Jack Snack Nachos

My extremely popular recipe for Jack Snacks (millions of fans on Facebook)  I have just taken to a new level.  Last night my husband asked for some and begged me to put just a few refried beans on top this time.  So I did the nutritional math for a tiny bit of those added and the damage wasn’t as bad as I thought:  3.45 net carbs per piece (original version w/o beans is .08 NC per piece), but definitely higher than the inspirational recipe.

These were VERY good and I felt like I was eating a real Texas-style nacho.  I baked them  in two stages and let them get crisper than I usually do so they might get crisp enough for the final nachos to be manageable in our hands.  That surprised me as I thought the moisture in the beans might make them a bit soggy and require a fork to eat them.  But that didn’t turn out to be the case.  These are not suitable until you reach the legumes rung of Atkins Phase 2 carb reintroduction ladder.  Keto folks can have these if the numbers fit your daily limits.  These are not suitable for Paleo or Primal due to the beans.

Many more delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own cookbooks from LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS, Volume 8, by Jennifer Eloff, Chef George Stella of Food Network fame, and myself.  Volume 8 is almost completely comprised of my recipes! Chef George Stella and Jennifer Eloff are also including several tasty new delights in Vol.  8! Order yours (or any of our earlier cookbooks) from Amazon  or our direct order site: amongfriends.us/order.php.  Remember, they make GREAT birthday or holiday gifts!  If you’ve already purchased a book, the team would appreciate it if you would please take a moment and drop by the our Amazon page to leave your personal review.  🙂

INGREDIENTS:

1 recipe my Jack Snacks

½ c. canned refried beans, warmed a bit in the microwave for a minute or so

1/3 c. shredded Cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 375º.  Per the Jack Snack recipe, place 1 T. of the shredded Monterrey Jack cheese on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  A total o f 16 little piles should be formed equally spaced apart.  Pop into the hot oven and bake about 10-15 minutes or until golden on top and around the edges.  Remove pan and dot each cheese portion with about ½-3/4 tsp. of the warm beans.  I used a tiny demi-tasse spoon to dip these up for portion control.  Do not spread the beans out lest the cheese bases get soggy!  Lay the jalapeno slice on top of each and sprinkle the 1/3 c. shredded Cheddar on top.  Pop back into oven and bake until the Cheddar has melted or about 7-10 minutes longer.  Remove from oven and cool a minute or so so the bases can form/crisp up for removing.  Serve and enjoy!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 16 nachos, each contains:

45 calories, 3.3 g fat, 3.73 g carbs, 0.59 g fiber, 3.45 g NET CARBS, 1 g protein, 107 mg sodium

 

 

 

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Silver Dollar Pizzas

When I was growing up my mother used to make us tiny pancakes she called Silver Dollar Pancakes, served up in a “Leaning Tower of Piza” stack.  My brother and I LOVED THEM!    They were just regular old pancakes made about 2½” round, but it got us excited about eating them when we were little.  Well, I made some real tiny pizzas in my muffin-top pan today and decided that would be a perfect name for these tasty  pizza bites.  I used my new Mozzy Dough, which held up nicely for eating with fingers.  They made a great lunch and they would make great party appetizers!   These delicious little gems are not suitable until you get fairly well into Phase 2 Atkins, as there is a little wheat product in Carbquik bake mix (in the dough).

Many more delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own cookbooks from LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS, Volume 8, by Jennifer Eloff, Chef George Stella of Food Network fame, and myself.  Volume 8 is almost completely comprised of my recipes! But George Stella and Jennifer Eloff are also including several tasty new delights to try in this latest Volume 8! You’ll LOVE these delicious recipes, so order yours (Volume 8 or ANY of our cookbooks) from Amazon  or our direct order site: amongfriends.us/order.php.  For a limited time, there is free shipping if you order 2 or more cookbooks on the same order.  Remember, they make GREAT birthday or holiday gifts!  If you’ve already purchased a book, take a moment and drop by the our Amazon page and  leave your personal review on the latest book.  Inquiring minds want to know. 🙂

INGREDIENTS:

½ recipe my Mozzy Dough

¼ c. Classico Spaghetti Sauce (Tomato & Basil) or other low-carb sauce

1/4 tsp. dried oregano leaves, crushed

12 slices pepperoni

12 black olives, sliced into 3 slices each

1 oz. green bell pepper, sliced into 12 thin pieces

½ c. shredded mozzarella cheese

3 T. shredded Parmesan

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Make the Mozzy Dough per that recipe’s instructions.   Divide in half and wrap/store half for some other use.  Divide the half you are using into 12 equal balls (that’s about 1½ T. each ball of dough).  I used a non-stick muffin-top pan, but you could alternately use the bottom of non-stick muffin pan slots or a parchment-lined baking sheet if you don’t own a muffin-top pan.  Place a ball of dough into each of the 12 pan slots and press flat into a 2½” circle.  Top each with 1 tsp. of spaghetti sauce.  Sprinkle on the oregano.  Next place a slice of pepperoni on top of each Pizza.  Then place 3 slices of olive on each, followed by 3 pieces of bell pepper.  Finally, top each pizza with 1-2 tsp. mozzarella shreds, ending with a sprinkle of the Parmesan shreds.  Pop into 250º oven for 15 minutes or until lightly browning on the edges.  Remove, plate and serve warm.  These can be handled with your fingers, so the youngest kiddoes will love these and be able to eat them without dropping a bit on the floor or their lap.  Of course, they may have never seen a real silver dollar and wonder about the name.  Silver Dollars are rarely seen nowadays.  Perhaps you have one you can show them?

NUTRITIONAL INFO:     Makes 12 Silver Dollar Pizzas, each contains:

98.3 calories, 7.85 g fat, 3.32 g carbs, 1.83 g fiber, 1.49 g NET CARBS, 6.44 g protein, 231 mg sodium

 

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Cheese Puffs

I decided to modify my Cheese Thin Buns recipe by adding some Carbquik to the ingredient line-up.   What a marvelous change that makes!  These tasty little snacks are less than 1 net carb per puff!  We both love snacking on cheese bread, but that isn’t exactly on a low-carb diet.  This is my answer to a late night snack that is suitable on a very low-carb diet.  These are easy to make and I’m certain they’ll be a hit with your family.  If you don’t like things spicy, omit the cayenne; if you do like things spicy, you may even want to increase the amount of cayenne!  🙂  These are suitable once you get to the end of Phase 2 Atkins.

Many more delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own cookbooks from LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS, Volume 8, by Jennifer Eloff, Chef George Stella of Food Network fame, and myself.  Volume 8 is almost completely comprised of my recipes! But George Stella and Jennifer Eloff are also including several tasty new delights to try in this latest Volume 8! You’ll LOVE these delicious recipes, so order yours (Volume 8 or ANY of our cookbooks) from Amazon  or our direct order site: amongfriends.us/order.php.  For a limited time, there is free shipping if you order 2 or more cookbooks on the same order.  Remember, they make GREAT birthday or holiday gifts!  If you’ve already purchased a book, take a moment and drop by the our Amazon page and  leave your personal review on the latest book.  Inquiring minds want to know. 🙂

INGREDIENTS:

3 eggs, beaten

½ c. water

2 T. olive oil

2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese

1 T. + 1 tsp. glucomannan powder (there is no substitute for this)

¼ c. whey protein powder (plain, unsweetened)

1 T. (3 tsp) baking powder

¼ tsp. garlic powder

¼ tsp. onion powder

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper (optional but greatly enhanced the flavor layers)

1/8 tsp. sea salt

1 c. Carbquik (use gluten-free bake mix for a gluten-free version)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Measure out the dry ingredients in a small mixing bowl and stir well to evenly mix.  In a separate medium mixing bowl, beat the wet ingredients with an electric mixer or whisk.  While you are whisking the egg mixture, slowly add in the dry ingredients until all is well blended into a batter resembling pancake batter.  Stir in the cheese and mix it well.  Let the dough stand a few minutes as it will thicken/stiffen up a bit.

