Blueberry Cake

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

I considerably altered a yellow cake recipe of KevinPa on Low Carb Friends forums to come up with this cake.  I have never made the yellow cake from which I created this.   This take on his recipe was very good and it was tasty with morning coffee!  This is a very moist cake!  This recipe is not suitable until the grains rung of OWL as there is some flour product in the Carbquick.

INGREDIENTS:

1c. almond flour

½ c. wheat protein isolate 5000 (I order here:  http://www4.netrition.com/lifesource_wheat_protein_page.html

½ c. Carbquick bake mix

1 T. oat fiber

3 tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

¼ c. granular erythritol

30 drops liquid Splenda (or equivalent sweetener for 1¼ c. sugar)

¼ c. + 2 T. coconut oil or butter, softened

3/4 c. sour cream

3 large eggs, beaten

2 T. heavy cream

1 tsp.  vanilla

1 c. blueberries, whole (or chop if you prefer, but batter will get tinged blue if you chop them)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Line the bottom of a larger 2¼” deep x 9″ round cake pan with waxed paper.  This helps tipping it out of the pan and onto a serving platter. You could also use a dutch oven or stew pot if you don’t have the size cake pan I call for.  You could also use TWO standard 9″ cake pans used for making layers cakes, dividing the batter equally between the two, but your cakes will naturally be thinner then mine above.  But hey, you could then smear some blueberry sauce or sugar-free blueberry jam between the two layers and maybe end up with an even more exciting cake than the one shown above!  Grease bottom and  sides of your pan(s) with a dab of oil of your choice and set aside.  In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter or coconut oil until soft and smooth.  Beat in the sour cream, eggs, heavy cream, liquid Splenda and vanilla.  Stir all the wet ingredients until well-blended.  Measure all dry ingredients on top of the wet ingredients and stir batter well.  Fold in blueberries gently to mix them in well.  Spoon batter into prepared pan and pop into pre-heated 350º oven for about 50 minutes or until toothpick stuck in center comes out clean.  Remove and cool slightly. Run knife around edge of pan to loosen.  Invert onto a plate and slowly peel off waxed paper.  Cut into 8 pieces and serve warm as a coffeecake (or cold as a snack).

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 8 servings, each contains:

193 calories

15.1 g  fat

10.91 g  carbs, 5.39 g  fiber, 5.62 g NET CARBS

10.99 g  protein

207 mg sodium

76 mg potassium

13.25% RDA Vitamin B12

Peggy’s Chicken “Fried” Steak

Click to enlarge

I live in Texas and man, have I ever missed classic chicken-fried steak with cream gravy!!  Well no more yearning for a long-lost love!  I just created a CFS that’s pretty dang close to the real deal!  I’ve had such good luck with my mayo-pork rind coating for “fries”, numerous veggies as well as on fish filets, I thought to myself many a time, “Why not give it a whirl on beef”? Well, I finally got around to that!

My first thought on this topic was that the beef would exude too much moisture during baking, if coated raw, and the pork-rink coating would get “soggy” rather than crispy.  So I decided to sear the meat first to seal in those juices before I began.  That turned out to be a VERY good decision.  My first attempt on a Chicken Fried Steak was really, REALLY good last night.  And the gravy was SUPER, even without the traditional step of browning some flour in the pan drippings for tastier gravy.  The natural caramelized meat juices deglazed from the skillet made a DELICIOUS cream gravy without a bit of flour!  Who’da thunk?  I served this alongside radishes and onion sauteed in bacon grease (to mimic cottage fries) and steamed broccoli. Mmmmmm was it ever GOOD!  My only improvement will be to take it out of the oven sooner next time as I was stalling until my radish/onion saute was done and browned it a bit more than we like, as a rule. 

You can use round steak for this dish if you prefer, but I have always preferred chuck or sirloin for my CFS.  Better taste in my opinion.  I’m not very fond of round in anything.  This recipe is OK for Induction!

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. trimmed sirloin, chuck or round steak

1/3 c. homemade mayonnaise (my recipe under CONDIMENTS.  Commercial mayo will require more, as it is thicker)

1 T. coconut oil for searing

2 oz. pork rinds, crushed fine

½ tsp. spice seasoning of your choice (I used my Seafood Spice Blend: http://buttoni.wordpress.com/2009/08/20/my-seafood-spice-blend/ )

1 c. water

½ c. heavy cream

Dash salt and black pepper

DIRECTIONS:  Crush pork rinds fine and stir in spice seasonings.  Place into shallow bowl with a spoon for applying and set aside while you prepare the meat.  Trim meat of all visible fat and gristle.  If using chuck or sirloin that is very thick, slice it laterally if need be to to create a pieces about ½ thick.  Preheat oven to 425º. Cut into 4 portions and pound the pieces with a meat cleaver or mallet to tenderize it a bit.  Heat coconut oil in non-stick skillet and sear meat on both sides until lightly browned, sprinkling lightly with black pepper as it sears.  You don’t want to cook the meat DONE here, just seared a bit.    Remove from heat.

Pour mayo into a saucer and using a brush, holding the HOT meat on one tip with tongs (I use tiny ice bucket tongs), coat both sides of each piece of meat well with mayo.  Then move over to the bowl of crushed pork rinds and using a spoon, spoon the rinds over both sides of the meat.  You’ll get decent coverage without any one piece getting excess.  I have found that if you just dip the meat into the rinds, it “grabs” more coating than is necessary, resulting in not having enough rinds to finish the job at hand and I will then have to crush more (been there; done that) and increase calories.   Place the coated meat onto a non-stick baking sheet and pop into preheated 425º oven.  Bake about 20 minutes or until browned to your liking.

As the meat is cooking, make your cream gravy.  Add 1 c. water to the skillet you seared the meat in and over low heat, completely deglaze all the tasty brown bits off the bottom by scraping the bottom of the pan with a spoon or spatula.    Add the cream and simmer to reduce.  This add both color and flavor to your gravy.  Add a dash of black pepper and salt to taste.  If you prefer a thicker gravy, you can slightly thicken with your preferred thickener.

