Chocolate Covered Strawberry

This wasn't as good as I thought it would be. It was good, but not as good as the Strawberry Shortcake recipe. I think next time I will try this with cherries.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Ice Cream

1/4 cup fat free cottage cheese
3 oz lite firm tofu
4 oz strawberries (about 3 large, 4 medium, or 5 small), stems removed
1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder
1 Tablespoon sugar free chocolate pudding powder
1 packet Stevia or Splenda
1/4 cup water

Another easy one:
1. Blend everything with your blender (immersion or regular). Freeze for at least 2 and a half hours.

Each bowl has approximately:

230 calories
24.2g protein
3.3g fat
25.8g carbs
4.7g fiber

Dulce de Leche

Day 12. I confess, it's been a long time since I had "real" Dulce de Leche ice cream so I don't remember exactly what it tastes like. This version is soooo good, though. It's caramelly and delicious.

Dulce de Leche "Ice Cream"

1/4 cup fat free cottage cheese
3 oz lite firm tofu
1 scoop Cake Batter flavor Muscle Milk (I used Light)
1 Tablespoon sugar free butterscotch pudding powder
1 packet Stevia or Splenda
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons water
1 Tablespoon sugar free caramel topping

1. With an immersion blender, blend together everything except the caramel topping. Place half the mixture in your freezer-safe bowl.

2. Warm the caramel topping slightly. Pour into the freezer-safe bowl and cover with remaining cottage cheese mixture. Take a spoon and mix slightly. You want to maintain a caramel "ripple".

3. Put the lid on your bowl and place in the freezer for at least 3 hours.



Each bowl has approximately:

238 calories
23.5g protein
3.5g fat
28.5g carbs
0.5g fiber

Date Walnut Ice Cream

If you've never tried dates before, I highly recommend this. And what better way to try them than in ice cream! ;) I used tofu tonight for no reason other than to try it. It has about the same amount of calories as the plain yogurt I occasionally have been using. Just experimenting with different tastes and textures. This seemed liked it froze more firmly than when I have used the yogurt, but maybe I just left it in the freezer longer. I lost track of exactly how long it was in there. :)

This was really good. After every bite I kept saying, "Man, this is gooood!"

Date Walnut "Ice Cream"

1/4 cup fat free cottage cheese
3 oz lite firm tofu
1 Tablespoon sugar free butterscotch pudding powder
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
1 packet Stevia or Splenda
1/4 cup water
3 dates, chopped into small pieces
1 Tablespoon walnut pieces

1. Blend everything except the dates and walnuts with your immersion blender.

2. Place in your freezer-safe bowl and stir in the dates and walnuts.

3. Freeze for at least 2 and half hours.


Each bowl has approximately:

286 calories
25.5g protein
7.6g fat
31.5g carbs
4.1g fiber

Carrot Cake Ice Cream

Mmmm....ice cream....cake....carrots? Yes! It can be done! And...it tastes fantastic!!

Carrot Cake "Ice Cream"

1.5 oz baby carrots (about 6 or 7)
1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese
1 Tablespoon sugar free vanilla pudding powder
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
1 Tablespoon crushed pineapple in 100% juice, drained
1 packet Stevia or Splenda
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
tiny sprinkle of cloves
tiny sprinkle of nutmeg
tiny sprinkle of allspice
tiny sprinkle of ginger
1 Tablespoon whipped cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon honey (regular or sugar free)

1. Cook the carrots however you normally would. I just cooked mine on the stove in a little water for about 15 or 20 minutes. They should be quite tender. Place them in a freezer-safe bowl and puree them with your immersion blender. Place the bowl in the freezer for 10 or 15 minutes.

2. Remove from the freezer and add the remaining ingredients except for the cream cheese and honey. When I say "tiny sprinkle", I mean really, really small. Probably less than an 1/8 of a teaspoon.

3. Return to the freezer for at least 2 and a half hours.

4. When ready to serve, mix together the cream cheese and honey with just a splash of water. Just enough to make it thin, but not runny. Drizzle over the top and serve.


Each bowl has approximately:

260 calories
26.1g protein
5.5g fat
27.6g carbs
3.1g fiber

I probably would have put walnuts on top of this as well, but my calories were getting a little high for the day. I love walnuts in carrot cake.

