Soft Sugar Cookies!

For the dough:
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. butter, softened
1 egg
1/4 c. sour cream
1 t. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
3/4 t. baking powder
1/4 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt

For the frosting:
1 c. powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla
1 T. milk
1/4 c. butter, softened

 Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  With your mixer, cream together butter with sugar until smooth.  Add in sour cream, egg, and vanilla and mix well.  In a large bowl sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Slowly add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix well.  Measure three tablespoons of dough for each cookie. Use your hands to roll into a smooth ball.  Place on ungreased cookie sheets, making sure to leave about 1 inch between each cookie. Using your hand to lightly flatten the dough a bit.  Bake for 11-12 minutes, then immediately remove from the oven. The cookies will appear under-baked a bit but this is what you want. Let cookies cool before frosting.  To make the frosting, beat butter with a mixer for about 30 seconds, then add in powdered sugar.. Add in vanilla and milk and mix until light and fluffy.  Use a knife to slather each cookie with frosting. Top with sprinkles.

Cauliflower Calzones!

For the crust:
 1 small head cauliflower, cut into small florets
½ c. mozzarella cheese, shredded
1  egg, lightly beaten
½ t. salt
½ t. oregano
¼ t. black pepper

 For the filling:
6 T. pizza sauce
½ c. mozzarella cheese
 pepperoni
green peppers



 Preheat oven to 450°F (220°C) and place a rack in the middle. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and grease liberally with olive oil.
In a food processor rice the cauliflower florets in batches.  Transfer cauliflower rice to a microwave dish and microwave on high for 8 minutes, until cooked.  Squeeze out as much moisture as you can with a towel.  Transfer the cauliflower rice to a mixing bowl and add egg, mozzarella, oregano, sea salt and pepper. Mix well.  Using your hands, press the mixture onto a greased parchment paper lined baking sheet and shape into discs.  Bake for 10 minutes at 450 degrees.  Remove from the oven and, top the half of each disc with tomato sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, and peppers. Using a large spatula carefully lift the half of the disc without filling and fold it over the other part.  Push the edges  together and seal in the filling.  Bake in the oven for an additional 12 minutes or until golden.

Rainbow Chard with Bacon and Polenta!

1 lb. bacon
1 T. olive oil
1 bunch rainbow chard
1 onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 t. crushed red pepper
1/4 t. black pepper
1/4 t. salt
1 t. sugar
2 t. balsamic vinegar
2 T. water
polenta, sliced
1/4 c. parmesan cheese

Saute bacon in a skillet until crisp.  Remove from pan and sauté diced stems of the rainbow chard, onion, and garlic in olive oil until soft.  Add the chopped leaved of the rainbow chard and sauté with red pepper, black pepper, salt, sugar, vinegar, and water.  Once wilted, chop the bacon and add it to the rainbow chard.  In a separate skillet, grill the polenta for a few minutes on each side until golden.  Serve greens and bacon over polenta and top with parmesan cheese.

Coconut Cupcakes!

For the cake batter:
1 1/3 c. sugar
2/3 c. coconut oil
2 egg yolks
1 t. vanilla
1 c. coconut milk
2 c. flour
2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
4 egg whites
1/8 t. cream of tartar

For the frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. coconut oil
3 c. powdered sugar
1 c. shredded coconut

Cream the sugar and oil with the paddle attachment on an electric mixer.  Add the egg yolks one at a time and vanilla.  Stir in some of the coconut milk, alternating with flour, baking powder, and salt until combined.  In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar until white peaks appear.  Fold egg whites into the rest of the batter.  Fill cupcake liners with batter and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  Once cupcakes have cooled, whip the cream cheese, coconut oil, and powdered sugar to frost the cupcakes.  Top with shredded coconut.  Store in the refrigerator.

Chocolate Beet Cupcakes!

For the chocolate cake batter

1 c. cooked beets, grated

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup honey

1  egg

1 t. vanilla

1 c. flour

1/3 c. cocoa powder

1 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

 

For the cream cheese filling:

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 T. sugar

1 t. vanilla

 

Preheat the oven to 350F. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, maple syrup and honey until everything is well blended.  Add the egg  and beat until smooth. Add the vanilla extract.  Fold in the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Fold the beets into the batter until distributed.  In a separate bowl, mix the ingredients for the cream cheese filling until smooth.  Fill cupcake liners with 2 T. cake batter, 1 T. cream cheese filling, and 1 more T. of the cake batter on top.

Bake for about 25 minutes at 350 degrees.  Makes about 10 cupcakes.

Fennel Chicken with Cauliflower Mash!

