Makes 12 bars
I came up with this recipe for a ski weekend at Whistler. We wanted to get in as much skiing in as possible, so we decided to ski through lunch. I knew we needed some energy mid-day, so I came up with these nutritionally rich granola bars, perfect for a snack on the slopes or at a beach side picnic. Crumble to make granola.

Make Ahead: Up to 5 days ahead, make the bars, keep in a covered container.

Ingredients

• 2 cups oatmeal, old fashion
• ¾ cup sliced almonds
• ½ cup pepitas, roasted and salted or hulled, roasted and salted pumpkin seeds
• 1 cup coconut, flaked, loosely packed
• ½ cup wheat germ
• ½ cup cranberries, dried
• ½ cup blueberries, dried
• 2 Tablespoons flax seeds
• ¾ cup apple, dried, finely chopped
• ½ Tablespoon lemon zest
• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 2/3 cup honey
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°.
2. Line a 9X13 inch baking dish with parchment and spray with non-stick spray.
3. In a medium bowl, mix the oatmeal, almonds, pepitas, coconut and wheat germ together and spread out on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally until slightly toasted. Pour back into the bowl. Mix in cranberries, blueberries, flax seeds, apple and lemon zest.
4. Reduce the oven temperature to 300°.
5. Melt the butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat, stir in lemon juice, honey, brown sugar and vanilla and bring to a boil for about a minute, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and pour over the oat mixture and stir until well combined. Scoop the oat mixture into the baking dish, with a greased spoon press the granola evenly and firmly into the dish. Bake for 25-30 minutes, turn off the oven and let cool in the oven for a few hours cut and serve.

This is a great use of delicious fall beets. I love this easy, healthy and portable lunch.

Ingredients

• 3 cups roasted beets* golden or red, 1/4 inch slice
• 3/4 cup garbanzo beans, rinsed
• 4 large basil leaves, minced
• 1/2 cup good quality blue cheese, crumbled
• 12 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
• 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• squeeze of lemon
• pinch of salt and pepper
• 1/3 cup albacore tuna fish, optional

Directions

1. In a large bowl toss all of the ingredients together.

Roasted Beets

Ingredients

• 4-5 large beets
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 400°
2. Place a sheet of aluminum foil on a cookie sheet.
3. Wash beets and towel dry.
4. Place beets on the foil and rub beets with olive oil and sprinkle with thyme.
5. Cover tightly with foil. Bake for 1 hour or until fork tender.
6. Remove from the oven, uncover and allow to cool.
7. Once cooled, with the back of a knife peel of skin and cut off tops and bottoms and discard.

In this healthy version of the classic appetizer, we are using frozen spinach and frozen artichokes. Unless you harvest the spinach right out of your garden, frozen is a good way to go because spinach rapidly looses nutrients after it has been harvested. Frozen spinach is harvested and frozen right away, locking in the nutrients. Artichokes are best fresh, but very labor intensive, frozen is the next best thing.
Quick Tip: Assemble, but don’t bake. Keep in the fridge for a day and bake according to the recipe or wrap with plastic and foil and freeze for a few months. Bake from frozen in a 400° oven for about 1 hour covered, uncover and bake until bubbling.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup light mayo
• 1, 8 oz package 1/3 less fat cream cheese
• 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
• 3/4 + 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco
• pinch of salt and pepper
• 1 3/4 cup artichoke hearts, frozen and thawed, sliced in half
• 1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed and water squeezed out
• 1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes, minced

Directions

1. Pre-heat your oven to 375°.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine mayo, cream cheese, mascarpone, 3/4 cup parmesan, sour cream, garlic, Tabasco, salt and pepper. Mix well.
3. Stir in the artichoke hearts, spinach and sun dried tomatoes.
4. Spread into a 2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle top with remaining 1/3 cup parmesan cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbling.
5. Serve with whole wheat crackers.

Make Ahead Tip: You can assemble the meatballs and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Place in the freezer. Once frozen place in a freezer ziplock and store up to 2 months.
Bake in a 400° oven on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165°
If you don’t want to freeze they can be baked and kept in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat in a large pot with sauce.
Recipe makes about 30

Sauce – Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 cup yellow or white onion, 1/2 inch dice
• 4 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 3/4 teaspoon ginger, ground
• 1 cup canned pineapple chunks
• 2/3 cup pineapple juice, from canned pineapple
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• 2/3 cup chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch

Sauce Directions

1. In a medium sauce pot pour in olive oil over medium heat, add the onion and sweat for 2-3 minutes or until translucent.
2. To the onions, stir in the vinegar ketchup, ginger, pineapple chunks, pineapple juice and sugar.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the chicken broth and the cornstarch.
4. Whisk chicken broth mixture into the sauce and bring to a simmer. Allow to lightly simmer for about 5 minutes. Turn down to low and keep warm.

Meatballs – Ingredients

• 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 2 Tablespoons grated yellow onion
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger, ground
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 2 pounds ground chicken

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°
2. In a large bowl mix together the garlic, onion, eggs, soy sauce, coriander, ginger and panko.
3. Add chicken and mix until well incorporated.
4. Scoop into quarter size balls.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the internal temp reaches 165°.
6. Add meatballs to the sauce and serve.