Lemon Sherbet

This was nice and light, and darn tasty too!

Lemon Sherbet

1/4 cup fat free cottage cheese
1/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
1 Tablespoon sugar free lemon flavor pudding powder
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 packet Stevia or Splenda
3 Tablespoons water

This one is really easy:

1. Blend all ingredients with your immersion blender in a freezer-safe bowl. Place in the freezer for at least 2 and a half hours.


Each bowl has approximately:

186 calories
22.1g protein
2.5g fat
19.6g carbs
2.1g fiber

Caramel Apple Pie Ice Cream

Oh my gosh, this tastes just like apple pie!

Caramel Apple Pie "Ice Cream"

1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
1 Tablespoon sugar free vanilla pudding powder
1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese
1 Tablespoon light sour cream
1 packet Stevia or Splenda
2 Tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
tiny sprinkle of ground nutmeg
tiny sprinkle of ground allspice
1 small graham cracker rectangle (1/4 sheet)
1/2 Tablespoon sugar free hot caramel sauce

1. With your blender (immersion or otherwise), blend together everything except the graham cracker and caramel sauce. Place mixture in your freezer-safe bowl, if you blended in a different bowl.

2. Break the graham cracker into dime-sized pieces and sprinkle over the top. Gently press into the ice cream. Put on the lid and freeze for at least 2 and a half hours.

3. When ready to serve, warm the caramel sauce and drizzle over the top. Marvel at how much it tastes like apple pie. :)


Each bowl has approximately:

285 calories
26.2g protein
6.1g fat
30g carbs
2.6g fiber

Skinny Elvis Ice Cream

Day 6: This is the KING of ice cream. It was so yummy!! It contains the trifecta (peanut butter, bananas, chocolate) - you can't go wrong with that! :)

Skinny Elvis "Ice Cream"

1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
1 Tablespoon sugar free Banana Creme flavored pudding
1/2 small banana
1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese
1/4 cup water
1/4 oz (about 6) almonds
1-2 Tablespoons peanut butter or PB2
1/2 teaspoon honey (regular or sugar free)
1/2 Tablespoon sugar free hot fudge sauce

1. With your immersion blender, blend together the protein powder, cottage cheese, pudding and water. Either blend it in your freezer safe bowl, or transfer it there now.

2. In a small bowl, mash the banana. Stir it into the cottage cheese mixture.

3. In another small bowl, mix together the peanut butter (or PB2) and the honey. I use the powdered PB2 and mix it with just enough water to make it thin, but not runny. If you are using regular peanut butter, you may want to add a splash of water to make it a bit thinner. Take the peanut butter mixture and swirl it into the ice cream, but don't blend it in completely.

4. Take the almonds and give each of them a little tap with a hammer or meat tenderizer. Just enough to crack them into 2 or 3 pieces each. Sprinkle the almonds on top and then take a spoon and push them just below the surface, smoothing the top with your spoon.

5. Put on the lid and freeze for at least 2 and half hours.

6. When ready to serve, warm the hot fudge sauce and drizzle on top.


Each bowl has approximately:

371 calories
32.9g protein
10.7g fat
37.4g carbs
4.7g fiber

So I called this Skinny Elvis even though it's not that low in calories. :) But you could share this and make it 2 servings at only about 185 calories each. Worth every calorie!

Peaches & Cream

Day 5 of the 30 day ice cream challenge and this was my first failure. Well, not a complete failure, it still tasted good. Just wasn't exactly what I was going for. It tasted more like a cinnamon cream with a hint of peach.

Peaches & Cream "Ice Cream"

1/4 cup fat free cottage cheese
1/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt
1/2 cup canned sliced peaches in 100% juice, drained
1 packet Stevia or Splenda
1 Tablespoon whipped cream cheese
1 Tablespoon sugar free vanilla pudding
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
1/4 cup water
sprinkle of cinnamon
1 small graham cracker rectangle (1/4 sheet)

1. In a small bowl, place the whipped cream cheese and add just a splash of water (about 1/2 teaspoon). Sprinkle a tiny bit of Stevia from the packet into the bowl.

2. In a larger bowl, blend the cottage cheese, yogurt, peaches, pudding, whey protein, water, cinnamon and the remainder of the Stevia packet. You may want to use just under 1/4 cup of water because the peaches give quite a bit of moisture to the mixture.

