Cranberry Apple Cheesecake Crumble

Crust and topping
3 cups almond meal
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup Splenda granular
1½ teaspoons cinnamon
1.5 Tbsp molasses
1 vanilla bean (paste from) or 2 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of kosher sea salt

Topping only
1/2 cup pecans, whole
2 Tbsp heavy cream

Filling
24 (3 blocks) ounces cream cheese, softened
3 large eggs
5 droppers of vanilla stevia+20 drops regular stevia (or 1/2-3/4 sugar...depends on how sweet you like things)
1/2 c heavy cream
1 large Granny Smith apple (or 2 small)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups cranberry sauce (I used homemade cranberry apple...leftover from thanksgiving, of course!)

Preheat oven to 350° F.

In large bowl, combine almond meal, butter, Splenda, cinnamon, molasses, vanilla bean paste and salt. Mix until crumbly with your hands.

Dump approximately 1/3 of the crust mixture to form a thin bottom crust with your hands or spoon. Go up the sides about 1/2 an inch as well.

Add topping cream and pecans and mix.

In another bowl, use a hand mixer starting low and increasing to high speed until well blended, combine cream cheese, eggs, cream and stevia. Pour into crust.

Core apple and slice into very thin 1/2 circle sections. Arrange in circles around the edge of the cream cheese mixture, all the way to the middle. Sprinkle cinnamon over the apples. Spread the cranberry sauce over the apples.

Gently layer remaining crumble topping evenly over top. Bake for 45 minutes or until topping lightly browned and a sharp knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Gluten Free, Grain Free, Low Carb Chocolate Chip Cookies (Soft and Chewy...)

Gluten Free, Grain Free, Low Carb (Soft and Chewy) Chocolate Chip Cookies


Well, another gluten free chocolate chip recipe...what's the big deal? Well, let me tell you...these are good, really really really good. Like pretty close to what I remember the gluten-y version being, although according to my Mom who still eats gluten, sometimes my memory fails me - which I don't necessarily think is a bad thing.

I hvae tried 5 or 6 other gluten free, some grain free and some lower carb cookies, and none of them can hold a candle to my newest recipe interation.  I think if you wanted them to be dairy free, you could use coconut oil instead of the butter, quite successfully, and if there are dairy free chocolate chips? (I don't know) you could use those too...or use cranberries, or raisens, or whatever cookie add-in you dearly miss!  The best part about these cookies is that they are soft on the inside and won't just crumble when you take a bite...plus the flavor, OMG the flavor. Delcious!

If you try these, please let me know what you think...becuase in my humble opinion, these are the best gluten free, grain free and low carb (they don't taste it...promise) chocolate chip cookies I have ever had. These are definitely going on our family Christmas cookie list...

Gluten & Grain Free, Low Carb Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 stick of unsalted butter
1/3 c Splenda granular
1/4 tsp (40 drops) nunaturals liquid stevia (sugar equivalent to 1/3 cup)
1/2 tsp molasses (optional)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup+2 Tbsp almond flour
2 Tbsp coconut flour
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2/3 cup dark chocolate chips (use sugar free, should you so choose, to make them entirely sugar free)
2/3 cup nuts, chopped (I used walnut)


Cream softened butter, stevia and Splenda. Add vanilla, molasses and eggs. Beat until combined. Add dry ingredients, except nuts and cups and blend well. Add nuts and chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. Enjoy!

What a treat!

Apple Cider Beef Shoulder Roast (gluten free)

3-4 lb choice beef shoulder
2 cups apple cider
3 tsp cider vinegar
1/2 Tbsp minced garlic
1/4 c roughly chopped onion
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

(salt, pepper, onion powder and cinnamon)

Sprinkle roast with salt, pepper, onion powder and cinnamon. Sear it off in a hot pan, if you have the time...not necessary, but it makes it like 1% better...

