Mar 2 2015

Cream of Leek Soup

I had a huge leek I wanted to use up today and decided upon soup. We just LOVE soup in the winter. In fact, I’m pretty crazy about soups year ’round! This one was quick and incredibly tasty.

Funny story on this one. I hollered to the back side of the house today where my husband was hand painting his little lead toys. “I’m trying a cream of leek soup today. Do you want that or do you just want to make a sandwich?” He answered “Sure!” because he loves my soups. I set about my task.

Well, we sat down at the table, he dipped his up, tasted it with a look of trepidation. He said it was good, to which I replied, “I haven’t made Cream of Leek Soup in ages!” He looked up, smiled and said “I thought you said we were having cream of WHEAT soup!” He went on to say he thought that rather odd, but added, “You always make soups I like and I knew better than to question what you had chosen to serve.” Not sure whether I feel complimented or insulted? LOL We pondered over the notion of “Cream of Wheat” soup, laughed a lot and wondered what that might actually taste like. :)

Anyway, this was truly delicious and on the table in 30 minutes flat! This recipe is suitable for Atkins Induction phase, Keto diets and Primal fans. Paleo followers will want to use coconut milk instead of the cream.

INGREDIENTS:

3 oz. bacon (about 3 slices)

3 c. leeks, diced, loosely packed (this was 1 large one)

3½ c. homemade chicken broth

1 c. water

1 c. heavy cream

¼ tsp. sea salt

1/8 tsp. black pepper

Dash of your favorite thickener if not thick enough for you

DIRECTIONS: Brown the bacon in a 4 qt. soup pot. Remove bacon to paper towel. Crumble when cooled. Add the leeks to the hot bacon grease and stir-fry until they are tender (about 5 minutes). Add the chicken broth and water. Next add salt and pepper. Bring to boil and lower to a simmer for 10 minutes to allow flavors to co-mingle. Add the cream. Either using a blender/food processor or stick blender, pulse/puree almost to a smooth cream. The cream when whipped will likely thicken right up. If not, dust in a wee bit of your favorite thickener and stir a few minutes to allow it to thicken on up. I used a very light dusting of xanthan gum. When it has thickened up, serve with some of the bacon crumbles on top.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes approximately six 1½ c. servings, each contains:

280 calories

23 g fat

7.66 g carbs, 0.96 g fiber, 6.70 g NET CARBS

7.16 g protein

239 mg sodium

Feb 28 2015

Beef and Leek Pie

I braised a pot roast this week and had quite a bit leftover. Had over a cup of the gravy/juices left, too. With some fresh leeks and mushrooms on hand, I was craving something with a pastry on top and came up with this simple recipe. it took under 30 minutes to prepare and another 30-40 to bake. And was this pie ever delicious! To have had so little inside, it was almost like eating beef hash with a crust on top. Yummy! This recipe is not suitable for Induction due to the Carbquick and oat fiber. But look what you have to look forward to once you get to phase 2 of Atkins! It is suitable for Keto if you can fit the carbs into your daily limits. This is not suitable for Primal-Paleo

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:

12 oz. diced, well-trimmed leftover beef roast (about 1¾c.)

about 2 c. leftover beef gravy/juices (I only had 1½ but it needed more)

2 T. butter or bacon grease

1 leek, cut in ½” slices

5 oz. fresh mushrooms, quartered

1/8 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. coarse black pepper

1 recipe my Peggy’s Flour” Pie Crust

DIRECTIONS: Make the pie dough per that recipes instructions. Roll between two sheets of plastic. Set aside while you make the filling.

Cut the root tip off the white part of the leek. Cut any bad part off the green tops. Slice the leek in half lengthwise. Carefully wash out any dirt that is hiding between the layers, especially the outer leaves where most of it will be hiding. When well rinsed of dirt, shake out the water in the sink and slice leek into ½” slices.

Melt the butter/bacon grease in a deep skillet or wok. Add the leeks and saute until medium soft. Add the diced meat and brown, stirring for a few minutes. Add the mushrooms and continue to stir fry until they are about no longer opaque. Add the gravy and if you like (I do) a dash of thyme. If not on Induction, a tiny splash of white wine is good in this. Stir to blend well and remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 375º. Grease a quiche pan or glass pie plate. Scrape the filling into the dish with your cooking spoon. Go over and pull the top plastic film off the crust gently. Pick up the crust with the bottom film with both hands and carefully tip it onto the meat filling. Remove the top plastic carefully. Push down the edges inside the lip of the quiche pan or crimp the edges decoratively if you are using a pie plate. Place pie in a 375º oven for about 30 minutes or until browned to your liking. ENJOY!

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 5 servings, each contains:

268 calories

19.34 g fat

17.64 g carbs, 13.4 g fiber, 4.24 g NET CARBS

21.6 g protein

268 mg sodium

Feb 26 2015

Spaghetti Squash Carbonara

Spaghetti Squash Carbonara

I decided tonight we haven’t had Spaghetti Carbonara in years and I wanted to give it a try with spaghetti squash. Good decision, as it came out delicious! I think my husband liked it even more then me! And he usually doesn’t care for spaghetti squash.

Unfortunately, I was out of black olives, and classic carbonara usually has a few slices. I tossed in a small can of drained mushrooms instead and this dish just came out GREAT! This recipe is a little high in carbs because the spaghetti squash itself if a bit carb-y. But it’s all healthy carbs, so you can eat this guilt-free. :) This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets, Primal and Paleo folks will want to use coconut milk for the cream.

I wish I could get smaller squash, but our stores only seem to stock them 3# and larger as a rule. It would be so pretty to serve a half on each plate. But I’ve only found a small one one time in the 12 years I’ve lived here.

NOTE: If you can get smaller squashes, or grow your own, I would use two smaller 1-1½# squashes for serving 4 people and place one half on each plate.

INGREDIENTS:

3 lb. raw weight spaghetti squash (yields 4 cups cooked threads)

1 c. chopped low-sodium bacon

2 oz. red onion, chopped coarsely

1 oz. red bell pepper (or any color)

1 clove garlic, minced

½ c. parsley

¼ c. heavy cream

1 egg yolk

¼ c. shredded Parmesan cheese

VARIATIONS: Add a few sliced black olives for a more authentic dish (I was out); or toss in a small can of drained mushrooms (or 4 fresh ones sliced, added to the saute pan with the onion).

DIRECTIONS: Cut off squash stem. Cut squash in half lengthwise. Place face down in dish with 1/2″ water and microwave on HI for about 25 minutes (only 13 minutes if you do them one at a time). When done, drain off water, scoop out seeds and discard. Fork out the threads into the baking dish and set aside. Preheat oven to 350º. Place the squash shells in a baking pan.

Mix the cream, egg yolk and Parmesan in a dish and beat with a fork to blend well. Set aside for a few minutes.

In a skillet, brown the bacon. Add onion and saute until tender. Add red pepper and garlic and saute a couple minutes. Stir in the parsley and let it wilt a couple minutes as well. Lower heat. Stir in the egg-cheese mixture. Stir the squash threads in now. Spoon the filling back into the shells and pop the pan into your preheated oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until cheese-egg mixture appears done. Each filled half will probably feed two people, especially if you have a salad or other vegetable with this.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 4 servings, each contains:

237 calories

25 g fat

13.35 g carbs, 2.87 g fiber, 10.48 g NET CARBS

10.72 g protein

867 mg sodium

Feb 26 2015

Hotsie-Totsies

Another fun breakfast-on-the-go possibility. And are they tasty! Fun for the kiddoes, too! These are suitable for Atkins Induction, Keto diets and Primal followers. Omit the cheese if Paleo. I have a Chicago Metalic dessert bar pan, but other companies make them, too: http://www.amazon.com/Purple-Silicone-Sponge-Finger-Bakeware/dp/B00AFRALOS

INGREDIENTS:

5 small eggs (had a carton of larges that were all quite small!)

1 medium jalapeno, seeded (more if you want them really spicy)

4 oz. smoked sausage, cut into 1″ chunks

½ c. shredded cheese (I used cheddar)

2 T. olive oil to oil pan

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. I used a silicone breakfast bar pan, but a muffin pan, Twinkie® pan, or a muffin-top pan will work just fine. You can even use an 8×8″ square pan or loaf pan and cut into 9 portions. Oil 9 slots of your pan with the olive oil using a basting brush. Set aside. In a food processor, blender or bowl, pulse about 10 pulses (or chop by hand) the sausage and jalapeno. My sausage and jalapeno were fairly fine. Add eggs and pulse a couple times. Stir in the cheese. I actually forgot my cheese and just sprinkled it on top after I had filled the pan. Either way will work.

Distribute the mixture evenly in 9 of the pan slots (about 3 T. per slot). Mine were about half full and rose nicely to the top during cooking. Pop into 350º oven for 18-19 minutes or until firm to touch in the center. Remove and cool a bit in the pan. Then with a knife tip, gently loosen each end and lift them onto your serving platter.

These should freeze OK. I would recommend thawing/rewarming on a DEFROST 10-20 seconds in your microwave to just warm them and avoid overcooking to a state of tough and rubbery. I’m personally not too fond of freezing egg, but many people do and don’t mind their results. :)

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 9 Hotsie-Totsies, each contains:

135 calories

11.5 g fat

0.9 g carbs, 0.04 g fiber, 0.86 g NET CARBS

6.92 g protein

180 mg sodium

Feb 24 2015

Crawfish-Cod Chowder

This is a little chowder I put together for lunch today. Had a little baby asparagus in the fridge and a half package of crawfish in my freezer leftover from a recipe last week. Along with a couple fish filets also in the freezer, this went together nicely and quite quickly. It’s delicious and quite filling. This is suitable once you are out of the initial 2 weeks of low-carb Induction and for keto dieters. Also suitable for Primal followers. The wine makes it unacceptable for those still in Atkins Induction or for Paleo followers. Omit the wine (or substitute coconut milk for the cream) and anyone can enjoy this recipe!

INGREDIENTS:

4 slices bacon, chopped

2 oz. onion, chopped

½ c. celery, chopped

1 c. asparagus, chopped

1 c. homemade seafood stock

2 c. homemade chicken stock

½ c. heavy cream

1/8 tsp. ground thyme

Dash each black and cayenne pepper

¼ tsp. salt

6 oz. cooked crawfish tail meat

12 oz. fish of your choosing (I use Swai or Cod), cut into bite-sized pieces

¼ tsp. xanthan gum or any plan-suitable thickener

DIRECTIONS: Brown the bacon in a large soup pot. When browned, add the onion, celery and chopped asparagus. Saute until they are tender. Add the seafood and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer. Add all spices. Simmer for 1o minutes for flavors to mingle. While it simmers, coarsely chop the fish into 1/2″-3/4″ bite-size pieces. Add fish and crawfish to the pot. Add the cream and stir/simmer just until fish is opaque and done. Lightly dust your thickening agent over the soup surface as it is simmering and stir. Allow time for it to slightly thicken. Serve at once with a garnish of parsley or bits of red and green pepper if desired.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION: Makes six 1½ cup servings, each contains:

247 calories

16.83 g fat

2.23 g carbs, .38 g fiber, 1.85 g NET CARBS

17.31 g protein

354 mg sodium

Jan 31 2015

Lobster Cakes with Tarragon Sauce

I’ve made crab cakes, tuna cakes, salmon cakes and fish cakes over the years. Tonight I decided to thaw two small lobster tails and try my hand at a delicate lobster cake. Turned out to be a real good idea! The sauce was an afterthought as I was cooking the vegetables, but it, too, came out quite good and enhanced the lobster cakes. Since there are only two of us, I had some cakes and sauce leftover. These should freeze well, but I’ll probably just eat them for lunch in a day or two. I’ll probably put the sauce over some scrambled eggs in the morning. :)

This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets and Primal-Paleo provided you omit the sauce or make it with coconut milk instead. I am providing nutritional info for these items separately in case you want to use the sauce for other uses. :)

INGREDIENTS:

3 T. unsalted butter

1½ oz. onion, chopped very fine

1 7″ stalk celery, chopped very fine

1 oz. red bell pepper, chopped very fine

¼ c. parsley, chopped

1/8 tsp. thyme

Dash cayenne pepper

Dash sea salt

2 large eggs

2 small 4-oz. lobster tails, shell removed, chopped

½ c. low-carb bread crumbs (I used Joseph’s Pita Oat-Flax Pita)

1 T. olive oil

DIRECTIONS: Melt butter in non-stick skillet. Saute onion, celery and bell pepper until tender. Add parsley, thyme, pepper, salt. Add lobster meat. Stir and continue to saute for 1-2 more minutes or until lobster is opaque. Remove from heat and scrap into a bowl. Add bread crumbs and stir. Add egg, beat and combine all with a spoon until well-blended.

Make the sauce over low heat now (recipe below). Stir often while lobster cakes are browning.