3. Transfer the cottage cheese mixture to your freezer safe bowl.

4. Dip a fork into the cream cheese mixture and swirl it into the cottage cheese mixture, but do not blend completely. Repeat until the cream cheese mixture is all transferred.

5. Break the graham cracker into dime-sized pieces and gently press into the top. Put on your lid and freeze for at least 3 hours.

Each bowl has approximately:

307 calories
23.1g protein
6.2g fat
38.1g carbs
2.6g fiber

Pumpkin Cheesecake Ice Cream

I know, Fred, I promised pumpkin oatmeal for the regular "Recipe Wednesday". I hope this is a good substitute. This tasted so rich and delicious!

Pumpkin Cheesecake "Ice Cream"

1/4 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/4 cup fat free cottage cheese
1/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt
1 Tablespoon whipped cream cheese
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
1 Tablespoon sugar free cheesecake flavored pudding
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup water
1/4 oz (about 6) almonds

1. Blend all of the ingredients except for the almonds with an immersion blender or in a regular blender. Either blend right in your freezer-safe bowl, or transfer it after you blend. I like to mix the ingredients with a spoon without the water first, and then add the water when I use the blender.

2. Take the almonds and give each of them a little tap with a hammer or meat tenderizer. Just enough to crack them into 2 or 3 pieces each. Sprinkle the almonds on top and then take a spoon and push them just below the surface, smoothing the top with your spoon.

3. Put on the lid and freeze for at least 2 and half hours.


Each bowl has approximately:

274 calories
25g protein
9.4g fat
25.1g carbs
5.2g fiber

Triple Chocolate Fudge Brownie Ice Cream

Oh, baby, this one is for chocolate lovers. I like chocolate, but I'm not a super chocolate lover. However, I have my moments when I really want some chocolate and I really like brownies. This was so rich and chocolately, and tasted so much like a brownie, I wished I had a glass of milk to go with it! It was a big hit with the kids as well. :)

Triple Chocolate Fudge Brownie Ice Cream

1 scoop Brownie Batter flavored Muscle Milk
1 Tablespoon (about 11g) sugar free chocolate fudge flavored pudding
1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons water
1/2 Tablespoon dark chocolate chips
1/4 oz walnuts

1. Blend together with an immersion blender everything except the chocolate chips and walnuts and place in a freezer safe bowl with a lid.

2. Sprinkle the chocolate chips and walnuts on top and smooth in with the back of a spoon.

3. Put on the lid and place in the freezer for at least 2 hours.

If you don't have Brownie Batter flavored Muscle Milk, you could probably use chocolate whey protein powder, but reduce the water to just 1/4 cup. It probably won't taste quite as rich and fudgy, but will still be tasty! You could leave the walnuts out if you wanted - I like walnuts in my brownies. :)


The calorie count is quite high because of the Muscle Milk. If you can find it in Light, I recommend it. This one is a definite treat, though!

Each bowl has approximately:

350 calories
29.8g protein
12.8g fat
29.5g carbs
3.8g fiber

New York Cherry Ice Cream

Day 3 of 30. New York Cherry is one of my favorites! I chose to use frozen tart red (pie) cherries instead of dark sweet cherries because they have fewer calories and less (natural) sugar.

New York Cherry Ice Cream

1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese
1T (about 8g) sugar free vanilla pudding
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
1 packet Splenda or Stevia
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup tart red cherries (frozen)

1. Add all of the ingredients a bowl except for the cherries. Blend with the immersion blender until smooth and pour into a freezer safe bowl.

2. Cut the frozen cherries in half and sprinkle on top. With a spoon, gently mix in and smooth over the top. Put the lid on your bowl and place in the freezer. Freeze for at least 2 and a half hours.

Each bowl has approximately:

218 calories
25.4g protein
2.7g fat
24.1g carbs
2.8g fiber

Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream

Day 2 of the 30 Days of Ice Cream Quest. This one was soooo good! I don't often like strawberry ice cream, but I'd been wanting some strawberry shortcake. This exceeded my expectations by a long shot!

