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Ingredients:
6 slices of thick cut bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

2 medium onions, finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

3 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon paprika

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon cayenne (if you like spicy, try 1 teaspoon for a nice heat)

1 tablespoon of salt

1/2 a tablespoon of pepper

1 lb. 85 % lean ground beef

1 lb ground pork chorizo

1 24 oz can of crushed tomatoes

1 24 oz can of diced tomatoes with juice

Directions:

In a large heavy bottomed dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium heat until lightly crisp, stirring occasionally. Once the bacon is crisp and brown, add all the veggies and spices and mix well. Cook until the vegetables are tender and seasonings are aromatic. Add the beef and break it up with a wooden spoon. Once the beef is beginning to brown, add the pork and break it up like the beef, until brown and cook until the meat is no longer pink (about 4 minutes). Add the crushed and diced tomatoes. At this point taste the chili to make sure it’s seasoned properly. Add a little salt and pepper if necessary.

Turn the heat down to a medium-low and simmer for at least an hour and a half.

2.5 cups of almond meal, almond flour or hazelnut flour (can be made by grinding crispy nuts in a coffee grinder)
3 large eggs
1/4 cup of honey
1/2 tsp. of baking powder
1/2 tsp. of sea salt
1 tbsp. of vanilla extract
1 cup of blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare muffin pan with liners or lightly grease with oil.  Mix all ingredients except blueberries until smooth.  Fold in blueberries.  Bake for 30-40 minutes

Crust:

2 cups almond meal

2 eggs

3 tbsp olive oil

¼ tsp baking soda

1 tsp garlic powder

1 ½ tbsp fresh rosemary chopped

Toppings:

1 cup organic marinara sauce from Trader Joe’s

1 lb Italian pork sausage nitrate free

2 crook neck yellow summer squash diced

3 green onions chopped

Handful of torn basil leaves

2 small tomatoes diced

1/2 cup roasted red peppers diced

Handful of sliced black olives

Preheat your oven to 350. Using a spoon mix all crust ingredients together until it becomes very thick. Using your hands, form the dough into a ball. Lightly grease a pizza pan or a cookie sheet with olive oil. Place the ball of dough in the center of your cookie sheet or pizza pan and using your hands, push and pat the dough down into the shape of a circle (or an oval in my case…). You want to make the dough as thin as possible. Your pizza will be about 12 inches across. Bake JUST the crust in your pre-heated oven for 20 minutes. While your crust is cooking, prepare your toppings. If you use sausage like we did, this is when you should crumble it into a large saute pan and brown. After the crust if done, remove from the oven and evenly spread the marinara sauce over the crust. Add the sausage and all remaining toppings evenly over the sauce and bake again for an additional 25-30 minutes. Get creative and use whatever toppings you might like – ours was great but I also suggest trying chicken, artichoke hearts, and even broccoli!! Go wild with it and as always: Enjoy!

Eggplant (3-4)
Zuchinni (2)
Tomato (4-6)
Basil
Olive Oil 
Garlic Cloves (1-2)
14.5 oz  Can Organic Diced Tomatoes (2) 
2lbs Ground Grassfed Beef
Eggs (2)
Italian Seasoning
Salt &  Pepper

Slice Eggplant, tomato and zuchinni in rounds (1/2 inch thick) and put into a bowl.  Toss with olive oil until lightly coated.  Line cookie sheets with wax paper and place veggies in single layer and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cook for 20 minutes at 375 and then increase temp to 400 and roast for an additional 10 minutes.  Sliver basil (roll and slice).  Heat 1/2 tbsp of olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat and add crush garlic, basil and cans of diced tomatoes.  Stir together, bring to a boil and simmer until thick (10 minutes).  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Remove and allow to cool (when cool, scramble eggs and mix into sauce.  Layer eggplant, zuchinni, tomatoes, meat and sauce into baking dish.  Reduce temp to 350 and bake for 30 minutes.

***Note:  the roasted tomatoes make the lasagna watery, so you could leave those out if you desire.  I also add one small can of tomato paste to sauce to make it thicker.

