Creamy Jalapeno Dip

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
7 ounces canned pickled jalapeños, with the juice
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons ranch seasoning powder
1 cup cilantro, chopped

Add the softened cream cheese, canned jalapeños, sour cream, garlic powder, ranch powder, and pepper to a food processor.

Blend until smooth then add the cilantro and blend until incorporated.

Taste and adjust the seasoning with additional seasoning if needed.

Serve with chips!

Biscuits

4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup very cold butter cubed
1⅓ cups cold milk

Preheat the oven to 425F. 

In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Add in the cubed butter to coat with flour. Using a pastry blender, work the butter into the flour until the butter pieces range in size from peas to almonds.

Using a silicone spatula, fold the milk into the flour mixture until most of the flour is moistened but the dough is still crumbly. (Don’t over mix it. It will come together in the next step.) Turn out onto a well-floured surface.

With floured hands, pat the dough to a 1-inch thick rectangle. Fold the dough in half. (A bench scraper or large spatula can be helpful here!) Cut the dough in half crosswise and stack the two halves on top of each other. Pat the dough into a rectangle again. Repeat folding, cutting, stacking, and patting 3 more times.

Roll the finished dough to about ¾ to 1-inch thickness and cut into square biscuits. Place on prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops and bottoms are golden brown. Immediately brush with melted butter. 

Orange Rolls

Dough:
¾ cup warm milk (110 degrees F)
2 ¼ teaspoons yeast (1/4-ounce package yeast)
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
¼ cup butter, melted
3 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting
3/4 teaspoon salt

Filling
6 tbsp butter, softened
about 1 cup orange marmalade
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

Orange Glaze
3 tsp orange zest, divided
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons milk or cream (as needed)

Warm milk to around 110 degrees F. It should be like warm bath water. Transfer warm milk to the bowl of an electric mixer and sprinkle yeast on top. Add in sugar, egg, egg yolk and melted butter. Mix until well combined. Next stir in flour and salt with a wooden spoon until a dough begins to form.

Place dough hook on stand mixer and knead dough on medium speed for 8 minutes. Dough should form into a nice ball and be slightly sticky, add flour a tablespoon at a time if too sticky.

Transfer dough ball to a well-oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a warm towel. Allow dough to rise for 1 hour to 1 ½ hours, or until doubled in size. 

After dough has doubled in size, transfer dough to a well-floured surface and roll out into a 16x12 inch rectangle. Spread softened butter over dough, leaving a ¼ inch margin at the far side of the dough. Spread marmalade even over buttered dough then evenly sprinkle brown sugar over the top. 

Starting from the 12 inch side tightly roll dough up, pinch the end of the dough to seal it, and place seam side down. Cut into 12 one inch rolls and arrange rolls on a greased pan or cookie sheet.  Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until double in size 45 minutes to an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove plastic wrap and bake cinnamon rolls for 20-25 minutes or until just golden brown on the edges.

Make the glaze:
In a bowl, add orange juice, vanilla, powdered sugar and salt and whisk to combine.  Drizzle in the milk as needed until mixture can be whisked smooth and is to desired consistency.  Whisk in 2 teaspoons of orange zest.  Evenly poor glaze over rolls. Evenly sprinkle remaining 1 teaspoon of zest over rolls.

To make overnight cinnamon rolls:
After placing rolls into the greased pan (after the first rise), simply cover, place overnight in the fridge and then bake them in the morning as directed. Bring rolls to room temperature first by leaving them on the counter for 30-45 minutes before baking (this counts as the second rise).

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Sauce:
1 medium onion, quartered
5 cloves minced garlic
2 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt

Meatballs
2 pound ground beef
2 cups bread crumbs
2 tablespoons dried parsley
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 eggs

In a high powered blender, blend onion, garlic and one can of tomatoes and pour into a large saucepan.  Blend remaining can of tomatoes with tomato paste and pour into saucepan. Add salt, sugar, bay leaf, basil, pepper and salt.  Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 30 minutes. 

While sauce is simmering, make the meatballs.  In a large bowl, combine ground beef, bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon salt, garlic powder and eggs. Mix well and form into 24 balls. 

Add meatballs to sauce, increase heat and return to simmer.  Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer 30 minutes more until meatballs are cooked through.

Serve with spaghetti and garlic bread.

Tzatziki Sauce

1/2 a large English cucumber - unpeeled
1 1/2 cups plain full fat Greek yogurt
2 large garlic cloves - finely minced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon minced fresh dill

Grate the cucumber and place in a fine mesh sieve over a bowl to drain.  Overnight in the fridge is best but at least 3-4 hours.

Combine the yogurt, garlic, oil, vinegar, and salt in a large bowl. Transfer the grated cucumber and fresh dill to the yogurt mixture and stir to combine. Serve chilled.  Even better the next day.

Creme Brulee

1 quart heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1 cup sugar, divided
6 large egg yolks
hot water 

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. 

Place the cream, vanilla bean and its pulp into a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean and reserve for another use. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar and the egg yolks until well blended and it just starts to lighten in color. Add the cream a little at a time, stirring continually. Pour the liquid into 8 (shallow 5 ounce) ramekins. Place the ramekins into a large rimmed cookie sheet. Pour enough hot water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. 

Bake just until the creme brulee is set, but still trembling in the center, approximately 30 to 40 minutes.  

Remove the ramekins from the pan and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days. 

When ready to serve, divide the remaining 1/2 cup sugar equally among the 8 dishes and spread evenly on top. Using a torch, melt the sugar and form a crispy top. Allow the creme brulee to sit for at least 5 minutes before serving. 

*Substituted 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste for the vanilla bean

*Had extra mixture after filling 6 ramekins so I cooked the remaining amount on the stove and then poured it into two more ramekins and chilled -- same result as the baked ones.

Paleo Pancakes

1 c almond flour
2/3 c tapioca flour
1/2 c coconut flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
8 large eggs
1/2 c almond milk
2 tbsp honey or maple syrup
2 tsp vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract

In a mixing bowl, add all dry ingredient and mix well.  In a separate bowl, add remaining (wet) ingredients and mix well.  Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well until well combined.

Heat a skillet over medium heat and coat with butter, coconut oil or non-stick spray.

Spoon batter onto the skillet to form 3-4 inch pancakes.  Cook 2-3 minutes, flip and cook 1-2 more minutes until cooked through.

Serve warm with warm maple syrup.

Makes appx 16 pancakes