Homemade Organic Apple Crisp

Here’s What You’ll Need:

• 4 organic apples (I used a mixture of tart and sweet), rinsed, cored and thinly sliced
• 1 Tbsp. organic 100% lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. unchlorinated and unflouridated water
• 1 tsp. organic ground cinnamon
• 1 cup organic rolled oats
• 1 cup organic unbleached white flour
• 2 Tbsp. organic brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. organic white sugar
• 3-4 Tbsp. organic pasture butter, softened; OR organic coconut oil (for vegan option)
• 1 pinch Real Salt

Here’s How I do it:

1. Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
2. Mix the water and lemon juice together in a small bowl, dip the sliced apples into it to stop them from browning, if desired.
3. Arrange the sliced apples in the bottom of a 6-cup casserole dish; Sprinkle with cinnamon.
4. In a medium mixing bowl, add oats, softened butter or coconut oil, pinch of salt and both sugars; Stir with spoon or use your hands until well blended.
5. Press the oat mixture on top of the apples in the casserole; Make sure that it’s flattened on the top of the casserole.
6. Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.
7. Enjoy!

 

Homemade Organic Apple Cinnamon Muffins with Streusel

For the Muffins:

Here’s What You’ll Need:

• 7 Tbsp. [1 stick minus 1 Tbsp.] organic pasture butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup organic cane sugar
• 2 large organic pasture eggs
• 2 1/4 cups organic unbleached white flour, PLUS 2 Tbsp. for dusting shredded apple
• 4 tsp. Homemade Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp. Real Salt
• 1 cup grass-fed organic whole milk
• 1-1/2 tsp. Homemade Organic Vanilla Extract
• 1-1/2 cups shredded organic tart apples (such as organic Granny Smith)
• 1-2 tsp. organic 100% lemon juice

Here’s How I do it:

1. Preheat the oven to 375° Fahrenheit.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Core each apple, then shred and combine with lemon juice; Set aside.
4. Once the butter and sugar are creamed, add each egg into the electric mixer separately and mix well in between.
5. In a separate mixing bowl, stir the flour, salt and baking powder together.
6. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in two segments, alternating with the milk and vanilla.
7. Stir until just evenly moistened.  The batter will be slightly lumpy.
8. Combine the shredded apple and 2 Tbsp. flour until well coated.
9. Using a large spatula, fold in the shredded apples until just evenly distributed, no more than a few strokes.  Take care not to break up the fruit.  Do not overmix.
10. Spoon the batter into each muffin cup, filling it level with the cup.
11. Bake for about 12 minutes.
12. Remove from the oven.
13. Sprinkle each muffin with streusel.
14. Place back into the oven and bake until golden, dry and springy to the touch, approximately an additional 8 – 13 minutes.  A toothpick inserted to the center of the muffin should come out clean.
15. Place the muffins on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes.  Serve warm or at room temperature.
16. Enjoy!

For the Streusel:

• 1/2 cup organic unbleached white flour
• 2 Tbsp. organic cane sugar
• 2 Tbsp. organic light brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 tsp. organic ground cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp. organic pastured butter, cut into small pieces

Here’s How I do it:

1. Mix together the flour, sugar, light brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small mixing bowl.
2. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, cut the butter into the mixture just until coarse crumbs form.

Homemade Organic Copycat Kraft Fresh Take Rosemary and Garlic

Here’s What You’ll Need:

For the Seasoned Breadcrumbs:

• 12 Tbsp. Homemade Organic Panko-Styled Breadcrumbs; OR 12 Tbsp. Homemade Organic Fine Breadcrumbs
• 1 Tbsp. organic extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. Homemade Organic Sweet Whey
• 2 tsp. Real Salt
• 2 tsp. crushed organic dried rosemary
• 1 tsp. organic granulated roasted garlic
• 1/2 tsp. organic granulated garlic
• 1/2 tsp. organic brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. organic cane sugar
• 1/8 tsp. organic turmeric
• 1/8 tsp. organic paprika

For the Cheese Blend:

• 3 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. strained and finely shredded organic mozzarella
• 3 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. grated organic Parmigiano Reggiano
• 3 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. finely shredded organic provolone
• 3 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. grated organic Pecorino Romano
• 2 Tbsp. organic unbleached white flour

Here’s How I do it:

1. Combine in a spice grinder the salt, crushed rosemary, granulated roasted garlic, granulated garlic, brown sugar, and sugar; Grind into a fine powder and combine with the paprika and turmeric until well blended.
2. Combine breadcrumbs, olive oil, whey, and seasoning powder in a small stainless steel bowl; Set aside.
3. Combine all cheeses in another small stainless steel bowl along with the flour until the cheeses are coated well with the flour; Set aside.
4. This recipe yields 1-1/2 cups.
5. Enjoy!

