It's Thanksgiving week!! This stuffing was amazing and could easily be a Thanksgiving side dish or breakfast. I added 1 lb of lean ground beef to this recipe to make it more into a meal for the week. I also did not add the dried cranberries, but I think that would only make this meal taste even more yummy and fall-like. I did add the egg to try and make everything stick together, but I think adding an extra pound of beef means I should have used two eggs. Other then those alterations, I made the recipe as is and will definitely be making this again for family and friends to try too. This was absolutely delicious!

Paleo Butternut Sausage Stuffing with Apples and Cranberries
Ingredients:

• 5 cups butternut squash cubes (1/2 inch)
• 2 tbsp fat of choice for roasting
• ¼ tsp salt
• 3 tbsp cooking fat such as ghee, coconut oil, or lard
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 lb mild sweet ground sausage, casings removed
• 1 large apple (or 2 small) cored and chopped
• ¼-1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp poultry seasoning
• ¾ cup dried cranberries
• 1 egg, whisked (optional)
• Fresh parsley for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. First prepare to roast the butternut squash cubes.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the cubes with your fat of choice and ¼ tsp salt, and spread out in a single layer on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
3. Roast in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, stirring or turning once for even browning. Squash should be soft and toasty brown before removing.
4. While the squash is roasting get your other ingredients chopped and ready.
5. Heat a large skillet (cast iron/ovenproof is ideal) over med to med-hi heat and add the cooking fat of choice. Once the fat is heated, add the chopped onion and celery and cook for about 3-5 minutes, until softened.
6. Add the ground sausage to the skillet and use a wooden spoon to break up lumps and stir as it cooks. Cook the sausage with the onions and celery until browned.
7. Add the chopped apples and cook for a couple of minutes until just softened. Now add the salt and poultry seasoning. Lower the heat and stir to combine all flavors. Simmer for 2 more minutes, remove from heat and set aside.
8. Once the butternut squash is roasted (it should be light brown and crisp on the outside) add it to the sausage mixture along with the dried cranberries and toss to combine. Now add the whisked egg* to the mixture and toss/mix to incorporate.
9. Lower the oven heat to 375 degrees. If you used an ovenproof skillet, you can bake right in the skillet. If your skillet is not ovenproof, transfer the entire mixture to a 2-3 qt baking dish and spread out evenly.
10. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until toasty and set. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired. Enjoy!!

Notes:
*Adding the egg will make the stuffing stick together as it sets in the oven. It's an optional step depending on your preference.

Original recipe found here

This casserole is seriously even more amazing and delicious then it sounds and looks! I have always loved the barbecue, chicken, and bacon combination, so anytime I find a paleo recipe with these ingredients I am going to try it. If you follow my blog some, you know my go-to options lately for BBQ sauce are either Tessemae's BBQ sauce or Steve's PaleoChef Peach BBQ, both sold at the Whole Foods near me. For this casserole I used Tessemae's BBQ sauce and absolutely loved it. I only had a few other notes about this recipe... First, make sure you buy a large spaghetti squash! Mine looked large in the store, but I was disappointed with how much spaghetti squash I actually got out of it after cooking. Side note, if you've never made spaghetti squash before check out these easy instructions for guidance (and definitely cook for 45 minutes). A second note I had was I didn't use a pound of bacon. As much as I love bacon, this casserole made me six meals and I did not want to eat a pound of bacon in six meals. I used 6 slices instead, but I think anywhere between 6-8 slices of bacon is plenty. Okay that is all. Seriously go make this recipe, you won't regret it!

