Southern Fried Chicken

My husband asked me to make “real” skillet-fried chicken for dinner recently, so I caved and gave it a try.  Haven’t been pleased with any of the low-carb fried chicken recipes I’ve tried to date, so I decided to put on my experimenting hat.  Although I hat standing over hot, popping grease, I will do so for fried chicken.

I wasn’t sure what to coat it with, but remembered reading a recipe somewhere on the web for a coating that used whey protein powder, so I decided that would be my foundation ingredient.  To that I added crushed pork rinds for crunch and a touch of oat fiber for a flour-y taste.  BINGO!  The resulting coating was the closest to my old high-carb flour coated chicken. I was astounded!  Although I didn’t make any cream gravy with the browned skillet bits, I tasted them and they would have made an excellent batch of gravy had I been in a mood for some gravy.

I’m so pleased with this recipe we make it again and again!!  Great flavor!  Crispy!  Until you try this one, you just won’t believe it tastes just like flour coated chicken!  A real keeper in my opinion!!!  It’s great leftover, cold, right out of the fridge!!  Hubby said this was the best low-carb fried chicken I have cooked to date on my low-carb journey.  My heretofore popular Oven-Fried Chicken, although very good, is just not the same as classic skillet fried chicken, ya know what I mean?  Not like my Granny made, at least.  This new recipe is almost exactly like my Granny’s and my mom’s fried chicken!

As I can’t know how you cut up your chicken, or what size pieces you tend to eat, I can’t really provide nutritional stats for the entire final meat dish.  Instead, I am providing nutritional info for 1/10 of the coating, as it was just enough to coat 10 pieces of chicken: 2 legs, 2 thighs, 2 wings and 4 pieces of breast as I cut them into halves to speed cooking time.

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 c. plain whey protein

1 c. crushed pork rinds (about 2 oz.)

1 T. oat fiber (omit if on Induction or for gluten-free version)

1 tsp. my Seafood Spice blend (or seasonings of your choice)

½ tsp. onion powder

½ c. Parmesan cheese

1/8 tsp. coarse black pepper

2 large eggs

¼ c. heavy cream

¼ c. water

½-3/4″ deep hot oil (I used palm shortening) in a large 13-14″ skillet

DIRECTIONS:  Measure out and mix all dry ingredients in a paper bag by shaking well.  In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, cream and water together.  Toss in the pieces of cut up chicken into the egg wash and turn several times to well coat each piece.   Pick each piece of meat out of the bowl and drop into the bag of seasoned “flour” and when you have 3 pieces in the bag, holding the top closed, shake the bag to coat the chicken.  Don’t put more than 3 pieces into the bag at a time or they will not coat well.

Heat 3/4″ deep oil over high heat.  Place the pieces closely together.  If you’re creative, you can get an entire chicken in a 14″ skillet.  Lower heat to medium-high so larger pieces don’t over-brown before done. Repeat the coating process with the remaining pieces of chicken.  I was only able to fry 8 pieces of chicken in my largest skillet at a time, so I saved the wings for last as I knew they would cook quite fast.  Brown the chicken well on one side disturbing as little as possible.  Turn pieces of chicken over carefully to brown the second side.   When brown and done (about 30 minutes) remove to paper toweling to drain.  Finish cooking the remaining pieces if you were unable to get them all in your skillet.   Serve at once with your favorite sides.  I served mine with steamed cauliflower I topped with cheese and chives.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes enough coating for 10 pieces of chicken.  Numbers are for the coating only.  Be sure to add in the info for the chicken piece(s) you eat!  1/10 batch of the coating contains:

113.4 cals, 7.26g fat, 1.72g carbs, 0.53g fiber, 1.19g NET CARBS, 12.8g protein, 209 mg sodium

Banana Cream Cheese Frosting

Banana Cream Cheese Frosting

I tried my hand at a not-too-sweet banana cake recipe I came across some time back.  Wasn’t real happy with the cake recipe, so you might like to use this one instead:  https://buttoni.wordpress.com/2009/11/29/banana-almond-cake/Paleo recipe I used (way too moist and crumbly).   If you want a rich frosting to sweeten it up this frosting came out delicious and is suitable for all phases of Atkins.

Not suitable for Paleo or Primal folks.  But I’ve discovered pure mashed banana with a few drops of lemon juice to prevent discoloring makes for a very nice banana “frosting” and my Paleo-Primal readers could definitely use that atop your banana muffins and cakes.

VARIATION:   Add a little well-drained pineapple to your frosting

INGREDIENTS:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 T. unsalted butter, softened

1 T. heavy cream

2 T. DaVinci banana sugar-free syrup (or 1 tsp. banana extract if you prefer)

1 pkt. stevia

5-10 drops liquid sucralose (to taste)

DIRECTIONS:  Soften the cream cheese and butter and cream them together.  Add all other ingredients but the liquid sucralose and stir until well-blended. Begin adding the liquid sucralose, tasting after each couple drops and stop when the frosting is sweet enough for your taste.  Spread frosting on well-cooled cakes, muffins or cookies.  Chill any leftover frosting.  Should keep for a couple of weeks in your refrigerator in a sealed container.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes a little over 1 cup (about 18 Tbsp.).  Each tablespoon contains:  (with no additions like pineapple)

58 calories

6.0 g  fat

.41 g  carbs, .02 g  fiber, .39 g  NET CARBS

.98 g  protein

Jam Tea Cakes

My British and Canadian readers will LOVE these!!  They were just lovely with a hot cuppa…..not too sweet.   I baked these tea cakes in a whoopie pie pan that I recently purchased (see below), so each tea cake is about 2¼” x ¼”  before slicing.  The recipe makes exactly 12  tea cakes if you carefully spoon in 1 level tablespoon of batter into each pan slot. I used my focaccia bread batter for these, actually, as I didn’t really want them too sweet or crumbly/cakey.  These are not suitable until Phase 2 OWL of Atkins.    These do not meet Primal-Paleo guidelines at all.

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 T. cream cheese, softened

2 large eggs

1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

1 T. cold water

1 T. heavy cream

½ tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. dry yeast dissolved in 1 T. lukewarm water

1 tsp. baking soda

¼ c. flax meal

¼ c. plain whey protein powder

½ c. almond flour

1½ c. Monterey Jack cheese

2 T. erythritol (or other sweetener to equal around 1½ T. sugar)

1 T. oat fiber (omit for gluten free version)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Have a non-stick whoopie pie pan at hand.  You can use a muffin-top pan, a large muffin pan or an ebilskiver pan to make these if you don’t own a whoopie pie pan.

Soften cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl.  Whisk in all the wet ingredients.  Add the cheese and stir well.  Measure in all dry ingredients and stir well to blend.   Using a tablespoon, dip up a LEVEL tablespoon of batter and using your finger to empty out the tablespoon, fill each pan slot with exactly 1 level tablespoon of batter and spread evenly with the back of a spoon.  There will be exactly enough batter to make 12 cakes that will be sliced into 24 pieces when done, to make 12 sandwich-type jam-filled tea cakes.

Pop into oven and bake for around 10-11 minutes or until firm in the center (don’t let them brown too much).  When they are totally cool, remove from pans.  Using a serrated bread knife, carefully slice them laterally.  Using the back of a teaspoon, spread one half with 1 tsp. your favorite sugar-free preserves or jam.   You want the jam to be quite thin, for lower carbs, and so it will not ooze out when these are eaten.  Most of my sugar-free jams have around 1-3 net carb per teaspoon.  Top with the other side of the cake, repeat for all 12 cakes, and serve.  ENJOY!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Make 12 two-piece jam-filled tea cakes.  Numbers below do not include the jam filling.  Each tea cake consists of 2 of the sliced thinner pieces of cake with jam layered between. Therefore each jam cake/serving will contain:

129.2 calories

10.4 g  fat

2.28 g  carbs, 1.2 g  fiber, 1.18 g  NET CARBS  (plus whatever carbs in your chosen jam)

7.8 g  protein

179 mg sodium

 

Fish with Creamy Bacon-Wine Sauce

Fish with Creamy Bacon-Wine Sauce

I planned on cooking fish for dinner, Swai filets, to be exact.    Couldn’t decide how to fix them.  My husband voted for my Oven-Fried Fish; I voted for something with a creamy sauce.  We compromised and the resulting dish was delicious!  I basically made a recipe of my Oven-Fried Fish and then I created a simple bacon-onion-wine sauce to serve over it.  Mmmmmm!  It sure was good!  This recipe is suitable once you reach Phase 2 of Atkins, as it has a little white wine in it.  If you omit the wine you could have this dish even during the Induction phase.  Those on a Primal regimen who consume occasional dairy could enjoy this dish.  It is not suitable for Paleo diners.  Be sure to note the nutritional stats below.  This is one healthy dish nutritionally speaking, despite the fact it’s high in calories.   It’s almost all your daily nutritional needs wrapped up in one dish!!

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:

21 oz. mild fish filets (swai, flounder, tilapia, sole or cod)

2 oz. plain pork rinds, crushed

½ tsp. my Seafood Spice Blend

6 T. mayo, preferable homemade mayonnaise

3 oz. heavy cream

1 c. tap water

5 oz. bacon, chopped fine (4 slices)

2 oz. white onion, chopped

½ c. green onion, chopped fine

2 oz. white wine (I used Reisling)

¼ c. parsley, chopped  (optional, add a little of it to the pork-rind fish coating)

Dash each salt and black pepper

1/8-1/4 tsp. xanthan gum or your favorite thickener

DIRECTIONS:  With the first 4 ingredients listed, prepare and bake the Oven-Fried Fish Filets per the instructions for that recipe.  They will take about 20 minutes to bake.  While the fish is baking, prepare your sauce.

In a non-stick skillet, brown the chopped bacon.  Remove the solids to paper toweling to drain. In the 2 T. bacon grease left behind, saute the white onion until tender.  Add the green onion and saute just for a minute or two to slightly soften. Lower heat to medium.  Add the cream, water, white wine and most of the parsley (reserve a little for presentation when plating.  Add about 3/4 of the browned bacon to the sauce (reserving a little for final plating).  Simmer the sauce to allow flavors to blend and the wine to cook off its alcohol a bit. Add salt and pepper to taste.  Dust the xanthan gum (or your preferred thickener) over the surface of the sauce, whisking or stirring it often.  Allow a few minutes for it to “thicken up”.   Turn off heat. When fish is crisped up and done, remove the pan from the oven and using a long spatula, dip the filets onto a serving platter.  Dip the sauce over the fish, leaving the ends of the crispy filets exposed. Sprinkle on the reserved bacon and finally the reserved parsley.  Serve at once with your favorite side dishes or a salad.  I had mine with broiled Parmesan tomatoes  and buttered broccoli.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 3 servings, each contains:

791 calories

61 g  fat

5.7 g  carbs, 1.13 g  fiber, 4.57 g  NET CARBS (technically less, as not all the sauce was consumed)

53 g  protein

753 mg sodium

Asian Grilled Steak

Grass-fed beef steaks can be a little tough as they are so lean.  But grilled grass-fed T-bone steaks with a nice marinade on them usually get nice and tender.  Hubby usually has a baked potato with his; I often have fried radishes & caramelized onions (shown above), as it reminds me of potato hash browns.  And of course, you can’t go wrong serving a nice salad with grilled meat.  This is a  very simple marinade  I think my readers will enjoy. The spices give it a distinctly Asian flavor.  This recipe is suitable once you reach Atkins Phase 2 OWL, as the bit of white wine is not allowed on Induction.  It would be acceptable for Paleo-Primal only if you consume small amounts of wine.  Of course, leaving out the wine is always an option.  As grass-fed beef does tend to be a little tougher to begin with, I would not recommend cooking grass-fed beef well-done or you are going to be doing a lot of chewing.  🙂

INGREDIENTS:

2   1″ thick steaks (I used grass-fed T-bone, each 14-oz bone-in steak yields=10 oz. meat)

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

2 T. olive oil

2 oz. white wine (omit if still in Atkins Induction)

1 clove garlic, minced

½ tsp. ginger, minced

1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper

1/4 tsp. coarse black pepper

1 tsp. toasted white sesame seeds

1 tsp. black sesame seeds (optional)

DIRECTIONS:  Mix the two types of sesame seeds with the red and black pepper in a saucer.  Poke the meat a few times with an ice pick, knife or kitchen fork to allow marinade to penetrate the meat a bit. Pound the sesame seed/pepper blend onto the surface of the meat either with the butt of your palm or a meat tenderizer mallet.  Place the steaks into a glass marinating dish.  Now add the coconut aminos (or soy sauce), wine and olive oil to the container.  Add the minced ginger and garlic.   Mix it up a bit and then, using a basting brush, drizzle the marinade over the meat carefully trying not to disturb the spices on the surfaces.  Cover and marinate for 4-5 hours in the refrigerator.  Remove steaks 30 minutes before ready to cook to bring them to room temperature.  While they come to room temp, prepare your charcoal fire.  When coals are white-hot, cook the steaks for about 7-8 minutes per side for medium to medium rare as shown above (or until done to your liking).

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Naturally, not all the marinade is absorbed by the meat and consumed.  I show the total carbs for the marinade below, but you can assume around ½ g. net carb is consumed on the marinade. 🙂

Yields 2 adult servings (charcoal-grilled steak is the one time I indulge myself).  Each 10 oz. serving of steak contains:

478 cals, 21.4g fat, 3.9g carbs, 2.1g fiber, 1.8g NET CARBS  (only around ½ g net carb consumed), 62.8g protein, 948 mg sodium

Gingerbread Whoopie Pies

Gingerbread Whoopie Pies

I whipped up a bunch of whipping cream yesterday for making a birthday dessert for my hubby and had quite a bit leftover.  In order to use it up promptly I decided to try my hand at some whoopie pies.  Been wanting to try making them for a long time now.  I don’t own a whoopie pie pan, but do have an Ebilskiver pan with seven 3″ slots that works just fine for such things (provided you use the correct amount of batter for each one).

These came out delicious, for my very first foray into the whoopie pie world.  🙂  Both hubby and I gave them a 2-thumbs-up!  Very nice texture in the cookie part.  I will definitely want to try my hand at a chocolate version one day.  Stay tuned!  Due to the oat flour, these are not suitable until Atkins Pre-Maintenance or Maintenance.  They would also not be suitable for a Paleo-Primal lifestyle on several levels.   I used liquid sucralose to cut carbs. These cake-y cookies can be eaten plain, just as a good gingerbread cookie as well.  🙂  If you want to cut carbs a bit, instead of using 2/3 c. oat flour, you could sub in almond flour or coconut flour for 1/3 c. of the oat flour.  I would not recommend more than that or they may get crumbly.

Many more delicious, guilt-free sweets like this can be at your fingertips in Low Carbing Among Friends, the latest low-carb, gluten-free cookbook series by international author Jennifer Eloff and a group of other talented chefs, including George Stella, well-known to the low-carbing community.   Order you personal cookbooks at Amazon or here: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

VARIATION:  ¼ c. pumpkin added to the whipped cream filling would be very good, but that will likely necessitate a few more drops of sweetener.  

