Apple Oatmeal Bites

No flour? No salt? No butter? Sweet! These sweet little bites pull together three of my favorite flavors into one delicious finger food.

Fresh Apple Oatmeal Bites 

Don't be fooled, these are not cookies nor muffins...think of a cross between an oatmeal cookie and fresh granola. Perfect for breakfast on the go!

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbs Coconut oil (solid)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 Whole Egg
• 1 Cup Rolled Oats 
• 1/3 Walnut Pieces 
• 1 Apple (peeled and diced)
• 2 Tsp Cinnamon 

Preheat oven to 350. Combine oil and sugar well, then add in the egg and combine. Toss in the rolled oats, apple, walnuts and cinnamon and mix well. Using mini muffin tins with baking papers this recipe yields 18 bites. Fill the papers evenly and bake at 350 for 10 minutes. 

Hickory Smoke Chili

I love a hot bowl of body warming chili in the winter. I hope you enjoy this recipe for my favorite chili, its quick to make, simple, healthy and best of all tastes even better as it rests over night. Make a batch to warm up the house on a cold winter day.

On a recent trip to Texas I picked up some new spices, special salts and new jams and preserves. This recipe revolves around the Hickory Smoked Sea Salt I found while in Fredericksburg, TX on vacation. Check your local grocery or specialty store for a similar ingredient.

This recipe produces a wholesome, mild chili with great undertones of smokey flavor. You may want to adjust the seasoning once everything is together to make it hotter or smokier.

Ingredients:

• 2lbs Ground Meat - lean beef or venison 
• 1 Red Bell Pepper - coarsely chopped 
• 1 Yellow Onion - coarsely chopped
• 1 Head of Garlic - cleaned and cloves crushed, not minced 
• 1 Guernica Pepper - clean and chop into small pieces 
• 1 Can Dark Red Kidney Beans - no salt added
• 1/2 Can Tomato Paste - no salt added
• 1 Can Diced Tomatoes - no salt added
• 1 Can Crushed Tomatoes - no salt added 
• 1tbs Olive Oil

Spices:

• 2 tsp Hickory Smoked Sea Salt 
• 1tsp Smoked Paprika
• 2 tbs Chili Powder 
• 1 tbs Ground Cumin 
• 1/2 tsp Ground Cayenne 
• 1/2 tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder 

In a large pan heat the olive oil, as it heats mix the seasoned salt, ground pepper, and paprika thoroughly with the ground meat then brown the seasoned meat in the hot olive oil. As the meat browns, add the crushed garlic cloves to the pan. Once the meat is cooked through transfer it to the slow cooker set on high.

Using the same pan, sauté the peppers and onion until translucent and browning. Transfer to the slow cooker and mix well with the meat. 

Clean and open the kidney beans, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, and diced tomatoes. Add each of these to the slow cooker stirring thoroughly after each addition. Finally, add the remaining seasonings and mix well. Allow the slow cooker to cook on high for at least three hours, adjust seasoning to taste and enjoy!

Steak Tacos

Steak tacos so good you'll fool a Texan!

Build these at the table for a fun, personalized dinner.

Living in Kirksville You get either settle for restaurant food, or you learn to cook. These little beauties are the result of living with a native Texan that just will not settle. Hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Fresh ingredients are the key to great taste

• Garlic - 1 head peeled and coarsely chopped 
• Yellow Onion
• Lime 
• Red Bell Pepper - here we use mixed sweet peppers
• Fresh Cilantro 
• Cherry Tomatos - a handful
• Avocado 
• Black Beans - no salt added is best
• Mission Tortillas - yellow corn and the small ones!
• Steak 10 oz - we use what ever is cheapest at the butcher counter 
• Cotija Cheese - crumbly white cheese with a subtle flavor 
• Salt & Pepper 
• Vegetable Oil - 2tbs 

Steak Rub: 

• Garlic powder - 1/2 tsp
• Red pepper flakes -1/2 tsp
• Cayenne pepper - dash
• Chili powder - 1 tsp
• Cumin - 1/4 tsp
• Paprika 1/2 tsp 
• Salt - dash

Begin by getting the prep work out of the way, once we start cooking everything goes fast. Thoroughly coat the steaks in the rub mixture, making sure to get every edge. Once the lime is cut up, squeeze once slice over the steaks and discard the rind. 

Steaks rubbed and waiting 

Peel and coarsely chop the entire head of garlic, not just a few cloves, set aside. Next slice the onion in half and peel, then slice into 1/8" slices and set aside. Slice the lime into multiple slices and place half in a small serving dish and set the other half aside. Next wash and clean out the bell pepper, create long thin slices and set them aside. The tomatoes come next, dice them into quarters and place in a small serving dish. The cheese crumbles easily using our hands, crumble a small serving dish full and place aside. 

Amazing what fresh toppings can do!

Frijoles Negros 

Frijoles Negros, black beans, make a great topping and side dish for our tacos. In a small sauce pan combine the whole can of black beans with 1 tsp of chopped garlic and 1 tbs of finely chopped onion, dice up a few slices we pepper earlier. Add a few twists of a pepper  grinder, a couple chopped cilantro leaves and stir the ingredients. Put the heat on low and allow the pot to simmer with the lid on while we continue. 

 

Guacamole

Now it's time to make the guacamole. Add a 1/2 tsp of the chopped garlic to a small mixing bowl along with the juice from two lime slices. Finely dice up to slices of red pepper and three slices of onion, add to the garlic and lime. Add the flesh from our ripe avocado to the bowl and using a fork mash the ingredients together, make it as thick or as smooth as you like. Finely chop a few cilantro leaves and add to taste. 

