In November I got this magic pot (That’s what the kids call it) called an Instant Pot! It is a programmable pressure cooker. This thing isn’t your grandma’s pressure cooker. It is so much more than a pressure cooker. It can sauté, steam, slow cook, cook rice and (the Duo version) makes yogurt. As you will see in a few minutes it can also “bake” with pressure!

This is the exact way to make the cheesecakes. I have not failed a single one yet. I have made a total of 8 since November! This is the basic recipe. You can add flavor like lemon or chocolate to this recipe and change it up a bit! I even swirled blueberry pie filling in one and it came out great!

You will need a 7 inch springform pan to make this cheesecake! I recommend the Nordic Ware 7 inch springform, but any brand will work. This cheesecake has been made with a slightly larger springform pan and a 6 inch, but your results will vary.

Ingredients

Crust
1/2 cup crushed cookies or graham crackers, about 6 cookies
2 tablespoons butter melted

Filling
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature!! (Important!!)
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 eggs, room temperature (Important!!)

Instructions:
1) Grease cheesecake pan with butter. I spray with cooking spray also. I make sure the butter is mashed into the cracks. This keeps it from leaking.
2) Crush cookies finely and add melted butter. Mash into bottom of cheesecake pan and put in refrigerator until butter firms up. Approximately 5 minutes.
3) Mix together everything but the eggs. Once mixed add egg one at a time. Do not over mix!
4) Add mixture to cheesecake pan and lift pan and tap gently on the counter to get the air bubbles to come to the surface.
5) Make a foil sling. Fold approximately 2 feet of foil lengthwise to make a sling to lower and raise your cake out of the pot.
6) add one cup of water to instant pot. Add metal rack that came with the Instant Pot.
7) lower cheesecake into pot using the foil sling you just made.
8) fold sling inward to make and “A” shape or teepee. Leave it that way.
9) put instant pot lid on and lock in place.
10) press MANUAL 30 min.
11) IP will come to pressure and count down when pressurized.
12) When unit beeps that it is done allow the time to count up to 10. This is a natural release of pressure. Once it reaches 10 release the rest of the pressure by moving the valve to “venting”.
13) Immediately remove the cheesecake using the foil sling and set on cooling rack.
14) using a paper towel, dab the corners of the paper towel along the top of the cake and the bottom of the outside of the pan to soak up as much water as possible.
15) WALK AWAY!! LOL. Leave the cake to cool to room temp for two hours. Don’t mess with it.
16) At this time put it in the refrigerator for 4 hours. If you can wait that long. I like to leave the edge of the springform on until I am ready to serve the cheesecake.
17) enjoy.

TIPS:

The post How to make cheesecake in the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker! appeared first on That Savage Life.

I posted these on my Facebook page and everyone wanted to know my recipe. Honestly when I posted them I didn’t have a real recipe. These are so easy I just toss everything in a muffin pan, bake, cool and store so they can be reheated all week for breakfast. My boys love that they can pull it out of the refrigerator themselves and toss it in the microwave. When we reheat these we only heat them for around 40 seconds, otherwise they will get crunchy.

My general recipe for a 12 muffin tin:
12 eggs (we strongly prefer farm fresh)
2 heaping tbsp of cooked meat (we use turkey breakfast sausage, ham or bacon would work well also)
Various vegetables. If the veggies are hard like peppers, onions then we pre-saute them until they are soft. If the vegetable is already soft like spinach, kale or arugula we just toss it in.

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Directions:
Grease each cup of the muffin tin. We use a Pampered Chef tin so I don’t use liners.
In a large bowl scramble your 12 eggs.
Place 2 tbsp of meat in each muffin cup.
Add vegetables to the top.
Fill each cup with egg about 3/4 of the way to the top. The egg will expand.
Bake at 375 degrees for about 35 minutes until the tops are golden and the centers are no longer runny.

To order your own non-stick awesome muffin pan please click here: Kati Woods Pampered Chef

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If you really want to change it up sometimes we add spices like creole seasoning or garlic. The boys really just like the turkey sausage and egg muffins. Experiment a little and see what your family likes!

The post Breakfast egg muffins appeared first on That Savage Life.

I am on a quest to find what the average family spends a month on groceries! I polled a ton of people on Facebook and I would love input from my readers!

What do you spend a month on groceries for your house?