Wipe out skillet with paper towel and add the olive oil. Heat to medium-high. Mark off the mixture in the bowl into 6 equal portions. Dip up each portion successively, forming them into patties in your palms and gently place them the skillet. do not disturb until the first side is set up and lightly browned. Flip them and brown the second side. Serve with the Tarragon Sauce.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: (cakes) Makes 6 cakes, each has:

136.7 calories

10 g fat

3.03 g carbs, 1.03 g fiber, 2.0 g NET CARBS

9.26 g protein

316 mg sodium

TARRAGON SAUCE

4 oz. melted cream cheese (use microwave or small saucepan)

½ c. heavy cream

1/3 c. water

2 tsp. red wine vinegar

2 tsp. plan suitable mayonnaise

¼ tsp. tarragon (more if you like)

Dash black or red cayenne pepper

On a paper plate, soften or melt the cream cheese in the microwave (or in saucepan over lowest heat). Place cream cheese in saucepan and add the cream and water, whisking together. Add vinegar, mayo and spices. Whisk a couple minutes to blend to a very smooth sauce. Add additional water by tablespoons if it gets too thick, as it will thicken as it simmers. Spoon 2 T. over each patty. If there is any sauce leftover is GREAT on scrambled eggs in the morning. :)

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 10 servings of 2 T. each. Each serving of sauce contains:

67 calories

6.9 g fat

.53 g carbs, .01 g fiber, .52 g NET CARBS

1 g protein

41 mg sodium

Jan 30 2015

Curried Carrot Soup

To have been so simple today’s lunch creation was so tasty! I used 3 cans of carrots drained of all their water. I really wanted to clear them out of my pantry. If I could just get the hubs to stop buying canned veggies I’d be ever so happy, but he has incredible memory lapses when he’s at the store shopping alone. I cooked a lovely chicken stew night before last and the leftover stock was so rich, that went into this soup pot with my carrots. The spices below speak for themselves. Carrots are not as low carb as some veggies, but I will consume them from time to time. Not as high as you would think really. This soup is suitable once you are out of the first two week Induction phase of Atkins or keto diets. Primal followers can enjoy this but Paleo should sub in coconut milk for the cream, which would be very good I think.

INGREDIENTS:

3 15-oz cans of carrots, no salt added, drained (or 6 c. “loosely filled” fresh sliced carrots)

1 qt. (4 c.) rich chicken stock

1½ tsp. curry powder (any brand will do, I used “hot” but the soup wasn’t too spicy)

1 tsp. Garam Masala Spice Blend

½ tsp. sea salt

Dash black pepper

½ c. cilantro

½ c. heavy cream

DIRECTIONS: Bring the stock to a boil. Add canned carrots. If using fresh carrots, simmer them until very tender. Add all other ingredients (but the cilantro and cream) as the carrots are simmering. When the carrots are very tender, puree them with a stick blender. If you don’t yet own one, you really ought to ask Santa for one if you do many pureed soups. They are so cheap and so much nicer for pureeing right in your cook pot rather than pureeing in small batches in a blender or food processor and having to return each batch back into the soup pot. Return all your pureed carrots to the pot. Stir in the chopped cilantro and cream and simmer for 1-2 more minutes. Serve garnished with a cilantro leaf and a sprinkle of Garam Masala.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes seven 1-cup servings, each serving contains:

143 calories

8.27 g fat

9.97 g carbs, 2.91 g fiber, 7.06 g NET CARBS

4.8 g protein

238 mg sodium

Jan 28 2015

Eggplant Spread

This recipe is a delicious new use of one of my other very popular recipes (Eggplant al Pesto). This is served as a spread on your favorite low-carb crackers rather than as a layered vegetable dish or meat-added casserole. :) Prep is only slightly changed. This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets and Primal guidelines. Omit the cheese for Paleo adherence.

I’m here to tell you this was one of the very best eggplant dishes I’ve done in a LONG time! I use just a hint of pesto sauce to make the flavors pop in this. This is one of those dishes that isn’t so pretty, but it makes up for this weakness in flavor! DELICIOUS, this one! It will go fast at parties, so make a double or triple batch for a big crowd. :)

NOTE: If you use a regular skillet to saute your eggplant, you will need this amount of olive oil. Using a non-stick skillet will allow you to use less oil to cut calories and fat. Your call. As an alternative, you could lightly grease a baking sheet, bake slices of the eggplant for about 20 minutes at 375º and just before assembling this dish, chop it and add. the end spread will taste the same regardless of your prep choice.

More delicious low-carb side-dish recipes like this one 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:

8 oz. eggplant, peeled, chopped into ½” dice

3 T. olive oil [see notes in red above]

1 T. my pesto sauce (or any commercial plan-suitable pesto sauce)

½ c. low carb spaghetti sauce (sometimes I use Lucini Basil Sauce in a jar)

1 T. Parmesan cheese, grated

1/3 c. mozzarella cheese, grated

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. If baking eggplant, follow the directions in red above, remove from oven and chop. Spread it out evenly in a pretty oven-proof serving dish. If sauteing eggplant, heat oil in skillet and saute the eggplant, turning often with a spoon, sauteing until it is completely translucent (will be nearly done at this point). When eggplant is done, place in a pretty oven-proof serving dish. There’s no need to grease the baking dish ans the eggplant will have absorbed most of the olive oil. Dot the eggplant evenly with the spaghetti sauce. Then dot evenly with the pesto sauce. Sprinkle on the Parmesan and finally spread the mozzarella evenly on top. Pop into a 350º oven for about 10-15 minutes to thoroughly melt the cheese and to allow flavors to blend. Remove and serve on a food warming element or tray with your favorite low-carb crackers. My favorite Almond Arrowroot Crackers with black pepper are outstanding with this spread.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: I can’t possibly know how much 1 individual will eat of this, so I’ve calculated 1/4 of this recipe is an adult serving and that amount contains (numbers do not include crackers):

214.5 calories

18.5 g fat

6.3 g carbs, 2.63 g fiber, 3.67 g NET CARBS

7.08 g protein

71 mg sodium

141 mg potassium

Jan 26 2015

Lobster Andouille Jambalaya

This recipe came out beyond delicious and I really wasn’t expecting to like the cauli-rice with this. To date, I’ve only used cauli-rice as a side dish and not in or underneath foods as shown above. But this was just marvelous! Andouille is Cajun smoked sausage. I find it not terribly different from regular smoked sausage so that is a good substitute.

This recipe is a little higher in carbs than most of my entrees, due to all the veggies in it and the veggie underpinning, but they are so healthy and so needed for the right flavor here. If you need to cut carbs a bit on Induction Phase, trim off a little of the andouille, breakfast sausage and a little of the red or green pepper (or eat smaller servings).

This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets and Primal-Paleo as well. Shrimp can be substituted in this jambalaya but I would use more like 1/2 lb. of shrimp as it is milder in taste.

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

INGREDIENTS:

2 slices bacon, chopped (around 2-3 oz)

6 oz. Andouille sausage, sliced (or any smoked sausage)

3 oz. breakfast sausage, crumbled into large bits

3 oz. onion, chopped

1 oz. each red and green bell pepper (or all one color)

2 large stalks of celery chopped

4 oz. lobster tail meat, chopped coarsely (more if you want)

½ c. parsley, chopped

3 Roma tomatoes, diced large

1 tsp. my Seafood Spice Blend

Dash each thyme and black pepper (DO NOT SALT)

Few drops Tobasco or Sriracha sauce

1 large head worth of my cauliflower rice

DIRECTIONS: Make the cauli-rice per that recipe’s instructions. Set aside. In a non-stick wok or large skillet over high heat, brown the bacon. Add the andouille and crumbled pork sausage and cook until sausage is no longer pink. Add the Holy Trinity, as Cajun cooks refer to the tree veggies they put in just about everything but ice cream: celery, bell pepper and onion. :)

Saute until the veggies are tender. Add the tomatoes and just cook until they are softened a bit, stirring often. Add the lobster, parsley and all spices and Tobasco. Simmer for about 5-10 minutes, stopping when the tomatoes are still discernible as such. You don’t want to overcook this dish. :) Arrange the cauli-rice on a serving platter and top with the seafood mixture and serve. Goes nicely with a salad and your favorite low-carb bread.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 6 large adult servings, each contains:

250 calories

14 g fat

13.4 g carbs, 4.65 g fiber, 9.7 g NET CARBS

16.3 g protein

479 mg sodium

Jan 23 2015

Chicken Eggplant Parmegiana

I have a Chicken Parmegiana Casserole (with mushrooms) on my blog already, but these individual portions are so pretty and nice to serve to company. :) I happened to have two large slices of my Oven-Fried Eggplant leftover this week and thought they were just perfect for individual portions of Eggplant Parmegiana. So I thawed two chicken breasts night before last and in no time, we were eating these delicious piles of deliciousness with a lovely green salad and garlic bread for the hubs. This dish is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets and Primal Blueprint followers as well. The cheese makes these unsuitable for Paleo folks.

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

INGREDIENTS:

2 ¼” thick long slices cooked eggplant (oven-fried/baked or pan seared)

2 8-oz chicken breasts

1 T. butter

½ c. your favorite low-carb spaghetti sauce (I use Lucini “Basil”)

4 oz. mozzarella (4 slices)

½ c. shredded Parmesan cheese

Dash each oregano and basil (or Italian Seasoning blend)

DIRECTIONS: Debone and remove skin from chicken breasts (if desired). Slice each laterally into two thinner filets. Pound with tenderizer to speed up cooking.

Preheat oven to 350º. Melt butter in non-stick skillet. Sear the four chicken portions on each side until nearly done through and golden brown. Arrange the filets evenly in the skillet. Top each with 2 T. of the spaghetti sauce and spread over entire surface. Place 1/4 of the mozzarella on top of each filet evenly. Cut the two eggplant slices in half and lay one piece across the top of each chicken filet. Sprinkle 2 T. of the shredded Parmesan on top. Pop pan into preheated oven and cook about 10 minutes just until cheese is melted. If you use a baking dish, you can melt the cheeses in the microwave instead if you prefer. When hot and bubbly, serve at once with a lovely green salad and low-carb garlic bread if you wish. This dish freezes well.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 4 portions, each contains:

462.5 calories

27.15 g fat

5.32 g carbs, 1.5 g fiber, 3.82 g NET CARBS

48.5 g protein

888 mg sodium

Jan 22 2015

Bacon Chipotle Lettuce Wraps

This quick lunch yesterday was delicious! I’m sodium sensitive so I only used one thick slice of bacon on each lettuce wrap. You might want to use two. :) These are suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto and Primal-Paleo followers as well.

INGREDIENTS:

1 leaf romaine lettuce

.5 oz. red bell pepper, cut into strips

.5 oz. onion, cut into strips

.5 oz. poblano pepper, cut into strips

1 tsp. bacon grease

1 piece thick-sliced bacon (or 2 thin slices)

2 T. chipotle mayonnaise (see below)

CHIPOTLE MAYO: 2T. homemade mayonnaise + ½ chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, seeded and mashed well. Puree or mash these two ingredients together with a fork until a smooth mixture is formed.

DIRECTIONS: Cook the slice of bacon in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the extra tsp. of bacon grease (if needed). Add pepper and onion strips and sear/saute until they begin to soften and lightly brown. Lift the peppers and onions onto the lettuce leaf. Add the bacon. Spread or squirt the chipotle mayo onto the “sammie”. Pick up with your hands closing the lettuce leaf and chow down!

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 1 lettuce wrap which contains:

156 calories

13.21 g fat

9.98 g carbs, 6.01 g fiber, 3.97 g NET CARBS

9.7 g protein

144 mg sodium

Jan 18 2015

Lentil-Chorizo Stew

This recipe is clearly not suitable until you are at or near goal weight (Atkins Maintenance or Pre-Maintenance). Lentils are fairly high in carbs but are quite high in fiber as well and known (also true of chickpeas) to have little impact on blood glucose levels. Both in fact, are recommended to diabetics as a means of having a very positive impact on glucose levels. Since they are so nutritious, I choose to eat them once in awhile and often add just a few to soups for their added health boost. :)

This delicious soup got not one, not two, but 4-5 “This is really good, hon” from my husband (and he doesn’t even like chorizo!) :) I think this recipe’s a keeper. I liked it, too!

INGREDIENTS:

2 lb. lentils

3 oz. yellow onion, chopped

16 oz. chorizo sausage

½ tsp. salt

Optional: 1 c. ham drippings/broth from a baked ham, if available or homemade chicken stock

Water to fill your soup pot virtually full

1 c. cilantro

DIRECTIONS: Pick through the lentils to remove any pebbles if you want to avoid broken teeth. Not in them too often, but it DOES happen. Dump the lentils in a large 8 qt. dutch oven/soup pot. Remove chorizo casings and dice chorizo into smallish bits. Add to lentils in the pot. Add the onion and salt. Add ham drippings or chicken stock if using. Cover with water, bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer. Cook for about 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so to be sure they are not sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add more water and maintain water level to within 1/2″ of the top of the pot at all times. The lentils will swell up a bit as they cook. Add the cilantro to the pot and simmer 2-3 more minutes. Stir one last time and serve at once.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 15 1-cup bowls of stew, each contains:

304 calories

9.45 g fat

37.2 g carbs, 18.52 g fiber, 18.68 g NET CARBS

NOTE: add more water to make thinner lentil soup (rather than a stew), with more servings in the pot. Each 1-cup serving would then have a lower carb count since there would be fewer “solids” in each serving after thinning).

18.07 g protein

274 mg sodium (less if thinned with extra water)

Dec 5 2014

Cajun Shrimp Stir-Fry

This simple dish with a Cajun flavor can be ready in 30 minutes, so its a good one to make on a weeknight when you’re tired after a long day at work. It’s delicious, nutritious and very filling. It is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets, Primal and Paleo as well. Another method of construction would be to make “noodles” of the zucchini using a julienne peeler or noodler tool and serve the other on top. Your call. Flavor will pretty much be the same either way you make it.

