There’s no real recipe here, just a list of the usual ingredients I throw together.  Just use what you have on hand, and mix it to suit your personal tastes!  Like it sweet?  Add more dried fruit.  Like it salty?  Use salted nuts or seeds.  (I typically use unsalted).  Need your chocolate fix?  Add some chocolate chips.  I either use the highest quality chocolate chips I can find or I roughly chop a bar of 85% chocolate.

Trail Mix

Ingredients:

• Almonds
• Macadamia nuts
• Hazelnuts
• Walnuts
• Dried cranberries
• Dried apricots
• Dried cherries
• Sunflower seeds
• Pumpkin seeds
• Coconut flakes (unsweetened, you can toast it or not)
• Chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

Combine in a jar and enjoy!

What are your favorite trail mix ingredients?

Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf

recipe from What’s Cookin’ Chicago?

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground chicken
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs (Picky Apple Note: I substituted almond meal to keep it gluten-free)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 small onion, grated
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup pasta sauce (homemade or store bought)
• 1/2 cup shredded Italian cheese blend
• minced parsley for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a loaf pan with cooking spray, set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the ground chicken, egg, breadcrumbs, thyme, oregano, basil, garlic, onion, salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese. To not over handle the mixture otherwise it will get tough. Place the mixture in the greased loaf pan and form into a loaf. Top the meatloaf with pasta sauce.

Place filled loaf pan on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and sprinkle the top with the remaining shredded cheese. Place the meatloaf back in the oven and bake until the cheese is melted.

Remove the meatloaf from the oven and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving/slicing. Garnish with parsley if desired.

* To make ahead/freezer meal - Prepare the meatloaf mixture as directed and place in a disposable loaf pan. Cover and freeze. When ready to prepare and serve, defrost the meatloaf completely and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Top with pasta sauce and place filled loaf pan on a baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and sprinkle the top with the remaining shredded cheese. Place the meatloaf back in the oven and bake until the cheese is melted. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving/slicing. Garnish with parsley if desired.

Roasted Rosemary Potatoes

recipe adapted from epicurious.com

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces red-skinned new potatoes (about 3), each cut into 6 wedges
• 1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt or other coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Toss potatoes with oil, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl to coat.  Transfer potatoes to small baking sheet; roast 20 minutes, stirring once.  Add garlic and rosemary to potatoes; toss.  Roast until potatoes are just tender, about 10 minutes.  Transfer to plate, serve.

Makes 2 servings.

Spinach Berry Cucumber Salad

recipe from Trainer Momma

Ingredients:

• 10 oz of fresh baby spinach
• 1 cucumber, peeled and sliced
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1 pint fresh blueberries
• 1 fresh peach, sliced
• handful of dried cranberries
• handful of Asiago cheese, shredded
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup sugared pecans
• White Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing (see recipe below)

Mix all the ingredients. Dress the salad to taste with the most of the dressing (I typically have a little left over) and serve immediately.

White Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

recipe from Trainer Momma

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar  (Picky Apple Note: I just used regular balsamic)
• 1 Tb pure maple syrup
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 ground black pepper

Just mix all the ingredients in a jar and shake well.

Pancetta Cups with Goat Cheese and Pear

recipe from The Galley Gourmet

Ingredients:

• 16 thin slices (about 1/2 pound) of pancetta (not paper thin)
• 1 large or 2 small pears, peeled, cored and diced
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 4 ounces mild goat cheese
• 1 Tablespoon half-and-half
• 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• Honey to drizzle

Snuggly fit the slices of pancetta into the wells of a mini-muffin pan.  To help keep their shape while baking, ball up a small piece of aluminum foil and place into a pancetta cup.  Repeat with the remaining cups.  Place the pan into a cold oven and close the door.  Turn the oven to 400º F and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the pancetta is browned and crisp.  Carefully remove the cups, discarding the foil ball, and place them on a paper towel-lined rack to cool.  The cups will continue to crisp as they cool.

Meanwhile, toss the pears with the lemon juice in a medium bowl; set aside.  In a separate bowl, stir together the goat cheese and half-and-half.

Transfer the pancetta cups to a serving plate.  FIll each cup with a spoonful of pears.  Pipe using a piping bag or place dollops of the cheese mixture onto the pears.  Sprinkle with the thyme leaves and drizzle with honey.  Serve immediately.  Enjoy!

1.  Caribbean Chicken Kebabs with Lime-Cayenne Butter-  Hands down, the best thing we grilled all year long.  Great flavors, and also goes well with beef and shrimp.

2.  Fig Prosciutto Pizza with Arugula- The recipe that started my fig obsession.  Sweet fig preserves paired with salty prosciutto and cheese….I don’t think I will ever get tired of this pizza.  Craving it right now!

3.  Pumpkin Waffles- My first time using our waffle maker.  The beginning of the Waffle Revolution at our house, and the best waffle recipe I tried all year long (and I tried quite a few!).

4.  Cajun Chicken Pasta- (no photo).  One of my favorite dishes ever.  So easy to make, and easy to adapt for a large dinner party.

5.  Beef With Peppers- This has become my go-to stir fry dish when I’m craving Asian takeout.  I love the flavors and the slight spiciness of this dish!

6.  Bacon Wrapped Figs- Heavenly little morsels!  A great appetizer or snack, but good luck sharing them with anyone else.  You’ll want to eat them all!

7.  Crockpot Whole Chicken-The easiest way to cook a whole chicken.  Produces a tender, juicy, flavorful chicken that can be used in soups, casseroles, or eaten straight out of the crockpot.