Serves 10-15
Quick Tip: Assemble the veggies up to 1 day ahead and the dressing up to 2 days ahead.

Ingredients

• 8 cups broccoli, cut into small florettes
• 3 red pepper, sliced into strips
• 4 medium zucchini, sliced on the diagonal
• 3 cups cherry Tomatoes
• 1 large head celery, sliced into 3 inch sticks

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the broccoli. Blanch for 30 seconds and strain out hot water and run cold water over the broccoli to stop the cooking. Drain.
2. On a large platter arrange the vegetables.

Basil Ranch Dip – Ingredients

• Makes about 1 cup
• 1 large garlic clove
• 1 cup yogurt
• 1/2 cup mayo
• pinch of salt and pepper
• 8 basil leaves

Directions

1. Place all the ingredients into the bowl of a food processor, blend until well combined.

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 8 oz package or 2 cups sugar snap peas
• 2 cups carrots, cut into matchsticks
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
• Pinch of salt and pepper

Directions

1. In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil over medium/high heat until oil is glistening. Add the peas and carrots to the skillet and cook on high for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Turn heat down to low and add garlic, sesame seeds, salt and pepper.

*If you can’t find black sesame seeds you can use toasted sesame seeds.

Ingredients

• 4 strips maple bacon
• 1 pound pork tenderloin
• sprinkle of salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup  blue cheese crumbled
• 1/2 teaspoon sage, dried or fresh
• 3, 1/4 in thick slices cut in half, granny smith or honey crisp apple, cut remaining apple into  quarters and reserve for roasting with vegetables
• 1 cup parsnips, peeled, diced into 1 inch thick squares
• 1 small yellow onion, cut in half and then quartered
• 1 1/2cups carrots, peeled cut into 1 1/2 inch sticks
• 1/2 cup apple juice
• 1/2 cup chicken broth

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 375°.
2. Lay the bacon strips vertically on a cutting board and place the tenderloin horizontally on the bacon.
3. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the top of the pork.
4. Evenly pat blue cheese crumbles on to the pork. Sprinkle Sage over blue cheese.
5. In a single layer, layer apples covering the blue cheese and sage.  Beginning at one end of the tenderloin wrap bacon slices all the way around the pork.  Continue until the tenderloin is covered with bacon.
6. Set in a baking dish.
7. Surround pork with apples, parsnip, onion and carrots.
8. Pour apple juice and broth over pork.
9. Bake in the oven about 35-40 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 155°.

Ingredients

• 12, 1/2inch slices of a baguette
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 12, 1/2 inch slices of goat cheese
• 1 Bartlett pear, 12 , 1/4inch slices
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 12 walnut halves

Directions

1. Turn your oven on to broil.
2. Place the baguette slices on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil.
3. Toast under the broiler for 2-3 minutes (make sure to watch, they will burn easily).
4. Turn slices over and toast the other side for 1-2 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.
5. Top toasted slices with goat cheese, drizzle honey over the goat cheese, top with a pear slice and place a walnut on top of the pear, serve.

Ingredients

• 3 large beets or 6 small beets (3 1/2 cups)
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme, dried
• 1 cup blue cheese, crumbled (use
• 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons pine nuts
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 400°
2. Place a sheet of aluminum foil on a cookie sheet.
3. Wash beets and towel dry.
4. Place beets on the foil and rub beets with olive oil and sprinkle with thyme.
5. Cover tightly with foil. Bake for 1 hour or until fork tender.
6. Remove from the oven, uncover and allow to cool.
7. Once cooled, with the back of a knife peel of skin and cut off tops and bottoms and discard.
8. Slice peeled beets into 1/4 inch thick slices, then cut slices into 1/4 inch strips and then cut in half. Place in a medium bowl.
9. Add crumbled blue cheese, vinegar and pine nuts to the beets. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss together and serve or refrigerate up to 2 days.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds chicken (about 3 breasts)
• 1 1/2 cups onion
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 2 Tablespoon ketchup
• 3, 14.5 oz cans stewed or diced tomatoes
• 1, 14.5oz can red kidney beans (with juice)
• 1, 14.5 oz can white kidney beans (with juice)
• 1, 14.5oz can black beans (with juice)
• 2, 14.5oz cans corn (with juice)
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3 1/2 Tablespoon taco seasoning mix
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Directions

1. Fill med/large pot with water and bring to a boil.Add chicken, turn off heat and cover. Allow to sit for 35-45 minutes.
2. Remove chicken from water and with a fork shred chicken by “raking” a fork through it. Set aside.
3. In a large stock pot or slow cooker, add onions, salsa, ketchup, tomatoes, beans, corn, chili powder, garlic, taco seasoning, brown sugar and vinegars. Stir together. Add chicken. Bring to a light simmer for 20 minutes or up to 2 hours. Finish each serving with your desired toppings.

*To freeze place soup in freezer bags or container. Place in fridge with top off until fully cooled. Place cover on and freeze for up 2 1/2 months.
If you want to use a slow cooker, mix all the ingredients together and set the timer to go off 3 hours before you would like to eat.