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 lb. peeled shrimp

4 oz. bacon chopped coarsely

10 oz. zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced

2 oz. onion, sliced

3 oz. bell pepper (any color will do)

5 fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 T. butter

½ tsp. my Cajun Seafood Spice Blend

Dash salt

DIRECTIONS: Brown bacon over high heat in a non-stick skillet. Add the onion and saute until it slightly softens. Add the squash and saute until it is beginning to look translucent. Add the bell pepper and mushrooms. Stir and saute a couple minutes. Add Cajun Seafood Spice Blend along with the shrimp. Stir and saute just until the shrimp are opaque and have curled, or about 3-4 minutes. Serve at once.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 4 large servings, each contains:

276 calories

17.6 g fat

6.75 g carbs, 1.57 g fiber, 5.18 g NET CARBS

23.5 g protein

387 mg sodium

Dec 2 2014

Chickpea Collard & Sausage Soup

Chickpea Collard & Sausage Soup

I wanted to cook up a big pot of chickpeas today to have some in my freezer for convenience in making recipes that call for them. I really don’t like to use the canned if I can avoid them. I usually simmer 2 pounds at a time and then freeze them in 1-cup packages for use in other recipes like this soup. They have a much lower glycemic index than most beans, but more importantly, are so much lower in the actual glycemic load (impact on your blood glucose) than their canned cousins. Clearly soy beans, lentils and chickpeas have the least deleterious effect on our metabolism. So although chickpeas are quite carb-y, they are a healthy legume choice since they don’t make your blood sugar spike, perpetuating any existing insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome. I made this incredibly delicious soup for lunch today with some of these beans. You can lower the carb count on this soup by using fresh cooked soy beans if you like. This soup really isn’t suitable until you are nearly at goal weight as it is high in carbs with chickpeas..

Chart excerpt courtesy of Harvard Medical School. Full food chart here:

Left Column=glycemic index; Right Column-glycemic load (impact on blood glucose); the 150 represents 100 grams or around 2/3 cup.

Left Column=glycemic index; Right Column-glycemic load 150 represents 150 grams of food tested (approx. 2/3 cup)

INGREDIENTS:

2 links smoked sausage, sliced thinly (4″ links, about 4 oz.)

3 oz. onion, sliced

1 c. collard green leaves, sliced and stems removed

3/4 c. red bell pepper, coarsely chopped

4 c. clear homemade chicken broth

2 c tap water (or 2 c. more broth for richer soup)

2 tsp. Sriracha chile sauce (optional)

3 c. cooked chickpeas

Dash black pepper

DIRECTIONS: Lightly saute the sausage in a soup pot over medium-high heat until done and it has given off its grease. Add onion and cook until it begins to brown. Add chopped collard greens and red bell pepper. Saute until they begin to wilt. Add broth and water to the pot and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and add Sriracha and black pepper. Simmer until collards are done to your liking, or about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and serve at once. The sausage is salty enough we didn’t need added salt. You may want to add some.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 8 cups of soup, each cup contains:

214 calories

8.48 g fat

19.37 g carbs, 5.22 g fiber, 14.15 g NET CARBS (use soy beans for much lower carb count)

12.6 g protein

278 mg sodium

Nov 28 2014

Roaster Oven Roasted Turkey

Roasted Turkey (done in a roaster oven)

As my readers know, my oven is out until my new one arrives Dec. 13th. So I had to roast my Thanksgiving Turkey in my roaster oven out on my patio. If you don’t own one, they are excellent for extra oven space when you entertain or during holiday gatherings and your oven is full to the brim. They bake cakes, muffins, cookies, and meats just beautifully! And they are getting so cheap, one can be had for as little as $29 this year! I paid $60 for my first one, when $60 was worth a lot more than it is today!

I have done a turkey in my roaster oven before, but probably not in 25 years or so. But I went about it pretty much as I would for my regular oven, other than the fact that I covered my wing tips and drumstick tips with foil when I first put it in the oven. Came out delicious, moist and tender. More moist that my usual inside oven turkeys in fact! Didn’t get quite as crispy skin, but it was crisp enough.

I used a Riverside turkey as I have cooked them many a time and had good luck with them. Honeysuckle is another good brand of turkey that cooks consistently. From my personal experience on one occasion only, absolutely do not buy an Armour turkey, as the injected seasoning broth in them, to my way of thinking, is just AWFUL! They inject a clear broth in the meat and I find theirs to be the least offensive of all non-Butterball brands. Frankly, I’ve never had a Butterball come out that I was very happy with, so I just don’t buy them anymore. Turkey is suitable for Atkins, Keto, Primal and Paleo diets alike.

INGREDIENTS:

1 12-13 lb. turkey, thawed (follow chart on wrapper for a larger bird)

4 T. melted butter

Dash each of salt and black pepper

4 small pieces of foil

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 325º. Open turkey wrapper and remove bird to a clean sink. Remove the leg binding gadget. Remove giblets and set aside for making your gravy. I only use the neck meat for gravy and my dog usually gets the liver, heart and gizzard in her dinners over a week or so. I like to eat them; I just don’t like them in my gravy much.

I like to rinse out the inside of the bird. Pat the exterior dry with paper towels. Melt the butter in a small saucepan or in the microwave. Place turkey, breast side up in a pan large enough to hold it. Baste with the butter all over on the outside and inside with a basting brush, using half the butter. Sprinkle bird inside and out with salt and pepper. I cook my dressing outside the bird as I like it to brown. You can add some chunks of celery, onion and parsley if you like to the cavity, but I do not. Your call there, but be sure to add those carbs below if you do. Cover wing tips and leg knuckles with foil so they will not burn.

Place pan with bird into the roaster oven, cover with lid and cook, for 1½ hours. Open oven and baste with remaining butter. Recover and cook for 1 hour and check for doneness with a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the breast and around the thing-leg joint (slowest area to get done). You want the thermometer to read 170º. Cook for another 30 minutes or so, checking with thermometer every 10-15 minutes now so as to not over cook. Remove when it has reached 170º internal temperature. Set on cutting board for 15-20 minutes before attempting to carve to avoid tearing up the meat and all the juices running out. You want those juices to STAY in the meat. This turkey should be extremely moist. Roaster ovens do an incredibly good job at moist heat roasting.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: I can’t know what pieces or amount you will eat, so I’ll provide some numbers for both white meat and dark meat.

4 oz. dark meat contains: 250 calories, 13 g fat, 0 carbs, 0 fiber, o net carbs, 31 g protein and 269 mg sodium

4 oz. white meat, skin eaten contains: 222 calories, 9.4 g fat, 0 carbs, 0 fiber, 0 net carbs, 32.3 g protein and 255 mg sodium

Nov 20 2014

Cream of Celery Soup

A simple soups is often all I’m looking for and I occasionally would fix myself a can of Cream of Celery Soup when I was growing up. But that had lots of carbs and junky ingredients. I’ve made a low-carb version that is much healthier. This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and Keto diets.

INGREDIENTS:

12 stalks celery, chopped coarsely (an entire small bunch)

Water to cover celery in a soup pot

2 c. homemade chicken broth

¼ tsp. salt

4 oz. softened cream cheese

1 c. heavy cream

1/8 tsp. glucomannan powder or your favorite thickener

VARIATION: Add a light sprinkling of onion powder

DIRECTIONS: Cut up the celery and add to a pressure cooker or large stew pot. Cover with water and chicken broth. Bring to pressure/boil, lower heat and cook/simmer until celery is tender or about 20 minutes (about 10 in a pressure cooker). Bring down pressure and open pot slowly. Replace on burner, add the glucomannan powder and using a stick blender, puree the celery in the broth. If you don’t own a stick blender, transfer to a blender or food processor (DO NOT OVERFILL or it will rise and overflow). Add glucomannan and pulse to puree and blend in the glucomannan to a smooth mixture. Add back to the soup pot and stir in cream and cream cheese. Simmer 2-3 minutes and serve with a salad or by itself.

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

180.5 calories

16.8 g fat

2.98 g carbs, .96 g fiber, 2.02 g NET CARBS

3.6 g protein

175 mg sodium

Nov 20 2014

Chicken-Spinach Parmesan

Having 1 huge baked chicken breast in my refrigerator the other night, I created a tasty Italian dish with it. With some spinach mushrooms, cheese and sauce this was simple as can be to make. This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and Keto diets if the numbers will fit into your daily limit. Note: I use some of my homemade beef spaghetti sauce as that’s what I had available, but I didnt’ care for the beef in it, so I’m recommending you use a meatless sauce for this recipe and have calculated stats as though I used my favorite sauce, Lucini with basil in it.

INGREDIENTS:

10 oz. cooked chicken breast meat

8 oz. frozen whole leaf spinach

2 4-oz. cans sliced mushrooms, drained (omit if you don’t like)

1½ c. Lucini Spaghetti Sauce (or your favorite brand low-carb sauce)

2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

½ c. Parmesan grated cheese

½ tsp. dried mixed Italian seasonings or 1 T. fresh (your choice: basil, oregano, crushed fennel or any combination)

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. Grease a casserole baking dish lightly. Squeeze water out of the spinach and evenly place the uncooked spinach in the bottom of the dish. Tear chicken breast into bite-size pieces and spread it evenly on the spinach. Sprinkle half the Parmesan and half the mozzarella cheese on next. Drain and add the mushrooms next. Spoon on the spaghetti sauce and Italian seasonings. Finish off with the rest of the two cheeses. Bake at 350º for about 30 minutes. Serve with a nice green salad and perhaps your favorite low-carb bread or garlic bread.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 6 servings, each contains:

276 calories

14 g fat

8.35 g carbs, 2.63 g fiber, 5.72 g NET CARBS

29.5 g protein

841 mg sodium (use less mozzarella to lower this number)

Nov 8 2014

Puerto Rican Stuffed Zucchini

I had one pretty big calaba squash (cousin to zucchini) in the fridge today and decided to stuff it. I browned the meat and veggies but when I tasted, it lacked something. Then I remembered I had some Sofrito made up in the freezer. That was just exactly what this needed! This is delicious and perfectly suitable for all phases of Atkins and Keto diets. Primal folks might want to enjoy this once in awhile. Paleo devotees will want to leave off the cheese.

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 5 volumes. Order your set TODAY! (also available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

INGREDIENTS:

1 12-oz zucchini or calaba summer squash

8 oz. lean ground beef

1½ oz. onion, chopped

1½ oz. bell pepper (any color)

3 T. my Sofrito sauce

1 beaten large egg

Dash black pepper

1/8 tsp. sea salt

2 oz. shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. Cut stem and tip end off squash. Cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out the flesh leaving ¼” or less intact on the shell for support. Place the shells into a pot of boiling water and parboil for 2-3 minutes to begin the cooking process. When you bypass this step, the shells don’t get as done in the oven. Remove, discarding the water and place the squash shells onto a baking dish.

Now dice the flesh you scooped out into ½” dice. Brown the ground beef. When no longer pink, add the squash, onion and bell pepper. Add salt and pepper. Saute until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat. Beat and stir in the egg, the sofrito sauce and mix well. Spoon the filling into the two shells. Top each with 1 oz. of the cheese. Pop into 350º oven for 35 minutes. Remove from oven and top each half with 1 oz. of the cheese. Pop back into the oven for about 15 minutes to melt the cheese. Serve immediately. Place a little more sofrito in a dish for folks to add at the table if they want more of that flavor (I did). This paired nicely with a green salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 2 servings, each contains:

522 calories

35 g fat

10.3 g carbs, 2.9 g fiber, 9.40 g NET CARBS

41.4 g protein

876 mg sodium

Nov 2 2014

Middle Eastern Stuffed Eggplant

This tasty stuffed eggplant will fill you right up! It has a lot of flavor layers going on and will excite your palate. It’s actually quite easy to make, too. It’s a little carb-y, but that’s because of the eggplant itself. No empty fillers in this recipe. This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and Keto diets if you can fit the carbs into your daily limits. It is also suitable for Primal and will even work for Paleo if you sub in chia gel or an extra egg for the ricotta cheese.

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

INGREDIENTS:

2 T. coconut oil

1 16-oz. whole eggplant, stemmed and cut in half lenghtwise

10 oz. ground beef (or lamb)

2 oz. onion, chopped

¼ tsp. sea salt

Dash black pepper

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. ground cumin

1 Roma tomato, chopped coarsely

1 clove garlic, minced

1 T. fresh spearmint, chopped (or 1 tsp. dried mint)

2 beaten eggs

1/4 c. ricotta cheese (use chia gel or an extra egg for a Paleo version)

DIRECTIONS: Melt the oil in a very large skillet over high heat. Place eggplant in the pan cut-side down. Brown the cut surface, pressing the eggplant halves down with your hand as they cook. Cook them for about 10-15 minutes. Remove them to a cutting board to cool a bit.

Add the meat to the skillet and brown over medium-high heat. Add the onion toward the end of the browning process and cook until pretty tender. Add the seasonings next. Lower heat and simmer 5 minutes or so to let the spices mingle in the meat nicely. Turn off heat.

Preheat oven to 350º. Using a knife slice or scoop out most of the eggplant flesh from the halves, leaving about 1/2″ of the flesh intact on the skin for support during baking. Place the two hollowed out shells in a baking pan.