I used a non-stick mini-muffin pan.  The cheese will bleed out some oil, so you shouldn’t have to oil a non-stick pan.  But if yours is NOT non-stick, oil the cups of your mini-muffin pan lightly with a brush.  Using a measuring spoon, put 1 level tablespoon of batter into each cup raking it out with a finger to get it all.  Will make exactly 34 muffins, so a second baking will be necessary unless you own two mini-muffin pans.  Pop into 350º oven and bake for 17 minutes or until browning on top.  We found browning enhances flavor, so you may want to even bake yours a bit longer.  Remove from oven and cool a couple minutes.  If cooled a bit, they will come out of the pans with a knife tip’s help without tearing apart.  If removed too hot, you are going to tear them up.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 34 Cheese Puffs, each contains:

50.6 cals., 4.52 g fat, 2.13 g carbs, 1.43 g fiber, 0.70 g NET CARBS, 3.06 g protein, 138 mg sodium

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Mozzy Dough

Used in an Italian Chicken Tart

I’ve begun experimenting with a dough that is somewhere between the Flathead Pizza Crust recipe on the Diet Doctor’s website and Jennifer Eloff’s Miracle Dough recipe.  But the final result is a little easier to handle, roll, and manipulate than either of those recipes, in my experience.  This dough has good elasticity and flavor and numerous possible applications.  I can see I’ll be using this dough recipe a lot.

Many more delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own cookbooks from LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS, Volume 8, by Jennifer Eloff, Chef George Stella of Food Network fame, and myself.  Volume 8 is almost completely comprised of my recipes! But George Stella and Jennifer Eloff are also including several tasty new delights to try in this latest Volume 8! You’ll LOVE these delicious recipes, so order yours (Volume 8 or ANY of our cookbooks) from Amazon  or our direct order site: amongfriends.us/order.php.  For a limited time, there is free shipping if you order 2 or more cookbooks on the same order.  Remember, they make GREAT birthday or holiday gifts!If you’ve already purchased a book, take a moment and drop by the our Amazon page and  leave your personal review on the latest book.  Inquiring minds want to know. 🙂

INGREDIENTS:

2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

2 T. melted butter

1 egg, beaten

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

½ c. Carbquik

1 T. oat fiber

½ tsp. psyllium husk powder (I use NOW brand)

Dash each onion and garlic powder (omit for dessert applications)

DIRECTIONS:  Place mozzy cheese in glass or ceramic bowl and microwave on HI for about 1-1½ minutes to melt it.  Remove and stir with a fork.  Add the egg and melted butter and stir again.  Add the two bake mixes, oat fiber, psyllium and onion/garlic powder seasoning.  Stir to form a congruous ball of dough, making sure to get it all off the sides of the bowl.  Knead once or twice and proceed to make a pizza crust, pie crust, hand pies, sweet filled pastries (omit onion/garlic powder for sweet applications) or whatever application you dream up.  For pizza and pie crust, I bake at 350º for about 15-20 minutes to desired brown level.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes enough for a large pie-crust with lovely fluted edge, 4 hand pies, or a small 12″ pizza.

1/8 recipe contains: 186 calories, 15 g fat, 7.42 g carbs, 4.73 g fiber, 2.68 g NET CARBS, 12.3 g protein, 281 mg sodium

ENTIRE RECIPE CONTAINS:  1487 calories, 121.8 g fat, 59.4 g carbs, 37.9 g fiber, 21.5 g NET CARBS, 106.3 g protein, 2251 mg sodium (divide by number of servings/pieces for the specific application you use this for)

 

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Italian Chicken Tart

I have modified the popular Fathead Pizza Dough a bit and think it is improved with my changes.  The oat fiber I’ve added makes it taste like there’s real flour in it; the psyllium makes it a more elastic, sturdier final product; the two bake mixes always render for me a wonderful final product when mixed.  With just 1½ cups of leftover cooked chicken in the refrigerator, I made a delicious dinner for the two of us tonight.  You could certainly serve this with a salad, but with the fresh spinach layer here, I felt we were getting enough greens in this meal and did not make one.  This is suitable once you reach Phase 2 of Atkins.  Keto dieters can have this if it fits their daily number limits.

