Homemade “Cavender’s Greek” Seasoning

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

INGREDIENTS:

1 T. dill seed

1 T. black peppercorns

1 T. dried basil

1 T. dried oregano leaves

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 T. granulated garlic

1 T. granulated onion

1 T. dried parsley flakes

1 T. dried rosemary

2 tsp. dried marjoram leaves

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

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

4.6 cals, 0.09 g  fat, 1.0 g  carbs, 0.34 g fiber, 0.66 g  NET CARBS, 1 mg sodium

Sofrito

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

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

INGREDIENTS:

½ bunch of fresh cilantro

4 large green onions, roots removed

4 garlic cloves

2 oz. red bell pepper (or green)

¼ c. parsley

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

VARIATION:   Add 1 seeded, Roma tomato.

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

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

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

Braised Chicken in Cilantro-Almond Sauce

If you like cilantro you’ll love this sauce!  It is so easy to prepare and is extremely good on chicken, pork or baked/broiled fish.  Any leftover sauce in the pan also freezes well!  When reheating, warm over lowest heat just long enough to get hot so as to not overcook the cilantro or curdle the cream.  this is not acceptable for Atkins Induction Phase due to almonds, but OK after you leave Induction Phase.

INGREDIENTS:

2 c. chicken broth, preferably homemade

4 oz. onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded & finely chopped

2 chopped seeded fresh tomatillos (or 3.5 oz. [½ can] Herdez Salsa Verde)

¼ c. almonds, finely ground

2 T. butter

1 whole bunch cilantro, chopped fine (use ½ c. parsley if you don’t like cilantro)

1/2 c. heavy cream

Dash salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:  If making this sauce for chicken, sear the meat well on both sides in the butter until golden brown.  If it is for fish, bake/broil your fish until completely done and set aside until sauce is completely done.  Place first 7 ingredients (except for the butter you’ve already used searing the chicken) into a blender or food processor and pulse until fairly finely chopped.  Now carefully transfer the cilantro mixture back into the skillet around the chicken.  Simmer sauce with chicken for about 45 minutes or until chicken is completely done.  Lower heat and add cilantro and cream.  Stir for only 2-3 minutes to slightly thicken.  Serve with about 1/3 c. sauce over each serving of chicken.  This sauce will NOT be very thick.  If using on fish, spoon the sauce over your baked/broiled fish right before serving.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes about 3 c. sauce for 9 servings, each containing:

96.78 cals, 8.63g fat, 2.79g carbs, 0.67g fiber, 2.12g NET CARBS, 2.1g protein, 17 mg. sodium

Homemade Hoisin Sauce (low-carb)

I made some Moo Shu Pork for dinner recently and as I grabbed my homemade hoisin sauce from the refrigerator, I thought I need to post this recipe again for those readers that may have missed it. 

My first exposure to Moo Shu Pork was at a restaurant in Houston called Shanghai East.  On one occasion, the actress Debra Paget was dining across the room from us.  She is/was married to an Asian oil businessman, my husband said.   I will always see her as the beautiful Indian princess Sunsiree, who marries Jimmy Stewart in “Broken Arrow”.  The restaurant was fairly empty as it was mid-afternoon, so we walked over, introduced ourselves and chatted a moment about her career.   Such a pretty woman, even then, in her late 50’s or early 60’s maybe?  I remember this occasion every time I eat Moo Shu Pork.  Photo of this 60’s star below.  🙂

We love, love, love Moo Shu Pork.  But to really enjoy it, you just have to have Hoisin Sauce to add and that, purchased at an Asian market, just isn’t a low-carb item.  Several of my readers have been asking me for years to create this sauce in a low-carb version, but I kept hesitating to take that on, as I didn’t actually know where to begin & was reluctant to even start.   One day when we wanted to make some Moo Shu Pork, I said ‘Here goes!” that morning.  Better late than never, as the end result it isn’t that bad.  🙂

Commercial Hoisin sauce either has brown sugar, high fructose corn syrup or a considerable amount of molasses in the ingredient listing.  I tried several recipes for this sauce I gathered around the net over the past 9 years and the only two trialed to date were just not so good to me.   :{  So I set about creating my own finally.   By the way, this sauce is the very same plum sauce used in serving famed Peking Duck, and it also compliments my Asian Honey Duck recipe. 