Homemade Organic Smoked Bacon

Here’s What You’ll Need:

• 5 pounds organic pastured pork belly, skin/rind removed (Use the skin for Homemade Organic Pork Rinds)
• 1/2 cup Real Salt; OR Alaea Salt–omit celery seeds as this salt will also prevent botulism
• 1/2 cup packed organic light brown sugar; OR 1 cup organic cane sugar (optional)
• 1 Tbsp. freshly ground organic peppercorn blend
• 1 Tbsp. organic celery seeds (this is to prevent botulism)

Here’s How I do it:

1. Cut the pork belly into uniform square blocks of equal size.
2. Mix the dry ingredients until well blended.
3. In a glass casserole dish, put half of the cure on one side of the pork belly; Flip it over and put the remaining half of the cure on the other side of the pork belly.  (Make sure to work the cure over all parts of the bacon.)
4. Place the dish into a refrigerator, uncovered, in the coldest area for 7 days; Check the bacon daily, flip it over, and pour off any liquid formed from the cure.
5. Carefully rinse off the bacon, leaving some cure behind; Dry the bacon with paper toweling. (Make sure the bacon is still damp.)
6. Prepare your home smoker according to manufacturer’s directions, and choose the type of wood you’d like the bacon to be smoked with.
7. Heat your home smoker to 225° Fahrenheit; Smoke the pork belly for about 3 hours, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 150° Fahrenheit.  (If you’d like, cook it to the traditional temperature of 165° Fahrenheit which will add approximately 1 more hour of smoke time.)
8. Refrigerate the smoked bacon in a clean glass casserole dish overnight.
9. Slice the bacon as thin or thick as desired.
10. Freeze each piece individually on cookie sheets until completely frozen; The bacon will not be sticky to the touch.
11. Wrap bacon into packages (I like to make them with about 8 slices each) of unbleached parchment paper, then wrap again with aluminum foil; Make sure to write the date you added them to the freezer and the type of bacon you made on the package.
12. These can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.
13. Enjoy!

 

 

Homemade Organic Freezer Italian Ground Sausage Mix

Use one pint of this mix instead of 1 lb. loose Italian sausage in recipes.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

• 3 lbs. organic pastured ground pork
• 3 organic pasture eggs
• 1 Tbsp. organic red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp. Real Salt
• 1 tsp. organic freshly-ground peppercorn blend
• 12 sprigs organic Italian flat-leaf parsley, finely minced OR 1 Tbsp. plus 1-1/2 tsp. organic dried parsley flakes
• 1 small organic garlic bulb, peeled and minced [ approx 9-12 organic garlic cloves]
• 3 Tbsp. minced organic fresh basil leaves OR 1 Tbsp. organic dried basil
• 1 Tbsp. organic ground paprika
• 2 Tbsp. organic red pepper flakes
• 1 Tbsp. organic fennel seeds
• 3/4 tsp. organic brown sugar
• 3/4 tsp. organic dried oregano
• 3/4 tsp. organic dried thyme
• 2 cups Homemade Organic Soft Bread Crumbs
• 1 cup chopped organic celery
• 1 cup chopped organic yellow onion
• 1 cup chopped organic carrot
• 1 cup chopped organic green bell pepper

Here’s How I do it:

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs slightly.
2. In a large stainless steel mixing bowl, combine the ground pork, red wine vinegar, eggs, ground peppercorn blend, parsley, minced garlic, paprika, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, fennel seeds, brown sugar, oregano, and thyme; DO NOT smash the meat as it will make it a weird texture, instead pull the meat apart gently and mix carefully with your fingers.
3. Cover and refrigerate the sausage mixture for 24 hours.
4. Gently mix in celery, onion, carrot, bell pepper and breadcrumbs into the sausage mixture.
5. Cook half of the mixture in a large skillet or the bottom of a wide stockpot until the meat is lightly browned; Repeat with remaining half of mixture.
6. Allow the mixture to cool; Measure into 2-cup portions (wide-mouth pint jars with tight-fitting lids) and freeze.
7. Yields 7 pints of mix.
8. Enjoy!

Homemade Organic Brown Sugar

For light brown sugar you’ll need 1 tablespoon of molasses, and for dark brown sugar you’ll need 2 tablespoons.  Joy the Baker has wonderful step-by-step instructions on how she made her brown sugar.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

• 1 cup organic cane sugar
• 1 – 2 Tbsp. organic unsulphured molasses

Here’s How I do it:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine sugar and molasses until no clumps remain; It will be gloopy and clumpy for a while, just keep letting the mixer combine the sugar and molasses until all of them are gone.
2. Store in a glass Mason jar with tight-fitting lid.
3. Enjoy!