How many people do you feed?

Do you buy some, all or no organic foods?

Click the picture below and it will take you to Instagram so that you can be a part of the conversation! If you don’t have Instagram that is ok! Leave me a comment here!

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I’m doing a little research for my blog and would love for my readers to answer this question for me!! Leave a comment here or send me a dm please! Also knowing if you buy all organic would help too! #research #blogger #foodblogger #food #help #question #feedbackneeded #qa #answerthis #paleo #weightloss #budget

A photo posted by Jennifer Hodgkiss (@the_paleo_gypsy) on Sep 15, 2015 at 11:10am PDT

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The post What is your monthly food budget? appeared first on That Savage Life.

We found ourselves with an abundance of overly ripe bananas. What I was wanting was Paula Deans Banana Cake with cream cheese frosting, but we all know that would have been a terrible idea! This recipe is my attempt to replicate the taste of Paula’s famous cake in a bar format that my family can eat.  The boys wouldn’t stay out of it and the entire pan of Paleo Frosted Banana Bars were GONE in less than 24 hours. My husband might have helped a little! These are great as dessert, but they are super awesome in the morning with a cup of black coffee! I like mine without the icing, but the boys really ladled their icing on! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did!

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Paleo Frosted Banana Bar recipe:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Butter or Ghee
3 cups Casava flour or a mix of almond/coconut flour
2 cups Coconut Sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Himalayan sea salt
3 eggs beaten
3/4 cup coconut oil
4 large very ripe bananas mashed
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions: 
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) In a large bowl gently combine butter, flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, eggs and oil. Don’t over mix. Just mix enough to combine ingredients.
3) Mash in banana, pecans and vanilla.
4) In a greased (you can use coconut oil) bar pan press the dough all the way to the sides.
5) Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes until the dough is firm and cooked lightly golden brown.
6) Allow to cool completely and drizzle icing just before eating! (Recipe for icing to follow!)

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Icing:

Ingredients:
1 can COLD coconut full fat milk from the refrigerator.
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions for icing:
1) Open can and drain off the liquid. The fat should be solid.
2) Add coconut milk fat and vanilla in a bowl and whip with mixers until fluffy.
3) Drizzle and enjoy!

** You can also use a cashew cream cheese, but I have not tried this yet!

The post Paleo Frosted Banana Bars appeared first on That Savage Life.

This year the kids and I are participating in a large cookie exchange. We tested TONS of recipes (no one was complaining) and found the perfect ones! These cookies are so simple. With only four ingredients they really are amazing. I tested these out on my co-workers, friends at Thanksgiving and the neighbors and they were a hit!

It’s very simple. Buy a box of cake mix, add ingredients and bake. That’s it. They are guaranteed to turn out soft and chewy every time! We tied SEVERAL combinations and we liked them all. I am really convinced that you can not go wrong with any combination!

Cake batter cookie recipe!

Ingredients:
1 box of cake mix
2 eggs
1 tsp baking POWDER
1/3 cup vegetable oil (Others work fine also)

Yes, that is really it! Although you can add any mix-ins that you want. I will include some of our combinations after the instructions!

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Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Mix eggs, oil and baking powder in a bowl until combined. Slowly add dry cake mix. You want the batter to by thick so you can roll it into balls.
Now is the time to add mix-ins. This could be nuts, chocolate chips, candy pieces, dried fruits. You make up your own fun combinations and report back!
Roll into 1.5 inch balls and place on a baking sheet. We used a pampered chef stoneware, so we did not need it greased, but you may.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until slightly golden brown.
Remove and let cool on cookie sheet for a few minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.

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Our personal favorite Cake Batter Cookie combinations:
Cherry Chip cake mix + Dried cherries + Chocolate Chips
Spice cake mix + Roll in cinnamon sugar before baking
Funfetti cake mix + Extra sprinkles before baking
French Vanilla cake mix + Chocolate chips
Devils Food cake mix + Chocolate chunks
Strawberry cake mix + Chocolate Chips

What combination will you come up with? We would love to hear!

The post Cake Batter Cookie Recipe appeared first on That Savage Life.

Purple Sweet Potatoes

Purple is probably one of my all time favorite colors. Boy was I surprised to find out that PURPLE sweet potatoes existed! We discovered them while looking through Pinterest and I asked our local grocery store to order them for me. It took them a few months to actually get them in, but I was so excited once I had them in my hands! These potatoes are so vibrant and fun to work with. Plus the kids think they are really cool!