For the fennel chicken:

1 lb. chicken breasts

2 T. olive oil
2 fennel bulbs, diced
1 onion, diced
1 1/2 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. cream
1 T. Dijon mustard
1/2 lb. bacon, chopped

1 lemon, juiced

1/2 t. black pepper

For the cauliflower mash:

2 heads cauliflower, chopped

1 T. water

½ cup  milk

3 T. butter

1/4 t. nutmeg

1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper

Heat the oil over a medium-high flame in a large shallow pan. Fry the chicken until brown on each side.  Set the chicken  aside.  In the meantime, prepare the veggies. Chop the fennel and onion and add to the pan.  Fry the fennel and onion until lightly brown. Now turn up the heat, add the chicken broth and briskly deglaze the pan, using a wooden spoon to scrape away the sticky residue so it dissolves into the liquid. Cover and gently braise the vegetables for 10-12 minutes, or until the fennel and onion is tender and the broth has reduced.   Add the cream, mustard, and lemon juice and stir well. Return the chicken  to the pan.  Turn the heat down to medium-low, cover the pan and let it simmer for 15 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink.  While the chicken is braising, fry the bacon bits in a hot pan until crisp. To make the cauliflower mash, cut off the florets and microwave for 12 minutes with one tablespoon of water.  Process it together with the milk, butter, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. When you're ready to serve the chicken, top with the bacon and serve over the cauliflower mash.

Cream Cheese Carrot Cake Muffins!

For the cream cheese mixture:
8 oz. cream cheese
1/4 c. sugar
1 t. vanilla

For the carrot cake:
2 eggs
3/4 c. coconut oil
3/4 c. water
2 1/4 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. baking soda
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. ginger
1/4 t. salt
1 c. grated carrots

Soften the cream cheese in the microwave for 30 seconds.  Mix together with sugar and vanilla until smooth and set aside.  For the carrot cake, whisk together eggs, coconut oil, and water until smooth.  Stir in flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt until just combined.  Stir in shredded carrots.  Put 2 T. carrot cake, topped with 1 T. cream cheese, and 1 more T. carrot cake mixture in each cupcake liner.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.  Makes 18 cupcakes.

Chicken Asparagus Hot Dish!

1 lb chicken breasts
6 thin slices of prosciutto
4 c. cooked brown rice
1/4 c. butter
1 c. diced green garlic
1/4 c. flour
1/4 t. pepper
2 1/4 c. milk
1 bunch asparagus, diced
3/4 c. shredded cheese
3/4 c. panko bread crumbs

 

 

Make a 2-inch-wide horizontal slit in the side of each chicken breast to create a deep pocket. Stuff each pocket with 1  prosciutto, folding or cutting as needed to fit.  Spread rice in a large baking dish. Top with chicken. Bake, covered, for 25 minutes at 375 degrees.  Meanwhile, for the sauce, in a medium saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Add green garlic; cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until tender. Whisk in flour and pepper until well mixed. Add milk all at once, whisking to combine. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Stir in asparagus and cheese.  Pour sauce over chicken and top with panko.  Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes more or until chicken is no longer pink

Coconut Lemon Bars!

For the crust:

1 1/2 c. oats

1/2 c. shredded coconut

1/4 c. sugar

1/2 c. melted coconut oil

 

For the filling:

2 eggs

5 T. lemon juice

1T. lemon zest

1/2 c. sugar

2 T. cornstarch

 

For the topping:

1/4 c. lemon juice

1/4 c. water

1/2 c. sugar

2 T. cornstarch

1/4 c. shredded coconut

 

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease 8x8 pan.  Add oats, coconut, and sugar to a food processor. Grind until oats are fine.

Add oil and pulse until mixture pulls into a ball.  Press mixture into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes in a greased 8x8 pan.  Let cool until the crust is firm and the pan can be touched.  While crust is cooling, beat eggs well.

Add in juice, zest, and sugar.  Remove ¼ cup egg mixture and whisk in cornstarch.  Add cornstarch mixture back to egg mixture and whisk well.  Pour over cooled crust and bake for 18 minutes or until top is no longer wet.  For the topping,

add juice, water, sugar, and cornstarch to a medium pot. Cook over medium heat until mixture thickens slightly.  Stir in coconut. Pour over bars.  Let cool.  Serve or store in refrigerator.

Zucchini Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies!

1/2 c. coconut oil

1/2 c. sugar

1/3 c. brown sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 t. vanilla

1 1/2 c. shredded zucchini

1 1/2 c. oat flour

1 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

1 c. oats

3/4 c walnuts

1 2/3 c. chocolate chips

 

Using a mixer, whip together cocnut oil, sugar and brown sugar until creamy. Mix in egg and vanilla. Add zucchini and with mixer set on low speed, slowly add in oat flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Stir in oats, walnuts and chocolate chips.Shape dough into balls, 2 T. each, then transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 12 minutes until edges are lightly golden. Cool for 2 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.