Apple Dip

From the store:

High Fructose Corn Syrup, Skim Milk, Corn Syrup, Palm Oil, Sugar, Butter, Modified Corn Starch, Disodium Phosphate, Potassium Sorbate, Salt, Mono and Diglycerides, Artificial flavors.

From the kitchen:

1/4 cup Butter (half a stick)
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
1 cup Sour Cream
1 tsp. Vanilla

Melt together butter and brown sugar. Stir in Sour Cream and Vanilla. Chill before serving.

Try Sucanat or Rapadura in place of Brown Sugar.
Also try only 1/2 cup sugar.

Fast and Easy Potatoes

This potato recipe is fast and easy.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Wash your potatoes and cut them in half  the long way, it probably does not matter which way you cut them.  Put a generous amount of olive oil, or melted oil (coconut, tallow, ghee) on your pan.  I use my cast iron pizza pan, you can use a cookie sheet with parchment paper on it. Take a handful of coarse salt, I use kosher salt.  Rub the potatoes in the oil and salt until coated. Place flat side down on the pan and bake for 30-40 minutes. Baked on the cast iron pizza pan they come out crisp and browned.  If you are only making a few you could probably use a cast iron skillet. Enjoy!

Remember, a little oil goes a long way, and you will figure out how much salt you prefer.

I found the original recipe on Pinterest here: quick-baked-potatoes

Easy Beef and Bean Burritos

This is so easy.

1 (10 oz. or 16 oz.) package chopped spinach
1 pound of ground beef
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2/3 cup chunky salsa, your favorite
1 16-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
Salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup shredded cheese, Colby or Co-jack or whatever
flour tortillas

Brown the meat in a skillet. (If the meat is lean add some tallow or oil.)  Meanwhile cook the spinach per package directions and drain in a colander. Mix the cooked meat, spices, spinach, salsa, and drained beans. Warm these together and stir in the cheese.  Sometimes I wait to add the cheese on the tortilla, then it is easier to warm the leftovers without having the cheese burn in the sauce pan.  Serve this on tortillas with cheese, sour cream, lettuce, and whatever you want, olives? chopped tomatoes?

The original recipe called for only 1/3 pound of ground meat.

Tools:
Skillet
Colander
sauce pan
Spatula

Salmon Burgers

1 can (14 oz.) Salmon, drained, skin and bones removed
2 eggs
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs (I use GF oats, some use Panko (Japanese bread crumbs), you could use coconut flour but only a teaspoon or so, I have not tried this. I often use almond flour for bread crumbs.
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1-2 Tablespoons horse radish
1 Tablespoon Pimientos, optional
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Combine above ingredients and mix well (I use a fork to mix it up). Shape into four patties. In a skillet over medium heat, cook in butter or olive oil until browned, about 6 minutes each side.  The trick with something like this is to only have to turn it once.  Serve on rolls with lettuce, or just plain.

Tools:

Bowl
Skillet
Spatula

Pounded Chicken

This is Zesty Chicken Saute from the cookbook, Cheap, Fast, Good, by Beverly Mills & Alicia Ross.

Mix these spices:

1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt (I use Real Salt brand)
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice (optional) I never put this in
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
Olive oil, or tallow, or other healthy cooking fat

Mix the spices together. Recipe has you place it in a gallon zip bag, I don't do this.

Place the chicken between two sheets of wax paper (I don't do this). Pound the chicken with several whacks of a meat hammer until they are an even 1/2 inch (I never measure this out.) If breast halves are large, cut them in half (or thirds or whatever size you want, even nuggets).

Place the chicken slices in the bag and shake. (I sprinkle one side with spices, nothing fancy, just use my fingers.)

Heat the oil in a deep skillet, I use my handy Le Creuset Braiser (mine is 3 1/2 quart size, if I only had one pan this would be it. Place the meat in the skillet spice side down if not using the bag, sprinkle more spice on the top. The recipe says 4-5 minutes per side, I honestly don't time this, Lightly brown in on the first side, turn and cook until no longer pink in the center.

Transfer to a plate and serve. Serve on a bun as a sandwich, or slice and put on a salad, or just plain with whatever else you are having.

Tools needed:

sharp knife to cut up the chicken
meat hammer (mine is OXO Good Grips, I used to have a wood one but the end kept coming off.)
cutting board
skillet (I use LeCreuset 3.5 qt braiser)
measuring spoons
spatula

Granola

My friend Autumn gave me this recipe, she calls it Granola from Heaven:

5 cups mixed nuts of choice, raw & unsalted
   (almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, cashews)
1 1/2 cups mixed seeds of choice, raw & unsalted
    (sunflower seeds, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds)
4 cups unsweetened coconut
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup brown sugar

Mix all ingredients together - Split between two cookie sheets - Bake @ 275 degrees for about 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes - Enjoy
Sweet variation:  add your favorite dried fruit to the mix when finished baking.

I never use coriander because I don't have that spice and for better digestion I use soaked crispy nuts. You can find out about soaked crispy nuts from the cookbook Nourishing Traditions.

Easy Potato Recipe

I found this recipe through Pinterest, it comes from tastykitchen.com, have not read anything else on the site, just went there for the recipe after seeing the pictures.

You need potatoes, a chunk of parmesan cheese, a cold stick of butter, olive oil, garlic powder, salt, cream and a bit a shredded cheese, I used cojack.  This are items I always have on hand in my kitchen.

Scrub the potatoes and preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
First slice the potatoes, but use chopsticks or wooden spoons so you don't slice through:

 Second fill the slots. Alternate between cheese and butter, then sprinkle with garlic powder and salt. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake this for an hour. Be sure the potatoes are done before going to the next step.

Take out of oven and drizzle cream in the slots.  I used less than 1/2 cup for four potatoes. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and bake another 15 minutes.

 Finished potatoes.  Yummy and easy.

FYI, I thought I could cook the potatoes for 45 minutes and count the last 15 minutes towards an hour of cooking.  My potatoes were not quite done this way, we ate them anyway.  I will definitely make these again.