COOKIE INGREDIENTS:

2/3 c. oat flour (ground from 100% gluten free rolled oats) [or 1/3 c. oat flour + 1/3 c. almond or 1/3 c. coconut flour, to lower carbs a bit)

1 c. plain whey protein powder

3/4 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. allspice

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

½ tsp. ginger

Liquid sucralose to equal 3/4 c. sugar  (less if you don’t like things too sweet)

¼ c. erythritol

1 T. oat fiber, optional for smoother texture (omit for gluten-free version)

1 T. flax meal

4 egg whites, whisked until frothy

8 oz. baby food carrots (I use 2 the tiny 4-oz. jars)

1 T. blackstrap molasses

1 T. coconut oil, melted

½ tsp. glucomannan powder (optional, but greatly improves texture)

COOKIE DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Lightly oil your baking pan slots with a brush and set pan aside.  Place egg whites in a large mixing bowl and whisk until frothy. Add all other liquid ingredients and whisk well.  Measure all dry ingredients into the bowl right on top of the liquid ingredients.  Stir batter well to blend ingredients.  This is a very thin batter, but that is normal.  They will cook up quite nicely.  Using a 2-tablespoon measuring cup, spoon 2 T. of batter into each greased slot.  The batter will make 20 cookie halves.  Pop into 350º oven for about 10 minutes or until dry to the touch in the center. Remove and cool int he pan.

FOR THE FILLING:  Whip 1 c. heavy cream with a hand mixer until thick.  Add liquid sucralose or liquid stevia to taste, 1/4 tsp. vanilla, and most important of all, add 1/4 tsp. glucomannan to stiffen and stabilize the final whipped cream filling.  Chill an hour before filling cakes and serving.  I used 2 T. filling per whoopie pie.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 10 Whoopie Pies.  Each filled whoopie pie contains:

158 calories

11.5 g  fat

8.36 g  carbs, 1.73 g  fiber, 6.63 g  NET CARBS

7.68 g  protein

88 mg sodium

156 mg potassium

29% RDA Vitamin A, 19% manganese, 13% phosphorous, 9% selenium

Beef Enchiladas

Above are my classic Tex-Mex gooey, cheesy beef enchiladas.  They don’t always dip up so pretty with low-carb tortillas, but man, are they ever good!!!  What they lack in appearance they sure make up for in flavor!  It’s how I’ve made these things for over 40 years, other than the low-carb tortilla part.  I can’t live without my regular fix of enchiladas, so I just HAD to come up with some kind of  low-carb “corn” tortilla so that I could indulge in.   They’re like enchiladas that have sat too long over a restaurant buffet warming tray and falling apart, but for me, that’s just when enchiladas start getting GOOD!  The flavors have mellowed by then.  😉

I created that low-carb corn tortilla this afternoon.  Not as good as the real deal. I’d be lying if I said it was. But hey, I do what I must to stay low-carb.  They were every bit as good as my traditional tortilla enchiladas!!  Guacamole was a perfect complement to this Mexican dish. These enchiladas are not suitable until the nuts and seeds rung of the Atkins Phase 2 OWL carb ladder.   They are not suitable for Paleo or Primal due to the tablespoon of cornmeal in the tortillas.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. ground beef

8 low-carb tortillas (I used my homemade low-carb “corn” tortillas)

3 oz. onion, chopped

1 tsp. chili powder blend

1 tsp. dried guajillo chiles, seeded and chopped fine (or 1/2 tsp. ground guajillo chile powder)

1 clove garlic, minced

¼ tsp. ground cumin

4 oz. grated cheddar cheese

8 oz. (8 slices) American Cheese (or more cheddar if you prefer)

1 c. homemade red enchilada sauce

½ c. canned green tomatillos

DIRECTIONS:  Make the “corn” tortillas by that recipe and set aside.  Grease baking dish and set aside.  Preheat the oven to 350º.  Brown ground beef along with the chopped onion in a non-stick skillet.  Add the salt, minced garlic, chili powder, cumin and dried guajillo chile to the meat mixture.  Cook until onions are tender and meat is no longer pink.  Spoon about 2 oz. meat mixture  (1 large soup spoonful) onto one of the tortillas.  Add ½ slice of the American cheese.  Gently roll the tortilla around the meat/cheese mixture and place it seam down into the greased baking dish.  Repeat with remaining 7 enchiladas, pushing them snugly together in the pan so they will all fit.  I usually have to put 1 or 2 on the side of the dish as well.  If there is a bit of meat mixture leftover, just spoon it over the top of the rolled enchiladas.  Set the pan aside while you make the red enchilada sauce per the recipe instructions at the above link.  Add the canned green tomatillos to a saucepan on medium heat.  Next add the remaining 4 slices of American cheese to the tomatillos and allow to melt.  Add the enchilada sauce and stir until all is smooth.  Spoon the sauce over the enchiladas in the pan.  Top with the grated cheddar cheese and pop into a preheated 350º oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted nicely.  Serve with your favorite guacamole or green salad. ENJOY!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 8 enchiladas, each contains:

283 cals, 21.06g fat, 5.50g carbs, 0.67g fiber, 4.83g NET CARBS, 19.4g protein, 40 mg sodium

Low-Carb Corn Tortillas

Been watching recipe after recipe for for tortillas all over the internet.  But pulling from this one and that one, adding a couple key flavor and texture ingredients I’ve come up with a corn tortilla taste.  I really miss corn tortillas.  I’m pleased with the result as they make great enchiladas.  I’ll be posting that recipe soon, so stay tuned.

This recipe isn’t suitable until the grains of the Atkins Phase 2 OWL carb re-introduction ladder.  It would not be acceptable for Paleo or Primal diners.  Omitting the cornmeal will lower carbs only a wee bit, but it will lower flavor, too.  I use it here because it does bring a mild cornmeal flavor to these tortillas, along with the Fresh Corn Flavoring I have included.

The “Fresh Corn” flavoring I use really tastes like buttered corn.  Only place that carried it seems to have gone out of business.  There are other brands out there though.  You can just omit it if you can’t run any down.  Alternately, you could add some pureed baby corn with juice to the batter, but not very much.   Another possible substitution for the corn flavoring would be 1 T. corn bran (pure fiber), if you have it, on hand.  Corn bran can be ordered from Honeyvillegrains.com, but only comes in huge bags.

INGREDIENTS:

1 T. yellow cornmeal

3/4 tsp. baking powder

3 T. + 1 tsp. coconut flour

1 T. golden flax meal

3 T. almond flour

2 tsp. psyllium husk powder (I use NOW brand)

3 T. light olive oil

3 beaten eggs (medium or large)

½ c. + 1 T. water

1 T. corn flavoring

8 tsp. light olive oil (for frying the tortillas)

DIRECTIONS:  Whisk the eggs, water, corn flavoring and 3 T. olive oil well in a mixing bowl.  Measure and add in all the dry ingredients.   Whisk well too a smooth batter.  Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high heat.  Add 1 tsp. oil and spread it around in the center of the skillet with your spatula. Using a 1/4 c. measuring cup, scoop up 3 T. batter (about 3/4 of the cup), and holding the skillet in your left hand, ready to tilt, pour the 3 T. batter quickly into the skillet in a circle with your right hand.  Tilt the skillet to allow the batter to roll into a nice 4-5″ circle.  Brown the tortilla on 1 side for about 2 minutes, flip and brown the second side.  I slid my tortilla around on the skillet surface so the oil would continue to keep it from sticking as it cooked.  With a spatula, remove the cooked tortilla to awaiting paper toweling to drain and cool so it can be handled for whatever application you are using them for. Repeat this process, adding 1 tsp. oil to the skillet before forming each of the tortillas.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes eight 4½-5″ small tortillas, each contains:

142.5 calories, 13.2 g  fat, 3.86 g  carbs, 1.43 g  fiber, 2.43 g  NET CARBS,  3.63 g  protein, 84 mg sodium

Jicama Sofrito Salad

Jicama Sofrito Salad

This tasty, quick salad was a lovely compliment to our tuna patties and steamed cauliflower this evening. It was very hot in Texas today and I wanted a very light, refreshing no-fuss meal.  The sofrito gave this salad a little “bite”, which played off the sweetness of the jicama quite nicely.  If you like things “hot”, you might want to double the sofrito in this.  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins, as well as Primal and Paleo diners.  I suspect with the addition of some thin slices of cooked, smoked sausage or bratwurst, this would make a nice lunch entree.

INGREDIENTS:

2 c. jicama, sliced into small sticks

½ carrot, peeled and sliced

2 T.  red bell pepper, sliced

12 black olives (pitted)

1 T. my sofrito sauce  (or any garlic/herb blend)

1½ T. Italian or balsamic vinaigrette

DIRECTIONS:  Cut jicama, carrot and bell pepper and place in a serving bowl.  Add the olives, sofrito and vinaigrette and toss. Chill for about 1 hour before serving.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 4 servings, each contains:

78.5 calories

5.3 g  fat

7.67 g  carbs, 3.9 g  fiber, 3.77 g  NET CARBS

.75 g  protein

120 mg sodium

Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Stuffed Poblano Peppers (my husband’s plate with beans)

This Atkins Induction-friendly entree goes together so quickly once you roast the poblano peppers.  In addition, it’s so tasty.  We just adore Mexican food!  The refried beans on my husband’s plat in the picture would NOT be suitable for Induction, not for Keto diets, and most assuredly not acceptable for Primal-Paleo followers.    Those are not suitable until the flegumes rung of the Atkings OWL carb reintroduction ladder, when you have reached Pre-Maintenance.   I always serve Guacamole Salad with my Mexican food.

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 very large 6-7 oz. poblano pepper

10 oz. ground beef

3 oz. onion, chopped

1 tsp. chopped dried mild guajillo chile (sold in clear plastic bags at the grocery store in fresh produce area)

½ tsp. chili powder blend

½ tsp. mild ancho chile powder (or 1 tsp. dried ancho chile pepper, chopped)

¼-½ tsp. garlic powder

¼ c. shredded cheddar cheese

1 c. shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 400º.  Cut the poblano pepper in half lengthwise.  Remove seeds but leave stem in place so it will hold together better during baking.  Place pepper halves on baking sheet that is oiled or lined with silicone sheet and pop into preheated oven to roast.  After 10-15 minutes, turn the pepper halves over and roast the other side for 10 minutes.

While they are roasting, brown the beef and onion in a non-stick skillet. Add all spices and seasonings.  When the onion is tender and meat is fully done, stir in the cheeses to bind the mixture together.  Turn off fire and set aside.

When peppers are roasted nicely on both sides, remove from oven and cool.  Peel off as much of the tough, thin, plastic film-like skin as you can.  Set the pepper halves back down on the baking sheet cut side up.  Fill each of the halves  with half the meat mixture and pop the pan back into the oven for about 10 minutes to allow flavors to mingle.  Serve with your favorite guacamole recipe or whatever sides you like.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 2 large adult servings, each contains: (does not include the guacamole or beans on the plate)

565 calories

42 g  fat

9.5 g  carbs, 2.5 g  fiber, 7 g  NET CARBS

42.3 g  protein

909 mg sodium

 

Chicken Curry with Raisins

Click to enlarge

This tasty, very nutritious curry can either be eaten alone, served atop baked eggplant slices or riced, steamed cauliflower.  Today at lunch, I had mine on steamed, mashed cauliflower; hubby had his on basmati rice.  The raisins add a lovely fruitiness to the overall dish, but are not essential for this dish to be good.  It will be lower carb if they are omitted. A slightly lower carb choice would be 2-3 chopped dried prunes.

You can add more chicken stock to this dish and turn this into a delicious chicken curry soup.  No matter which way you serve it, I can tell you it is GOOD!  This dish is not suitable until the OWL Phase 2 of Atkins.  It is perfectly suited to Primal and Paleo nutritional lifestyles if coconut milk is used instead of the cream.

INGREDIENTS:

2 oz. onion, sliced or chopped

1 T. coconut oil

2 c. cooked chicken, broken apart (yield of 4 meaty pieces leftover)

½ tsp. fresh ginger root, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

½ tsp. dried lemon grass (or 1 stem fresh, chopped, if available) [optional]

¼ tsp. each salt and black pepper

1 c. chicken broth (preferably homemade)

½ c. cream + ½ c. water

2 T. coconut cream (or coconut milk)

2 T. tomato paste

¼ tsp. each curry powder and turmeric

2 tsp. Garam Masala spice blend:  (my recipe here: https://buttoni.wordpress.com/2009/07/13/garam-masala-indian-spice-blend/)

½ c. fresh cilantro, chopped

¼ c. unsweetened raisins or currants (omit if still on Induction)

12 cherry tomatoes, sliced in halves

DIRECTIONS:  If serving on baked eggplant or steamed riced cauliflower go ahead and prepare that so it will be ready, as this curry recipe only takes about 20-25 minutes start-to-finish.

Heat the coconut oil in large skillet or wok.  Add all other ingredients except the cilantro and tomatoes.  Simmer 10 minutes to allow flavors to mingle.  Add sliced tomatoes and cilantro and simmer just until tomatoes are beginning to get soft or about 4-5 more minutes.

If serving as a soup, thin with more broth or water before serving (if too thick for your liking).  Serve the curry over cooked eggplant or cauliflower alongside your favorite green vegetable side dish or a green salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 4 servings, each contains:

300 calories

19 g  fat

11 g  carbs, 1.92 g  fiber, 9.18 g  NET CARBS  (5.15 g net carbs if raisins omitted)

21.9 g  protein

338 mg sodium

483 mg potassium

14% RDA Vitamin A, 27% B6, 10% B12, 11% C, 17% copper, 21% iron, 10% magnesium, 8% manganese, 52% niacin, 27% phosphorous, 33% selenium, 10% thiamin and 21% zinc.

Oven-Roasted BBQ Beef Ribs (Grass-fed)

Oven-Roasted BBQ Beef Ribs

Sometimes my husband just doesn’t feel like firing up the charcoal grill as it can often be 99º-103º here in Texas in the summertime.  Can’t say I much blame him.  This week I wanted to try the grass-fed beef back ribs I ordered from my panhandle cattleman so I decided to do them in the oven……something we haven’t done in a very long time.  Created a new BBQ sauce for them and cooked them slow and low in my roaster oven that lives out on my patio (used there to avoid kitchen heat in our hot, hot summers).  The ribs came out fall-off-the-bone tender and were “finger-lickin’ good”!  They of course lacked that smoky taste and surface “bark” only charcoal grilling can bring, but they were a delicious dinner, nonetheless.  I served them with baked beans for hubby (green veggie for me) and coleslaw.  This recipe (provided you use a low-carb sauce) is suitable for all phases of Atkins, other ketogenic diets, and also for Paleo and Primal regimens.

My nutritional stats on the grass-fed beef are courtesy of US Wellness Meats.  I actually cut the meat off a couple of the bones to determine the average yield.  Average weight of meat per rib 2 oz. cooked meat.  So 3½ lb. bone-in ribs (raw weight), yielded about 1# of actual meat.

