Horseradish Sauce (for beef)

Horseradish Sauce

I’m not personally fond of horseradish sauce with my prime rib roast.  It’s an acquired taste I just never acquired.   🙂  I much prefer the “au jus” natural gravy the roasts make.  But my husband really likes it and this is the recipe he prefers.  This sauce is suitable for all phases of Atkins.  Here’s my foolproof oven-baked Perfect Rib Roast recipe if you’d like to try it sometime.

More delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own set of Jennifer Eloff and friends’ best-selling cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS. She has collaborated with famous low-carb Chef George Stella and several other talented cooks to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try. Even a few of my recipes are in each of the 5 volumes! Order your set TODAY! (also available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: By personal choice, I do not receive money for this book promotion nor for the inclusion of my recipes therein. I do so merely because they are GREAT cookbooks any low-carb cook would be proud to add to their cookbook collection.

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. sour cream

1 T. horseradish

1 T. mayonnaise (I use homemade)

Dash salt and black pepper

DIRECTIONS:  Stir all ingredients together, chill and serve with rib roasts, New England Boiled Beef, or grilled steaks.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes eight servings.  Each 2-Tbsp. serving contains:

75 calories

7.5 g  fat

1.46 g  carbs, .06 g  fiber, 1.4 g  NET CARBS

.97 g  protein

Perfect Rib Roast

The Perfect Rib Roast

Well, we’re running toward another Christmas feast at breakneck speed, it seems!  As we had our annual turkey on Thanksgiving, I’m likely to cook a beef rib roast for Christmas this year (I think I did lobster last year).  This is my favorite method for cooking rib roasts in case some of you also plan on cooking one for Christmas or New Year’s.  This is how my mother roasted them for years and years and folks, it just doesn’t get any easier or any tastier! This method has never, EVER failed me.  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Ketogenic diets (and Primal-Paleo if you use coconut aminos in lieu of soy sauce).

My roasts are usually bone-in as I think they cook more evenly with the bones in them.  But I do remove them after cooking to make slicing the meat easier.  I usually served my rib roast with horseradish sauce and typically, French-style green beans or broccoli and a tasty cauliflower mash along with a lovely Grand Marnier fruit salad on the side.  All I can say is……………Mmm, Mmm, Mmm!

We like our beef medium rare and you can see in the photo, it cooks perfectly effortlessly with this method.  My roasts average 3.5 pounds after removing the bones, so I shoot for a 4-4.5 pound bone-in roast at the market.  I usually get 8 nice 8-oz. servings (3/8″ thick slices) from this size roast.   My little rat terrier usually gets one of the meaty bones for her Christmas dinner.  She is in sheer heaven along with the rest of us.  🙂

More delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own set of Jennifer Eloff and friends’ best-selling cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS.  Over the course of publishing the now ten volumes, Jennifer has collaborated with famous low-carb Chef George Stella, myself and several other talented cooks to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Order your set TODAY! (also available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

INGREDIENTS:

4½ pound beef rib roast (bone-in)

1 T. coconut aminos, tamari or low-sodium soy sauce

½ clove garlic (or 1/4 tsp. garlic powder

¼-1/3  tsp. coarse cracked black pepper

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat the oven to 325º.  Place the roast on a cutting board or right in your roasting pan if you prefer.  If using fresh garlic, the first step is to cut your clove in half and rub the cut surface all over the surfaces of the meat (all sides, including the bony side).   If not using fresh garlic, step 1 is to drizzle the coconut aminos or soy sauce over the meat surfaces and rub it in with your fingers.  Step 2 is to sprinkle the garlic powder on the meat surfaces.  Last, sprinkle the black pepper all over the meat surfaces.  Place roast bone side down in your roasting pan.  Roast at 325º for 15 minutes to the pound.

Check center of the roast with a meat thermometer (be sure the thermometer tip isn’t touching bone).  The meat is rare at an internal temperature of 115º; medium rare at 120º; well done at 125º and probably overcooked and thoroughly “dead” (dry and tough) at 130º or higher.   I personally think it is a crime to eat such a wonderful cut of meat well done, but to each his own preference.    Since we like our rib roast medium rare, I always take it out of the oven when it reads (115º rare) as it will continue to cook as you let it sit on the counter for 5-10 minutes before carving.  You don’t want to bypass the sitting period or the minute you start slicing, all the wonderful juices will ooze out onto the cutting board and be wasted.  Carve off the bones and set aside.  Carve up 8 nice 3/8″ slices and serve at once.

I like to deglaze the roasting pan with a dab of water over low heat while the meat is “resting” awaiting slicing. Just stir to get up all the brown bits to make your “au jus” sauce.  Add a dash of salt and pepper to the juice if needed.  Serve your roast with horseradish sauce if desired.  My recipe for that sauce is here:  Horseradish Sauce

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes eight 8-oz.servings (plus the meaty bones leftover).  Each 8-oz. slice contains:

846 cals, 69 g  fat (less if you trim all visible off), 0.7 g  carbs, 0.2 g  fiber, 0.5 g  NET CARBS, 52 g  protein, 209 mg sodium

Beer-Braised Beef Shanks with Leeks

Bought some beef shanks recently that were too pretty and lean to pass up!  I like to braise them with a little beer (low-carb, of course) or wine.  This is one of my all-time favorite braised beef recipes and ever so simple.  Cooks itself really, after searing the meat.   This dish is equally good made with large pieces of chuck roast or with beef short ribs, if you can’t get shanks.  The carbs are coming from the leeks but they are really good with this meat.  This dish is only Induction friendly if you omit the beer. I served mine with buttered, steamed carrots and my Seeded Dinner Rolls . My husband likes his leeks stewed to “death”, as they appear in the photo.  But I would recommend if you like yours less “dead” (as do I), wait to add them to the pot after the meat has simmered for the first hour hour.   I thicken my broth with xanthan gum, but you can use whatever thickener is acceptable for your eating plan.

INGREDIENTS:

2½ lbs. lean, cross-cut beef shanks (or chunks of beef chuck/shoulder)

1 T. coconut oil

2 oz. yellow onion, sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 leek, cleaned and chopped into 2″ pieces

7 oz. large mushrooms, wiped clean

12 oz. low-carb beer (Michelob Ultra is low-carb)

1/4 tsp. ground thyme

1½ c. rich beef broth

about 1 c. water

thickener of your choice

VARIATION:  Use 1 c. white or rose wine instead of the beer

DIRECTIONS:   Cut root tip and top 1″of green part off the leek.  Slice it lengthwise and wash carefully with water between layers to get all “hiding” dirt out.  Cut into 2″ pieces and set aside.  Wipe mushrooms clean with a dry cloth, cut huge ones in half, leave others whole.  Set aside.    Heat a large dutch oven or stew pot until nearly smoking and add coconut oil.  Sear the pieces of meat on high flame until they are well browned on each side.  Add yellow onion, garlic, broth, beer, water to cover meat, thyme, salt and pepper.  Cover and lower heat to  slow simmer.  Simmer 1 hour.   Add mushrooms and leeks, lightly stirring them into the broth.  Cover again and simmer for about 30 more minutes or until meat is very tender.  Serve with your favorite low-carb bread or dinner rolls and a salad or another vegetable if you prefer.  ENJOY!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 4 servings, each contains: (I have calculated the stats below assuming you consume an entire 1/4 of  the thickened broth, which is probably unlikely.  Actual consumed net carbs on the broth might be less than the 6.22 g. shown below.  But the actual consumed would be difficult to calculate any other way than I have shown at 1/4 the broth, 1/4 of the meat and 1/4 of the veggies.)

310 cals, 10.4g fat, 7.55g carbs, 1.33g fiber, 6.22g NET CARBS, 40.2g protein, 450 mg sodium

Crawfish Pad Thai

Crawfish Pad Thai

I’m very new to Pad Thai, although I’ve seen beaucoup recipes for it in cookbooks and on the internet.  I’ve deduced that it’s apparently like gumbo, in that every recipe is a little different.  There are similar ingredients in all of the recipes, however, so I went about concocting my own version, pulling from this recipe and that recipe.  I had no idea if the final dish was going to be good, and told my husband “If we don’t like it, we can just go out and eat.”  It surpassed our expectations!  Other than the fact I got it a little too hot with peppers, the overall flavor was truly OUTSTANDING!  I now see why people rant and rave about it.  I will definitely be making this dish on a regular basis in future!  I can’t wait to try it with pork, chicken and shrimp one day.

I’m showing a lesser amount of hot pepper ingredients below than went into my dinner tonight, as it was waaaaay too hot for us with 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper AND the jalapeno.   This meal would be suitable for Atkins Induction Phase, Keto diets and would even fit a Primal-Paleo lifestyle if plan-appropriate sauce ingredients are used.

More delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own set of Jennifer Eloff and friends’ best-selling cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS.  She has collaborated with famous low-carb Chef George Stella and several other talented chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or for the inclusion of my recipes therein.  I do so merely because they are GREAT cookbooks any low-carb cook would be proud to add to their cookbook collection.

INGREDIENTS: 

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 T. rice vinegar

1 T. oyster sauce

1 T. coconut aminos, tamari or low-sodium soy sauce

1 drop or a whisper of your favorite sweetener (optional)

1 T. fish sauce

2 c. cooked spaghetti squash threads

2 T. olive oil

1 medium carrot, slivered lengthwise very thinly and cut into 2″ pieces

2 oz. purple onion

1 small jalapeno, seeded and slivered into very thin strips

1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (more if you like things HOT!)

1 c. bean sprouts (I had none on hand and used 1/3 c. slivered water chestnuts instead)

4 large green onions, chopped into ½” pieces

12 oz. crawfish tail meat, (I use cooked, frozen or you could substitute cooked shrimp)

3 large eggs, beaten

½ c. cilantro, chopped

1 T. butter

DIRECTIONS:  Cook half the spaghetti squash by slicing in half, removing seeds, putting cut side down into baking dish with 1/2″ water and microwaving on HI for 13 minutes.  Holding the squash half with a pot holder or towel, fork out threads from one half of the squash.  Reserve the other half of the squash for some other use.  In a small bowl, make a sauce of the first 6 ingredients.  Set aside.  Melt the butter in a non-stick skillet and scramble the beaten eggs lightly.  Chop with a knife a bit on a cutting board and set aside for now.  Cut up all the vegetables so they are ready for final cooking and assembly.  Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet.  Add the carrot, purple onion, green onion and saute until tender crisp.  Add the cooked spaghetti squash threads, the bean sprouts (or water chestnuts) and crawfish tails (or shrimp).  Continue to stir-fry over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, to allow flavors to blend.  Add the scrambled egg now and then the cilantro, stirring to mix them in evenly.  Lower heat.  Stir the sauce you prepared and pour it evenly over the mixture.  Stir one last time to mix everything thoroughly.  Remove from heat and serve at once.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 6 servings, each contains:

178 calories

9.8 g  fat

8.9 g  carbs, 1.9 g  fiber, 7 g  NET CARBS

14 g protein

715 mg sodium

395 mg potassium

23% RDA Vitamin A, 15% B6, 65% B12, 11% C, 14% E, 53% copper, 21% iron, 12% magnesium, 27% manganese, 15% niacin, 33% phosphorous, 19% riboflavin, 53% selenium, 9% thiamin and 18% zinc

Currant-Spice Cookies

Click to enlarge

I’ve come up with a spice cookie for the holidays using my chewy Almond Butter Cookies basic dough.  All I did was add a splash of vinegar, blackstrap molasses and some spices and pressed a pecan half into each cookie.  They came out simply delicious!  Although similar to gingerbread cookies, the allspice makes these a little different in flavor.  My husband is quite fond of these and has eaten 3-4 already!  These cookies are not suitable until Phase 2 OWL of Atkins.  They are acceptable for Keto diets.  The oat fiber can be omitted making these OK for Primal-Paleo as well.

INGREDIENTS:

2 c. almond flour

½ c. coconut flour

1 T. oat fiber (omit for Primal or Paleo)

1 tsp. glucomannan powder (from the konjac tuber)

½ tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. each allspice, nutmeg and cloves

½ tsp. ginger

1/16 tsp. cinnamon

liquid sweetener to equal 1/2 c. sugar

1 T. erythritol

1 large egg, beaten

2 T. almond butter

2 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. cider vinegar (optional)

¼ c. imitation honey (use real honey for Primal-Paleo)

2 T. backstrap molasses

½ c. your favorite oil or softened butter

2 T. dried currants

24 pecan halves

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  In a large mixing bowl stir the almond butter and oil together until smooth.  Beat in the egg, vanilla and imitation honey.  Add the dried currants and stir.   Measure in all dry ingredients on top and stir well to form a smooth dough.   If your dough seems very dry or stiff (coconut flours vary), add in ½ beaten egg. Roll dough into 1″ balls and place them onto parchment lined baking sheet.  Dough is somewhat oily.  Leave 1″ space between cookies.  Press balls down to ¼” thick cookies with your fingers or the bottom of a glass.  Press 1 pecan half into each cookie center.  Pop pan into preheated oven.  Top with pecan halves and press slightly into the cookie.  Bake at 350º for about 7 minutes.  Do not over brown these cookies or texture will be drier and less chewy.  Remove from oven and cool completely on the pan before removing with a spatula.   These are delicate while hot but “firm up” nicely when they cool. Store in an airtight container.  These freeze nicely, too!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 24 cookies, each contains:

133 calories

11.6 g  fat

5.97 g  carbs, 2.17 g  fiber, 3.80 g  NET CARBS

2.95 g  protein

54 mg sodium

46 mg potassium

7% RDA Vitamin E, 10% iron and 7.5% manganese

Rum Balls

Low-Carb Rum Balls

I have modified my traditional rum ball recipe I always do for the holidays and the low-carb version is VERY tasty.  These can also be made up as Bourbon Balls. I was amazed that they taste just like my tried-and-true original recipe!  They were a regular in my house when I was a child and they’ll make a wonderful addition to your Holiday candy tray! These are not acceptable for Atkins Induction Phase.  They are OK for all other phases and for Keto dieters as well.

More delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own set of Jennifer Eloff and friends’ best-selling cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS. She has collaborated with famous low-carb Chef George Stella and other wonderful cooks to bring you a wealth of recipes you will love! Some of my low-carb creations appear in each of the 5 volumes! Order yours TODAY! from Amazon or our direct order site: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: By personal choice, I do not accept payment for this book promotion nor for the inclusion of my recipes therein. I do so merely because they are GREAT cookbooks any low-carb cook would be proud to add to their cookbook collection.

INGREDIENTS:

¾ c. almond meal

¼ c. plain whey protein

1 c. finely chopped walnuts or pecans

½ c. cocoa, sifted

¼ c. powdered erythritol, sifted

4 T. melted butter

14 drops liquid sweetener (I use EZSweets in the large bottle)

2 T. rum

FOR OUTER COATING: 2 T. more erythritol + ½ c. more finely chopped walnuts or pecans mixed together in a small bowl.

DIRECTIONS: Mix first 5 dry ingredients in a medium bowl.  Add liquid sweetener and rum to melted butter and stir into batter until well mixed.  It should begin to form a smooth batter.  Spoon up and using hands, form into eighteen ¾-1″ balls.  To finish them off, roll around in pecan coating (I found I had to press firmly onto surface) for as even a coating as you can get.  Store in air-tight container with wax paper between layers.  Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.  These can be frozen.

VARIATION:  For Bourbon Balls, use an equivalent amount of bourbon for the rum.  🙂

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 18 balls, each containing:

136 calories

12 g  fat

3.75 g  carbs, 1.71 g  fiber, 2.04 g  NET CARBS

3.21 g  protein

4 mg. sodium

Smoky Hamburger-Cauliflower Casserole

Smoky Hamburger-Cauliflower Casserole

This delicious, hearty beef casserole was inspired by this very simple Hamburger Recipe .   Linda has so many delicious, simple casserole recipes and was my cooking-Bible when I began low-carbing and had no idea what I was doing.

For my final dish, I substituted a somewhat richer creamy ingredient:  Jennifer Eloff’s marvelous Condensed Mushroom Soup (scroll down on the page) .  You should omit the xanthan gum in her soup recipe, as I also add a fair amount of Smoked Gouda cheese to the recipe, which nicely takes care of thickening the liquid in this recipe.  I also greatly increased the vegetables in the recipe for deeper flavor and added parsley and cayenne pepper.

This dish is very quick to make and can even be baked in the same skillet you used for sauteing!  I’m all about easy in the kitchen!  This entree would be suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets and Primal diners who eat occasional dairy.  This one is not appropriate for Paleo.

