Chicken Sofrito

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This delightful dish, which uses sofrito, a Puerto Rican/Spanish  condiment, goes together in about 30 minutes start to finish if your sofrito mixture is already made up.  My kind of dinner.  Just sear the chicken, the bacon, layer it all and pop in the oven for 15-20 minutes.  Very easy; very tasty!  This dish is not suitable for Paleo due to the cheese, but Primal followers can enjoy this if you eat cheese.  It is acceptable for all phases of Atkins.

INGREDIENTS:

2   5-oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 tsp. olive oil

1 tsp. butter

2 slices bacon, chopped (I used thick slices)

2 oz. Monterrey Jack Cheese, grated

2 T.  sofrito:  http://buttoni.wordpress.com/2013/05/21/sofrito/

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Slice breasts laterally not quite cutting in two.  Lay them out flat and pound a bit with a meat cleaver or rolling pin so they are thinner, to speed up cooking. Heat olive oil and butter in a skillet over high heat. Sear meat on both sides.  When nearly done, push chicken to the side of the skillet and add chopped bacon.  Let it brown, stirring as it cooks.  When both are fully done, turn off heat.  Carefully place evenly 1 oz. cheese on each breast.  Top each evenly with half the bacon.  Finally, evenly dot 1 T. prepared sofrito on top of each serving. Pop skillet into preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.    Serve with a nice guacamole salad or sides of your choice.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 2 servings, each contains:

367 calories

23.5 g  fat

1.15 g  carbs, .25 g fiber, .9 g  NET CARBS

36 g  protein

770 mg sodium

298 mg potassium

6% RDA Vitamin A, 38% B6, 19% B12, 7% copper, 15% iron, 9% magnesium, 95% niacin, 38% phosphorous, 13% riboflavin, 56% selenium, 10% thiamin, 17% zinc

Sofrito

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Sofrito is a sauce seen in Puerto Rican and Spanish cuisine.  I have seen recipes for it many a time, but a recent post by PilotGal on Active Low Carber forums sounded so simple, I decided to try it.  I was so impressed with the blend of flavors, but it was too heavy with garlic for us. She also used green bell pepper and I prefer the sweet edge of red for this. I also used much less green onion and cilantro in my rendition. I also added some parsley to the melange for a little earthy flavor it can bring.  The resulting sauce more suits my and my husband’s palate.  I can see this versatile little sauce will have many uses in my kitchen. Last night I used it as a dressing on an avocado/cherry tomato salad that was delicious!  Tonight, it went onto seared chicken breasts. I think it would make a lovely condiment for fish, chicken or beef tacos as well.  I suspect it will make an excellent marinade for grilling seafood, chicken or pork.  I hope you will try this versatile, Induction-friendly condiment.  You won’t be disappointed.  Some recipes for sofrito include tomato, and you might like to add a seeded tomato to the mix for some applications.

INGREDIENTS:

½ bunch cilantro

4 large green onions, roots removed

4 garlic cloves

2 oz. red bell pepper

¼ c. parsley

¼ c. extra virgin olive oil (more if you want a thinner sauce)

DIRECTIONS:  Pulse all ingredients in a food processor or blender until chopped and blended.  Don’t pulse too long.  You want it coarsely chopped about like pickle relish.   Store your sofrito in a lidded jar in the refrigerator if not using immediately.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes about 20 tablespoons, each tablespoon contains:

28 calories

2.74 g  fat

.88 g  carbs, .24 g  fiber, .64 g  NET CARBS

.24 g  protein

10 mg sodium

40 mg potassium

8.6% RDA Vitamin C

Lupin Cornbread Stuffing

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I had 12 of my Lupin Corn Muffins I made this week leftover and decided to see what kind of stuffing they would make and I’m very impressed!  The slight bean lupin flavor didn’t come through at all and the stuffing didn’t come out yellow either!  Lupin flour can make baked goods VERY yellow!   I would not hesitate to use this corn muffin recipe for making stuffing I would be proud to serve to company. A word about allergy-prone readers:

CAUTION:  Lupin beans are technically a legume that is closely related to peanuts.  If you have a peanut allergy, there have been reports of some peanut sensitive people reacting negatively to lupin beans.

This recipe would not be suitable until the legumes rung of the Atkins OWL carb ladder.

INGREDIENTS:

12 Lupin Corn Muffins:  http://buttoni.wordpress.com/2013/05/17/lupin-flour-corn-muffins/

3 oz. onion, chopped

3/4 c. celery, chopped

6 T. butter, unsalted

¼ c. parsley, chopped

2 eggs, beaten

1 c. homemade chicken broth

½ tsp. poultry seasoning: (I use this recipe: http://buttoni.wordpress.com/2010/11/20/dads-poultry-seasoning/ )

Dash ground thyme

Dash salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Melt the butter in a skillet. Chop celery and onion and saute in the butter over high heat until tender.  Break up the corn muffins into fairly small bits in a large mixing bowl.  Add sauteed vegetables and parsley to the bowl.  Next add the spices, salt and pepper.  Beat and add in the eggs and chicken broth.  Stir well to blend.  Pour into greased rectangular baking dish.  Pop into 350º oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until center is set and top is browned.  Serve with pork, chicken, turkey, duck or other fowl or game.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 10 servings, each contains:

231 calories

20.3 g  fat

5.13 g  carbs, 2.58 g  fiber, 2.55 g  NET CARBS

8.3 g  protein

298 mg sodium

144 mg potassium

11.5% RDA Vitamin A, 6% B12, 32% iron, 21% phosphorous, 7% riboflavin, 22% selenium

Lemon-Coconut Fat Bombs!