Paleo Barbecue Chicken Casserole
Ingredients:

• 1 large spaghetti squash, cooked and shredded
• 1 pound beef bacon, divided (I used 6 slices)
• 1 red onion, diced
• 2 pounds chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 1/2-2 cups paleo bbq sauce (I used 1 cup of ​Tessemae's BBQ sauce)
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• salt to taste, depends on how salty the bbq sauce is
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3 eggs, room temperature

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400° and line a 13x9 with parchment paper.
2. Place cooked spaghetti squash in a large bowl and pat dry with paper towel.
3. Cut bacon with scissors and place in a large skillet.
4. Cook on medium/high until crispy. Remove half onto a plate and add onion and chicken to remaining bacon.
5. Cook until onion is tender and chicken is cooked through.
6. Add chicken mixture to the spaghetti squash and then add the barbecue sauce. Start with 1 1/2 cups and add more if needed. Add the pepper, salt if needed, and garlic powder. Stir until everything is mixed well.
7. Add the eggs, stirring completely.
8. Place mixture into prepared pan, top with remaining bacon and bake 30-35 minutes.

​Original recipe found here

Casseroles are typically easy one dish recipes, but they hardly ever keep together for an appetizing looking picture. So despite how it looks, this recipe turned out pretty yummy. It is pretty basic with just chicken, Brussels, broccoli, Italian seasoning, and a sweet potato mash, so if you like all of those ingredients then you will enjoy this recipe; it tastes just like it sounds. If you end up trying this one out, don't skip out on adding salt to taste! That is definitely needed for this simple casserole recipe.

Italian Chicken Casserole 
Ingredients:

• 1 Large sweet potato (I used two sweet potatoes)
• 2 Tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ½ Small yellow onion (diced)
• 1 Clove Garlic (minced)
• 8 boneless chicken thighs cubed (2-3 pounds) (I used chicken breasts)
• 1 Head broccoli
• 2 Cups Brussels sprouts (halved) (I used 1lb of Brussels)
• 1 (14 ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
• Salt, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Peel and chop the sweet potato into 1-inch cubes. Toss with 1 tablespoon coconut oil and 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning and place on a lined baking sheet. Bake for until fork tender (20-25 minutes).
3. In a pan over medium-high heat, melt 1 tablespoon coconut oil. Add the diced onion to the pan and cook until translucent. Stir in the minced garlic and cook and additional 1-2 minutes. Toss in the cubed chicken and cook until no longer pink (10 minutes), stirring occasionally.
4. Remove the stem of the head of broccoli, keeping only the florets. Trim and halve the brussels sprouts. Toss the broccoli and brussels sprouts into the chicken, and cook an additional 1-2 minutes. Remove the pan from heat.
5. To prepare the sauce, add the roasted sweet potatoes, coconut milk and remaining 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning to a high speed blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Add salt, to taste.
6. Scoop the chicken mixture into a well-greased 8x11 glass baking dish, leaving any liquid in the pan. Pour the sweet potato sauce evenly over the chicken. Bake for 30 minutes.
7. Let the casserole sit 10 minutes before serving.

Original recipe found here

I was looking around for a new sweet potato recipe and this Sweet Potato Lasagna caught my eye. The original recipe does include cheese, so if you are not dairy-free, check out the link below for that recipe. Even without the cheese though this turned out to be an awesome paleo version of the classic lasagna! It did take a little longer to make then I expected, but that is because I doubled the sweet potatoes and it took about an hour in the oven until the top layer of sweet potatoes were tender. Also, if you are making this paleo version without cheese, I would suggest using two eggs instead of one because one egg was not enough to pour over the casserole twice. Overall, I loved this sweet potato casserole dish and will definitely be making it again!

Sweet Potato Lasagna
Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, thinly sliced (I used 4)
• 1½ lbs. lean ground pork
• 1 egg
• 2½ cups tomato sauce
• 8 cremini mushrooms, sliced
• ½ yellow onions, diced
• 2 clove garlic, minced
• ⅓ cup chopped parsley
• ½ tsp. kosher salt
• ½ tsp. pepper
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. dried thyme

