This creamed kale is low carb, gluten free, and very delicious. If you're not gluten free or worried about a keto diet restriction, you can shave calories here by making a roux with 1 tsp flour and 1 tsp butter, then using whole milk instead of the cream. 

If you don't have gruyere, you can use parmesan instead. 

I used bagged cleaned kale for ease, if you're buying kale by the bunch to chop by hand 2 pounds will be about a pound after stemming. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 TBSP butter or oil for the pan
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 2 cups shredded gruyere
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 pound kale, cleaned stemmed and chopped into bite sized pieces
• salt and pepper to taste
• Parmesan or gruyere for garnish

In a large heavy bottomed pot with a lid (dutch oven is great for this) heat the butter over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions and garlic have softened. 

Add in nutmeg and cream, and cook over medium heat until it bubbles gently. Start whisking in the cheese in small handfuls until it is all incorporated. Taste for salt and pepper. The mixture will seem a touch thin, it will thicken upon sitting. 

Add kale and stir to coat. You may need to stir in the kale in batches. Reduce heat to medium low and cover the pot to wilt kale. Once it is wilted, stir and taste for seasoning. Allow the sauce to bubble gently with the kale uncovered for about 10 minutes and stir on occasion to allow the water from the kale to evaporate. 

You can eat hot or allow to come to room temp for a thicker sauce. Garnish with parmesan or additional gruyere. 

This meatloaf is the key ingredient for the meatloaf sandwiches we're currently obsessed with. It's easily vegan with flax eggs instead of regular; for a flax egg you simply mix 1 TBSP of ground flax seed with 3 TBSP water and allow it to set until it thickens. For this recipe, you'll use 2 TBSP ground flax seed and 6 TBSP of water to sub the 2 eggs. If you use gluten-free oats (bob's red mill) then this is easily gluten free as well. 

You will glaze the loaf with the ketchup sauce after 40 minutes and continue cooking for a total cook time of 1 hour and 10 minutes depending on your oven. You can prepare the loaf ahead of time to reduce prep the night of cooking. 

Ingredients: 

• 2 lbs Beyond Meat ground beef substitute
• 1 small onion, diced
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• oil for pan
• 2 large eggs (or flax eggs)
• 1/2 cup oatmeal flour (made in food processor)*
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced (optional)
• SNP to taste 
• 1 TBSP Annie's vegan Worcestershire
• 1/2-1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Topping: 

• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup Annie's vegan Worcestershire

Directions: 
Sautee onions and garlic in pan with a little oil until they turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Cool. 

Mix onions, Beyond beef, eggs, oat flour, parsley, crushed red pepper flakes, SNP and Worcestershire together gently but well. You don't want to over work the mix. 

Line a baking sheet with foil and a light coating of oil to prevent sticking. Shape the loaf into a 2 inch tall and 6 inch wide loaf, you should have even spacing on all sides (as pictured). 

Mix ketchup sauce ingredients in a small bowl. 

Bake loaf at 350F for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with the ketchup sauce. Return to oven for another 20-30 minutes. A thermometer should read 165F at this point. 

Serve hot with extra ketchup sauce. 

This is my go to pizza sauce. It's great for dipping cheese sticks, too!

Makes about 2.5-3 cups of sauce. I use canned diced tomatoes because I can buy them in bulk for cheap and use the blender to smooth them out. If you're not interested in using a blender, use one 28 oz can crushed tomatoes. This recipe freezes very well. 

Ingredients: 

• 2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 3 TBSP onion, rough chopped
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano (or 1 tsp fresh)
• 1/2 tsp dried basil (or 1 tsp fresh)
• 1 TBSP dried parsley (or 2 TBSP fresh)
• crushed red pepper flakes to taste (I use 1/2 tsp)
• SNP to taste after reducing sauce

Blend ingredients together until sauce is smooth. Transfer to sauce pan and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer sauce until it is reduced to your desired thickness. 

If you're short on time, you can add 2 TBSP tomato paste to thicken the sauce more quickly, I usually simmer the sauce about 45 minutes to an hour. 

I loved the mini waffle maker I got two years ago so much that now I have three of them. Just cause we're on a diet doesn't mean I put them into long term storage, either. I use them to make chaffles instead! These can be the base for keto mini pizzas or as a bread substitute for sandwiches. 

These are very simple to make. You will need a blender (or immersion blender) and a mini waffle maker for this recipe. 

Makes 6 mini waffles

Ingredients: 

• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup cauliflower rice
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2c - 1 c shredded parmesan
• SNP to taste (start light)

Plug in waffle iron. 

Process eggs, cauliflower, mozz and spices in blender or with immersion blender. 

Spread 1 TBSP parmesan on bottom of waffle iron. Spread cauliflower mix evenly over bottom of waffle iron, about 1-2 TBSP. Sprinkle top of mixture with parmesan, close waffle iron. 

Cook 6-8 minutes until browned and crisp. For best results, cool on a metal cooling rack. If serving immediately then you can keep waffles warm at 250F in the oven while you're finishing the batch. These freeze well. 

To reheat: use toaster oven or regular oven set at 350 to crisp. 

Substitutions: You can use any cheese you want in the filling. This recipe works well for italian or greek dishes. If you're doing a ham sandwich, try cheddar and garlic and onion powder. You can go spicy with some ranch powder and fresh jalapeno with cheddar as well. 