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 head (5-6″) cauliflower, cut into flowerettes, steamed or boiled

1 T. butter, unsalted, melted

1 c. celery, chopped

½ c. onion, chopped

1 lb. ground beef (I used 90% lean grass-fed)

½ recipe Jennifer Eloff’s Condensed Mushroom Soup: (omit xanthan gum)

¼ c. chicken broth (I use homemade)

1  4-oz. can sliced mushrooms, undrained

1/8 tsp. black pepper

Dash salt

Dash cayenne pepper (optional)

¼ c. parsley, chopped

6 oz. shredded Smoked Gouda Cheese

DIRECTIONS:  Make the mushroom soup by that recipe’s directions, omitting the xanthan gum.  You will use half for this dish and can store the balance in the refrigerator for about a week.  Set aside for now.  Steam or boil the cauliflower until tender (about 15-20 minutes).  Drain well and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350º.   In an oven-proof skillet over high heat melt the butter.  Add the onion and celery and saute/stir until they are tender.   Crumble the meat on top and continue to cook until the meat is no longer pink.  Add all remaining ingredients but the parsley (including the condensed soup and cooked cauliflower).  Stir gently to mix well and turn off the heat.  Sprinkle the parsley on top and press slightly into the surface of the casserole.  Pop skillet into your preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes.  Serve with a green vegetable or green salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 8 servings (my skillet is 15″).  Each serving contains:

267 cals, 20g fat, 6.67g carbs, 2.17g fiber, 4.5g NET CARBS, 17g protein, 488 mg sodium

Ham-Blackeyed Pea Soup

This is a soup I’ve made for several years now and it comes out consistently tasty even when I don’t measure a single ingredient that goes into the pot.  There’s just something magical about the flavors in this soup.  The ingredients and flavor additives just seem to be a marriage made in Heaven!  There are more vegetables in this than meat, so compared to my other soup recipes, this one’s a little carb-y, but worth every single carb in flavor and nutrition it yields!  This is not suitable for Induction unless you omit the peas.  It will work well in a Keto diet if you use soy black beans, as well as Primal-Paleo if you use a more plan-appropriate vinegar.  You can lower the per serving carb count on this soup by about 4 net carbs if you substitute soy black beans for the blackeye peas, but the flavor will not be quite as good in my opinion.

INGREDIENTS:

1 meaty ham bone

3 c. homemade chicken, pork or beef broth (I’ve used them all successfully)

2 c. diced cooked ham (from the bone above)

1  15-oz can diced tomatoes, no salt added (about 1¼ c., or 3 diced fresh Roma tomatoes)

2 large stalks celery, chopped

3/4 c. red bell pepper, chopped

4 oz. onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 c. parsley, chopped (loosely packed)

Dash black pepper

½ tsp. ground thyme

½ tsp. my Seafood Spice Blend

¼ c. vinegar (rice wine vinegar is what I use, but red wine vinegar or balsamic are suitable choices)

1 tsp. Sriracha chili sauce (or sub in 5-10 drops Tobasco or other favorite hot sauce)

3/4 c. frozen cut green beans, chopped a bit more (or cut okra)

1    15-oz can blackeye peas with their liquid (also known as cowpeas)

DIRECTIONS:  If you own a pressure cooker, that works wonderfully here.  It will see to it this soup is ready to eat in about 20 minutes.  If you don’t own one, you will need to cook your soup a little longer in order for the tougher vegetables to get completely tender. You don’t want crunchy veggies in soup.

Place the first 8 ingredients (through the garlic) into a pressure cooker, bring the pot to pressure on HIGH heat, then reduce and pressure cook for 10 minutes according to your cooker’s instructions.  If using a regular soup pot, you’ll need to simmer about 30 minutes.  Remove and bring down pressure in your pressure cooker quickly by running cold water over the top of the cooker until pressure button goes down.  Remove lid carefully to avoid a steam burn.  Using a pair of tongs, remove the ham bone to a cutting board, cool a few minutes.  Trim off all lean meat and dice.  Save the fatty/cartilage pieces for your dog or cat!  It’s real good for them and they love it so!  I usually get about 2 c. diced meat off my ham bones and that’s what my bone again yielded today.  Place the diced meat back into the soup pot and turn heat to low.  Add all remaining ingredients listed above, stir well and simmer 5 minutes longer.  Serve at once and ENJOY!  Leftovers will freeze well.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 5 servings, each contains:

186 cals, 5g fat, 17.46g carbs, 4.18g fiber, 13.28g NET CARBS (about 9 net carbs if made with soy black beans), 17.6g protein, 1160 mg sodium  (most from the ham), 853 mg potassium

Southern “Cornbread” Stuffing

If you’re looking for a low-carb version of Mom’s cornbread stuffing, you need look no further.  Southern girl that I am, I’m pretty fussy about cornbread stuffing!  I had about given up on finding a way to make it with low-carb breads and get MY definition of stuffing heaven. However………. this recipe is a great imitation of cornbread heaven for me.   It will grace your holiday bird, baked chicken, roasted pork or stuffed chops and make you PROUD!  It is hands down THE very best stuffing I’ve made since I began low-carbing over 4 years ago.   The bread in this recipe brings a slight corn taste to the stuffing (even if made without the corn flavoring!) that none of my previous trials have been able to achieve.  This is so close to my traditional buttermilk cornbread recipe, I’ll never make the higher-carb version again,……………not even for guests!

I’ve managed to trim down the carbs to make it acceptable for those following a low-carb lifestyle, something traditional cornbread stuffing can never do.  This recipe is NOT acceptable for Atkins Induction. If you are still in the Induction Phase of Atkins, or on an ultra-low-carb phase of Keto diets, try instead my Induction-friendly Eggplant-Jicama Stuffing.  By the way, this stuffing freezes well, as I have frozen it many times.  So you will be able to make your holiday stuffing ahead of time as long as you don’t actually stuff the bird cavity.  Just thaw and reheat your stuffing the day you plan to stuff or roast your meat.  TIP:  When baking and freezing stuffing ahead, slightly under-cook it so that when it is reheated and browned, it doesn’t dry out too much.

INGREDIENTS:

1 recipe of my Jalapeno Cheese Bread

6 oz. chopped onion

6 oz. chopped celery

1 stick unsalted butter (8 T.)

1 c. chopped parsley

4 tsp. Dad’s Poultry Seasoning (or whatever poultry seasoning you prefer)

½ tsp. black pepper

2 c. chicken broth, preferable homemade (best if 1 cup of this is pan juices from your turkey roasting pan)

2 beaten eggs

DIRECTIONS: Cook the cheese bread (omit jalapenos if you prefer, but I don’t) exactly as instructed in that recipe.  When completely cooled, coarsely break it up into a large bowl  Add the parsley and stir. Set aside for now.  When ready to put stuffing together, preheat the oven to 350º.

Melt the butter in a skillet and sauté the celery and onion until very tender.  I do NOT like crunchy bits in my stuffing! 🙂  Add the sautéed veggie mixture, butter and all, to the dry ingredients in the bowl.  Add seasonings and the beaten eggs.  Finally add the broth.  Stir well to blend all ingredients.  You may have to add a little more broth or turkey pan drippings if the resulting mixture is not moist but still thick and kind of ‘gloppy’ (is that a word?  LOL) but you don’t want the mixture soupy.  When well-blended, pour into a buttered 9×13 baking pan or two round baking pans.  I personally like to drizzle 1-2 T. more melted butter on top, but that isn’t necessary or included in the numbers below. Bake at 350º for about 30-40 minutes or until golden brown on top.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 12 servings (approximately 3/4 c. each).  Each serving contains:

282 cals, 26g fat, 7.16g carbs, 3.16g fiber, 4g NET CARBS, 9.1g protein, 190 mg sodium

Sausage-Stuffed Eggplant

We just love eggplant and I like to fix them stuffed once in awhile.  Tonight I’m using pork breakfast sausage as the meat, rather than my usual seafood treatment of this wonderful vegetable.  This is a delicious, filling recipe that provides some impressive nuritional needs.  I usually serve this with a tossed green salad.  This dish is suitable for Induction provided you use an Induction-suitable  bread for the bread crumbs. It is great for Keto followers as well.  It is not suitable for Primal-Paleo as-written, but could be with minor tweaking (use coconut milk for the cream; use a plan-suitable bread)

INGREDIENTS:

1  10-oz eggplant

1 slice bacon, finely chopped

8 oz. pork bulk sausage (preferably homemade), crumbled (or Italian sausage)

2 oz. onion, chopped

2 oz. red bell pepper, chopped

½ c. parsley, chopped

1 slice my Gluten-Free Focaccia Bread, crumbled

¼ c. heavy cream

1/8 tsp. your favorite spice blend for pork

1 large egg, beaten with the heavy cream above

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Cut stem off eggplant and cut in half lengthwise.  Carefully remove the flesh with a knifef, leaving ¼” on the skin to support the filling.  Chop the eggplant into ½” dice.  Brown bacon in non-stick skillet.  Add sausage, crumbling with your spoon as it cooks. Add onion, eggplant, red pepper, parsley and spice blend you have chosen to use.  Cook until vegetables are tender. Turn off heat.  Crumbled slice of bread into the pan, Add the cream/egg mixture and stirl all together well. Fill each half of the eggplant with 1/2 of the filling. Press it down slightly with your spoon or hands.  Place filled eggplant halves into a baking pan filled with ¼” water.  Pop pan into oven and bake for about 45 minutes.   The filling should be done and the flesh that was left on the eggplant should be done as well.  Carefully lift them out onto your serving platter using two large cooking spoons.  Serve with a green veggie or tossed salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes two large adult servings, each contains:

737 cals, 61.4g fat, 12.4g carbs, 4.7g fiber, 7.7g NET CARBS, 35g protein, 550 mg sodium, 831 mg potassium, 40% RDA Vitamin A, 44% B6, 92% B12, 80% C, 13% E, 11% calcium, 28% copper, 43% iron, 16% manganese, 64% niacin, 48% phosphorous, 43% riboflavin, 29% selenium, 45% thiamin and 42% zinc

Chicken Asparagus Soup with Dumplings

Click to enlarge

It seems like no matter how much fresh asparagus I cook, there are always some spears leftover. This soup is a GREAT way to use a few spears of leftover asparagus.  Wonderful for a cold winter day or to nurse a bad cold.  Using canned chicken and having some of my little dumplings in my freezer as well, this was ready in just about 15 minutes flat!  It was delicious!  This recipe is suitable for Atkins Phase 2 OWL and Keto diets.  It is not suitable for Primal-Paleo unless the dumpling are omitted.  This is a very nutritious soup as well as being a very good one!

More delicious low-carb soup recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own set of Jennifer Eloff and friends’ best-selling cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS. She has collaborated with famous low-carb Chef George Stella and several other talented chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try. Even a few of my recipes are in her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (also available individually) from Amazon or here: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or for the inclusion of my recipes therein. I do so merely because they are GREAT cookbooks any low-carb cook would be proud to add to their cookbook collection.

INGREDIENTS:

1  13-oz can of canned chicken breast, shredded

8 thin fresh asparagus spears, cut into ½” pieces

2 c. homemade chicken broth

¼ tsp. onion powder

½ recipe my Dumpling dough  (or you can sub in well-rinsed shirataki tofu “penne” noodles)

Salt and black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:  Open can of chicken and shred (with the broth) in a medium soup pot.  Add the broth, onion powder and asparagus.  Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.  Make the dumpling dough by that recipe’s instructions.  Form into ½” balls you roll up in your palms.  You will use only half of the dumplings in this soup, so bag up the rest and store in your refrigerator for another use.  They freeze nicely, too. Drop your small dumplings into the gently simmering broth, cover and cook exactly 7 minutes.   DO NOT LIFT THE LID during this 7 minutes. The dumplings will have slightly thickened your broth for you and the asparagus should be fully done now. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes two 1½c. servings, each contains:

448 calories

19 g  fat

7.75 g  carbs, 4.90 g  fiber, 2.85 g  NET CARBS

56 g  protein

490 mg sodium

654 g  protein

15% RDA Vitamin A, 36% B6, 77% B12, 8% E, 35% copper, 49% iron, 16% magnesium, 62% niacin, 53% phosphorous, 41% riboflavin, 73% selenium, 14% thiamin, 65% zinc.

Pumpkin Coconut Ice Cream

Well, after five years of low-carbing, adding untold oddball ingredients to sugar-free ice cream to try to keep it soft over time to scoop, as I said pretty much in my last ice cream post, I’ve now given up on ever attaining scoopable ice cream after 24 hours in the freezer. Blogger after blogger swears they have found the answer!!  But every time I try their recipes, I’ve always ended up with the same result: a hard brick of ice cream you can’t scoop the next day.  So from now on, I either make a half recipe or we eat our serving of ice cream the day I make it and the rest gets made up as frozen ice cream bars, which are a bit more manageable when they are hard.

Anyway, this pumpkin-coconut ice cream I made up yesterday came out delicious!  I went pretty heavy on the pumpkin and spices because that’s the flavor I wanted to be the strongest.  If you love coconut more than we do, you might want to use more of the coconut cream and less of the heavy cream in yours. My hubby isn’t too fond of coconut and I’m not so crazy about it too often either.   This recipe is not suitable until you reach the Atkins “nuts and seeds” rung of the Phase 2 OWL carb ladder.  Ketoers can enjoy this one and so can Primal devotees if they use alternative sweeteners that are plan-suitable.

More delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own set of Jennifer Eloff and friends’ best-selling cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS.  She has collaborated with famous low-carb Chef George Stella and several other talented chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or for the inclusion of my recipes therein.  I do so merely because they are GREAT cookbooks any low-carb cook would be proud to add to their cookbook collection

INGREDIENTS:

1 can (2 c.) pumpkin puree

8 oz. coconut cream

2 c. heavy cream

1 T. blackstrap molasses (or ¼ tsp. maple extract for lower carbs)

½ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. each nutmeg and cloves

½ c. erythritol

2 pkts. stevia (I used Sweet Additions)

DIRECTIONS:  Mix all the ingredients in a bowl or a food processor until well blended.  Transfer the mixture to your ice cream maker and freeze per the machine’s instructions.  Serve immediately (preferably) and with the remainder, make ice cream bars if you have molds, or freeze all of it in a suitable plastic container.  I like to use flexible plastic or silicone for this so that when it freezes hard, I can twist the pan a little and loosen the “solid brick” and cut it into squares or slices to thaw slightly and serve.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 10 level ½ cup servings, each contains:

227 calories

24.2 g  fat

7.84 g  carbs, 1.86 g fiber, 5.98 g  NET CARBS  (lower if you use maple extract)

1.53 g  protein

25 mg sodium

167 mg potassium

82% RDA Vitamin A, 10% iron

Asian Pork Patties with Dipping Sauce (dumplings optional)

Finally, a way I can have Pot Stickers on the table and EAT them, too!  But since low carbers like me can’t have the dumplings they are traditionally wrapped in,  I’ve found a way to have this tasty dish without the wrappers!   Instead, I make a batch of very small simmered dumplings that I make with glucomannan powder, sear separately from the meat bites and eat them alongside the meat and dipping sauce.  It’s almost like eating real steamed Chinese dumplings!!  So good!!  This dough is not very “rollable” else I would have tried to make my creation more like the original dumplings are made in Chinese cooking.   I may try introducing a little psyllium and see if they can be rolled, but in the meantime, this method of side-by-side works for us.

This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and other Keto diets.  To make these suitable for Primal-Paleo, do not use the peanut butter in the dipping sauce and use a plan-suitable vinegar  and coconut aminos for the soy sauce.

Shown with seared “Dumplings”

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. lean ground pork

1 beaten egg

2 jalapenos, seeded, ribs removed and minced fine

2 tsp. coconut aminos (or low-sodium soy sauce)

2 cloves, garlic, minced

2 T. olive oil (for frying)

OPTIONAL:  1 recipe and a half of my Dumplings

DIPPING SAUCE:

2 tsp. sesame oil

1 tsp. creamy natural peanut butter (omit if on Atkins Induction)

2 T.  rice wine vinegar

1 tsp. ginger root, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. Sambal Oelek chili sauce (or Sriracha sauce)

2-3 drops liquid stevia or sucralose

1 T. low sodium soy sauce (or coconut aminos)

1 T. finely minced green onion

2 T. water

VARIATION:  Add 1 tsp. peanut butter to the dipping sauce

DIRECTIONS:   If you wish to serve this dish with the dumplings on the side, prepare a recipe and a half of my glucomannan dumplings at the link above according to that recipe’s instructions, simmering them in plain water that is barely at a simmer.  Be sure to make them real tiny, about ½” is what I did, as they swell to about 3/4″ during simmering.  When they are done, using a slotted spoon, dip them gently onto a plate.  With paper towels, blot away as much water from around them as you can.  Set the plate of dumplings aside for now.