Next, chop the scooped out eggplant flesh into ½” dice and add back into the meat mixture in the skillet. If the eggplant is still opaque in places (likely it is not fully done), turn the fire on to medium and stir/simmer the meat-eggplant mixture until the eggplant is pretty tender. Turn off heat.

Stir the beaten eggs into the ricotta and add to the meat mixture and mix well to bind and moisten the filling. Spoon half the mixture into each eggplant shell. Pop the pan into your preheated oven and bake for about 35-40 minutes or until the shells appear to be fully cooked. Pairs nicely with a sour cream/mint cucumber salad as shown.

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

467 calories

42 g fat

19.85 g carbs, 9.25 g fiber, 10 g NET CARBS

38.4 g protein

499 mg sodium

Nov 1 2014

Spicy Cream of Broccoli Soup

Spicy Cream of Broccoli soup

I just love creamed soups and decided to make one from a head of broccoli yesterday. I usually make a broccoli and cheese soup that is a bit chunkier and cheesier tasting, but I was actually shooting for a “spicy” soup with less cheese taste. If you don’t like spicy foods, you can leave the Sriracha sauce out of this recipe entirely for a more typical creamed broccoli soup. I used water making my soup and it was delicious, but using homemade chicken broth will make it even tastier, if you have it on hand. We actually liked the little bit of bite the Sriracha brought to the flavor profile. This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and Keto diets. I don’t add salt to recipes with cheese, as there is so much sodium in most cheeses and I am very sodium sensitive. If sodium is also an issue for you, you can always cut back on the cheese in this recipe. :)

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

INGREDIENTS:

20-oz. head of broccoli, cut into chunks

Water to cover nicely, (about 3-3½ cups)

¼ tsp. coarsely black pepper

2 tsp. Sriracha chili sauce (optional, or use more if you like things real spicy)

½ tsp. onion powder

10 oz. shredded or sliced Cheddar cheese or a mixture of American Deluxe and Cheddar (I did the latter)

1 c. whipping cream

DIRECTIONS: Cut up broccoli into chunks, stems and all. Place in a large soup pot. Cover with water or homemade broth, if you prefer a richer soup. Add salt, pepper, onion powder and stir. Next add the Sriracha sauce (if using). Bring to a boil and then lower heat to medium-low. Simmer until the broccoli is quite tender and then remove from heat. You can either process the broccoli in batches with a bit of the broth in your food processor/blender (do not over fill when pureeing hot foods!). OR, if you own a stick blender, you can wait to do this step. Add the processed broccoli back to the pot and place back over a very low fire. Add the cheese, stirring to facilitate melting and blending. If the fire is low enough, it should not stick to the bottom of the pot. Once the cheese appears to be fully melted, add the cream and stir until it slightly thickens. Place your stick blender in the pot and pressing down on the broccoli chunks throughout the pot, begin to pulse/break them up a bit. Then blend in a continuous blending motion throughout the soup mixture until you have a uniformly smooth mixture. This creates a small bit of “foam” on the surface but that settles down with a few minutes of waiting and gentle stirring. If not thick enough for you, thicken with a light dusting or 2 (or 3) of xanthan gum (or your preferred thickener). Thickening will tend to eliminate that “foaming” issue caused by the stick blender. Serve with your favorite low-carb rolls or crackers. :)

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 6 large servings, each contains:

315 calories

26.4 g fat

9.96 carbs, 2.49 g fiber, 7.48 g NET CARBS

11.86 g protein

500 mg sodium (from all that cheese)

Oct 26 2014

Cheesie Tuna-Cauli Cakes

These came about for lunch today from a lone half cup of leftover buttered, steamed cauliflower. I added one of the small 2.5-oz pouches of tuna, some Smoked Gouda cheese and a bit of onion and VOILA! A delicious lunch! That’s sauteed kale (cooked exactly 1 minute in bacon grease) on the side of the plate. The sliced steamed carrots were good with these, too! These tuna cakes are simply DELICIOUS! Of course, you can sub in other cheeses, but the Smoked Gouda really makes these different and quite special. Smoked Cheddar would be just as good in this recipe, I believe. I’ll be making this recipe regularly with leftover dabs of cauliflower from now on. Such a tasty way to keep from wasting event he smallest amounts of pricey vegetables. This is suitable for all phases of Atkins if you use flax meal in lieu of the small amount of low-carb breadcrumbs.

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

INGREDIENTS:

2.5 oz. tuna (I use oil-pack)

3 oz. Smoked Gouda cheese, shredded

2/3 c. leftover steamed cauliflower, mashed with a fork

1 medium green onion, chopped fine

2 T. low-carb bread, crumbed (or 1 T. flax meal)

1 large egg, beaten

Dash black pepper

Dash Cajun spice blend or my Seafood Spice Blend

1 T. coconut oil (or your preferred oil) for frying

DIRECTIONS: Mix all ingredients but the coconut oil in a medium bowl. Stir well with a spoon. Heat the coconut oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat These are inclined to stick to the pan, so do not flip them to side two until they have browned well on the first side, and don’t over handle them with your spatula. Section off the mixture into 6 equal portions in your bowl. Dip 1/6 of the mixture up and drop onto the hot pan, spreading into a 2½” patties. When the first side is browned nicely for all the cakes, flip them quickly and carefully. Brown the second side and when done, transfer to serving plate. Serve hot with green veggies or a nice green salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 6 tuna cakes, each contains approximately (varies slightly with your personal choice of low-carb bread or flax):

118.5 calories

9.16 g fat

2.31 g carbs, 1.11 g fiber, 1.2 g NET CARBS

7.65 g protein

325 mg sodium

Oct 19 2014

Moroccan Chicken

Click to enlarge

This is one of our favorite ways to have chicken. It’s a little carb pricey and not doable during Induction due to the prunes. They really make the dish, so wait until you can prepare this one properly. :) I can only “afford” the carbs on this dish when I work to keep my breakfast and lunch carb numbers pretty low. :) I used to put 1 oz. of walnuts in this, a common Middle Eastern practice in chicken dishes, but I find they add no flavor so I have dropped them from the recipe in an effort to reduce the carb count. It is pictured above with the nuts. You can lower the carb count quite a bit by omitting the prunes as well. But doing so will dramatically change the overall flavor impact for this entree. On a positive note, the spices alone in this make for a wonderfully unique dish. This dish is not Induction friendly unless you leave out the prunes, but they add so much to the overall result, do be sure to include them once you get to the fruit rung of OWL. I have also made this dish substituting dried peaches or dried apricots. All are a nice compliment to the spices herein. Be sure to read your ingredients label and use only fruits with no added sugar. Del Monte brand prunes are “virgin” and acceptable. I actually cooked more pieces of chicken in the batch pictured so I would have leftovers, as this is one of those dishes that gets better each time it is reheated!

INGREDIENTS:

2 T. olive oil

1 chicken breast

2 chicken legs

2 chicken thighs

4 oz. onion, sliced thin

2 cloves minced garlic

3/4 c. chicken broth, low sodium

½ tsp. each coriander, cinnamon, paprika, cumin and black pepper

¼ tsp. cayenne

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 T. tomato paste

5 dried prunes (no added sugar variety), each cut into 4-6 little pieces

DIRECTIONS: Heat oil in a deep non-stick Dutch oven or a large, deep, non-stick skillet. Cut breast into two pieces, making a total of 6 medium-size pieces of chicken. Brown chicken in oil until skin is golden brown. Drain off excess oil if desired, but its value is included in the nutritional info below, so you may prefer to leave the oil in the pan and reap its nutritional benefits! Scatter the onion and garlic over the top. Mix the spices into the chicken broth and pour over the chicken. Add the tomato paste, nuts and prunes. Stir well. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 45-1hr. 30 minutes or until chicken is clearly done (depends on size of chicken pieces). Uncover and simmer for another 10-15 minutes to reduce and concentrate the juices a bit. Serve each piece of chicken with some of the cooking broth/fruit/nut mixture spooned over it. For non-Atkins eaters at the table, this dish is outstanding served over Basmati rice.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Serves 3 adults, or 2 adults and two children. Two pieces with sauce contains:

These numbers do NOT include the optional walnuts

468 calories

25.5 g fat

14.2 g carbs, 2.7 g fiber, 11.5 g NET CARBS

43.8 g protein

800 mg. sodium

Oct 8 2014

Grilled Chicken & Spinach Pizza

Grilled Chicken-Spinach Pizza

This pizza was absolutely delicious. I call it my white pizza. It’s so different from classic red sauced pizzas. I think I’ll add more spinach next time. I used ½ cup on this one but will use 3/4 c. next time and have calculated for that below. The red onion is key to the flavor so wait until you can get a red one for this recipe. They have a sweeter, fruitier taste than other onions.

This recipe is not suitable for Atkins Induction but will be OK for all other phases. The carb count is certainly low enough for most 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

INGREDIENTS:

1 recipe my Gluten-Free Pizza Crust

1 c. grilled chicken breast, chopped (skin on)

½ c. grilled chicken thigh meat, chopped (skin on)

3/4 c. (3 oz) shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese

3/4 c. (3 oz) shredded Mozzarella Cheese

3/4 c. baby spinach leaves

¼ tsp. dried oregano leaves, crushed (or 1 tsp. fresh, chopped)

Pinch garlic powder (optional)

1 oz. red onion, slivered as thinly as possible

2 oz. heavy cream

2 T. Parmesan cheese (kind in green canister is fine)

Pinch (about 1/16 tsp.) glucomannan powder (to thicken Alfredo sauce)

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. Make the pizza crust by that recipe’s instructions, on a 16″ pizza pan (preferable pan with holes) lined with parchment. Remove crust from oven and prepare to top.

For your Alfredo sauce, mix the cream, Parmesan and glucomannan in a saucer and let it sit for a few minutes. Should thicken up a bit. When it appears thicker, spread it on the crust as evenly as possible, almost to the edges of the crust. It needs to be a fairly thin layer or it will cause your crust to get soggy. Next evenly spread the Jack cheese on the crust. Next spread the Mozzarella cheese evenly on top. Sprinkle with the oregano. Sprinkle with a bit of garlic powder if you like also. Next evenly top with spinach leaves. They may overlap if need be. Next evenly place the diced chicken meat on the pizza and the final topping is the wafer thin onion slivers. Pop into the still hot oven and cook until the cheese appears to be melted and the onion is cooked, or about 15-20 minutes. ENJOY!

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 8 slices, each contains:

321 calories

23.5 g fat

4.0 g carbs, 1.7 g fiber, 2.3 g NET CARBS

23 g protein

281 g sodium

Oct 4 2014

Chicken and Sausage Stroganoff

Chicken-Sausage Stroganoff

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

Optional: ¼-½ c. chicken broth if you prefer a thinner sauce

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

Aug 10 2014

Lobster “Linguine”

Lobster “Linguine”

I can’t get very good lobster in Central Texas, so I often fix this dish with shrimp or crawfish. It’s great with all three, really, but in my opinion, the best with lobster. I have even made it with large sea scallops and fresh lump white crab meat (when I lived on the Gulf Coast). As is true of most seafood dishes, this one really packs in the nutrients! This dish is OK for Atkins Induction.

As the “noodles” have no real flavor of their own, they take on the taste of whatever broth or sauces they are cooked in. So be sure to use seafood stock (preferably lobster broth from shells boiled in water) to simmer the noodles in. It will make the final dish ever so much more flavorful! When you shell your lobster meat, boil the shells for 30 minutes and use that broth.

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

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. lobster meat cut into bite-size pieces (for 2 of us, I only used 8 oz. to lower the cost)

Lobster stock to boil the “linguine”

1 recipe my Dumplings dough (follow link for how to mix the dough)

1 stick unsalted butter

½ c. onion, chopped

1 c. celery, chopped

1 carrot, grated

1 2 oz. jar pimiento, drained (or 2 oz. diced red bell pepper)

1/3 c. parsley, chopped

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

8-10 drops Tobasco (or less if you don’t like a little “bite)

¼ tsp. ground thyme

DIRECTIONS: Saute onion, celery and carrot in melted butter until onion and celery are completely tender. Add parsley and pimiento. Add seafood, Tobasco and remaining seasonings. Saute for about 5 minutes longer. Turn off heat while you make the “linguine”.

For the “linguine”, bring your seafood stock to a boil. Mix a batch of my dumpling dough exactly like that recipes says, mixing the wet ingredients in one bowl, the dry ingredients on a paper plate. When the two are stirred together and they have formed a dough, let the dough sit a couple minutes to “stiffen up”. Place the dough on preferably a silicone sheet on your counter (or plastic wrap if you don’t yet own a silicone sheet). Place a sheet of plastic wrap on top of the dough and gently roll out fairly thin (about 1/8″ thick). Carefully and gently, cut into long strips about ¼” wide. I would prefer them narrower, but when I tried, they real narrow ones all tore up on me. ;)

Gently loosen/lift the noodles by sliding the knife tip gently underneath each one slowly (this is why a silicone sheet work a little better than plastic wrap on the bottom) and set each noodle aside on the silicone sheet until all are cut. It’s OK if they are touching each other while they wait, we won’t tell anyone LOL. When all have been cut, take the sheet to your pot of simmering seafood stock and gently slide them into the water. You want a very gentle simmer on the broth, so adjust your heat source accordingly. Immediately cover and cook around 8 minutes. DO NOT LIFT LID DURING COOKING. While they are cooking, reheat the lobster mixture on low heat. When the “linguine” is done, gently lift them out of the broth with a slotted spoon into the lobster mixture, stir and serve at once with your favorite low-carb garlic bread. :)

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 3 servings, each contains: (calculated with 1 lb. lobster)

465.7 calories

33 g fat

9.1 g carbs, 2.3 g fiber, 6.8 g NET CARBS

32.3 g protein

283 g sodium

Aug 3 2014

Curry-Coated Tilapia

If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m quite a seafood lover. Lived on the Texas Gulf Coast for many years and just love seafood, particularly whole fish! My choices are very limited here in Central Texas, but I make do with what is available.