Add all other ingrediants and cook in the slow cooker on high for 8-10 hours or in the Dutch oven at 350 for approximately 3 hours.

Pull meat into large chunks/shreds and put it back in the cooking liquid for 10-15 minutes once it's done so that it absorbs the juices.

Serve by itself or as a delicious sandwich, also makes a great frittata filling!

Cinnamon Apple Pork Loin Roast (slow cooker! gluten free!)

2-3 lb pork loin (would probably work with tenderloin too)
4 Tbsp cider vinegar
1/3 c dark brown sugar
1/2 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp rosemary
3-4 apples (I used golden delicious and granny smith)
1 onion
1/4 c half and half or heavy cream (for sauce)


(I always have to defrost my meat, which makes step 1 easier...)

Defrost the pork loin and after is is about 25% defrosted, go ahead and do step 1 (below)...if the pork is still mostly frozen and you use a good serated knife (I use a bread knife...) it will be 1000 times easier.

1. Cut through the pork, almost like you are slicing it, but leave about an inch uncut at the bottom. I had about 8 cuts in mine. (Kind of like a Hasselback potato?)

2.  Combine all ingrediants, excluding the apples, onions and half and half in a bag and marinate the sliced pork overnight, or up to 48 hours.

3. Morning of cooking - Slice 2 of the apples into sixths(ish) if they are large or quarters if they are small, and do the same with the onion. Throw those in the bottom of the crock pot. Sprinkle some cinnamon over the apples.

4. Slice the remainder of your apples into thin pieces (I used my apple peeler/corer/slicer for this part).

5. Remove the meat from the marinating bag (don't throw it away!) and begin sliding the apple slices into the slits in your meat. I put about 3 half slices into each cut. Place the stuffed meat into the crockpot and dump the remaining marinade over it.

6. Cook on high for 6-8 hours or low for 10-12.

7. (Optional) About 20 minutes before serving, carefully remove the roast and strain out the apples and onions. Puree them in a food processor to make a savory applesaucey kind of thing. Add more cinnamon, should you so desire.  Take the liquid from the slowcooker and pour it into a saucepan. Reduce it by about 1/3 and then add your cream or half and half. Taste it and add salt and pepper if needed.

Serve on a pretty platter surrounded by veggies, if you want to impress people...I served it with roasted butternut squash and cranberries. It was a big hit...

Coconut Cranberry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies (gluten free)

3/4 c coconut oil
1/2 c applesauce (homemade, thick...)
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp almond extract
 
3/4 c sorghum flour
 1/4 c potato starch
 1/4 c tapioca starch
 1/2 tsp baking soda
 1/2 tsp baking powder (aluminum free)
 1 tsp xanthum gum
 1 (scant) tsp kosher salt
 
 3/4 c cranberries
 1 c chocolate chips
 3/4 c unsweetened coconut + more for dipping bottom of cookies

Cream coconut oil and brown sugar. Add applesauce, eggs and extract. Mix well. (My applesauce was hot, right out of the microwave and melted the coconut oil slightly. This seemed to work well.)

Add the dry ingrediants and mix well. Add cranberries, chocolate chips and coconut. Roll into balls (doesn't have to be perfect) and dip bottoms in additional coconut.
 
Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. smush a little when you take them out to make them flatter.

Cranberry Mustard Pork Roast (gluten free & low carb)

Cranberry mustard pork roast

Pork roast (I used a 5 lb sirloin roast)
1.5 c cranberry sauce ( I used homemade cranberry apple)
3/4 tbsp dry mustard or 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/3 c GF soy sauce
2 heaping tbsp minced garlic
1 onion, diced into small pieces
1 c dry white wine
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp coarse kosher salt (more to taste at the end)

Sear meat with salt and pepper. Add sauce. Roast in Dutch oven for 3-4 hours at 350 or crockpot for 8-10 hours. Shred and return to oven/crockpot for approximately 30 minutes. Can reduce sauce should you so desire.