Blueberry Muffins

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This recipe stolen graciously from Elaine Gloria Gottschall of Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health Through Diet.


The Goods
2 1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 cup melted butter (or home made yogurt)
1/2 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1/2 – 3/4 cup blueberries

The Gettin’
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Blend everything together.  (The original recipe added the wet ingredients last to make sure you had a muffin batter consistency, but I skipped this step and it worked out fine.)
3. Stir in blueberries.
4. Spoon the mixture into muffin tin lined with paper cases (or non-stick muffin tin).  We used two spoonfuls per muffin hole.
5. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when pressed. Let cool 5-10 minutes.

The Take
Due to the almond flour, these muffins have a slightly sweet, nutty flavor to them.  I love these muffins!  If your muffins (or any other baked goods, especially if you’re not using wheat flour) don’t rise, make sure you have fresh baking soda – it weakens over time.

Total Time: 30-40 minutes
Prep– 10  minutes
Cook– 15-20 minutes
Cool– 5-10 minutes

Yield:  16 muffins

Level: Easy

Vanilla Ice Cream & Strawberry Jam

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The following dishes were graciously stolen from NoMoreCrohns.com and Peggy Rogers at BTVC Yahoo, to be married and consumed forever and ever, amen.

Vanilla Ice Cream (NoMoreCrohns.com)

The Goods
3/4 cup honey
3 eggs
4 tbsp melted butter
2 ½ cups homemade SCD yogurt
3 tsp. vanilla extract (made with vanilla and alcohol only)

The Gettin’
1. In a saucepan over medium heat, constantly whisk honey, butter and eggs together until thick and starting to boil (and we mean constantly, if you don’t want egg chunks!)
2. Allow mixture to cool (using the freezer or refrigerator will cool it faster, 1 hours time, if you need the ice cream to be ready quickly).  A colder mixture makes fluffier ice cream – patience is a virtue!
3. Combine yogurt, and vanilla extract and add to the honey and egg mixture using a whisk or electric
mixer (mix well).
4. Pour into a countertop electric ice cream maker, and process for about a half hour; or until thick and creamy.
5. Carefully spoon into a low, long container and freeze immediately.  The ice cream will lose its soft texture over time – better eat it quickly!

The Take
This is very good!  It has a tartness that is kinda refreshing (due to the SCD yogurt.)  If you want a creamier, less tart ice cream, try making your yogurt with half and half or heavy cream!

Total Time:  1 hour 45 minutes
Cook– 15 minutes
Cool – 1 hour
Ice cream Maker–  30 minutes

Yield: 8 servings

Level: Intermediate

…

Strawberry “Or Your Fav. Fruit” Jam (BTVC Yahoo)

The Goods
4-5 cups fruit
1 cup cranberries
1 cup honey, or to taste (plenty of honey helps cancel out cranberry tartness)

The Gettin’
1. Combine fruit and cranberries, bring to a boil (add a little water or orange juice if liquid is needed).
2. When fruit is tender, mash with potato masher or anything else that works.
3. Simmer until desired consistency is reached.  It splatters a little bit, so be careful!

The Take
4 or 5 cups of fruit will get you about 2 jars of jam.  We made red plum, blueberry, peach, strawberry, and cherry jams!  Our favorite is strawberry!  We think it will last a few weeks in the fridge or a few months in the freezer.

Total Time:  1 hour 5 minutes
Cook– 1 hour
Mash- 5 minutes

Yield: 2 jars

Level: Easy

Crab Legs with Garlic Butter Sauce

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This recipe graciously stolen from allrecipes.com.

The Goods
1 pound Snow Crab clusters or legs, thawed if necessary
1/4 cup butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. fresh parsley
1/8 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. fresh-ground black pepper

The Gettin’
1. Cut a slit, length-wise, into the shell of each piece of crab (some packages are pre-cut, for convenience).
2. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat and cook the garlic in the butter until translucent.
3. Stir in parsley, salt, and pepper.  Continue to heat mixture until bubbling.
4. Add the crab legs, toss to coat; allow to simmer in the butter mixture until completely heated, 5 to 6 minutes.
5. Sprinkle fresh parsley and serve steamy.

The Take
Tasty, but a little work getting the meat out of the shell!

Total Time: 20 minutes
Prep – 5 minutes
Cook– 15 minutes

Yield:  6 servings

Level: Easy (Though admittedly, I burned the sauce. – Lauren)

Precious Beautiful Creations: Painfully Begs Crying: Peanut Butter Cups

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This recipe stolen graciously, oh so graciously, so so0 graciously, from Carol Pomplio of  BTVC Yahoo.


The Goods
1 cup melted cocoa butter
3/4 cup honey
1 16 oz. jar peanut butter, smooth or chunky
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

The Gettin’
1. Melt cocoa butter (use a water bath or a double boiler).
2. Once cocoa butter is melted add the rest of the ingredients.
3. Warm all the ingredients and stir until smooth.
4. Remove bowl from hot water bath and let cool for a few minutes.
5. Line a muffin tin with baking papers. Ladle about 1 Tbsp. mixture into each.
6. Freeze or refrigerate until firm. Store in freezer.
7. If you are kind of attached to your mind, stand back with first bite, as it will be blown.

The Take
These. Are. Amazing.  You almost believe you’re eating a Reese’s peanut butter cup!  Unfortunately, peanut butter is advanced and they make my stomach hurt a bit…  but these are the treats you hide from the rest of the family, they’re that good!

