MAKE THIS: Paleo Asian Pork Balls with Green Beans and Sriracha

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I post a lot of recipes on here that I've created, but I do manage to follow someone else's recipe once in a while. It takes a lot of patience, but occasionally I make it happen. I recently tried out these Paleo Meatballs, Asian Style and my mind was kind of sort of blown. There are a few prep steps involved, but it was very easy, and everything turned out perfectly.

The second time I made them, as is probably true to my character, I refused to use a recipe and winged it. I ended up with something that was similar, but not the same as Stupid Easy Paleo's version. I altered one ingredient, and the amount of added flavor is less, so you end up with a meat ball that still retains its Asian influence, but does so a bit more subtly.

I served it over green beans tossed in olive oil, salt, and pepper (K.I.S.S.<--if you don't know what that means, I'm sorry, we can't be friends) and with a side pool of sriracha.

Did I mention sriracha? It is the perfect sauce for this recipe, because it is simultaneously hot and sweet.

Paleo Asian Pork Balls with Green Beans and Sriracha

Recipe Adapted From: Stupid Easy Paleo's Paleo Meatballs, Asian-Style
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Servings: 20-24 meat balls, I serve 4 to each person (but my husband always ends up eating 6 or so)
Ingredients (for pork balls):

• 2 pounds ground pork (turkey works too)
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp liquid aminos 
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• Sprinkle of sea salt
• 3 stems green onions
• 2 tbsp coconut oil, for browning

Ingredients (for green beans):

• 1 lb of green beans
• 2 tbsp olive oil or melted coconut oil
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375.
2. Rinse and chop green onions.
3. Combine ground pork, sesame oil, liquid aminos, fish sauce, sea salt, and green onions in a large bowl and mix well with clean hands.
4. Form into small balls, about 1 to 1.25 inches in diameter. I used an ice cream scooper the first time, but ended up just winging it. If you go for bigger ones, cook them for a few minutes longer than suggested. If you go for smaller ones, cook for a few minutes less.
5. Heat coconut oil on medium in the largest pan/skillet you own. 
6. Slowly and carefully place the pork balls into the oil, fitting in as many as you can manage without crowding them so much that they touch each other. (Note: You may have to brown them in two shifts if your skillet is not large enough)
7. Use a spatula to turn them a few times as they cook, so that you brown them all the way around (or as close as you can get).
8. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in the oven at 375 for 10-12 minutes. 
9. While pork balls are baking, steam the green beans and then toss in a large bowl with olive oil, salt, and pepper. 
10. Serve pork balls over green beans, with a side of sriracha or your sauce of choice.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• What are your favorite paleo recipes? I want to try them!

Recipe | Thin Mint Truffles (OMG)

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Last week, the Girl Scout Cookies came in at work. I swear to you,the afternoon was a solid 4 hours of the battle of self control. Somehow, I managed to make it home with a full box of Thin Mints. I knew they wouldn't last long if I left them out...

But then a tiny voice in my head whispered... truffles. Any sort of truffle or cake pop seems to be the way to go lately. Nothing pleases a crowd more than a truffle made using one of their favorite ingredients.

Don't believe me? Try Oreo Truffles, Pumpkin Cheesecake Truffles, Carrot Cake Pops, or 60 calorie cake pops.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Truffles

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I'm a huge fan of Oreo Truffles but, unfortunately, they're not the healthiest dessert (hello, Oreos!). That said, ever since the first batch of Oreo Truffles, my friends and family have asked begged for more. After my 12 Days of Pumpkin project, with my pumpkin obsession still lingering, I finally obliged them -- sort of -- by making Pumpkin Cheesecake Truffles. 

These treats are rich, creamy, and moist, but are surprisingly low calorie (YES, can we get a round of applause for the low-cal element?!). The base, a pumpkin cake, uses no eggs, no oil, and no butter -- just vanilla cake mix (you can use sugar free if you would like to make it even lower in calories) and either canned pumpkin or pumpkin puree. By mixing in low fat cream cheese, we end up with a flavor akin to pumpkin cheesecake, without the fat-saturated ingredients. A delicious but very thin outer layer of vanilla candy coating tops off these delicious Pumpkin Cheesecake Truffles. I brought them into work and they were gone within minutes! :) Enjoy!