My supplier delivers his meat frozen, so my ribs were actually cooked from a frozen state.  Cooking time for fully-thawed meat would naturally be less.  As grass-fed beef requires much more time to get tender, if not using grass-fed meat, conventional grocery store beef ribs will take much less time than specified in this recipe:  probably only 1 hour covered with foil and 1 hour uncovered after saucing.  🙂

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:

3½ lbs. (raw weight) beef back ribs (I used grass-fed, 8 ribs)

Dash salt

Dash black pepper

½ c. plan-acceptable BBQ sauce  (I used my own BBQ sauce)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven or roaster oven to 350º and then immediately lower to 250º.  Place rack or ribs in a pan large enough to hold them.    Sprinkle both sides with a dash of salt and black pepper. Cover pan tightly with foil.  Pop into preheated oven.  If using frozen ribs, initially cook for around 4 hours.    If using defrosted ribs, initially cook for around 3 hours.  Time may need to be shortened a bit if your ribs aren’t particularly meaty; time may need to be increased if they are particularly meaty.  When beginning to get tender (longer pink), remove from the oven, take off the foil cover and using a brush, baste both sides of the ribs with your BBQ sauce.  Put the pan back in the oven, UNCOVERED this time, for 30-40 more minutes of cooking.  This additional cooking will allow the sauce to caramelize on the surface of the meat. Remove, from oven when done and serve with your favorite side dishes or a nice summer green salad.  If preferred, you can pop the ribs into a hot broiler to caramelize and brown the sauce on the surface before serving.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 4 servings (2 ribs each, 4 oz. meat yield, including approx. 2 net carb sauce).  Each 2-rib serving contains:

300 calories

21 g  fat

2 g  carbs, 0 g  fiber, 2 NET CARBS (slightly varies with sauce used)

19 g  protein

Barbecue Sauce

BBQ Sauce

I tried my hand at a homemade, Texas-style tomato-based BBQ sauce today.  I just got a new order of grass-fed beef from my panhandle supplier in which I had a lovely 3½ lb. rack of beef back ribs.  Hubby didn’t really feel like cooking outside tonight, so I just did the ribs in my roaster oven on the patio to avoid heating up the kitchen. Texas is so hot this time of year.  The ribs were actually frozen solid when they went into my roaster oven, set at 250º.  I put them on at 9am and they were falling-off-the-bones tender by 2pm.  I really wasn’t sure how long they would take, as I’d never cooked grass-fed ribs before, and grass-fed meat usually takes much longer to get tender than other beef.  I will just warm them up at dinner tonight with my side dishes.

This sauce was so good on the oven-baked version, but it is even better on outdoor charcoal-grilled ribs.  The charring caramelizes and smokes the applesauce in this delicious, slightly sweet sauce.  🙂  This sauce is good on beef, lamb, pork and for BBQ chicken as well.

This sauce is suitable once you reach Atkins Phase 2 OWL and Keto diets but not for Primal-Paleo unless you use real honey and real maple syrup.

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 c. stale coffee

½ c. apple cider vinegar

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

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

2 T. sugar-free maple syrup

2 T. sugar-free honey

2 tsp. liquid smoke  (I use American Spice brand “Amish Meadow”)

4 oz. unsweetened applesauce (omit if still on Induction)

¼ tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. chili powder of your choice (I use Chipotle, which is pretty HOT!)

1 tsp. paprika (I use smoky Spanish paprika from Penzey’s)

1 tsp. onion powder

¼ tsp. cumin

3 cloves minced garlic

4 oz. onion

6 oz. tomato paste

¼ c. butter or ghee

DIRECTIONS:  Measure out all ingredients but the butter into a food processor or blender.  Puree until the garlic and onion are completely smooth. Scrape it all into a large saucepan, add the butter and bring it to a boil.  Lower heat very low and simmer 10-15 minutes.  Baste your meat as usual as you grill it outside.  If roasting your meat in the oven I recommend covering with foil until the last hour or so and add the sauce the last hour of cooking, when you should remove the foil.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes around 2 cups.  Each tablespoon contains:

24 calories

1.5 g  fat

2.25 g  carbs, .46 g  fiber, 1.79 g  NET CARBS

49 mg sodium

77 mg potassium

Mexican Pork Patties

I created a tasty new little meat patty tonight for dinner.  Had half a can of Rotel tomatoes I wanted to use up.  Hubby gave these a 2 thumbs up!  I’ll definitely be making these again!  I don’t think they would be as good made with beef or any other meat.  These are not suitable until Atkins Phase 2 as there are nuts in the slice of bread.  If still on Induction, you could sub in 1 c. crushed pork rinds for the slice of bread and still try these (recalculate net carbs if you do that, however).   This would be suitable for Primal diners but due to ingredients in the bread, would only be suitable for Paleo if the bread was omitted or replaced with a slice of Paleo suitable bread.INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. lean ground pork

1 slice your favorite low-carb, Paleo bread, crumbled (or 1 c. crushed pork rinds): I used:  https://buttoni.wordpress.com/2013/04/22/gluten-free-grain-free-focaccia/

1 egg

¼ c. red bell pepper, chopped

2 oz. onion, chopped

1 T. olive oil

Pinch each ground cumin, smoky chipotle chile powder, salt and garlic powder

1/3 c. cilantro, chopped

½ c. Rotel tomatoes and green chiles, solids only

DIRECTIONS:  Break up the meat into a large bowl.  Add the crumbled slice of bread, egg, spices, cilantro and Rotel tomatoes.  Set aside.  In a very large non-stick skillet, add the olive oil and heat on high.  Saute the onion and red bell pepper until tender.  Add those veggies to the meat and work it all together either with a fork or your hands like you do meatloaf.  Form into 6 equal patties and saute right in the pan you sauteed the onion/pepper in.  Brown and cook until no longer giving off pink juices, or about 10 minutes or so on each side. Serve with you favorite Mexican side dishes or a nice guacamole salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 6 patties, each contains:

265 cals, 21g fat, 2.4g carbs, 0.66g fiber, 1.84g NET CARBS, 15.8g protein, 202 mg sodium

Mediterranean Beef and Eggplant on Zoodles

This is one of those dishes I just threw together.  I had family visiting. I needed easy.  I needed fast.   As with many “toss-in-the-skillet-as-you-go” recipes, they often turn out better than those sophisticated 20-ingredient, multi-phase culinary works of art.   But you guys know by now I’m all about EASY in the kitchen. All I can say is this dish didn’t let me down.  My brother, one-time executive chef, visiting this week really liked this dish.  Hubby liked it, too!  I call it Mediterranean,  but with the seasoning ingredients, it could just as easily have been called Spanish or Puerto Rican.  But regardless of what I named it, this one’s definitely a keeper and I’m sure I’ll be making it again!  This dish is suitable for all phases of Atkins or similar ketogenic diets, Paleo, or Primal followers.  If serving to non-low-carbing dinner guests, you can offer rice to serve this on rather than the zucchini noodles pictured.

INGREDIENTS:

12 oz. zucchini, spiralized into noodle shape

2 T. olive oil

1 lb. ground beef

10 oz. eggplant, peeled and chopped coarsely

2 oz. onion, sliced or chopped

2 oz. red bell pepper, chopped

3 Roma plum tomatoes, chopped coarsely

8 black olives, pitted and chopped

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

Dash each salt and black pepper

OPTIONAL:  Dash of cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:  I’m totally addicted to my new sofrito sauce.   🙂  But if you’re not familiar with it and don’t happen to have that made up, make up a recipe of the sofrito sauce as instructed in that recipe at the link above and set aside for now. Using a julienne peeler or spiral noodle maker, cut the zucchini into “zoodles”, as I like to call them.  Set the “zoodles” aside for now as well.

In a large non-stick skillet or wok over high heat, brown the ground beef and onion until no longer pink and onion is about tender.  Add the eggplant cubes and saute on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften.  Add the red bell pepper and tomatoes and continue cooking, stirring as needed, until they just begin to soften.   Stir in the 3 T. sofrito sauce, salt and black pepper.  Simmer on low heat just until the vegetables are fully cooked but the eggplant is not reduced to mush.  Stir in the chopped olives last, as they really need no cooking.

While the meat mixture is simmering, saute the “zoodles in the 2 T. olive oil in another non-stick pan on low heat, gently lifting and stirring them with a kitchen fork, just until they are wilted and no longer taste raw (about 2-3 minutes max).  Again, you don’t want to overcook them for best visual appeal.  When all appears ready, plate ¼ of the “zoodles” on each plate and top with 1/4 of the meat mixture.  Serve at once with your favorite hot low-carb bread  and butter and ENJOY!

NOTE:  This would also be good made with ground lamb.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 4 servings, each contains:

352 cals, 26g fat, 12.3g carbs, 4g fiber, 8.3g NET CARBS, 22g protein, 201 mg sodium

 

Peach “Coffeecake”

I have 4 low-carb cake donuts leftover that are beginning to get dry so I’m going to make one of my favorites:  coffeecake!  I’ll thaw a bag of my frozen peaches which only take about 30 minutes.   Yes!   I’ll make this for my hubby for breakfast today!  He’s still sound asleep and will be so surprised when he wakes up.  This quick coffeecake can also be created with leftover low-carb muffins, biscuits or neutral-tasting low-carb bread slices.

I don’t care for sweets too much, but I try to bake some low-carb sweet treat for my husband once in awhile.  This one is delicious and we both love it.  I make it with berries when I need to cut the carbs even more, but today, I have no berries on hand so peaches from the freezer it is!   This tastes every bit as good as the pic makes it look!  This is not suitable until Atkins Pre-maintenance or Maintenance (the higher carb fruits rung of the OWL carb ladder).

VARIATION:  Use blackberries, raspberries, blueberries (for lower carbs) or perhaps grated apple, sliced pears or sliced plums for about the same in carbs.  Of course, changing the fruit will require you recalculate the net carbs per serving on a food tracker.

INGREDIENTS:

4 low-carb plain cake donuts

3 small ripe peaches (1½-13/4″ diameter), sliced thinly

3 T. butter

1 T. + 1 tsp. sweetener of choice

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:   Preheat oven to 350º.  If not already made up, bake the donuts by that recipe’s instructions and cool. Slice 4 of the donuts in half laterally and place in the bottom of a non-stick cake pan, non-stick tart pan or greased baking dish.  Top evenly with the sliced peaches.  Sprinkle 1 tsp. sweetener on each serving.  Sprinkle cinnamon over all servings.  Dot evenly with butter (about 2 tsp. per serving).  Pop into the heated oven and bake for about 30 minutes so the peaches slightly cook.  Serve warm.

NOTE:  You can substitute 4 small slices any low-carb bread for the donuts, but be sure to sprinkle a little extra sweetener on top of them if you make that change.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 4 servings, each contains:

217 cals, 17g fat, 19.42g carbs, 10.2 g fiber, 9.22g NET CARBS  (lower using berries), 6.22g protein, 112 mg sodium

Cake Donuts

My husband has always liked really plain cake donuts: no icing, no flavors, no sprinkles, no powdered sugar, no cream fillings, no nothing extra beyond vanilla extract and nutmeg.  He was so fond of Dolly Madison cake donuts when I met him. When we were still dating, I couldn’t believe we’d go into Dunkin’ Donuts on Congress Avenue, downtown Austin and he would order plain cake donuts!!  All those luscious donut varieties staring back from the glass display cases didn’t phase him at all!  Only other donut I ever saw him order was a glazed, strawberry jelly donut (talk about contrast LOL).

So I created this low-carb version of his beloved Dolly Madison cake donuts. I was very pleased with the results.  These donuts have a lovely texture, just a hint of nutmeg, and I’m certain Dolly herself would be amazed at how close they are to their tasty treats we bought for so many years.  But sadly, they are not making them anymore.  These donuts are not suitable for Atkins Induction but are OK once you get to Phase 2 OWL if the oat fiber, a virtual carb wash at 96% fiber, doesn’t cause you any issues or weight gain.  They are acceptable for other ketogenic diets but not for Paleo-Primal devotees.  See the SUPPLIERS tab above for unusual ingredient sources.

NOTE:   I made a lovely sweet dessert with 4 of these.  Sliced them in half laterally and placed in the bottom of a tart pan.  Topped with thin slices of peaches (3 small).  Dotted with butter all around.  Sprinkled cinnamon and erythritol on top and baked 30 minutes.  It was DELISH!  Will have to start trying the dessert with other fruits.  🙂

INGREDIENTS: 

1/2 c. oat fiber

1/2 c. + 3 T. coconut flour

¼ c. plain, unsweetened whey protein powder

¼ c. egg white protein powder (pure powdered egg whites)

1 T. baking powder

1½ tsp. glucomannan powder (or xanthan gum)

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground nutmeg(preferably fresh, grated)

1 pkt. stevia

½ c. sugar equivalent of your favorite sweetener

1/3 c. granular erythritol

3 T. melted butter, unsalted

3 large eggs, beaten

3 T. DaVinci vanilla sugar-free syrup (or 1 tsp. vanilla extract + 2½ T. more water)

½ c. heavy cream (or coconut milk)

½ c. water

Optional:  Mix a bit of cinnamon with a bit of erythritol to sprinkle on top or frost with cream cheese frosting

DIRECTIONS:   Preheat oven to 350º.  Measure all the dry ingredients into a medium mixing bowl and stir well.   Break the eggs into the center of the dry ingredients and beat them well.   Add cream, water, DaVinci syrup and melted butter.  Stir well until batter is smooth.  Batter will be quite thick.  Well oil the 12 slots of 2 donut pans with oil of your choice.  Spoon batter into slots until they are almost full.  There is just enough batter for 12 donuts in this recipe. Even out the batter with  the back of a teaspoon.  These do not rise much during baking, so overflow shouldn’t be a problem.  Pop into 350º oven for about 17 minutes or until firm to the touch and just beginning to brown on the edges.  Remove from oven and cool a few minutes. Loosen them with a knife tip and serve cooled off a bit for best flavor.  Top optionally with cinnamon/erythritol, powdered erythritol or low-carb icing of your choosing.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 12 donuts, each contains: (topping or optional icing not included)

128.6 calories, 9.56 g  fat, 11.77 g  carbs, 9.15 g fiber, 2.62 g  NET CARBS, 6.08 g  protein, 114 mg sodium

Sofrito Mayonnaise

When they’re in season in the summer, my husband just LOVES sliced tomatoes with mayonnaise for a quick salad.  I made something for him today at lunch that came out real good!  He originally asked if I could mix up a little of my caper mayonnaise, which he loves dearly with tomatoes: https://buttoni.wordpress.com/2009/08/08/caper-mayonnaise/.  But I discovered my bottle of capers is all used up and I keep forgetting to get a replacement. So I thought a minute and remembered the sofrito sauce in the freezer and decided it would be good used this way.  Well, suffice it to say I’ve found yet another tasty way to use this flavorful little sauce!    What a mouth explosion it brings to everything I’ve tried it in or on!   This delicious mayonnaise is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Ketogenic Diets and Paleo-Primal followers as well.

INGREDIENTS:

½ c. homemade mayo (my recipe here:  https://buttoni.wordpress.com/2009/07/27/homemade-mayonnaise/)

2 T. (more or less to taste) sofrito sauce (recipe here: https://buttoni.wordpress.com/2013/05/21/sofrito/ )

Dash salt and black pepper

DIRECTIONS:   Make the mayonnaise per that recipe’s instructions (or use whatever plan acceptable mayo you prefer).  Make the sofrito sauce per that recipe’s instructions.  Measure out ½ c. of the mayo for this recipe into a small bowl and chill the rest in a lidded jar for future use.  Add 2 T. of the sofrito and stir, freezing or chilling the remainder in a plastic sandwich bag for future use.   Serve alongside sliced fresh tomatoes, to dress up a chicken or turkey sandwich or for tartar sauce applications!  Anywhere you use mayo, I suspect this might be good, the uses are many!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes about ½ cup or 8 T.  Each tablespoon has:

106 cals, 11.7g fat, 0.3g carbs, 0.908g fiber, 0.22g NET CARBS, 0.4g protein, 27 mg sodium

Sofrito Deli Melt Sandwich

Sofrito Deli Melt

I make stromboli-like sandwiches once in awhile and had a hankering for one today.  It occurred to me to add a dab of my sofrito sauce I keep in the freezer in a sandwich bag, as a condiment.  MAN, I’ve discovered a wonderful thing! That stuff is fantastic with deli meat and cheese on a bun!  This sandwich is suitable once you reach the nuts rung of the Atkins OWL carb ladder.  Those still on Induction will need to wait to enjoy this sandwich. This recipe is not suitable for Paleo-Primal dining.