My husband is down in Austin today so I decided to cook the lone remaining tilapia for lunch (since he’s not as fond of fish as I am). I wanted it crunchy and decided to use a different spice blend in my crunchy pork-rind coating: curry powder and Indian Garam Masala. GREAT CHOICE! This came out so good my husband missed out on a delicious lunch! This would also be good done with filets. This could also be done with small, whole flounder, sole, sea trout, snapper or probably any white-fleshed fish.

I’m giving the ingredients and nutritional info for 1 baked tilapia (1 adult serving). You’ll need to multiply this info times the number of fish you are cooking. This dish is suitable for all phases of Atkins, other ketogenic diets and Primal-Paleo lifestyles as well.

INGREDIENTS:

1 3/4-lb. whole, cleaned tilapia (yields about 6-7 oz. fish, after head, fins and skeleton is removed)

1 oz. pork rinds, crushed to fine crumbs

3/4 tsp. Garam Masala

3/4 tsp. curry powder (I use Sharwood)

2 T. mayonnaise, preferably homemade mayo

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 450º. Crush pork rinds into fine crumbs either in a plastic zip bag or your food processor. Pick out any large, hard bits with a slotted spoon. Add spices, stir and set aside. Rinse fish well and pat dry with paper towels. With a basting brush, brush well with homemade mayonnaise, getting as complete coverage as possible (use more mayo if necessary). Holding the fish by the tail fin, and using a spoon, sprinkle the seasoned pork rind mixture evenly over both sides of the fish trying to coat ever bit of surface. Lay fish directly on a metal pan (DEFINITELY DO NOT USE SILICONE SHEET OR IT WILL NOT BROWN PROPERLY! Bake for about 20 minutes, turning carefully at mid-cooking for more even browning, but turning isn’t absolutely necessary. Using a fork, fish should flake opaque white at the thickest part when done. Bake longer if it isn’t white-white inside, as your fish may be thicker than mine and may require a few minutes longer.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 1 serving (1 individual whole tilapia) which contains:

526 calories

34.1 g fat

1.8 g carbs, 1.0 g fiber, .8 g NET CARBS

52.5 g protein

619 mg sodium

Jul 21 2014

Cheese Steak on Zoodles

Cheese Steak on Zoodles

Most often we low-carbers think of zoodles (zucchini noodles) for Italian recipe applications. Today, with a nice hunk of leftover sirloin steak in the fridge, I was thinking along the lines of a Philly Cheese Steak for lunch, but not with the traditional Frankenfood cheese sauce. And certainly not with a big old carb-laden bun (although I have some low-carb psyllium hotdog buns cooked and ready today). I was thinking more along the lines of a Swiss/white cheese Patty Melt sort of thing, but on noodles. The above lunch is what evolved from that thought. And it came out quite tasty! My husband REALLY liked this! It was very filling, too!

This recipe is acceptable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets and those Primal folks that eat some dairy. The portions were quite large and you might find this will feed 2 adults and 2 children quite nicely. But I have calculated the numbers below for 3 equal adult servings.

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

INGREDIENTS:

16 oz. zucchini, cut into noodles

4 T. olive oil (total)

6 oz. cooked steak, sliced thin (I used pan-seared sirloin)

4 oz. yellow onion, sliced thin

6 oz. cheese, shredded (I used a mix of Swiss & Monterrey Jack)

DIRECTIONS: Preheat broiler. Have two non-stick skillets ready, one large enough to fry steak and onions, one to cook the zoodles. Cut the zucchini into “noodles” with a spiral tool or julienne peeler and have ready. Slice the steak and onions and brown them in 2 T. of the oil in one skillet. You want the onions to begin to brown and caramelize to release their natural sugar. When nearly done, heat remaining 2T. oil in the second skillet and place the zoodles in the hot oil. Reduce heat to medium and stir-fry the zoodles just until they are no longer opaque, but not too soft. Plate the zoodles onto 3 serving plates and top with 1/3 of the meat and onion mixture. Top with 1/3 of the cheese and pop into hot broiler just long enough to melt the cheese on top. Remove with pot holder and serve at once.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 3 large servings, each contains:

513 calories

39 g fat

8.66 g carbs, 2.3 g fiber, 6.36 g NET CARBS

32.2 g protein

521 mg sodium

Jul 17 2014

Tuna Cheesies

I’ve been making these for probably 20 years or more. My husband just LOVES these things! I do, too, really. The original version was melted on saltine crackers. My low-carb version here is baked on my Almond-Flax crackers. This time I cut them into 12 oblong rectangles as shown above, but more often I cut them into 24 saltine shaped squares. These are suitable once you get to Atkins Phase 2, and they are OK for 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

INGREDIENTS:

½ recipe my Almond Flax Crackers (or 24 pre-baked low-carb crackers)

1 6-oz foil pouch tuna (or a 5 oz. can, drained)

1 c. shredded Cheddar cheese

2 slices American cheese, shredded

3 T. mayonnaise (I use homemade)

2-3 shakes cayenne pepper (more if you want them really “hot”)

3-4 drops Worcestershire sauce (optional)

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. As to making the cracker base for these, I tend to mix up a whole recipe of the cracker dough and shape it on the baking sheet into two rectangles, one on each end, not quite all the way to the edges of the pan, with a slight separation between them. I use half the cracker recipe for these Tuna Cheesies and save the other rectangle to cut into plain crackers to have on hand for other uses. Or if you’re having a party, you could double the topping ingredients and use the entire recipe of crackers for a total of 48 Tuna Cheesies. Your call depending on how many of these you want to make.

Prepare and bake the crackers by that recipe’s instructions at 350º. Cool slightly on the pan. If you made the full recipe of crackers, go ahead and score that extra rectangle into 24 crackers and store them in a lidded container on your kitchen counter for up to 2 weeks.

While the crackers are baking, mix the filling ingredients in a bowl. Spread onto the baked and slightly cooled cracker sheet. Pop back into the oven and bake for about 5-10 minutes longer, just long enough to melt the topping nicely. Remove from the oven and with a knife or pizza cutter, cut into either 12 wedges as shown above, or into 24 square-shapes. Serve warm.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 12 rectangular Tuna Cheesies, each contains:

147 calories

11.83 g fat

3.5 g carbs, 2.01 g fiber, 1.49 g NET CARBS

7.9 g protein

203 mg sodium

NOTE: If cut into 24 squares, divide the nutritional numbers above for by 2 to get the per serving numbers for each smaller square.

Jul 17 2014

Loaded “Potato” Casserole

Who doesn’t like a loaded baked potato? This is the low-carber’s version, with meat added for a complete meal! Not such a pretty dish; but a very tasty dish! I had a leek on hand so I just used that, but green onion is traditional on a loaded baked potato. This goes together fast and was truly delicious. Makes a big casserole that will serve 6 hungry adults. :) This dish is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets and those Primal folks that eat occasional dairy. This is suitable for all phasees of Atkins, Keto diets and Primal folks who enjoy occasional dairy.

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

INGREDIENTS:

½ large head cauliflower, cut into medium chunks

4 oz. bacon ends (or lean bacon), chopped

1½ c. green onion (or leek), chopped

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

2 oz. cream cheese

½ c. sour cream

1/8 tsp. coarse black pepper

2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS: Steam or boil cauliflower until almost fully tender, but not quite. Drain well. Preheat oven to 350º. While the cauliflower is cooking, in a large skillet or wok, brown the bacon. Add the green onion or leek and saute until tender. Add black pepper and mix in well. Salt won’t be needed with bacon and this much cheese. :) Add ground beef, breaking apart and stirring as it browns. Add cream cheese, stirring to allow it to melt and disperse into the mixture. Add sour cream and blend well. Stir in the drained cauliflower gently. Top with grated cheese and pop into preheated 350º oven for 20-30 minutes to allow flavors to blend and cheese to melt. Serve at once with a lovely green salad or green veggie of your choice.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 6 servings, each contains:

465 calories

37 g fat

8.68 g carbs, 2.41 g fiber, 6.27 g NET CARBS

26.6 g protein

676 mg sodium

Jul 10 2014

Fruity Chicken Salad

This delicious salad is a bit carbier than most of my recipes, but I wanted to see what some fruit would be like in chicken salad. I’m here to tell you it was DELICIOUS! Most of the carbs are in the prunes, of course. If you omit the prunes the count per serving on this recipe drops to a mere 3.3 net carbs. Blueberries would perhaps be a better, lower-carb choice and still maintain the fruity taste and healthy anti-oxidants as well. a small amount of diced apple would also be a tasty choice.

I wanted to use up a lone poblano pepper in my refrigerator today and thus I seared it off and used it as a “holder”. It didn’t really contribute much to the overall dish’s flavor and I will just serve this salad on a leaf of Romaine or curly leaf lettuce in future. Therefore I have not included the poblano in the nutritional numbers below.

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

INGREDIENTS:

10 oz. cooked chicken, diced

1 shallot, minced fine

½ c. finely chopped celery

3 dried prunes, chopped

1/3 c. homemade mayonnaise

1/3 c. sour cream

Seasonings (I used a pinch each chipotle chili powder, garlic powder and cumin)

1/4 c. toasted slivered almonds (optional, but very good on chicken salad)

DIRECTIONS: Mix the mayo and sour cream with the seasonings in a medium bowl. Add all the ingredients (but toasted nuts, if using) and toss to coat all the chicken well with the wet ingredients. Spoon onto your serving plates, on a leaf of lettuce if desired. Top with toasted almonds for garnish.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 2 servings, each contains: (does not include almonds as I can’t know how many you will use. Also does not include poblano pepper for reason I stated above)

529 calories

33.2 g fat

10.6 g carbs, 1.5 g fiber, 9.1 g NET CARBS (3.3 net carbs if prunes omitted)

45.3 g protein

780 mg sodium

Jun 29 2014

Italian Chicken and Spaghetti Squash

I whipped up this tasty little dish for our lunch today. I had small portion of leftover cooked chicken breast I needed to use up but it wasn’t enough for sandwiches. The spaghetti squash that has been calling to me for 2-3 days now seemed to be a solution. I made this with a mere 1 ¾ cup cooked squash threads for 2 people. Double the recipe for 4 servings. It was delicious and the flavor reminded me of a cross between Chicken Primavera and Shrimp Scampi. I’ll definitely make this tasty dish again. It was light and VERY filling, too! Best of all, it’s suitable for All phases of Atkins after Induction and if you leave the wine out, even those on Induction could enjoy this dish. It’s also suitable for other Keto diets.

VARIATION: use shelled shrimp instead of 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 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

INGREDIENTS:

1 ¾ c. cooked spaghetti squash threads

4 T. unsalted butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 oz. cooked chicken (more if you have more on hand)

¼ c. white or rose wine (omit for Induction)

¼ tsp. Italian Seasoning blend or crushed dried oregano leaves

Dash cayenne pepper (optional)

½ c. parsley, chopped

5 San Marzano small tomatoes, cut in thirds, or 6-8 cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in halves

DIRECTIONS: Cook your spaghetti squash and fork threads onto a plate. I cut a 4# squash in half, cooked half, cut side down in 1/2″ water in my microwave for 13 minutes on HI. I only ended up using half of the threads the half a squash made for this, as I didn’t want too much squash flavor to come through.

Melt the butter in a non-stick skillet or wok. Add the garlic and saute a couple minutes on medium high heat. Add the spices, parsley and chicken and allow the chicken pieces to brown a bit on the surfaces. Add the wine next and simmer for 2-3 minutes to allow the some of the alcohol to burn off. The tomatoes should be added last and only cooked a minute or so to slightly soften but not go to mush. Stir in the cooked spaghetti squash threads and toss well. Plate and serve. This paired nicely with a small green salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 2 servings, each contains:

371 calories

25 g fat

12.7 g carbs, 2.85 g fiber, 9.85 g NET CARBS

20 g protein

514 mg sodium

Jun 27 2014

Chicken-Sausage Roulades

This is an excellent way to use up that dab of cooked spinach that I invariably seem to have leftover every time I cook it. This dish is quick, easy and so flavorful! You’ll want to give this a try sometime. It’s suitable for all phases of Atkins and Keto diets. Primal followers can enjoy it but it is not suited to a Paleo lifestyle.

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

INGREDIENTS:

9 oz, chicken breast, skinned

2 slices (1 ¾ oz.) Muenster cheese (you can use Swiss or Jack cheese)

2 oz. pork breakfast sausage (or Italian sausage)

¼ c. cooked spinach

Seasoning blend of your choice

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. Oil a small baking pan. Pound the chicken breast between two pieces of plastic wrap with a meat mallet. Try not to tear it and strive for ” thickness. Remove top sheet of plastic. Cut into 2 equal portions. Form sausage into two flat oblong pieces and fold the cheese slices around them. Lay those “logs” in the center of each piece of chicken. Spoon 2 T. spinach down each “log” of cheese & sausage. Tightly roll chicken around the log of sausage and cheese. Lift onto the baking pan, seam down. Drizzle the roulades with the olive oil and brush with a brush to spread it evenly on the surfaces. Sprinkle the roulades with your favorite seasoning. I used a blend of Mrs. Dash (original), onion powder and granulated garlic. Pop into 350º oven for 20 minutes. Remove and baste all surfaces with the olive oil in the pan (add more if needed). Return to oven and bake another 15-20 minutes or until firm and golden brown. Sausage will be done by now and cheese will have begun to run out the ends. Plate and serve with mashed cauliflower or your preferred vegetable. ENJOY!

