Italian-Style Chuck Roast and Romaine prosciutto salad

Roast:
3 lb boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 c. almond flour
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. lemon pepper
2 T coconut oil
14.5 oz can organic chicken broth
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
8 oz package sliced mushrooms
14.5 oz can fire-roasted tomatoes

Combine roast, flour, garlic salt and lemon pepper in a large bowl; toss to coat roast.  Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add roast; cook 8 minutes or until browned on all sides; add 1 cup chicken broth to the skillet, stirring with a wooden spoon to loosed browned bits.  Transfer roast mixture to a 5-7 quart slow cooker.  Add garli, onion, bell peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes and remaining broth.  Cover and cook on low 8 hours

Salad:
2 heads Romaine lettuce
1/4 c olive oil
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 tsp raw honey
3 oz thinly sliced prosciutto
1/4 c. chopped toasted pecans
1/2 c. chopped carrots
1 cucumber, sliced

Wash and chop lettuce, and divide between six plates, sprinkle carrots, cucumber and top with prosciutto.  Drizzle with vinaaigrett (combine oil, vinegar, and honey) and sprinkle with pecans (toast pecans in a dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant).

Apple-Bacon Turkey Burgers and Easy Braised Spinach

4 slices bacon
1 onion, chopped
1/2 medium apple, finely chopped
2 tsp chopped fresh sage
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 lb package lean ground turkey
1 large egg, beaten

Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until crisp; crumble bacon and reserve drippings.  Cook onion, apple, sage, garlic salt and pepper in hot drippings 7 minutes or until apple is soft; remove from heat, and cool.  Preheat grill to medium-high heat.  Combine turkey, egg, onion mixture and bacon in a bowl; shape mixture into 6 (1/2 inch thick) patties.  Place on grill rack rubbed with olive oil.  Grill patties, covered with grill lid, 5 to 6 minutes per side or until done.

Braised Spinach:
4 slices bacon
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
10 oz package baby spinach
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp lemon pepper

Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until crisp; crumble bacon and reserve drippings in skillet.  Cook onion and garlic in hot drippings 8 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring frequently.  Add vinegar, spinach, salt and lemon pepper; cook 3 to 4 minutes or until spinach wilts.

Broiled Garlic-Rosemary Steak

2 T oilve oil

2 T fresh chopped rosemary

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

2 lb top sirloin steak (or your favorite type of steak)

1 clove garlic, cut in half

Preheat boiler.  Combine oil, rosemary, salt and pepper in a small bowl.  Rub mixture over steak on a broiler pan rubbed with olive oil.  Broil 5 minutes; rub firmly with cut sides of garlic, then turn steak.  Broil 5 minutes longer or to desired degrees of doneness.  

Sour Cream Vanilla Pudding Bundt Cake

Sour Cream Vanilla Pudding Bundt Cake

Ingredients:
Box of yelllow cake mix (of course, you can use any flavor of cake mix you'd like!)
1 pkg instant vanilla pudding mix
1 tbs vanilla extract (you could also use various flavors of extracts - almond, orange, etc would be good)
1/4 cup sour cream
3 eggs
1/3 cup oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
Combine cake mix and instant pudding. Add eggs, oil, water and vanilla and mix until smooth. Incorporate sour cream and scoop into greased bundt pan and bake 45-55 mins or until done.

Easy right?!? I topped mine with a homemade chocolate glaze, but you could use any kind of frosting or glaze you like.  Or eat it plain.  Enjoy!

smores fudge bars

S'mores Fudge Bars

YIELD: 9 large squares or 18 small squares

ingredients:

Crust:
20 full graham crackers
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Fudge filling:
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

Marshmallow topping:
2 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

directions:

For the crust:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with foil.

Place the graham crackers, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Add the melted butter and pulse until the mixture is moistened. Press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

For the filling:
In a small saucepan set over medium-low heat, combine the chocolate chips and condensed milk. Heat until the mixture is melted, thick, and smooth, stirring constantly. Pour over graham cracker crust. Place in the refrigerator while making the marshmallow topping.

For the marshmallow topping:
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan set over medium-high heat, combine the sugar, corn syrup, water, and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil and continue to cook until a candy thermometer registers exactly 240°F. Immediately remove from heat. Turn the mixture on low speed and carefully and gradually drizzle the syrup into the egg whites. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until the mixture is thick and glossy and looks like marshmallow fluff, about 7 minutes longer. Add in the vanilla and beat until combined.

Spread the marshmallow topping evenly over the chocolate fudge layer. Use akitchen torch to gently torch the marshmallow layer until lightly golden. Alternatively, place the pan under the broiler and broil for 1 minute, or until lightly golden.

Refrigerate the pan for at least 1 hour before cutting into squares and serving. The squares can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Brown Butter Gingersnaps

Brown Butter Soft Batch Style Gingersnaps from picky palate

Prep time: 20 min | Cook time: 10 min | Total time: 30 min

Ingredients

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup softened or melted coconut oil
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1 large egg
• 2 cups all purpose Gold Medal Flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar for rolling dough in

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line a large baking sheet with a silpat liner or parchment paper.
2. Place butter into a small saucepan over medium heat. Melt and cook/stir until browned. Takes a good 5-8 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 15 minutes.
3. Place cooled brown butter (ok if it’s still warm) into a stand mixer or large mixing bowl. Add coconut oil, brown sugar, molasses and egg, beating on medium until well combined. Slowly add flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger. Mix until just combined. Dough will be thick. Roll heaping tablespoons of dough into granulated sugar and place onto prepared baking sheet. Place 1 inch apart to allow for spreading. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until baked through. Remove and let cool on baking sheet for at least 15 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. Serve room temperature or chilled.

Makes 2 dozen cookies

Snickerdoodle Muffins with optional GF, DF, SF

Snickerdoodle Muffins

2 sticks unsalted butter (coconut oil)
1 cup sugar (honey/agave or coconut sugar)
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp cream of tartar
3/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/4 cup sour cream (kefir or coconut milk)
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour (GF flour)

1/2 cup sugar and 1 TBSP cinnamon mixed together for rolling*

1.Cream the butter and sugar until soft about 3 to 5 minutes. Add in the vanilla. Add in the eggs one at a time and mix until each is incorporated.

2.In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cream of tartar and nutmeg.

3.Add the flour mixture and the sour cream alternately to the egg-butter mixture in the additions. Start with the flour and end with the flour. Scrape the bowl occasionally.

4. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out muffin batter one at a time and drop into a shallow bowl filled with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Roll the muffin around in the mixture until it is covered completely in cinnamon sugar. Place muffin into muffin tin. Depending on the size of your tins, you should get about 12 to 14 muffins. Bake them for approx. 20-22 minutes in a 350F oven or until they are golden brown.