Serve with gravy dipped over meat.  This goes well with many of your favorite vegetable dishes.  I hope you ENJOY! When you note the nutritional stats below, you’ll say the moral of this story is EAT MORE CHICKEN FRIED STEAK!  Shhhh! Don’t say it too loud near one of those Chick-Fil-A signs. 

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes four 4-oz servings, each contains:

471.3 calories

30.8 g  fat

1.9 g  carbs, .03 g  fiber, 1.87 g  NET CARBS

45 g  protein

356 mg sodium

523 mg potassium

59% RDA Vitamin B6, 112% B12, 43% iron, 75% niacin, 65% phosphorous, 52% riboflavin, 128% selenium, 93% zinc

Seeded Dinner Rolls

Click to enlarge

I whipped up a batch of my Peggy’s Sliced Bread batter and made them up into seeded dinner rolls.  I simply baked topped with a delicious seed/spice mixture in a square muffin pan.  The wells in my non-stick pan are 3/4″ deep.  These light fluffy rolls came out very flavorful.  I topped mine with Victoria Gourmet’s 7-Seed Crust spice blend:  http://www.vgourmet.com/7-Seed-Crust/p/VIC-00143&c=VictoriaGourmet@SeasoningBlends plus a few sunflower seeds (just because I love them on bread/rolls/crackers) before baking.  I don’t like to use paper liners with high-egg content breads as they just won’t get that tasty brown bottom crust when you do.  Therefore I have to gently coax these out of the pan with the help of a knife tip after a bit of cooling, to prevent tearing up the bottoms.  You could also just drop these by heaping spoonfuls (20 mounds) onto a non-stick baking sheet to achieve a biscuit appearance, as the inside texture is very similar to a biscuit.  These are not suitable until the grains rung of OWL due to the flour products in the Carbquick.  Even on the Victoria Gourmet website, I was unable to get nutritional info for the spice blend I used, so I calculated .1 gram of each the carbier spices/seeds listed in the ingredients on my bottle.  You’re probably not even getting that much really, considering you divide that into 20 portions.

INGREDIENTS: 

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

4 large eggs, beaten

1 c. Jennifer Eloff’s Splendid Gluten-Free Bake Mix:  http://low-carb-news.blogspot.com/2011/04/im-very-excited-to-unveil-my-splendid.html

½ c. Carbquick bake mix

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

approximately 1 T. seed/spice mix of your choosing

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Oil the cups of a non-stick square or round muffin pan.  Soften cream cheese in medium bowl and beat the eggs in until fairly smooth.  Add in all dry ingredients and stir until well blended.  Using a 2T. measuring cup, dip batter (rounded in the cup) into the muffin cups.  Batter is real thick and you have to scoop the batter out with your finger.  There should be enough batter for about 20 rolls and nutritional stats below are calculated on that number.  I took a round butter knife and tried to spread batter evenly into the cups.  Pop into 350º oven and bake about 20-22 minutes.   Check at 20 since ovens vary.  You don’t want to overly brown these or they will dry out.  Remove and cool a bit before gently coaxing them out of the pan with the help of a knife.  If the first one tears up a bit on the bottom, wait a little longer before removing the rest.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 20 rolls, each contains:

86.75 calories

7.59 g  fat

3.68 g  carbs, 1.96 g  fiber, 1.72 g NET CARBS

5.37 g  protein

141 mg sodium

27.7 mg potassium

under 10% RDA all other nutrients

Peanut Butter & Jelly Cookies

Click to enlarge

Peanut butter cookies have never been one of my favorite cookies, as I have always found them somewhat dry.  But I love PBJ sandwiches, so I decided to try some low-carb PBJ cookies this week and see if I could make one I find more moist.  Have made 3 small batches now (ate way too many sampling, all in the name of kitchen experimenting, right!) and this version is the one I think I like the best.  Very nice flavor day 1; even better day 2 right out of the refrigerator!  For these, I used several low-carb flour substitutes in combination with a bit of polydextrose to add moisture and bulk.  These are fairly firm, somewhat chewy and to me, they really taste like a PBJ.  Very tasty!  Flavors mellow on day two. Dry and crumbly I definitely avoided with this recipe.  If you prefer drier more crumbly cookies, I’d omit the polydextrose and increase almond or coconut flour 1-2 tablespoons.  These are technically not suitable until the grains rung of OWL due to the oat fiber, a baked goods flavor/texture enhancer.   That said, oat fiber is virtually pure fiber (96% for my brand) and therefore a virtual wash on net carbs.  So if you try it one time and don’t have carb cravings start up again, you can probably have oat fiber and be able to enjoy these cookies as early as the nuts rung of the Atkins OWL ladder.  I’m hoping to experiment with this recipe for a bar cookie one day as well.

INGREDIENTS:

½ c. peanut butter (I used smooth and nutritional numbers reflect that)

2 eggs, beaten

2 T. almond flour

2 T. flax meal

1 T. oat fiber

2 T. coconut flour

1 T. polydextrose (optional, but improves texture)

½ tsp. vanilla extract

¼ c. erythritol + 12 drops liquid Splenda  (or ½ c. sugar equivalent of your choice)

3 T. sugar free grape jelly (I use Smuckers)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  In medium mixing bowl, blend the peanut butter and beaten eggs well.  Add vanilla.  Stir in all dry ingredients.  Your batter should be reasonably thick, but not really dry and roll-able, as most PBJ batter is.  Spoon batter onto greased, parchment or silicone covered cookie pan into 12 equal mounds.   Make a small depression or “well” in each with the tip of a small spoon.  Spoon 1/4 tsp. sugar-free jelly into each depression.  Pop cookies into preheated 350º oven for about 15 minutes.  Remove and let cool before removing from pan.  Store in gallon ziploc bag.  On day 2, mine are keeping just fine out of the refrigerator.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 12 cookies, each contains:

104.7 calories (I know kinda high, but peanut butter is high!)