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 2 servings, each contains:

456 calories

27.9 g fat

1.65 g carbs, .95 g fiber, .7 g NET CARBS

48 g protein

913 mg sodium

Jun 22 2014

Cold Cuts Stack with Swiss Chard

Cold Cuts Stack with Swiss Chard

I had a hankering for a sandwich for lunch but am trying to avoid bread these days. So I decided I would try doing something totally off-the-wall new today. I had a bit of Swiss chard I also wanted to use up and the light bulb went off in my head. This breadless sandwich was just amazing in flavor. It’s high in sodium because……well…..it’s cheese and cold cuts folks! So nothing I can do about that sodium. But the bed of sauteed chard mellowed that sodium quite a bit and added something to the sandwich. The final dot of my Sofrito sauce was an after thought but it ended up “making” the dish the flavor bang I wanted it to be. I hope you’ll try this some time. It was really delicious! This is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets and Primal if you eat occasional cheese. Unacceptable for Paleo, however.

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 her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

INGREDIENTS:

2 slices bacon

1 oz. (2 very thin slices) Black Forest ham

1 large leaf of Swiss chard, stemmed, chopped coarsely

1 oz. (2 very thin slices) Muenster cheese (or other white cheese like Swiss)

1 oz. smoked Gouda cheese, sliced thin (or more Muenster)

1 oz. (4 very thin slices) hard salami

1 slice Roma tomato

1 tsp. my Sofrito sauce (optional, but it’s REALLY good on this creation)

DIRECTIONS: Brown the bacon on one side of a non-stick skillet. Brown the 2 slices of ham on the other side. Remove to paper towels and turn off heat. Add chard to the pan and stir in the hot pan until it is wilted (pan is hot enough without any heat added). Plate the chard. Lay 1 slice of Muenster cheese on top. Next lay 2 slices of hard salami in an overlapping fashion. Next the other slice of Muenster. Next the second slice of ham followed by the other 2 slices of hard salami. Lay the smoked Gouda next and follow with the two slices of bacon criss-crossed. Crown it all with a single slice of tomato and dot with the tomato with the teaspoon of sofrito sauce. Pop in microwave on DEFROST for about 1-2 minutes to melt the cheese and serve at once.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 1 serving which contains:

454 calories

89 g fat

4.2 g carbs, .9 g fat, 3.3 g NET CARBS

30.5 g fat

1781 mg sodium (use less luhchmeat, cheese and bacon to lower the sodium)

Jun 21 2014

Asian Meatza Pizza

I got this idea from all the meatza recipes I see on the internet. I’m always looking for new ways to use napa cabbage (also called Chinese cabbage) and this creation just made my regular pork recipe rotations. This was absolutely DELICIOUS!!! One of the best Asian dishes I’ve made in a very long time! Even my picky husband liked this and had seconds! And it wasn’t as “heavy” as the meatzas made with beef crusts I’ve tried. This recipe is not suitable for Induction as written. That said, you could use pork rind “flour” or the dry ingredients for a one minute flax muffin (the recipe with no almond flour in it!) and still be able to enjoy this recipe. Those that need it to be gluten-free can substitute in Jennifer Eloff’s Gluten-Free Bake Mix for the Einkorn Bake Mix (though mine is actually a tad lower in carbs ;).

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 her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

MEAT CRUST INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. extra lean pork, ground

1 T. low-sodium soy sauce

1 T. Sriracha chili sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

½ tsp. fresh ginger root, minced

1 small jalapeno, seeded and minced fine

FILLING INGREDIENTS:

1/3 c. red bell pepper, chopped

1 T. olive oil

2 c. shredded napa cabbage

½ c. green onion, chopped

3 large eggs

1/3 c. sour cream

3 T. my homemade Shawarma mayonnaise (or low-carb mayo)

¼ c. my Einkorn Bake Mix (or Jennifer Eloff’s Gluten-Free Bake Mix for gluten-free version) [Use pork rind flour if still on Induction]

¼ tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking powder

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. Mix the meat crust ingredients in a mixing bowl using a fork or your hands and press into a greased tart or quiche pan. Press evenly and up the sides of the pan about ½ inch. Pop into oven and bake 10-12 minutes to partially cook. Remove and gently tilt to drain off excess juices.

Shred the cabbage and place in a bowl. Chop the green onion and red pepper. Heat the oil in a skillet and saute red pepper until tender. Add green onion to the skillet and saute just 1 minute. Scrape this mixture into the cabbage and stir. Add all remaining ingredient to the bowl and mix well. Spoon the mixture into the meat “crust” and bake for 20-30 minutes longer or until center is firm and set. Remove and cut into 8 wedges. We each ate two wedges.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 8 servings, each contains:

281 calories

25 g fat

4.06 g carbs, .91 g fiber, 3.15 g NET CARBS

13.8 g protein

322 mg sodium

Jun 13 2014

Asian Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing

I love this recipe in the summertime! It’s so easy to prepare and simply DELICIOUS! Best of all, no oven required to heat up your kitchen. Summer in Texas forces us to think about such things. We’re already averaging 92º daily! Lord what will July and August be like this year? I don’t mind doing a quick skillet sear, but don’t want to turn that oven on very often in summer. And since I’m not eating sandwiches much these days, this salad is is just perfect and suitable for all phases of Atkins and Keto diets 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 large chicken breast, skinned (8 oz.)

1 T. butter

2 T. lime juice

2 T. rice vinegar

1 T. olive oil

1 tsp. sesame oil

1 tsp. hot sesame oil (or 1/8 tsp. Sambal Oelek chili sauce, or Sriracha)

2 drops liquid stevia

1/2 tsp. low-sodium soy sauce, tamari or coconut aminos

1 T. peanut butter

4 c. Napa cabbage, shredded

½ c. fresh cilantro, chopped

2 large green onions, chopped

½ carrot (5″) shredded with a carrot peeler

1 fresh jalapeno, seeded, sliced in thin strips 1″ long

DIRECTIONS:

Slice chicken diagonally into smaller pieces for quickest cooking. Heat butter in skillet and sear chicken well on all sides. Remove and slightly cool. Slice into smaller slices if desired.

For the dressing, whisk the next 8 ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside for flavors to develop.

In a large bowl or on your cutting board, shred cabbage and place in large bowl. Add grated carrot, cilantro, green onion and chopped jalapeno. Toss well and plate greens equally on two plates. Top each with half the chicken meat. Provide dressing in individual cups on the plate for each person to add as they please.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 2 large servings, each contains:

450 calories

25.5 g fat

10.2 g carbs, 3.35 g fiber, 6.85 g NET CARBS

39.5 g protein

632 mg sodium

Jun 12 2014

Buttery Sriracha Pot Roast

The pan juices this roast made, melded with the butter, Sriracha sauce and caramelized onion was so sweet and tasty I was spooning it out onto my meat and licking the pan before I washed it after dinner tonight. I made sure to not use much Ranch seasoning so as not to drown out the magic of the other flavors. Man, was this roast ever good! If you’re a pot roast fan, this one is definitely worth. I’ll bet you add it to your regular rotation roast recipes. It’s THAT good. It’s incredibly simple, too. for those that shy away from spicy foods, there was a bit of tingle on my tongue, but this was not very hot with Sriracha really. It wasn’t too hot for me, and I don’t like my food very spicy when push comes to shove. :) This recipe is suitable for all phases 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 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:

2¼ lb. beef chuck roast (this was a very small roast)

½ pkg. Ranch Buttermilk dressing powder

3 oz. onion, sliced pretty thin

2 tsp. Sriracha sauce

4 T. unsalted butter, cut into smaller bits

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. Place meat in suitable pan. I used a 9×9 square metal pan. Sprinkle the Ranch powder over the top surface of the meat. Next top with the sliced onions. Now invert Sriracha bottle and in a zig zag motion like they do chocolate sauce over desserts in the fancy restaurants, zig-zag about 2 tsp. Sriracha sauce over the onion layer. Next dot with small pieces of the butter to evenly cover. Top with a good sprinkling of black pepper. Pop into oven without a cover and bake for about 2 hours. Chuck takes longer to get tender. There is a fair amount of shrinkage, so you’ll only end up with about 2 lbs. cooked meat which will serve 4 people nicely, perhaps even 5. I’m calculating for 4 adult servings. Cut meat into thick slices and serve with pan juices (that’s the best part!). No need to thicken the pan juices.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Serves 4 adults, each generous serving contains:

397 calories

19.1 g fat

2.9 g carbs, .2 g fiber, 2.7 g NET CARBS

50.7 g protein

432 mg sodium

Jun 9 2014

Smoky Kale and Squash (with ham)

I threw this little dish together for lunch today and it was so tasty I thought I’d share it with my readers. I just love one-pan dishes. The cleanup is just as easy as the cooking. :) This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and Keto diets. Leave the cheese off for Primal-Paleo compliance.

VARIATION: Make without the ham for a lovely vegetable side 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 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:

4 tsp. bacon grease

2 oz. yellow onion, sliced

5 oz. yellow squash, cut into medium chunks or slices

5 oz. cured ham (I use individually packed ham steak, trimmed of fat), sliced or chopped

3 oz. kale, stemmed and cut coarsely

2 oz. smoked Gouda cheese, shredded

Dash black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS: If you’ll soak your ham in warm water for 30 minutes, changing water at least once, this will draw out about 50% of the sodium they put in it. Remove from water and pat dry with paper towels. Cut in small pieces. Heat bacon grease in non-stick skillet. Add onion and saute until the onion begins to caramelize. Add squash and saute, stirring often, until it is half done (no longer opaque). Add the pieces of ham and saute 2-3 minutes or until done (squash should be done by now, too). Add kale and saute 3-4 minutes, just until kale begins to wilt but isn’t overly cooked. You don’t it want to lose its pretty green color. The ham will make this dish salty enough, but add a dash of black pepper and stir one last time. If serving in the skillet, top with the shredded cheese and put lid or foil on top for a couple minutes to allow heat to melt the cheese. If serving in a pretty ceramic dish, dip up the mixture into baking dish. Then sprinkle with cheese and pop into microwave on 80% power for about 2 minutes to melt. Serve at once. This would be good with a piece of your favorite low-carb bread slathered in butter.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 3 servings, each contains:

227 calories

15.3 g fat

6.63 g carbs, 1.26 g fiber, 5.37 g NET CARBS

16.2 g protein

609 mg sodium

Jun 2 2014

Pork & Chorizo Salad

This is a variation on the popular taco salad we all know and love. Constructing it with pork and chorizo, along with the spices and sofrito I included, was quite delicious and a pleasant change of pace. I didn’t have an avocado in the house or else a layer guacamole would have been added under the cheddar cheese. You might want to consider adding one mashed up with a pinch of garlic powder. :) This salad is suitable for all phases 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 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:

8 oz. lean ground pork

2 oz. chorizo sausage, removed from casing and crumbled

Dash ground cumin

¼ tsp. garlic powder

1-2 tsp. my sofrito sauce (optional, but real good in this)

1/8 tsp. my Smoky Chipotle Spice blend

2 c. Romaine lettuce, chopped

2 c. endive or curly leaf lettuce (green or purple), chopped

½ c. tomato, chopped

2 slices Monterrey Jack Cheese

½ c. shredded Cheddar Cheese

DIRECTIONS: Have two plates ready by the stove. If using guacamole layer as suggested above, make that now. Brown ground pork in a non-stick skillet, along with the crumbled chorizo until they are done. Add salt, cumin, smoky chipotle blend, sofrito and garlic powder. Stir often as the meat browns. Remove from heat when done. Mix the two types of lettuce in a bowl and plate half on each of two plates. Add half the chopped tomato on top of each. Place 1 slice of jack cheese in the center of each stack of greens. Top each with half the hot meat. The heat should melt the jack cheese nicely. If using guacamole, add it now. Top each with ¼ c. of cheddar shreds. Serve at once.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 2 salads, each contains: (does not include guacamole)

597 calories

46.7 g fat

6.95 g carbs, 2.20 g fiber, 4.75 g NET CARBS

37 g. Protein

748 mg sodium (coming from the chorizo and cheese)

May 31 2014

Crawfish Dumpling Stew

WOW! I found a fantastic way to shake up my glucomannan dumplings! This is 5-star restaurant tasty as far as I’m concerned. Not many recipes strike me that way, either. It was every bit as good as the lobster ravioli served to my at Gershwin’s in Dallas, that’s for sure! My husband and I were absolutely astounded at how good this idea I hatched recently came out. I hesitated to actually make it for the longest time, as I was afraid putting that much bulk into the dumpling batter would make them just totally fall apart in the simmering water. As you can see in the pic, that just didn’t happen! What potential I now see for other recipes with this dumpling batter. :)

This recipe will be a keeper for sure! For those still on Atkins Induction, omit the wine and substitute 1/2 c. seafood stock or chicken stock in your sauce. This recipe is suitable for Atkins OWL Phase 2 or beyond and Keto diets as well if it fits your daily carb limits. You’d have to make the sauce with coconut milk for it to pass Primal-Paleo muster, but that’s doable. By the way, these freeze beautifully and tasted even better than the first night they were made! :)

VARIATIONS: Substitute either crab meat or shrimp for the crawfish. These made smaller would also be lovely in a simple wonton-style soup, standing in for the meat-filled wontons. :)

DUMPLING INGREDIENTS:

6 oz. cooked, cleaned crawfish tail meat (the rest of the 12-oz. package goes in the sauce)

4 T. butter, unsalted

2 oz. celery, chopped

2 oz. green bell pepper, chopped

2 oz. yellow onion, chopped

½ c. green onion, chopped

1/3 c. parsley, chopped (3 more T. needed for the sauce, so go on and chop 1/2 c. total ;) )

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp. my Seafood Spice Blend

2 recipes my glucomannan Dumplings batter

SAUCE INGREDIENTS:

4 T. unsalted butter, melted

6 oz. remaining crawfish

½ c. wine (omit for Induction)

1 T. lemon juice

3 T. parsley, chopped

½ c. heavy cream

½ c. water

1 small clove garlic, minced

Dash each salt and black pepper

DIRECTIONS: Chop all the vegetables up. Melt 4 T. butter over high heat and add the celery, bell pepper, onion and minced garlic. Saute until they are tender. Add 6 oz. of the crawfish, the parsley, and seafood spice mix. Lower heat and let simmer 2-3 minutes for flavors to blend. Turn off heat.