Mix the dipping sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Mix up the meat ingredients in a medium bowl with either a fork or your hands.  Heat the 2 T. olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.  Form into 10 patties (mine were about 1½ oz. each and about 2″ long).  Place the meat patties in the skillet and brown on both sides until golden brown, making sure pink juices are no longer coming out of the meat when slightly pressed with the edge of your spatula.  Turn off heat and dip them onto a serving platter in a circle.  If serving with dumplings, serve those in the middle of the platter.  You can rewarm the dumplings on defrost in your microwave if you feel so compelled, but I find room temperature is just fine since the meat is piping hot.  Pour the dipping sauce into 3 tiny bowls and place one at each person’s place at table.   I forked 1 dumpling with a bite of meat, dipped into the sauce and shoved the two right into my mouth!  Pure heaven it was. I swear it tasted just like steamed dumplings!  Must try to brown my little dumplings in a skillet next time!   Pic of the fried version shown above.  🙂

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes ten 1½-oz. meat patties.  Each meat patty & sauce contains:  (includes 1/10th of the sauce).  NOTE:  The info below does NOT include the optional dumplings, but since they have negligible food value, I wouldn’t worry about them too much.  They are virtually pure fiber.  I get around 36-40 mini-dumplings or gnocchi out of the dumpling recipe so 3 dumplings only have around 0.1 net carb (or less)!  Like I said, virtually negligible. 

167 cals, 14g fat, 1.11g carbs, 0.16g fiber, 0.95g NET CARBS, 8.7g protein, 142mg sodium

Chicken with Spinach & Eggs

My father would have really liked my lunch today. When he was still active duty Air Force, he would often cook himself scrambled spinach and eggs for supper when he got home late night after a TDY flight.  He most often cooked bacon to have with it, but for today’s lunch, I wanted to use up a small bit of leftover baked chicken breast.   Man, oh, man, was the resulting dish using chicken ever tasty! I added a couple other flavor enhancers and most assuredly will make this again.   What a nice way to use up a small bit of leftover chicken meat!  This recipe is suitable for Atkins Induction, Keto diets and those Primal diners who eat occasional dairy.  However, as written, this recipe is not suitable for Paleo.   Get a load of the outstanding nutritional stats on this dish!  Not only an easy dish, but an amazingly nutritious one!

More delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own set of Jennifer Eloff and friends’ best-selling cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS.  She has collaborated with famous low-carb Chef George Stella and several other talented chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  A number of my recipes are also to be found in these cookbooks! Order any of our books from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

INGREDIENTS:

1 T. unsalted butter

¼ c. red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 c. frozen, chopped spinach

1 oz. cream cheese

2 large eggs, beaten

Dash each salt and black pepper

1/3 c. cooked, chopped chicken (I used breast meat)

¼ c. shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

DIRECTIONS:  Melt the butter in a small non-stick skillet and saute the bell  pepper until tender (mine was frozen, which is already soft when it defrosts, so I was able to bypass this step).  Add spinach and saute until all water has evaporated.  Add cream cheese and allow to melt.   Add beaten eggs and cook scrambled egg-spinach mixture until eggs are set.  My spinach/egg/cream cheese mixture was actually leftover from the day before, making my final dish even easier to throw together!   Remove from heat.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper lightly.  Transfer to a serving dish or plate if desired. Arrange chicken evenly over the top and finally with the cheese.  Microwave 1 minute on high to melt cheese.  Or, if not transferring from skillet, just place lid on skillet and reheat 1-2 minutes on low heat to melt the cheese.  ENJOY!  This was quite a tasty way to use up leftovers.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    This recipe will serve 1 person.  The entire batch contains:

556 cals, 42g fat, 7.4g carbs, 3.2g fiber, 4.2g NET CARBS, 38.5g protein, 856 mg sodium

Spongeblob Squareburger

Click to enlarge

You know, I don’t think I’ve ever watched that silly cartoon show my recipe title alludes to.  But I happened to be channel surfing last night and landed on that program and found myself watching for 15 minutes or so.  I guess either I’m too old, or I just don’t get the humor.  Ren and Stimpy I could watch, but not this one.  So when I was slicing up my latest tweaked version of my Induction-friendly Flax Bread today, I was reminded how the slices looked like a kitchen sponge.  Immediately I was smitten with this idea.

I had some unused grass-fed ground beef leftover from a beef-cabbage dish I made myself last night.  I added some pork sausage that was leftover as well.  That all made a nice 4.5-oz burger patty for one (luckily my hubby was off in Austin yesterday for a convention.  Then the creative cogs started clicking.  Anyhow, this little burger came together easily ans was very tasty.  It was incredibly filling with the flax bread.  I will definitely make this quick dish again!  Different butters and seasoning elements in the meat are of course possible variations.  The caramelized onions and smoked Gouda really made this dinner a success.

This recipe is suitable for Atkins Phase 2 OWL and Keto diets, however it is not suitable for Primal-Paleo due to the bit of Bourbon in the compound butter and the particular bread used.  With another compound butter and a Paleo bread, my Primal-Paleo readers could certainly give this square burger a go.  This recipe is for 1 burger, so just multiply the ingredients as needed for making more.

INGREDIENTS:

3 oz. grass-fed ground beef (mine was 90% lean)

1½ oz. bulk pork sausage (I use homemade)

2 oz. onion, sliced

1 T. my Bacon-Bourbon Butter, softened

Dash black pepper

1 oz. slice of smoked Gouda cheese

2 slices my Flax-Whey Protein Bread

DIRECTIONS:  Stack the two slices of bread on top of each other and trim off any uneven edges to get straight edges, like your Mom used to cut off the crusts fro you when you were young (my Mom made us eat the crusts, but I saw many a Mom do it!  Set aside for now.  In a small bowl, using a fork, mix the ground beef, sausage, bourbon butter and black pepper until well blended.  Using your palms and then enlisting the help or a straight-edge spatula, form a square meat patty slightly larger than your bread is cut right onto a non-stick skillet.  When you are satisfied with the shape, turn on the heat to medium-high and brown one side.  Flip the patty over and push to one side of the skillet and saute the sliced onion along side the meat in the pan drippings, turning them several times as the meat browns. When the meat is fully cooked turn off the heat.   Place one bun onto your plate.  Set the meat on top.  Place the brown, caramelized onions in a “blob” on top of the meat.  Next place the slice of smoked Gouda on the onions and invert a bowl or small pan over the stack to allow steam to heat/melt the Gouda, but just until it slightly softens (but isn’t running all over the place).  Remove the inverted “dome” and place the top bun piece on top and serve at once.  You’ll notice in this first version I used my 8-Seed Crust mixture sprinkled on my bread when I made it.  That was quite good on this burger, too!  Kind of like an onion-y “Everything Bagel” topping, that blend. 🙂

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  This recipe makes 1 squareburger. Because I’m on Induction once again to break a long stall, I had to make mine with my flax bread, making this recipe pretty carb-y “as written”.  But there are breads with much lower stats you can use, like my Gluten-Free Focaccia Bread.

Made with my Flax-Whey Protein Bread: 1046 calories, 83 g fat, 26.6 g carbs, 17.4 g fiber, 9.2 g NET CARBS, 65.2 g  protein

Made with my Gluten-Free Focaccia Bread: 673 calories, 55 g fat, 10.3 g  carbs, 2.3 g fiber, 8.0 NET CARBS, 36.5 g  protien

Thai Chicken-Pumpkin Soup

Click to enlarge

When there’s a chill in the air I find myself wanting soup for lunch.  But alas, there are absolutely NO leftovers in the refrigerator today.  OH MY!!  That almost never happens!  So I then turned to the pantry for ideas.  My stockpile of pumpkin caught my eye and there sitting right beside all the cans of pumpkin was a can of coconut milk.  I grabbed it, a can of pumpkin, a can of chicken breast meat, walked over to my freezer and took out two small jars of homemade chicken stock and went from there.  The final soup came out quite tasty and ends up it’s very nutritious, too.  I went for a Thai flavor today.  GOOD choice for my e key ingredients!  This recipe isn’t suitable until you reach the nuts and seeds rung of Atkins Phase 2 OWL carb ladder.  It is perfectly suited to other Keto diets and Primal-Paleo as well.

More delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own set of Jennifer Eloff and friends’ best-selling cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS.  She has collaborated with famous low-carb Chef George Stella and several other talented chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or for the inclusion of my recipes therein.  I do so merely because they are GREAT cookbooks any low-carb cook would be proud to add to their cookbook collection.

 

INGREDIENTS:

1  15-oz. can pumpkin puree (do not use pumpkin pie filling!)

1  13.5-oz. can coconut milk

3 c. homemade chicken broth

¼ c. packed, chopped fresh cilantro

¼ tsp. salt

Dash black pepper

¼ c. green onion, finely chopped

1 tsp. Thai Red Curry Paste (or to taste)

1 tsp. coconut aminos or low-sodium soy sauce

½ tsp. Thai fish sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

1  13 oz. can chicken breast meat (with broth)

Sprig of fresh cilantro or my 8-seed Spice Blend

DIRECTIONS:   Basically, place all ingredients into a large soup pot, stir well and bring to a boil and then lower heat.  Simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Although not absolutely necessary, I used my stick blender to puree the meat up a bit for a smoother soup.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes five 1½ c. servings, each contains:

273 calories

19.2 g  fat

10.2 g  carbs, 2.6 g  fiber, 7.6 g  NET CARBS

13.66 g  protein

432 mg sodium

519 mg potassium

97% RDA Vitamin A, 12% B6, 8% C, 39% copper, 55% iron, 19% magnesium, 41% manganese, 22% niacin, 21% phosphorous, 16% riboflavin, 6% selenium, 8% thiamin, 10% zinc

Crawfish Stuffed Tilapia

I’ve never baked whole Tilapia before tonight!  We lived on the Texas Gulf Coast for many, many years where I stuffed flounder, red snapper and sea trout.  The fish markets all sold fresh caught tilapia, but I tended to not buy them when the prettier fish were readily available.

Needless to say, this evening’s dinner was a learning curve for me AND my husband:  me for the cooking of it; him and I both for how to eat around the skeleton of bones in a whole tilapia, knowing nothing about the bone arrangement in them. They certainly are not as easy to eat as whole flounder, but I didn’t find them as difficult to eat (bone-wise) as fresh trout or bluefish, so I can’t really complain overall.

The taste was FANTASTIC!  Much better than the frozen tilapia filets from the grocery store I have cooked.  I found these whole wild-caught tilapia at Sam’s yesterday and thought I’d try them out.  They came cleaned, already scaled and individually frozen in plastic vacuum sleeves.  After thawing and washing well with cold water, I cut the usual “H” pattern down one side like I do flounder for stuffing, slid the knife along the bones I could feel with the knife (much of cooking is by ‘feel’) and opened them up on one side to receive the stuffing.  I had a half package of crawfish tail meat in my freezer, but no shrimp, so crawfish was the only option for stuffing.  The final dinner was VERY tasty.  My husband said this was so good, to be SURE and post it for my readers!  We both found whole tilapia to be ever so much better than the frozen tilapia filets I can usually get here in Central Texas.  So I hope Sam’s continues to carry this product. For this recipe to be suitable for Atkins Induction, you will need to substitute a flax-based bread like the One Minute Muffin in the stuffing.  This recipe is acceptable for Keto diets and if a Paleo-Primal bread is used (or it is omitted) this is also suitable for those lifestyles.  A  quick glance at the nutritional info will sway you to include fish and crawfish into your diets much more often than most of us do.  A very healthy meal, this one!

INGREDIENTS:

2   approx 3/4 lb. tilapia, cleaned and scaled  (yields about 7-8 oz. per fish after head, tail and bones are removed)

3 T. total, unsalted butter

5″ stalk of celery, chopped

2 oz. red bell pepper, chopped

1 oz. onion, chopped

Dash salt

¼ tsp. my Seafood Spice blend

Dash black pepper

2 slices my Gluten-Free Focaccia Bread, crumbled

6 oz. crawfish tail meat, shelled (I used frozen, already cooked)

VARIATION:   Add some chopped, browned bacon to the stuffing.  Shrimp instead of crawfish tails (or conbination of the two) would also be good for the stuffing.

DIRECTIONS:  Make a knife cut down the center of the fish’s side until the knife hits resistance (likely the backbone).  Next make a top and bottom crossbar cut to form an “H”.  Now, doing one side at a time, slide the knife down the left side gently, resting it on the bones as you go and free the flesh from the bones as best you can. Then slide the knife in a similar manner down the right side.  It doesn’t have to be perfect, so if this is your first time, messing it up isn’t a catastrophe.  🙂  Lay the two flaps of loosened flesh back out of the way (like opening an outdoor cellar door) to form a nice little cavity inside to fill with stuffing. Lay the fish on a silicone or parchment covered pan or a well-greased one (I used a silicone sheet).  Set the pan of fish aside while you make the stuffing.

Preheat the oven to 350º.  Melt 2 T. of the butter in a skillet.  Add the Louisiana Cajun “Trinity” (celery, bell pepper and onion :)) and saute until tender.  Add the salt, black pepper and Seafood Spice blend.  Stir well to blend the ingredients.  Add the crawfish tail meat and saute a minute or so until done (if not already cooked).  Remove from heat and add the breadcrumbs.  Stir well.

Using a medium spoon, fill each fish with half the stuffing.  You will likely have to press it down firmly for it all to stay in the cavity you formed.  Fold the flesh back up over the stuffing as best you can and press again.  Place the last tablespoon of butter in the pan between the fish and pop into the 350º oven. When the butter has melted, pull out the pan and baste the outside of the fish with it and put back into oven.  Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until flesh appears opaque and flaky (not raw).  I have a super long blade spatula for lifting fish off pans, but if you do not, I recommend using two small ones to lift the fish out onto your serving platter or dinner plates.  I served mine with a lovely green salad.  I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did.  We haven’t had whole, stuffed fish in a very long time and we both had forgotten how much we like it.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes two individual stuffed fish, each contains:

575 cals, 33g fat, 6.5g carbs, 2.4g fiber, 4.1g NET CARBS, 65g protein, 646 mg sodium

Kale Sofrito

Kale sofrito (entire batch or 2 c. shown on a salad plate)

Man, I’ve discovered yet another delicious use for my tasty Sofrito sauce!  If you like kale, you really need to try this recipe.  Best kale dish I’ve ever eaten!  If you’re not so fond of kale, you might just like it cooked THIS way!  One tiny little addition to my usual boiled kale and onions recipe took it to a whole new flavor level.  What a flavor transformation!  Neither the kale nor the Sofrito tastes were dominant, but they complimented each other nicely.  The Sofrito addition rounded off that cruciferous taste kale has!……… TOTALLY!!  I sometimes fix kale as a side dish with a meat entree, but sometimes I will just eat 2 servings and call it a full meal…….usually at lunch time like today!

Kale and onions alone are pretty carb-y, so you might not be able to fit this dish into your meal plan during Atkins Induction Phase, although all the ingredients are allowable during Induction.  When you take stock of the nutritional info below, you are definitely going to want to fit this into your regular recipe rounds on a regular basis once you reach Phase 2 and begin to up your carb levels a bit.  Just look at how nutritious it is!  This dish is suitable for other Keto diets and Primal-Paleo programs as well.

More delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own set of Jennifer Eloff and friends’ best-selling cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS.  She has collaborated with famous low-carb Chef George Stella and several other talented chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or for the inclusion of my recipes therein.  I do so merely because they are GREAT cookbooks any low-carb cook would be proud to add to their cookbook collection.

 

INGREDIENTS:

2 slices bacon

2 oz. onion, chopped or sliced coarsely

1 small bunch kale (I forgot to weigh, but about 3-3½ cups after stemming and chopping)

2 T. my Sofrito sauce

Dash salt and coarse black pepper

Enough water to cover veggies

DIRECTIONS:  In a medium soup pot, brown the bacon partially, add the onion and saute until the onion begins to caramelize and brown.  Stem and coarsely cut up the kale leaves.  Add to the bacon and onions, along with the Sofrito, salt, pepper and cover all with water.  Bring to a boil and then lower heat to a gentle simmer for about 20-30 minutes.   I do not cover any green vegetables when cooking, as covering them makes them turn much browner or yucky green during cooking.  When done, drain off the liquid into freezing containers for future vegetable soup stock.  It’s wonderful that way plus you recapture vitamins and minerals that were lost to the  stock during cooking!    🙂

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes four ½ c. servings, each contains:

90 calories

6.15.3 g  fat

6.55 g  carbs, 1.25 g  fiber, 5.30 g  NET CARBS

3.65 g  protein

170 mg sodium

 

Porc à la Mayonnaise

Click to enlarge

I made some fresh homemade mayonnaise today not only because my jar in the refrigerator was nearly empty, but I also needed some to use on some pork loin I was planning to bake tonight.  This simple, very nutritious dish was VERY good and my husband REALLY liked it, but then he really likes any creamy pork dish.   🙂   Me, I love rosemary and onion in just about anything:  bread, crackers, pork, beef, lamb, chicken.  That is indeed a flavor match make in heaven.  This dish is easy yet really delivers on flavor.  The meat comes out tender and not the slightest dry, as pork loin can be sometimes since it is so lean.  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets, and Primal or Paleo regimens as well.

More delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own set of Jennifer Eloff and friends’ best-selling cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS.  She has collaborated with famous low-carb Chef George Stella and several other talented chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or for the inclusion of my recipes therein.  I do so merely because they are GREAT cookbooks any low-carb cook would be proud to add to their cookbook collection.

INGREDIENTS:

16 oz. boneless pork loin or pork steaks, cut ½”  thick

2 T. fresh rosemary (or 1 T. dried)

½ tsp. onion powder

Dash each coarse black pepper and cayenne pepper

6 T. my Homemade Mayonnaise

2 oz. onion, sliced crosswise into very thin ringlets

1 sprig fresh rosemary for garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Pound the meat on a wooden board with a meat tenderizer or mallet on both sides.  Sprinkle all meat surfaces with the onion powder and a light dusting of black pepper and ever so little cayenne pepper.  Lay the meat slices on a non-stick or oiled baking pan.   Spread the homemade mayonnaise evenly over the tops of the slices of meat.    Chop and sprinkle half the rosemary over the meat.  Slice the onion as thin as you can and separate into ringlets.  Place them evenly over the meat, overlapping as needed.  Sprinkle the remaining rosemary on top. Pop the pan into 350º oven for about 35-45 minutes or until done.  Serve with your favorite vegetable sides.  I served it with mashed cauliflower and fresh green beans.

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

386.5 calories

27 g  fat

1.52 g  carbs, .27 g  fiber, 1.25 g  NET CARBS

33 g  protein

65 mg sodium

463 mg potassium

5% RDA Vitamin A, 39% B6, 67% B12, 8% D, 21% E, 21% copper, 34% iron, 11% magnesium, 37% niacin, 51% phosphorous, 60% riboflavin, 143% selenium, 73% thiamin, 47% zinc

Crawfish-Clam Chowder

Crawfish-Clam Chowder

I made a lovely seafood chowder today with a handful of crawfish I had leftover in the fridge, and a large can of baby clams.  Using my last zucchini in the house for the “potatoes” in my chowder, the marriage of flavors in this soup was meant to be.  It came out VERY tasty and its extremely nutritious. Just get a load of the macro stats below!  That is NOT a mistake on the B12.  Clams are just so good for you.  My hubby was not home today, so there is enough leftover for us to have for lunch tomorrow when he gets home.  He’s going to really like this one!  This is suitable for all phases of Atkins and Keto diets.  It is not suitable for Paleo but Primal folks who eat a little dairy once in awhile can enjoy this.

More delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own set of Jennifer Eloff and friends’ best-selling cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS.  She has collaborated with famous low-carb Chef George Stella and several other talented chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or for the inclusion of my recipes therein.  I do so merely because they are GREAT cookbooks any low-carb cook would be proud to add to their cookbook collection.

INGREDIENTS: 

2 T. unsalted butter

10 oz. zucchini, diced

1 oz. onion, sliced

4 oz. crawfish tails

1 10.5-oz can of whole baby clams with their clam juice

¼ tsp. my Seafood Spice Blend

Dash each garlic powder and black pepper

¼ c. heavy cream

2 c. homemade seafood stock (I always boil my shrimp shells for mine and freeze)

1  4-oz can mushrooms, drained

½ c. shredded Cheddar cheese

3″ green onion, minced fine (for garnish)

DIRECTIONS:  Melt butter in medium soup pot.  Saute onion until it begins to soften.  Add zucchini and saute until just tender-crisp. Add spices, cream, crawfish and clams with their juice, the seafood stock (you can use chicken stock if you do not have any), mushrooms and Cheddar cheese.  Lower heat to medium and allow the cheese to melt, stirring often to prevent it from burning on the bottom of the pan. Cheddar does not melt easily in liquid.  Allow cream to thicken up a few minutes or you can thicken (if desired) with your favorite thickener.  Serve piping hot with a sprinkle of green onion on top for garnish.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes four 1-cup servings.  Each contains:

285 calories

17.3 g  fat

11.35 g  carbs, 2.42 g  fiber, 8.93 g  NET CARBS (clams are a bit carb-y)

22 g protein

350 mg sodium

Irish Whiskey Bacon-Cranberry Chutney

Click to enlarge (shown on Grass-Fed Beef Chuck Roast)

This delicious sauce was inspired by a recipe I saw on Rhubarbandhoney.com.  http://rhubarbandhoney.com/2013/03/17/drunken-irish-bacon-jam/ .  The 3 key ingredients of my recipe are the same, but there my version parts paths with the inspirational recipe.  I quadrupled the Irish Whiskey, introduced orange marmalade and fresh orange juice, used fresh jalapenos rather than jalapeno jelly and I added fresh cranberries.  My method of preparation was stovetop since I don’t own a crockpot.  I don’t care for the visual appearance of the processed jam, and preferred to leave mine chunky so the cranberries show up nicely.

I can’t wait to try this chutney on my holiday turkey this year, my next roasted chicken, duck or with my next pork roast or pork chops!  Would probably be good with lamb chops, too!   It has a simply wonderful sweet and tart taste with a bit of a jalapeno bite that really delivers on flavor!  My thanks to Kimberly for this lovely idea.  It will definitely be in my regular holiday menu from now on, as I’m not so fond of traditional cranberry sauce.  🙂

This recipe is not suitable until Atkins Pre-Maintenance or Maintenance due to the orange ingredients.  Keto devotees can enjoy this as the carbs are pretty low, but it would not be appropriate for Primal-Paleo without several changes, lie using molasses instead of the sugar-free syrup and using a plan-acceptable orange marmalade.

More delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own set of Jennifer Eloff and friends’ best-selling cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS.  She has collaborated with famous low-carb Chef George Stella and several other talented cooks to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in the cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (also available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or for the inclusion of my recipes therein.  I do so merely because they are GREAT cookbooks any low-carb cook would be proud to add to their cookbook collection.

INGREDIENTS:

1½ lb. bacon (about 16-18 slices), chopped into ½” pieces

2 medium onions (8 oz.), chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

½ c. apple cider vinegar, preferably raw,unfiltered

½ c. water

½ c. Irish Whiskey

¼ c. fresh squeezed orange juice

¼ c. my sugar-free Orange Marmalade

½ c. erythritol

¼ c. sugar-free maple syrup

3 jalapenos, seeded and chopped fine

1 c. raw cranberries, cut in halves (or ½ c. sugar-free dried berries, but add those before the long simmer so they will get tender)

DIRECTIONS:  Cut the bacon, onion and jalapenos and set them aside.  Mince the garlic and set aside. In a large non-stick skillet or wok, brown the bacon until it is medium brown but not real crisp. Drain on paper towels.  Pour off and store for other use all the grease but 2 T..  In the remaining 2 T. grease, saute the onion, garlic and half of the chopped jalapeno until the onion is tender.  The jalapeno will lose most of its bite during the cooking.  If you don’t like hot jalapeno flavor, you might want to add ALL the jalapeno now.  Stir in the orange marmalade.

Add the vinegar, water, Irish Whiskey and fresh orange juice.  Stir to mix. Now stir in the erythritol and maple syrup.  I using dried cranberries, add then now!  Reduce heat to lowest setting and simmer uncovered until it the chutney begins to thicken up a bit as some of the moisture evaporates.  That will be about 1-1½ hours.  Add the remaining jalapeno (this jalapeno will NOT lose it’s bite as it is virtually not cooked at all).     Now add the raw cranberry halves.  Simmer just until the berries slightly soften, or 3-4 minutes.  Turn off heat.

Serve immediately or when cooled, spoon into tightly-lidded jars and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.  Should keep about a month in the refrigerator and should freeze nicely for several months.  Reheat over low heat or in the microwave on DEFROST just before serving.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 1 quart (4 cups) or sixteen ¼c. servings.  Each ¼ c. serving contains:

92 calories

5 g  fat

3.26 g  carbs, .63 g  fiber, 2.63 g  NET CARBS

3.36 g  protein

197 mg sodium

Grilled Chicken-Cauli Bake

Some items in the refrigerator came together to make a very tasty, quick lunch today.  As my cauliflower was leftover, prep was a cinch.  This dish took all of 10 minutes to get into the oven. If cooking your cauliflower from scratch, you’ll need to allow an extra 10 minutes to cook that.  The dish has a Latino flavor you’ll LOVE!  This dish is Atkins Induction friendly and Keto suitable as well.  It’s not however acceptable for Primal or Paleo due to the cheese and I don’t think that can be omitted here.

INGREDIENTS:

1½ c. leftover, grilled chicken, skin on (any cooked chicken is OK, but won’t have the great smoky flavor)

¼ large head cauliflower (or 2 c. cooked cauliflower)

2 T. Ro-Tel tomatoes and green chiles (solids only)

1 T. my Sofrito sauce:  https://buttoni.wordpress.com/2013/05/21/sofrito/

4 oz. Cheddar cheese, shredded

Dash ground cumin

DIRECTIONS:  Cut up or shred the chicken into small bite-sized pieces into a medium bowl.  Boil or steam the cauliflower until just tender if you don’t have any leftover on hand.  Drain your cauliflower well and add to the bowl.  Add the Ro-Tel tomatoes, sofrito and cumin.  Stir to mix well.

Lightly oil a medium baking dish (mine was 6×8).  Spoon half the mixture into the dish.   Spread half the cheese on next.  Spoon the rest of the chicken mixture into the dish and top with the rest of the cheese.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 2 servings, each contains:

407 calories

23.2 g  fat

9.2 g  carbs, 2.9 g  fiber, 6.35 g  NET CARBS

40 g  protein

1000 mg sodium

653 mg potassium

20% RDA Vitamin A, 37% B6, 30% B12, 71% C, 28% calcium, 22% iron, 17% magnesium, 12% manganese, 60% niacin, 60% phosphorous, 36% riboflavin, 54% selenium, 35% zinc

Caribbean Shellfish on Zoodles

Click to enlarge (shown made with crawfish)

This delightful dish was a very pleasant surprise. DELICIOUS!  And check out the amazing nutritional stats below!  Extremely healthy food, this one is!  It uses my Puerto Rican Sofrito Sauce in yet another wonderful combination of flavors and is served on a bed of zucchini noodles, known as “zoodles” in the low-carb world.  It can be served on regular pasta for your non-low-carb guests.  The dish can also be made with shrimp or lobster.   If you are not still in the Atkins Induction Phase, the addition of 1/4 c. white wine to the seafood mixture would be divine, otherwise use the stock as noted below.  As written, this recipe is suitable for Atkins Induction and most other Ketogenic  diets.  If the cheeses are omitted it would be suitable for Primal and Paleo as well.

INGREDIENTS:

4 T. unsalted butter

1 oz. onion, sliced

2 oz. red bell pepper, sliced

½ c. parsley, chopped

¼ c. my Sofrito sauce: https://buttoni.wordpress.com/2013/05/21/sofrito/

1 T. Parmesan cheese, grated

12 oz. crawfish tails (or shrimp, or lobster chunks or any combination of them)

¼ c. homemade seafood stock, chicken stock or white wine (no wine if still in Atkins Induction)

1/4 tsp. salt

Dash each black pepper and cayenne pepper

1  4-oz. can of mushrooms (with their liquid)

4 T. heavy cream

Dash of your preferred thickener (if you feel it is needed, I did.)

¼ c. Monterrey Jack or other cheese (for garnish)

16 oz. zucchini, washed and julienned into long “noodle” threads

DIRECTIONS:  Melt the butter in a skillet.  Add the onion and red bell pepper and saute over high heat until the vegetables are tender.   Lower heat to medium, add the parsley, Sofrito, shellfish and stock or wine.  Add mushrooms, salt and peppers to season.  Turn heat to lowest setting, add the cream and Parmesan cheese.  Let simmer about 5 minutes, stirring several times to uniformly mix the sauce with the shellfish.  this will allow the cream to reduce and thicken the sauce just a bit.  If you want it thicker, use your favorite thickener to reach the desired thickness.  Lower heat to lowest setting while you prepare the zoodles.

Julienne the zucchini into noodle-like strips with either a hand-held julienne peeler (what I use) or if you own one, a spiral slicing machine like a Spirooli.  In a non-stick skillet over medium heat, heat 1 tsp. olive oil.  Saute and stir the zucchini noodles continuously in the heated oil just until they are softened and translucent.  Spoon 1/4 of the sauce over 1/4 of the zoodles for each serving and garnish each serving with 1 T. grated Jack cheese.  I hope you enjoy this dish as much as we did!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 4 servings, each contains:

317 calories

24 g  fat

7.25 g  carbs, 2.50 g  fiber, 4.75 g  NET CARBS

20.7 g  protein

525 mg sodium

881 mg potassium

32% RDA Vitamin A, 19% B6, 79% B12, 84% C, 13% E, 9% calcium, 82% copper, 23% iron, 22% magnesium, 39% manganese, 33% niacin, 53% phosphorous, 14% riboflavin, 59% selenium, 11% thiamin, 34% zinc

Grilled Chicken Salad

Grilled Chicken Green Salad (shown with my Balsamic Vinaigrette)

The light and delicious salad shown above makes a complete meal.  I’ve eaten it both for lunch of dinner.   It’s one of my favorite ways sto use 1-2 pieces of leftover grilled chicken if that doesn’t go into a sandwich first.  I remembered I had a char-grilled chicken breast in my freezer and decided to thaw and slice it to have atop our salads.  We both love smoked meats, and to go on green salads……well hwo can you go wrong?  A very nice and easy meal, this one!   This salad can easily help you stay within your carb limits!  This salad is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets and Primal-Paleo consumption as well.

More delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own set of Jennifer Eloff and friends’ best-selling cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS.  She has collaborated with famous low-carb Chef George Stella and several other talented chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or for the inclusion of my recipes therein.  I do so merely because they are GREAT cookbooks any low-carb cook would be proud to add to their cookbook collection

INGREDIENTS:

2½-3 c. loosely packed mixed salad greens of your choosing (enough to fill a dinner plate nicely)

¼ small carrot, sliced thinly (optional)

5 thin slices cucumber

3 cherry tomatoes, sliced in halves

3 oz. grilled chicken breast, sliced thin (I leave the skin on)

1½ T. my Balsamic Vinaigrette

DIRECTIONS:  Cut up and plate the salad greens, carrot, tomatoes and cucumbers.  Slice and add the grilled chicken.  Top with the dressing and serve.  ENJOY!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes salad for 1 person.  This salad contains:

329 calories

20.2 g  fat

8.9 g  carbs, 4.1 g  fiber, 4.8 g  NET CARBS (3.6 if you omit the carrot)

25.7 g  protein

356 mg sodium

415 mg potassium

Balsamic Vinaigrette

This delicious vinaigrette is good on green salads, cucumber salads, tomato or mushroom salads.   With a little more extra-virgin olive oil added, it makes a wonderful dipping oil for homemade breads to compliment your next Italian dinner!  I rarely actually measure any of these ingredients, but did so to develop a recipe I could finally get around to adding to my website recipe collection.  I have just never thought of dressings as needing recipes before.  I just start throwing stuff into a bowl until it tastes good enough to put on my salad.  🙂 I like to use this recipe also as a dip for bread when I serve Italian fare.  It is particularly good with my Gluten-Free Focaccia bread baked as a loaf, then sliced for dipping: https://buttoni.wordpress.com/2013/04/22/gluten-free-grain-free-focaccia/.   This recipe is suitable for Atkins Induction, Keto programs, and Primal-Paleo as well.

INGREDIENTS:

½ c. extra virgin olive oil

2 T. balsamic vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

1/8 tsp. onion powder

¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (or 1/8 tsp. ground cayenne)

¼ tsp. dried oregano, crushed

Dash salt

1/8 tsp. coarse black pepper

DIRECTIONS:  Mince garlic into a small bowl. Measure out all other ingredients into the bowl.  Stir ingredients well.  This is best made a day ahead, but that is not absolutely necessary.  Don’t be alarmed that your spices and garlic will turn dark overnight.  Balsamic vinegar stains foods that way. I transfer any leftover to an old bottle and just store in at room temperature in my pantry.  It keeps a very long time that way (the oil is the first to go rancid, so one smell will tell you when it is time to toss it out).  Store in your refrigerator if you prefer.  I usually use mine up in a week or so, so spoilage has never been a problem for me.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes about 10 Tablespoons of dressing.  1 T. contains:

99 calories

11 g  fat

.73 g  carbs, .40 g  fiber, .33 g  NET CARBS

.05 g  protein

36 mg sodium

7 mg potassium

10% RDA Vitamin E

Inside-Out Pizza Muffins

Inside-Out Pizza Muffins

I saw the cutest little salami “bowls” on Blueberriesandblessings.com yesterday. I thought they were so clever!    I wanted to try my hand at these cute little “bowls”, and saw so many potential uses for them!  So this first incarnation evolved literally as I threw it together for lunch today.  The first time I made the little “bowls” exactly as she did.  But 400º and 10 minutes was too hot for my oven.  The first batch of “bowls” almost burned.  Then I made them again but this time at 350º for only 6 minutes, which turned out to be just perfect in my oven. You only want to partially cook the salami to firm it up.