7.45 g  fat

5.85 g  carbs, 2.74 g  fiber, 3.11 g  NET CARBS

4.43 g  protein

55.25 mg sodium

21 mg potassium

Peggy’s Quick Danish (variable flavors)

Click to see it with pineapple up close

Click to see it with blackberries up close

Click to see the blueberry version

I discovered a wonderful new way to use my Peggy’s Sliced Bread recipe!  I took a piece of it this morning, sliced laterally into two thinner slices and filled it with a delicious thickened pineapple filling with a smear of cream cheese.  Doused with cinnamon.  Nuked it on defrost for 20 seconds and man, oh, man, was it ever good!  A little carby as I had no other berries in the house today, but REALLY good if you can afford the pineapple carbs!  Net carb counts for other fruits provided below.  If using other fruits, you will want to use some other flavor DaVinci syrup (vanilla or appropriate berry flavor) or use other sweetener of your choice with 2-3 T. water added to compensate for the syrup’s water. This is not suitable until the grains rung of OWL.  But you can sure pull the carb count down using other berries.   ENJOY!  I sure did! By the way, this reminded me very much of pineapple upside-down cake, just without the cherry.  But that could be remedied on special occasions!   With a dollop of sweetened whipped cream on top, this would make a lovely, easy dessert for unexpected company!  If serving on black/dark plates, for visual impact, I would dust the plate with powdered sweetener/erythritol along with the cinnamon.

For the blackberry version, I mashed 2 oz. berries with a fork in a saucepan with 1-2T. water, pinch of stevia + 2 drops liquid Splenda and a sprinkle of xanthan gum to thicken.  Cooked on medium a couple minutes until thick and spooned half berry mix onto 1st half-slice.  Topped with about ½ T. cream cheese. Placed second half-slice bread and added remaining berries to top and dotted with cream cheese.  Mmmmm very good indeed.

NOTE:  I keep some of this sheet bread (or some version of it) cooked and at the ready in a gallon Ziploc bag in my refrigerator at all times, so making this only took about 10 minutes total!

INGREDIENTS:

¼ c. crushed pineapple, juice pack (I didn’t drain, just spooned it out of the can)

½ T. unsalted butter

Dash cinnamon

Dash xanthan gum (I don’t measure it…..shook my salt shaker dispenser over it twice, so <1/8 tsp.)

2 T. Davinci Pineapple sugar-free syrup (or sweetener to taste)

1 slice Peggy’s Sliced Bread:  http://buttoni.wordpress.com/2012/01/19/peggys-sliced-bread/

1 T. cream cheese, softened (sweetened if you like, but not really necessary)

DIRECTIONS:  Slice the piece of bread laterally into two thinner slices, cut corners off to shape it round (using a large glass, a large cookie cutter or just a knife).  Set the bottom one on a plate and set aside while you make the topping.  Mix the first five ingredients in a small non-stick saucepan.  Heat on medium heat just long enough to thicken.  Remove.  Spoon the bulk of the warm fruit mixture onto the bottom slice of bread.  Spread evenly with the spoon.  Smear the soft cream cheese evenly over warm fruit topping.  Place top slice of bread on top and spoon on the remaining topping (only about 1 T. left really).  Sprinkle pastry and plate lightly with a tad of cinnamon.  Zap in your microwave on DEFROST for about 10 seconds to warm all.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 1 serving which contains:

256 calories

21 g  fat

16.2 g  carbs, 3.7 g  fiber, 12.5 NET CARBS

8.5 g  protein

243 mg sodium

132 mg potassium

22% RDA Vitamin A, 28% B12, 41% manganese, 14% phosphorous and 11% selenium

Made with 3 medium strawberries:  5.3 NET CARBS

Made with 1/4 c. frozen blackberries: 7.3 NET CARBS

Made with 1/4 c. canned tart cherries:  10.9 NET CARBS

Made with 1/4 c. fresh blueberries: 7.6 NET CARBS

Peggy’s Sliced Bread

Click to enlarge

I decided to make my Focaccia Sheet Bread recipe without cheese this week to see how that would bake up.  Well, I’m totally astounded at how good this came out.  This was so good, it just pushed all other of my bread recipes to the “back burner”.  Only difference between this and commercial sliced white bread is it isn’t as white and it has, of course, a full soft crust atop each slice.  Not a bad thing in my book. Warm and buttered, it reminds me of a British crumpet, just no yeast taste (that may be my next experiment).  I have to admit, both flavor and texture were outstanding!  An added bonus, this bread is somewhat elastic, in that it DID NOT break apart in my hands even with a piping hot hamburger patty between two very thin pieces that were sliced laterally out of one whole slice.

Due to it’s fairly plain “white-bread” flavor, I also see potential for this basic batter in dessert/sweet applications.  Due to the Carbquick, this bread would not be suitable until the grains rung of the OWL phase of Atkins.

To make breadsticks, take one slice and cut as desired, baste in 2 tsp. butter, sprinkle of garlic powder and a smidgeon of oregano.  Toast lightly in broiler just until surface slightly begins to brown.  Entire slice is 1 serving for 2.9 net carbs.  Mmm good with soup or for dipping my hummus made from cauliflower:  http://buttoni.wordpress.com/2011/05/01/hummus/

INGREDIENTS:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

4 large eggs, beaten

1 c. Jennifer Eloff’s Gluten-Free Bake Mix:  http://low-carb-news.blogspot.com/2011/04/im-very-excited-to-unveil-my-splendid.html

½ c. Carbquick bake mix

½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  soften cream cheese in medium bowl and beat in the eggs.  Add in all dry ingredients and stir until well blended.  Line a 12 x 16½”  or 11 x 16 baking pan with parchment or silicone/Silpat sheet.  Dip batter onto pan in evenly spaced globs.  Using fork or rubber spatula, evenly spread out the batter to the edges of the pan, trying to see that it is uniformly thick throughout, especially at the edges of the pan.  Pop into preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes or until golden and done int he center.  Remove and slightly cool.  Cut into 12 “slices”.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 12 slices, each contains:

144 calories

12.6 g  fat

6.08 g  carbs, 3.25 g  fiber, 2.83 g  NET CARBS

8.9 g  protein

235 mg sodium

44.8 mg potassium

14% RDA Vitamin A, 12.3% B12, 10% phosphorous, 10% selenium

Boursin-Gouda Cauliflower

Click to enlarge (shown with pork loin & spinach)

This Induction friendly dish is a subtle variation of my Smoked Gouda Cauliflower recipe.  If you like that recipe you’re sure to like this one.  I changed up the cheeses a bit (Necessity is the mother of invention) and the resulting dish was very tasty indeed. I’m finding just a touch of Boursin cheese can transform what might be an ordinary dish into the sublime.  It comes in a little 5oz. box in the specialty cheese area of the grocery store.