Bake time: 25 minutes 
Total time: 1 hour (this number will vary, depending on how long you let your cake cool for)

Calories per serving: 80-100 Calories (depends on which cream cheese is used, which cake mix is used, and whether pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin is used as the butter/oil substitute)

Ingredients:

• 1 box Yellow Cake Mix
• 1 can Canned Pumpkin (or 8 oz Pumpkin Puree)
• 8 oz Low Fat Cream Cheese
• 1 package Almond Bark (Vanilla)
• 1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil

Directions:

1. Peaheat oven to 350.
2. Combine cake mix and pumpkin and beat on medium until well mixed.
3. Pour into greased glass dish and bake for 20-24 minutes (if cake box says otherwise, follow those instructions), or until a toothpick comes out clean.
4. Set the cake aside to cool (I covered mine and set it out overnight so that it was cooled the following day).
5. "Mash" the cake. Using clean hands or a fork, break the cake into crumbly pieces and add the cream cheese, mixing well with clean hands.
6. Once the cake and cream cheese are mixed well enough that no white cream cheese is visible, roll into small balls with your hands (about 1 inch in diameter). Set aside.
7. Melt almond bark in a deep bowl (this will make it easier to coat the truffles). Begin by heating for 90 seconds, then stir. Heat at 15 second intervals, stirring in between, until melted.
   (If you would like to drizzle an additional colorful layer of coating at the end, set aside 1/8 of the candy coating).*
8. Add 1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil and mix well.
9. Using two large spoons, carefully drop each truffle into the melted coating and toss around. Remove and place on parchment paper to dry. Continue this process with the rest of the truffle balls.
   *If you set aside candy coating for drizzling, melt the leftover coating after the initial coat has dried. Once it has melted, add a few drops of Vegetable Oil and stir in a few drops of coloring. I used Wilton's icing coloring, so I swirled 3 toothpicks in the coloring and then the icing. Once this is well stirred, either drizzle using a fork or use a piping bag (or plastic bag) with a very thin opening.

100 Calorie Cake Balls?! Shut The Front Door!

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Me: “Did you know you can make delicious cake balls for 100 calories?”

You: “Shut the front door!”

It's the truth, I tell ya!  These are yellow cake balls, aka moist (hate that word) yellow cake truffles dipped in chocolate bark.  Mmmm!  Amaze-balls. Just be sure to make a lot of them.  Last time I made them, the entire batch was gone within 24 hours.  Thanks, roommates!  No, but really.  Sharing is caring... right?

Anyway, my friend David asked me for this recipe after hearing they were dee-lishh-ious.  $5 bucks says whoever loved and therefore suggested them had NO idea they were 100cal.  The evil health nut strikes again.  Muahahaha.

What you need:

• 1 box Yellow cake mix (I used Sugar-Free)
• 2 bananas (to be substituted for the eggs and oil in the cake mix directions – if you’re not going for a low fat recipe, skip the bananas and use the eggs/oil).
• Water (Pretty sure you know what this is/where to find it.  If not, send me an email.  We have some talking to do).
• 1 package Cream cheese (I used 1/3 Fat)
• 1 package Melting Chocolate (for melting – I used the almond bark squares from Kroger, but Dolci Fruitta would also work)
• Kitchenware: Pan (to bake cake), aluminum foil (or something to set them on while they cool), spoons (or toothpicks if you're a perfectionist - for dipping the cake balls in chocolate).

 What you gots ta do:

1. Bake the cake!  [Follow the directions on the cake mix].  If you’re cooking low-fat, use the bananas instead of oil/fat called for in the directions.  Throw the bananas into your mixer first so they are nice and mushy when you add the cake mix and water.
2. Let the cake cool!  All the way.  Seriously. Step. Away. From. The. Cake. Put it in the fridge if you’re impatient like me.
3. Mash the cake up (this is the fun part).  Just stick your hands in it and mash it up.  
4. Add the cream cheese.  I used about 2/3 of the package - it's really not an exact science.  Mix it up using your hands.  
5. Roll into balls about an inch or two in diameter.   If it’s getting really messy, stick it in the fridge for 30 minutes so it thickens a bit and get back at it.
6. Melt the chocolate in the microwave.
7. Using two spoons (or a toothpick if you want them to look perfect), dip each cake ball into the chocolate and set on a pan or aluminum foil to cool.

P.S. My lame joke at the beginning of this post was a desperate attempt to insert a need for the following (hilarious) video.  Seriously.  Shut the front door.  You're welcome :)