Click to enlarge the over-sized ones I made tonight

This recipe was inspired by a Lemon Fat Bomb recipe posted by Widget over on LowCarbFriends forums:  http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/lowcarb-recipe-help-suggestions/795430-lemon-fat-bomb.html. I subbed in coconut cream for the sour cream; subbed in lemon zest for the extract.  I added coconut, and also increased lemon juice quite a bit, as I wanted them pretty tart!  These have a WONDERFUL punch of lemon and a subtle flavor of coconut.  They are a delightful sweet treat for any low-carber!  My thanks to Widget for this idea!  These will make my regular dessert recipe rotations.  Not acceptable however until the nuts and seeds rung of the Atkins OWL carb ladder.  I had to use a larger than usual mold to make these and it only made 12 (my smaller candy mold was in the freezer with a chocolate version not yet set).   I will not make these “candies” this large in future.  I’m cutting the big ones in half actually. So I have worked up the nutritional information for 24 pieces of “candy” as that size makes much more sense to me for candy.  I see a lime-coconut version next time…..or cherry, or rum-raisin, or lime, or……………….!

INGREDIENTS:

1 stick unsalted butter

3/4 c. coconut oil

1 oz. unsweetened, shredded coconut

zest of 2 small lemons

juice of 2 small lemons

4 oz. cream cheese

¼ c. coconut cream (kind with no added sugar)

sweetener of your choice  to taste

DIRECTIONS:   Soften cream cheese however you prefer to do that.  Set aside.  Melt butter and coconut oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add zest and lemon juice and stir.  Add coconut.  Add coconut cream and finally, the soft cream cheese.  Whip all ingredients with a whisk until as smooth as you can get it.  Don’t worry if the cream cheese appears to separate, as that will not be noticed in the final frozen candies.  Slowly add your sweetener tasting as you do so until you get it as sweet as you like such things.  Remember if you use sweeteners with carbs, you must add those to the numbers below.  Using a 2 T. measuring cup or spoon, dip mixture evenly into 24 candy mold slots (if using silicon molds, set them on a metal pan so the liquid will not spill when lifted) or into paper or foil liners designed for making candy.  Transfer to the freezer for 30 or more minutes, seeing that the mold is level in the freezer.    Pop them out when set and ENJOY right from the freezer!  Store the leftover candies in a plastic bag in your freezer until ready to eat.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 24 small candies about 1½” x 1½”, each one will have:

122 calories

13.7 g  fat

.91 g  carbs, .29 g  fiber, .62 g NET CARBS

.5 g  protein

15.3 mg sodium

19 mg potassium

7.1% RDA Vitamin A, <10% all other macronutrients

(For those interested, entire recipe contains 2929 calories, 329 g  fat, 21.8 g  carbs, 6.9 g  fiber, 14.9 g  net carbs, 12 g protein)

Lupin Flour Corn Muffins

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Today’s attempt at a lupin flour corn muffin was a total success!  These had a lovely flavor!  I took my Jalapeno Cheese Bread recipe, slightly modified it and added some pureed baby corn. This bread is not suitable until you reach the higher carb starchy veggie rung of the Atkins OWL phase.   It is suitable for Primal diners, if you eat occasional cheese.   Leftovers can be crumbled, frozen and used in making your next batch of cornbread stuffing!!  Will keep in the freezer about a month.

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. almond flour

½ c. lupin flour (I order from lopino.com)

2 T. coconut flour

¼ c. golden flax meal

1 3/4 tsp. baking soda

1 c. grated cheese

4 extra large eggs, beaten (or 5 large)

4 T. olive oil

1 T. cider vinegar

½ c. pureed baby corn (has much lower carbs than mature corn)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Grease or paper line muffin cups.  I needed 18 to use up all the batter.  Puree a can of baby corn. You’ll need only 1/2 c., so save the remaining in the refrigerator for some other use, like cornbread, a Mexican casserole or soup thickener.  Should keep about a week……or freeze it in a ziploc bag.  Measure all the listed dry ingredients into a medium measuring bowl, add cheese and stir well to blend.  Add all liquid ingredients to the mixing bowl and stir again to blend, scraping bowl with rubber spatula as needed.    Spoon about 2 T. batter into each muffin cup, I used a 2 T. measuring cup to make this easier.  Pop muffins into preheated 350º oven for about 20 minutes or until lightly brown. Remove and serve warm with butter.  SPECIAL NOTE:  This bread would make a wonderful base for cornbread stuffing, too!