Our favorite way to eat them is first baked, then pan-fried in coconut oil. Using this method to cook them does something magical to them. The outside gets a delicate, sweet crispy layer while the inside is bright and soft. They are crunchy, soft, sweet and we like to add a little salt to the outside to give it a little salty kick. These are so good that my husband request them for his lunch. He eats them cold right out of his lunchbox. Below is our method of cooking them, but I will also link you to some other amazing recipes that I am dying to try!

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Instructions:
1) Wash the purple sweet potatoes.
2) Slather coconut oil on the skin of the potatoes.
3) Place on baking sheet in oven.
4) Bake at 400 degrees until a knife is easily inserted into the potato. Usually this takes around an hour, but it will vary depending on the size of the potato.
5) Remove from oven and allow to cool.
6) Slice into round disks.
7) Put a few tablespoons of coconut oil in a frying pan on medium heat.
8) Fry purple sweet potatoes until the outside is darker and crispy.
9) Lightly salt if desired.
10) Enjoy right away or store in an airtight container.

Check out these other interesting recipes for purple sweet potatoes:

Mashed Purple Sweet Potatoes:
http://jeanetteshealthyliving.com/2013/11/mashed-stokes-purple-sweet-potato.html

Purple Sweet Potato Muffins:
http://jaybirdblog.com/purple-sweet-potato-paleo-muffins-with-rosemary-golden-raisins/

Sweet Potato Gnocchi:
http://sarahlynnsmile.com/2014/01/08/paleo-purple-sweet-potato-gnocchi/

Sweet Potato Soup:
http://balancingpaleo.com/2013/12/15/purple-sweet-potato-soup/

Sweet Potato Brownies:
http://morethanpaleo.com/sweet-potato-brownies/

The post Purple Sweet Potatoes appeared first on That Savage Life.

Silky Paleo Pumpkin Pie

It is that time of year when the leaves are changing, the weather is crisp and pumpkin EVERYTHING is available! I can only handle seeing so many pumpkin desserts before I have to try to make them myself! I made this pie and put it in the fridge to cool and set-up while I was at work. I got home and my husband and kids had devoured almost all of it leaving me a small piece to try. Luckily I was able to get pictures before they claimed it.

My goal here was to have a thick, silky pumpkin pie. The cream of the canned coconut milk really makes a huge difference in the way the pie turns out. It is easy to remove just the cream. When in the can the coconut milk will separate from the cream. Don’t shake it up or incorporate it at all. You want to pour off the liquid or just scoop out the thick, creamy part to use and discard the liquid. Once all the ingredients are mixed together put them in the blender or a food processor. This is the best way to fully puree’ all the ingredients and make your pie nice and smooth.

Ingredients for almond flour pie crust:
2 1/2 cups almond flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup palm oil shortening
2 Tbsp raw honey
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions for the almond flour pie crust:
1) Combine all dry ingredients.
2) In a separate bowl combine all wet ingredients. Be sure to melt palm oil before combining.
3) Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients.
4) Press into a round pie plate.
5) Fill with pie filling

Instructions for paleo pumpkin pie filling:
1) Combine all ingredients into a blender or food processor. Blend very thoroughly until mixture is smooth and silky.
2) Pour into prepared pie crust.
3) Wrap pie crust with foil or pie crust protector.
4) Bake at 350 degrees for 45 min.
5) Remove from oven and allow to cool in refrigerator until pie is set firmly.
6) Slice and enjoy with some delicious coffee.

The post Silky Paleo Pumpkin Pie appeared first on That Savage Life.

I always see the banana pancakes when I scroll through Pinterest and wanted to try them. Bananas in our house never make it to the brown, banana bread stage. Heck, they don’t even make it past the green tip phase before my boys devour them! I bought some plantains to fry in coconut oil and never got around to it. I had these plantains sitting on the counter almost rotting so I decided to try a little experiment!

Did you know that plantains are higher in nutritional value than bananas?

Per 100 grams plantains have:
2% more iron
3% more magnesium
4% more potassium
16% more vitamin C
21% more Vitamin A

Besides the higher nutritional value of plantains I like to cook with them because they don’t get slimy like a banana does. They are dense and hold up really well to mashing and cooking. The key to sweet pancakes without added sugar is a super ripe plantain. The skin must be extremely black and shriveling before it is sweet. Cut lengthwise down the plantain to open.

