French Dip

Serves 6-8

4 cups beef broth
1 onion, sliced
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. cracked pepper
3# beef roast
8 French rolls
8 provolone cheese slices
Butter

In a slow cooker, combine broth, onion, and seasonings. Add roast, cover, and cook on low all day (or on high for 4-5 hours). Remove roast from cooking liquids and slice or shred.

Butter rolls on both halves. Put meat on one half and top with cheese. Place sandwiches open-face on a baking sheet and pop in a hot oven (350-400, it doesn't really matter) for a few minutes until the cheese is melted and the roll is slightly toasty, maybe 5 minutes.

Close sandwiches and cut on the diagonal. Serve with the cooking liquid on the side for dipping.

Lightened-up Whipped Cream

A lighter, higher protein whipped cream. The flavor is similar to cheesecake. From Skinnytaste.


1 C chilled heavy whipping cream
1/4 C sugar (or to taste)
1 tsp vanilla
1 C plain, non-fat Greek yogurt

Whip the cream, sugar and vanilla until stiff. Fold in yogurt. Enjoy the delicious.

Paleo Mayonnaise

1 egg

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup plus 1 cup light olive oil *

Leave all ingredients on the counter for four hours to bring them to room temperature. This is essential to having this mayo turn out at the right consistency.

Place the egg and lemon juice in a food processor. Add the dry mustard, salt, and 1/4 cup of the oil. Whirl until well mixed, about 20-30 seconds.

Very slowly incorporate the remaining 1 cup of oil into the mixture. Do the skinniest drizzle you can possibly manage. This should take about three full minutes. If your food processor has a drizzle hole then use that! Seriously, go slow - this is key. Then you are done!

* You can also use avocado oil, but DO NOT use extra virgin or regular olive oil - the taste will be too strong.

{From Well Fed}

Cucumber Sandwich Spread

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup grated onion
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup grated cucumber
1-2 Tbsp mayonnaise *
1/4 tsp pepper

Mix all ingredients together. Serve on cucumber slices or on sandwiches.

* This recipe can be made gluten free or paleo if using gluten free mayo or homemade mayo

Corn Pudding

1 egg
1 14 oz can whole kernel corn, drained
1 14 oz can cream style corn
Handful of Saltine crackers
Milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Crush Saltines into a bowl. Add enough milk to soften. Add egg, corn, and seasoning. Pour into a greased Pyrex dish. Bake at 350 for 1 hour until set.

Tips:

To tell if it's done, jiggle the dish. It should look stable around the edges and move just a little in the middle.

The top part of the baked corn is the best, so use a wider, shallower dish for baking so there is more good stuff to go around.

Bran Muffins

3 cups All-Bran cereal
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400. In large mixing bowl combine cereal and boiling water. Stir in oil and eggs. Add remaining ingredients until well mixed. Spoon batter into desired number of greased muffin cups, filling 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
(Baking time is for 12 muffins)

Batter can be stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 6-8 weeks.
Makes 2 1/2 dozen muffins.

Slow-Cooker Thai Coconut Chicken Soup

2 cups carrots, peeled and sliced
2 packages sliced fresh mushrooms
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed
8 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 cup fish sauce *see note
1/4 cup red curry paste
2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs, cubed
3 cups chicken broth
2 cans (14 oz each) coconut milk
2 red bell peppers, sliced, then slices cut in half lengthwise
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
Sriracha to taste

1. In slow cooker add carrots, mushrooms, onion, sweet potato, garlic, ginger, fish sauce, and curry paste. Place chicken over vegetables in slow cooker. Pour broth over chicken. Cover and cook on low heat for 5 hours.

2. Stir in coconut milk, peppers, and basil. Cover and cook an additional 30-60 minutes.

Add Sriracha to taste to each bowl depending on spice preference.

Alternate: Add whole chicken pieces to crock pot (don't cube). At the beginning of step 2, remove chicken and shred or chop, then add back to crock pot before proceeding.

* Substitute fish sauce with 4 Tbsp soy sauce and 1 Tbsp dry sherry.

{Adapted from Betty Crocker}