Many more delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own cookbooks from LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS, Volume 8, by Jennifer Eloff, Chef George Stella of Food Network fame, and myself.  Volume 8 is almost completely comprised of my recipes! But George Stella and Jennifer Eloff are also including several tasty new delights to try in this latest Volume 8! You’ll LOVE these delicious recipes, so order yours (Volume 8 or ANY of our cookbooks) from Amazon  or our direct order site: amongfriends.us/order.php.  For a limited time, there is free shipping if you order 2 or more cookbooks on the same order.  Remember, they make GREAT birthday or holiday gifts!If you’ve already purchased a book, take a moment and drop by the our Amazon page and  leave your personal review on the latest book.  Inquiring minds want to know. 🙂

VARIATION:  For a smaller version, divide the dough into 12 balls and press the dough onto the bottom and up the sides a bit of each cup in the tin.  Distribute the toppings on all 12 portions.  Baking time probably won’t change for the smaller version.  You could even divide dough into 24 balls and press into the real mini-muffin pans.  Reduce cook time a bit for those.  Another variation would be to sub in 2-3 Italian sausage links, skinned, crumbled and pre-browned for the chicken in this recipe. 

CRUST INGREDIENTS:

2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese (I used whole milk variety)

2 T. unsalted butter, pre-melted

½ c. Jennifer Eloff’s GF bake mix

½ c. Carbquik Bake Mix

1/8 tsp. each onion and garlic powder

1 T. oat fiber

1/2 tsp. psyllium husk powder (I use NOW brand)

1 egg, beaten

TOPPINGS:

1 c. fresh spinach leaves, coarsely chopped

¼ c. low-carb spaghetti sauce (jar) (I used Classico brand with basil)

1½ c. cooked chicken, coarsely chopped

½ tsp. each dried basil and oregano leaves

½ c. additional mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Place cheese in glass bowl and set in microwave.  Melt cheese on HI for around 2 minutes.  Remove bowl from.  Drizzle melted butter over the top of cheese and stir with fork.  Add in the two bake mixes, the psyllium, oat fiber, the beaten egg, onion and garlic powder.  Stir well with fork until it forms a ball and pulls away from the bowl.  Knead once or twice with hands in the bowl and then place dough into a classic tart pan (the kind where the bottom pushes up/out).  If you don’t have one, use a large pie plate.  This crust wanted to stick to the pan a bit, despite the fact my tart pan is non-stick, so you might want to lightly oil the pan with coconut oil.  Press the dough out evenly on the bottom with your hands, pushing it up the sides a bit to form a “wall” around the edge.  Pop into 350º oven for about 12 minutes to set up the dough surface. Remove when it just beings to get tan on the edges.  Remove.  Place the spinach evenly on the bottom of the tart.  Next add the chopped chicken, oregano and basil.  Top with the additional ½ c. mozzarella cheese.  Raise oven temp to 375º and pop back into oven.  Bake until lightly browned, or about 15 minutes.   Watch it, as ovens do vary.  Cut into 6 slices and serve hot.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 6 slices, each contains:  (I ate 2 and the hubs ate 3)

333 calories, 25 g fat, 10.83 g carbs, 6.65 g fiber, 4.18 g NET CARBS, 27 g protein, 549 mg sodium

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Ham-Tuna Cheesies

I’ve posted my Tuna Cheesies , a long-time family favorite snack, some time back.  A number of you have tried and loved them.  Those are made and served on low-carb crackers.  Today for lunch, I wanted to “push the diet envelope” and take these to an even lower carb level and try them without actual crackers!  I had a piece of cured ham leftover from breakfast, so I decided to make my “crackers” from that fried ham.  What a GOOD IDEA that turned out to be!  At first, I was not sure ham and tuna would go well together together.  Well, I’m here to tell you they are wonderful together!  The cheese rounds out the flavor profile quite nicely!  Sometimes cooking whims really do work!  If you’ll let these slightly cool a bit before serving, they are easier to lift off the pan with a thin spatula and easier to hold in your hand for eating.  Plus…….you won’t burn the top of your mouth with the very hot, gooey cheese.  These tasty snacks are suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets and for those Primal Blueprint folks that consume the occasional dairy.