Click to enlarge

I’m starting to experiment with Boursin a lot these days. The brand of smoked gouda I use has 1 net carb per ounce:

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium large head cauliflower

3 oz. cream cheese, softened

4 oz. smoked Gouda cheese, grated (or half smoked Gouda, half Edam)

2 T. Boursin cheese, (I used shallot and chive, but garlic and herb would be good, too)

¼ tsp. coarse black pepper

Dash salt

1 tsp. coconut oil to grease dish (or oil of your choice)

1/4 tsp. dried red bell pepper or 1 T. chopped chives/green onion to garnish the top (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Cut up cauliflower into manageable pieces and boil or steam until tender.  Drain and mash slightly with a fork in a large bowl.   Stir in softened cream cheese and Boursin.  Grease glass casserole dish and spoon half the cauliflower mixture in.  Sprinkle with half the grated smoked Gouda.  Spoon remaining cauliflower into dish and top with rest of Gouda cheese.   Sprinkle with salt and if using, the dried red pepper or chives.  Bake at 350º for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Serves 6, each serving contains:

187 calories

15.1 g  fat

6.27 g  carbs,  2.4 g fiber,  3.87 g  NET CARBS

8.0 g  protein

348 mg  sodium

325 mg sodium

15 % RDA Vitamin B6, 60% C, 15% calcium

Banana Pancakes

Click to enlarge

I’m getting real close to pancake heaven here.  The real banana in these makes these unacceptable until the “other fruits” rung of the OWL ladder on Atkins or until you are at Pre-maintenance or Maintenance.  But the carb count on these is respectable, considering the banana,.  These would be an occasional treat only, but a REAL good one.  I’ll be experimenting with this basic batter in future, as I think these were hands down my best low-carb pancakes to date.  I will be trying these with other berries, maybe crushed pineapple one day, pumpkin/winter squash, or maybe just plain next time.

INGREDIENTS:

1 T. unsalted butter, melted

2 beaten eggs

1 T. cream

1 banana, mashed (3/4 cup)

1 pkt. stevia or Splenda

½ c. flax meal

2 T. almond flour

2 tsp. coconut flour

1 tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:  Melt butter in a medium microwavable bowl.  Add mashed banana and beat in the eggs.  Add cream and stir well.  Measure and add in all dry ingredients.  Stir well to a smooth batter. If batter is too thick, add a tiny bit of water, but mine did not require this.  Preheat griddle and lightly grease.  Using a ¼ c. measuring cup, dip ¼ c. batter onto hot, greased griddle into 6 pancakes, spreading batter out to size you like while still loose.  When 1st side is brown, slide spatula quickly under each and flip to brown second side.  These will puff up nicely.  Serve hot with butter and your favorite sugar-free maple syrup (I use Cary’s).

NUTRITIONAL INGREDIENTS:  Makes six 4″ pancakes, each contains:

132.3 calories

9.52 g  fat

8.78 g  carbs, 3.88 g  fiber, 4.9 NET CARBS

4.87 g  protein

91.7 mg  sodium

174 mg  potassium

17% RDA cooper, 17% manganese and 25% phosphorous

Blackberry Flax Muffins

Click to enlarge

Blackberries are plentiful in the local stores lately and coming down in price where I am, so I bought a carton yesterday and made these delightful treats today.  They were very good and are a pleasant change from the strawberry and blueberry muffins I usually make. These could also be made with raspberries or even drained crushed pineapple or mashed banana, if you’re to the “other fruits” rung yet. The recipe, as written, is not acceptable until the nuts and berries rung of the OWL ladder.  This batter can be baked as a loaf in a greased loaf pan.  A loaf will take about 40 minutes to cook properly done.  FYI, one of my readers said these froze well and tasted great after freezing.

INGREDIENTS:

5 T. unsalted butter, melted

5 large eggs, beaten

6 T. cream

20 drops liquid Splenda (10 drops if you use the tiny bottle that is more concentrated)

4-5 pkts. stevia

1 T. granular erythritol (optional, to sprinkle on tops of muffins)

1 c. blackberries, coarsely cut up

½ c. almond flour

1 c. flax meal (I use a mixture of dark and golden)

½ tsp. cinnamon

2 T. oat fiber

2½ tsp. baking powder

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Melt butter in large bowl.  Beat in the 5 eggs.  Add cream and liquid Splenda.  Stir well.  Measure and add in all the dry ingredients and stir to blend.  Fold berries gently into batter but do not over work them or they will turn your batter dark.  Line with paper or grease 12 muffin cups.  Using ¼ c. measuring cup as a scooper, scoop ¼ c. batter into each cup.  Use up any remaining batter evenly in the 12 muffins.  Sprinkle the tops with the tablespoon of granular erythritol if using.  Pop into preheated 350º oven and bake for 20 minutes or until firm to the touch in the centers.  These should freeze well.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 12 muffins, each contains:

183 calories

16 g  fat

6.74 g  carbs, 4.87 g fiber, 1.87 g  NET CARBS

5.73 g  protein

133 mg potassium

140 mg sodium

14% RDA Vitamin A, 12% B12, 10% calcium, 18% copper, 17% iron, 14% magnesium, 19% manganese, 18.5% phosphorous, 11% riboflavin, 14% selenium, 16% thiamin, 9% zinc

Ambrosia Cookies

Click to enlarge

I got the idea for these cookies from a recipe I saw some time ago on the Civilized Caveman Cooking website called Apple Banana Cookies.  That Paleo recipe has, of course, no flour substitutes or grain and used egg alone to bind the ingredients together.  I have added in several dry ingredients to give these babies a little more body, changed the oil, cut way back on cinnamon and used a totally different extract to create this soft, cake-like Ambrosia Cookie.

