Category: Recipes

Classic Mustard Potato Salad

Classic Mustard Potato Salad
Serves 12
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Ingredients
  1. 3 lbs. boiled potatoes, peeled and cubed
  2. 6 hard boiled eggs, diced
  3. 4 dill pickles, diced (or use dill relish to taste)
  4. 1 C mayonnaise
  5. 1/2 C yellow mustard
  6. 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
  1. Combine all ingredients and mix until combined. Serve cold.
Excogitation https://www.excogitation.org/

Garlic Roasted Potatoes and Carrots

Garlic Roasted Potatoes and Carrots
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Ingredients
  1. 1 1/2 lbs baby red potatoes
  2. 1 1/2 lbs baby carrots
  3. 4-6 cloves garlic, minced
  4. kosher salt to taste (probably at least a tablespoon)
  5. rosemary to taste (a couple teaspoons)
  6. olive oil (enough to coat, maybe 4-5 tablespoons)
Instructions
  1. Wash and cut potatoes into 1 to 1 1/2 in pieces. Dry thoroughly.
  2. Dry baby carrots thoroughly. Drying the vegetables is very important.
  3. Combine vegetables and add garlic, salt, and rosemary. Add olive oil and mix to coat.
  4. Roast in a single layer on a well-grease baking sheet at 400° for 30-40 minutes. Vegetables are done when potatoes are fork tender and have begun to take on a golden color.
Excogitation https://www.excogitation.org/

Slow Cooker Beef Pot Roast

Slow Cooker Beef Pot Roast
Serves 4
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Ingredients
  1. 3-4 lb chuck roast (the better the meat, the better the result)
  2. 3-4 C high quality beef broth
  3. 1/2 medium or 1 small onion, chopped
  4. 3-4 Tbsp olive oil
  5. 4 cloves garlic, minced
  6. 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  7. 1 tsp rosemary (or to taste)
  8. 1 tsp thyme (or to taste)
  9. bay leaf
  10. kosher salt
  11. freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
  1. Cut the chuck roast into generous portion-sized pieces. Dust with salt and pepper to taste. Add olive oil to a pan. When the oil is very hot, sear on each side for 1-2 minutes. You will probably need to do this in batches to prevent the temperature from dropping too much. Add prepared meat to slow cooker.
  2. In the same oil, sautée the onion. When done, evenly distribute among meat in slow cooker.
  3. Add broth to slow cooker until meat is mostly covered, but not completely submerged. Add garlic, rosemary, thyme, and bay leaf evenly over mixture.
  4. Cook on high 5-6 hours, until meat is tender and all connective tissues have dissolved. Any remaining fat deposits should be soft.
  5. You can make gravy from the roasting liquid, if desired.
Excogitation https://www.excogitation.org/

Low Carb Vanilla Cheesecake

Low Carb Vanilla Cheesecake
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Ingredients
  1. 1 1/2 C almond flour
  2. 3 tbsp Splenda (sucralose)
  3. 1/2 C melted butter
  4. 24 oz cream cheese (3 packages)
  5. 1 C Splenda (sucralose)
  6. 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  7. 3 eggs
  8. 1 C sour cream
Instructions
  1. Combine almond flour and 3 tbsp Splenda. Add melted butter. Mix thoroughly and press into 9" springform pan. Bake 5-10 minutes at 350 degrees until set.
  2. In a mixer, combine cream cheese, Splenda, and vanilla extract. Mix until incorporated. Add eggs one at a time and mix slowly until smooth. Stir in sour cream by hand until well combined.
  3. Spoon cream cheese mixture evenly onto prepared crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. The center should NOT be done. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in the hot oven for an additional half hour. Remove and cool completely. Chill at least four hours, preferably overnight.
Excogitation https://www.excogitation.org/

Classic Deviled Eggs

Classic Deviled Eggs
Serves 6
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Ingredients
  1. 6 hard cooked eggs
  2. 1/4 C mayonnaise
  3. 1 tsp vinegar
  4. 1 tsp yellow mustard
  5. 1/8 tsp salt
  6. black pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Cut the eggs in half length-wise (after shelling, of course) and remove the yolk. Set aside the whites. Combine the yolks and the rest of the ingredients. Mix until relatively smooth, then spoon into the reserved white halves. Serve cold.
Excogitation https://www.excogitation.org/

Kiwi Coffee Cake

I had a bunch of kiwi. What are you going to do?

Kiwi Coffee Cake
Serves 12
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
For cake
  1. 1 stick unsalted butter
  2. 1 1/2 C packed light brown sugar
  3. 2 eggs
  4. 1/2 C heavy cream
  5. 1/2 C milk
  6. 1 tsp almond extract
  7. 2 C flour
  8. 1 tsp baking soda
  9. 1 tsp cardamom
  10. 1/2 tsp salt
  11. 2 C kiwi, peeled, sliced, and blanched (about 6 kiwis)
For topping
  1. 1/2 C flour
  2. 1/2 C light brown sugar
  3. 1/2 tsp cardamom
  4. 4 Tbsp butter, softened
For topping
  1. Combine flour, brown sugar, and cardamom.
  2. Add butter and mix until you achieve even crumbs.
  3. Set aside.
For cake
  1. Cream butter and brown sugar until light.
  2. Add eggs, almond extract, heavy cream, and milk. Mix to combine.
  3. In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cardamom, and salt. Whisk to combine.
  4. Add dry ingredients to wet. Mix until they just come together, then add kiwi and mix to combine.
  5. Pour into a prepared 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle topping over batter.
  6. Bake at 350°F until the cake tests done. Cool completely
Notes
  1. The kiwis should be blanched to help inactivate an enzyme in the kiwis that breaks down protein (including gluten). If you don't blanch them, it's likely your coffee cake will fail.
Excogitation https://www.excogitation.org/

