Blue Crab Stuffing

For Christmas we often cook lobster tails with a side of stuffed crab.  How we both adore seafood and have really missed the quality seafood we had access to when we lived on the Texas Gulf Coast where we lived for over 30 years.  This is the crab stuffing recipe I’ve made for such a long time.  I developed this recipe in an attempt to imitate the wonderful stuffed crab I ordered many times at Gaido’s seafood restaurant, perched on the Galveston Seawall for a lovely view of the Gulf.  We lived there for around 30 years, so the good seafood seriously spoiled.  This was one of my favorite dishes on the menu.  As delicious as any I ever ate in New England where crab cakes are almost a religion.  My take on it is fairly close to Gaido’s dish, so I have stuck with this recipe whenever I can get decent crabmeat.  The crab sold in groceries in Central TX where I live is all trucked up from the Gulf, often frozen for lord knows how long, so really not as good. 

This dish is easy to prepare and always a hit with dinner guests.  I used to serve mine in real sea scallop shell halves so it made for an impactful presentation.  If you have access to fresh, picked crab meat where you are, you’ve GOT to try this one!  I also use this mixture to stuff baked flounder or even stuffed mushrooms!  It also can be shaped into patties, fried in a buttered skillet for delicious crab cakes, to be served with a tarragon aioli sauce.  

INGREDIENTS:

1½ lb. Blue crab meat, shelled & picked well for shell bits (or other variety crabmeat)

3 Flax Sandwich Buns  (or other low-carb bread)

4 oz. onion, finely chopped

4 oz. celery, finely chopped

2 oz. green/red bell pepper (your choice), finely chopped

¼ cup parsley, chopped

2 oz. heavy cream

¼ tsp. salt

Dash of cayenne pepper

1 tsp. dry mustard powder

½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter

DIRECTIONS:    Using a large bowl, carefully pick out all bits of shell from crab meat.  Soak 2 of the pieces of bread with the cream and crumble over the crab.  Crumb the remaining roll into fairly fine crumbs.  Set aside.

Melt butter in a skillet over medium high heat.  Add celery, onion, bell pepper, salt and cayenne and sauté until slightly tender. Add parsley, mustard powder and sauté couple minutes longer.  Pour sautéed vegetable mixture over crab/bread mixture in the bowl.  Gently toss ingredients gently just to mix well.  Spoon mixture into 6 large rinsed crab/scallop shells (if you have any) or into 6 buttered individual 6 oven-safe ramekins.  Alternately, you can  stuff into whole fish like flounder or trout on an oiled pan that have been prepared for stuffing.  You can optionally top stuffing with panko bread crumbs if that’s your fancy.  Bake in preheated 350º oven for 20 minutes for just baked crabmeat; 30 minutes for whole 1 lb. fish stuffed.  Check with a fork to be sure fish is at flaky stage before removing from oven and serving with a nice green salad.  

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 6 servings, each serving has: (numbers are just for stuffing & does not include fish)

351.3 cals, 25.9g fat, 5.4g carbs, 2.47g fiber, 2.93g NET CARBS, 25.3g protein, 120 mg. sodium

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Sherry-Pecan-Bacon Stuffing

It’s getting close to the holiday feast so I will be posting some of my favorite holiday recipes over the next few weeks.  This particular stuffing is a low-carb modification of famed Chef James Beard’s wild rice stuffing I’ve been making for many, many years.  It is outstanding with venison, wild game, roasted chicken or turkey.  This year I’m serving it with a duck we’re grilling outside.  Mmmmm!   The inspirational recipe is made with 2 cups of cooked wild rice, so clearly not for those still in Atkins Induction. However those in Atkins maintenance who can eat such things, could certainly make this using a quality wild rice.  Admittedly, these modifications make my low-carb version a little different, but not so much as you might think.  I sometimes compromise and use half bread cubes with half wild rice and I get the best of both worlds without too many carbs for a once-a-year treat.  🙂

This dish is not acceptable before the grains rung of OWL as written.  You could sub in a Muffin in a Minute toasted for the Artisan Flatbread and have this at the nut rung of OWL. I do not stuff my turkeys, but prefer to bake my stuffing in a separate pan so the top can get toasty.  The toasting of the sherry-soaked bread cubes  is essential to the  overall taste and texture of this dish.  When I was in high school, I’d always pick those out and eat them, as I carried the dish to the dining room table.  Annoyed my mother to no end.  But they were sooooo good!  A lush at 17, yet ironically I hardly drink at all as an adult.  I DO cook with wine a great deal, however.