VARIATION:  A little olive Tapenade or chopped or sliced black and/or green olives added to this sandwich would be a tasty addition, making it more like a muffaletta sandwich in flavor. 

Don’t be too quick to write this baby off as being a little too high carb before checking out the macros below. The carb price brings with it considerable nutrition.  As with any processed meats, if you can afford the better quality, lower sodium stuff, like Boar’s Head, by all means, use that.  As all deli meats and cheese carry a heavy sodium load, be sure to drink lots of water on days you indulge in them.

Many more delicious low-carb sandwich ideas can be at your fingertips with your 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 chefs 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 here:  http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER:  I do not get 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

INGREDIENTS:

2 slices of my Gluten-Free Grain-Free Focaccia Bread

½-1 tsp. my Sofrito sauce

4 wafer thin (1/16″) slices quality hard salami

1 oz, wafer thin slice quality deli ham

1½ oz. grated mozzarella cheese

2 slices tomato

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  On a small sheet of foil, place 1 slice of the bread.  There is no magical sequence of layering the ingredients here.  This is how I do it though:  spread half the sofrito sauce evenly over the 1st slice of bread. Next, lay on 2 slices of the hard salami.  Sprinkle with half the mozzarella cheese.  Place the slice of deli ham on the stack next.  Spread the rest of the sofrito sauce evenly on the ham. Lay on the last 2 slices of hard salami and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.  Finally, place the top slice of bread.  Fold up the foil, folding tightly the top and ends.  Pop wrapped sandwich into the preheated 350º oven for about 10-12 minutes to allow the cheese to melt.  Remove from oven, open the foil package, add your tomato slices.  Serve at once.  ENJOY!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Each sandwich contains:

623 calories

45 g  fat

11.2 g  carbs, 3.6 g  fiber, 7.6 g NET CARBS

46 g  protein

1760 mg sodium

Chewy Pumpkin Cookies

Chewy Pumpkin Cookies

Made my hubby some delicious pumpkin cookies this afternoon.  They came out very moist and flavorful.   And for once, they are sweet enough! Honestly, none of the low-carb pumpkin cookie recipes I’ve tried so far have been sweet enough for me, and just not moist enough either.  I basically took my Almond Butter Cookies https://buttoni.wordpress.com/2012/07/11/almond-butter-cookies/  and added pumpkin and  appropriate spices.    The texture is soft, but not quite chewy like my Almond Butter cookies, so the pumpkin lessened the chewy quality of the base dough, it would appear. By the way, these freeze very nicely and are very good eaten in that semi-frozen state.  🙂  These are not suitable until the nuts and seeds rung of the Atkins Phase 2 OWL carb ladder has been reached.  Just so you know, I use Honeyville Grains coconut flour, almond flour and oat fiber but they are also available from Netrition.com.

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 c. almond flour

½ c. coconut flour

1 T. oat fiber (omit for gluten free)

1 tsp. glucomannan powder

1/8 tsp. salt

½ tsp. baking soda

½ c. granular Splenda

1 T. erythritol (or your preferred sweetener equivalent to 4 tsp. sugar)

1 tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. nutmeg

¼ tsp. ground cloves

½ c. melted butter or coconut oil

2 T. almond butter

1 T. vanilla extract

½ c. canned pumpkin

1 egg, beaten

¼ c. sugar-free honey (I buy at Walmart)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  In a large mixing bowl stir the almond butter, pumpkin and butter/oil together until smooth.  Beat in the egg, vanilla and imitation honey.    Measure in all dry ingredients on top and stir well to form a smooth dough.   Dough is wet, but you can slightly roll it in your palms. If your dough seems too dry or stiff and won’t hold together (coconut flours vary a lot), 1 T. more pumpkin. If too wet, add 1 T. more coconut flour. Roll dough into 1″ balls and place them onto parchment or silicone lined baking sheet.  Press balls down slightly flat with your fingers, leaving 1″ between cookies.  Pop pan into preheated oven.  Bake for about 15 minutes or until firm in center and beginning to brown around edges.  Do not over brown these cookies or texture will be drier.  Remove from oven and do not try to lift them right away. Cool completely for them to achieve their proper texture. These are delicate while hot but “firm up” nicely when they cool. Enjoy!  Leftovers store just fine in a cookie jar on your counter or in a plastic bag in your freezer.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 36-37 cookies (I got 37 and calculated accordingly) 1½” in diameter.  Each cookie contains:

77.6 calories

6.95 g  fat

3.18 g  carbs, 1.4 g  fiber, 1.78 g  NET CARBS

1.83 g  protein

34.7 mg sodium

14.7 mg potassium

 

Smoked Gouda Bison Burgers

Smoked Gouda Bison Burgers

I bought some organic, ground bison at my local Natural Grocers this week and decided to try a meat I’ve never had before.  Well, that isn’t exactly true.  I think I had a bison burger on a bun one time in Colorado, maybe 25 years ago, but honestly don’t recall the flavor at all.  So I consider my experience with it tonight will be new to my palate.

Wasn’t sure how I wanted to fix this meat, but I knew for certain I wanted to avoid drowning out the flavor of the meat with too many flavor layers. Although I’m not too fond of cheese on burgers, I do like smoked Gouda on just about anything, as my readers well know, and decided that it might just play a role in the final dish.  As we all know, a wee bit of onion and bacon never hurt anything, so I decided that would  round it out nicely.

The final dish came out delicious!  I think now that I definitely LIKE bison, but to be honest, it’s not terribly different from grass-fed ground beef, which I enjoy regularly. Bison brings some impressive nutritional numbers to your plate.  Check them out below!  This dish is suitable for all phases of Atkins and is also OK for Primal diners that enjoy occasional cheese.  But Paleo followers will want to omit the cheese and have a simple bacon bison burger.  This recipe would also be nice made from grass-fed beef, lamb or even ground pork.   And it goes without saying that grilling the patties over charcoal will take their “smoky” flavor to an even higher 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 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 T. ground chia seeds

9 T. water

1 lb. ground bison (I buy at Natural Grocers)

3 oz. red onion, minced very fine

4 tsp. bacon grease

dash each salt and pepper

1/8 tsp. my Homemade Cavender’s Greek Seasoning

5 slices bacon, chopped

6 oz. smoked Gouda, sliced/separated into 4 portions

DIRECTIONS:  Grind the chia seeds in a coffee grinder or your blender and place in a lidded jar.  Add the water and allow the seeds to gel up for about 5-10 minutes, shaking occasionally.   In a medium mixing bowl, place the meat. Add the minced onion, salt, pepper, Cavender’s blend and mix well with a fork or your hands. Add all of the chia gel and mix that in as well, until you achieve uniform dispersal in the meat mixture. Set the bowl of meat aside for a few minutes.  In a non-stick skillet, brown the chopped bacon until done.  Drain the bacon crumbles on paper towels.  Scrap the bacon grease in the skillet into the meat mixture in the bowl and blend well with a fork.  Form four 4-oz. meat patties and brown in the same skillet you browned the bacon in.  When the meat is done to your liking, if your skillet can’t go into the broiler or oven safely, transfer the meat patties to an oven-safe dish or pan.  Top each patty with 1/4 of the smoked Gouda.  Pop into the broiler or a hot oven long enough to melt the cheese and finally, top each off with 1/4 of the bacon crumbles. Plate up with your favorite sides and ENJOY!  These are very filling with the chia gel and boast some impressive nutritional stats below!

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

397 calories

30 g  fat

2.83 g  carbs, .88 g  fiber, 1.95 g  NET CARBS

27.6 g  protein

495 mg sodium

 

The Most Cherished Post On My Website

I still can’t believe it!  My blog has hit over 19,000,000 hits currently!!  Five years ago my friends on the Atkins community Forums (where my weight-loss journey all began)  asked me, several even begged me, to set up a website where they could get to all my recipes more easily.  Suffice it to say, search engines do not always find what we are looking for. Who knew it would take the direction it took?  Never in my wildest dreams did I think there was enough interest in low-carb cooking to make a go of a low-carb recipe blog.  My brother, a professional chef before retirement, didn’t think there would be enough interest to make it worth my time and effort either.  Well, we were both wrong!  Thanks to all my wonderful readers you’ve made it clear that you ARE interested in my low-carb creations.   Many take the time to come back and tell me so.  As long as I live I will never forget the touching, appreciative thank you letter from reader Lynne Daniel, administrative assistant to Dr. Eric Westman (co author of The New Atkins for a New You,) and his low-carb diet support group at Duke University.  It truly brought tears to my eyes.  Whenever I think to myself “Is this blogging really working?”, I come back to this Pesto Sauce post, read her kind comments and am reinvigorated:

Lynne Hi, Peggy!! OMG……you totally have a “fan club” here and I’m definitely self-appointed president!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you for all you are doing!! (Just shared your site with an endocrinology resident/MD and nutrition fellow/PhD who were in meeting with me this morning at Duke. Both wanted/needed low carb recipes, as they’ve recently started low-carbing themselves…so I promptly sent them both links to your site, as we conversed (thank God for Blackberry!). Please don’t ever doubt the power of your posts…the gift you give all of us everytime you create and post another recipe out there for us. You are changing lives, helping others improve health and quality of life through all that you have done and are doing. And I am so grateful!! Please let me know if you’re ever coming back to North Carolina for a visit…would love to have you visit with us in our Low Carb Support group here anytime (Dr. Eric Westman is our group leader…….   I wanted to let you know that your beautiful recipes have been a huge reason why I’ve been able to lose 130 lbs. since November 2009. You are a godsend and I just wanted to say “Thank you!!” from bottom of my heart for all you have done and are doing for all of us out here who are making life-saving changes in our diet and nutrition choices. I help lead the low carb support group here at Duke, and your wonderful recipes are always topic of conversation at our monthly meetings. We ….. love your recipes!! (I include your blog link in our monthly meeting recap, too…so hopefully, there are others from the group signing on, too – there are at least 50 other “low carbers” here locally following you…not to mention about 10 of us from my office here!). It’s a joy to see what you’re going to post next…and I believe I speak on all of our behalfs when I say your “low-carb labors of love and deliciousness” in the kitchen could not be more enjoyed or more appreciated!! I’ve got a ton of basil growing at home right now, too…so guess what I’ll be doing in the kitchen this evening!. Thank you so much again!! And best and brightest blessings always – you and your wonderful recipes are treasures and blessings to a lot of folks! Lynne

I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank ALL my readers who have been supportive and who come back to the site again and again.  I love your feedback, whether positive or negative.  Reader reaction to the flavor of my food is why I do this and that alone makes it enjoyable for me.  HAPPY COOKING to all of you out there.  You truly are seeing to it that this blog is a busy, happy and most enjoyable endeavor. 🙂  I couldn’t be more pleased my recipes are clearly reaching the greater low-carb community now, and not just my buddies on the Atkins Community forums.  🙂

Low-Carb Tartlet Shells

Tartlet Shells

Remember the “Fool Proof Pie Crust” recipe that was so popular in the 80’s?……the one with the egg and a bit of lemon juice or vinegar?  Well, I just tweaked and low carbed it!  Got the idea from Georgene on Low-Carb Friends forums, but tweaked her version a bit more. The final recipe is only loosely similar to the original Fool Proof Pie Crust recipe, most notably it doesn’t have nearly 2 cups of FLOUR!  Mine is more of a shortbread type of crust.  I’m so pleased with how these came out, because the Fool-Proof crust was always my favorite pie crust recipe before I began my low-carb adventures.

Today I made the tastiest strawberry jam and homemade loquat jam tartlets! The dough will make 27 tartlet shells or 1 large single-crust pie shell.  These shells can also be used for savory fillings like chopped sauteed mushrooms, onion and parsley with a bit of cream cheese.  Mmmm. This recipe is not suitable until Atkins Phase 2 OWL nuts and seeds rung of the carb ladder.  It would be suitable for Primal but not Paleo diners. The nutritional counts below are for the empty shells only.  Be sure to add in the carbs for your fillings for a total count for your final tartlets.  I order my coconut flour and oat fiber from Honeyvillegrains on-line and I use NOW brand of whey protein and egg white protein.  My glucomannan powder I order from Netrition.com.

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: 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.

INGREDIENTS:

1/3 c. + 1 T.  coconut flour

1/3 c. + 1 T. oat fiber

2½ T. egg white protein

2½ T. plain whey protein powder

1½ tsp. baking powder

1½ tsp. glucomannan powder (konjac powder)

¼ c. + 3 T. palm shortening (or cold butter)

1 small egg

1 tsp. lemon juice or apple cider vinegar

2 T. water

DIRECTIONS:  Measure all dry ingredients into a medium mixing bowl.  Stir well.  Add shortening (or butter) and stir (cut in) to blend evenly into the dry ingredients. Make a well in the center of the mixture.  Add the egg, water and 1 tsp. lemon juice.  Beat them in the well and then slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the egg mixture with a fork until it is pretty well blended.  It will not form a single ball of dough like a traditional flour pie crust, but it will come together in a fairly stiff, malleable dough you can handle without it sticking to your hands.  If it is too dry to do this, add 1 T. more water slowly as you incorporate it; if it is too wet, a sprinkle the tiniest bit more oat fiber in and blend well.  You want it to be almost as moist as regular pie dough, so you can work with it with your fingers.

At this point, preheat your oven to 350º.   If using silicone pans, support with a metal pan.  Spoon about 1 T. into each of 27 tartlet mold slots.  Press the dough into the bottom and walls of the slots with your fingers.  Fill with 1 teaspoon of your favorite pie fillings, jams, preserves, creme fillings, pecan pie filling, pumpkin pie filling, or whatever you like that will cook thoroughly in about 18 minutes.   Pop pans into 350º oven for 17-18 minutes or until the crust is beginning to brown lightly and filling is done.  Cool a few minutes and gently pop them out of the pans by pushing up from the bottom if using silicone, by using a knife tip if using metal mini muffin pans.  This is the Wilson silicone pan I use (I have 2):

Click to enlarge

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 27 mini tartlet shells, each contains: (unfilled)

43 calories

4.1 g  fat

2.21 g  carbs, 1.69 g  fiber, .53 g  NET CARBS

.95 g  protein

18 mg sodium

12 mg potassium

< 10% RDA all macronutrients

Blueberry Fat Bombs

If you’re looking to up your fat intake on a ketogenic diet, I can’t think of a tastier way to do that than Fat Bomb candies!  I keep my lemon-coconut version and this recipe chocolate version  in the freezer at all times, but do get tired of just the two flavors all the time.  Today I decided to try a blueberry version!  Made them two different ways: with whole berries; and with pureed berries. Not sure which is my fav, but I think the pureed version makes for nicer eye candy.  🙂

I just bought a large carton of blueberries this week and modified my lemon-coconut fat bomb recipe, making the obvious changes for this fruit.   These came out delicious!  I confess the pureed version was a little grainy, but blueberries don’t get all their lovely fiber count from nowhere, ya know.  But the taste was delightful.  As with all fat bombs, you have to eat them straight out of the freezer, as they melt quickly in your hands.  These are suitable for Atkins Phase 2, OWL once you get to the berries level of the carb ladder.  They are OK for Primal, but not Paleo.  Below is a pic of the silicone ice-cube trays I used.  Of course, you can use other silicone molds or even make these in a small, shallow pan and cut into squares, twisting the pan slightly to pop out the frozen squares.  Plastic ice-cube trays work nicely, too.