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Serves 36
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Ingredients
  1. 1 C unsalted butter, room temperature
  2. 3/4 C brown sugar
  3. 1/4 C granulated sugar
  4. 1 pkg vanilla instant pudding mix (3.4 oz)
  5. 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  6. 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
  7. 2 1/4 C flour
  8. 1 tsp baking soda
  9. 1/2 tsp salt
  10. 2 C chocolate chips (your choice)
Instructions
  1. Cream butter and sugars.
  2. Add pudding mix, eggs, and vanilla. Stir to combine.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
  4. Stir dry mixture into wet. Add chocolate chips and nuts, if desired. Stir to distribute.
  5. Refrigerate until cold.
  6. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto parchment or otherwise prepared sheet pan. Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes until slightly golden and set.
  7. Cool completely.
Excogitation https://www.excogitation.org/

Chocolate Cloud Dessert

Chocolate Cloud Dessert
Serves 18
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Ingredients
  1. 1 cup all-purpose flour
  2. 1/2 cup walnuts
  3. 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
  4. 1 8oz pkg cream cheese, softened
  5. 1 cup confectioner's sugar (aka powdered sugar or icing sugar)
  6. 1 16oz pkg whipped topping
  7. 1 5oz pkg instant vanilla pudding mix
  8. 1 5oz pkg instant chocolate pudding mix
  9. 4 cups cold milk
  10. 1 1oz square semi-sweet baking chocolate, shaved
Instructions
  1. Combine flour, walnuts, and butter. Press into a 9x13 baking dish and bake at 400°F for about 20 minutes, until it just starts to brown around the edges.
  2. Cream confectioner's sugar into cream cheese until it's very smooth. Fold in about half of the whipped topping (reserve the rest for topping the dessert).
  3. Smooth cream cheese mixture over the completely cooled crust. Be careful, because the crust will want to crumble if you put undue pressure on it.
  4. Combine pudding mixes and whisk in cold milk. Immediately pour over cream cheese mixture to form a smooth, even layer.
  5. Refrigerate until chilled completely through and pudding is firm.
  6. Top with whipped topping.
  7. Carefully shave the baking chocolate square and sprinkle over the whipped topping.
  8. Serve immediately.
Notes
  1. When I take this somewhere, I usually stop at the pudding step and take the remaining whipped topping and chocolate shavings with me to finish building the dessert on-site. I also shave the chocolate ahead of time and put it in a resealable bag in the freezer (shaved chocolate melts when you look at it, so it's best to have it as cold as possible).
Excogitation https://www.excogitation.org/

Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken and Dumplings
Serves 8
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Ingredients
  1. 1 to 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  2. 6 cups chicken stock (or properly reconstituted bullion)
  3. Parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper (all to taste)
  4. 2 cups flour
  5. 2 1/2 tbsp baking powder
  6. 1/2 tbsp salt
  7. 4 tbsp oil
  8. 1 cup milk
Instructions
  1. Pan fry the thighs until golden (don't worry about them cooking through, the next step will take care of that)
  2. Add the thighs to the stock pot and pour chicken stock over them
  3. Season with parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper (I never measure this, so do what feels good to you). Be careful with the salt, as the stock is likely to be salty already.
  4. Cook on medium heat for about a half hour until the chicken is falling apart
  5. When the chicken is done, take out the pieces and either shred or cut them (your choice). Return to stock.
  6. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together, then add the oil and milk. Mix until combined. Set aside.
  7. Return stock to low boil. Drop dumpling mixture in by large tablespoons.
  8. Cook for about 15 minutes more, until the dumplings are done through. They will disintegrate to some extent, but you should have some small dumplings left and a nice creamy broth.
  9. Serve hot.
Excogitation https://www.excogitation.org/

 

Rhubarb Pie

Where I live, you can't easily find fresh rhubarb. Frozen works just as well, but the trick is to completely thaw it before you even think about making a pie. Otherwise, you'll end up with a runny mess. The same goes for other made-from-frozen fruit pies.

Rhubarb Pie
Serves 8
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
1 hr
Total Time
1 hr 10 min
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
1 hr
Total Time
1 hr 10 min
Ingredients
  1. 1 double pie crust (or a single pie crust with streusel topping)
  2. 2 C sugar
  3. 1/4 C flour
  4. 1 tsp salt
  5. 1 tsp vanilla extract
  6. 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  7. 4 C rhubarb (probably 2 packages)
Instructions
  1. In a bowl, combine sugar, flour, salt, vanilla, and eggs.
  2. Add rhubarb and stir to coat.
  3. Mound filling inside prepared pie crust. Add top crust or topping.
  4. Brush lightly with butter and sprinkle sugar over top crust, if desired.
  5. Bake at 350°F until golden, approximately 1 hour.
  6. Cool completely before serving. Liquids will firm up as pie cools.
Excogitation https://www.excogitation.org/