You can use any toppings, but I have provided the nutritional stats for the toppings I chose today for my crust-in-the-middle pizza muffins.  You can use a slice of any low-carb bread you have on hand, or even cut up a low-carb tortilla, or a Joseph’s Oat Fiber/Flax Pita for the center crust layer.  I used a slice of my Gluten-Free Focaccia Bread I had in my freezer (defrosting it first, of course).   I wanted the bread layer real thin, so I sliced the bread less than ¼” thick laterally, so I ended up using only about 3/4 of a whole slice.  I sliced the slice laterally one time and cut each thin layer into 4 small squares, using 6 of the 8 squares for my recipe.

The final pizza muffins were FANTASTIC!  Not too salty, not too cheesy, not too gooey and easily hand held for eating.

No Fork or Plate Needed!

It took 3 of these to fill me up at lunch, as I ate nothing else along with them.   There are Just 4 bites in these.  I used a square muffin pan for mine, but a round one will work just fine. This recipe makes six of these babies and serves two adults in my opinion.  But as usual, I will provide per piece stats and you can judge what you think a serving size is.  🙂

In order for this to be suitable for Atkins Induction, you will have to use an Induction-friendly bread like Oopsie rolls or flax bread sliced thin.  These are suitable for most Keto dieters.  Primal folks will need to use a plan-suitable bread in the middle.  These are not Paleo suitable.

More delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own set of Jennifer Eloff and friends’ best-selling cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS. She has collaborated with famous low-carb Chef George Stella and several other talented cooks to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try. Even a few of my recipes are in each of the 5 volumes! Order your set TODAY! (also available individually) from Amazon or our direct order site: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: By personal choice, I do not receive money for this book promotion nor for the inclusion of my recipes therein. I do so merely because they are GREAT cookbooks any low-carb cook would be proud to add to their cookbook collection.

INGREDIENTS:

6 slices hard or Genoa salami (I used Hormel)

1 slice Gluten-Free Foccacia Bread

3 oz. pork breakfast sausage

1 oz. onion, finely chopped

6 tsp. (2 T.) tomato paste

3 oz. mozzarella, shredded (I find cheese very salty and use much less than some folks.  Add more if you care to.)

1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning or crushed dried oregano leaves

½ oz. green bell pepper, sliced into 12 pieces

6 olives, sliced

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Push 1 slice of salami down into the slots of a muffin pan (square or round will work just fine). Pop pan into oven and bake for 6 minutes.  Remove from oven.  Brown the pork sausage and onion together in a non-stick skillet just until no longer pink.  Remove from heat.

Now you’re ready to to construct your pizza muffins.  Slice your bread laterally into 2 thinner slices and then slice each of those into 4 squares (you will use only 6 of the 8).  Push one square of bread down firmly into each salami “bowl”.  Trim if necessary to allow the bread to sit flat at the bottom of the salami “bowl”.  Spread 1 tsp. tomato paste atop each bread slice.  Sprinkle the sauce evenly with the Italian seasoning.    Sprinkle about 1 tsp. mozzarella on each muffin next.  Then 1/6 of the browned sausage and onion mixture.  Than sprinkle 1 tsp. more cheese on top.  The cheese acts as a binder for all the ingredients. Top with sliced olives (1 olive per muffin) and place 2 pieces of the bell pepper on each.  Pop into a 350º oven for about 8-10 minutes or until they are lightly browning on top.  Lift them gently out of the pan slots with a knife tip or fork and place on a plate.  Serve at once.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 6 pizza muffins, each contains:

131 calories

23 g  fat

2.38 g  carbs, .60 g  fiber, 1.78 g  NET CARBS

335 mg sodium

Kale-Orange-Walnut Salad

We’ve covered my favorite soups thoroughly this week.  Now I’d like to shift my readers thoughts to the next meal course:  salads.  As a child I didn’t much care for salads.  It wasn’t the greens that I didn’t care for, but rather the dressings.  The sourness of vinegar, nor mayonnaise-based dressings were my cup of tea.   When I discovered how to make homemade mayonnaise after I got married…….well my world flipped on its head.  I loved the homemade variety of this famous condiment.  And man, oh, man did it ever lend itself to endless variations for salad dressings!

And once I tasted balsamic vinaigrettes, well the world of tart dressings expanded immensely for me.  That edge of sweetness was apparently what I craved on a salad.  So I’d like to re-share some of my all-time favorite salad creations with these two foundational dressings.  My favorite was created from a lovely bunch of kale.  Rather than cook it all, which was my traditional approach to this leafy green, I decided to try a raw kale salad one night.  I’d seen in magazines people eat it raw, so I thought why not?

Since kale is a bit stronger than other greens when cooked, I thought a bit of fruit might round out any bitterness of the vegetable when eaten in its raw state.  And it did!  The earthy taste of the walnuts and walnut oil playing off the citrus in the orange vinaigrette are pure heaven in this salad.  It is delicious and perhaps my favorite salad of all time now, to be quite honest.  I serve it often.  Even my husband loves this one, and he’s not fond of walnuts or nuts period!  I do hope all my readers will try this one on your less-than-enthusiastic salad eaters.  It will change them I’m convinced!

This recipe is not suitable until you reach the the higher fruit level of the Atkins OWL carb ladder (Phase 3).  It is perfectly OK for Ketogenic diets (although you may want to use lower-carb berries rather than oranges).  It is also suitable for Primal and Paleo as well.

You will find many more delicious salads and dressings like this in the hottest selling Low Carbing Among Friends cookbooks.  International author Jennifer Eloff has pulled in the most incredible talent on the the low-carb cooking scene.  Together they bring to you a bevy of tasty recipes you will be proud to serve to friends or family.  Order your personal set (or individual volumes) today from Amazon or here:   http://amongfriends.us/order.php 

BASE SALAD:

1½ oz. kale leaves, stems removed, sliced thinly  (this was 2 large leaves for me)

2 oz. raw onion, sliced thinly (I only had white on hand, but red onion would be perhaps even better)

½ oz. walnuts, coarsely broken apart  (about 7 halves)

2   ½”-slices of orange, cut into thirds

ORANGE VINAIGRETTE:

1 medium orange (you will only use part of it for this recipe)

2 T. walnut oil (important not to substitute other oils here)

2 tsp. balsamic vinegar

2 T. orange juice (fresh squeezed)

Dash each salt and coarse black pepper

Dash garlic powder (optional)

DIRECTIONS:  Cut the orange in half across the segments.  Peal one half of the orange with your knife.  Cut away 2 slices about the size of two large sections and cut the two into about 6 bite-sized pieces.  Set aside.  In a small bowl, squeeze out 2 tablespoons of orange juice from the uncut half.  to the orange juice, add the walnut oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and if using, the garlic powder.  Stir and set aside.

Remove the tough stems from the kale.  Wash and dry the leaves.  Julienne slice the kale (thinly) and place into a medium salad serving bowl (unless you plan to plate the salads individually). In that case, you can use any old bowl large enough to toss this in.  Add the thinly sliced onion, walnuts and pieces of orange.  place the bowl of greens and fruit in your refrigerator until ready to serve.

The final step right before serving is to pour the orange vinaigrette over the greens and toss well to coat.  If you wish to plate it, place half the salad onto each of two individual serving plates. Garnish with a slice of orange if desired.  I didn’t have any tonight, but a sprinkle of pomegranate kernels would be delicious as well as pretty on this salad.  🙂

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 2 servings, each contains:

206 cals, 18.4g fat, 9.85g carbs, 3.2g fiber, 6.65g NET CARBS, 2.3g protein, 90 mg sodium

Griddled Biscuits

Griddled Chia Biscuits

This past week while driving home from a vacation through the Missouri-Arkansas Ozark Mountains I experienced something culinary that was totally new to me.  We stopped in a little northeast Texas town called Athens and ordered breakfast.  When my biscuits were served, I discovered they were cooked on a griddle like pancakes!  Man, were those things ever melt-in-your-mouth good!  Buttery deliciousness inside and out!  You almost didn’t need to add more butter they were so good just plain: light and fluffy.  NOTA BENE I said “almost” didn’t need more butter. 😉  I am a low-carber, so mine naturally had to have more butter.  😉  How I do love butter!

My husband and I just LOVED these griddled biscuits!  So I was determined to try my hand at griddling some as soon as I got back home.  Did so this morning and we were quite pleased with the result.  This particular recipe seemed a little denser than when it is baked in the microwave for some reason.  I want to try some of my other fluffy biscuit recipes using this griddle method to see which one cooks up the lightest and fluffiest this way.   I’ll post those trials as soon as I am happy with the results.  I order my oat fiber and glucomannan at Netrition.com.  Some health food stores carry such items, too.

I started out with my chia gel microwave biscuit recipe, added a dab of cream cheese for richness and gave this method a try.  They came out GREAT!  Not quite as good as the diner’s version, but good nonetheless.  No need to heat up your kitchen in the summertime just to have good biscuits for breakfast!

I do so love the built-in portion control of smaller biscuit recipes like this because then we don’t overeat.  This recipe is quick, easy and super good!  It is, however, not suitable until the highest (grains) rung of the OWL carb reintroduction ladder of Atkins Phase 3 (Pre-Maintenance).  It is suitable for most ketogenic diets but is not suitable for Primal-Paleo followers.

More delicious low-carb breakfast goodies can be at your fingertips with your very own set of Jennifer Eloff and friends’ best-selling cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS.  She has collaborated with famous low-carb Chef George Stella and several other talented chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (also available individually) from Amazon or here: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or for the inclusion of my recipes therein.  I do so merely because they are GREAT cookbooks any low-carb cook would be proud to add to their cookbook collection

INGREDIENTS:

2 T. oat fiber (omit for gluten free. Instead use 1 T. more each of almond flour and whey protein powder OR just add 1 T. coconut flour + 1 T. more warm water if batter is too stiff)

2 T. almond flour

1 T. unflavored, unsweetened whey protein powder

1 T. egg white powder (or 1 T. more whey protein powder)

½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. glucomannan powder

1 T. cream cheese, softened

1 tsp. butter, unsalted, softened

2 T. grated Monterrey Jack cheese

1 T. chia gel (gel recipe is in the directions)

3T. warm water  (for slight yeast/crumpet flavor, dissolve 1 tsp. dry yeast in the warm water first)

1 T. heavy cream

1 tsp. unsalted butter to griddle them in (more if you like)

DIRECTIONS:   Chia gel is made in a ratio of 1 part chia to 9 parts water.  I always make up a larger batch, as it keeps a week in the fridge.  To make chia gel, grind up chia seeds to equal 1 T.  Mix up the tablespoon of ground chia with 9 T. water (1/2 c. + 1 T.) in a small bowl or small jar and let it sit 5-10 minutes to gel up.  Stir or shake occasionally while you prepare other biscuit ingredients. Measure the dry ingredients into a small mixing bowl.  Stir well with a fork to blend them uniformly.  Add softened cream cheese and butter and work them into the dry ingredients with the fork (or pastry blender) until the mixture resembles coarse meal.  Add in the 1 T. of your chia gel (reserve the rest for other recipes), Monterrey Jack cheese, cream and water mixture.  Stir well with the fork to blend ingredients into a moderately stiff batter.  Allow batter to sit for a few minutes to slightly thicken.  The batter will about like drop biscuit dough.   Heat skillet or griddle on medium-high, add the tsp. of butter, melt and spread it out with a spatula.  With a spoon, dip the batter onto the griddle into 3 equal mounds and spread quickly into approximately 5/8″ thick biscuit shapes, smoothing the tops with the back of your fork or a water-moistened finger.  Don’t make them any thicker of they may not get properly done before they are browned. The first side will brown in about 2-3 minutes.  Flip them over and brown the other side until browned to your liking.  Lift finished biscuits onto your serving plate, brush with more melted butter if desired and serve at once with your favorite jams and preserves.  ENJOY!  Leftover chia gel will keep in a lidded container in your fridge for about a week.

* (I got three biscuits that are 2½” in diameter from the batter, at 1.25 net carbs each)

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Entire recipe contains:

369 calories

31.8 g  fat

16.7 g  carbs, 12.9 g fiber, 3.8 g NET CARBS

16.9 g  protein

469 mg sodium

 

Zucchini and Steak Bake

Click to enlarge

This very simple tasty dish is a marvelous way to use up that 4-6 oz. of leftover grilled steak we find ourselves with occasionally.  Not a common occurrence in our household 😉 , but it DOES happen from time to time.  This dish takes under 15 minutes to throw together in a skillet and bakes in about 15-20 minutes.  You can even bake it in the same skillet you saute the ingredients in.  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins, other Keto diets and any Primal followers that eat occasional cheese. This is NOT suitable for Paleo devotees.

VARIATION:  You can reduce the steak and increase the bacon to 6oz.  I have even done this dish with NO steak and ALL bacon.  It’s good any way you combine the meats.  I suspect it would be good made with shrimp and bacon as well.

INGREDIENTS:

4 oz. raw bacon, cut up coarsely

2 oz. onion, sliced

6 oz. zucchini, sliced ¼” thick

6 oz. leftover grilled steak, sliced thin

1 plum tomato, coarsely cut up

Few dashes of black pepper

4 oz. shredded Cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º. Brown bacon in skillet over high heat until nearly done.   Add onion and zucchini and saute until bacon begins to brown and squash is beginning to get translucent.  Add steak and let brown lightly.   Add tomato and stir/cook until tomato begins to get soft.  Sprinkle with black pepper to your liking.  Dip half the mixture into a greased baking dish (I used an 8″x11″ dish).  Spread half the cheese over the mixture.  Spoon the remaining mixture evenly on top and finally top with the remaining cheese.  Pop into oven just long enough for cheese to melt completely, as the mixture is fully cooked already.  Enjoy with a nice green salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Serves 4, each serving contains:

340 calories

27.4 g  fat

5.02 g  carbs, .9 g fiber, 4.12 g  NET CARBS

18.2 g  protein

566 mg sodium

400 mg potassium

11% RDA Vitamin A, 20% B6, 70% B12, 16% calcium, 12% copper, 18% iron, 9% magnesium, 9% manganese, 21% niacin, 40% phosphorous, 24% riboflavin, 31% selenium, 15% thiamin, 34% zinc

Cheesy Chipotle Broccoli

Cheesy Chipotle Broccoli

If you like the taste of smoky chipotle peppers, you’ll probably like this dish; if not, you probably won’t. It came out delicious as we both love that flavor!  I served this dish with butter-seared pork chops, as I didn’t want any competing flavors.  There are already a lot of flavor layers in this recipe.  This dish is suitable for all phases of Atkins, other Keto diets and for those Primal diners that consume occasional cheese. This dish is not suitable for Paleo eaters.

VARIATION:  Substitute cauliflower for the broccoli. 

More delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own set of Jennifer Eloff and friends’ best-selling cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS.  She has collaborated with famous low-carb Chef George Stella and several other talented chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: By personal choice I do not get paid for this book promotion or for the inclusion of my recipes therein.  I do so merely because they are GREAT cookbooks any low-carb cook would be proud to add to their cookbook collection

INGREDIENTS:

4 c. raw broccoli, cut into chunks

6 oz. raw bacon, cut into ½” pieces

4 oz. red onion, chopped or sliced

4 large mushrooms, sliced

¼ c. my Chipotle Mayonnaise

1½ c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese (or cheese of your choice)

DIRECTIONS:  Cut broccoli into small-medium chunks.  Steam over boiling water for 5 minutes or cook in the microwave in shallow water for 3 minutes on HI.  Remove and drain well.  Preheat oven to 350º.  While broccoli is cooking, saute the bacon in a skillet over high heat until nearly done.  Drain solids on paper towels.  In the remaining bacon grease, saute the onion until nearly tender.  Add mushrooms and continue sauteing until translucent.  Turn heat off.  Place onion/bacon mixture and broccoli into a large bowl.   Add 1 cup of the cheese, the chipotle mayo and toss to coat all of the mixture well.  Pour all into a greased 8×11 casserole dish and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese.  Garnish with tomato slices if desired (optional and not included in numbers below).  Bake at 350º for 30 minutes.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 8 servings, each contains:

249 calories

22g fat

4.90 g  carbs, 1.48 g  fiber, 3.42 g  NET CARBS

9.3 g protein

373 mg sodium

Homemade “Cavender’s Greek” Seasoning

This is my version of the ever popular Cavender’s Greek Seasoning.  My brother, a professional chef before he retired, just LOVED his Cavender’s, in salad dressings, on fish and chicken, and even on vegetables.  My version is real close to the popular commercial product, but it has a more pronounced garlic/onion flavor and, as with all my spice blends, has no salt in it (I’m very sodium sensitive). I think you’ll  like my version of this delightful blend.  This can be used during all phases of Atkins.  It is also acceptable for other Ketogenic  and Primal Blueprint or Paleo lifestyles.

