Rueben Sandwich

Ingredients:

Rye Bread
Corned beef
Sauerkraut
Swiss cheese or Caraway cheese from Manwaring Cheese Factory in Rigby, Idaho.
Sauce (see recipe below)

Sauce:
Combine and mix:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 T. ketchup
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. prepared horseradish
Freshly cracked pepper
Pinch of cayenne pepper

Refrigerate any unused dressing.

Butter one side of bread slices and put on grill or in frying pan. Put sauce on both pieces of bread. Lay corned beef, sauerkraut, and cheese on one slice. Put the empty slice of bread on top of the full slice. Put weight on sandwich. Continue to grill until golden brown. Flip and repeat.

Eat with one of my homemade pickles or a dill pickle of your choice.  Yummmmm!!

Celery, Chickpea and Feta Salad

 

This is really yummy!

Salad:
6 stalks celery, chopped
2 cans (15 oz. each) chickpeas, drained
10 oz. grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup crumbled feta
1/2 cup fresh-chopped parsley
1/2 cup fresh thyme

Dressing:
4 T. extra virgin olive oil
4 T. balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt

Gently combine celery, chickpeas, tomatoes, and feta.
Combine olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, pepper and salt in separate bowl. Pour on salad.
Sprinkle fresh herbs overtop and stir to combine.
Refrigerate any leftovers.

Serves 6
Cooking time: 10 minutes

Chocolate Lover's Acai Bowl

Makes 1 serving.

Ingredients:
1 frozen unsweetened Sambazon Acai pack
40 g. frozen bananas
1/4 cup unsweetened Almond-Coconut milk
1 serving organic, clean, chocolate protein powder
1 Tbs. raw cacao powder
4-6 ice cubes

Toppings:
20 g. sliced banana
20 g. sliced strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, blackberries, and/or raspberries
1 Tbs. sliced almonds
1 Tbs. granola

1. Place frozen acas in a blender and pulse until broken up. Scrape down the sides of the blender and add the almond-coconut milk, frozen bananas, protein powder, cocao powder, and ice. Blend until smooth and thick.

2. Pour into a bowl and top with bananas, strawberries, almonds, and granola.

Dad's Braised Short Ribs and Creamy Polenta

This is a delicious dish. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

8 whole beef short ribs
kosher salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup all purpose flour
6 pieces Pancetta, diced
2 T. olive oil
1 whole medium onion, diced
3 whole carrots, diced
2 whole shallots, peeled and finely minced
2 cups red or white wine
2 cups beef or chicken broth (enough to almost cover ribs)
2 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs rosemary

Instructions:
Salt and pepper ribs, then dredge in flour. Set aside

In a large dutch oven cook pancetta over medium heat until complete crispy and all fat is rendered.  Remove ribs and set aside. True heat to medium.

Add olive oil to pan with the pancetta grease, and raise heat to high. Brown ribs on all sides, about 45 seconds per side. remove ribs and set aside. Turn heat to medium.

Add onions, carrots, and shallots to pan and cook for 2 minutes. Pour in wine and scrape bottom of pan to release all the flavorful bits of glory. Bring to a boil and cook 2 minutes.

Add broth, 1 tsp. kosher salt, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Taste and add more salt if needed. Add ribs to the liquid; they should be almost completely submerged. Add thyme and rosemary sprigs (whole) to the liquid.

Put on the lid and place into the oven. Cook at 350 for 2 hours, then reduce heat to 325 and cook for an additional 30 to 45 minutes. Ribs should be fork-tender and falling off the bone. Remove pan from oven and allow to sit for at least 20 minutes, lid on, before serving. At the last minute, skim fat off the top of the liquid. (Can also refrigerate mixture, then remove solid fat from the top.)

Serve 2 ribs on bed of creamy polenta, spooning a little juice over the top.

Creamy Polenta

Boil:
4 1/2 cups water

Pour:
1 cup polenta into the boiling water in a thin stream, whisking as you pour.

Reduce heat:
Simmer and cook for about 15 minutes. stirring frequently. Sprinkle in about 1 teaspoon of salt as you cook. If the polenta seems too thick, add a couple of teaspoons of water here and there as needed.

At the end of cooking time, stir in until melted:
2 T. butter
4 oz. of goat cheese or feta cheese

Put a spoonful of polenta on a plate with the ribs on top. Yummmm!

Healthy Homemade Nutella

Ingredients:
1 cup hazelnut butter (see recipe below)
4 T. raw cacao powder
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 T. coconut oil, soft or melted
4 T. organic coconut palm sugar (more or less for your liking)
2 T. organic maple syrup (more or less for your liking)
pinch of salt

Instructions:
1. Make your hazelnut butter.
2. Mix the hazelnut butter with all the ingredients in a Vitamix, Blendtec, or food processor and store in an airtight glass jar.

Hazelnut Butter Recipe:

Ingredients:
2 cups raw (organic and fresh if possible) hazelnuts

Instructions:
1. Roast the hazelnuts for 10 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees F. or until the skin begins to crack.
2. Remove from the oven and while still warm remove the skin from the nuts. The skin should peel right off from the nuts. It's ok if there is still some skin left on the nuts.
3. In a Vitamix, Blendtec, or food processor blend the nuts, scraping the sides of the container periodically, until you achieve a creamy consistency.