Holiday Pot Luck Favorites

Holiday Pot Luck Ideas:

* Holidays usually bring out some of our favorite flavors and foods, with that in mind we thought it may be nice to keep some of the flavors but give a healthier option. 
Below are a few of our favorite holiday themed dishes that are both delicious and good for you.
Our holiday pot luck will be Monday so these are just some ideas to get you started. Each are easy to make, filling, and full of flavor.

1. Slim Salad: Cranberry, Almond, Spinach

Serves:8

Ingredients

Salad

• 16 oz baby spinach
• 1 cup sliced almonds, toasted
• 1 cup dried cranberries

Sesame Seed Dressing

• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3 Tbsp honey
• 1 Tbsp finely minced shallot
• 2 Tbsp sesame seeds , toasted

Directions:

For the dressing: 

1. In a bowl or jar whisk together white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar and sugar until the sugar has dissolved. 

2. Stir in olive oil, honey, shallot, sesame seeds and optional poppy seeds until mixture is well blended

For the salad:

Add spinach, almonds and cranberries to a salad bowl. 

2. Drizzle dressing over salad and toss. 

3. Serve immediately after adding dressing

2. LOW CARB CAULIFLOWER STUFFING 

Serves: 10

Ingredients

• 1 large head Cauliflower (cut into small florets)
• 1 large Onion (sliced)
• 1/4 cup Celery (chopped thinly)
• 2 cloves Garlic (minced)
• 1/4 cup Olive oil (can also use butter or ghee)
• 1/2 tsp Poultry seasoning
• 1/2 tsp Dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp Ground sage
• 1 tsp Sea salt (or less if your poultry seasoning contains salt)
• 1/4 tsp Black pepper
• 2 tbsp Fresh parsley (chopped)
• 1/4 cup Pecans (chopped)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (232 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or line with foil and grease well.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the chopped cauliflower, onions, celery, and garlic. Toss with olive oil, poultry seasoning, sage, thyme, sea salt, and black pepper.
3. Spread the mixture in a single layer on the lined baking sheet. (You may need two sheets depending on the size. You want as many of the cauliflower florets and onions in contact with the pan as possible.) Roast in the oven for about 15 minutes, until the onions are soft and cauliflower is starting to brown a little.
4. Add the fresh parsley and pecans to the pan, and stir everything together. Roast for 10-15 more minutes, until the pecans are lightly toasted, cauliflower is well browned, and onions are starting to caramelize.

3. CROCKPOT OR INSTANT POT TURKEY BREAST

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1 (4 – 5 pound) turkey breast with skin and bones (thawed completely in refrigerator, if frozen)
• 1 – 2 tsp. dried ground thyme (I recommend using the larger amount unless you’re not a fan of thyme.)
• 1/2 – 1 tsp. dried sage (This is often called rubbed sage; I recommend using the larger amount unless you’re not a fan of sage.)
• 1 T olive oil
• 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces
• 4 ribs celery, cut into large pieces
• 1 large onion, peeled and cut into 4 pieces
• 2 cups chicken or turkey stock

DIRECTIONS:

SLOW COOKER DIRECTIONS:

1. Trim extra skin and fat from turkey breast, leaving the parts of skin that are directly covering the meat. If you have a meat thermometer, pull out the pop-up timer if desired.
2. Grind the dried thyme and dried sage together, or use ground spices. Rub breast all over with thyme and sage.
3. Heat olive oil in heavy frying pan, then brown turkey breast on both sides, about 5 minutes each side. Put browned turkey breast in crockpot.
4. While the turkey browns cut up carrots, celery, and onion.
5. Add the turkey or chicken stock to the frying pan you browned the turkey in and cook for a couple of minutes, scraping the bottom to get all the browned bits.
6. Pour the liquid over the turkey, then add carrots, onions, and celery to the slow cooker.
7. Cook on high until temperature in the thickest part of the meat reaches 165F/75C; this will take about 3 hours. (You can also cook on low for a longer time, about 5-6 hours.)
8. Remove turkey breast and let rest while you make gravy, covering with foil if desired to keep it warm. Use a fine-mesh skimmer to scoop out vegetables and skim the broth, or strain through a fine strainer into small saucepan. You should have 2-3 cups broth.
9. Bring to a boil and reduce until there is a strong turkey flavor (or add another teaspoon or two of stock to get more turkey flavor). I kept tasting it as it cooked down for a few minutes, and stopped when it tasted good to me.
10. Reduce heat so the liquid is barely at a simmer. Mix arrowroot starch with cold water, then stir gently into the simmering liquid and stop stirring once it’s combined. Don’t over whisk or continue to cook once it’s thickened, or the gravy won’t stay thick. (Gravy can also be thickened with cornstarch mixed with water if you don’t have arrowroot, but it will take about twice as much cornstarch to get the same amount of thickness, and cornstarch is slightly higher in carbs and will take longer to thicken.)
11. Remove bones (and skin if you prefer), slice the turkey and serve hot with the gravy.

INSTANT POT DIRECTIONS:

1. Trim the turkey as above and use a large meat cleaver to cut the breast along the bone into two pieces.
2. Rub turkey with spices, and brown in a frying pan as above. (You can brown the turkey in the Instant Pot if you prefer but we thought it was easier in a frying pan.)
3. While turkey breast browns, cut up the carrots, celery, and onion. Add them to the Instant Pot (after you’ve removed the browned turkey if you browned it in the Instant Pot.)
4. Put browned turkey breast pieces on top of the vegetables in the Instant Pot. Add stock to the frying pan and cook as above, then pour that cooking liquid into the Instant Pot.
5. Set the Instant Pot to MANUAL, HIGH PRESSURE, 25 minutes. (We had a relatively small turkey breast, if yours is closer to 5 pounds, I would add a couple more minutes.)
6. When time is up, use NATURAL RELEASE for at least 20 minutes, then release the rest of the pressure.
7. When pressure has released remove the turkey breasts to a cutting board. We drained the stock into a colander placed inside a large measuring cup to catch the liquid. (You could strain it again with a fine strainer if you want gravy that’s completely smooth.)
8. Put that cooking liquid back into the Instant Pot and cook on SAUTE or SIMMER until it’s reduced to about 3 cups. (Taste to see if it’s as strongly-flavored as you prefer, and add a little more stock if desired.)

*Adapted from various google searches.