Bring a large stew pot of water to a boil. While it is heating, make up a double recipe of my glucomannan dumpling batter and add the veggie crawfish mixture to the egg/water mixture and stir well. Stir the dry ingredients in and mix with a rubber spatula until it begins to thicken up. Keep turning the dough until it is stiff enough to roll. Roll 24 1″ dumpling in your palms and set on a sheet of silicone (best) or a baking sheet. When all 24 are formed, your water should be at a rolling boil. Drop all 24 dumplings gently into the water, cover and cook for exactly 10 minutes without lifting the lid.

Make the sauce while the dumplings are cooking. Melt 4 T. butter over medium heat in a skillet. Add the remaining 6 oz. crawfish, garlic, wine, lemon juice parsley and simmer long enough to cook the garlic well. Add the cream and salt and pepper to taste.

When dumplings have cooked 10 minutes, lift lid and using a slotted spoon or tongs, gently lift onto a serving platter and spoon the sauce around them. I served with steamed, buttered broccoli, but they would be good with a nice green salad and low-carb dinner rolls.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 6 servings of 4 dumplings each and ¼ c. sauce. Each contains:

258 calories

20.4 g fat

10.55 g carbs, 5.96 g fiber, 4.59 g NET CARBS

13.25 g protein

481 g sodium

May 29 2014

Chicken a la King

This dish comes together amazingly fast and is very easy. Make the condensed chicken soup in the food processor or blender. Sear the chicken quickly. Cut everything up. Simmer until tender and add toss it altogether and serve over the chicken. How’s THAT for simple? And it’s DELICIOUS! Because of the slightly higher carbs of carrots and peas, this is not really Induction friendly or Keto friendly as written. However, if you substitute cut green beans for the peas, use a little less of the condensed soup and add a bit more broth/water, you could fit it into Induction and a Keto program. This recipe is not suitable for Primal-Paleo.

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 large chicken breast (8-10 oz.) (or chopped white turkey meat)

1 T. butter, unsalted

2 oz. frozen peas

2 oz. carrot, chopped

5 oz. daikon radish, chopped

1 oz. red bell pepper, chopped

1 oz. green bell pepper, chopped

1 oz. onion, chopped

Dash black pepper

½ recipe my Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup

DIRECTIONS: Cut up the vegetables and simmer in boiling water until just tender. While they are cooking, skin the chicken and remove from bone with a sharp knife. Slice the chicken into 3 lateral slices for 3 equal portions. Pound with meat tenderizing tool without tearing them apart. Sear the chicken until nicely browned on both sides.

When veggies are tender (in about 10-15 minutes), strain off water. Stir in the condensed soup and toss gently with a spoon. If too thick, add a bit of water of chicken broth to thin. Plate the chicken “filets” and spoon the sauce over them. Serve at once with a lovely green salad.

An alternate method of cooking and serving is to cut up the chicken into bite-sized pieces and saute that way and add it right into the creamed veggie mixture. Then serve over toasted low-carb bread of some sort. Be sure to calculate the bread into the numbers below if you serve it that way, which is traditional for Chicken à la King.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 3 servings, each contains approximately (varies with size of chicken breast):

437 calories

27 g fat

10.9 g carbs, 2.8 g fiber, 8.1 g NET CARBS

25.6 g protein

917 mg sodium

May 29 2014

Chicken-“Potato”-Kale Soup

This lunch creation this week was just scrumptious. My husband had to admit (although he was expecting to not like the daikon) this soup really tasted like it had potatoes in it. The daikon radish doesn’t taste at all like radish when it is simmered in soup. Be sure to try it in your next soup, stew or seafood chowder. You’ll just be amazed! This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and Keto diets. It is not suitable for Primal-Paleo.

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:

2 c. chicken broth, preferably homemade

1 c. chopped kale leaves (ribs removed)

½ c. green onion, chopped

1 c. cubed daikon radish (Japanese radish)

½ c. celery, chopped

Dash each salt and pepper

2 c. water

1/2 recipe my Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup

1 13 oz. can chicken breast with juices

½ c. heavy cream

DIRECTIONS: Make up the Cream of Chicken Soup recipe. Portion out half for this recipe and store rest in the fridge, covered, for up to a week. Cut up all the vegetables as indicated above. Place all but the last 3 ingredients in a medium-large 4 qt. soup pot. Bring to a boil and them reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until veggies are just tender. Add the chicken meat (and juices), breaking up the meat a bit as you add it to the pot. Add the 1/2 recipe of the condensed soup next. Stir to blend. Add the cream last. Simmer a couple minutes and serve.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 9 cups of soup or six 1½ c. servings. Each serving contains:

345 calories

26 g fat

6.6 g carbs, 1.33 g fiber, 5.27 g NET CARBS

4.16 g protein

656 mg sodium

May 29 2014

Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup

Condensed Soup for recipes that can also be diluted for ready-to-eat soup!

I just LOVE Jennifer Eloff’s Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup recipe. It’s a no-cook food that I can whip up fast when I need a casserole or recipe “binder.” Well, I was wanting a Condensed Cream of Chicken version this week and thought I had seen one on her site before. So I went to grab a copy and lo, despite much searching there, alas, I did not find one! Maybe I just imagined seeing it there, or saw it elsewhere. Sooooo, I took the mushroom version, omitted the mushrooms and subbed in canned chicken. I made a couple other changes and VOILA! A very tasty condensed soup that rivals what comes in the Campbell’s can, and ever so much healthier!

The recipe made exactly 21 oz. or 2 cups, so it is equivalent to two cans of condensed soup and can be used in recipes you have that call for 1 can of soup! How’s THAT for convenient? Only thing is this should not be frozen or the cream cheese will break down. Just whip it up in your food processor or blender right when you need it. Any leftovers can be stored for probably up to a week in the fridge. If you choose to make this up as soup, this undiluted soup should be diluted 1 for 1 with water: 1 cup undiluted + 1 c. water or broth = 2 cups finished soup. This entire recipe, diluted with 2 cups of liquid (5o:50) will yield 4 c. finished soup or four 1-cup servings ready to eat.

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:

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

½ cup heavy cream

2 T. hot water

1 chicken bouillon cube (use back of spoon & dissolve in hot water above)

1 T. olive oil

Dash onion powder

¼ tsp. xanthan gum

1 tsp. arrowroot powder or cornstarch (or 1/4 tsp. more xanthan gum if you prefer)

1 short squirt liquid sucralose (a few drops)

1 13-oz can chicken breast, undrained (Daily Chef brand from Sam’s is just chicken, water and salt)

DIRECTIONS: Place all ingredients in food processor or blender but the chicken. Process until smooth. Add chicken with its liquid and pulse a few times to chop and blend. Scrap out into 2 storage contains equally. There will be 10.5 oz. in each. Cover and refrigerate if not using immediately. Keeps about a week in the fridge. DO NOT FREEZE!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:

Makes two 10.5 oz. soup cans worth of condensed (undiluted soup). Each “can” worth of my undiluted soup (half the recipe) contains: 660 cals., 52 g fat, 8.1 g carbs, .65 g fiber, 7.45 g NET CARBS, 5.9 g protein, 1392 mg sodium.

If reconstituted with water or broth this recipe will make four 1-cup servings of reconstituted, ready-to-eat cream of chicken soup. You should dilute with 50:50 water or plain chicken broth. Each 1-cup serving of soup contains: 330 calories, 26.2 g fat, 4.0 g carbs, .3 g fiber, 3.7 g NET CARBS, 2.9 g protein, 696 mg sodium.

May 27 2014

Creamy Scalloped “Potatoes” and Pork Casserole

Scalloped “Potatoes” and Pork Casserole

My husband has to eat some Vitamin K every single day, on his Coumadin medication. When I started to make dinner tonight, we realized he hadn’t yet had any today. So the casserole I planned ended up getting some thrown in as an added layer and it turned out to be quite unobtrusive, perhaps even good, in the originally-planned scalloped pork casserole! It added nutrition but it’s so mile, not so much flavor, actually. This casserole is DELICIOUS! And it would be even if you decided to leave the kale out! The daikon does not taste like radish when cooked, so if you like scalloped potatoes, I think you’ll want to try this dish! This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets but off-limits for Primal-Paleo with all the dairy in it.

VARIATION: The top layer of “scalloped” diakon, without the meat or kale, would make an excellent side dish on it own. :)

INGREDIENTS:

1 T. bacon grease

3 oz. onion, chopped (I used purple onion)

2 c. chopped kale, ribs removed

10 oz. cooked smoked pork loin or pork butt, cut in bite-size pieces

10 oz. daikon, peeled, sliced thin and then cut into 1″ pieces

½ c. shredded mozzarella cheese

2 oz. cream cheese, softened

¼ c. heavy cream

2 T. mayonnaise (I used my Homemade Shawarma Mayo)

1 c. shredded Cheddar Cheese

DIRECTIONS: Grease a casserole dish and set by stove. Preheat oven to 350º. Heat bacon grease in non-stick skillet over high heat. Add onion and saute until it begins to get tender. Add chopped kale and just saute until it begins to wilt. Spoon this mixture evenly on the bottom of the casserole dish. Add daikon pieces to the skillet and saute until it begins to get tender. While the daikon is cooking, soften cream cheese in a microwave in a medium bowl. When daikon is just beginning to soften, remove from heat and add to the cream cheese in the bowl. Add the mozzarella, cream and mayo to the bowl and stir well. Last, add the pork to the skillet and saute (add more bacon grease if needed) a couple minutes. Layer the meat atop the kale mixture in the casserole pan. Then evenly distribute the daikon mixture evenly on top. Finally top with the shredded Cheddar. Cover with foil and pop into a 350º oven foe 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 10 minutes. Serve at once.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 6 servings, each contains:

358 calories

28 g fat

6.91 g carbs, 1.31 g fiber, 5.6 g NET CARBS

22 g protein

557 mg sodium

May 26 2014

Beef-Eggplant Curry

Beef Eggplant Curry

This is a quick, tasty and wonderful way to use up leftover beef pot roast (chuck). Made the above delicious curry for lunch today. This one’s a keeper! I started this at 10:45 and it was done by 11:15! Super easy dish. We are very pleased with this quick curry. I love how easy most Indian curries are to prepare! This dish is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto and Primal-Paleo as well.

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

INGREDIENTS:

2 T. olive oil or coconut oil

2 c. cooked beef, trimmed of fat, cut in ½” dice

6 oz. eggplant (I used Japanese purple eggplant), cut in 1″ cubes

3 oz. onion, diced large

½ c. red bell pepper, chopped

½ c. cilantro, cut roughly

1 large tomato, cut in 1″ cubes

2 tsp. my Garam Masala Spice blend

Dash turmeric (about 1/8 tsp.)

Dash salt

½-1 c. water (beef stock if you have some is better)

DIRECTIONS: Cut up meat, eggplant and onion as indicated above. Heat oil in non-stick skillet over hi heat. Add onion and slightly brown. Add eggplant and continue to saute, stirring often. Add beef and brown a bit. Add cilantro, tomato and all spices. Add water as needed to just barely surround meat. Lower heat. You don’t want this soupy, but add more water as you cook the dish if all evaporates. Simmer on medium heat about 15 minutes to allow flavor to mingle. Serve on cauli-rice, cauli-mash, toasted low-carb bread or muffins, or eat it straight up!

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 4 servings, each contains:

237 calories

12.5 g fat

7.05 g carbs, 2.77 g fiber, 4.28 g NET CARBS

24 g protein

107 mg sodium

May 24 2014

Italian Dumplings

I had exactly 1 cup of delicious spaghetti meat sauce in my freezer and decided to give it a whirl on my delicious dumplings for lunch today. Man, was this ever delicious!!! I felt like I was eating real gnocchi or noodles in this!! This just made my regular recipe rotations and hopped right on up to the top of that list! Although I made the dumpling dough in small round dumplings, it tasted like I was eating lasagna or ravioli. The dumplings held up well in the sauce and through the baking process, too. Mmmm. This was sooooooo good! This is suitable once you reach the Atkins Phase 2 OWL, and OK for Keto dieters. It would not be appropriate for Primal or Paleo followers.