Many delicious low-carb recipes like this can be at your fingertips with your very own cookbooks from LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS, by Jennifer Eloff and low-carb friends (me included).  Chef George Stella also brings you a wealth of delicious recipes you will love!  Order yours TODAY! from Amazon  or our direct order site: amongfriends.us/order.php.

INGREDIENTS:

½ c. sweet onion, chopped

½ stick unsalted butter

1 lg. stalk celery, chopped

2 c. jicama, peeled and grated

¼ c. parsley, chopped

½ c. pecan halves

4 slices bacon, coarsely chopped, cooked and drained

¼ tsp. dried tarragon

¼-½ black pepper

2 c. Artisan Flatbread, cubed and toasted (or 1 c. bread + 1 c. cooked wild rice)

4 T. sherry

HOLIDAY VARIATION:  Add a few dried, sugar-free cranberries or mushrooms to the stuffing

DIRECTIONS:  Make Artisan bread per that recipe’s instructions in a 13×15″ pan.  Cool and cut into 12 “slices”.  It should take two slices to produce the required 2c. of cubes. Put remaining slices into a gallon zip-lock bag and store your refrigerator for sandwiches or whatever.  BTW this makes great bread for serving with Italian foods.  It keeps very well in the fridge, too.  Toast the 2 c. of cubes on the same pan in your oven, stirring several times as they dry out and get toasty.

Coarsely chop up and fry bacon in a skillet. If you have one, doing this in a large wok will eliminate the need to transfer to a large bowl later (saves on dirty dishes).   Drain bacon on paper towels.  Pour off grease for another use.  Now melt butter in same skillet/wok and saute the onion and celery until tender.  Next add grated jicama and continue to saute until jicama is tender.  Add parsley, tarragon and pepper and stir well.  Turn off heat and pour mixture into a large bowl, if required, to facilitate stirring.  Mix sherry with water.  Bunch the bread cubes together on their baking sheet  and drizzle the sherry water  over them, tossing once, trying to be sure each cube gets a bit of the liquid and that all liquid is absorbed.    Now add the bread cubes and pecans to the veggie mixture and give it a final stirring to blend all ingredients.

Grease a large casserole dish with butter and pour dressing into the pan.  If you can afford the calories, dot with 2 T. butter.  Bake at 350º for about 20-30 minutes until bread cubes on top are toasted a bit.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Serves 6, each serving contains:

230 calories, 20g  fat, 6.17g  carbs, 2.67 g  fiber, 3.5g NET CARBS, 4.6g  protein, 195 mg. sodium

Chorizo-Stuffed Pattypan Squash

Normally I shy away from chorizo.   The commercial stuff can be very greasy and is usually way too heavy with spices for me.  But what I created for our lunch today with the chorizo I get from my grass-fed beef supplier (actually made by Eades Meat Market in Amarillo, TX) was anything but!  These little stuffed pattypan squash were delightfully tasty and not the slightest bit heavy with chorizo in my opinion.  This recipe will be a keeper in my house.  This can be served as an entree or a side dish.  These are suitable for Atkins once you get to phase 2 and can be eaten by Keto followers if the carbs fit your daily allowance.  Primal and Paleo folks can enjoy if you use a plan suitable bread or other filler.

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. Several of my own creations appear in each of the 5 volumes! Order your set TODAY! (also available individually) from Amazon or our direct order site: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

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

VARIATION:  A delicious party application, use yellow squash instead of pattypan.  Slice into round slices about ½” thick (less baking time will be required), topping each slice with about 1 tsp.-1T. of the filling.  Would make tasty 1-bite pieces for finger eating.  You’ll have to recalculate your nutritional info from scratch, based on how many pieces you get from the mixture, but probably around 1/4 the number value below?