CAUTION:  Lupin beans are technically a legume that is closely related to peanuts.  If you have a peanut allergy, there have been reports of some peanut sensitive people reacting negatively to lupin beans.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 18 corn muffins, each contains:

119 calories

10 g fat

3.32 g  carbs, 1.91 g  fiber, 1.41 g  NET CARBS

5.11 g  protein

229 mg sodium

51 mg potassium

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

Gluten-Free Grain-Free Sandwich Buns

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I no longer eat wheat flour and this sandwich bun is so tasty it has become my go-to low-carb bread (until I find one I like better).  I’m most pleased with this bread and am finding the batter very versatile.  This bun recipe is yet another use of my newest focaccia bread batter.  This one has a very neutral flavor, a nice elasticity, nice top and bottom crust, is not crumbly and has a wonderful taste.  I enjoyed a piece hot from the oven with butter and it was amazing!  It makes GREAT sandwiches! No strong flax taste to drown out the sandwich filling!  Very neutral in flavor.  This can also be made up as focaccia bread:  http://buttoni.wordpress.com/2013/04/22/gluten-free-grain-free-focaccia-bread/ Or you can use it for pizza crust:  http://buttoni.wordpress.com/2013/04/23/gluten-free-grain-free-pizza-crust/ .  This recipe is suitable once you reach Phase 2 OWL of Atkins.   It would be OK for Primal folks if you eat dairy occasionally, but not suitable for Paleo.

INGREDIENTS:

½ c. almond flour

¼ c. golden flax meal

¼ c. unflavored, unsweetened whey protein powder

1 tsp. baking powder

3 T. cream cheese, softened

2 large eggs, beaten

1 c. grated Monterrey Jack cheese

½ c. grated Mozzarella cheese

1 tsp. cider vinegar

1 T. heavy cream

1 T. water

OPTIONAL:  Spices of your choosing (or cinnamon/sweetener) sprinkled on top before baking.

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Soften cream cheese in medium mixing bowl in microwave.  Beat in the eggs, cream, water, vinegar and both cheeses.  Measure and add in all the dry ingredients and stir well with a rubber spatula. Line a sheet pan either with parchment paper or silicone sheet.  Dip the batter onto the prepared pan in 9 equal piles (I used a ¼ c. measuring cup).  Spread it out into round bun shapes as evenly as possible with your rubber spatula or the back or a spoon.  Batter will be about ¼” thick.  Sprinkle on spices if using any.  Pop buns into 350º oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until done to the touch in the center and lightly browned around the edges.  Cool a few minutes and cut evenly into 9 “slices.  When totally cool, store in plastic bag in refrigerator.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 9 large pieces, each contains:  These can be sliced laterally, but the info below is for 1 whole piece (1/9 recipe).

149 calories

11.5 g  fat

3.5 g  carbs, 2.1 g  fiber, 1.4 g  NET CARBS

10.1 g  protein

204 mg sodium

65 mg potassium

12% RDA Vitamin B12, 10% calcium, 18% phosphorous, 10% selenium.

Gluten-Free Grain-Free Cinnamon Bread

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This is my latest variation on my gluten-free focaccia bread recipe.  I just shaped the batter into 9 individual Cinnamon Bread Buns and sprinkled cinnamon and Steviva (blend of stevia and erythritol)  on them.   Hot out of the oven with butter they were VERY good.   They’re really too thin to slice, but making fewer would make them thicker and slicing would then be possible.  This is suitable for Phase 2 of Atkins when you reach the nuts and seeds rung of the carb ladder.  These are not suitable for Primal-Paleo unless you eat whey protein powder and cheese occasionally.

INGREDIENTS:

½ c. almond flour

¼ c. golden flax meal

¼ c. unflavored, unsweetened whey protein powder

1 tsp. baking powder

3 T. cream cheese, softened

2 large eggs, beaten

1 c. grated Monterrey Jack cheese

½ c. grated Mozzarella cheese

1 tsp. cider vinegar

1 T. heavy cream

1 T. water

Cinnamon

about 2 tsp. Steviva or sweetener of your choice

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Soften cream cheese in medium mixing bowl in microwave.  Beat in the eggs, cream, water, vinegar and both cheeses.  Measure and add in all the dry ingredients and stir well with a rubber spatula. Line a sheet pan either with parchment paper or silicone sheet.  Scoop the batter onto the prepared pan into 9 equal portions. I used a 1/4 c. measuring cup.  Spreading the batter into circles the size you would like.  Sprinkle tops with cinnamon and 1/4 tsp. Steviva or other sweetener of your choosing. Pop into 350º oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until done to the touch in the center and just beginning to lightly brown.  Store leftovers, once cooled, in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 9 pieces, each contains:

149 calories

11.5 g  fat

3.5 g  carbs, 2.1 g  fiber, 1.4 g  NET CARBS

10.1 g  protein

204 mg sodium

65 mg potassium

12% RDA Vitamin B12, 10% calcium, 18% phosphorous, 10% selenium