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:

(pot of simmering water to make dumplings)

1 recipe my Dumplings

1 c. my meaty Spaghetti Sauce (or low-carb Italian meat sauce of your choosing)

½ c. mozzarella cheese, shredded

¼ c. Parmesan cheese

¼ c. ricotta cheese

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. Mix up the dumplings per that recipe’s instructions. Form the dough into 24 small balls about 3/4″ in diameter. Drop into boiling water and lower to a gentle simmer, cover and simmer for 8-9 minutes, DO NOT LIFT THE LID during cooking. Drain off the water and pour the dumplings into a baking dish (no need to grease it). Dot evenly with your spaghetti sauce. Dot evenly with the ricotta. Sprinkle the mozzarella over the top evenly and finally, top with the Parmesan cheese. Bake at 250º for about 15 minutes to heat all and melt the cheese. ENJOY!

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 3 servings, each contains:

286 calories

18.7 g fat

13.93 g carbs, 6.76 g fiber, 7.17 g NET CARBS

21.03 g protein

451 mg sodium

May 15 2014

Pork in Queso Flameado Sauce

If you’ve ever ordered Queso Flameado in a Mexican restaurant, it’s a flavor you won’t soon forget. It’s a thick melted cheese fondu with chorizo crumbled in it served with flour tortillas to roll it up in. It is considered an appetizer. It is sooo good! Well, this new dish I created this evening is an entree with pork that features the ingredients of that popular appetizer. If you love Mexican food, you’ve GOT to try this dish! My husband just loved it, as did I! This dish also sports some very impressive nutritional numbers below, so it’s a keeper in my book. It is suitable for all phases of Atkins and other Ketogenic 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 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:

12 oz. pork loin, cut into 4 portions

1 link chorizo, removed from the skin and crumbled

2 T. unsalted butter

4 large green onions, chopped

1/2 c. red bell pepper, chopped

1 c. cilantro, chopped

1/2 c. heavy cream

1/2 c. water

6 oz. Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded (or more if you can afford the carbs)

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. Pound the 4 pieces of pork with a meat tenderizer. Melt butter in large skillet over high heat. Brown pork on both sides until nearly done. Remove. Add crumbled chorizo and brown, crumbling as small as you can as it cooks. Add the green onions, bell pepper and saute until they are tender. Lower heat to medium low and add cream, water and cilantro. Simmer a couple minutes to reduce a bit. Sprinkle the cheese over the sauce and lay pork on top. Pop into preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes or until bubbly and the meat appear to be done. Serve 1/4 of the sauce over each portion of meat. This pairs nicely with mashed cauliflower or a nice guacamole salad alongside.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 4 servings, each contains:

567 calories

45 g fat

4.35 g carbs, 1.15 g fiber, 3.2 g NET CARBS

36 g protein

654 mg sodium

527 mg potassium

33% RDA Vitamin A, 37% B6, 33% B12, 40% c, 8% E, 5% calcium, 10% copper, 18% iron, 11% magnesium, 5% manganese, 39% niacin, 36% phosphorous, 33% riboflavin, 55% selenium, 83% thiamin, 30% zinc

May 13 2014

Tex-Mex-Chix on Zoodles

This is my variation on a recipe called Chicken Lazone that has circulated on many low-carb websites. Though the recipes vary slightly, they all seem to have cream and chili powder in common. When I cooked the inspirational recipe as written a few months back, we found it to be lacking in depth of flavor. So I took this recipe and added onion, cilantro and BACON!! After all, you can’t go wrong with a little bacon, right? Or a little cilantro, for that matter. The absolutely delicious dish that evolved is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets but not for Primal-Paleo unless you substitute coconut milk for the cream. My husband is not low-carbing 100% and he had his portion on regular pasta. He liked this dish a lot and said it reminded him of both Italian Chicken Carbonara and 7-layer dip. He gave it a resounding thumbs up!

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:

2 medium zucchini, julienned or made into noodles

12 oz. cooked chicken, skin removed, cut into bite size pieces

3 slices bacon, chopped

3 oz. onion, chopped

1½ tsp. chili powder

1½ tsp. onion powder

2 tsp. garlic powder

¼ tsp. cayenne

¼ c. butter

1 c. heavy cream

1 c. water

¼ tsp. xanthan gum to thicken (optional)

1/2 c. cilantro

DIRECTIONS: Using a noodler, spiralizer-type tool or julienne peeler, cut the zucchini into noodles. Place 2 T. of the butter oil in skillet over medium heat. Place zucchini noodles in butter and allow to saute/wilt until just barely softened. Turn off heat and set aside. Brown bacon in another skillet over high heat. Add rest of butter and onion and saute until tender. Add chicken and continue to saute to slightly brown the chicken. Add all spices and stir. Lower heat to medium. Add cream and water. Dust in xanthan gum slowly, whisking to blend and allow it time to thicken sauce. Add cilantro and simmer for 1-2 minutes longer. Serve the chicken mixture over the zoodles. Garnish the top with a sprinkle of chili powder. This pairs nicely with a green salad and low-carb buttered dinner rolls (see my breads recipes for several roll recipes).

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 4 generous servings, each contains:

559 calories

47 g fat

8.3 g carbs, 1.92 g fiber, 6.38 g NET CARBS

27.25 g protein

478 mg sodium

May 11 2014

Southwest Ham-n-Cheese Squash

Once again, the Queen of Leftovers creates a surprisingly delicious dish with a bit of “this and that” she has been staring at the last few days in the fridge. One small piece of thick ham steak, half a spaghetti squash and an avocado getting way too ripe on my kitchen counter. Just sounded like a Mexican meal in the making to me! This creation sort of reminds me of Ham-Mac-and-Cheese. But the generous handful of cilantro really takes it to a different flavor level. For those that don’t like cilantro, just leave it out and sub in a little chili powder. This dish will be nearly as good without it, I’m sure.

The Mexican Poinsettia stuck onto my guacamole was an afterthought, but I thought it came out very pretty! I quartered 2 San Marzano tomatoes and 1 thin slice of jalapeno pepper for my flower. This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and other Ketogenic diets, but is not suitable for Primal-Paleo unless you sub in coconut cream for the cheeses (might also require a little chili powder to kill the coconut taste.).

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:

1/2 of a medium, 7-8″ long spaghetti squash (about 1¾ c. threads)

2 tsp. bacon grease

2 oz. onion, chopped (I used red onion)

4 oz. chopped ham

¼ c. red bell pepper, chopped

½ c. chopped cilantro

2 oz. American Deluxe or cheddar cheese, shredded

2 oz. Monterrey Jack Cheese (I used 2 slices)

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. Place the half squash cut-side down in a dish with ½” water and microwave on HI for 13 minutes. Fork the threads into a bowl and save the shell to stuff. While it is cooking, Melt the bacon grease in a skillet and saute the onion until tender. Add the ham and bell pepper and saute until they are done/tender respectively. Turn off fire and stir in the cilantro. Add half the ham mixture to the bowl of squash and stir well. Add the American or cheddar cheese shreds and stir again. Spoon into the squash shell. Top with the 2 slices of Jack cheese any way you want to arrange/cut and place it. Top with the remainder of the ham mixture and pop into the 3350º oven just long enough to melt the Jack cheese, or about 15 minutes. Remove and scoop half the squash contents onto each plate and serve with guacamole or a green salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 2 servings, each contains:

399 calories

26.5 g fat

14.45 g carbs, 2.65 g fiber, 11.80 g NET CARBS

26 g protein

1600 mg sodium (soak ham in water for 1 hour before frying to lower sodium)

531 mg potassium

21% RDA Vitamin A, 29% B6, 29% B12, 35% calcium, 18% copper, 20% iron, 12% magnesium, 13% manganese, 33% niacin, 45% phosphorous, 32% riboflavin, 29% selenium, 46% thiamin, 34% zinc

May 7 2014

Shrimp “Crowned” Swai with Creamy Cauliflower

Shrimp "Crowned" Swai wiwth Creamy Cauliflower

Shrimp “Crowned” Swai with Creamy Cauliflower

This delightful seafood dinner was just one of those incredibly successful uses of a dab of some leftovers in the refrigerator. You’ve had those, too, I’m sure. My husband calls me the Queen of Leftovers! I had a little leftover Smoked Gouda Cauliflower , exactly 1 c. to be exact. It was right at eye level in my refrigerator today, sitting beside the two Swai filets and bag of shrimp I thawed for dinner. I had yet to decide how to prepare my fish and shrimp this evening. I just DO NOT like storing leftovers more than 2 days. Thus, this idea “hatched” and what a tasty “egg” it turned out to be! I decided to serve it atop a bed of sauteed fresh spinach, but that didn’t have great flavor impact on the final dish, so I’d say the bed of spinach is purely optional here. But since that’s how I prepared it and photographed it, I have included it in the recipe and nutritional calculations below. This dish is perfectly suitable for all phases of Atkins and Primal diners who eat occasional dairy. This is not suitable for Paleo due to the cheese, but a creamy homemade mayo might be subbed into the cauliflower mixture, resulting in an equally tasty and allowable dish for my Paleo readers!

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:

2 6-oz. filets of Swai (or mild fish of your choice)

12 medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails left on for visual impact

5 oz. raw spinach

1 T. bacon grease

2 T. butter (I use unsalted)

1 clove garlic, minced

1 T. lemon juice

1 c. cooked cauliflower, drained and slightly mashed with a fork

1 oz. each cream cheese (softened) and Smoked Gouda (grated)

1/8 tsp. my Seafood Spice Blend

2 tsp. parsley, chopped (for garnish)

DIRECTIONS: Preheat your broiler. Steam or boil cauliflower, slightly mash with a fork and stir in the two cheeses so they will begin to melt. With the cold butter (or olive oil), lightly grease 2 individual baking pans or a heat-proof baking platter (which I used). In another small baking pan, melt the rest of the butter in your oven. Remove, add minced garlic and Seafood spice Blend to the butter and stir. Holding the shrimps by the tail, coat each on both sides with the seasoned butter, lay them flat in the pan and broil the shrimp just a few minutes to slightly brown. Remove shrimp from broiler and change oven setting to 350º.

In a small skillet, melt the bacon grease and saute the spinach leaves just until wilted. Place half the spinach into two lengthwise batches on your platter (or into individual serving dishes), roughly the size of your fish filets. Lay a fish filet atop each batch of spinach. Neatly spoon half the cauliflower mixture down the center of each filet, pressing flat with the back of your spoon (which will allow for more even cooking of the fish). Attractively lay 6 broiled shrimp in a row on each filet as seen int he pic above.

Next, squeeze the lemon juice into the juices left in the pan you broiled your shrimp in. Stir and drizzle over each serving. Pop into 350º oven for about 20-30 minutes or until fish is opaque. Shrimp should be beautifully golden now. Remove from oven, garnish with the chopped parsley and ENJOY! I served with a nice green salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 2 servings, each contains:

435 calories

31.6 g fat

7.6 g carbs, 2.8 g fiber, 4.8 g NET CARBS

34.1 g protein

Apr 25 2014

Spinach Mayonado (with optional Sausage Meatballs)

Spinach Mayonado (optional meatballs)

This is essentially a creamed spinach dish, but with a very special cream indeed. I decided to not stir it altogether as that does not photograph so prettily. The flavor of this creamy spinach dish will blow you away. It’s sinfully rich and ever so good! So good, in fact, I lick every bit of the sauce off the spoon and food processor bowl. Seriously good eats.

Of course, you can always stir the sauce right into the spinach. It certainly ends up mixed on my plate while eating it. :) To be quite honest, ANY meat, seared chicken breast strips, beef or pork meatballs or smoked sausage would be good alongside (or on top as shown) this extremely nutritious dish.

This recipe is Atkins Induction friendly, as well as being suitable for Keto diets, Primal and Paleo followers as well.

VARIATION: This makes a great side dish without meat. In fact, that is the first way I ate it when I created this creamy sauce.

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:

5 oz. lean pork bulk sausage (I use homemade sausage but any low-carb sausage will do)

6 T. my Shawarma Homemade Mayonnaise

1 avocado

16 oz. bag of frozen, chopped spinach

Water to cover spinach

DIRECTIONS: Place spinach in large saucepan, cover with water and bring to boil and cook per package directions, about 5 minutes. When done, drain spinach in strainer pressing out excess water as best you can. Set aside while you make the rest of the dish.

While spinach is boiling, roll sausage into 6 small meatballs and brown in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, turning and rolling them frequently to brown all sides. Cook until fully done (about 10-15 minutes, turn off heat remove and drain meatballs on paper towels.

In a bowl of a food processor (or blender), process the avocado with the 6 T. homemade mayo until fairly smooth. You can also just mash it well with a fork, as it doesn’t have to be perfectly smooth. Add a few drops of lemon juice (to prevent darkening) and pulse.

Spoon the spinach into your serving dish, Add the thick, creamy mayonado sauce to the top as shown (or stir into the spinach if you prefer) and top with your cooked meatballs. ENJOY!

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 3 servings, each contains:

468 calories

48 g fat

12.03 g carbs, 8.66 g fiber, 3.37 g NET CARBS

15.2 g protein

453 mg sodium

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