INGREDIENTS:

1 T. dill seed

1 T. black peppercorns

1 T. dried basil

1 T. dried oregano leaves

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 T. granulated garlic

1 T. granulated onion

1 T. dried parsley flakes

1 T. dried rosemary

2 tsp. dried marjoram leaves

DIRECTIONS:   Mix ingredients in a bowl and transfer to a grinder (or your blender).  This may take several batches if using a dedicated coffee grinder like I use.  You want the blend fairly fine.  Store in an airtight jar in a dark cabinet with all your other spices.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes about 9 Tbsp. or 27 tsp.  Each teaspoon contains:

4.6 calories

.09 g  fat

1.0 g  carbs, .34 g fiber, .66 g  NET CARBS

2.1 mg potassium

1 mg sodium

Carbalose Pie Crust

Baked in 8″x 11″ baking dish.

 

This is an older pie crust recipe of mine posted last year.  My inspiration was KevinPa’s crust recipe formerly on the now closed LowCarbFriends forums.  I am thinking about adding a bit of flax to it for when I want a grainier taste.  Stay tuned for that version.  I was really wanting to try out my latest low-carb purchase, palm shortening.  I am posting the recipe again, as a separate recipe, for easy retrieval and site indexing purposes.  This is a delicious, flaky crust and will make a lovely regular single pie crust as well as the peach cobbler application I used it for originally. This crust tastes very close to a traditional all-flour crust.  Resistant wheat starch is mostly indigestible fiber, so it really pulls the carb count way down on this pie crust!  I’ve only made this crust 2-3 times (I don’t make a lot of pies) but it cooks up consistently well for me. This recipe makes one large 10” round pie crust or an 8×11 rectangular cobbler topping.  You will need to double the recipe for a double-crusted pie.  Carbalose flour and Resistant Wheat Starch are both available at Netrition.com or you may be able to find other sources locally.  this recipe is not suitable until the grains rung of the carb reintroduction ladder in Pre-maintenance.  The carb count is low enough that it is suitable for most Ketogenic diets, but not suitable for Primal-Paleo eaters.

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. + 2 T. Carbalose flour

¼ c. + 2 T. resistant wheat starch

½ c. + 1 T. chilled palm shortening (or cold butter)

¼ tsp. salt

¼ c. ice cold water

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  In a clean mixing bowl, measure out the flour, resistant wheat starch, salt and stir.  Add shortening. Using a fork or pastry cutter, cut the shortening into the flour to break it up until it is the size of coarse cornmeal.  Slowly add the water, a little at a time and begin to stir into a well-shaped ball of dough. Knead a couple times in the bowl to facilitate forming into a ball.   Do not overwork the dough.  When you have a single ball of dough, it’s ready to roll.  I have two sheets of plastic I use for rolling out dough, but two pieces of any plastic wrap will do.  Moisten your counter top so the bottom piece remains still while you work.  Place dough on the bottom plastic and cover with a second sheet of plastic.  Roll the dough with a rolling pin slightly larger than your baking dish. Lift the top piece of plastic off the dough gently and lifting up the bottom sheet of plastic, invert the dough onto your pie plate or baking dish.   Folding the dough in half, plastic down, while the plastic is still on one side helps with handling/carrying  over to your baking dish.  I place the fold mid-point on the pie pan covering one half of the circle.  Then I unfold to the other side and remove the top plastic carefully.  Trim off the excess dough about ½” beyond the pan edges and fold inward and crimp the edge so that the edge crust is entirely inside the dish.

For no-bake fillings, go ahead and bake your crust at 350º oven for about 25 minutes or until lightly golden on top.  Cool slightly before attempting to fill with your no-bake filling.  For pies with baked fillings, once crust is in the pie plate, pour filling carefully into the raw crust and bake at least 25 minutes or as long as your filling takes to get done.

If making double-crust pies, repeat steps above for rolling and lifting second crust onto filled first crust.  Trim the edges off the top crust and crimp the two crusts together.

I like to use the trimmed off excess dough by rolling it again and cut out leaf and fruit shapes to make a representation of your fruit on the top crust as shown in my pic.  I think this really dresses up pies and cobblers.  Sometimes I even take a pastry brush and dip it into some watered down food coloring and brush the carved fruit & leaf shapes for color impact as shown above.  I then sprinkle erythritol onto the moistened, carved shapes. Pop into 350º oven and bake per pie recipe specific instructions.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 1 single 10″ piecrust or one 9×11″ cobbler topping.

ENTIRE RECIPE CONTAINS: 1622 cals, 130 g  fat, 102 g carbs, 74.6 g fiber, 27.4 g NET CARBS, 3.5 g  protein, 618 mg sodium, 2.5 mg potassium

Makes 8 servings/slices, each contains:

202.7 calories, 16.2 g  fat, 12.75 g  carbs, 9.32 g  fiber, 3.43 g  NET CARBS, .43 g  protein, 77 mg sodium

Homemade Montreal Steak Seasoning

Recipes abound for mock ups of this very popular spice blend that McCormick created in their “Grillmates” line of seasonings, all varying by an ingredient or two, or the amounts of those ingredients. There are, however, similarities from one recipe to the other.  Those ingredients are in my blend below.  I’m not so fond of the chicken blend, but absolutely adore the steak blend.  For my blend, I have used less dill and coriander seed, (spices I’m not so fond of) and I use Smoked Spanish Paprika over regular paprika.  My blend is quite similar to the original but is more to my taste.  This is my favorite recipe with this spice blend:   Montreal Baked Chicken

INGREDIENTS:

2 T. whole black peppercorns

2 tsp. dill seed

1 tsp. coriander seed

2 T. Smoked Spanish paprika (or regular)

1 T. granulated garlic

1 T. minced dried onion

1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

DIRECTIONS:  Place all ingredients into a spice grinder or blender and pulse a couple times to coarsely grind.  Place in airtight, lidded jar and store.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 20 teaspoons.  Each tsp. contains:

7.4 calories

.18 g  fat

1.6 g carbs, .59 g  fiber, 1.01 g  NET CARBS

.33 g  protein

1 mg sodium

Spaghetti Squash-Spinach Bake

Spaghetti Squash-Spinach Casserole

I must admit, this is not the most attractive veggie dish I’ve ever seen, but man, was it ever tasty!  It’s a variation on a Rachel Ray entree recipe I saw her make one time.  She only used Parmesan and I not only increased the amount of Parm, but I added Monterey Jack to the mix and a little cayenne pepper.  She also had Italian Sausage in it and I cut that way back to 3 oz.  We actually didn’t care for the meat in it at all! So this will just be a veggie side for us in future.  The Jack cheese made this so creamy.  The cayenne made it a little livelier in flavor.

My husband openly admits he isn’t very fond of spaghetti squash, yet said this dish was MUCH better than he thought it was going to be.  Instead of his usual miniscule portion of spaghetti squash “to taste”, he actually ate a large portion of this dish!  That said a lot to me.  I actually LIKE spaghetti squash and found this savory dish had little of the “squash-y” taste that spaghetti squash usually has.  The red/green bell pepper garnish adds absolutely nothing to the flavor, so that is purely optional. This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and other Ketogenic diets but is not suitable for Primal or Paleo followers due to the cheese.

The original recipe as I recall had meat, Italian sausage.  I actually put 3 oz. of cooked breakfast sausage in mine.  But both of us found it to be an extraneous flavor that actually detracted from the dish a bit so it is not included in the recipe below.  We found this paired nicely with broiled shrimp.

More delicious low-carb vegetable recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own set of Jennifer Eloff and friends’ best-selling cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS.  She has collaborated with famous low-carb Chef George Stella and several other talented chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or for the inclusion of my recipes therein.  I do so merely because they are GREAT cookbooks any low-carb cook would be proud to add to their cookbook collection

INGREDIENTS:

1  3# spaghetti squash, cut in half, seeded and cooked (you will use just half of it in this recipe)

2 oz. onion, sliced

2 T. olive oil

1 c. packed, frozen, chopped spinach (measured after thawing/squeezing out as much water as possible)

½ c. Parmesan cheese, shredded

2 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Dash each cayenne and black pepper

DIRECTIONS:  Oil a medium casserole dish with a bit of the olive oil.  Cut spaghetti squash in half, seed and place cut side down in 1/2″ water in a dish and microwave for 15 minutes on HI. Fork out the threads.  Wrap the unused squash half and store in fridge for future use. Preheat oven to 350º. Squeeze out water from the spinach (or place spinach in sieve and press the water out with the back of a spoon).  Measure out 1 packed cup for this recipe.

Heat the remaining olive oil in a non-stick skillet.  Saute the sliced onion until it begins to brown and caramelize.  Add the spinach and continue sauteeing a few minutes.  Add the spaghetti squash threads and mix well using a fork.  Add the shredded Parmesan, cayenne and black pepper and stir well to blend all ingredients evenly.  I used no salt as I find cheese brings enough sodium to recipes for my taste.  Spoon the mixture evenly into the prepared baking dish.  Sprinkle with the shredded Jack cheese. Garnish or decorate the top as desired (not included in nutritional stats below).  Pop dish into preheated oven and bake for about 30 minutes.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 6 servings, each contains:

217 calories

18.3 g  fat

7.7 g  carbs, 2.05 g  fiber, 5.65 g  NET CARBS

9 g  protein

622 mg sodium (I told you the cheese would bring enough sodium to the dish!)

263 mg potassium

27% RDA Vitamin A, 13% C, 14% calcium, 13% iron, 10% magnesium, 15% manganese, 10% riboflavin

Meatloaf Sliders

Click to enlarge

Who doesn’t love a good meatloaf sandwich?  It’s my husband’s absolute favorite sandwich after grilled burgers.  Since I had a pretty large hunk of meatloaf leftover this week, I thought I’d try this!  They came out GREAT!  These tasty sliders make a wonderful snack, lunch, picnic option, school lunch or tail-gate treat during football season!  I used my new Slider Bun recipe and leftover Italian Meatloaf.  Although any meatloaf can be used, nutritional numbers were calculated using the recipe linked below.  These nutritious meatloaf sliders (check out the stats below) are suitable once you reach Atkins Phase 2 OWL grains rung of the carb ladder or Keto diets, but are not suitable for Primal-Paleo.

Many more tasty lunch and snack ideas can be at your disposal with your very own set of Jennifer Eloff’s lastest best-selling cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS.  Jennifer and other very talented low-carb chefs have collaborated to bring you a wealth of tasty recipes to try.  You can order the complete 5-volume set or individual volumes, available in regular or coil-binding, from Amazon or direct.

DISCLAIMER:  I am not paid for this book promotion.   I do so just because I have all 5 volumes and they are absolutely marvelous cookbooks you’ll want to add to your lo0w-carb kitchen.

INGREDIENTS:

1 recipe my Gluten-Free Slider Buns

12 oz. leftover Meatloaf, cut into 1½ oz slices

DIRECTIONS:  Make the slider buns according to that recipes’ instructions.  Slightly cool the buns.  Cut leftover meatloaf into 1½ oz. slices. That was about ½” thick and 2″x2″.  I just cut my meatloaf square.  Place 1½ oz. meatloaf between 2 pieces of bun and serve with favorite condiments nearby for self serving if desired.

NUTRITION INFO:  Makes 8 sliders, each contains:

325 calories

24.2 g  fat

8.25 g  carbs, 5.48 g  fiber, 2.77 g  NET CARBS

23.1 g  protein

491 mg sodium

262 mg potassium

19% RDA Vitamin B6, 128% B12, 22% copper, 48% iron, 11% magnesium, 27.4% niacin, 36% phosphorous, 21% riboflavin, 31% selenium, and 68% zinc

Gluten-Free Grain-Free Slider Buns

Gluten-Free Slider Buns

I made my popular Gluten-Free Grain-Free Focaccia Bread recipe again tonight as slider buns.  I used my whoopie pie pan to make them.  The batter made exactly 16 little pieces, so you will get eight 2-pc buns out of this batter.  These are not suitable until Atkins Phase 2 OWL.  They are not suitable for Primal-Paleo.  Paired with  leftover meatloaf or small meat patties , these make a delightful lunch.  In addition, they are good eaten at room temperature, so they make a marvelous picnic option, school lunch option or tail-gate treats for football season.

More delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own set of Jennifer Eloff and friends’ best-selling cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS.  She has collaborated with famous low-carb Chef George Stella and several other talented cooks to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in the cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (also available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I am not paid for this book promotion nor for the inclusion of my recipes therein.  I do so merely because they are GREAT cookbooks any low-carb cook would be proud to add to their cookbook collection.

Meatloaf Sliders

INGREDIENTS:

2 T. lukewarm water

1 tsp. dry yeast (only for flavor)

3 T. cream cheese, softened

2 eggs beaten

1 tsp. cider vinegar

1 T. cream

½ c. almond flour

¼ c. flax meal

¼ c. plain whey protein powder

1 tsp. baking powder

1½ c. Monterey Jack Cheese (or mozarella, or a mixture of the two)

Note:  If you’re NOT gluten-free, I highly recommend adding 1 T. oat fiber for a more “flour-y” flavor

DIRECTIONS:   Lightly oil a whoopie pie pan (or muffin top pan) and set aside.  You can use muffin pans, but you’ll need to evenly place the batter into 16 slots.   Preheat oven to 350º.  Soften cream cheese in a medium glass bowl in the microwave on defrost.  In a little dish, dissolve the yeast in the warm water.  When the cream cheese is soft, add the beaten eggs and almond flour.  Beat with a spoon until smooth.  Add dissolved yeast, cream and cider vinegar.  Stir to blend.  Fold in the cheese.

Measure all dry ingredients on top of the wet ingredients.  Stir and fold the batter with a rubber spatula until it is smooth and well-blended. Using a 2-Tbsp. measuring cup, Scoop a scant (not quite 2 T. batter) into each slot of the pan.  Slots will be nearly filled up.  I had exactly enough batter to make sixteen 2½” wide pieces.  With only 1 pan that has 12 slots, I had to bake these in two batches.  Pop the pan into preheated 350º oven for about 15-16 minutes or until dry to the touch in the center.  Do not over brown these or they get really dry.  Place 2 oz. leftover meatloaf or a small 2 oz. grilled burger patty between 2 buns for a slider that will really please.  The buns are so filling probably 1 of these sliders will satisfy most adults.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 16 pieces or eight 2-pc. slider buns.  Each 2-pc bun contains, (not including any fillings):

194 calories

15.6 g  fat

6.65 g  carbs, 5.07 g  fiber, 1.58 g  NET CARBS

11.7 g  protein

291 mg sodium

Purslane Salad

Does it get any prettier?  I have seen the occasional recipe that called for purslane over the years, but was never inclined to try any.  Quite honestly, I wasn’t very familiar with what it was.  But I have begun growing it on my patio in huge pots.  It is so hardy and has such lovely blooms!  The entire plant is edible, leaves and flowers!  I decided I was going to finally taste it today.  To me, the flavor of all three parts of the plant (flower, leaf and stem) I would liken to a lemony bib lettuce.  Purslane is a powerhouse of nutrition!  I no longer live at the house with the ginormous pots of multi-colored Purslane, so I include a photo of my current small pot of yellow purslane below:  http://www.naturalhealth-solutions.net/healthy-eating/powerhouse-of-nutrition-purslane.

To harvest purslane, just pinch off individual stems from the mother plant, grab the end of the stem with one hand, and in one quick motion with your other hand’s thumb and index finger, strip the leaves off the stems like you would strip rosemary leaves off the stems.  Place the leaves (and blooms,, if using) into a colander or sieve.  Rinse under cold water to remove any dirt or insects hiding there.  Purslane wilts fast in dressing, so wait and prepare and dress your salad right before serving.  Below is a pic of what edible purslane looks like growing:

CAUTION:  If you find and gather what looks like wild growing purslane, be sure to snap the stem.  If it oozes a white, milky-looking substance, BEWARE! What you have found IS NOT edible purslane!!  The plant that oozes the white milky substance when pinched is an inedible impersonator known as spurge that just happens to look like purslane!  Its blooms are tiny and barely visible.  The edible purslane, when a stem is snapped has clear fluid in it.  Another difference, is the leaves are ‘alternate’ along the stem on the edible purslane.  Leaves are ‘opposite’ along the stem of wild spurge.  If eaten by mistake, wild spurge will make you very sick!  It’s leaves are also less thick and fleshy than the leaves of edible purslane.  Edible purslane has a clear fluid when squeezed.  Toxic wild spurge has a milky white liquid and is shown photo right: 

The inspiration for this recipe is a Middle Eastern salad I’m familiar with known as Fattoush.  It has toasted torn pita bread pieces in it.  Well, I decided to just omit the bread because I sure don’t need to be eating bread in my salads.  But you could break up toasted low-carb bread into this salad if you like.