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Cook–  10 minutes
Freeze– 1 hour

Yield:  48 cups

Level: Easy

Banana Pops

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This recipe stolen graciously from Fernpixel.


The Goods
2 ripe bananas (with black spots)
pure ground cinnamon to taste
pure ground nutmeg to taste
popsicle sticks (or chopsticks, plastic fork, etc.)

The Gettin’
1. Peel bananas.
2. Cut each banana in half (1 banana creates 2 Banana Pops).
3. Insert stick into each piece of banana.
4. Sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg on all sides, to taste.
5. Put the Banana Pops inside Tupperware or freezer Ziplock.
6. Place container with Banana Pops inside freezer and wait 2 hours or overnight.

The Take
We may not have a banana stand, but these frozen treats are pretty darn good!

Total Time: 2+ hours or overnight
Prep –  7 minutes
Freeze–  2+ hours

Yield:  4 pops

Level: Easy

Steamed Mussels

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This recipe stolen graciously from allrecipes.com.

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*Note: These are amazing.*

The Goods
2 Tbsp. butter
1/4 cup shallots, minced
3/4 cup dry white wine
3 lbs. mussels, cleaned and debearded
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
ground black pepper to taste

The Gettin’
1. In a medium stock pot, heat butter over medium heat. Add shallots and saute until translucent.
2. Pour in wine and mussels. Raise heat to medium/high and steam mussels until shells open, about 7 minutes.
3. Pour mussels and cooking liquid into a serving bowl, sprinkle with parsley and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

The Take:
These are good, but they require a bit of prep!  Letting the mussels sit in some water before you begin for 20-30 minutes lets them expel dirt or sand.  Don’t use any mussels that aren’t closed to begin with – they’re probably dead!  You can check by sharply tapping the mussel – if it closes, it’s still alive and safe to cook.  Any mussels that don’t open after steaming should be thrown away.

Total Time: 52 minutes
Prep – 45 minutes
Cook– 7 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Level: Intermediate

Perfect Roast Chicken

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This recipe stolen graciously from Ina, Lauren’s fav.

The Goods
1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken
fresh Ground Salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 large bunch fresh thyme, plus 20 sprigs
1 lemons, 1 halved
1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced
4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks
1 bulb of fennel, tops removed, and cut into wedges (Don’t be scared, it is GOOD)
olive oil

* Note, we enjoy doubling the vegetables and adding more lemon slices outside of the chicken. Sometimes we add mushrooms and green beans just for the heck of it. You can see what you like and adjust.*

The Gettin’
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry.
3. LIBERALLY salt and pepper the inside of the chicken.
4. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic.
5. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper.
6. Tie the legs together with kitchen string (needle threads worked for us!).
7. Tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken (see her video for help).
8. Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan.
9. Toss the veggies with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil.
10. Spread the veggies evenly around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.
11. Roast the chicken for 1.5 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh.
12. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes.
13. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.

The Take:
The first time we made this, it turned out pretty dry.  We made it again for Lauren’s parents, and it turned out fantastic!  We don’t know what the difference was…

Total Time: 2 hour 10 minutes
Prep – 20 minutes
Cook– 1 .5 hours
Inactive – 20 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Level: Intermediate

Lobster Tail, We Fancy

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This recipe stolen graciously from Giada.

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The Goods
1 cup water
4  lobster tails
salt and pepper
melted butter, for serving (you can clarify it if you want to be fancy)
nimble pinkie fingers

The Gettin’
1.  Add the water to a large pot and bring to a boil.
2. Rinse the lobster.
3. Open the lobster tail in butterfly form (fancy!)
4. Salt and pepper, to taste.
5. Place the lobster tail in the pot to steam (we used a steamer basket) and cover.
6. Steam cook for 8 minutes (it turns a beautiful red!)
7. Serve with hot melted butter, raise pinkies high and enjoy. 😉

The Take:
Lobster tails seem intimidating, but they weren’t hard at all!  And they were oh so tasty, despite looking a dull brown and unappetizing when we bought them from the local supermarket.  The trickiest part was the butterflying, but even a mistake still tastes good!

Total Time:  23 minutes
Prep – Realistically for Newbies like Recipe Thieves: 15 minutes
Cook– 8 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Level: Intermediate

Garlic and Citrus Chicken

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The following dish was inspired by both ComfyBelly.com and Giada De Laurentiis.

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The Goods
two reg. size packages of chicken, or one large: thighs and wingettes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 orange, quartered
1 lemon, quartered
3 garlic cloves, chopped
extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh oregano leaves

The Gettin’
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Wash and dry chicken pieces.
3. Place chicken in a baking dish.
4. Brush extra virgin olive oil on each piece (both sides).
5. Liberally salt and pepper both sides of each chicken piece.
6. Squeeze the 1 quartered lemon and 1 quartered orange over the chicken pieces, toss in the lemon and orange pieces.
7. Sprinkle 3 chopped garlic cloves and 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh oregano leaves.
8. Place in the oven for 55 minutes or until the skin is crispy and browned.

The Take:
Boy, was this good!  I was expecting a dry, overcooked chicken (we kept it in longer to brown the skin), but the chicken exploded with flavor!  It really soaked up that citrus.

Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Prep – 30 minutes
Cook– 55 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Level: Easy