INGREDIENTS: 

4 pattypan (white, scalloped) summer squash

Enough Olive oil to brush tops of squash

6 oz. chorizo sausage

1½ slices my Gluten-Free Focaccia bread (moistened with a little water and crumbled)

1 beaten egg  (or ½ c. shredded Cheddar cheese if egg sensitive, but carbs/fat go up then)

2 T. my Sofrito sauce

Dash black pepper

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 375º.  Cut the stems off the squash and level the outer bottoms with your knife so they sit flat on a pan.  Slice the pattypan squash in half horizontally, making eight lovely, scalloped pieces.  Place them on a baking sheet and lightly baste with olive oil on the tops.   Bake at 375º until half done when tested with a knife tip, or about 20 minutes.  You’ll prepare the filling while they bake.

For the filling, in a non-stick skillet over medium-hi heat, brown the chorizo lightly, crumbling as you stir it around.  If there is excess grease, spoon a little of it off.  Add a dash of black pepper, the moistened crumbled bread and the sofrito.  Stir to blend ingredients well.  Beat the egg with 1-2 T. water and stir it into the chorizo mixture to bind all together. Stir well.  Mark off the mixture in your pan into 8 portions and top each squash half with an equal portion of mixture.  When the squash is half done, remove from oven.  Lower oven to 350º, top each half with 1/8 the filling mixture.  Pop the pan back in that oven and bake another 20 minutes or until golden on top.  Squash should be fully tender when done.  Enjoy with a green salad or a guacamole salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 8 stuffed halves.  I think it will take two to fill most adults.  Each stuffed half contains:

208 calories

16.5 g  fat

5.35 g  carbs, 1.63 g  fiber, 3.75 g  NET CARBS

10 g  protein

450 mg sodium (much higher with cheese instead of the egg)

Eggplant-Sausage Stuffing

Eggplant-Sausage Stuffing

My husband wanted baked chicken tonight so I decided to serve it with a new stuffing.  I had half of a very large eggplant to use up and just a small amount of sausage left in the fridge.  The addition of eggplant really makes stuffing moist, but it adds carbs, so I used my Gluten-Free Grain-Free Focaccia bread tonight to pull the carbs back down a bit.  The result was a super moist and super delicious stuffing to go with our baked chicken!  I’ll be making this one again!

Hubs asked for asparagus but I didn’t have fresh asparagus on hand.  Luckily I found 1 can of spears in the back of the pantry I didn’t even know I had. Apparently HE bought them!  He actually prefers canned asparagus!  Not me, but hey, we all have our quirks. That one is his.  This stuffing would be also be delightful to stuff pork chops with, or to serve alongside a lovely pork roast! This recipe is not suitable for Atkins Induction because of the almonds in the bread. But you could use 4 OMM’s (one minute all flax muffins) and make this recipe suitable for Atkins Induction.  Be sure to recalculate the carbs if you make that change.  This stuffing should freeze very nicely for you.  🙂

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

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

INGREDIENTS:

1 stick (½ c.) butter, unsalted

6 oz. onion, chopped

8 oz. celery, chopped  (preferable with leaves if you have center stalks)

9 oz. peeled eggplant, diced in ½-5/8″ dice

½ c. chopped parsley

3 tsp. homemade poultry seasoning (or whatever kind you have on hand)

¼ tsp. coarse ground black pepper

3 oz. pork sausage  (I didn’t want it to dominate.  You might prefer more)

7 slices of my Gluten-Free Focaccia

2 eggs, beaten

1-1½ c. homemade chicken broth (I just boil skin-on chicken in water)

DIRECTIONS:  Bake the focaccia bread by that recipes directions if it isn’t already made.  Preheat oven to 350º.  Liberally butter a baking dish, preferably non-stick if possible, as stuffing is inclined to really stick to its pan. Set aside for now.