Everyone’s sweetness preference is different.  The first half of these I cooked, with erythritol only, were not sweet enough for me.  Adding in some stevia on the second batch that went into the oven really helped, in my opinion.  So I’ve incorporated that into my recipe.  If you don’t like a very sweet cookie you may not want to add the stevia I show below.  Due to the real banana, these are not acceptable until the OTHER FRUITS rung of the  OWL ladder of Atkins.  Note:  Most of my unusual ingredients I order from Netrition.com.

INGREDIENTS:

2 T. unsalted butter, melted

1 T. pineapple extract (ordered direct from Superior Products or use 2 tsp. regular pineapple extract)

1 medium (7″) banana, mashed

1 c. coconut, unsweetened

4 eggs

¼ c. flax meal

2 T. coconut flour

1 T. oat fiber

1 T. polydextrose

½ c. erythritol

3-4 pkts. stevia

¼ tsp. cinnamon

Dash salt

1 c. each walnuts and almonds, coarsely ground

DIRECTIONS:  Process or chop almonds and walnuts until coarse and place in large mixing bowl.  Process or grate coconut and add to the bowl.  Beat in the eggs, mashed banana and all other wet ingredients.  Next measure all dry ingredients into the bowl.  Stir to blend batter well.  Chill 15 minutes while oven preheats.    Preheat oven to 350º.  You can either use ungreased non-stick cookie sheets, parchment-lined or one lined with silicone.  Either using a 1¼” cookie scoop  or a spoon, make 1¼” balls of dough spaced fairly close together on your pans (these don’t spread much).  Slightly press each ball a couple times with a fork to slightly flatten them, but not too much.  Bake at 350º for 18-22 minutes (ovens will vary, but mine took 22 min) until just browned ever so slightly around the edges.    Cool a couple minutes and remove from pans to a cloth, board or rack to cool and make the remainder of the cookies in a similar manner.  These should freeze well, but as with all baked goods, they should be eaten within a month.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 40 cookies.  Each cookie contains:

68.75 calories

5.86 g  fat

3.01 g  carbs, 1.61 g  fiber, 1.4 NET CARBS

2.15 g  protein

12.6 mg sodium

70 mg potassium

12.5% RDA copper and 14% manganese

Clam Dip

Click to enlarge

I created this dip to “test the waters” for serving it at a small gathering of hubby’s male friends this week.  I used to love clam dip as a child but have never tried to make one from scratch myself.  This one isn’t as thick as those I remember from my childhood, but is came out very tasty, so I think the guys will enjoy it with low carb crackers and dippers.  It is shown above with my flax sesame crackers to which I added a bit of almond flour this time.  The dip was VERY good with these.  This recipe is Induction friendly if you limit your serving to 2-4 tablespoons to stay within the 2T. limit on sour cream and 2T. limit on cream cheese per day.  Be sure to double the recipe for a large SuperBowl party gathering!

INGREDIENTS:

5 oz. cream cheese, softened

¼ c. sour cream

¼ c. canned clams, drained solids only

2-4 drops liquid smoke

3-5 drops Worcestershire sauce

4 drops Tobasco sauce

1 shake of cayenne

dash salt

1/8 tsp. onion powder

1/16 tsp. garlic powder

DIRECTIONS:  Soften cream cheese and stir sour cream, drained clams and all remaining ingredients into it until it is well mixed.  You can add 1T. of the clam juice if you like for stronger flavor.  Chill and serve with your favorite low-carb flax or almond crackers or jicama “potato” chips (potato chips for non-lowcarb guests).

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes a little over a cup or about 18 T. of dip.  Each tablespoon of dip contains:

36.5 calories

3.44 g  fat

.44 g  carbs, 0 g fiber, .44 g NET CARBS

1.06 g  protein

53.8% RDA Vitamin B12

36 mg sodium

Pistachio-Rosewater Cookies

Click to enlarge

My family lived in Teheran, Iran when I was 10 years old and I just loved the wonderful pastries and baked goods in the Iranian and German bakeries there.  Rosewater is a commonly used flavoring in the Middle East.  One sugar-type cookie we used to get there, made with pistachio nuts, was one of my favorites.  I decided today I would try my hand at a basic refrigerator sugar cookie recipe, using alternate flour ingredients and artificial sweeteners, of course.  The result was quite nice.  As the roll of dough will keep for a long time in the refrigerator or freezer, you can slice off and bake just as many as you like.  The total recipe of dough will make about 4 dozen cookies, if they are sliced about ¼” thick.   This recipe is not suitable until the grains rung of OWL.  This basic dough, minus the pistachios, would make an excellent plain refrigerator cookie, using 1½ tsp. vanilla for the flavoring instead of rosewater.

This is my first experiment using the bake mix of a former member of Low Carb Friends forums, KevinPa.  Sadly, Kevin passed away this year and his baking expertise is sorely missed by folks like me who greatly admired his culinary prowess.  The various bake mixes and flour substitutes called for in this recipe can be varied with likely the same good result.  So if you don’t have the ingredients for Kevin’s bake mix, you could just use all Jennifer’s mix and get about the same result.

