Baby Hot Browns

 From: Southern Living: All-time Favorites cookbook

Ingredients:

16 pumpernickel rye party bread slices

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp flour

1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cups milk

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 pounds thinly sliced turkey

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

Arrange bread slices on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 500 degrees for 3-4 minutes.

Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat; add flour, and cook, whisking constantly, until smooth. Add cheddar cheese, whisking until cheese melts. Gradually whisk in milk; cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture is thick and bubbly. Stir in salt and pepper. If desired, chill until ready to bake.

Top bread slices evenly with turkey. Top each with about 1 1/2 Tbsp cheese sauce. Sprinkle evenly with parmesan cheese and bacon.

Bake at 500 degrees for 7 minutes or until parmesan is melted.

What I did differently: I used regular slices of pumpernickel/rye. I broiled them in the beginning instead of baking them at 500 degrees (basically the same thing, right?) My suggestion would be to add the milk BEFORE adding the cheese. That's how I make macaroni and cheese. I followed the recipe instructions against my better judgement and the cheese was super gooey and didn't melt as smoothly as I would have liked. Trust me. Pour your milk in gradually to the butter/flour mixture, keep whisking, let it thicken, and THEN add that cheese. And we only had to cook it for about 4 minutes in the oven for it to be done. Perfection!

Fried Apple Pies

 From: Southern Living 1988 cookbook

Ingredients:

1 8-oz package dried apples or 3 cooking apples

1 cup water

1/3 cup sugar

1 Tbsp butter

1 10-oz can flaky biscuits

Vegetable oil

Combine apples and water in a saucepan; bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes or  until tender. Cool. Mash slightly, if necessary. Stir in sugar and butter; set mixture aside.

Because I used cooking apples, I peeled and diced them, then boiled them in a small amount of water for about 10 minutes, then added the sugar and butter.

Roll each biscuit into a 5-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Place about two tablespoons of apple mixture on half of each biscuit circle. To seal pies, dip fingers in water and moisten edges of circle; fold in half, making sure edges are even. Using a fork dipped in flour, press edges firmly together.

Pour oil to depth of 1/2 inch into a heavy skillet. Fry pies in hot oil over medium-high heat on both sides until golden, turning once. Drain well on paper towels.

Verdict:

HUGE thumbs up! Wow... so easy to make and these tasted absolutely incredible! We dusted them with sugar as they were coming out the oil as well. We devoured these. I will definitely make these again for a simple breakfast or dessert item!

Chocolate Chip Cookies (Freezer Edition)

 From: Happy Money Saver

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cups real unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
• 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 12 oz milk chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix to combine and set aside.

Using paddle attachment on mixer, cream butter and sugars together until just blended.

Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Add the vanilla.

Put mixer on low speed, and add in dry ingredients.

Mix until just combined. Do not overmix.

Stir in chocolate chips by hand gently.

Use a 4-tablespoon size scoop (or whatever your preference) to form your cookies.

Place on cookie sheet and bake for 15-17 minutes. It doesn't hurt for them to look a little undercooked in the middle when you take them out. They will keep cooking on the cookie sheet for a few minutes.

To freeze:

Form into balls and freeze on a cookie sheet. After they are frozen, remove and add to a freezer bag. They will last for about a month in there. To bake them just take them out and bake as directed. You may want to cook them on 325 degrees because them being frozen will change up how they cook just a little bit.

Verdict:

Thumbs up! We taste tested them immediately (of course) and then later after dinner we took some out of the freezer to try. They were great both ways! When baking from frozen, I recommend cooking for a few minutes and then flattening them out so they cook more evenly. Watch them closely, because frozen cookies will cook differently from freshly mixed cookies!

Air Fryer French Toast Sticks

 From: Love Bakes Good Cakes

Ingredients:

• 12 slices Texas Toast
• 1 cup milk
• 5 large eggs
• 4 tbsp. butter, melted
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp. cinnamon
• Maple syrup, optional

Slice each bread slice into thirds.
In a bowl, add the milk, eggs, butter, and vanilla. Whisk until combined.
In a separate bowl, add the cinnamon and sugar.
Dip each bread stick quickly into the egg mixture.
Sprinkle the sugar mixture onto both sides.
Place into the air fryer basket and cook at 350°F for about 8 minutes or until just crispy.
Remove from basket and allow to cool. Serve with maple syrup, if desired.

Verdict:

Oh my gosh, ALL the thumbs up!! I will say it was harder than I thought to find really thick bread (thank you, Publix, for having Nature's Own Perfectly Crafted bread!) and I was able to slice mine into fourths instead of thirds. Other than that I followed the recipe to the dot! I didn't add a thing to mine, whereas my clearly sugar-obsessed family added both maple syrup AND powdered sugar to theirs. Bahaha!

I don't even like french toast, and I will FIGHT you for these. Wow!!

