No-Peek Pork Tenderloin

PB Rice Crispy Protein Balls

 Bri brought home this recipe from her mom (Allison) recently, and the texture on these is so good that I had to write this down somewhere I would be able to find it later. Thank you, Brittny, for starting this blog 1000 year ago! These are similar to your basic PB/Oats/Honey/Chocolate chip energy balls that I know a bunch of already make occasionally. But the addition of the rice crispy gives it a little crunch that I found to be quite nice!

Makes about 30 balls

Ingredients

-2 cups quick oats
-1 cup rice crispy cereal
-1 cup flaxseed (we have a chia/flax/hemp seed mix that we like, but use whatever you like)
-1 cup peanut butter
-4 scoops chocolate protein powder
-2/3 cup honey
-2 tbsp liquid coconut oil (you can use olive oil if you don't have coconut)
-2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1) Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl
2) Scoop out the batter and roll it into a ball with your hands. If it's important to you for them all to be the same size, you could use a cookie scoop here
3) Place the protein balls in the fridge for 20-30 minutes to let them setup. You *can* eat them right away if you want, but the texture is better once they're more firm
4) Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks

TIPS

You can use a little cooking spray on your tools to help the sticky things not be so messy. ie) spray your bowl before adding the ingredients, spray your measuring cup before you measure the honey, spray your cookie scoop before scooping if you want to use one, etc. Cleaning honey out of/off things is a sensory nightmare for me, i've found cooking spray helps!

Ewell Sugar Cookies

 Another Christmas cookie recipe from Keven Ewell, Bri's dad. I halved this recipe from what made a giant batch so feel free to play with amounts if needed.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup unsalted butter

2 1\4 cups white sugar

2 medium size eggs

3 cups all purpose flour

1\2 tbsp baking powder

1 1\2 tbsp vanilla extract

1\2 tbsp lemon extract

1\2 tbsp almond extract

DIRECTIONS

Beat together until fluffy:

1 cup unsalted butter

2 1\4 cups sugar

Add 2 medium size eggs and mix well

Add 3 cups flour, 1/2 tbsp baking powder, 1 1\2 tbsp vanilla extract, 1\2 tbsp lemon extract, 1\2 tbsp almond extract 

NOTES: 

-If too dry at end, add up to 3 tbsp milk if needed. 

-If you want to roll out dough to use cookie cutter shapes, add 1\4 cup flour

Once all combined, chill in fridge for at least 1 hour before forming cookies and then bake at 350F for 9 minutes

Ewell Molasses Cookies

 This recipe comes from Bri’s dad, Keven Ewell. Makes about 2 dozen.

Molasses Cookies

 2 cup Sifted Flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cloves

1/4 cup margarine

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup molasses

1/4 cup buttermilk 

Beat margarine until light and fluffy.  Gradually add sugar and beat until fluffy.  Add molasses, sour milk, baking powder and soda, salt, ginger and cloves.  Beat until well mixed.  Add flour and mix well.  Store in refrigerator overnight (at least 4 hours).  Roll out cookies to about 3/8 of an inch.

Bake at 350°for about 12 minutes

Remove from oven, place on cooling rack and glaze with sugar glaze.

Glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar

2 to 3 Tbsp milk

Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts

 Serves 4-6 people

1 lb Brussels sprouts

1/3 lb thick cut bacon

1 medium shallot (diced)

1 clove garlic

1/2 cup (ish) of pure maple syrup (not pancake kind)

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Balsamic glaze for finishing as desired

Optional seasonings: mustard powder, garlic powder, onion powder

Preheat oven to 450

1 - Trim stems and cut Brussels sprouts in half lengthwise

2 - steam sprouts in microwave safe bowl (covered) with 1 tbsp of water for about 3 minutes or until bright green

3 - toss steamed sprouts with olive oil, salt, pepper, and any other desired seasonings until coated and arrange cut-side down on baking sheet (DO NOT OVERCROWD the pan. If you do, the sprouts will steam instead of roast and it will be impossible to get them crispy. Roast in 2 batches if necessary)

4 - roast on middle rack in preheated oven for approx 20 minutes. The outer leaves should be crispy but not burned, and the cut sides should be browned

5 - while sprouts roast, chop bacon into bite size pieces and pan fry as desired. Place bacon on paper towels to drain grease. Drain most of the grease, but keep a tbsp or so in pan to sauté the shallot in

6 - in same pan used for bacon, sauté shallot until almost translucent (approx 3-5 min on low/med heat) Add garlic in last 30 seconds or so of cooking until garlic is fragrant. 

7 - lower heat to low (2/3 out of 10) and add bacon back in with garlic and shallot. Add approx 1/4 cup of maple syrup or enough to coat and cook on low until thickened and sticky. Remove bacon shallot garlic mixture to bowl.

8 - in a clean mixing bowl, whisk together approximately 1/4 cup maple syrup and 1/4 cup olive oil and salt and pepper to taste

9 - once sprouts are done in oven, add them to prepared bowl and toss to coat in dressing. Then add coated sprouts back to pan used for bacon, and add the bacon shallot mixture and toss to combine until bacon is well distributed throughout 

10 - serve up and finish with balsamic glaze drizzle and flaky salt. Enjoy!

Flaky Buttery Bundt Rolls

 1 stick of butter

2 cans of Grands flaky rolls 

Heat oven to 350. Melt butter in Bundt pan in oven while it preheats (approx 3 min). 

Once butter is melted, place rolls in Bundt pan in the melted butter standing up. Bake in oven for about 17 min then check every few minutes to see when golden brown. This will likely be a few minutes longer than the roll packaging since all the rolls are smushed together in the pan. 

Enjoy!

Dad’s pico