These pancakes were quite the surprise! With only two ingredients they turned out fluffy and really delicious! My husband and I ate them plain, right off the skillet. The kids drizzled theirs with maple syrup. Either way they were wonderful and will be a Paleo breakfast staple around here!

Two ingredient fluffy plantain pancakes:

Yields 3 four-inch pancakes per plantain

Ingredients: 
1 BLACK SKIN RIPE plantain
1 egg
(optional) Pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon
(optional) top with pure maple syrup

Instructions:
Mash together one plantain and one egg. (Add spices if you want) Once mashed together put in blender or use a stick blender to puree the ingredients. Mixture should be liquified and thick.
Heat a skillet on LOW heat with coconut oil.
Pour about a 1/3 cup of mixture into the skillet on LOW heat. When bubbles start to appear on the top of the pancake it is time to flip. Make sure it is on LOW. These burn easily. Low and slow is the key!
While cooking don’t mess with them or press them down. This will make them light and fluffy!
Serve and enjoy!

The post Two ingredient fluffy plantain pancakes! appeared first on That Savage Life.

These little treats came about because we did not have graham crackers on hand when we started the fire! We really try to stay away from all gluten and grain when we started eating Paleo foods 8 months ago. I saw some gluten-free graham crackers at Natural Grocers and they were just so expensive and it has been my experience that most store-bought gluten-free products don’t taste that great anyway. So we skipped them and came up with our own version of S’mores that we actually love more than the traditional version! You can use chocolate bars in the middle or anything else you can come up with! We would love to hear about your fillings!  They were a HIT with all of our guest and we hope that your family loves them too!

Instructions:
-Break apart Hershey bar and set aside.
-Place GIANT marshmallow on a stick and slow roast it. Lightly brown the outside evenly all the way around by turning slowly. If it catches fire, blow it out and move marshmallow back from the fire. The key is to not allow it to burn because the marshmallow will flake and you won’t have a nice pocket for your chocolate to fit into.
-Once it is nicely browned, use your fingers to remove the outset crust from the marshmallow.
-Insert chocolate and press together.
-Enjoy!

The post Pocket S’mores! appeared first on That Savage Life.

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Since starting our Paleo journey I have been on a hunt for the PERFECT chocolate chip cookie recipe. I wanted a cookie that was soft and chewy and that still tastes good the next day! I also wanted a cookie that took very little time to prepare and a recipe that was not full of complicated instructions or hard to find ingredients. I heard rave reviews about Against All Grain’s Real Deal Chocolate Chip cookies and decided to try them. I checked out the recipe, but I didn’t have all the ingredients. I substituted some ingredients and let me tell you, these cookies are blow-your-mind good!! My husband and kids ask for them often! My husband’s co-workers have tried them and friends of mine have had them and not a single person disliked them! They are THAT good. Just trust me and try them for yourself! The best part is these cookies are gluten, soy, grain and dairy free!

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup ghee (you can use grass-fed butter if you tolerate it)
• ¼ cup coconut palm sugar (We like Navitas Naturals Organic Coconut Palm Sugar)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons raw local honey 
• 1 large egg
• 1½ cups almond flour (We like Honeyville Blanched Almond Flour)
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour (We like Nutiva coconut flour)
  
• ½ teaspoon baking soda 
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup chocolate chips (We like Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Chips)

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Instructions:

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
-Using a food processor (or high powered blender) mix ghee, coconut sugar, honey, vanilla and egg until smooth and combined.
-Add almond flour, baking soda, salt and coconut flour and mix just enough to combine ingredients. If you over mix baked goods tend to get hard once they are cooked.
-Scrape sides down and add in chocolate chips of your choice. Mix with a wooden or rubber spoon.
-Form 1 1/2 inch dough balls and place on a cookie sheet. We use a Pampered Chef stoneware, but you can also add a Silpat or parchment to your cookie sheet and it will be fine.
-Cookie do not spread much so you will need to form them as you would like for them to come out.
-Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges are golden browned. The cookie will still be soft to the touch in the center. Remove and let sit and cool on a baking rack.
-Best enjoyed right away, but if you need to save any cookies place them in an air-tight container.

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