Note:  Coconut cream is NOT the same thing as the cream of coconut bartenders use, which has a lot of added sugar.  What I use is pure coconut cream.  I used to order by the case on-line, but now I can get it at my local Natural Grocers.  This is what I use: http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n%3A16310101%2Ck%3Acoconut%20cream .  I suspect Wholel Foods and Trader Joes carries it.  Tropical Traditions has it also.  If you chill a can of coconut milk overnight, coconut cream is the thick stuff that rises to the top.  Spoon that off and you have coconut cream.  🙂

Many more delicious low-carb treats can be at your fingertips with your 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 chefs to bring you a myriad of delicious recipes you are going to want in your collection.  Order your set of cookbooks (also available individually) TODAY from Amazon or here:  http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER:  I do not get 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.

Silicone ice cube tray I used (2)

INGREDIENTS: 

1 scant cup blueberries (about 9/10 cup)

1 stick butter (4 oz)

3/4 c. coconut oil

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

¼ c. coconut cream

Preferred Sweetener to taste

DIRECTIONS:  You can put these together in either of two ways: using whole berries; or pureeing the ingredients.  The latter more uniformly diffuses the blueberries.  I like them both ways equally.

Place silicone candy molds onto a baking pan for support and set them near your work area.  I used honeycomb silicone ice-cube trays to make the ones shown above.  The recipe made 24 fat bombs for me that are about 1″x 1″.  If your molds have smaller, shallower slots, you will undoubtedly get more than I did.

Pureed Version:  Place berries, coconut cream and softened cream cheese in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.  In a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and coconut oil.  Cool slightly for 5 minutes and add to the food processor.  Puree again until smooth.  Add your sweetener of choice.  Add sweetener slowly, tasting and adjusting to suit your preference level.  I like to transfer the mixture to a spouted measuring cup or pitcher and gently pour the mixture into the molds not quite to the top.  Place pan on level surface in your freezer and freeze about an hour.  Pop them out and enjoy or freeze in plastic bags.

Whole Berry Version:  Place 3-4 blueberries into each mold slot.  In a saucepan, melt the butter and coconut oil over low heat.  Remove from heat and slightly cool for 5 minutes or so.  Add all remaining ingredients and whip well with a whisk or stick blender if you have one.  The cream cheese will separate a bit, but not to worry, as it will taste just fine in the final treats.    Add sweetener slowly, taste and adjust to your sweetness preference. Transfer the mixture to a spouted pitcher or spouted measuring cup for easy pouring into the molds.  Fill each slot not quite full. Place in freezer on level surface for about 1 hour.  Pop them out and enjoy or freeze in plastic  bags.

Whole Berry Version

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Number of servings will vary, depending on size of molds.

1/24 batch:  116 cals., 13g  fat, .44g  protein, 1.02g  carbs, .18g  fiber, .84g NET CARBS

Entire recipe:  2788 calories, 311 g fat, 24.5 g  carbs, 4.3 g  fiber, 20.2 g  NET CARBS

Sofrito “Burgers”

Click to enlarge

My husband requested grilled burgers for the 4th of July so that’s what we did.  I aim to please.  🙂 He, of course, had his on ciabatta buns with the classic toppings of lettuce, tomato and pickles.  I was originally planning on using one of my low-carb sandwich buns, but decided to eat mine bunless instead, as shown above with a nice, sweet microwaved baked turnip drenched in butter on the side.  Although two patties made for a prettier picture, the days of my being able to eat 2 burger patties are long gone.  I was only able to eat one of the patties shown.  This is yet another delicious use of my newly-discovered Sofrito recipe!  I confess I haven’t put this sauce on anything I haven’t liked it on!  LOVE this stuff!  This burger recipe is certainly suitable for all phases of Atkins, Primal Blueprint and Paleo as well.  I hope you enjoy these as much as we did.

INGREDIENTS:

2 lb. 90% ground beef, preferably grass-fed

8 tsp. bacon grease (omit if using 70% beef; only 4 tsp. if using 80% beef)

8 T. Sofrito:  https://buttoni.wordpress.com/2013/05/21/sofrito/

2 ripe avocados

DIRECTIONS:  Prepare your charcoal fire.  While the fire is getting ready, make the Sofrito in a food processor or blender according to that recipe’s directions.  Using a fork or your hands, blend the bacon grease uniformly into the meat.  Form into eight  4-oz. patties.  When fire is hot, grill meat patties until done to your liking.  Plate the meat, slicing 1/4 avocado onto each patty.  Spoon 1 T. sofrito on top of each meat patty either as shown above, or if using buns, you might prefer to spread the sofrito evenly on the meat first and then top with the slices of avocado.  Serve with your favorite sides or on low-carb sandwich buns with a slice of tomato and/or whatever extra toppings you like.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 8 servings, each contains:

351 calories

29.4 g  fat

4.58 g  carbs, 3.14 g  fiber, 1.44 g  NET CARBS

21 g  protein

96 mg sodium

250 mg potassium

13% RDA Vitamin C, 9% copper, 30% iron, <10% all other macronutrients

Chicken and Sausage Stroganoff

Click to enlarge

I was originally planning to make an Alfredo-type dish for dinner tonight, but instead, decided to go for more of a Stroganoff-type dish.  I had a freshly thawed package of homemade sausage, some leftover baked chicken meat, 2/3 of an open can of sliced mushrooms I had opened up at breakfast this morning and plenty of cream cheese and cream in the house.  Sounded like the makings for a great  Stroganoff to me!  I started throwing things into the saute skillet, cooked up some finely shredded cabbage to serve mine on and VOILA!…in about 30-40 minutes, start to finish, a delicious dish we both enjoyed thoroughly, although my husband insisted I cook some regular pasta for his serving (he despises cabbage).  This can also be served on sauteed zoodles (sauteed zucchini noodles) or spaghetti squash threads. I served this with a marinated tomato and cucumber salad.  This meal is suitable once you reach Phase 2 of Atkins, it is OK for Primal if you eat the occasional dairy, but it is not suitable for Paleo due to the dairy and wine.  This tasty dish boasts some pretty impressive nutritional stats.  Just check ’em out below!  A nice addition to this might be some grated Parmesan or Romano on top, but that really takes it to the Alfredo category.

INGREDIENTS:

6 oz. breakfast sausage or Italian sausage (preferably homemade)

5 oz. cooked chicken, chopped

2 oz. onion, sliced

1 small 4-oz. can sliced mushrooms (do not drain)

4 oz. cream cheese

½ c. heavy cream

½ c. water

¼ c. dry white wine

Dash crushed red pepper flakes, salt and black pepper

1 tsp. olive oil

3 c. finely shredded green cabbage

DIRECTIONS:  In a large non-stick skillet, brown the sausage, crumbling it up as it browns.  Add the onion and saute until tender.  Add chicken and saute 2 minutes. Lower heat and add the cream cheese, stirring it up as it warms and melts.  Add the cream, water, wine, spices and mushrooms with their liquid. Simmer for about 5 minutes on low heat to allow the cream to thicken up and flavors to mingle.

While it simmers, in another non-stick skillet, heat 1 tsp. olive oil over medium-high heat.  Place all the cabbage in the pan and with a kitchen fork, slowly stir the cabbage, lifting and flipping at as it warms and softens to prevent scorching.  Just cook the cabbage until it is soft, as any longer will cause it to get quite strong in flavor.  This will only take 3-5 minutes.  With tongs, place about 3/4 cup of cooked cabbage shreds onto each plate and spoon 1/4 of the stroganoff mixture on top of each plated portion of cabbage.  Garnish with a sprinkle of crushed red pepper or chopped parsley (optional).

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 4 servings, each contains:

462 calories

38 g  fat

6.48 g  carbs, 1.63 g  fiber, 4.85 g  NET CARBS

21.2 g  protein

445 mg sodium

 

Cinnamon-Pecan Coffeecake

Click to enlarge

I made a cinnamon cake today that is very tasty.  It is textured much like a pound cake, dense.  I’m baking much less these days, but hubby begged me for something sweet for breakfast tomorrow.  I mixed most of the cinnamon into the batter of this cake, but next time I think I’m going to put most of it into the nut topping and only a little into the cake, so the cake will be lighter in color.  Directions have been changed to reflect this slight change.   This cake is not suitable until the nuts and seeds rung of the Atkins Phase 2 OWL carb ladder.   I would not be suitable for Primal or Paleo.  Hubby really likes this one, and not just for breakfast.  He enjoyed a piece after lunch today!

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:

6 large eggs

4 T. melted butter or coconut oil

2/3 c. erythritol

¼ c. Splenda or other sweetener of your choice to equal ¼ c. sugar

1 pkt. stevia or 1/16 tsp. stevia extract

2½ c. almond flour

½ tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. glucomannan powder

1 T. oat fiber (optional)

TOPPING:   4 T. erythritol, 20 pecan halves (chopped), 2 T. melted butter, and 3½ tsp. cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:   Preheat oven to 350º.  Lightly grease either a springform pan (what I used) or a very deep, 9″ round cake pan with melted butter or coconut oil.  Mix topping together in a small bowl and set aside.  In a medium mixing bowl, measure out and stir together the almond flour, glucomannan, and oat fiber.  In another medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs, erythritol, splenda and stevia with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Add 4 T. melted butter and blend together.  Immediately pour the egg mixture onto the dry ingredients and gently fold the two mixtures together using a rubber spatula.  Try not to overwork the batter or the eggs will deflate. When the mixtures are well-incorporated, pour the batter into the greased cake pan.  Sprinkle topping evenly on top and pop into 350º oven.  Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick stuck into the center comes out dry.  Serve for breakfast warm with butter on top, or cold.  Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 10 servings, each contains:

286 calories

26 g  fat

8.37 g  carbs, 4.78 g  fiber, 3.59 g  NET CARBS  (4.48 net carbs if cut into 8 servings)

10.1 g  protein

53 mg sodium

50 mg potassium

14% RDA Vitamin B12, 23% iron, 13% manganese, 12% riboflavin, 16% selenium

Shepherd’s Pie

I decided to try my hand at a low-carb version of this tasty British food that has now become an American staple as well.  My hubby is not so fond of mashed cauliflower, but even he admitted this was pretty darn good and said “Be sure to post this recipe on the blog!”  This meal is not suitable for Atkins Induction, but can be enjoyed once you reach the higher carb veggie rung of the Atkins OWL carb ladder where carrots reside.  This dish is perfectly OK for Primal-Paleo if coconut cream/milk is subbed in for the cream in the mashed cauliflower.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. ground beef

6 oz. homemade pork breakfast sausage (or ground pork, or use all beef if you prefer)

2 medium carrots, diced

1 c. zucchini squash, diced

1 c. frozen green beans

2 oz. onion, chopped

Dash salt and black pepper

1 medium (6-7″ diameter) head cauliflower

4 T. butter or ghee

¼ c. heavy cream

Paprika to garnish (optional)

OPTIONAL:   ½ c. leftover beef gravy  (I save and freeze all leftover gravy)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 375º.  Peel and dice the carrots.  Chop the zucchini into ½” dice.  You can substitute diced turnips for the zucchini if you prefer.  Chop the onion.  Place all these veggies and the green beans into a saucepan with water to cover. Bring to a boil, lower to a slow boil for about 5-6 minutes.  Cook just long enough to slightly soften them, trying not to overcook, lest their bright color be diminished in the final dish.  Drain veggies in a strainer/colander while you do the next step.

Clean and chop the cauliflower into smaller pieces, place in/over water and boil/steam until completely tender.  Drain well in a colander and put back into the cooking pot and puree, along with the cream and butter.  You can either do this with a stick blender if you have one, or in a food processor or regular blender in small batches to avoid overflow. Season with salt to taste.  If a little too thin for your preference, dust 1/8-1/4 tsp. glucomannan powder in and stir well to thicken the mash up a bit.

In a large no-stick pan, brown the beef and sausage, crumbling as it browns.  Gently stir the drained veggies into the meat mixture and toss gently.   Spoon off and discard as much excess grease/liquid that is in the pan as this can get soupy in the final dish.  Stir in leftover beef gravy (if using).  Spoon the meat/veggie mixture evenly into the bottom of a greased casserole dish.  Using a spoon or rubber spatula, evenly distribute the mashed cauliflower over the top.  Sprinkle with paprika to garnish if desired.  Pop into preheated 375º oven for about 35 minutes or until the top is beginning to slightly brown.  Serve and enjoy!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes eight 1-cup servings, each contains:

288 calories, 22 g  fat, 8.18 g  carbs, 3.18 g  fiber, 5 g  NET CARBS, 16 g  protein

Curried Sweet Potato Soup

As with most of my soups, this one was again a result of leftovers I needed to use up.  And as always, those soups often turn out to be the most delicious!  I had a lot of lean pork shoulder I whittled off a bone for my foundation.  I had two smallish baked sweet potatoes in the refrigerator.  I always have homemade pork stock on hand in my freezer, as I save broth from all roasted pork.  Then I just started adding ingredients I know to be delicious in Indonesian curries and a tasty, filling soup was the result.    

This soup is not suitable until Atkins Pre-Maintenance or Maintenance.  It is perfectly suited for Paleo and Primal diners.  You can reduce the carbs a bit (4.74 net carbs) by using only 1 small sweet potato or about 1/3 c. flesh.

INGREDIENTS:

2 oz. onion, sliced

1 T. coconut oil

1 lb. cooked, lean pork, chopped

1/2 tsp. fresh ginger root, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. ground coriander

1/4 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. dried lemon grass (or 1 small stem fresh, chopped, if available)

1/4 tsp. salt

Dash black pepper

1  13.5-oz. can coconut milk

3 c. homemade pork (or chicken) broth

2 c. water

1/4 tsp. Thai red curry paste

2 small baked sweet potatoes (about 3/4 c. flesh yield) [use less to lower carbs]

1/2 c. fresh cilantro, chopped

DIRECTIONS:   Bake the sweet potatoes until done.  Heat coconut oil in a large soup pot and saute union until it begins to brown.  Add garlic and pork and saute a couple minutes.  Split the sweet potatoes with a knife.  Using a fork, mash the flesh and scoop it out and add to the soup pot.  Add to the pot the following:  garlic, ginger, all spices, lemon grass, coconut milk, broth, water and Thai curry paste (if using).  Stir well.  Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook about 5-10 minutes to allow flavors to meld.  Add cilantro and cook 1-2 minutes.  Using either a stick blender, or transferring to a blender in small batches, pulse a couple times to reduce to a not-quite-smooth soup.  Serve garnished with a 1-2 cilantro leaves and serve.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes six  1¼-cup servings, each contains:

294 cals, 20 g fat, 6.73 g carbs, 0.45g fiber, 6.33g NET CARBS, 21 g protein, 262 mg sodium

 

Puerto Rican Beef Sofrito (on zoodles)

Puerto Rican Beef Sofrito

This delicious dinner takes all of about 10 minutes if you have the sofrito sauce made up and in the freezer.  I try to keep some made up all the time.  It’s delicious on so many things. My husband (who isn’t low-carbing 100%) said he would like to have his on steamed rice next time.  I’m sure that would be good for your non-low-carb diners.  But it was VERY good on my “zoodles” (zucchini noodles) and would doubtless be good over steamed, slightly mashed cauliflower.   This dish as written is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Primal and Paleo diners as well.

