Philly Cheesesteak in a Bowl

Ingredients

• 1 lb. skirt steak, sliced thinly
• 2 green peppers, sliced thinly
• 2 yellow onions, sliced thinly
• 8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
• 4 oz. good melting cheese (I used raw milk Colby), sliced
• 2 T butter
• 1 T Worcestershire sauce
• 1 T hot sauce
• S&P

Method

Put your oven on broil and place the rack in the middle of the oven.

In a large, oven proof saucepan, melt the butter over high heat and add hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Saute the beef, add the onions, peppers and mushrooms. Place a lid/cover on the saute pan and stir occasionally while the peppers and onions soften. Once that’s happened, top with cheese slices, stick the pan under the broiler until the cheese has reached the desired melty-ness stage. Some like it gooey and some like it brown and bubbly. Take it out of the oven and serve.

Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Yield: 18

Ingredients

• 1 c almond butter
• 1/2 can full fat coconut milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 t baking powder
• 1 t baking soda
• zest of 1 orange
• 1/2 c raisins or 1/3 c sugar
• 3 carrots, shredded
• 1 T vanilla extract
• 2 T cinnamon
• 1 t nutmeg
• 1 t ginger
• 1/4 t cloves
• pinch salt
• 1/2 c toasted, chopped pecans (optional)

Frosting Ingredients

• 1 lb. cream cheese, room temp
• 4 ounce butter, softened
• 1/4 c powdered sugar
• 1 T vanilla extract
• pinch salt

Method

In a bowl, combine all the cupcakes ingredients and whisk to combine. Scoop into a muffin tin and bake at 350ºF for about 20-22 minutes.

While the cupcakes are baking, make the frosting by dumping all the ingredients into a mixer and mix until fluffy, about 10 minutes. Don’t frost the cupcakes until they’re C O M P L E T E L Y cool, otherwise it will melt and that is just not good.

To frost the cupcakes, use a spatula to put 1/4 of the frosting into a zip top bag. Cut a tip off the corner of the bag and try your hardest to make them look pretty (it takes practice). Fill the bag again and repeat. Or use a small spatula to swirl a bit of frosting on ‘em. Top with chopped, toasted nuts if you’d like.

Melt in Your Mouth Beef Stew

Ingredients

• 3 lbs. short ribs (boneless will work if that’s all you can find, but bones add nutrition & awesome flavor!)
• 3 T butter
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 4 oz. mushrooms, roughly chopped
• handful of sage, rosemary and thyme, chopped
• 1 qt. chicken stock
• 2 cups roasted marinara sauce (I keep some in the freezer at all times) or tomato sauce
• 1/4 c apple cider vinegar
• s&p

Method

Get your oven to 250ºF. In a heavy bottomed, oven safe pot, melt the butter on high heat. Sear your short ribs until you see a nice brown crust on them. Remove and put them on a plate to hang out. Add the celery, onion, carrots, garlic and mushrooms. Saute until they’ve softened. Add the tomato sauce, chicken stock, vinegar and herbs. Place the short ribs back into the pot. Press a sheet of parchment paper onto the surface of the stew and place into the oven. Cook for about 4 hours or until the short ribs pull apart easily with a fork.

Once the short ribs are tender, remove the pot from the oven CAREFULLY. Remove the short ribs and bones. Once the meat has cooled, use your fingers to pull apart the meat–believe me, it’s much, much easier than using a fork. Add the meat back to the pot and serve.

Crispy Prosciutto, Fig and Pistachio Salad with Simple Vinaigrette

Ingredients

• 5 oz  arugula
• 8 oz prosciutto, sliced thinly
• 1 pint figs, quartered (I used Black Mission)
• 1/2 c pistachios
• 1/2 c olive oil
• 1/4 c red wine vinegar
• 2 T mustard, whole grain or Dijon is best
• s&p

Method

Place the prosciutto slices on a baking sheet and bake at 375ºF until the prosciutto has turned dark red and the fat is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Be sure to flip the prosciutto about half way through the cooking time. The prosciutto won’t actually crisp in the oven, you have to take it out and let it cool off and then it’ll crisp right up–just like bacon. Remove the prosciutto and place on a paper towel lined plate. Toss the figs onto the baking sheet and roast for about 10 minutes to intensify the flavor.

