle onion mixture over top, add 1/8 of a cup of water to each casserole dish
Cook covered at 350F 45 minutues OR freeze.

To make from frozen, Thaw the casserole, then cook at 350 until the internal temp is 165.

Casseroles ready for the oven/ freezer

Cooked and ready to eat :)

Easy crockpot tortilla soup

I love Tortilla soup, it is filling and so delicious. It  really hits the spots after a long day canning. It is also really easy to toss in the crockpot. Clay and Orion loved it as well, they enjoy just about any soup I make.

3 cups cooked black beans (I used my recipe for Pinto beans and just used black beans instead, just remember to watch them to see if they need more water)
1 cup of corn
1 litre Chicken or vegetable broth
1 minced jalapeno
1 onion, diced
1 diced bell pepper
1 can organic tomato sauce
1 tbsp garlic powder
4 tbsp lime juice

Chili powder to taste, I used chipotle chili powder, I didn't measure. The amount will really depend on your families taste buds, I just taste the broth and added enough to make it just spicy enough.

Toppings:
Corn tortilla chips or fried tortilla strips
Chopped cilantro
Avocados, sliced

Put everything in the crockpot except for the toppings, cook on high for 5 hours or on low for around 8. I usually wait until about an hour before serving to put the bell pepper in, I don't like them mushy. Serve with fried tortilla strips on top and cilantro and sliced avocados.

Sauteed spinach with mushrooms and bacon

I served this dish for a dinner with my parents, it is an easy side that has a great flavour. Do not overcook the spinach, when it is all just wilted it is done, it will still continue wilting after you take it out of the pan.

Sauteed spinach with mushrooms and bacon
Serves 5

6 cups loosely packed washed organic baby spinach
1/2 cup bacon bits
4 cups mushrooms sliced (I used cremini because I really enjoy the flavour)
5 cloves garlic minced
2 tbsp of coconut oil  plus 1 tbsp

Mix, garlic, coconut oil mushrooms in a large pan, Over medium heat cook until mushrooms are browned.
Stir in spinach and additional coconut oil stirring often, until spinach is just wilted.

Crock pot pumpkin pie oat pudding

Yesterday was Samhain. We celebrate it together as a family with a special meal and family time, I had all sorts of plans to make pumpkin tarts with the pumpkin puree from the other day. I ran out of time so I thought for a minute and came up with this recipe, it is like a rice pudding but made with steel cut oats. It isn't very sweet, so if you like your desserts really sweet add some more maple syrup :) I didn't take any pictures of the steps this time as I was all about spending as much time with our family as possible.

Enjoy!

What is your favourite special dessert?

Crock pot pumpkin pie oat pudding


1/2 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup cut steel cut oats
1 apple diced
1/4 cup organic unsweetened raisins
4 cups non dairy milk  (I used half Quiona and half coconut)
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (Epicure makes a really great one)
2 tbsp maple syrup

Whisk pumpkin, spice and maple syrup into milk,
Put milk mixture into Crockpot
Place in Crockpot, Heat on high for 2 hours (If on high make sure you stir often) or low for 4-6

Alternate: For gluten free just make sure your oats and spice is gluten free :)

Pumpkin Bacon Soup

I love pumpkin, I love pumpkin granola, pumpkin spice lattes (I have been making them all season long at home with real pumpkin) I love pumpkin baked goods and especially love pumpkin seeds. Surprisingly enough I have never made a pumpkin soup. I decided to branch out and create a recipe that my family would enjoy. Orion loved his pumpkin soup, I don't think he has ever met a soup he hasn't enjoyed. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did  :)

How do you like your pumpkin?






Pumpkin Bacon Soup


1 apple (I used ambrosia) (Halved and cored)

Yes, I realize that I am missing ingredients in the
picture, I made this recipe up as I went.

1 small pie pumpkin (Mine are called sugar pie) or 3 cups of puree
1 head garlic minced
1 medium onion minced
1 cup organic baby carrots


7 slices low sodium bacon, diced
4 cups chicken broth ( I use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Chicken broth)

3 tsp Epicure Gingerbread spice
1 tsp Himalayan fine ground salt
1\2 tsp pepper
3 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp ground thyme

1 1/2 cups Quiona Milk (Or your favourite non dairy milk)



Roast pumpkin according to pumpkin roasting directions. Meanwhile in a glass pan, place carrots and apples roast  at 400f  for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Roasted pumpkin, apple and carrots

Remove apple, pumpkin and carrots from oven. Let cool 10 min,



Process  apples and carrots through Victorio food strainer.

Pumpkin ready for the strainer

Dice pumpkin into 2 inch squares,
 Process through Victorio food strainer, (No need to peel if using the food strainer) (If you do not have a food strainer, peel pumpkin then process in a food processor)

Pumpkin processed through the Victorio

Mmm, crispy bacon!

In your soup pot fry bacon until crispy on medium heat, remove bacon, drain most of the fat leave about 2 tbsp, fry onions and garlic until translucent.

First cup of broth added

Pour 1 cup chicken broth in  pot  over medium low heat scraping the bottom of the pot to get all the bits off.











Put apple carrot mixture with bacon in pot, stir well, add spices.
Add rest of chicken broth, pumpkin and maple syrup, Stir well.
 Simmer for 20 min stirring occasionally.

Mix in Quiona Milk and bring to simmer again for 5 min. . Serve with freshly ground pepper and salt.

Yum!

Pumpkin Bacon Soup


1 apple (I used ambrosia) (Halved and cored)
1 small pie pumpkin (Mine are called sugar pie) or 3 cups of puree
1 head garlic minced
1 medium onion minced
1 cup organic baby carrots


7 slices low sodium bacon, diced
4 cups chicken broth ( I use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Chicken broth)

3 tsp Epicure Gingerbread spice
1 tsp Himalayan fine ground salt
1\2 tsp pepper
3 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp ground thyme

1 1/2 cups Quiona Milk (Or your favourite non dairy milk)





1) Roast pumpkin according to pumpkin roasting directions. Meanwhile in a glass pan, place carrots and apples roast  at 400f  for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

2) Remove apple, pumpkin and carrots from oven. Let cool 10 min,

Process  apples and carrots through Victorio food strainer.

 3) Dice pumpkin into 2 inch squares, Process through victorio food strainer, (No need to peel if using the food strainer) (If you do not have a food strainer, peel pumpkin then process in a food processor)

4) In your soup pot, fry bacon until crispy on medium heat, remove bacon, drain most of the fat leaving about 2 tbsp, fry onions and garlic until translucent.

 5) Pour 1 cup chicken broth in  pot  over medium low heat scraping the bottom of the pot to get all the bits off.

6) Put apple carrot mixture with bacon in pot, stir well, add spices.

7) Add rest of chicken broth, pumpkin and maple syrup, Stir well.

8) Simmer for 20 min stirring occasionally.

9) Mix in Quiona Milk and bring to simmer again for 5 min.

10) Serve with freshly ground pepper and salt.

To make Gluten free do not use Quiona milk as it contains oats, use your favourite GF milk.

The bacon in this soup does not stay crispy, if you would like in step 4 when you remove your bacon do not add it back in in step 6. Save your bacon until just before you serve and use it as a garnish.