INGREDIENTS:

1.5 T. olive oil or coconut oil (I used half each)

2 oz. yellow onion, sliced

10 oz. lean beef chuck steak or sirloin (I used a small, grass-fed flat-iron steak)

4 T. Sofrito

2  7-0z. zucchini or calaba squash (only outer part is used)

DIRECTIONS:   Slice your squash into noodles using a julienne peeler, or a Spirooli or Noodler if you own one of those tools.  I only cut down to the seeded part of the squash when I make zoodles, saving the center, seed-laden portion of the squash for other uses, usually casseroles.  So only 4 oz. of each 7-oz. squash actually went into this dish.

Trim your meat of all visible fat and gristle.  Pound thin and slice into small pieces.  In a medium non-stick skillet, heat about 1 T. of the oil and saute onion over high heat until it begins to brown.  Add meat and saute until it, too, begins to brown.  While it is browning, add zoodles to a second skillet over medium-high heat with 1 tsp. olive oil.  Saute-steam, stirring with a long-tined kitchen fork to stir.  Cook them until they are just beginning to get translucent and soft.  Turn heat off the zoodles.  Turn heat off the meat skillet now, too.  Add the sofrito sauce to the meat mixture and stir to blend.  Plate half the zoodles on each of your dinner plates and top each pile of zoodles with half the meat mixture.   I served this with a marinated cucumber and tomato salad but it would also be good with broiled, seasoned tomatoes.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 2 servings, each contains:

400 calories

23.35 g  fat

8.4 g  carbs, 2.35 g  fiber, 6.05 g  NET CARBS

38.15 g  protein

203 mg sodium

Pesto Mini Meatzas

These are incredibly quick, incredibly easy and incredibly good!  I keep all the ingredients made up in my freezer and refrigerator so that such lunches are a snap for me!  These little gems can’t be picked up and eaten like regular pizza as they are too wet/messy, so get out a fork to enjoy these.  This recipe is not suitable until you reach the nuts rung of the Phase 2 OWL carb ladder.  They are OK for Primal diners, but not Paleo. These would be lovely served with a nice green salad.  These can also be made with ground beef, or with a bit of shredded, cooked chicken.

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:

12 oz. breakfast sausage (I make homemade sausage)

1 egg, beaten

¼ tsp. each fennel seed and dried oregano leaves (or ½ tsp. Italian seasoning)

¼ c. low-carb spaghetti sauce (I use Lucini basil pesto sauce)

¼ c. pesto sauce (or use commercial pesto)

1 c. grated mozzarella cheese (about 4 oz.)

½ oz. thin sliced red or green bell pepper, cut into strips

DIRECTIONS:   Preheat oven to 350º.  In a medium mixing bowl, well mix the sausage, egg, fennel and oregano with a fork or your hands.  Spoon about 1 tablespoon of meat into each of 12 muffin cups and press down with the back of the spoon.  I used a silicone muffin pan.  Pop into your 350º preheated oven for 15 minutes.   Remove, tilt and blot off excess grease with paper toweling. Top each meat pattie evenly with 1 tsp. spaghetti sauce.  Next spread 1 tsp. pesto sauce on top.  Sprinkle each with about 1T. of the mozzarella cheese, going back and using it all up evenly.  Top with a piece of bell pepper.  Pop back into oven and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.   Cool slightly and gently lift them out with a fork onto your serving platter.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 12 mini-meatzas, each contains:

161 calories

13.4 g  fat

1.44 g  carbs, .36 g  fiber, 1.08 g  NET CARBS

8.5 g  protein

136 mg sodium

 

Potato Hack Soup (Dairy Free)

Click to enlarge

Let me say right up front this soup is NOT SO LOW CARB!  But it is dairy-free, so  when you just have to have REAL potato soup but are avoiding dairy, or just don’t want a low-carb cauliflower imitation, for whatever reason (special diet or allergies), this one really “scratches that itch”. I created this recipe for those that follow the Potato Hack diet (which I tried for a brief period in my life).  It has just 11.74 net carbs per serving yet keeps the calories and fat low.  To compare, my Cauliflower Soup has 6.35 net carbs per serving, but you pay a price in the cream it contains.  And best of all, this soup is just as delicious and even easier to make!   If you’re already at goal weight and can afford the calories and carbs for the additions, by all means, a little butter, heavy cream and maybe a pinch of Chef Emeril Legasse’s famous spice blend will “kick this up a notch” nicely and enhance the final soup.    Because I use an immersion/stick blender, the potato peelings can be left on so as to not lose the nutrients to be had therein.  They are dispersed so finely from the pureeing, you won’t even realize they are in the soup!  Same for the green onion.

This recipe is not suitable until you are nearly at goal weight, or the starchy vegetable rung of the Atkins Phase 2 OWL carb ladder.  This soup is perfectly OK for Primal-Paleo diners.

INGREDIENTS:

24 oz. white potatoes (about 8 small), washed but do not peel

4 c. tap water

1 c. homemade chicken broth (chilled and fat removed)

2 large green onions, chopped

Dash each sea salt and black pepper

DIRECTIONS:  Wash and cut up the potatoes.   Place them in medium-large soup pot.  Add 4 c. water (more if potatoes are not fully covered). Add 1 c. homemade 99% fat-free chicken stock for flavor (I chill mine and scoop off all fat off the top).  Bring potatoes to boil in the water/stock mixture. Add salt and pepper and lower to a medium boil.  While they cook, clean and coarsely chop the green onion.  Once the potatoes are tender when a knife is inserted into them, using an immersion blender (or food processor or blender) puree the potatoes and liquid until smooth.  Add onion and pulse some more.  Serve at once.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes eight 1-cup servings, each contains:

62 calories

.16 g  fat

13.95 g  carbs, 2.21 g  fiber, 11.74 g  NET CARBS

1.68 g  protein

16 mg sodium

364 mg potassium

24%  RDA Vitamin C, 13% copper

Roasted Montreal Pork Shoulder

Click to enlarge

There’s nothing better than a juicy piece of pork shoulder roasted to perfection!  I don’t like to put much besides salt and pepper on my oven-cooked pork roasts because I don’t want to overpower that wonderful natural pork flavor it has when roasted.  But today I decided to try a little Montreal Steak Seasoning on the one shown above just to see what that would taste like.  I’m quite fond of that seasoning and have finally found some recipes to make it from scratch, to avoid the sugar and excessive salt in the commercial version.

This roast came out SUPER!  And it made the richest pan juices for gravy to have on the stuffing I served this with.  I cooked the roast long and slow and when the designated number of hours/pound had passed, the meat thermometer said it was time to dig into this beast.  Man, was it ever good with a batch of low-carb stuffing and some lovely fresh, steamed broccoli!  This preparation would be good on a loin or tenderloin, but I especially love shoulder for roasting because the fat marbled throughout the meat self-bastes it to perfection.    This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and Primal-Paleo as well.  Reason I do such a large roast with just 2 of us is I can get two meals, some chopped meat for a casserole or soup and lots of great snack meat and sandwiches out of a large one.  Cooked pork freezes well, too.

INGREDIENTS:

1 large pork shoulder (mine was 10 lbs.)

½ tsp. Montreal Steak Seasoning blend (recipe I use is below)

1 clove garlic, sliced in thirds

Montreal Steak Seasoning:  (this recipe from About.com is but one of many on the internet: http://bbq.about.com/od/seasoningrecipes/r/bl80106a.htm )

• 2 tablespoons black pepper
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
• 1 tablespoon granulated onion
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, coarsely ground
  
• 1 tablespoon dill seeds

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 300º.  Place roast in pan.  If you like the crispy skin, place it fat-side up; if not, either way is fine, but fat-side up will self baste the meat quite nicely and keep it more moist.  Pat the surface of the meat dry with paper toweling.  Rub the cut sides of the garlic all over the surface of the meat as thoroughly as you can. Throw the pieces of garlic into the pan so it will season the pan juices during cooking (or stud it into the meat with a knife tip if you like).  Sprinkle the steak seasoning onto the surfaces of the meat and pop uncovered into a 300º oven.   Cook about 40 minutes per pound.  The 10# roast above was cooked for 7 hours…….like I said, slow, low and long.  Though the latest thinking is that pork is OK to be eaten at 140º, I’m old school and still roast my pork to internal temperature of 160º on a meat thermometer.  I don’t want pink pork and I think it is more tender as well as tastier when cooked to 160º internal temperature.  When done, remove and let the meat sit on cutting board for 15 minutes or so before slicing.  Pork pan juices will make the most  delicious, brown gravy.  Just use your preferred thickener. I love gravy on roasted meats!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Given the amount of bone in a pork shoulder roast, I find a 10# roast will yield around 10-12 servings, depending on the appetites of your diners.  Each 4-oz. slice of meat alone will contain approximately:  (this does not include any pan juices/gravy you might dip over it)

266 Calories

15.5 g  fat

<.1 g  carbs, negligible fiber, <.1 NET CARBS

28.7 g  protein

645 mg sodium

392 mg potassium

24% RDA Vitamin B6, 41% B12, 16% copper, 21% iron, 7% magnesium, 35% niacin, 36% phosphorous, 38% riboflavin, 77% selenium, 65% thiamin, 59% zinc

Mediterranean Meat Patties

Served on (Flour tortilla)

These wonderful little meat patties can be ready in just 15 minutes!  Grilling them, which is traditional, will of course take a little longer.  I most DEFINITELY liked the flavor and confess I can eat two of them they are so good.  I serve them typically with tzatziki yogurt sauce or my Shawarma mayo.  The flavor of the leftovers only  improves these!  This meat mixture would also make great meatballs added to Mediterranean casserole dishes with eggplant, tomatoes and feta. If you have some low-carb tortillas on hand, make the wrap shown above,  on the table in no time.  This recipe can be made with beef or lamb and is suitable for all phases of Atkins.  Primal-Paleo folks can eat this meat on a Greek salad or plan-suitable “wrap”.  When used in wraps, my delicious tzatziki sauce is very good on these sandwiches, particularly with a little extra chopped parsley sprinkled on top!   Also some homemade mayo with my Shawarma Mayo as the sauce is very good.  Click here for the recipe for my no-flour  tortilla wraps.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. ground beef or lamb (pork also works, but pork is not eaten in the Middle East)

about 1/3 c. kale

¼ c. parsley

1 oz. onion

1 clove garlic

½ jalapeno, seeded and chopped fine

¼ c. feta cheese, crumbled

Dash each salt, pepper & allspice

1/8 tsp. my salt-free Homemade Cavender’s Greek Seasoning

1 T. za’atar sauce

1 medium egg

DIRECTIONS:  Place all but the meat in a food processor or blender. Pulse until fine, but don’t reduce it to paste in texture.  You want it about like pesto sauce.  Place the meat in a bowl and with a rubber spatula, scrape the spice/herb mixture on the meat.  With a fork or your hands, blend it all together like you would a meatloaf mixture.  Form into 6 equal patties.  These are traditionally cooked over charcoal on your grill, but almost as good browned in non-stick or lightly oiled skillet on each side until meat in completely cooked.  Your choice. Serve at once with your favorite sides or veggies OR let it cool off a bit, slice the patties laterally so that each one will make a Mediterranean-style wrap sandwich butter-grilled on your favorite plan-suitable tortilla/pita type bread.  If you are using cold, leftover meat for a sandwich the next day, after slicing the patties, I would sear a couple seconds in a non-stick skillet to warm them slightly.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 6 patties, each contains:  (numbers are only for the meat)

240 cals, 19g fat, 1.65g carbs, 0.33g fiber, 1.32g NET CARBS, 15 g protein, 155 mg sodium

Strawberry Egg Puffs

Strawberry Egg Puffs

These little breakfast treats came about as a result of a kitchen mishap. I was intending to make a giant Oopsie cinnamon roll, but right when I switched my ancient Hamilton Beach electric hand mixer on, it just sat there in silence.  Not surprised, as it’s over 30 years old.  I certainly have gotten my money’s worth out of THAT thing!!   I knew there was no way I was ever going to get my egg whites whipped stiff enough with my immersion blender.  I did try, but it just wasn’t happening.I simply didn’t feel like scrambled eggs this morning.  Really wanted a sweet breakfast for a change, as I hadn’t had anything sweet for breakfast in ages.  Plus I had promised my husband a cinnamon roll for breakfast!  I had to think quick on my feet.  Looking in the fridge, the beautiful, ginormous strawberries I bought yesterday were right at eye level.  I thought a moment, glanced over and saw my  Ebilskiver pan hanging nearby and the light bulb went off!  These are a VERY pleasant way to have your eggs in the morning when you’re kind of burned out on plain old eggs.  Hubby was happy, too. These little breakie treats are suitable as soon as you reach the berries rung of the Atkins Phase 2 OWL carb ladder.  They are also suitable for Paleo-Primal followers.  I found 3 of these filled me up nicely; hubby ate the remaining 4.  You would definitely want to double the recipe for a larger family.  These would also be good made with blueberries instead of strawberries.  A dab of cream cheese underneath the fruit would also be delicious. There are just endless ways you could vary this basic little recipe.  1 tsp. cream cheese dotted under the strawberry would turn these into little strawbery danish real easily.  🙂

More delicious low-carb breakfast ideas and 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.

VARIATION:  Add 1 tsp. cream cheese in the center of each one, under the strawberry slice,  before baking. 🙂

INGREDIENTS:

4 eggs

2 T. sugar equivalent of your favorite sweetener

1 T. flax meal

1 T. whey protein (unsweetened, plain)

½ tsp. vanilla extract

2 extra large strawberries, sliced

DIRECTIONS:   Preheat the oven to 350º. Break the eggs into a mixing bowl.  Whip well with a whisk.  Add all remaining ingredients but strawberries, whip with whisk until smooth and set aside a moment.  Stem and slice the large end of the strawberries into 7 nice large slices (cook gets to eat the pointy bits :)).  I used my non-stick Ebilskiver pan that has 7 seven ½” deep slots, but a muffin top pan would work just fine.  If you have neither one, you could use 7 slots of a regular muffin pan (to keep the per-serving stats below accurate), but allow perhaps a few more minutes cooking time as they will be a little thicker.  I lightly oiled my pan just because EVERYTHING seems to stick on me if I don’t.  I’ve learned. Give the batter one last whisking to incorporate any settling ingredients.  I used a 2 T. measuring cup to dip out 7 equal portions of batter into the cups, evenly distributing the remaining batter.  Gently set 1 slice of strawberry in the center top of each one.  Pop into your preheated oven and bake about 15 minutes or until puffed up and firm to the touch.  Expect them to fall level as they cool off.  OPTIONAL:   Dust with powdered erythritol .  Below is a pic of the ebilskiver pan I used to bake these with.   It has slots that are 3/4″ deep and about 2½” wide.  These could be baked in a muffin top pan or the bottom of muffin cups, too.

My Ebilskiver pan (I think it’s a discontinued pan now)

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 7 egg puffs, each contains:

53 calories

3.4 g  fat

.91 g  carbs, .43 g  fiber, .48 g NET CARBS

4.5 g  protein

41 mg sodium

Tuna-Stuffed Baked “Potato”

Tuna-Stuffed Baked “Potato”

An interesting twist on “loaded” baked potatoes!  If you’ve never baked turnips in your microwave you simply MUST try it sometime.  Wash and poke with a few holes to prevent them exploding and bake just like baked potatoes (Microwave on HI about 4 minutes per side for large ones). Cut, fork up, butter and you’ll SWEAR you’re eating a baked potato!!!!  They’re wonderful with grilled steaks.