In a large salad bowl, add the olive oil, vinegar, mustard and s&p. Whisk it all together. Add the arugula and the rest of the ingredients. Use some tongs to mix everything together. You can either break the prosciutto crisps into pieces and incorporate them into the salad, or you can place a single chip on the top of the salad (like in the pic) for a “fancy pants” presentation.

Spinach Artichoke Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 10 oz. package of frozen spinach, thawed
• 5 Portobello mushrooms
• 1 cup canned artichoke hearts
• 1/2 c parmesan cheese + extra for sprinkling on top
• 1/2 c mayo
• juice of 1/2 lemon

Method

Get your oven to 400ºF.

Brown the ground beef in a saute pan.

While the beef is browning: hold the thawed spinach in your hands and over a soup bowl, squeeze the living daylights out of the spinach. You want to squeeze out as much water as possible. Add to your food processor along with the mayo, artichokes, lemon and parmesan. Pulse it to combine. When the beef is browned, add that too. Pulse a couple times to combine it.

Now it’s time to prep the mushrooms. Remove the stem and discard (or save and make mushroom stock!). Over a bowl, or your sink, use a spoon to scrape out the black gills on the underside of the mushroom. You’re going to need to use a gentle force with the mushrooms–if you’re too rough, you’ll tear the mushroom.

Place the mushroom caps on a baking sheet, top side down. Stuff those babies with as much spinach, artichoke mixture as you can. Sprinkle some parm on top and bake until the mushrooms have cooked, about 8 minutes. Place the oven on broil and get the top nice and bubbly hot. Serve immediately.

Bacon Wrapped Sweet Potato Fries with Chipotle Lime Dip

Ingredients

• 2 sweet potatoes, cut into thick matchsticks*
• 1 package bacon, don’t use thick cut
• 1/2 c mayo, using avocado oil
• 1-2 chipotles in adobo sauce
• 1 lime, juiced

Method

Get your oven to 425°F. Soak the sweet potato matchsticks in a bowl of cold water for up to 6 hours. This removes a lot of the starch from the potato. When you remove the potatoes, you can visibly see white starch granules at the bottom of the bowl. Drain the water from the potatoes and pat dry.

Slice each piece of bacon in half, lengthwise. Wrap 1 strip of bacon around 1 matchstick sweet potato. Lay on a baking sheet. Repeat until all the bacon is gone. If you have left over sweet potatoes, toss ‘em on the pan too, they’ll cook beautifully in all the rendered bacon fat.

For the Dip

In a food processor, pulse up the chipotle(s) and lime juice into the mayo.

Bake the fries for about 25 minutes on one side. You’re looking for browned bacon. Use some tongs to flip the fries over and bake for another 10-12 minutes, until browned.

Squeeze some lime juice on the fries. Serve hot and with the dip.

Oven Fried Green Tomatoes

Ingredients

• 4 green tomatoes, sliced thinly, about 1/4 inch
• 1 1/4 c almond flour
• 1 t onion powder
• 1/2 t garlic powder
• 1/4 t cayenne pepper
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 c water
• olive oil
• s&p

Method

Put your oven on broil and place the rack on the second shelf from the top. You want to cook the tomatoes through while simultaneously browning the coating without burning. Too close and you will certainly burn the tomatoes (take a look at the ones on the back of the plate). I used 2 baking sheets for all the tomatoes, but you could use one, and do a switch-a-roo so you only have to clean one pan. Lightly drizzle the baking sheets with olive oil.

Get out two soup bowls (I was going to say cereal bowl, but thought better of it). Mix the eggs and water in one and the almond flour and seasonings in the other. Place the tomato slices in the egg then in the almond flour. Place the tomatoes in a single layer on the baking sheet and drizzle the tops with a bit of olive oil.

Broil for about 6 minutes on one side, then flip and brown the other side, about another 6 minutes. Sprinkle with a bit of salt right when they come out of the oven. Serve hot.