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. purslane shoots and leaves, stripped off stems (I only use the very tips of the stems)

2 c. romaine lettuce, broken into pieces

1/4 c. fresh mint, coarsely chopped

½ c. cucumber, peeled and diced

6 grape tomatoes (I cut mine into halves)

½ oz. red onion, slivered as thinly as possible

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

1 oz. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. balsamic vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

1/8 tsp. sumac (optional, but traditional in Fattoush)

Dash each salt and black pepper

Couple purslane blooms (also edible)

OPTIONAL:  Toasted, broken up bits of 1 slice of low-carb bread

DIRECTIONS:  Harvest the purslane leaves and rinse under cold water and pat dry with paper toweling.  Add the torn lettuce, mint, cucumbers, red onion, tomatoes and salt/pepper.  In a small dish mix the measure out and stir the oil, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, garlic and sumac.  Drizzle over the salad greens and toss.  Serve at once.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 3 servings, each contains:

101 calories

9 g  fat

4.66 g  carbs, 1.43 g  fiber, 3.23 g  NET CARBS

1.1 g  protein

61 mg sodium

258 mg potassium

16% RDA Vitamin A, 25% C, 10% E, 16% iron, 11% manganese

Pork-Kale-Onion Wrap

Pork-Kale-Onion Wrap

This delicious, healthy sandwich was a quick and easy lunch.  I found the frozen leftover cooked pork in my freezer and defrosted it in the microwave.  Caramelized onions go well with everything, and adding kale to the show, how can you go wrong?  I try to incorporate kale anywhere I can as it has such an impressive nutritional profile (check out the stats below!).  Today’s use of this “superfood” proved to be one I’ll make again.  It is fairly carb-y, however.  You can pull the carbs down on this by reducing the amount of kale used.

This recipe is not suitable until you reach the grains level of Atkins Phase 3 Pre-Maintenance unless you use a phase-suitable wrap like this one: http://genaw.com/lowcarb/flax_garlic_onion_flatbread.html or any other wrap recipe you like that is lower-carb.

This recipe is not suitable for Primal-Paleo unless you substitute a plan-suitable wrap.

More delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own set of Jennifer Eloff and friends’ best-selling cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS.  She has collaborated with famous low-carb Chef George Stella and several other talented chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (also available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

INGREDIENTS:

1 T. bacon grease

1 oz. onion, sliced thinly

4 oz. leftover cooked pork, sliced thinly (I used roasted shoulder meat)

3/4 c. chopped kale (stems removed)

Dash each salt and black pepper

½ sheet Joseph’s Lavash Bread with flax & oat fiber (or other plan-suitable wrap of your choice)

1 T. homemade mayo (I added Shawarma Spice Blend to mine)

VARIATION:  Use fresh or frozen spinach instead of kale

DIRECTIONS:  Heat bacon grease in a non-stick skillet.  Add the onion to the pan.  Brown and caramelize the onion, stirring often, until the pieces begin to actually brown.  Add meat and allow to brown a bit, stirring as it cooks.  Add the kale, salt and pepper and just cook until kale barely begins to wilt.  Do not overcook so the kale will remain sweet rather than get strong. With tongs, serve up the meat/kale mixture onto the lavash bread and serve with a side of homemade mayo to dab on top as you eat. ENJOY!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 1 sandwich wrap which contains:

563 cals, 43g fat, 14.3g carbs, 4.3g fiber, 10 g NET CARBS, 35g protein

 

Blue Dot Cookies

Blue Dot Cookies

These delicious, chewy cookies are made from my Almond Butter Cookie recipe, which I have found to be a very versatile cookie dough.  The mildly sweet, fairly neutral almond taste yields a punch of sweet blueberry right in the middle.  If you can afford the extra carbs, you might want to press 4-5 berries into each of these (each additional berry has about .2 carbs).  I was looking to keep the carb count low for the basic cookie however.  This is one cookie that is NOT very good hot right out of the oven.  Not only are they very delicate when still hot, but their flavor improves when cooled completely. That’s also when they achieve their chewy quality.  These are not suitable for Atkins Induction, but are OK once you get to Phase 2 nuts and seeds level.

More delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own set of Jennifer Eloff and friends’ best-selling cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS.  She has collaborated with famous low-carb Chef George Stella and several other talented cooks to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in the cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (also available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: By personal choice, I do not get paid for this book promotion or for the inclusion of my recipes therein.  I do so merely because they are GREAT cookbooks any low-carb cook would be proud to add to their cookbook collection.

INGREDIENTS:

½ c. coconut oil or melted butter

2 T. almond butter

1 T. vanilla extract

1 egg, beaten

¼ c. sugar-free honey

2 c. almond flour

½ c. coconut flour

1 T. oat fiber

1 tsp. glucomannan powder

½ c. granular Splenda (or equivalent sweetener of your choice)

1/8 tsp. salt

½ tsp. baking soda

1 T. erythritol

28 fresh blueberries

DIRECTIONS:    Preheat oven to 350º.  Measure out wet ingredients (all but the berries) into a medium mixing bowl.  Add the Splenda and beat these together until smooth. Measure the remaining dry ingredients on top of the wet and stir them together until they are mixed well and form a fairly stiff cookie dough.  Using a teaspoon, scoop up enough dough to form a 1″ ball when rolled in your palms.  Repeat 27 times, as consistently this recipe makes 28 cookies for me.  Place the balls of dough onto parchment lined or silicone lined sheet pans about 1″ apart (they don’t spread out much during cooking).  Press them slightly flat with your hands, dimple the center of each cookie with your index finger to make a depression for the berry.  Place a berry into each depression and press slightly (not too hard or it may burst).  Pop the pans into the hot 350º oven and bake for about 10-11 minutes or until lightly browned.  These are better not overly browned.  Remove from oven and completely cool on the pans.  Remove to a covered container or enjoy at once.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 28 cookies, each contains:

102 calories

9.2 g  fat

4.17 g  carbs, 1.81 g  fiber, 2.36 g  NET CARBS

2.4 g  protein

46 mg sodium

Curried Pumpkin “Puppies”

There is a recipe I came across a number of years ago.  But as with most recipes, so many to try; so little time.  🙂  Well, I’m sure glad I finally got around to tinkering around with a basically breat foundation recipe.  They remind me of Southern hush puppies, both in texture and a little bit in taste.  My inspiration was a Pumpkin Fritter recipe I saw on allrecipes.com maybe 8 years ago.  After substituting low-carb flours and adding curry powder and Garam Masala to push the flavor in a new direction, the result is astounding!  These are sooo good, they’re almost like eating a dessert!  The Indian spices are optional but a phenomenal flavor twist on a traditional recipe.

These “pumpkin puppies” are not suitable until Atkins Phase 2 OWL, grains rung of the reintroduction carb ladder.  They are not suitable for Primal-Paleo without “flour” substitutions.

INGREDIENTS:

1 scant cup pure pumpkin puree (exactly half a 15-oz. can)  DO NOT USE PUMPKIN PIE FILLING!

2 large eggs, beaten

6 drops liquid stevia (or a little sweetener of your choosing)

½ c. plain whey protein (I use NOW brand)

3 T. oat flour (grind from 100% certified gluten-free rolled oats if you need a gluten-free version)

1/3 c. coconut flour (I use Honeyvillegrains)

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. curry powder (omit for plain hush puppies)

1 tsp. Garam Masala  (omit for plain hush puppies)

1/8 tsp. sea salt

½ packet stevia or Splenda (optional)

½ tsp. glucomannan powder (or xanthan gum)

Optional:  ¼ c. finely chopped green onion

Your preferred oil for frying (I used part palm shortening and part coconut oil)

DIRECTIONS:  Measure the pumpkin into a medium mixing bowl.  Beat the eggs into the pumpkin.  Add the sweetener and stir.  Measure all dry ingredients on top of the wet ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula.  Fold the batter on top of itself several times to mix the ingredients and let the glucomannan powder “set up” the batter a bit thicker.  Heat your choice of frying oil in a deep skillet or wok over medium high heat. Drop the batter/dough by tablespoons into hot oil.  I had enough batter to make 16 and only fried 8 at a time to avoid overcrowding and oil cooling off too much.   Fry the fritters for about 1minute on a side.  When both sides are golden grown, remove them with a slotted spoon to paper toweling to drain.  Serve immediately with Indian foods or whatever you like!  You won’t be sorry!.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 16 fritters, each contains: (assumption: after draining, ¼ tsp. oil is still consumed per fritter)

38 calories, 1.8 g  fat, 3.24 g  carbs, 1.2 g  fiber, 2.04 g  NET CARBS, 3.9 g  protein, 59 mg sodium

BBC Film on the Low Carb Diet

I found this film evoked some interesting thoughts on theories about why low carb dieting works and whether it is or is not dangerous.  I hope my readers will find it as clear, interesting and informative as I did. It’s a little long, but well worth a listen all the way to the end.  Makes me feel I’m doing things right by my way of eating.  My recent blood work numbers would indicate that to be the case.

Einkorn Fluffy Biscuits

Einkorn Fluffy Biscuits

I am beginning to experiment with Einkorn flour. There is much info on the web about this ancient form of wheat if you Google: http://www.jovialfoods.com/nutrition.html For the wheat naysayers about to attack, yes, I have read Wheat Belly by Dr. Wm. Davis, and yes, I know about the metabolic response to gliadin.  But I don’t think all wheat is “evil” to the degree that I’m not willing to consume it at all.  We all get to pick our own vices.  Einkorn wheat is the non-hybridized, non-genetically modified wheat Dr. Davis speaks of in his book.  So I personally plan to begin experimenting with Einkorn flour on a very small scale… in BREAD recipes only.  I will begin kitchen testing this product, never exceeding 2T. per full recipe,  which will actually translate into a very small amount occurring in each slice or serving. 

In all honesty, after 4+ years of baking low-carb breads with all the various alternate flours, I’m just not very happy with any of them, nor is my husband.  Yes, I’ve come up with some very good bread recipes.  I had hopes for the very low-carb lupin flour I discovered not long ago.  But I have discovered I am highly allergic to it, so that one is out of the picture for this girlie.  So I have to be very honest here, NONE of my very best bread recipes are as good as “the real thing”.    I’d be lying if I said otherwise.  It is for this reason I am going to begin experimenting with Einkorn wheat flour in combination with typical low-carb alternate flours and see where that leads.  I order my Einkorn flour from Jovial Foods:  http://www.jovialfoods.com/products/einkorn-flour.html . They carry the whole grains as well, and I may eventually order some of that and try sprouting them for a sprouted bread.  But I’m getting ahead of myself.  First, I have to see how my body reacts to small amounts of this flour.

If you prefer a biscuit that has no wheat flour at all in it, then do check out my Peggy’s Fluffy Biscuits.  They’re delicious and really live up to their name!

The experiment this morning rendered a biscuit flavor that was spot on!  Even my husband loved these (he ate three!).  No crumbling!  No dry mouth feel!  I’m so pleased!  As I begin testing this flour I will post the new version on site with the same recipe name, but with the word “Einkorn” at the beginning of the name (as above).  I will also leave the old version of the recipes up on my site, as each will have their target audience.  This should make it easy to find the specific recipe version.

If you prefer not to use the 2T. Einkorn flour in the recipe, you have two options:  you can just use 2T. more whey protein powder……..but that results in less fiber so the net carb count actually goes UP if you do (depending on your brand of whey protein); or you can use my Fluffy Biscuit recipe that has no wheat flour.  I had to rerun the numbers 3 times to verify that to be the case.  This recipe is not suitable until Atkins Phase 2 OWL and is suitable for Ketogenic diets.  It is not acceptable for Primal-Paleo followers.

UPDATE NOTE:  These warmed up very nicely in a low oven at 300º.  They were just as good as the morning I made them, which is unusual for low-carb biscuits!

INGREDIENTS:

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 eggs, beaten

1 T. Parmesan cheese

1 c. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

½ c. Jennifer Eloff’s Gluten-Free Bake Mix

¼ c. plain whey protein powder (I use NOW brand)

2 T. Einkorn Wheat Flour [or 2 T. more whey protein powder, if you prefer]

½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Oil your pan (I used a silicone muffin pan).  If making drop biscuits, oil or line a sheet pan with parchment or silicone sheet.   Soften the cream cheese in a medium bowl.  Add in the 2 eggs (I only had 1 left in the house today and had to sub in a chia gel “egg” for my second egg) and the cheeses.  Stir well to blend.  Measure the dry ingredients on top of the wet ingredients and beat/fold until well-mixed.  Spoon or drop into 9 equal biscuits.  Bake for about 13-14 minutes or until firm to the touch in the center and beginning to lightly browned.  Cool a couple minutes, carefully remove from pan and serve at once with your favorite preserves and butter.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 9 biscuits, each contains:

148 calories

11.7 g  fat

4.13 g  carbs, 2.72 g  fiber, 1.41 g  NET CARBS  (if you sub in 2T. more WPI for the Einkorn flour, 3.06 Carbs, 1.10 fiber, 1.96 Net carbs)

10.35 g  protein

279 mg sodium

430 mg potassium

Chicken & Bacon Fire-Roasted Red Pepper Sauce (for pasta)

This week-night easy-prep dish was simply delicious!  You’re not going to believe how a bit of leftover chicken and bacon can transform themselves into something sooooooo good.  Although I’m sure it is the smoky quality of the fire-roasted peppers that made this quick skillet sauce so tasty, there are lots of flavor layers going on here. You can serve this atop zucchini noodles, shirataki tofu noodles or spaghetti squash threads.

This dish is not suitable for Induction unless you omit the wine.  Otherwise, it’s a go for Phase 2 Atkins and Primal followers.  This is not suitable for Paleo unless you omit the wine and substitute perhaps homemade mayo for the cream.  I do not believe coconut milk/cream would be good in this dish. 😉

INGREDIENTS:

4 oz. raw bacon, cut into 3/4″ pieces

2 oz. red onion, sliced thinly

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 c. cooked, leftover chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces

½ c. parsley, chopped (loosely packed)

3 oz. fire-roasted red bell pepper (I used imported from a jar), sliced in strips

1 c. chicken broth, homemade with no additives

3 oz. white wine (omit if still on Atkins Induction)

¼ heavy cream

1 small, mild anaheim chile pepper, seeded and sliced thinly (or you can substitute a jalapeno)

1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (omit if you used a jalapeno above)

Dash or two of coarse black pepper

Pinch Italian seasoning

1 T. pesto sauce (I used my homemade pesto)

Sprinkle of your favorite thickener (optional)

DIRECTIONS:  Cook your noodles or alternate “pasta” and have ready, as the sauce goes together quite quickly. Over high heat, brown the bacon in a non-stick skillet or wok.  Add the onion and saute until nearly tender.  Add garlic, jalapeno or anaheim pepper, and the roasted red pepper slices.  Saute 1-2 more minutes for all to begin getting tender.   Add the parsley, chicken broth and wine.  Simmer over medium heat for about 5-10 minutes to allow the wine to cook off a bit and the flavors of the ingredients to mingle. Lower the heat to lowest setting and add the cream.  Stir well and simmer a few minutes stirring often.  When you are just about ready to serve, add your thickener to the sauce, stirring constantly (if using) and allow the sauce to thicken a couple more minutes.  Serve over your “pasta” on a large platter.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 4 servings, each contains: (numbers are for sauce only)

308 cals, 21g fat, 5.3g carbs, 1.07g fiber, 4.23g NET CARBS, 14.3g protein, 382 mg sodium

 

Sriracha-Butter Burgers

Shown on a Gluten-Free low-carb bun

I have to say these burgers go down in the annals of our 45 years or grilling burgers as one of the absolutely BEST burgers I have ever EVER tasted.  The grass-fed beef gives them a vibrant, rich beefy flavor.  Then the marinade mixture I blended into the meat took them to sheer hamburger Nirvana.  To put that comment into perspective, I do not put condiments on my burgers: I only use lettuce and tomato on them, so the flavor of the meat REALLY comes through on my burgers.  My husband, who puts EVERYTHING on a burger, said he couldn’t taste the marinate so much, only the smoke taste.  Mustard can be a powerful thing (why I don’t like it).  So hubby left the mustard off his second burger and then he agreed with me……. the taste of the meat was incredible. That would indicate this recipe will make incredible bunless grilled meat patties, perhaps wrapped in bacon, to serve with your favorite sides.