INGREDIENTS:

2 sticks butter, unsalted, softened

2 small or 1 large egg

Click to enlarge

¼ tsp. salt

2 oz. pistachios, coarsely chopped

1 T. + 1 tsp. Rosewater (I use Sadaf brand, from Middle Eastern grocers or on-line suppliers)

½ c. granular Splenda

¼ c. erythritol

1 c. KevinPa’s Bake Mix, Peggy’s Version (see below)

½ almond flour

½ c. Jennifer Eloff’s Splendid LowCarb Bake Mix: http://low-carb-news.blogspot.com/2008/08/bake-mix-substitutions-to-customize-to.html

2 T. Carbquick Bake Mix

1 T. oat fiber

DIRECTIONS:  In a medium bowl, soften the butter and beat the egg into it well.  Add the salt, nuts, sweeteners and rosewater.  Measure and mix in each of the bake mixes.  Mix well and shape into a log on waxed paper.  Roll the log up snugly and chill for about 2 hours.  Preheat oven to 350º.  Slice off in ¼” slices and place on silicone or parchment lined baking sheet (these don’t spread much during cooking.   Bake for 10-12 minutes (don’t let get too brown) and remove to cool.  Ice with your favorite cream cheese frosting with 1/2 tsp. rosewater added and sprinkle with some finely chopped pistachios, if desired.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes about 48 cookies, each contains (does not include icing or nut garnish):

29.71 calories

1.85 g  fat

2.09 g  carbs, 1.11 g  fiber, .99 NET CARBS

1.83 g  protein

19.9 mg sodium

13.7 mg potassium

Kevin’s Bake Mix (MY version of it):

½ c. Carbalose flour

¼ c. wheat protein isolate 5000

1 T.  wheat protein isolate 8000

1½ T. almond flour

1½ T. resistant WHEAT starch (Kevin used resistant corn starch)

1¼ tsp. Splenda

½ tsp. xanthan gum (Kevin used Not/Sugar)

Tamale Pie

Click to enlarge

My mother used to make a dish she called Tamale Pie that had a wonderful cornmeal masa topping that was baked on top.  I just loved this dish.  Well cornmeal is so carb-pricey I just won’t use it anymore.  But I tinkered around with my Mom’s old recipe and came up with an acceptable low-carb version of this dish we found good enough we will be continuing to experiment with the topping until I reach cornmeal masa Nirvana.  But in the meantime, this casserole was pretty darn close to the original recipe in flavor.  This recipe is not suitable until the nuts rung of the OWL ladder. The nutritional info is so impressive for this dish it is well worth serving despite the slightly higher carb count than most of my casseroles.

INGREDIENTS:

14 oz. lean ground beef

3 oz. onion, chopped

2 Roma tomatoes, coarsely chopped (or half of a 15-oz can crushed tomatoes,drained)

1 tsp. chili powder

Dash dried ancho chiles, crushed (optional)

2¼-oz, pitted black olives, sliced and drained

6 oz. cheddar cheese, grated

1 clove fresh garlic, minced

¼ tsp. Salt

15 oz. canned baby corn, drained, divided (I use Dynasty brand)

2 large eggs

½ c. almond flour

2 T. flax meal

2 T. corn bran (I order from Honeyvillegrains.com)

¼ c. heavy cream

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  You will need a medium casserole dish for this recipe, but no greasing will be necessary.

For the bottom meat layer:  brown meat over med-high heat until it releases its grease.  Add onion, garlic, salt, chili powder and crushed ancho chiles.  Saute until onion is getting tender.  Add tomatoes, olives and half of the baby corn, sliced or chopped coarsely.  Saute until tomatoes are getting soft and releasing their juice.

For the masa topping:  Blend or pulse the remaining half of the baby corn until smooth.  Add almond flour, flaxmeal, corn bran, cream and eggs and pulse until a smooth batter.

Pour the bottom meat layer into a ceramic casserole dish.  Sprinkle the cheese over the meat layer.  Then gently spoon the topping over the meat mixture.  Bake at 350º for 20-30 minutes or until topping is cooked completely.   Serve with a nice sliced avocado lightly dusted with garlic powder or your favorite guacamole salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 4 servings, each contains:

625 calories

43.6 g  fat

15.7 g  carbs, 6.78 g fiber, 8.92 g NET CARBS

43 g protein

588 mg potassium

1322 mg sodium (mostly from the cheese)

24.5% RDA Vitamin A, 35.7% B6, 146% B12, 32% calcium, 28% copper, 59% iron, 18% magnesium, 12% manganese, 39% niacin, 70% phosphorous, 48% riboflavin, 67% selenium, 16% thiamin, 101% zinc

Blueberry Pancakes

Click to enlarge

I made these for Christmas morning breakfast today.  Mmmm.  They sure came out light and fluffy.  Very tasty with sugar-free blueberry syrup.  I basically took my Nectarine Pancake recipe, added 1T. flax and subbed blueberries for the nectarines.  If you don’t have blueberry syrup, make your own using a few berries heated up with a bit of water, some sweetener and thickener of your choice.  Sorry, but these pancakes are not Induction friendly.  You must wait until the grains rung of the OWL ladder to enjoy these due to the oat flour in them.

 

INGREDIENTS:

3 eggs, beaten

¼ c. heavy cream

¼ c. water

¼ tsp. vanilla extract

6 drops liquid sweetener (I use EZSweets)

½ c. Carbquick bake mix

½ c. Jennifer Eloff’s Splendid Gluten-Free bake mix:  http://low-carb-news.blogspot.com/2011/04/im-very-excited-to-unveil-my-splendid.html

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. oat fiber (not oat bran or oat flour!)

1 T. flax meal (I use the golden flax for this)

3/4 c. small, wild frozen blueberries (I use Wyman’s)

 

DIRECTIONS:  Beat eggs in a medium mixing bowl.  Add cream, water, sweetener and vanilla.  Stir well.  Add all dry ingredients.  Gently fold in berries and let batter sit a bit while griddle is heating on medium-high heat.  Oil griddle with your preferred oil.  Using a ¼ c. measuring cup, dip batter onto greased griddle.  When 1st side is brown, flip over and brown 2nd side.  This batter will make eight 4-4½” pancakes.      Top with sugar-free blueberry syrup.