Chicken and Andouille Gumbo

Ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower
• 4 T butter, cubed
• s&p
• 3 leeks*
• 3 celery stalks
• 1 green pepper
• 1 lb. Andouille sausage, chopped
• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, chopped
• 6 c shrimp stock** (any stock will work)
• 1/2 lb. okra
• 1 14.5 oz. can diced fire roasted tomatoes
• 2 T Old Bay
• 2 t Quatre épices***
• 3 green onions

Method

Get your oven to 450°F. The food processor is going to be your BFF for this recipe. Get it out! Cut out the core and leaves of the cauliflower. Roughly chop and, in batches, process the cauliflower until it resembles rice. Place on a baking sheet. Toss it around with the butter and some s&p. Roast the cauliflower rice until it’s a nice pale yellow-ish color and doesn’t taste cauliflower-y, making sure to toss it one or two times while it’s roasting. About 25 minutes.

While the cauliflower is going, add the andouille sausage to a soup/stock pot, at least 5 quarts. Saute until it’s browned, remove from the pan and place on a “holding” plate. Add the chicken and saute until it’s done…if you’re a little shy of done, no worries, it’ll continue to cook in the soup. Remove the chicken and add to the plate with the sausage.

Add the green pepper, celery stalks and leeks to the food processor and blend until everybody is in small, itty-bitty pieces. Add to the stock pot and saute until everybody has softened. Pulse up the canned tomatoes in the food processor too–I don’t like when they’re too big in the soup, I like them evenly sized and textured within the soup. Add the rest of the ingredients, including the sausage and chicken, and simmer until the okra has softened, about 20 minutes. Don’t be afraid to taste the okra for the correct done-ness–soft, but still has a crunch to it.

To serve, place a scoop of cauliflower rice in the center of a bowl, ladle around the gumbo and sprinkle with green onions. You will have more gumbo than cauliflower. So leftovers will be “soup.”

*Leeks are dirty little suckers. To clean them: Cut off the root and to the top where it starts to get really, really green. Slice lengthwise and toss into a bowl of water. Use your hands to jiggle them around and that should remove virtually all the dirt.

**So here’s the deal with shrimp stock: I made the faux-viche one night and used shell-on shrimp. I saved the shells, added them to 3 quarts of water, simmered for 3 hours, strained and discarded the shells. Incredibly easily, and might I add, very resourceful.

*** Quatre épices is a french seasoning mix: white pepper, nutmeg, ginger, cloves. It’s not a necessary component, but it’s a nice addition. I found mine at World Market.

Faux-Viche

Ingredients

• 1 lb. wild shrimp, peeled, deveined and tail-off
• 1/2 lb. bay scallops
• 1 mango, diced
• 2 limes, juiced
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 1 orange, juiced
• 1/2 handful cilantro, chopped
• 3 green onions, chopped
• chili garlic sauce, optional
• s&p

Method

Heat about 2 quarts of water on medium until it starts to simmer–no boiling allowed! While the water is coming to temperature, make sure to have the shrimp peeled, deveined and take the tail off. Chop the shrimp and scallops into bite size pieces. Alternatively, you could use pre-cooked shrimp…it may cost more, but it will save a bit of time. Once the water is ready, add the seafood and cook until the shrimp is pale pink. This will not take long, about 5 minutes. Strain the seafood from the water.

In a bowl add the rest of the ingredients. Add the cooked seafood and let chill before serving.

Nachos

Ingredients

• 1 package sweet potato chips, we used Terra brand
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 T chili powder
• 1 t cumin
• 1 c raw cheddar cheese (optional)
• 3 green onions, sliced
• 1/2 head romaine lettuce, chopped
• s&p

Salsa Ingredients

• 15 oz crushed fire roasted tomatoes with juice, we used Muir Glen brand
• 1 t granulated garlic
• 3 T pickled jalapeno slices (about 12)
• 1 lime, juiced
• 3/4 t allspice
• 2 handfuls cilantro

Guacamole Ingredients

• 2 avocados
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 t chili garlic sauce
• salt
• 1/2 handful of cilantro

Method

Brown the meat in a saute pan with a bit of fat, and add the chili and cumin. While the meat is browning, empty a bag of sweet potato chips on a baking sheet and spread them out as evenly as you can. Toast at 350°F for about 8 minutes.

To make the salsa and guacamole, just blend all the ingredients (one set at a time, of course) in a food processor.

Assemble by topping the chips with ground meat, cheese, lettuce, green onions,  salsa and guacamole.

Also, just to add insult to injury, we decided to partake in this….

…and it was delicious. Yes it has agave, but sometimes you gotta just pick and choose your battles when you’re having a cheat.