Dump Ranch (Whole 30)

 From: 40 Aprons

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups light-tasting olive oil, avocado oil, or fractionated “tasteless” coconut oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. mustard powder
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• Lots of fresh ground pepper
• 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp. vinegar (white or apple cider, plus more to taste)
• 1/3 cup fresh parsley
• 2-3 Tbsp. fresh dill
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. paprika
• 1/4-3/4 cup almond milk
• 1 tsp. salt

Dump all ingredients but herbs and almond milk into immersion blender jar or another jar that isn’t much wider than the immersion blender head. Push immersion blender into the jar all the way to the bottom then start to blend, on medium speed first then increasing to high if necessary, until mixture at the bottom becomes thick and opaque. Begin to raise the immersion blender a little at a time then press back down, to incorporate the remaining oil.

Once the mixture is entirely emulsified, remove blender and add herbs. Press immersion blender head down over herbs and blend, only enough to chop and incorporate herbs, moving around as needed. Add almond milk as desired to thin. Start with 1/4 cup and add more as you like, stirring with a spoon to incorporate.

This will keep for 7-10 days - if it lasts that long!

Verdict:

Thumbs up! Yaaaas, this is so good! I have been eating it with my roasted potatoes, my tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, celery... it is delicious! It's seriously the perfect dressing, and if you're doing Whole 30 it counts as your plated fat! #victory 

Air Fryer Glazed Chicken Tenders

 From: Recipe Teacher

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 6-8oz each
3 tbs olive oil
3 tbs balsamic vinegar
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tbs brown sugar
11/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dry crushed rosemary
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder

Combine all ingredients, except chicken, in a shallow baking dish and whisk together.
Add chicken and coat well so it’s all submerged in the mixture. Marinate for at least 30 minutes. 2 hours is better; overnight is best!
Preheat air fryer to 360 degrees for 5 minutes.
Add chicken breasts to air fryer and air fry at 360 degrees for 18 minutes, turning after 10 minutes.
After time is complete, remove chicken and place on a plate or cutting board to rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

Verdict:

Thumbs up! This was a good, tangy, sweet marinade. And wow - the air fryer was SUCH easy cleanup and seemed to be way less hassle than pulling out the grill or mucking up pans in the oven! You could definitely grill this or bake it in the oven as well.

Whole 30 Compliant Brands

I am done with Whole 30, but after less than a week I can tell that I am already feeling more sluggish. I can let myself have a little bit of sugar and it feels like I don't want to stop. Those habits (addictions, in a way) are hard to stop. I may want to return to Whole 30, and if I do, I want to remember the brands and foods I loved so much throughout my round. I was so grateful that I could easily find these brands at our local Kroger, Walmart, and Publix.

Aidells chicken sausage - this quickly became a breakfast staple for us! It's pricey, but it's SO good.

I know there are other flavors out there too, such as chipotle. I wasn't brave enough to try anything but the regular flavor. I love it and will continue buying it off round. Funny story - I never realized how much mayo I eat until I bought this. I went through one jar in 13 days. Hahaha!

We bought both brands of compliant ketchup that we could find and the True Made was our favorite. I didn't think the flavor was as good as "regular" ketchup if I was just eating homemade fries with it, but for things like burgers and in recipes, I definitely couldn't tell a difference.

These are the two brands of salad dressing I tried. I liked Italian better. I wish this Ranch was creamier. I guess that's hard to do without dairy!! Honestly, the more salads I ate throughout the month, the less dressing I found I was using anyway. I really appreciated the blend of the veggie flavors in my salad.

Yay for compliant ham! We used this in salads and omelets primarily. It has a great flavor!

Same with this turkey breast! It had a wonderful flavor. It is so hard to find deli meats that don't have sugar added in any form!

Ghee is what you use in place of butter. It is wonderful to cook in. It's pricey, but this container will last us quite a while! From what I've heard it's hard to find one that is tasty and doesn't smell. I didn't think there was anything foul-smelling or tasting about this brand.

Almond flour is one thing I could NOT get into! NO, it does NOT taste like regular flour AT ALL! Hahaha. I won't miss this, but I do think this is a great brand.

This is just a reminder to myself that these hot dogs tasted like turds.

I'm so glad that pickles are compliant! They are useful in EVERY MEAL!

Finding compliant bacon wasn't as hard as I thought it would be either! This is a great brand that was frequently on sale. It's very thin so it was great for fast-cooking or to make BLTs or homemade bacon bits.

Both of these brands of almondmilk are great! I had a rebate on the Simply Almond brand which made it free, but the store brand is just as good. Make sure you get unsweetened so there are no added sugars in any form!

This is the Sam's Club version of the Aidell's chicken sausage I put a picture of up top. It can only be found at Walmart, and not every Walmart. It's $2 cheaper than Aidell's and fully compliant - no sugar at all - so this is a great win!

True Made wins again with their sugar-free barbecue sauce!

We love soy sauce in stir-fry, on our asparagus, with chicken, on veggies... coconut aminos are completely sugar-free and WAY less sodium than soy sauce! I bet you anything you can't tell the difference if you make the switch!