Homemade Organic Apple and Herb Pork Chops

Here’s What You’ll Need:

• 6 organic pastured pork chops
• 1 tsp. organic dried thyme
• 1 tsp. organic dried rosemary
• 1 tsp. organic dried marjoram
• 4 medium organic tart apples, cut into 1″ dice
• 1 large organic red onion, cut into 1″ dice
• 3 Tbsp. organic brown sugar
• 1 cup organic 100% apple juice

Here’s  How I do it:

1. Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
2. Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
3. Sear the pork chops for 5 minutes on each side; Remove from heat.
4. Arrange the onion and apple pieces all around the pork chops.
5. Carefully pour in the apple juice.
6. Sprinkle the herbs and brown sugar on top.
7. Cover the Dutch oven and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
8. Remove the pork chops and place on a warm serving platter.
9. Bring the juices to a boil in the Dutch oven; Reduce by half.
10. Serve the pork chops with the reduction sauce.
11. Enjoy!

Homemade Organic Gingerbread Syrup

Here’s What You’ll Need:

• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup Homemade Organic Vanilla Sugar
• 1 cup unchlorinated and unfluoridated water
• 1 tsp. unsulphured blackstrap molasses
• 1 tsp. organic ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. organic ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp. organic ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp. organic ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. organic ground nutmeg
• 2 tsp. Homemade Organic Vanilla Extract

Here’s How I do it:

1. Add all of the ingredients into a chef’s saucepan.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil while stirring to mix well.
3. Allow to boil until the mixture lightly coats a spoon.  (This will take approximately 15-20 minutes.)
4. If you’re unsure if your syrup has cooked long enough, take it off the heat and allow it to cool.  If it needs to cook longer, boil the liquid again.
5. Store in a glass jar with tight fitting lid in the refrigerator.
6. Enjoy!

Homemade Organic Copycat Rumboggies BBQ Sauce

This is my version of a southern favorite BBQ sauce.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

• 1 tsp. Real Salt
• 1/4 cup organic granulated cane sugar
• 1/4 cup organic brown sugar
• 3 cups Homemade Organic Brown Stock
• 2 tsp. organic smoked paprika
• 1/4 cup organic distilled white vinegar
• 1/2 cup organic brown mustard
• 1 cup organic tomato paste
• 1 tsp. organic red pepper flakes
• 1 Tbsp. Homemade Organic Chili Powder
• 1/4 cup organic Worcestershire sauce (Annie’s is great)
• 2 Tbsp. finely minced organic yellow onion
• 3 organic garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 Tbsp. home rendered tallow

Here’s How I do it:

1. Warm tallow in a stock pot until warm and bubbly.
2. Add the garlic and onion to the tallow and saute for 2 minutes.
3. Combine the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally and adding water if necessary.
5. Allow to cool and puree, if desired.
6. Enjoy!

Homemade Organic Italian Sausage Lasagna Sauce

Here’s What You’ll Need

• 2 cups cooked Homemade Organic Italian Sausage
• 24 oz. organic crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup organic minced yellow onion
• 3-4 organic garlic cloves, minced
• 3 – 4 Tbsp. organic tomato paste
• 3 cups Homemade Organic Pork Stock, Homemade Organic Beef Stock or Homemade Organic Chicken Stock
• 1 Tbsp. organic brown sugar
• 4-1/2 Tbsp. minced organic fresh basil OR 1-1/2 tsp. organic dried basil
• 1/2 tsp. organic fennel seeds
• 2 tsp. organic Italian seasoning
• 2 tsp. Real Salt
• 1/4 tsp. organic freshly ground peppercorn blend
• 4 Tbsp. finely minced organic fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley stems OR 1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. organic dried parsley flakes
• home rendered tallow or home rendered lard, for sauteing

Here’s How I do it:

1. Warm a stock pot over medium-high heat.
2. [Optional Step]  If you are making the sausage in the same pot you are making this sauce, no additional lard or tallow should be necessary.  Just remove all of the sausage before going to step 4.]
3. Place the tallow or lard in the pot and allow it to get warm and bubbly.
4. Place the onion, and garlic in the pot and allow to saute for 2-3 minutes.
5. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and stock.
6. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley; Stir until well blended.
7. Add the Italian sausage and bring to a boil.
8. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.  (You want this sauce to be thick and chunky so that it doesn’t make the lasagna soggy.)
9. Enjoy!