Biscuits and Gravy

Biscuits:

2 cups (9oz) all purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, very cold

1 cup COLD buttermilk

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
3. In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine.
4. Cut the butter into small cubes and put into the flour mixture. With a pastry blender (or two forks) press the butter down to incorporate the butter into the flour. Work it in gently until the butter is mostly pea-size or smaller. The faster you do this step, the better. You want the butter to stay cold. (Note: this step can be done in a food processor instead)
5. Gently add the buttermilk and stir just until combined. DO NOT OVERMIX. Dough will be slightly sticky.
6. Dust a flat surface with a little more flour, dump out the dough and with a floured rolling pin, roll dough to ¾ inch tall, Use a biscuit cutter, or the top of a glass cup to push straight down into the dough. Try to get about 5 or 6 biscuits cut, then gently put the scraps together (again being careful not to overwork the dough) an cut another 2-4 biscuits with the remaining dough.
7. Put biscuits 2 inches apart on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake until barely golden, 10-13 minutes. Do not overcook.

Note: Makes 8-10 biscuits. If you make smaller biscuits they will cook much faster-so watch out to make sure they don't burn.

Sausage Gravy:

1 lb regular or country or traditional sausage

1/3 cup flour

4 cups whole milk

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper (start with ¼ tsp and see if you like more pepper)

1. In a deep frying pan, brown and crumble sausage over medium high heat until fully cooked.
2. Reduce the heat to medium low.
3. Sprinkle the flour in and stir around until sausage is evenly coated in the flour.
4. Add the milk, salt, pepper, and mix to combine.
5. Increase the heat to medium high and stir often, as sauce boils then thickens. It will take about ten minutes for sauce to fully thicken. If gravy gets too thick, add a little more milk.
6. Serve gravy over warm biscuits.

Cinnamon Popcorn

2 tsp can sugar

2 tsp pure maple syrup (optional)

1/3 tsp ground cinnamon

1/3 cup corn kernels (5 cups cooked)

2 pinches sea salt

Air pop the popcorn. Combine and toss together in a large bowl. Serve immediately.

Lemon Cookies

Lemon Cookies

2 sticks room temp butter

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

zest of 90% of a lemon (save the other 10% of the zest for ganache frosting)

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

3 cups flour (up to ¼ cup more if your dough is feeling a little wet or if you do a test cookie that comes out a little flat)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine butter and sugar. Beat together on high speed for a minute or so either with a hand held mixer or with a stand mixer.
3. Add the eggs, lemon juice and lemon zest. Beat together for another two solid minutes.
4. Then in a bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking soda lightly whisk or mix with a fork just so there are no clumps of baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix until just combined.
5. With a ¼ cup measuring cup, measure out the cookies and roll into smooth balls.
6. Bake at 350 for about 12 minutes or until the bottoms start to golden and the tops start to crinkle.

White Chocolate Ganache frosting:

½ cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup white chocolate chips

10% of the zest from that same lemon

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1. While the cookies are in the oven, make the whole chocolate ganache frosting by heating 1/2 cup of heavy cream in a small pot over the stove just until the sides start to slightly bubble. (Don't overcook the cream or it will curdly)

2. Pour the very warm cream over the 1 cup of white chocolate chips and let sit for about 10 minutes until all white chips have melted. Stir together until no lumps appear.

3. Let ganache cool to room temp for about 15-30 minutes.

4. Add the remaining lemon zest and about 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. Mix will.

5. Frost cooled cookies with cooled ganache Enjoy!

Orange Mango Slushie

Serves 2 Total Time: 5 minutes

1 cup orange juice, freshly squeezed or natural unsweetened

½ cup banana, overripe, sliced or in chunks, fresh or frozen

½ cup mango, cubed, fresh or frozen

1 tsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed

1-2 Tbsp hemp seeds

¼ cup ice (optional)

1. In a blender, combine all the ingredients and puree until smooth.
2. Taste, and adjust with extra fruit or ice as desired.

Raspberry Pecan Dressing

Serves 10 Total Time: 10 minutes

1 cup organic raspberries, frozen or fresh

½ cup + 1-2 Tbsp watermelon

1/3 cup pecans or walnuts, toasted (if using salted nuts then reduce the salt below)

2-21/2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

2 Tbsp pure maple syrup or date syrup (add a little more if you want it sweeter)

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2-1 tsp fresh thyme leaves (optional)

½ tsp (rounded) sea salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Using a blender or immersion blender and deep cup or jar, puree all ingredients (starting with ½ cup water and 2 Tbsp vinegar) until smooth
2. Taste, and adjust seasonings if desired, with additional sweetener or vinegar, or salt/pepper.
3. For a smoother texture, strain the dressing through a fine sieve.
4. Serve, and store remaining dressing in an airtight far in the fridge for up to a week.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

2 servings Total Time: 10 minutes

15 oz can garbanzo beans

1 tbsp tahini (sesame seed butter)

¼ cup lemon juice

3 Tbsp green onion (chopped) or substitute white onion

3 garlic cloves (chopped)

1 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp black pepper

½ cup red pepper (roasted and packed in water)

1. If using canned garbanzo beans, drain then, reserving liquid, and rinse beans.
2. Place beans, tahini, lemon juice, onions, garlic, cumin, black pepper, and roasted peppers in food processor or blender and process until smooth.
3. Add reserved bean liquid, or if using cooked bean, water or vegetable broth, as needed for a smoother consistency.

Apple Nachos Supreme

4 servings Total Time: 20 mins

Caramel (date syrup or coconut syrup for the date caramel. Use 1/4- 1/3 cup)

Apple Base:

3 organic apples (cored and sliced into thin rounds)

2 tsp organic lemon juice (or 1 lemon)

Toppings:

34 tbsp nut butter of choice (example almond butter, cashew butter)

1 cups popped organic popcorn

34 tbsp non-dairy chocolate chips (optional)

23 Tbsp chopped nuts (example pecans, walnuts, pistachios)

2 Tbsp cranberries or raisins

2 Tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut

Place apple slices on plate with lemon. Top with nut butter as a base and add rest of toppings. Sprinkle on caramel lastly on top.