Strawberry Shortcake "Ice Cream"

4 oz (about 3 large, 4 medium, or 5 small) strawberries
1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese
1/4 cup fat free plain yogurt
1T (about 8g) sugar free vanilla pudding
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
1 packet Splenda or Stevia
1/4 cup water
1 small rectangle (1/4 sheet) honey graham cracker

1. Remove stems from strawberries and chop them into 3 or 4 pieces each. Place in a large bowl with a splash of water and blend with an immersion blender. Don't worry about making them into a puree; we're going to be blending them again.

2. Add all of the remaining ingredients to the bowl except for the graham cracker. Blend with the immersion blender until smooth and pour into a freezer safe bowl.

3. Break the small graham cracker into dime-sized pieces and sprinkle on top. With a spoon, gently press the pieces in and smooth over the top. Put the lid on your bowl and place in the freezer. Freeze for at least 2 and a half hours. I think I pulled this out right after 2 and half hours and it was still a little soft, but tasted amazing.


With my particular ingredients, each bowl has approximately:

292 calories
29.3g protein
3.6g fat
36.9g carbs
4.3g fiber


Each of my recipes makes about a cup of ice cream. If you didn't want to eat the whole bowl, you could eat about 1/2 a cup and then the calories would be similar to a half cup of "real" ice cream.

30 Days of Ice Cream!!

No, I have not gone crazy. :)

I love ice cream, I really do. It's one of my vices. I am challenging myself to 30 days of good-for-you ice cream instead of buying the bad stuff. What do I mean by good-for-you ice cream? Well, I have kind of a formula for making ice cream that uses cottage cheese, sugar free pudding and whey protein as the base. My challenge is to have a different kind every night for 30 days.

To join me on this quest, you're going to need an immersion blender, a freezer safe bowl with a lid, and lots and lots of cottage cheese!

Tonight's recipe is one of my favorites. Kind of an old standby. I'm trying to branch out more, thus the 30 days of different flavors. :)

Chocolate Peanut Butter "Ice Cream"

1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder
1 T (about 8g) sugar free butterscotch pudding
1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese (or low fat if you prefer)
1 T peanut butter (or 1 T PB2 powder)
1/4 oz (about 6) almonds - see note below*
1/4 cup water
1 packet Splenda or Stevia (optional)
1/2 T sugar free hot fudge topping (optional)

1. Blend all of the ingredients except for the almonds and fudge topping with an immersion blender or in a regular blender. Either blend right in your freezer-safe bowl, or transfer it after you blend. I like to mix the ingredients with a spoon without the water first, and then add the water when I use the blender.

2. Take the almonds and give each of them a little tap with a hammer or meat tenderizer. Just enough to crack them into 2 or 3 pieces each. Sprinkle the almonds on top and then take a spoon and push them just below the surface, smoothing the top with your spoon.

2. Put on the lid and freeze for at least 2 and half hours. When ready to serve, warm the fudge topping and drizzle on top.


*A note about almonds. When I say almonds in a recipe, I mean raw almonds that I have baked in the oven myself. Spray a large jelly roll pan with a light coating of cooking spray. Place raw almonds on pan and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, giving them a little shake half way through.

With my particular ingredients (I use the PB2 powder), each bowl has approximately:

291 calories
28.5g protein
9.6g fat
22.2g carbs
3.1g fiber

A lot of calories for a bowl of ice cream, I know. But this is a protein packed, fuel-my-muscles bowl of ice cream. Not a sugar-filled, I'll-be-hungry-in-30-minutes-and-want-more bowl of ice cream.

So grab a spoon and join me for the next 30 days of ice cream. I know I am excited to try all sorts of new flavors!

Recipe Wednesday - Berry Tofu Trifle

I made this recipe for dessert on Easter. To my knowledge, I made it up. Not that I made up the idea for a trifle (that would be like saying Al Gore invented the internet), but this particular combination of tofu pudding, fruit, Cool Whip and Nilla Wafers came out of my brain. It's very smooth, creamy and delicious! And no one will guess it's made with tofu, as long as you don't tell them!

Berry Tofu Trifle

2 12oz packages lite silken tofu
1 cup skim milk
2 scoops vanilla whey protein powder
4 packets Stevia or Splenda
1 teaspoon vanilla
24 Nilla Wafers, regular or reduced fat, divided (optional)
1 tub Cool Whip Free
1 banana, sliced
1 package fresh raspberries
6 or 7 strawberries, sliced

1. In a food processor, combine the tofu, milk, whey protein powder, vanilla and sweetener. Blend until smooth. If you have a small food processor, blend the ingredients in 2 batches. Press through a screen-type strainer (makes it extra smooth) into a bowl.