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 F.
2. Slice the sweet potatoes very thin, approx. ⅛ - 1/16 of an inch. (You can either use a mandolin or a sharp knife.) The more uniform the better so they cook evenly.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the egg and and finely chopped italian parsley. Mix well and then set aside.
4. Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Once hot, add the lean ground pork, dried oregano, dried thyme, kosher salt, and ground black pepper. Cook this until it becomes well-browned, which should take 6-8 minutes, stirring frequently.
5. Once the meat is well-browned, remove it from the pan and set aside. Reserve about 1 tablespoon of the rendered fat from the pork. If you have more than that, you can discard the rest.
6. Add diced yellow onion and cook it over medium-high heat until it starts to become tender.
7. Then, add in the cremini mushrooms and cook for an additional 4-6 minutes, or until the mushrooms start to become tender.
8. Add in minced garlic and cook for one more minute, until the garlic becomes fragrant.
9. Return the cooked pork and add the tomato sauce into the pan and stir to combine. Once this is heated through, remove from the heat.
10. To assemble the lasagna, use a 9x16 casserole dish and create the first layer with the sweet potato slices. Make sure to overlap each slice to create an even layer.
11. Pour out half the meat sauce over the sweet potato slices and spread out evenly.
12. Pour out half of the egg mixture over the meat sauce and spread evenly. (It’s okay if it doesn’t look perfect - it will still be super tasty.)
13. Repeat these three steps with another layer of sweet potato slices, meat sauce, and then the egg mixture.
14. Cover with tin foil.
15. Place in the oven bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the sweet potato slices are almost fully tender. (It took me 60 minutes since I used more sweet potatoes and they were also slightly thicker).

Original recipe found here

I realized this weekend that I still had some PaleoChef Sriracha Sauce left, so I decided to try this casserole dish out and it was just as amazing as it looks! I should note that for the first time in my meal prep history I bought rotisserie chicken instead of making my own shredded chicken. Don't judge. Anyways, this casserole dish was so simple and easy to make! I do think that the toppings are necessary, so if you make this, don't skip out on those! Next time I will also add some bacon. Let me know if you make this and what toppings you added!

Paleo Buffalo Chicken Casserole
Ingredients:

• 1.5 large head cauliflower, grated
• 6 eggs
• 1.5 pound chicken, cooked and shredded (You can also use rotisserie chicken!)
• 1/2 white onion, diced
• 1.5 red bell pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 cup buffalo sauce (I used PaleoChef Sriracha Sauce)

Optional Toppings:

• Crispy bacon
• Diced red onion
• Diced green onion
• Diced avocado
• Diced tomato

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400° F.
2. In a large bowl combine the grated cauliflower and eggs. Mix well until full incorporated.
3. Stir in the remaining ingredients and pour into a casserole dish.
4. Bake for 45-60 minutes depending on what size dish you used. Mine is a 2.5 quart round dish and I baked it for exactly 1 hour.
5. Top with desired toppings and serve.

Original recipe found here

I spent more time then usual in the kitchen last weekend, so I decided to choose recipes this week that would be a little bit less time consuming, like this casserole dish! I am always on the look for a good casserole recipe and this one is worth saving. I have made a Hamburger Casserole recipe before that was good, but turned out a little plain, so I was excited to find one that added some different flavor. I altered the original recipe's ingredient amounts so I could make six meals, so check out the original recipe for comparison. My only note about this recipe is if I were to make it again, I might decide to drain the beef or add some egg because the casserole did not stay together when I went to serve it. Let me know what you think about this one if you try it!

Bacon Burger Cauliflower Rice Casserole
Ingredients:

• 2 cauliflower heads, riced
• 2 lb ground beef
• 8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 10 ounces tomato sauce or puree, (make sure tomatoes are the only ingredients, Pomi brand is best)
• 1 medium tomato, sliced
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp celery seed
• ½ tsp black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat Oven to 400 F, and oil a 9 x 13 casserole dish.
2. In a food processor or blender, grind cauliflower florets into a rice texture.Set aside.
3. In a large skillet pan over medium high combine and brown: ground beef, garlic powder, paprika, sea salt, celery seed, and black pepper. Stir and cook until browned (do not drain beef).
4. Add tomato sauce and cauliflower rice to the ground beef skillet. Stir and continue cooking over medium to medium high heat for 6 minutes. Remove from heat.
5. Carefully spoon or dump all ingredients from the skillet into the casserole dish. Spread around casserole dish evenly.
6. Sprinkle the top of the casserole with bacon crumbles. Place sliced tomatoes on top, and bake for 20 mins. Remove from oven and serve.