 

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 8 pancakes, each contains:

92.63 calories

6.94 g  fat

8.83 g  carbs, 5.09 g  fiber, 3.74 NET CARBS

7.38 g  protein

51 mg potassium

202 mg sodium

11% RDA Vitamin B12, 9% calcium, 9% iron, 10% phosphorous, 11% selenium

Rosemary Pork “Picnic” Shoulder Roast

Click to enlarge

Pork Picnic is very moist and flavorful roasted.  My local grocery store had them on sale this week for $1.00 per pound!!  I stocked my freezer up, as after pork tenderloin, this is my favorite cut of pork.  Much more tender and moist than loin in my opinion.  This spice combo is my favorite for roast pork.  This recipe is very simple yet it really delivers on flavor!  This recipe is suitable for Induction.  For those that like lamb, this spice mixture is also good on roast leg of lamb or lamb chops.

INGREDIENTS:

7 lb. pork “picnic” shoulder roast

½ tsp. onion powder

Dash salt and black pepper

1 T. fresh, chopped rosemary (or 1 tsp. crushed, dried)

DIRECTIONS:   Preheat oven to 350º.  Place roast in baking pan large enough to hold a fair amount of drippings this roast will create.  sprinkle salt, pepper, onion powder and rosemary all over the surface of the meat.  Pop into preheated oven and cook about 30-40 minutes per pound.  It is technically done when the meat reads 160º on a meat thermometer.  But I like to add ¼ inch of water to the pan, cover the pan with foil, lower the oven to 225º and slow cook pork another 1-2 hours so it will get more tender.  slice and serve with pan drippings that have been de-greased first using a spoon.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes around twenty 4 oz. servings (the leftovers make great sandwiches), each containing:

260 calories

14.3 g  fat

.3 g  carbs, .1 g fiber, .2 g NET CARBS

30.3 g  protein

246 mg sodium

402 mg potassium

Cream Cheese Tea Cakes

With Lime Frosting

Texture Closeup

This recipe evolved from an accident in preparing a recipe of CarolynF (on Low Carb Friends) for cream cheese sugar cookies.  I changed up the flours quite a bit, doubled the cream cheese and molded them into little Christmas Tree- shaped tea cakes.  They were WONDERFUL!  They reminded me of my mother’s traditional cream cheese brownies (the blond part) in taste and texture.  I can see a possible cream cheese brownie evolving with some further experimentation on this.  This recipe is not suitable until the grains rung of OWL.   Unfrosted, these would be great served warm with some jam, marmalade or preserves and a nice cup of tea.

INGREDIENTS: 

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 large egg

1½ tsp. vanilla extract

¼ tsp. salt

1½ c. Carbquick bake mix

¼ c. Jennifer Eloff’s Splendid Low Carb Bake Mix:  http://low-carb-news.blogspot.com/2008/08/bake-mix-substitutions-to-customize-to.html

3 T. coconut flour

2 T. oat fiber (not oat flour or oat bran)

1 c. granular Splenda (or equivalent sweetener)

2 T. erythritol

Frosting, preserves or jam of your choice (optional)

DIRECTIONS:   Preheat oven to 350º.  In large mixing bowl, cream together the softened cream cheese, butter, Splenda, erythritol and egg until smooth.  Add salt and vanilla.  Add Carbquick, Jen’s low-carb mix, coconut flour and oat fiber and stir into a smooth dough-like batter.  Using either mini-muffin pans or silicone molds, spoon mixture into molds, tamping down level with a small spoon or your finger.  I used two Wilton silicone molds, slightly overfilled and then raked the straight side of a knife over the top to smooth them even with the pan surface.  These rise only slightly above the original dough level:  (this pan is 5/8″ deep)Set silicone pans on a baking sheet and bake in preheated 350º oven for about 18 minutes or until they are beginning to lightly brown.  Allow to cool slightly and “set up” before pushing them gently up and out of the silicone pans.  If using mini muffin tins, fill about 3/4 full.  These are so buttery the pans will not need greasing.  They should tip out just fine with the assistance of the tip of a knife.   Serve warm with marmalade or jams or cool with your favorite frosting.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 36 tea cakes, each contains:  (does not include frosting or toppings)

84 calories

8.54 g  fat

3.65 g  carbs, 2.83 g  fiber, .82 g  NET CARBS

2.0 g  protein

65.8 mg sodium

10% RDA Vitamin A, 11 mg potassium

Cranberry Scones

Click to enlarge

Took my Blueberry Scone recipe and modified it for a cranberry scone.  These came out very nice with fresh berries.  Not as sweet as some scones, but you folks know how to remedy that, I’m sure.     I may add orange zest and a few nuts to mine (hubby doesn’t like nuts much) next time.  But I’ll provide the basic recipe here for you to modify as you wish.  This recipe is not acceptable until the grains rung of the OWL phase of Atkins.

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 c. Carbalose flour

½ c. CarbQuick bake mix

¼ c. almond flour

2 T.  oat fiber

2 T. Jennifer Eloff’s Splendid Low-Carb Bake Mix (made with plain whey protein):  http://low-carb-news.blogspot.com/2008/08/bake-mix-substitutions-to-customize-to.html 

½ c. Splenda, granular (or equivalent)

1 pkt stevia sweetener

3 tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

5 T. butter, unsalted (cold)

2 eggs, beaten

1/3 c. + 2 T. heavy cream

1 tsp. vanilla

2/3 c. fresh cranberries, slightly chopped

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º.  Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Using a pastry cutter or fork, cut in cold butter until uniformly blended.  In a smaller bowl, beat eggs, vanilla and cream together; then add to dry ingredients.  Fold in coarsely chopped berries and stir just enough to mix.  Using hands or a fork, knead or work into a single mass of dough.  Turn out dough onto well-greased baking sheet or silicone covered sheet.  For traditional triangle shapes, spread out dough evenly using a fork or plastic covered hands into roughly a 7″x 10″ rectangle.  Cut into 6 squares and cut those again diagonally, forming 12 scones.  Sometimes I just cut them into squares as shown.  Bake at 350º for about 18 minutes until lightly browned.  Cool slightly. Using a long knife or spatula blade edge, cut again along cut marks and allow to cool a few minutes before trying to remove from pans.  Serve warm with butter.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 12 scones, each containing:

116.33 calories

9.42 g  fat

9.03 g  carbs

5.11 g  fiber

3.92 g NET CARBS

3.48 g  protein

215 mg sodium

Blueberry Scones

Click to enlarge

I took my Raspberry Scone recipe and modified it a bit to come up with these delicious scones today.  I find a blend of alternate flour substitutes works best in such baked goods.  The final product came out quite good.   This recipe is not acceptable until the grains rung of the OWL phase of Atkins.