2. Place half of the Nilla Wafers on the bottom of a trifle dish. Cover with half of the pudding.

3. Place the banana slices next, followed by half of the raspberries.


4. Next comes half of the tub of Cool Whip. Then, repeat the layers of Nilla Wafers and pudding. Place the strawberry slices (saving a few slices for garnish) and the other half of the raspberries on top.


5. Last, smooth on the remaining half of the Cool Whip tub and top with a few strawberry slices. Keep in the fridge until ready to serve.


I have no idea how many servings this should be. Probably about 10 or 12. If you divide the recipe by 12, and assuming my math is correct, each serving would have approximately:

118 calories
6.75g protein
2.4g fat
17.95g carbs
1.4g fiber

19 Seconds

That's how long my first UVB light treatment took this morning. It looked exactly like a stand up tanning booth. Getting ready to get into the booth took longer than the actual treatment! I will be going 3 times a week for a few weeks and each time I go the treatment will be a little longer and at a slightly higher intensity (I think it's measured in millijoules or something like that.) I go again tomorrow - maybe it will be 25 seconds! :)

The rash is getting better on my arms and neck. Those were a couple of the first places it showed up. The rash on my stomach is not as red, but still pretty dense. My legs are healing the slowest, but I've heard that the lower body heals more slowly than the upper body. It's been about 5 weeks since the rash first showed up and I am ready for it to be gone!

In other breaking news, I've learned I am not an artist. I was drawing pictures on one of those magnetic drawing boards and my 2 year old daughter was guessing what I was drawing. She was having trouble guessing when I drew a duck, so I prompted, "Is it a...duck?" She answered, "That's not a duck!" Oh, well, Michelangelo I am not. Maybe more like Picasso. :)

Have a great day everyone!

Turbulence Training Contest Voting

Time for vote for your favorite male and female transformations! I didn't make the finals, but all the guys and gals that did had AMAZING transformations. This time the contest has been separated into male and female categories and you can vote for them here:

Awesome Female Transformations

Incredible Male Transformations


Congratulations to all the finalists!!!

Recipe Wednesday - Cheesecake Clouds

This is a really fast recipe to whip together, but it does need to freeze for a couple hours. I adapted it from a recipe I saw on the Figure Athlete website.

Cheesecake Clouds

4 oz neufchatel cheese
2T sugar free pudding mix, cheesecake flavor
4 oz skim milk
1/2 tub Cool Whip Free
1/3 cup sugar free cherry pie filling

1. In a medium bowl, beat together the neufchatel cheese, pudding mix and milk until smooth.

2. Fold in the Cool Whip.

3. Divide in half and place in 2 freezer safe bowls with lids (such as Ziploc bowls). Make an indentation in the middle. Freeze for about 3 hours. You can freeze longer than that, but then let it thaw a little before eating.

4. When ready to eat, remove from freezer and place pie filling in the middle.


I chose 1/3 cup pie filling because that is one serving for my particular brand (35 calories). If you make 2 servings, each one has:

calories: 294
protein: 6.3g
fat: 12.1g
carbs: 36.2g

The original recipe did not have the neufchatel cheese. I added that to make it more cheesecake-like and to give it a firmer texture. If you left it out, it would take out 140 calories and just about all the fat. You could make this with different kinds of pudding and/or different pie fillings.

TT Essay And A Flash Back To One Year Ago

In the past, I haven't posted my Turbulence Training Transformation Contest essays, but I decided that this time I would. So here goes nothing!

I originally wasn’t going to join TC4, but I am glad that I did! These past 12 weeks have been a mental and emotional journey, as well as a physical one. In November, I ended TC3 at 124.6 lbs and 17% bodyfat - I was thrilled with my results! However, over the holidays I used a mass building program and used that as an excuse to overeat. I am embarrassed to admit that I began TC4 on December 28 at 138.2 lbs and nearly 20% bodyfat, according my scale.