Original recipe found here

You must try this one! Make your own taco seasoning too, it's pretty simple. This recipe is a little more time consuming because there are vegetables to be cut and you have to shred the sweet potatoes, but it is totally worth it. Find a sous chef and make this.

Paleo Tex-Mex Casserole
Ingredients:

• 1 – 1.5 pounds grass-fed ground beef 
• 2 cups spinach
• 2-3 carrots, diced (about a cup)
• 1 parsnip, diced (about a cup and a half)
• 1 zucchini, diced (6″ zucchini/one cup)
• 2 cups diced bell peppers
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 14.5 oz can organic diced tomatoes
• 3 TBSP preferred Paleo-friendly fat, like bacon grease
• ⅓ cup taco seasoning (make your own paleo version:
  ​-1 tsp garlic powder
  -1/2 tsp onion powder
  -1/2 tsp oregano 
  -1/4 tsp black pepper
  -1 tablespoon chili powder
  -1 tsp paprika 
  -1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
  -1/4 tsp sea salt
  -1 tsp cumin)
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 5 cups shredded sweet potatoes
• ½ cup coconut oil, melted
• ½ tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp chili powder
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• Optional garnish: fresh cilantro, sliced scallions, avocado and hot sauce

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees (Fahrenheit).
2. Chop, dice and mince all the veggies and garlic.
3. Melt half of your fat of choice in a very large skillet or heavy-bottomed pan and add in all the veggies.
4. Season with that ½ tsp of sea salt, toss together and cook these down until they are just about fork tender. Remove from the pan and set aside for later.
5. In the same pan, add in the other half of your fat and get it up to temp.
6. Crumble in the ground beef, top with taco seasoning (purchased or your own blend, whatever you are comfortable with), mix and brown.
7. While the ground beef browns, peel enough sweet potatoes to get about 5 cups worth — I used 3 fairly large ones. Grate the sweet potatoes and set in a large mixing bowl.
8. Melt ½ cup of coconut oil and pour over the shredded sweet potatoes while warm, toss immediately! The coconut oil will start to solidify again as it cools, so work efficiently.
9. Once the coconut oil is mixed well, sprinkle the sweet potatoes with the onion powder, chili powder and ground coriander. Mix together.
10. Add the cooked vegetables and the diced tomatoes back into the pan with the beef, mix carefully to bring everything together and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes.
11. Transfer all of this veggie-meaty goodness to a large casserole dish (I filled a 9″ x 13″ pan).**I'd drain it before transferring to casserole dish** Top with the seasoned, shredded sweet potatoes, cover with foil and pop this in the oven.
12. Bake at 375°F for 20-30 minutes, then remove the foil and broil on low for 5 minutes — or until the sweet potatoes have browned and crisped up a bit.
13. To serve, top with fresh cilantro and sliced scallions with some avocado on the side!

​
Original recipe found here

Next time I make this one I will double the spices or even add more spices. I ended up topping with more salt and pepper because it tasted a little plain. A good and quick casserole recipe though that I will definitely be making again.

Hamburger Casserole
Ingredients:

• 1 large head cauliflower
• 1lb ground beef
• ½ tsp cumin
• ¼ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• Sea salt and pepper
• 1 cup coconut milk (I don't shake the can so I can just use the thick part of the coconut milk, then add a little extra of the liquid part if needed)
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup sliced almonds

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cut the cauliflower florets into smaller pieces.
3. Place a steamer pot over medium heat with a few inches of water. Add the cauliflower and season with salt. Steam until barely cooked and them remove and set aside.
4. Place the ground beef in a frying pan over medium heat and season with salt and pepper, cumin, paprika and oregano. Break up the beef into small pieces with spatula. When the meat is mostly cooked remove from heat and set aside.
5. In a small bowl, beat the eggs, coconut milk and broth together with a pinch of salt and pepper.
6. In a casserole pan, layer the cauliflower and ground beef. Pour the egg mixture over it making sure everything is covered.
7. Bake the casserole for 40-45 minutes until the center is set.
8. Add the almonds and broil for 2-3 minutes.