I came up with this one night on the way home from CrossFitAustin. I was coming down with a cold, knew there was nothing in the house to eat, so I stopped at HEB. I wanted homemade chicken soup, but couldn’t face spending the time messing with raw chicken and chopping veggies. Then I hit upon this idea, and was very happy with the results. I’m sad to say that the HEB rotisserie chicken ingredients list both dextrose and milk. (WTH!) I think the rotisserie chickens at Central Market or Whole Foods are better, so by all means use one of those. Chicken soup from scratch, if you have the time, is surely better (see slow cooker method below), but this is very easy and plenty tasty. It’s a hearty soup, chock full of veggies. Use more or less or different pre-chopped veggies, to your preference. Don’t worry; it’ll be great!

Makes eight big servings at about 26g protein each.

Ingredients:
1 original recipe rotisserie chicken
(2) 32 oz containers Central Market Organics Free Range Chicken Broth (or any organic broth that contains no sugar or cane juice)
Go to the produce wall where the pre-cut veggies are and find the following:
(2) 14 oz containers of Creole Seasoning Mix (chopped yellow onion, green onion, celery, green bell pepper, minced garlic, dried parsley). If you can’t find it, get several containers of chopped onions, celery & peppers.
8 oz carton sliced mushrooms (Tip: the mushrooms are sliced thickly; run a knife through the slices several times while still in the carton to reduce them to slightly smaller pieces.)
16 oz bag baby carrots
12 oz bag chopped butternut squash (I don’t don’t chop the carrots & squash, because the point is minimum labor, but the soup would be ready sooner if chopped into smaller pieces.)
1 – 2 Tbsp olive or coconut oil
1 tsp sea salt
1 – 3 tsp Kirkland’s No-Salt Organic Seasoning from Costco (a blend of about 2 dozen organic spices; I use it for all sorts of recipes) or your favorite poultry seasonings to your taste

Directions:
1. The most labor-intensive part of this process is removing the meat from the chicken carcass, so do this while cooking the veggies in steps 2 – 5. Separate the meat from the skin, fat and bones, and pull into bite-sized chunks. Set the meat aside. Snacking on the chicken is perfectly acceptable!

2. Heat a 5 qt or larger soup pot on medium and add the oil.

3. Once the oil is fragrant, add the Creole Mix. Stir well to distribute the oil. Add the spices. Stir every few minutes to saute evenly, for about 10 minutes.

4. Add the mushrooms and continue to saute for 2-3 minutes

5. Add the carrots and squash; continue to saute on medium 10 more minutes.

6. Add one carton of chicken broth and the chicken and stir. Turn up the heat between medium & medium high to speed up the heating process. Add as much of the second carton of broth as will fit in the pot. Put a lid on it and let it heat up. Once it’s simmering, turn the heat down so it won’t boil over and continue to simmer until the carrots & squash are cooked to your liking, stirring occasionally. I like it at about an hour. Adjust the seasonings to your taste.

I divide whatever I don’t eat into 1 pint containers and freeze some so it’s ready to reheat quickly.

The slow-cooker method:
Use a large package of boneless skinless pastured chicken breasts or thighs. Remove the fat (easier with breasts than thighs, but I like the dark meat) and cut into large bite-sized pieces. Add the oil to a 5 qt or larger slow cooker to coat the surfaces. Line the bottom with the chicken. Add the remaining ingredients. I throw in some whole garlic cloves, too. Cook on low for 8 hours. You can assemble this the night before and refrigerate, then leave it slow cooking while you’re at work. The aroma when you walk in the door is heavenly!

2 cups almond butter
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp coconut oil, melted (optional)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients into a large bowl and mix well until incorporated.  Then, spoon the mixture into a pan and flatten with the back of a spoon.  Place in the freezer for an hour or so.  Then, take it out and cut into bite-size squares or rectangles.  Keep fudge covered and stored in freezer.

**Try this too:  Use 1/2 cup almond butter and 1/2 cup cashew butter for creamier texture.