Scallopped Sweet potatoes

INGREDIENTS

• 2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 3-4 medium potatoes)
• 8 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
• 2 1/2 cups grated Gruyere cheese (about 8 ounces)
• 1 tablespoon butter, cut into 8 cubes

HERB CREAM

• 3 cups heavy cream
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped or 1 tsp. dried)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives (or 1 tsp. dried)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme (or ½ tsp. dried)
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Add the “Herb Cream” ingredients to a medium saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Simmer for 5-10 minutes while you grease a 9×13 casserole dish and peel and slice potatoes into ⅛ inch slices. Transfer potatoes to a large bowl. Discard bay leaves.
• Spoon just enough of the herb cream that has been simmering to cover the bottom of the casserole dish. Pour the remaining cream over the potatoes and gently toss to coat.
• Using a slotted spoon, layer the bottom of the casserole dish with ⅓ of the potato/onion slices (the slotted spoon will allow you to leave most of the cream in the bowl). Layer 1 cup of the cheese, ⅓ of the bacon then top with ⅓ of remaining cream. Repeat layers.
• Top the casserole with remaining potato/onion slices and pour over remaining cream. Dot the potatoes with cubed butter (reserving remaining cheese and bacon for the end).
• Cover the casserole with aluminum foil and bake for 30-40 minutes or until fork tender (will depend on how thin your potato slices are). Remove from the oven, sprinkle with remaining cheese then broil until cheese is golden. Remove and sprinkle with remaining bacon. Let potatoes rest for 10 minutes before serving.

 

https://carlsbadcravings.com/herb-scalloped-sweet-potatoes-with-bacon-and-gruyere/

Slow cooker pulled pork (or chicken)

INGREDIENTS:

3-4 lb pork shoulder
1 onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 TBSP soy sauce
2 TBSP honey
1 tsp chili powder
2 TBSP lime juice
2 chipotle peppers in adobe sauce (canned) optional

DIRECTIONS:

Sprinkle pork generously with salt & pepper.
Add the onion, garlic, 1/2 cup water, vinegar, soy sauce, honey, chipotle peppers, and chili powder to the slow cooker. Stir to combine and submerge the meat in the liquid.
Set your slow cooker to high for 5 hours or low for 8 hours (chicken cooks faster than pork and can be ready in 3 hours on high).
Shred the meat and add the lime juice. Serve in a bowl, tacos, nachos or on your favorite bun with bbq sauce!

Purple Cabbage Slaw
Yogurt dressing:
1/2 cup whole milk yogurt
3 TBSP minced shallots
2 TBSP Extra-virgin olive oil
1 TBSP apple cider vinegar
3/4 tsp fine sea salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Slaw:
5 cups thinly sliced purple cabbage
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

Whisk all dressing ingredients together. Add in cabbage and cilantro and stir to coat. The longer it sits, the better it is!

BEET Smoothie

CAN’T BEET ME SMOOTHIE 2.0
(From: Run Fast, Cook Fast, Eat Slow)

1 small or 1/2 large cooked beet, peeled
1 C frozen blueberries
1 frozen banana
1 C unsweetened almond milk
1 C coconut water
2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
1 heaping Tbs peanut butter

If you have a Vitamix blender, you don’t need to cook the beet. I just scrubbed it real well with the Norwex veggie and fruit scrub cloth! No need to even peel it! 

YUM!

Annette's Protein Balls

PROTEIN BALLS

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup nuts and seeds (walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, etc. – whatever you prefer) (Annette usually does ½ c walnuts and ½ cup almonds. I usually do 1/2 C cashews and 1/2 C walnuts cuz that's what I usually have.

1 cup dates (make sure they are pitted)

1 ½-2 cups plain whey protein powder (in the bulk section at Winco) -chocolate protein powder works too :)

1/3 cup honey

3 cups (Adams 100%) natural peanut butter

1 cup dark chocolate chips or raisins

DIRECTIONS:

Layer the nuts, dates, and protein powder in a high power blender or food processor (having the dates by the powder helps to coat them so they don't get sticky going through the blades. Once blended, scoop into a bowl and add peanut butter, honey and stir until well mixed. Add chocolate chips or raisins. Make into 30 balls. Put in the freezer. Once flash frozen you can place them all together in a gallon ziplok or storage container.

Brussels Sprout Salad with Cheddar, Hazelnuts, and Apple

Brussels Sprout Salad with Cheddar, Hazelnuts, and Apple

Instead of roasted Brussels sprouts, we wanted a light, bright, raw preparation that was just as delicious. Shredding the Brussels sprouts super-thin is key, and letting them sit in the dressing for at least 30 minutes softens them fully and seasons them deeply. To flavor the salad, we chose a simple lemon vinaigrette, rounded out with shallot and mustard. Sweet fruit, crunchy nuts, and creamy cheese are the finishing touches.

3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 small shallot, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
  Salt and pepper
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed, halved, and sliced very thin
4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (1 cup)
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
½ cup hazelnuts, toasted, skinned, and chopped

Slice the sprouts as thin as possible. Shred the cheddar on the large holes of a box grater.
1. Whisk lemon juice, mustard, shallot, garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt together in large bowl. Slowly whisk in oil until incorporated. Toss Brussels sprouts with vinaigrette, and let sit for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.
2. Fold in cheddar, apple, and hazelnuts. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

HOW TO SLICE BRUSSELS SPROUTS
You can use the slicing disk of your food processor or slice the sprouts with a chef’s knife. Follow these steps to do the latter safely and quickly.

1. TRIM: Trim the stem end of each sprout and then cut each sprout in half through the cut end.
2. SLICE: With the flat surface on the cutting board, thinly slice each half. (We use the mandolin attachment on our blender)

Beef, Bean, and Barley Stew

Ingredients:
1lb beef chuck or other stew meat
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 onion, diced
4 celery ribs, diced (include the leaves)
4 C water
1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)
1/2 C barley, uncooked
1 can kidney beans
8 C chopped swiss chard
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 F
In a large ovenproof pot with lid or dutch oven, heat oil and brown meat while on the stovetop. Salt and pepper to taste.
Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Cover with lid. Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour.

Lasagna Soup

Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey
1 large yellow onion, diced
5 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups chicken broth
2 jar of Hunts Garlic and Herb spaghetti sauce
1 3/4 tsp dried basil
3/4 dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1 Tbsp dried parsley
1 box Whole wheat elbow maccaroni
1 1/4 c shredded mozzarella
1/2 c finely shredded fresh Parmesan cheese
8 oz ricotta

Directions:
Brown ground turkey, season with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil, add onions, sauté about 3 minutes. Add garlic, sauté for about 30-45 seconds longer.

Add in chicken broth, pasta sauce, basil, oregano, rosemary, parsley and ground turkey. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Bring just to a boil, reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes.

Cook pasta according to package instructions.

Add 3/4 of the pasta to soup, cook for about 5 minutes. (more if you want too, but this is about how noodley we like it!)

Mix together all the cheese. Serve soup and top with the cheese.