I use this sauce on everything from tofu to chicken to ribs. It comes together quickly and keeps very well in the fridge or the freezer. 

Korean BBQ sauce: 
Makes about 2 cups of sauce, enough for a rack of ribs and tofu or a large batch of wings. 
​
Ingredients

• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup soy sauce (tamari or coconut aminos for gluten free)
• 2 TBSP onion powder
• 2 TBSP garlic powder
• 2 TBSP sesame oil

Whisk ingredients together well. 

Use as a marinade or a dipping sauce.

Pro tip- if you're using this to marinade things, reserve some of the sauce to baste what you're cooking part way through to add more chewy crust. I always reserve some extra for my tofu to use as sauce. 

I found this recipe from the New York Times and lightly adapted it. Here is the link, but it is not always available unless you have a subscription. I have found this dough to be light and fluffy, and think it would work well with just about any sauce. I've included the white wine sauce I made as pictured. The original called for a brown butter sage sauce. I will be making this again with spring onions in the batter and serve it with my vodka sauce. 

Serves 4
Gnocchi:
15 ounces whole milk ricotta
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cups freshly grated parmesan (plus more for serving)
Salt and white pepper to taste
3/4 to 1 cup of flour

Sauce:
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 large shallot, minced
2 TBSP unsalted butter
Dash crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
4 ounces white wine, I used chardonnay
5 ounce package of baby greens
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add 1 TBSP of salt to the water.
   
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat eggs. Add ricotta, parmesan and salt and pepper. Mix well.
   
3. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of flour over mixture and stir to mix. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of flour over mixture then stir to combine. The dough should be very sticky. Place a rounded spoonful of the dough into the boiling water to see if it will hold its shape. If not, add remaining flour, mix and try again. Once the mix holds its shape you'll transfer it to a large ziplock bag.
   
4. Prepare your sauce (see below for the sauce I used) and keep warm over low heat while you cook the gnocchi.
   
5. Cut the corner off one side of the bag diagonally, so you have about a 3/4" opening, and pipe the mix over the boiling water using scissors to snip the dough into 3/4" lengths. Don't overwhelm the pot with the gnocchi, you'll work in batches of about 8-10 at a time. Allow the gnocchi to fully cook, they're done after they float for about 10 seconds.
   
6. Use a slotted spoon or spider skimmer to remove the gnocchi and place into the pan with your sauce.

Sauce:

• Add shallots, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes and butter to a large skillet and cook over medium heat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. When the onions are translucent, add white wine to the pan and allow to reduce fully, until the sauce is viscous. Add the greens to the pan and cook over low heat until they are wilted. Reduce heat to low and keep warm while you cook the gnocchi. Toss the gnocchi to coat them.

Serve with grated parmesan. 

​Classic pimento to be used on sandwiches or as a spread. 

Shred 4 cups aged cheddar into a bowl. Add two tablespoons of mayo, a drained 2 oz jar of pimentos, a dash of Worcestershire and hot sauce, and a half a teaspoon of onion and garlic powder. Stir well. If the mix is too dry, add more mayo slowly to your liking. I think pimento tastes best when allowed to sit for a few hours refrigerated. 

Cuban sandwiches are a big deal at my house. I couldn't find a good cuban bread at any of my local markets, so I found a recipe that worked for me by hostess at heart author Julie (link below with original post button). The recipe works very well, and the only changes I've attempted have been Crisco for the lard and AP flour when it became impossible to find bread flour (thanks pandemic). 

My process for this recipe is as follows. 

Ingredients: 

• 2 tbsp dry active yeast
• 3/4 cup sugar, divided
• 1 cup warm water (about 90-100 degrees)
• 1/2 cup Crisco, melted gently over low heat
• 3 eggs
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• about 6 cups bread flour
• egg and water for egg wash

Process: 

1. Combine yeast, water, and 3 tbsp sugar in the bowl of your kitchenaid. Allow to foam, about 10 minutes. Place the dough hook attachment on the mixer. 
2. Beat the three eggs in a measuring cup. Melt the shortening and allow to cool so it is still liquid but not hot. Add eggs, salt, remaining sugar and shortening to the mixer bowl and turn on to low speed. 
3. Add the flour one cup at a time, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed, until the dough begins to pull away from the bowl. I've used 5 cups to 6 cups of flour in the past, depending on the humidity. 
4. Knead the mixture on medium speed for five minutes. Do not leave the mixer unattended at this point as it could walk itself off the counter. 
5. Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with a tea towel. Allow dough to rise in a warm place for 60-90 minutes or until doubled in size. I like to leave mine in a sunbeam while it's rising. 
6. Punch out dough and divide into 8-10 rolls. Shape them into rounds for buns or into longer shapes for a sub roll shape. 
7. Place rolls on a lined baking sheet (or two) and cover with clean damp tea towels. Allow to rise another 6 minutes. 
8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush rolls with egg wash and bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown. 
9. Cool the buns on a wire rack. When cool enough to handle, I will place the buns in airtight containers and store half in the fridge and freeze the rest. 

Notes: 8 buns will make very large sandwich rolls. 10 is more reasonably sized sandwich rolls. Keep in mind this is a very soft bread and is intended to be pressed when made into a sandwich.