Fajita Vegetables

On a taco? Oh yes! Add a touch of oil to the bottom of a large frying pan on high heat, we are going to cook these quickly and even sear them a touch. Give the oil a moment to heat up and toss in the remaining garlic. Once it is browning, won't take long, add the onions and peppers and stir frequently. We don't want them to burn, so once we start seeing the garlic turn dark brown and some of the onions are really close to burn looking empty the frying pan onto a serving plater and set on the lowest rack of the oven with the broiler on low. 

Healthy and beautiful

Steak

Living in northeastern Missouri its a rare day you will find me outside grilling in December, but the broiler does a fine job when I don't want to freeze! Using the pan from the vegetables (if its oven safe) or another handy baking dish place a touch of oil in the bottom of the pan and set under the broiler to heat (it should be on low already). We place the pan on the highest oven rack, right under the broiler, we want to sear the steak not bake it. Turn the broiler to high, and once the oil is good and hot place the steak into the pan. There should be a nice sizzling sound as the meat hits the hot oil, slide the rack under the heating element and cook the steaks roughly 3 minutes on each side (we like the meat medium rare). Slice into thin strips and place on the platter next to our vegetables. 

Taco Shells

Tossing the corn tortillas under the broiler on low for a few moments while we set the table and place all the toppings around the table really brings out their full flavor. Don't skip this, warm those babies up and get the most out of dinner. Building your own tacos at the table is fun and personal, try difference combinations of toppings and enjoy!

Balsamic Venison Stew

This wonderfully rich stew relies on kitchen staples and a slow cooker to bring together classic flavors for a great winter meal. Its perfect for those days you don't want to leave the house and brave the grocery store!

The beauty of stew is that you can take the toughest piece of meat and with the right application of time and heat turn it into a tender and delicious meal. Making a stew takes the focus off of the meat, and highlights the combination of flavors and textures of the whole pot. This is great when you can't afford the best cut of meat, or when your only option is that two-year-old chunk of elk in the back of the freezer. Yes, even old elk can't withstand the power of the stew pot.

Ingredients

1.5 lbs Venison - anything but ground really. Don't waste the loins in a stew, there are way better uses for that great cut. A roast works best.

2 cups Beef Stock - if you have it on hand, otherwise break out the bullion cubes and remember they dissolve best in warm/hot water

3 tbs Balsamic Vinegar

1 cup Red Wine - don't go using a good wine here, unless you're drinking it while you cook. Winking Owl at $3 a bottle is perfect!

1/4 cup Olive Oil

1/2 can Tomato Paste

5 Garlic Cloves

1/2 bag Baby Carrots

1 lb Potatoes - I really like the multicolored jewel potatoes, love the fun colors and small size. If you're going for lower-calorie cut the potatoes down to 1/2lb

1 Onion - red or yellow doesn't make much of a difference here

2 Bay Leaves

Salt & Pepper

4 tbs Flour

Recognizable and delicious 

Begin by coarsely chopping the whole onion and garlic, heat a teaspoon of olive oil in a large skillet to sauté the onions and garlic. This is the same pan we are going to use to sear the meat in - so we want to let flavors build in the pan. 

While the onion and garlic are cooking turn on the slow cooker to high and add the beef broth, we will be adding ingredients to the slow cooker as they come out of the skillet. 

Once the onions are translucent and the garlic is browned transfer them into the slow cooker. 

Next, cube the venison into one inch pieces removing most, but not all of the fat. We want some of the fat to remain to lend its flavor to the stew, also wild version is naturally very lean so there shouldn't be much fat to remove. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour with several twists of a pepper grinder, and a pinch of salt. Toss the cubes of meat in the flour mixture to just coat them. 

Lightly coated in flour, pepper and salt.

Using the same page skillet, heat half the remaining olive oil until it sputters when you flick a few drops of water in the pan. Divide the meat into at least four batches: the idea is to sear each side of the cube, not cook it all the way through and the flour will not cook well if the pan is over crowded. 

Add each batch to the slow cooker as they finish. 

Now the pan should have a mess of goodies stuck to the bottom, bring the heat down to medium and add the tomato paste being sure to spread it all around the pan: don't worry if it gets stuck but keep it from burning. Once the tomato paste is hot, slowly stir in the balsamic vinegar to combine it with the tomato paste and pan goodies and toss in the bay leaves. Note here that the tomato paste will not bubble or simmer.

Once the tomato paste and balsamic vinegar are combined slowly add the red wine the pan, stirring the whole time to maintain a consistent texture. This is where we really want to take the time to lift all of the stuck bits off of the bottom of the pan. Let the combination reduce by a third and transfer to the slow cooker. 

Wash the potatoes and cut them into roughly one inch pieces. Keeping the baby carrots whole lends a nice rustic aesthetic to the finished stew, but it's fine to cut them smaller. Add these to the slow cooker and cover. If the potatoes and carrots stick out of the liquid, use water to get the last of the tomato mixture out of the pan and at it to the slow cooker. Let the slow cooker do the rest, leave it on high for four hours and enjoy.

Ready to simmer.

Pair this wonderful stew with a slice of thin cut peppered toast and a glass of red wine to round out the meal.

Nutritional Information

Makes 12 servings 

• Calories 259
• Fat 11g
• Carbohydrates 17g 
• Protein 20g
• Fiber 2.5g