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 c. Carbalose flour

½ c. CarbQuick bake mix

¼ c. almond flour

2 T.  oat fiber

2 T. Jennifer Eloff’s Splendid Low-Carb Bake Mix (made with plain whey protein):  http://low-carb-news.blogspot.com/2008/08/bake-mix-substitutions-to-customize-to.html 

½ c. Splenda, granular (or equivalent)

1 pkt stevia sweetener

3 tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

5 T. butter, unsalted (cold)

2 eggs, beaten

1/3 c. + 2 T. heavy cream

1 tsp. vanilla

2/3 c. blueberries, slightly chopped (I used frozen whole, but will definitely chop a bit next time)

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º.  Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Using a pastry cutter or fork, cut in cold butter until uniformly blended.  In a smaller bowl, beat eggs, vanilla and cream together; then add to dry ingredients.  Fold in berries and stir well.  Using hands, knead into a single mass of dough.  Turn out ball of dough onto well-greased baking sheet or silicone covered sheet.  For traditional triangle shapes, spread out dough evenly using a fork into roughly a 7″x 10″ rectangle.  Cut into 6 squares and cut those again diagonally, forming 12 scones.  Sometimes I just cut them into squares as shown.  Bake at 350º for about 18 minutes.  Cool slightly. Using spatula blade edge, cut again along cut marks and allow to cool a few minutes before trying to remove from pans.  Should be browned slightly on tops and bottoms. Serve warm with butter.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 12 scones, each containing:

118.42 calories

9.43g  fat

9.54 g  carbs

5.07 g  fiber

4.47 g NET CARBS

3.5 g  protein

198 mg sodium

Individual Blackberry Cobbler

Click to enlarge

I’m trying to come up with individual servings of many of my dessert recipes and today’s experiment was blackberry cobbler for one.  It’s the high fiber from the oat fiber and flax in the crust that pulls the carb count down to a respectable per serving number.  One who has reached the grains rung of OWL can enjoy this wonderful dessert!   For anyone interested, a full recipe of my pie crust will make 4 individual cobblers and you would have to quadruple the filling ingredients if you wanted to make four of these at one time.

 

INGREDIENTS:

3 oz. fresh blackberries

1 oz. (2 T.) water (or juice from frozen berries if using frozen)

5 drops liquid Splenda (or equivalent)

2 T. erythritol

3/4 T. unsalted butter

¼ tsp. xanthan gum (or your favorite thickener)

¼ recipe of my “Flour” Pie Crust:  http://buttoni.wordpress.com/2010/12/02/peggys-flour-pie-crust/

 

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Make pie  crust per that recipe’s instructions.  Divide crust dough into 4 equal parts.  You will only need 1/4 of the dough for this individual cobbler.  Freeze the rest in a sandwich bag for up to 2 months for either a small 9″ pie or three more of these individual pies/cobblers.   Roll crust between two pieces of plastic wrap to a circle slightly larger than your ramekin.   My ramekin pictured above is 4¼” in diameter and I rolled dough into a 5″ round.  Next, butter your ramekin with 1 tsp. butter or coconut oil.  In a small bowl, lightly toss the berries with the water, Splenda, erythritol and xanthan gum.  Pour into greased ramekin. Dot with the butter.   Remove top plastic from dough and lift dough, centered onto the ramekin.  Push it gently down over the berries.  Fold the edges of the dough inward and pinch snugly against the wall of the ramekin.   Place ramekin on oven-proof pan and bake in preheated 350º oven for 30-35 minutes or until golden.  I like to serve cobbler while it is still slightly warm.

 

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 1 serving which contains:

274 calories

24.7 g  fat

26.8 g  carbs, 21.5 g  fiber, 5.3 g NET CARBS

7.88 g protein

165 mg sodium

140 mg potassium

12% RDA Vitamin A, 27% C, 67% E, 136% copper, 74% iron, 55% magnesium, 92% manganese, 50% phosphorous, 40% thiamin

Tuscan Olive Butter

Click to enlarge (shown on grilled sirloin)

This compound butter has a wonderful flavor that would equally enhance beef, pork, chicken, fish or shrimp.  I did not run this mixture through the food processor/blender, but I may next time as I believe the olives would be nicer minced even finer than I was able to achieve with a knife.  For this particular batch, I used imported sun-dried tomato pesto from a jar.  But I have also used sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil for a slightly sweeter end flavor.  I am very fond of all the compound butters I have made before as they are so versatile and they can totally change up the flavor of a fairly plain piece of meat.  Some are even good atop roasted or broiled fresh vegetables.  Lemon-parsley-garlic butter is perhaps my favorite.  The sky is the limit as to what herbs and spices you can put into compound butters.  This butter recipe is Induction friendly.

INGREDIENTS:

1 stick unsalted butter

2 T. finely minced sun-dried tomatoes (drained of oil) or commercial sun-dried tomato pesto

3 T. finely chopped green onion

1 clove garlic, minced

8 black olives (or calamata olives), finely minced or run through blender/processor

Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:    Soften butter and add all listed ingredients.  Mix well and set on counter (or in refrigerator) for at least 1 hour for flavors to mingle.  If you prefer for entertaining, you can make individual servings using a melon ball scooper or butter or candy molds and chill the shapes before serving.   Place 1 T. on each portion of meat (or whatever you are serving it on).

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes about 12 T. total.  One tablespoon contains:

71.75 calories

7.94 g  fat

.41 g  carbs, .14 g  fiber, .27 g  NET CARBS

.16 g  protein

37.75 mg sodium