Next, melt the stick of butter in a large non-stick wok or skillet.  Add onion and celery and saute on high heat until half tender and onions are beginning to caramelize.   Add the cubed eggplant and continue to saute until it, too, is half tender.  Break up the sausage into the mix and continue stirring until it is browned and eggplant is getting quite tender now.  Add parsley, seasonings and stir well. Remove from heat.  Break up the bread coarsely into the pan on top of the vegetable-sausage mixture.  Beat in the 2 eggs and add 1 cup of the broth.  You want this mixture quite wet, about like oatmeal. Only add the other ½ c. broth if needed to make the mixture quite wet.    Spoon into your greased baking dish and pop into 350º oven to bake for about 30-35 minutes and nicely browned on top.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes eight (approx. ½ c.) servings, each contains:

314 calories

25.8 g  fat

7.63 g  carbs, 3.32 g  fiber, 4.31 g  NET CARBS

14.6 g  protein

31.84 mg sodium

Southern “Cornbread” Stuffing

Southern “Cornbread” Stuffing

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

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

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

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

INGREDIENTS:

1 recipe of my Jalapeno Cheese Bread

6 oz. chopped onion

6 oz. chopped celery

1 stick unsalted butter (8 T.)

1 c. chopped parsley

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

½ tsp. black pepper

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

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

Melt the butter in a skillet and saute the celery and onion until very tender.  I do NOT like crunchy bits in my stuffing! 🙂  Add the sauteed veggie mixture, butter and all, to the dry ingredients in the bowl.  Add seasonings and finally the broth.  You may have to add more broth if the resulting mixture is not fairly wet (but not soupy).  Stir well to blend all ingredients.  Pour into a buttered 9×13 baking pan or two round pans.  I personally like to drizzle 1-2 T. more melted butter on top, but that isn’t necessary or included in the numbers below. Bake at 350º for about 30-40 minutes or until golden brown on top.

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

282 calories

26 g  fat

7.16 g  carbs, 3.16 g fiber, 4 g NET CARBS

9.1 g  protein

190 mg sodium

Lupin Cornbread Stuffing

Click to enlarge

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

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

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

INGREDIENTS:

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

3 oz. onion, chopped

3/4 c. celery, chopped

6 T. butter, unsalted

¼ c. parsley, chopped

2 eggs, beaten

1 c. homemade chicken broth

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

Dash ground thyme

Dash salt and pepper

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

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 10 servings, each contains:

231 calories

20.3 g  fat

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

8.3 g  protein

298 mg sodium

144 mg potassium

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

Wild Rice Cranberry Stuffing

Click to enlarge

I created this wild rice stuffing to have with my Blackberry Balsamic Glazed Duck for Christmas.  I think it came out as good as my traditional rice stuffing, if not even better!  I’m just beginning to try out grains once a week and am having some luck without gaining.  When you get to the grains rung of OWL, I hope you’ll try out this recipe, as it is very easy to put together.  Gets good reviews from my holiday guests, too.  Would be good with chicken, pork or baked fish as well.  This is a big recipe for a crowd.  I only make ½ recipe up and still have some leftover.  But this is also good with pork and chicken, so I never have problems getting rid of the leftovers.  As this is a bit carb-pricey, I usually only do this for holidays or when I serve duck.  This recipe is not suitable until you reach teh Atkins Pre-Maintenance or Maintenance phase.

INGREDIENTS:

1 ½ c. wild rice

2½ c. homemade chicken broth (or two 10.5oz.cans low sodium broth)

1 c. cranberries chopped fairly coarse (halved or into thirds)

½ lb. lean bulk pork sausage (preferably homemade)

4 T. melted butter

1 c. chopped celery

4 chopped green onions

2 oz. (40 halves) pecans (coarsely chopped)

1/4 tsp. black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

In a skillet, saute the pork sausage, crumbling it up as it cooks.  Add butter, onion and celery.  Saute until vegetables are pretty tender.  Set aside.  In a saucepan, mix rice and chicken broth. Cover with lid and cook for the amount of time indicated on the rice package, which is usually around 15-20 minutes.  When rice is done, using a fork, fluff it out onto the sausage mixture in the skillet.  Add cranberries and nuts.  Stir well to blend all ingredients.  Add chopped nuts and black pepper and stir again.  Pour into greased glass dish and bake at 350-375º  for about 20 minutes.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 14 servings, each containing:

182 calories

11.04 g  fat

14.97 g  carbs

2.19 g  fiber

12.78 g  NET CARBS

197 mg sodium

Sherry-Pecan-Bacon Stuffing

Photo courtesy of Hank Shaw on Simply Recipes blog

This is a low-carb modification of famed Chef James Beard’s wild rice stuffing I’ve made for years (before beginning the Atkins).  It is outstanding with with venison, wild game, roasted chicken or turkey.  The inspirational recipe is made with 2 cups of cooked wild rice.  Those in Atkins maintenance who can eat such things, could certainly make this using a quality wild rice.  For those of us in earlier stages of Atkins unable to eat rice, I have modified my recipe to be much lower in carbs.  Admittedly, these modifications make it considerably different in appearance and flavor from the original recipe, but it is just as good in its own right.