8.  Fall Salad with Butternut Squash and Apple Butter Vinaigrette- The beginning of my current salad obsession.  This one has several of my favorite things: butternut squash, goat cheese, pecans, and dried cranberries.  A great side dish for Fall.

9.  Winter Berry Salad Wreath with Lemon Poppyseed Dressing- This salad not only looks gorgeous but tastes delicious too.  Not too difficult to make, and great for when you want to impress.  Perfect for brunch, potluck dinners, or holiday parties.

10.  Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Cilantro Pesto-  Primal cooking at it’s best.  The Cilantro Pesto is out of this world!

11.  Pomegranate Hazelnut Holiday Salad with Maple Bacon Dressing- yes, this was my most recent post, and yes, this is the third salad on my Top 11 List, but this one is just too delicious not to include.  I love pomegranate and bacon.  Especially together.

This Pomegranate Hazelnut Holiday Salad with Maple Bacon Dressing is one AMAZING salad!  I’ve thrown this salad together at least 3 times in the last month, and I just can’t get enough of it.  I suppose I’m a little slow jumping on the pomegranate band-wagon: until I made this salad, I don’t think I’d had pomegranate or pomegranate juice.  But now I love those messy little seeds with all my heart!

And then there’s the dressing…made of maple syrup, balsamic vinegar, and….wait for it….bacon grease.  It really doesn’t get any better than that.

In order to make this salad a little more filling for a lunch or dinner (and to get some extra protein), I add grilled chicken or turkey (as in the photo, taken shortly after Thanksgiving) and crumbled goat cheese.  I think the goat cheese pairs well with the bacon and pomegranate flavors, but other cheeses would probably work great too!

Pomegranate Hazelnut Holiday Salad with Maple Bacon Dressing

recipe adapted from Lauren’s Latest

Ingredients:

• 8 cups Mixed Greens
• 12 slices Bacon, cooked and crumbled (save your bacon grease, see below!)
• ¾ cups Chopped, Toasted Hazelnuts
• 1 whole Pomegranate, Peeled And Arils Removed
• 1 cup chopped grilled chicken or leftover turkey
• 3/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
• 3 Tablespoons Warm Bacon Grease (reserved From Cooking The Bacon)
• 2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
• 2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
• Salt And Pepper, to taste

To make salad: Toss greens, bacon, hazelnuts, pomegranate, grilled chicken/turkey, and goat cheese together in a bowl.

To make dressing: Place bacon grease, maple syrup, balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper (if using) into a small jar and shake until combined. Pour dressing over salad, toss and serve immediately.

As for the Reindeer Bites Cookies…what’s not to love?  These cookies are simple to make, and even though they look rather plain, there are so many wonderful add-ins: the coconut-shredded AND coconut extract, graham cracker crumbs AND pieces, caramel bits and chocolate chunks.  The batter of these cookies reminded me very much of the Samoas/Caramel deLite Girl Scout Cookies.  So yes, I indulged in cookie dough batter.  Again.  And suffered for it.  Again. You would think I would have learned my lesson by now….but I just couldn’t resist this delicious cookie dough!  I’m guessing Santa’s reindeer are going to enjoy these too.

Here’s the recipe, in case you want an extra special treat for the reindeer when they visit your house…

Reindeer Bites Cookies

recipe from Six Sisters Stuff

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. butter flavored shortening (Picky Apple Note: I substituted real butter for this!)
• 1/2 c. butter, softened
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp. coconut extract
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 c. flour
• 1 c. graham cracker crumbs
• 1 c. caramel bites
• 1 c. coconut
• 1 c. chocolate chunks
• 1/4 c. graham cracker chunks

The real superstar of this dish is the Cilantro Pesto.  Don’t get me wrong, the pork medallions themselves are plenty tasty and simple enough to prepare (and I love cooking pork in medallion form!), but I could just eat this pesto by the spoonful.  It’s that good!  The Cilantro Pesto is creamy and spicy and sweet and and rich and bold all at once.  It’s a unique flavor combination that just works.  I found this recipe in The Primal Blueprint Reader-Created Cookbook (available for free at Mark’s Daily Apple), but don’t tune me out just because I started talking about all that Primal and Paleo stuff again!  My husband, who is decidedly NOT Primal (and isn’t called The Picky Apple for nothin’!), loved this meal just as much as I did.  I think you’ll enjoy it too!

Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Cilantro Pesto

recipe from The Primal Blueprint Reader-Created Cookbook

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds of pork tenderloin
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
• Cilantro Pesto (recipe below)

Slice the tenderloin into rounds of 1-inch thickness. Mix oils and vinegar, add garlic and ginger. Marinate the pork slices in a non-reactive glass container for at least 2 hours or overnight, turning at intervals to marinate both sides of the slices.  To cook the pork, heat some coconut oil, lard, or olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Quickly sear the slices, turning once, until just cooked through. Do not crowd the pan, cook in batches as needed so they sear and don’t steam. Keep each batch warm in a warm oven or covered in foil wrap.  Make pesto (see recipe below).

To serve: Put a few slices of pork on a plate with a little bit of pesto on each slice, or serve pesto on the side.  (A little pesto goes a long way, flavor-wise.) Serve with cooked greens with sesame seeds and sliced red peppers for a nice color combo.

Cilantro Pesto

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of cilantro, leaves only
• 2 large garlic cloves
• 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced thin
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1/4 cup olive oil (or less, to taste)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil (or more, to taste)
• 1/4 cup almond butter (Picky Apple Note: You can also use peanut butter!)
• 1 teaspoon honey (optional)
• 1/2 – 1 cup coconut milk
• sea salt to taste

To make pesto:  Blend sauce ingredients in blender or food processor until smooth, adding coconut milk until preferred consistency is reached.