Many more delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own cookbooks from LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS, Volume 8, by Jennifer Eloff, Chef George Stella of Food Network fame, and myself.  Volume 8 is almost completely comprised of my recipes! But George Stella and Jennifer Eloff are also including several tasty new delights to try in this latest Volume 8! You’ll LOVE these delicious recipes, so order yours (Volume 8 or ANY of our cookbooks) from Amazon  or our direct order site: amongfriends.us/order.php.  For a limited time, there is free shipping if you order 2 or more cookbooks on the same order.  Remember, they make GREAT birthday or holiday gifts!If you’ve already purchased a book, take a moment and drop by the our Amazon page and  leave your personal review on the latest book.  Inquiring minds want to know. 🙂

VARIATION:  Use diagonally sliced pieces, pre-browned smoked sausage in place of ham.

INGREDIENTS:

4 oz. fried, cured ham

4 oz. (slices) American Deluxe or Cheddar cheese, shredded

½ small pouch (1.3 oz) water-pack tuna

Dash onion powder

Dash cayenne pepper

1/8 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 T. softened butter

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Slice ham off into ¼” slices and then cut those into 16 pieces.  Place them on a parchment-lined pan with ample space between them, as the cheese topping will sprawl beyond the ham bits during cooking.  Place remaining ingredients in a small bowl and mix well with a fork until the butter is binding the cheese and tuna together nicely.  Spoon or fork about 1 T. of the mixture onto each slice of ham, evenly distributing any that is left over.  Slightly press the mixture down with fingers or your fork if it seems a bit “loosey-goosey”, as I call it when a mixture isn’t cohesive enough.  Pop the pan into a hot 350º oven for about 10 minutes or just until the cheese-tuna mixture melts.  It will spread over and beyond the ham most likely.  Remove pan from oven and cool a couple minutes.   Using a thin metal spatula, remove the cheesies from the pan to a serving platter and serve at once.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 16 cheesies, each contains:

48.6 calories, 3.75 g fat, 0.36 g carbs, 0.0 g fiber, 0.36 g NET CARBS, 3.38 g protein, 187 mg sodium

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Tzatziki

         Greek Tzatziki

This well-known Greek sauce is one of those recipes I’ve been meaning to put up on my site for ages and ages and just kept forgetting to do it.  This year I’m really trying to get to posting all those recipes I make often but are the meal “extras” and not the “main attraction”.   This is typical condiment with Greek food and  Middle Eastern/Mediterranean grilled beef or lamb kebabs and ground beef/lamb koftas.  It’s also great on tuna, salmon or crab cakes or on shawarma gyros-type sandwich wraps.  I’ve even used this sauce on cucumber-tomato salads as a dressing!  It’s ever so simple to make, too!

Be sure to squeeze out as much water from your grated cucumber as you can before combining all the ingredients or else it will bleed out its water into the sauce and really weaken the flavor and spoil the appearance.  This recipe is not suitable for Induction due to the yogurt, but you could make it with all sour cream and enjoy 2-3 Tbsp.  This sauce is suitable for other Keto diets and Primal Blueprint (occasionally), but not at all Paleo approved.

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 8-9″ cucumber, peeled, seeded and grated

1 c. drained or Greek yogurt, or half yogurt and half sour cream (my personal preference), or all sour cream (for lower carbs)

1 clove garlic, minced

1 T. yellow onion, minced finely

½ tsp. dried dill weed (or 2 sprigs fresh, chopped)

½ tsp. dried mint (or 1 T. fresh, chopped fine)

Dash each salt and black pepper

DIRECTIONS:  At least 1 hour before serving, peel the cucumber.  Cut in half and seed with a spoon.  Grate the cucumber onto paper toweling double thick or even better, place it in a clean cotton woven kitchen towel (not terry cloth, please).  Blot the water away with paper towels or wrap, twist and squeeze it in the kitchen towel to remove all water.  You want to get as much water out as you can.  Add the cucumber to a medium bowl.  Add all remaining ingredients and stir well.  Cover and chill until ready to serve.  If it bleeds out more water, blot it from around the edges with a paper towel, stir and serve.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes about 2 cups or 4 servings (perhaps more depending on how much people eat).  1/4 of the batch contains:

102 calories, 8.1 g  fat, 4.6 g  carbs, .8 g  fiber, 3.8 g  NET CARBS, 3.2 g. protein, 110 mg sodium

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