For this contest I used 3 awesome TT workouts – 2K5 (from the Original TT Manual), 2K9 and TT for Buff Dudes and Hot Chicks. All 3 helped me to gain muscle and lose fat. During these 12 weeks I reduced my weight from 138.2 lbs to 127 lbs and reduced my bodyfat from nearly 20% to 16%. I lost a total of 9.25 inches, including 2.5 inches from my waist and 2.25 inches from my abdomen. Comparing the end of TC3 (17% BF at 124.6 lbs, 103.42 LBM) to the end of TC4 (16% BF at 127 lbs, 106.68 LBM) reveals a 3.26 lb gain in lean body mass (muscle!) which I am very excited about!

Esophageal problems seem to run in my family. My mother and aunt have Barrett’s Esophagus, and my uncle and grandfather died of esophageal cancer. I know that when I eat poorly, I feel the effects. When I eat well and control my diet, my heartburn, reflux, and indigestion are gone, keeping acid out of my esophagus and reducing the potential for problems later in life. I wanted to complete this contest with a new sense of control in my diet, that is, I wanted to learn to eat well without having to enter everything into fitday first. Don’t get me wrong, fitday is a wonderful tool, but I had gotten to the point where I relied on it too much. I am confident that I can step away from fitday now, and just check in every so often to make sure that I am on track.

I wasn’t on the forums as much during this contest, but I definitely heard your voices in the gym (Francis) and with nutrition (Tabitha, Liz, and others). A sincere thank you to everyone for their support! This contest has been a great experience and I’m glad that I reconsidered and decided to join!

During the final week of the contest, I broke out into an extensive rash. I was disappointed that my pictures would not show my results as clearly as I had hoped. However, I think this was a learning experience as well. It made me stop and remember that it is the journey and not the destination. I needed to step back and see the big picture. In that vein, the [picture below] is a comparison of my final results from TC1 and TC4. My TC4 end date was almost exactly one year from my TC1 end date and I thought it was a fun comparison of the changes.[You can see my final pics posted HERE.]

Have a great day everyone!

Recipe Wednesday

The recipe today is great for those of you who get home at 5:00pm famished, and with a family asking "What's for dinner?" You could assemble this in the morning, or you could assemble everything the night before. The ceramic part of my crock pot is removable so I would put everything except the roast and the broth into the crock pot bowl the night before and stick it in the fridge. In the morning, add the beef and broth, place the ceramic bowl into the crock pot base, and plug it in.

Crock Pot Roast with Simple Pan Gravy

Pot Roast:
1 beef chuck roast (2.5 - 3 pounds)
2-3 large baking potatoes, diced into medium pieces
3-6 oz baby carrots (about 20 or so)
1 celery rib, chopped
1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped
1 Tablespoon whole peppercorns
2-3 cups beef broth

Gravy:
About 8 oz of broth from the finished roast
1 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon flour
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Put the peppercorns in a plastic zip-top baggie and give them a good whack. Just enough to crack some of them. Place all of the "Pot Roast" ingredients in a crock pot/slow cooker, with just enough broth to cover the roast. It's OK if all the vegetables are not submerged.

2. Cook on low 8-9 hours, or on high for 5-6 hours.

3. For the gravy - After cooking, remove the roast and vegetables from the broth and place on a serving platter. Remove the broth from the crock pot and skim the fat, if desired.



4. Place about 1 Tablespoon of butter into a hot skillet. When the butter is melted, add the same amount of flour (I use whole wheat flour and it works just fine). Mix the flour into the butter and let it cook for just a minute or two. No one else in my family likes gravy so when I make it just for myself, I only use 8 oz of broth, and I have about half leftover. Eight oz would probably be enough to serve 2-3 people, as long as they don't smother everything in gravy. :)

5. Add the broth and whisk continuously over medium heat until the mixture bubbles. Once it bubbles, whisk for 1 or 2 more minutes, until it reduces and thickens. Remove from heat and sprinkle with a little salt. You can add a little pepper as well, but the peppercorns used during the cooking give it a nice flavor.



6. Place gravy in your favorite gravy boat and serve with the roast and vegetables, and maybe some nice wheat bread with a little butter, or with applesauce. I'm Dutch - we serve applesauce with just about anything! :) Should serve about 3-4 people, depending on the size of your roast. In the picture below, there is 6 oz of cooked beef and about 1/3 of the potatoes (used 2 large potatoes). And I'm not big on carrots, so I only took 4.