This dish is not acceptable before the grains rung of OWL as written.  You could sub in a Muffin in a Minute toasted for the Artisan Flatbread and have this at the nut rung of OWL. I do not stuff my turkeys, but prefer to bake my stuffing in a separate pan so the top can get toasty.  The toasting of the sherry-soaked bread cubes  is essential to the  overall taste and texture of this dish.  When I was in high school, I’d always pick those out and eat them, as I carried the dish to the dining room table.  Annoyed my mother to no end.  But they were sooooo good!  A lush at 17, yet ironically I hardly drink at all as an adult.  I DO cook with wine a great deal, however.

Many delicious low-carb recipes like this can be at your fingertips with your very own cookbooks from LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS, by Jennifer Eloff and low-carb friends (me included).  Chef George Stella also brings you a wealth of delicious recipes you will love!  Order yours TODAY! from Amazon  or our direct order site: amongfriends.us/order.php.

INGREDIENTS:

½ c. sweet onion, chopped

½ stick unsalted butter

1 lg. stalk celery, chopped

2 c. jicama, peeled and grated

¼ c. parsley, chopped

½ c. pecan halves

4 slices bacon, coarsely chopped, cooked and drained

¼ tsp. dried tarragon

¼-½ black pepper

2 c. Artisan Flatbread, cubed and toasted (or 1 c. bread + 1 c. cooked pre-cooked wild rice)

4 T. sherry

HOLIDAY VARIATION:  Add a few dried, sugar-free cranberries to the stuffing

DIRECTIONS:  Make Artisan bread per that recipe’s instructions in a 13×15″ pan.  Cool and cut into 12 “slices”.  It should take two slices to produce the required 2c. of cubes. Put remaining slices into a gallon zip-lock bag and store your refrigerator for sandwiches or whatever.  BTW this makes great bread for serving with Italian foods.  It keeps very well in the fridge, too.  Toast the 2 c. of cubes on the same pan in your oven, stirring several times as they dry out and get toasty.

Coarsely chop up and fry bacon in a skillet. If you have one, doing this in a large wok will eliminate the need to transfer to a large bowl later (saves on dirty dishes).   Drain bacon on paper towels.  Pour off grease for another use.  Now melt butter in same skillet/wok and saute the onion and celery until tender.  Next add grated jicama and continue to saute until jicama is tender.  Add parsley, tarragon and pepper and stir well.  Turn off heat and pour mixture into a large bowl, if required, to facilitate stirring.  Mix sherry with water.  Bunch the bread cubes together on their baking sheet  and drizzle the sherry water  over them, tossing once, trying to be sure each cube gets a bit of the liquid and that all liquid is absorbed.    Now add the bread cubes and pecans to the veggie mixture and give it a final stirring to blend all ingredients.

Grease a large casserole dish with butter and pour dressing into the pan.  If you can afford the calories, dot with 2 T. butter.  Bake at 350º for about 20-30 minutes until bread cubes on top are toasted a bit.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Serves 6, each serving contains:

230 calories, 20g  fat, 6.17g  carbs, 2.67 g  fiber, 3.5g NET CARBS, 4.6g  protein, 195 mg. sodium

Jicama-Eggplant Stuffing

Jicama-Eggplant Stuffing

This Induction-friendly stuffing is wonderful with the holiday turkey, with baked chicken and stuffed pork chops.  As cornbread is not allowed during the early phase of a low-carb diet, even on maintenance you can’t afford to eat anything made with real cornmeal very often and stay within your daily carb limits.  I decided to experiment with two unusual ingredients and came up with a recipe that was quite good!  One cyber acquaintance on the Atkins Community forums has told me more than once it is THE BEST stuffing she has EVER eaten, low-carb or non-low-carb.  I guarantee you won’t be missing that cornbread stuffing one bit serving this dish with your Thanksgiving dinner!  Leftovers freeze very nicely, too.  In fact, the jicama softens up after freezing, so intentionally preparing this early and freezing it might not be such a bad idea.