This dish, however, is a meal unto itself, topped off with lots of cheese and tuna.  A little carby, due to the turnip, but you can cut carbs in half just doing this over steamed, buttered cauliflower as well.  It just won’t LOOK like a baked potato like the turnips will.  This dish is best suited for Atkins Phase 2 OWL, provided you can fit the carbs into your daily carb limit.    It is kind of carb-y, but the nutritional values make it well worth those carbs.  Check out the stats below!  It is suitable for Primal but not Paleo unless the cheese is left out. If this recipe appeals to you but you really can’t afford to consume that many carbs at one meal, choose smaller turnips or serve the toppings on 1 c. steamed cauliflower instead.  That will pull down the carbs by quite a bit.  It won’t look the same, but will taste just about the same in the end. 🙂

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 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:

2 large turnips, about 10 oz. each raw (each will yield about 7 oz. edible flesh, as you don’t eat the skins)

1   6.4-oz. pouch water-pack tuna

1¼ c. grated Cheddar cheese

4 T. butter

3 T. finely chopped chives

¼ c. sour cream

1/4 tsp. seasoning of your choice: (I used my Seafood Spice Blend:  https://buttoni.wordpress.com/2009/08/20/my-seafood-spice-blend/ )

Dash salt (omit if you are extremely sodium sensitive)

DIRECTIONS:  Scrub/wash the turnips, trim the stem and tip off.  Stir tuna, 1 c. of the cheese, the seasoning and salt, 2 T. of the chives (reserve 1 T. for final topping) in a bowl and set aside.  Chop chives finely and set aside for now. Microwave prepared turnips about 3-4 minutes on HI, turn over and microwave 3-4 minutes longer on the second side.  They should feel fairly soft when slightly squeezed. Preheat oven to 350º.  Remove and slice in half without cutting the two parts completely apart.  They will sit on the plate nicer if not cut in twain.  Place the halves on medium-sized plates that you plan to serve on.  Fork up the turnip flesh a bit, trying not to tear the skins.  Top each turnip half with 1 T. butter and fork that around a bit so it melts.  Dot each half with 1 T. sour cream.  Next spoon ¼ the tuna-cheese mixture evenly on each turnip half.  Set plates on a baking sheet and pop into preheated 350º oven for about 10 minutes.  Remove and sprinkle the remaining ¼ c. of the cheese and finally the remaining chives on top and pop back into over for 5-10 minutes more until cheese if fully melted.  Serve at once with perhaps a green salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 2 very filling adult dinner-size servings, each contains:  (Please note, this would make 4 smaller lunch portions). 

665 calories

50 g  fat

18.9 g  carbs, 4.8 g  fiber, 14.1 g  NET CARBS

37.35 g  protein

1332 mg sodium

Chicken Quesadillas

You guys know how I am about using up leftovers promptly and making them totally different than how they were cooked the first time around.  Well, I had one small chicken thigh and half a chicken breast leftover from my baked chicken in the refrigerator and wanted to use it up for lunch. Chopped up, it totaled about 1½ c. chicken meat.  It make the most delicious quesadillas shown above.   I haven’t made quesadillas since we left the Texas Gulf Coast and it just seemed a great way to use up that chicken. Good decision! They really hit the spot!  Whipped up a little Chimichurri Sauce and  a batch of my No-Flour Tortillas and then it was easy sailing.   These lovelies are not suitable until the grains rung of Atkins Phase 2 OWL and are not suitable for Paleo-Primal.  Keto followers can have them if the carbs will fit into your daily limits.

INGREDIENTS:

4  my Low Carb Flour Tortillas  (or other brand)

2 T. my chimichurri sauce

1½ c. cooked chicken, chopped, skin removed

1 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese

DIRECTIONS:  Make the flour tortillas according to that recipe and set aside.  Make your Chimichurri Sauce according to that recipe and set aside.  Chop the chicken meat and place in a mixing bow.  Add the grated cheese and stir.   The chimichurri sauce can either be tossed in with the meat and cheese for more uniform distribution, or dotted on top of the mixture during assembly.

Place 2 tortillas on a lightly buttered griddle.  Top each with half the meat/cheese mixture.  Dot them with the chimichurri sauce if you didn’t already toss it into the meat mixture.   Place another tortilla on top and turn the heat to medium-high on the griddle. As cheese begins to melt, press the quesadillas with a spatula as the first side browns.  This will facilitate the top tortilla bonding with melting cheese, making them easier to flip.  When the first side is browned, carefully flip the quesadilla over and brown the second side, continuing to press with your spatula as it browns. When done, remove to plates or a large platter and with a knife, cut into quarters.  Serve with a tasty guacamole salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 2 whole quesadillas or 8 wedge pieces.  I cut mine into quarters.  However my husband and I both found we could only eat 3 of the 4 pieces on our plate.  So I am providing below the values for 1 whole, uncut quesadilla and you will need to calculate the numbers consumed based on how much of the quesadilla you actually eat.

1 whole quesadilla contains:  699 cals, 55.2 g fat, 10.35 g carbs, 3.1 g fiber, 7.25 g NET CARBS, 42.7 g protein, 950 mg sodium

1 wedge (1/4) contains:  175 cals, 13.8 g fat, 2.59 g carbs, 0.76 g fiber, 1.83 g NET CARBS, 10.70 g protein, 238 mg sodium

Chimichurri Sauce

Shown in my Chicken Quesadillas

This wonderful blending of herb flavors is a favorite of mine. You just can’t go wrong with cilantro, jalapeno and parsley in my book.  I just throw in some kale or occasionally spinach because it is so darn good for you and can’t be tasted as such in this sauce!  I don’t always include the vinegar usually found in Chimichurri Sauce…..it kind of depends how I’m going to use the sauce.  I usually do add some wine vinegar if it’s destined for grilled meats; I omit the vinegar for lots of other uses of the sauce like my Chicken Quesadillas.  I like to freeze any leftover sauce in a flattened ziploc bag so I can just break off a small piece for use in recipes.   This is OK for all phases of Atkins, Paleo and Primal fare 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

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. loosely packed kale, stemmed and chopped (or fresh spinach)

½ c. parsley

½ bunch cilantro

1 clove garlic

½ seeded jalapeno

Dash sea salt

¼ c. extra virgin olive oil

OPTIONAL:  2 T. red wine vinegar and dash of crushed red pepper flakes

DIRECTIONS:  Place all the ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend until well-mixed.  Serve with your favorite Mexican dishes or in recipes that call for Chimichurri herb mixture.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes about 10 T., each tablespoon contains:

52.3 calories, 5.48 g  fat, .85 g  carbs, .33 g fiber, .52 g  NET CARBS, .34 g  protein, 21 mg sodium

BBQ-dogs

When you BBQ a big piece of brisket, like we do from time to time, it seems there’s always so much leftover (there are just two of us here).  I like to chop some of the leftover meat, add a little of my low-carb BBQ sauce, so there is some convenient chopped beef BBQ for sandwiches throughout the week.

Last time we grilled a brisket, I also happened to need to bake some low-carb bread, as I was down to my last.  Then when I started stirring all those ingredients up in my mixing bowl this finger-food idea just popped into my head.  Using my protein bar silicone baking pan (but you could use a regular muffin pan), I formed the tastiest little treats!  These are great for parties, great snacks or even several for a grab-and-go lunch!  They’re low in carbs, too!

I have started adding 1 tsp. yeast dissolved in 1 T. warm water to my bread batter, not for rise, but for flavor.  You can omit that, but it will only lower net carbs by .13 g, so why not go ahead and add it for that touch of yeast flavor?  These are suitable once you get to the nuts level of Atkins Phase 2 (OWL, Ongoing Weight Loss).  If you add that cheese, be sure to add in those cheese carbs.  You can bake these in muffin pans if you don’t own or want to get the specialty pan shown below.  I just happen to have stumbled on a couple of these pans in my local Tuesday Morning store one day.

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 recipe my gluten-free grain-free focaccia bread

12 oz. leftover chopped BBQ beef or pork

¼ c. low-carb BBQ sauce  (1-2 carbs per tablespoon or less)

VARIATIONS:  Add 1 tsp. shredded Cheddar cheese or some chopped green onion on top of the meat portion before topping with the “cover” batter.  🙂

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º. Make up the bread recipe per that recipe’s instructions.  If you like, you could add a little onion powder to the batter, or finely minced green onion, but be sure to add in those carbs if you do!  Toss the chopped beef with the ¼ c. BBQ sauce.  If not using silicone pans, grease your muffin cups generously to prevent sticking. Dip up about 2 tsp. batter into each of your pan’s 12 slots.  This should take about half the batter.   Using a spoon or fork, spread it evenly on the bottom of the form.  Next dip 1 oz (about 1 Tbsp.) chopped beef mixture onto the batter.  Gently spread the meat evenly.  Finally, spoon the remaining batter on top of the meat in each slot (about 2 tsp.).  Again, with the back of a spoon, spread that batter carefully and as evenly as possible.  You want to completely cover the meat as best you can.  There will barely be enough batter to complete the job, so it is important you measure the bottom and top batter as suggested to avoid running out before all 12 “dogs” are “constructed”.  Place silicone pan on a sheet for support and pop into 350º oven for 25 minutes or until lightly browned as shown.  ENJOY!  Below is a pic of the silicone pan I used, but these can be made in muffin shapes just as well.

Click to enlarge

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 12 “dogs”, each contains:

193 calories

13.3 g  fat

2.71 g  carbs, 1.05 g  fiber, 1.66 g  NET CARBS

15.7 g  protein

145 mg sodium

 

Sauteed Kale and Bacon

Sauteed Kale and Bacon

I just love kale, and I find the simpler I fix it, the better I like it.  For years I cooked it like my mother and grandmother fixed it, simmered in shallow water, with caramelized onion and bacon or chopped country cured ham.  Color doesn’t come out so pretty that way, however.  Today I craved it for lunch and just washed and sauteed half of the lovely bunch I bought yesterday (hubby doesn’t like kale) with some bacon.  It was SO good and so quick!  And the lovely color isn’t lost with sauteed kale!  I just made a meal on that and a piece of buttered low-carb, gluten-free bread (sadly, I had none of my cornbread left from earlier in the week).  And best of all, only 1 skillet and 1 bowl to wash up!  This is most assuredly suitable for all phases Atkins, Primal and Paleo regimens.

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:

½ bunch kale (about 2 c.), washed

2 slices thick bacon, chopped

Dash salt and pepper (if desired)

DIRECTIONS:  Remove large, tougher stems from kale and coarsely cut up the leaves.  A little smaller stem is OK to leave on. Fry the chopped bacon in a skillet over high heat until nearly done.  Lower heat to medium, add chopped kale and saute just until wilted and done, about 5 minutes.  You don’t want to brown the kale, as that will tend to make it bitter.   Serve at once with your favorite meat, or serve as a meal itself, with a piece of buttered, low-carb corn bread or your favorite low carb bread or rolls.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 2 servings (if serving as a side dish), each contains:

212 calories

19.4 g  fat

3.65 g  carbs, 1.30 g  fiber, 2.35 NET CARBS

6.05 g  protein

375 mg sodium

Sofrito

Sofrito is a sauce seen often in Puerto Rican and Spanish recipes.  I have seen many recipes for it, but have never made it myself.  PilotGal at Active Low Carber forums introduced me to this with one of her recipe shares.  I finally decided to try it since she ranted about how good it was.  I varied the amounts of the ingredients a wee bit from her original recipe though.  My husband likes bell pepper only marginally.   I was very impressed with the blend of flavors, but I got too much garlic in my first batch.  Most recipes call for green bell pepper, as did hers, but in my second batch, I tried red and really like the sweet edge and color it brings to the mixture.  I use less green onion and cilantro than most, but it is ample for those flavors to strongly come through.  A little parsley added to the mixture and the resulting sauce was delicious!  I can see this versatile little sauce will have many uses in my kitchen. Last night I used it as a dressing on an avocado/cherry tomato salad that was delicious!  It is delicious on pan-seared chicken breasts. It makes a lovely condiment for fish, chicken or beef tacos.  It compliments grilled seafood, chicken and pork and some casseroles, too.  It’s great with some chopped olives and used for muffaletta sandwich olive dressing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdUrvFKnGRs .  I have even dotted a bit on my scrambled eggs in the morning and absolutely LOVE it on eggs!  This sauce is Atkins Induction-friendly.  Some recipes for sofrito include tomato, and you might like to add a seeded chopped tomato to the mix for some uses.  I store mine in a gallon Ziploc® bag in my freezer, flattened out with air removed, and just break off a piece the size I need, like you would break off a piece of peanut brittle candy (something I haven’t done in years).

Here’s a link to the recipes I have tried this tasty sauce in so far and they have all been DELICIOUS!!:  https://buttoni.wordpress.com/?s=Sofrito&submit=Search .  No doubt you will think of other creative uses for Sofrito.  🙂

INGREDIENTS:

½ bunch of fresh cilantro

4 large green onions, roots removed

4 garlic cloves

2 oz. red bell pepper (or green)

¼ c. parsley

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

VARIATION:   Add 1 seeded, Roma tomato.

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

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes about 1½ c. (20 tablespoons), each tablespoon contains:

28 cals, 2.74g fat, 0.88g carbs, 0.24g fiber, 0.64g NET CARBS, 0.24g protein, 10 mg sodium

Lupin Cornbread Stuffing

Click to enlarge

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

CAUTION:  Lupin beans are technically a legume that is closely related to peanuts.  If you have a peanut allergy, there have been reports of some peanut sensitive people reacting negatively to lupin beans.  Although I’m not allergic to peanuts, I have discovered I am highly allergic to lupin flour an will not be doing any further experimenting with this low-carb flour.

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

INGREDIENTS:

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

3 oz. onion, chopped

3/4 c. celery, chopped

6 T. butter, unsalted

¼ c. parsley, chopped

2 eggs, beaten

1 c. homemade chicken broth

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

Dash ground thyme

Dash salt and pepper

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

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 10 servings, each contains:

231 calories

20.3 g  fat

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

8.3 g  protein

298 mg sodium

144 mg potassium

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

Lemon-Coconut Fat Bombs!

Click to enlarge my over-sized ones)

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

INGREDIENTS:

1 stick (4 oz.) unsalted butter

3/4 c. coconut oil

1 oz. unsweetened, shredded coconut

zest of 2 small lemons

juice of 2 small lemons

4 oz. cream cheese

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

sweetener of your choice  to taste

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

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

122 calories

13.7 g  fat

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

.5 g  protein

15.3 mg sodium

 

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

Lupin Flour Corn Muffins

Lupin Flour Corn Muffins

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

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: 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.

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. almond flour

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

2 T. coconut flour

¼ c. golden flax meal

1 3/4 tsp. baking soda

1 c. grated cheese

4 extra large eggs, beaten (or 5 large)

4 T. olive oil

1 T. cider vinegar

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

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

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

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 18 corn muffins, each contains:

119 calories

10 g fat

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

5.11 g  protein

229 mg sodium

Gluten-Free Grain-Free Sandwich Buns

Gluten-Free Sandwich Buns

When you’re no longer eating wheat flour it makes it difficult to eat a normal sandwich.  I find I don’t want lettuce wraps ALL the time.  🙂  This sandwich bun is so tasty it has become my go-to low-carb bread.  I’m most pleased with this recipe and am finding the batter very versatile.  I’m getting a lot of happy feedback from my readers on this one, too!  This is actually just my Gluten-Free Grain Free Focaccia Bread batter made into a bun shape.  This bread has a very neutral flavor, a nice elasticity, nice top and bottom crust, and is not crumbly.  I enjoyed a piece hot from the oven with butter and it was amazing!  It makes GREAT sandwiches! No strong flax taste to drown out the sandwich filling!  Very neutral in flavor.  You can also make pizza crust from this batter.  🙂  This recipe is suitable once you reach Phase 2 OWL of Atkins and Keto diets.