You can serve your burgers on your favorite low-carb buns.  I served mine on my Gluten-Free Grain-Free Hamburger Buns.  They are neutral-tasting like high-carb white bread burger buns, soft, moist, yet sturdy enough to hold up to the heat and juiciness of the meat.  These burger patties are suitable for Atkins Induction Phase, Keto diets, Primal and Paleo if eaten either without a bun or a plan/phase suitable bun.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. grass-fed ground beef (I use 90% lean)

3 T. butter or ghee, melted (less if using fattier meat)

1 tsp. Sriracha chili sauce (more if you like ’em spicy!)

3/4 tsp. homemade Montreal Steak Seasoning (or your favorite burger seasoning)

¼ tsp. onion powder

¼ tsp. garlic powder

VARIATION:  Use ground lamb instead of beef

DIRECTIONS:  Melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the remaining ingredients.  Pour over the ground beef or lamb in a medium mixing bowl. Mix well with a fork, cover.  Marinate in the refrigerator for 4 hours.   When ready to cook the burgers, prepare a hot charcoal fire and grill the burgers as usual (about 7 minutes on a side for medium).  The butter in the meat will make them flare up, so don’t walk away to fix that adult beverage while these babies cook.  🙂  Serve on your favorite low-carb buns along with your favorite condiments and side dishes.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes four 3½-oz. cooked patties, each contains (not including your bun):

297 cals, 24.7g fat, 0.97g carbs, 0.02g fiber, 0.95g NET CARBS (plus whatever bun you use), 20g protein, 247 mg sodium

Gluten-Free Grain-Free Hamburger Buns

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I think these are my best low-carb hamburger buns yet!  They are very neutral in flavor and will definitely not drown out the lovely flavor of your charcoal-grilled burgers like many low-carb breads will.   They are so sturdy not a single crumb or piece fell off my burger, despite the heat of the meat patty.   But they achieve this sturdiness NOT at the price of “moist”.  They are not the slightest bit  “dry” or difficult to swallow.  Tasted like I was eating a REAL and very SOFT hamburger bun!

For those familiar with my Gluten-Free Grain Free Focaccia Bread recipe, that’s what these are made with.

SPECIAL NOTE:  For bigger buns (shown above), make a double batch of batter (which doubles the carbs to 3.06 per larger bun).  

These buns are not suitable for Atkins Induction, but are acceptable once you get to Phase 2 OWL nuts and seeds level.  They are also suitable for Ketogenic diets and Primal folks if dairy is occasionally consumed.  These buns are not suitable for a Paleo lifestyle.

You’ll find many more tasty gluten-free recipes in Jennifer Eloff’s latest cookbooks.  She has brought together some of the most talented low-carb cooks on the internet to bring you recipes you won’t want to miss.  Stop on over at the Facebook page for Low Carbing Among Friends and see what deliciousness awaits you in this 5-volume series of cookbooks.   You can have all these wonderful recipes and more by ordering yours at Amazon or here:   http://amongfriends.us/order.php

I am not paid for this promotion nor for the inclusion of my recipes in these books. I do so simply because they are GREAT recipes that any cook would be proud to add to their low-carb arsenal.

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INGREDIENTS:

½ c. almond flour

¼ c. golden flax meal

¼ c. plain whey protein

1 tsp. baking powder

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3 T. cream cheese, softened

2 large eggs

1½ c. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

1 tsp. cider vinegar

1 T. heavy cream

1 T. water

1 tsp. dry yeast dissolved in 1 T. warm water with 1 tsp. sugar (consumed by yeast)

Poppy or Sesame seeds (optional)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Soften cream cheese in medium mixing bowl in microwave.  Beat in the eggs, cream, water, vinegar, both cheeses and dissolved yeast (if using).  Measure and add in all the dry ingredients and stir well with a rubber spatula. Grease your metal molds well with oil.

I actually baked my buns in empty 13-oz cans (top and bottoms removed) that cooked chicken breast meat comes in.  Those cans are the perfect diameter and I have saved 8 of these over the past year so I would have them for this purpose.  They don’t appear to be lined, so I think it’s OK to bake in them.  After baking these, I located some mini cake pans that are just the right shape for making my hamburger buns in future.  A large round metal cookie cutter would work, too. Muffin-top pans would be OK I suppose, but will make smaller buns.  You can even free-hand shape them on a silicone or parchment lined cookie sheet.  But be warned, they will spread out as they cook and you may be unhappy with their final shape.

Using a ¼-cup measuring cup, scoop up ¼ c. batter and fill your molds, spreading the batter evenly with the back of a spoon.  Batter will be about ½” thick in the molds and there should be enough batter for 7 buns. Sprinkle on sesame or poppy seeds if desired.  Pop buns into a 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.  Slide knife around edges of buns to loosen and carefully remove them to a cooling rack or cutting board. When totally cool, slice them laterally and they are ready to use for your grilled burgers or other sandwiches.  Store any leftover in a plastic bag in your refrigerator.  Please note these buns boast some impressive nutritional stats below.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Each single recipe makes seven smaller size hamburger buns you then slice laterally to create a “top” and “bottom” of your bun.  Each 2-part hamburger bun contains: (doesn’t include sesame or poppy seeds if you use them).  If you make larger hamburgers and are accustomed to the jumbo buns, double double the recipe, make 7 and exactly double the numbers below.

197 cals., 16g  fat, 3.5g  carbs, 1.97g  fiber, 1.53g NET CARBS, 12.7g  protein, 288 mg sodium

Cheesecake Bites

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These 2-bite mini cheesecakes treats are to be both stored in as well as eaten directly from the freezer, no thawing, as they melt quickly.  They’re so good, you just pop them into your mouth for a cooling, tasty summer treat.  As you might quickly realize, an equivalent amount of other berries (or peaches, nectarines or pineapple if you can afford the carbs)  can be used in this recipe.  These treats are only suitable for Atkins Induction if you use berries.  Other fruits will require you wait until you are near or at Atkins Maintenance.  It goes without saying that making your vanilla pudding from scratch is clearly the healthier choice.  I can recommend this recipe: (please omit the water in her recipe for this use): http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/vanilla_pudding.html .  However today I wanted to use up a box of sugar-free pudding mix I found buried way at the back of my pantry so I  tossed the pudding powder into my mixture instead.

INGREDIENTS:

1 recipe pudding made by this recipe: http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/vanilla_pudding.html (omit water) or 1 pkg. vanilla sugar-free pudding powder

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

3/4 c. heavy cream

6 oz. fresh strawberries (about 7 large berries)

DIRECTIONS:  Place all ingredients into a food processor or blender and pulse until well pureed.  Spoon into silicone candy molds level to the top.  Press down with your spoon to try to prevent air bubbles.  Set pans onto metal sheet pans and place in freezer for at least 1 hour.  Pop them out from the bottom and enjoy right from the freezer.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 27  1″x½” bite-sized cheesecakes.  Each one contains:

43 calories

3.94 g  fat

1.7 g  carbs, .14 g  fiber, .56 g  NET CARBS

.5 g  protein

64 mg sodium

20 mg potassium

<5% RDA all other macro-nutrients

Sriracha-Butter Pork Country Ribs

Honestly, the flavor of Sriracha sauce mixed with butter just never ceases to amaze me.  For years, when I’d eat in an Asian restaurant that had a bottle of Sriracha sauce on the table, I wouldn’t touch the stuff.  Don’t like my food too HOT!!!  I was just sure it would be too hot for me.  When I would see it in the Asian foods aisle of my grocery store, I was never tempted to buy it. Well, taste buds obviously change.  Once I finally tasted the stuff, mixed with pure butter……..that was pure heaven for me.  Somewhat different from the Sambal Oelek chili sauce I’ve been using over the years.  Sriracha has a bit of sugar in it, but what it brings to the final dish is worth the 1.5 carbs one pays for that sugar in my opinion.

This evening we grilled some voluptuously-meaty pork country ribs and once again, this tasty sauce with butter did not disappoint.  These ribs came out amazingly moist and DELICIOUS!  Perhaps the best pork ribs I’ve made in a very long time!  Hubby grilled them to perfection with some soaked hickory chips added to the fire.

I’m constantly finding new uses for this buttery sauce, whether I use Montreal Steak Spice Blend in the basic sauce, or use other favorite spice blends.   This recipe would be equally good on grilled lamb, chicken,  or seafood.  It is acceptable for all phases of Atkins and Primal-Paleo food plans as well.  Although this recipe is just for 4 ribs (half a package) you can double it for a full package of 8 ribs.

Many more delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with youw very own set of Jennifer Eloff and friends latest cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS.  She has collaborated with famous low-carb Chef George Stella and several other talented cooks to bring you a myriad of delicious recipes you are going to want in your collection.  Order your set (or individual volumes) TODAY from Amazon or direct.

INGREDIENTS:

4 meaty pork country ribs  (approximate yield was 6 oz. meat + fat per rib)

½ stick unsalted butter, melted (4 oz.)

1/8 tsp. garlic powder

3/4 tsp. homemade Montreal Steak Seasoning

2 T. Sriracha Chili Sauce

DIRECTIONS:  Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat.  Pour the butter into a bowl large enough to hold the ribs.  Measure the remaining ingredients into the bowl.  Stir well.  Place ribs into the bowl and toss to coat with the mixture.  Cover and place in the fridge for about 1 hour.  When ready to cook the meat, prepare a charcoal fire in your grill. When the coals are hot, place ribs on the fire and slow cook the ribs for about 30 minutes on a side or until done.  While they are cooking, scrape the marinade left in the bowl into your saucepan and heat to cook off any raw meat juices.  Add more butter if needed/desired for adding to meat at table.  When the meat is done, take it up onto your serving platter and baste with the remaining butter sauce.  Serve at once with your favorite side dishes or salad.   Be sure to notice the health and nutrition contained in this meal, as verified by the stats below.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Numbers below assume that all sauce is consumed and approximately 6 oz. edible meat is on each rib (serving=1rib).  Each serving will contain approximately:

530 calories, 37 g  fat, 1.72 g  carbs, 0 g  fiber, 1.72 g  NET CARBS, 45.4 g  protein

Chipotle Jicama Hash

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If anyone had told me what I concocted for our lunch today would have been as good as it was, I would have said “Noooooo, Waaay”. But I’m here to tell you it was just DELICIOIUS!  I’ll be making this dish often.  So easy, so quick and so good!  My husband liked this, too, and he’s not so fond of jicama. This dish reminds me a little of German Potato Salad, but jicama is somewhat crunchy.  Jicama, although lower in carbs than potatoes, is still fairly carb-y.  Substituting rutabaga will eliminate the crunchy quality jicama has if that bothers you, but will make the dish higher in carbs.  Using diced turnips will pull down the carbs even lower and remain soft.   In all honesty, the pièce de resistance here wasn’t the hash itself, but the chipotle mayo that went on top!  I daubed 2 T. over the top of my serving of hash and just sort of spread it around with my fork.  You could of course toss the entire batch in a large bowl with the 4 T. of mayo if you prefer.  But I feared that wouldn’t take as pretty a picture here.  Because this dish is slightly higher in carbs than most of my entrees, it may be difficult to fit this in to your menu during Atkins Induction.  However all foods in it are suitable for Induction.  It would perhaps be better to wait and have this when you get to Phase 2 OWL. This dish meets Paleo & Primal guidelines.

More delicious low-carb lunch ideas can be at your fingertips with your very own set of Jennifer Eloff and friends’ best-selling cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS.  She has collaborated with famous low-carb Chef George Stella and several other talented chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (available individually also) from Amazon or here: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or for the inclusion of my recipes therein.  I do so merely because they are GREAT cookbooks any low-carb cook would be proud to add to their cookbook collection

Chipotle mayonnaise

INGREDIENTS: 

4 slices bacon, chopped coarsely

12 oz. jicama, peeled and diced small

4 oz. purple onion, chopped

1 oz. green bell pepper (or poblano), seeded & chopped

4 T. my Chipotle Mayonnaise

DIRECTIONS:  Brown the bacon in a non-stick skillet over high heat.  Remove solids to paper toweling to drain.  In the remaining bacon grease, saute the chopped onion and jicama until the onion is tender, caramelizing and the jicama is browning (the jicama will remain somewhat crunchy).  Add the bell pepper toward the end of cooking and cook the hash just until the bell pepper is tender.  Plate the hash onto 2 plates and serve each dabbed with with 2 T. chipotle mayo.  If you prefer more mayo on your portion, you will need to recalculate the stats below to include any additional mayo used.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 2 servings of hash, each contains:

547 calories

48 g  fat

21.15 g  carbs, 9.4 g  fiber, 11.75 g  NET CARBS

482 mg sodium

465 mg potassium

20% RDA Vitamin B6, 17% B12, 65% C, 18% copper, 18% iron, 10% magnesium, 10% manganese, 20% niacin, 22% phosphorous, 12% riboflavin, 24% selenium, 20% thiamin, 13% zinc

Chipotle Mayonnaise

I love the taste of smoke chipotle peppers (smoked jalapeno peppers). Once you taste this flavor in creamy mayonnaise, you’ll be astounded at how good this condiment is with so many different foods.  It’s great on a charbroiled burger.  Thinned with a bit of cream, it makes a delightful sauce for baked/ grilled chicken or grilled/broiled seafood.  I have dabbed it atop steamed broccoli and cauliflower and loved that as well. I have even used it thinned with a bit of olive oil for a salad dressing.  The possibilities for using this condiment are unlimited.  Provided you are not sensitive to nightshades (peppers are nightshades), you will quickly learn to love this condiment.  This sauce/condiment is suitable for all phases of Atkins and for my Paleo and Primal readers as well.

More delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own set of Jennifer Eloff and friends’ best-selling cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS.  She has collaborated with famous low-carb Chef George Stella and several other talented chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in her cookbooks! Order yours TODAY from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

INGREDIENTS:

½ c. my Homemade Mayonnaise

1   1½” long Chipotle pepper in Adobo Sauce from can, seeded and minced fine

DIRECTIONS:  Blend or pulse in processor until smooth.  Keep refrigerated until serving.  Store any leftover mayo for up to 1 week in a lidded jar in your refrigerator.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes about eight 1-tablespoon servings.  Each tablespoon contains:

102 calories, 11 g  fat, 0.41 g  carbs,0 .16 g  fiber, 0.35 g  NET CARBS, 0.4 g  protein

Smoky Chipotle Spice Blend

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My inspiration for this spice blend was a jar of Smoky Paprika Chipotle Seasoning by Victoria Gourmet: http://www.vgourmet.com/Smoky-Paprika-Chipotle-Seasoning/p/VIC-00146&c=VictoriaGourmet@SeasoningBlends .   Alas, my jar of this tasty blend is about gone, so I have attempted to mix up a batch of my own.  I have no earthly idea of the ratios of the ingredients they use in their blend, but my first stab at recreating it is not bad if I do say so myself.  Clearly not quite the same, but not bad. This is suitable for all phases of Atkins. Paleo and Primal followers can enjoy this blend as well.  Remember, peppers and paprika are nightshades, so if you are allergic/sensitive to nightshades, you should avoid this spice mix.

This spice blend is a delicious addition to your favorite Mexican casseroles, at a ratio of 1 tsp. to a large 9×13 casserole.  Adding 1 tsp. to 1/3 c. homemade mayonnaise will produce a lovely condiment for charbroiled burgers.  It takes an ordinary chicken or turkey sandwich to a whole new flavor level. I find the flavor of chipotle mayo almost addictive and good on a variety of things, including broiled seafood!

INGREDIENTS:

1 tsp. dried ground guajillo pepper, seeded & ground (very mild pepper)

2 T. chili powder

2 T. paprika (I used Smoky Spanish Paprika from Penzey’s)

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. ground oregano

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. garlic powder

3/4 tsp. chipotle chile powder

1 T. mesquite flour  [Optional, but brings more smoky flavor to the party!]

DIRECTIONS:  Seed and grind a dried guajillo pepper in a spice grinder or your blender until fairly fine.  Measure out 1 tsp. of the mixture into a small bowl (store the rest in a plastic sandwich bag or lidded jar if any is leftover).   Measure out all remaining ingredients listed above and stir well.  Store in a tightly lidded jar, preferably in a cabinet away from sunlight.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes around 1/3 c. spice mix or 15 tsp.  Each teaspoon contains:

10 cals. 0.33g fat, 2g carbs, 0.95g fiber, 1.05g NET CARBS, 0.39g protein, 12 mg sodium