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.  Order the complete 10-volume set and get deeper discounts.  Order your set or individual books  from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

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

INGREDIENTS:

1 stick unsalted butter

6 oz. chopped yellow onion

6 oz. chopped celery

12 oz. grated jicama

12 oz. coarsely chopped peeled eggplant (½-¾” pieces)

1/2 c. chopped parsley

1/4 c. + 1 T. chicken broth

1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning (I make my Dad’s Poultry Seasoning recipe)

1/4 tsp. ground thyme

1/4 tsp. each salt and black pepper

1 egg, beaten into the broth above

1 slice/roll of any low-carb bread you have on hand (use a flax bun if still on Induction)

DIRECTIONS:  Place peeled, chopped  eggplant in boiling water and simmer until soft but do not reduced it to mush.  This should take about 10 minutes. Drain well in a colander, pressing out as much water as you can with the back of a spoon.

While eggplant is draining, melt stick of butter in a large non-stick skillet.  Add onion and celery and saute until they start to soften.  Add the grated jicama. Continue to saute, turning often, until jicama threads are quite tender and beginning to “shrink” as their moisture cooks out.

Scrape eggplant into a large mixing bowl.  Add the sauteed veggies, parsley, all seasonings and crumbled low-carb bread (use a flax bun if still on Induction).    Add beaten egg/broth mixture.   Stir all ingredients to enable the egg/broth to bind the stuffing ingredients all together.

Transfer stuffing to well-buttered 9×13 baking pan.  If I don’t have company, I will usually put the stuffing right back into the already greased non-stick skillet I sauteed the veggies in.  🙂  Bake at 350º for around 30 minutes.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 8 servings,  each containing:

166 calories

13.66 g  fat

9.46 g  carbs, 4.66 g fiber, 4.86 NET CARBS

3.09 g  protein

73 mg. sodium

Blue Crab Stuffing

I haven’t cooked this in years and thought I’d do it for dinner tonight.  This is the crab stuffing I developed while I lived on Galveston Island in the 70’s and 80’s.   My recipe was inspired by the crab stuffing served at Gaido’s Seafood restaurant on Galveston seawall. One of my favorite items on their menu.  Best I’ve ever eaten, bar none. But this one I created is pretty darn close! It’s so easy to prepare and is always a hit with dinner guests! If you have access to fresh crab meat, I highly recommend this dish as an entree or use it to stuff baked flouder or other fish of choice.

INGREDIENTS:

1½ lb. crab meat, shelled and picked well for bits of shell (Blue crab is the sweetest and best for this)

3 Flax Sandwich Buns  (or other low-carb bread)

4 oz. finely chopped onion

4 oz. finely chopped celery

1 oz. finely chopped green pepper (or mixture of red and green if you like)

½ oz. parsley

2 oz. heavy cream

¼ tsp. salt

Dash of cayenne pepper

1 tsp. dry mustard powder

½ c. (1 stick) unsalted, melted butter

DIRECTIONS:    Using a large bowl, carefully pick out all bits of shell from crab meat.  Soak 2 of the pieces of bread with the cream and crumble over the crab.  Crumb the remaining roll into fairly fine crumbs.  Set aside.

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium high heat.  Add celery, onion, bell pepper, salt, cayenne and mustard powder and saute until slightly tender. Add parsley and saute couple minutes longer.  Pour sauteed veggie mixture over crab/bread mixture in the bowl.  Gently toss ingredients to mix well.  Spoon mixture into 6 large crab shells (if you have them) , into individual 6 oven-safe ramekins or stuff into fish prepared for baking.  Top with bread crumbs and bake in preheated 350º oven for 30 minutes (whole 1 lb. fish should be nicely done in that amount of time, but check for flaky done stage on your fish to be sure).

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 6 servings, each serving has: (numbers are just for stuffing & does not include fish)

351.3 cals, 25.9g fat, 5.4g carbs, 2.47g fiber, 2.93g NET CARBS, 25.3g protein, 120 mg. sodium