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:

½ c. almond flour

¼ c. golden flax meal

¼ c. unflavored, unsweetened whey protein powder

1 tsp. baking powder

3 T. cream cheese, softened

2 large eggs, beaten

1 c. grated Monterrey Jack cheese

½ c. grated Mozzarella cheese

1 tsp. cider vinegar

1 T. heavy cream

1 T. water

OPTIONAL:  Spices of your choosing (or cinnamon/sweetener, for a sweet version) sprinkled on top before baking.

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Soften cream cheese in medium mixing bowl in microwave.  Beat in the eggs, cream, water, vinegar and both cheeses.  Measure and add in all the dry ingredients and stir well with a rubber spatula. Line a sheet pan either with parchment paper or silicone sheet.  Dip the batter onto the prepared pan in 9 equal piles (I used a ¼ c. measuring cup).  Spread it out into round bun shapes as evenly as possible with your rubber spatula or the back or a spoon.  Batter will be about ¼” thick.  Sprinkle on spices if using any.  Pop buns into 350º oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until done to the touch in the center and lightly browned around the edges.  Cool a few minutes.  When totally cool, store in plastic bag in refrigerator.  Slice each into a top and bottom for your buns.  These keep about 2 weeks or a little longer as a rule.  Can be frozen up to 1 month or so.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 9 bi-valve buns, each contains:  These can be sliced laterally to form the thinner slices of bread for toasting and other uses, but the numbers below are for 1 whole sandwich bun (top and bottom).

149 calories

11.5 g  fat

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

10.1 g  protein

204 mg sodium

 

Gluten-Free Grain-Free Cinnamon Bread

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

VARIATION:  You can snip a very few raisins to add for a raisin bread version.  You can add a little finely chopped, peeled peach or nectarine for a tasty version. You need to add those carbs below if you add raisins or peaches.

INGREDIENTS:

½ c. almond flour

¼ c. golden flax meal

¼ c. unflavored, unsweetened whey protein powder

1 tsp. baking powder

3 T. cream cheese, softened

2 large eggs, beaten

1 c. grated Monterrey Jack cheese

½ c. grated Mozzarella cheese

1 tsp. cider vinegar

1 T. heavy cream

1 T. water

Cinnamon

about 2 tsp. Steviva or sweetener of your choice

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

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 9 pieces, each contains:

149 cals, 11.5g fat, 3.5g carbs, 2.1g fiber, 1.4g NET CARBS, 10.1g protein, 204 mg sodium

Grilled Grass-Fed Hanging Tender (“Hanger Steak”)

I find myself liking grass-fed beef more and more.  Not only is it healthier for you, but if cooked properly, it is NOT tough.  Hanging Tender (also known as Hanger Steak, is one of the prized cuts of beef.  Is the one the butcher likes to save for himself!  Now I know why!  This was DELICIOUS!!  Here’s a little video from a professional chef that tells you all about this cut of beef: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MAR5XKd8lk The flavor of this cut falls  somewhere between grilled chuck and ribeye to me. The pictured piece of meat weighed about 2 lbs. and was marinated for about 3 hours in my Peppered Rib Roast marinade (I made up only 1/2 that marinade recipe) seen here:  https://buttoni.wordpress.com/2009/07/13/peppered-rib-roastd-beef/  Of course you can marinate your Hanger Steak in your favorite marinade, but this marinade never  disappoints on beef.  The nutritional counts for this recipe would naturally vary depending on the marinade you choose to use for your steak.  So all I am showing below is the count for a 4 oz. serving of grass-fed beef.  You will have to calculate the amount of meet eaten and then also add in the numbers for the marinade used.  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and for Primal and Paleo devotees as well.

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs. trimmed grass-fed Hanging Tender (Hanger Steak)

1 recipe your favorite beef marinade

DIRECTIONS:  Trim any sinew or membrane the butcher may have left on the surface of the meat.  Season the the meat with pepper (I don’t like to salt meat prior to cooking as I think this draws out vital juices). Mix your marinade ingredients in a shallow ceramic or glass dish. Place the meat in the dish.  Using a basting brush or spoon, drizzle the marinade all over the top surface of the meat. Flip and repeat on bottom surface. Cover and place in refrigerator for 3 hours (or longer).  Drizzle the marinade 2 more times times at hour intervals, turning the meat over each time so you can baste both sides.  When ready to cook, prepare a hot bed of coals on your charcoal grill.  You want to grill this like you would a large steak, fairly close to the coals for best surface charring.  If you want your meat rare, the above-pictured piece was cooked 15 minutes on each side. For medium rare, cook about 20 minutes on a side. For medium, 25 minutes on a side.  Larger pieces will of course take a little longer for each stage. You do not want to cook grass-fed beef well-done or you will likely render it unpleasantly tough. Remember, grass-fed beef grazes….and all that walking reduces fat marbling in those muscles. This meat is VERY lean!  I can tell you for certain the above-pictured steak was as tender as any rare ribeye or tenderloin I’ve ever eaten!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Number of servings determined by consumer.  I would guess 4-8 servings.  Each 4 oz. serving has approximately: (remember to add in your numbers for the marinade you select)

340 calories

22 g fat

0 g  carbs, 0 fiber, 0 net carbs

32 g  protein

50 mg sodium

29% RDA Vitamin B6, 305% B12, 33% copper, 90% iron, 10% magnesium, 56% phosphorous, 64% selenium, 10% thiamin, 182% zinc

Cajun Crawfish Pies

Man, oh, man, I was in heaven when I made these.   These little gems were perhaps THE best low-carb kitchen creation of my now 6+ years of low-carbing!  I’m even going to give this recipe my “mouthgasm” award.  I took my Gluten-Free Grain Free Focaccia Bread recipe and with some considerable effort, used it as a crust to create crawfish pies to rival any I have eaten in Louisiana.  I wantonly admit to scarfing down a lot of them in my time there.  It’s one of my favorite Cajun foods when we visit Louisiana.  My filling consisted of basically my crawfish étouffée recipe, a little thickener and my focaccia bread for the crust. I knew as this idea was germinating in my head this afternoon that  sealing the edges would be tricky and take some ingenuity, as I would be using a thick batter, not a traditional, rollable pie crust.  And IT WORKED for me!  Best of all, the bread dough ended up tasting amazingly like, ummmm…………real PIE CRUST!!!  Even my fussy, non-low-carbing husband said it tasted like piecrust  and gave tonight’s dinner two thumbs up! The ratio of filling to crust was just perfect on these, too!

I have even made this recipe up as mini crawfish pies (makes 30) for a party, but used my Carbalose Pie Crust as it is a dryer dough you can form into the mini crusts.  Here’s what the mini version looks like:  

I can’t tell you how pleased I am with this recipe and thought you’d enjoy listening to the song that made this Louisiana Cajun delicacy famous to put you in the mood:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnKOVPXhlnE.  I can even see berry/fruit empanadas on the horizon!  These pies are suitable once you reach Phase 2 nuts & seeds rung of the Atkins OWL carb ladder.   They would not be suitable for Paleo-Primal due to the dairy in the bread.  By the way, I started preparing this meal at 4pm and we were eating it at 5:30!  Longer than most of my recipes, but much faster than I thought it would take to prepare!   

INGREDIENTS: 

4 T. butter

2 oz. onion, chopped

½ c. each green bell pepper and celery, chopped (I used both red and green bell pepper in mine)

¼ c. each green onion and parsley , chopped

6 oz. crawfish tails (I use the frozen and defrost)

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ tsp. my Seafood Spice blend

1/8 tsp. salt

6 drops Tobasco or other hot sauce

Dash each ground thyme and black pepper

1/3 c. chicken stock (preferably homemade)

¼ tsp. glucomannan powder, xanthan gum or your favorite thickener

1 recipe my Gluten-free Grain-free Focaccia Bread or my Mozzy Dough for a pressable/rollable crust

DIRECTIONS:  Melt butter in skillet over high heat. Add celery, green pepper and onion.  Add Seafood Spice Blend, salt, pepper and thyme.  Sauté until vegetables are completely tender.  Add Tobasco®.  Add green onion, parsley, garlic and crawfish and stir.  Add glucomannan powder (or your chosen thickener) and chicken stock and stir to blend altogether. Turn fire off.

Preheat oven to 350º.  Make the bread/”pastry” in a medium mixing bowl according to the directions for that recipe.  You need to decide on the shape you want your pies to have (I used a 3 x 6″ oval dish shape, but round or square would work as well) .  I cut parchment paper to fit a large sheet pan.  I inverted my dish on the parchment paper and drew five outlines of the dish with a marker pen, so I could be sure my pies would all be uniform in size and shape.  When the batter is ready, scoop up exactly 3 T. onto each drawn outline on your parchment.  Then, using a fork, very gently spread the batter out thinly to within ¼” of the outlines you drew (you don’t want the batter to touch the ink).  It will be thin, but should go nearly to the edges with effort.  Pop the pan into your 350º oven and bake just 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and increase oven temp to 375º.

Using a spoon, section off the seafood filling in your skillet into 5 equal portions and spoon 1/5 of the filling onto each of the baked bottom “crusts”.     Spread the filling evenly to within ¼” of the edge of the bottom crust. The filling should be slightly mounded in the center.  Again using a spoon, make 5 equal portions of the remaining batter in your bowl.  Here’s where it gets a little tricky.  I spooned one of the marked off portions of batter into one hand and using my fork, dotted the batter evenly over the top and sides of the pile of seafood filling, using the fork then to try to blend those tiny dots into a contiguous top “crust”.  It didn’t cover perfectly, but I was able to create a respectable top crust on each pie.  During the baking the top crust slightly spreads out to fill in most of those little gaps in the batter.  Using mini pie pans and the rollable Mozzy Dough, making bottom and top crusts would be much simpler, but I had not yet developed that dough recipe when I first created this crawfish pie recipe.   We all get better with time and experience, don’t we?  

Pop the pan into  a now 375º oven and bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned on top.  Serve at once with a nice green salad or perhaps your favorite green veggie. I hope you enjoy these as much as we did!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 5 large hand pies, each contains:

395 cals, 30.5 g  fat, 8.62 g  carbs, 3.64 g  fiber, 4.98 g  NET CARBS, 24.6 g  protein, 471 mg sodium

Makes about 30 mini single crust crawfish pies for parties, with around 1.0 net carb per mini-pie 

Individual Strawberry Cobbler

Individual Strawberry Cobbler (using Lets Do Organic coconut flour)

This delicious dessert recipe actually makes two individual cobblers in a jiffy!  A few slightly cooked, sweetened strawberries and a little batter spooned on top and 20 minutes later, Strawberry Cobbler!  You could make these instead with simmered blackberries, raspberries or blueberries.  This is suitable once you reach the berry level of Phase 2 Atkins carb ladder.

VARIATIONS:  Substitute blueberries or blackberries for the strawberries.  You may have to add more sweetener for blackberries if they are very tart.

More delicious low-carb sweets 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:

6 large strawberries, sliced

¼ c. water

your favorite sweetener to taste (I used 2 T. erythritol)

1/8 tsp. your favorite thickener (I used xanthan gum)

2 T. oat fiber

1 T. coconut flour (I used Let’s Do Organic)

1 T. unsweetened, unflavored whey protein powder

½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. glucomannan powder

2 T. heavy cream

2 T. water

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Slice berries and place in small saucepan with the 1/4 c. water, sweetener,  and thickener (if using). Bring to boil and lower to just a simmer and cook just until they begin to soften.  While the berries simmer, measure the dry batter ingredients into a small bowl and stir to blend.  With a fork, stir in the cream and water and stir until all is mixed well.  Spoon half the berries equally into 2 small ceramic baking dishes (mine were 6″x 3″ ovals).  Next spoon half the batter atop each dish of berries, avoiding it touching the edges of the dish. Pop the dishes into 350º oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned on top. Serve warm.

NOTE:  Different brands of coconut flour can produce widely varied results in batters and doughs.  Many low carb cooks out there are already well aware of this somewhat annoying phenomenon. Switching from Let’s Do Organic to Honeyvillegrains coconut flour on third baking today, produced a much thicker, almost pie dough mixture (not spoonable at all) that could be spread out with your bare fingers, crumbled on or rolled between plastic sheets.    The resulting dough, I chose to press in my hands and lay over my berries (using  the Honeyvillegrains coconut flour).  It cooked up as shown below.  It tasted exactly the same as the one above. A little more water and cream would have probably made this batter a little more like the one above and spoonable.  I just did this to show you the dramatic variances between coconut flours.  It’s one of the reasons I don’t like to cook with it very much, other than in combination with other “flour” substitutes, where it won’t be in the driver’s seat on flavor, texture or moisture balance.  Some brands soak up moisture THAT much worse than other brands and you just have to compensate with either liquid or egg in the recipe until your dough/batter is the proper consistency.

Using Honeyvillegrains coconut flour.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 2 individual cobblers, each contains:

140.5 calories

10.7 g  fat

13.2 g  carbs, 8.6 g  fiber, 5.1 g  NET CARBS

3.9 g  protein

7.4 mg sodium

 

Gluten-Free Grain-Free Pizza Crust

Finally a pizza crust I keep coming back to.  It’s tasty, sturdy enough to support toppings and still be eaten with your hands.  Best of all, it has NO WHEAT FLOUR or GRAINS in it!  I am eating little wheat these days (other than a wee bit of Einkorn flour).  This recipe is VERY close to my older Carbquik pizza crust recipe, but this one has an even better texture!    I’m most pleased with this crust and think you’ll like it!  This dough/batter is amazingliy versatile for other applications!  This recipe is OK once you reach Phase 2 OWL of Atkins.   It would be suitable for Primal folks that eat occasional dairy, but it is not suitable for Paleo followers.

So many gluten-free recipes like this can be found in the popular Low Carbing Among Friends cookbooks by international author Jennifer Eloff.  Get your set today at Amazon or here: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

INGREDIENTS:

½ c. almond flour

¼ c. golden flax meal

¼ c. plain whey protein powder

1 tsp. baking powder

3 T. cream cheese, softened

2 large eggs, beaten

1 c. grated Monterrey Jack cheese

½ c. grated Mozzarella cheese

1 tsp. cider vinegar

1 T. heavy cream

1 T. water

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Soften cream cheese in medium mixing bowl in microwave.  Beat in the eggs, cream, water, vinegar and both cheeses.  Measure and add in all the dry ingredients and stir well with a rubber spatula. Line a sheet pan or pizza pan with parchment paper.  I use a pizza pan that has air circulation holes in it. Scrape the batter onto the prepared pan, spreading it as evenly as possible with the spatula into a circle that is roughly 13½” in diameter. Batter will be about ¼” thick.  Pop crust into a 350º oven and bake for about 20 minutes and remove.  Slide the parchment paper out from under the crust so air will flow to the bottom and it will brown nicely.  I DO NOT recommend cooking this crust on a silicone sheet.  It doesn’t brown properly on silicone.  Add sauce, cheeses and toppings of your choice.  Pop back into oven and bake an additional 20 minutes or so.

Before toppings are added

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Cutting into 8 slices, each contains: (crust only)

168 calories, 12.95 g fat, 3.29 g carbs, 1.73 g fiber, 1.73 g NET CARBS, 11.3 g protein, 214 mg sodium