And so my experiment began that morning.  I had an open bag of no-sugar-added prunes in my pantry, so I began there.  I started with 10 dried prunes as a base.  Then I added a few store-bought ingredients mention on commercial labels of the sauce, cutting carb “corners” wherever I could  and literally guessing the amounts for all my ingredients to arrive at the desired taste.

Well, I’m here to tell you my final sauce, after aging, came out pretty darn good!  Not exactly like the high-carb stuff in the jar at the Asian grocery store when finished, but it ages and gets closer to that flavor over time in the fridge.  We ate it that first night, and were initially a little disappointed in its mild flavor.  The anise (licorice flavor) in the Chinese 5-Spice Powder was pretty pronounced but the bean paste, not so much.   Those flavors however did mellow and develop in just 24 hours, getting considerably richer/deeper flavored in a week.

All in all, not bad for my first shot at a low-carb version of this essential Chinese condiment. Most commercial hoisin sauce has around 8 carbs per tablespoon, so this number is trimmed down considerably with my recipe.  Using liquid Splenda lowers carbs a tad, but not very much.  A couple weeks later, the sauce had aged quite nicely in flavor, so the key appears to be letting it age before using.

I’ll post the Moo Shu Pork recipe later today.  I have been cooking many years with with Gloria Bley-Miller’s marvelous cookbook The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook  as my “Bible” for Chinese cooking.  I highly recommend her cookbook.  I can cook Moo Shu pork blindfolded but must be sure to have dried tiger lily buds and dried cloud ear fungus on hand to prepare it.

This sauce is suitable once you get to Phase 2 of Atkins, since it is used in such small amounts on the “pancake” (low-carb flour tortilla) that you will use to roll up the Moo Shu Pork.  This sauce is totally unsuitable for Primal or Paleo due to the soy beans, as all legumes are eschewed in those food plans.  Sauce should keep a long time in a jar in the refrigerator.  Mine is now 3 months old and it smells/tastes just fine.

INGREDIENTS:

10 large dried prunes (4 oz.), no sugar added (I use DelMonte)

½ c. water

1 T. rice wine vinegar

3 T. low-sodium soy sauce (use dark soy sauce if available)

¼ tsp. Chinese 5-Spice powder

1 tsp. molasses

3 T. Splenda or few drops of liquid sweetener of choice

2 T. Eden soy black beans, rinsed & mashed smooth

DIRECTIONS:  Place prunes in small saucepan with about ½ c. tap water.  Bring to boil, lower heat and simmer until they are soft, or about 5 minutes.  Mash well into the water with a fork until pretty smooth.  You can puree in a blender or food processor if you like, but is difficult to do with such a small amount.  Remove from heat.

Mash the beans on a paper plate to as smooth a paste as possible and stir into the prune mixture.  Add vinegar, soy sauce and 5-Spice powder to the pot and stir well.  Spoon into a lidded jar and store if in your refrigerator for  a week.  I do not know how long this keeps yet, and it sure has no preservatives in it.  But since it’s just made from basically dried fruit, vinegar and sugar ( preservatives naturally) with some soy sauce (fermented), I suspect a pretty long time.  Just don’t know yet.  The soy beans will be what spoils first in this combo.  I’ll try to remember to post back my findings on that when mine no longer seems to smell/look right to me and I toss it out.  🙂  UPDATE:  Seems to last indefinitely in the refrigerator.  That that I made ages ago is still good months later.  No ill effects from eating it ever.  

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes about 1 cup (16 Tbsp.).  Each tablespoon contains:

17.2 cals, 0.1g fat, 3.65g carbs, 0.51g fiber, 3.14g Net CARBS (2.8 NC with liquid Splenda), 0.45g protein, 101 mg sodium

Cocktail Sauce

My family has been making cocktail sauce by this recipe since I was a very little girl, and I have to confess, that was a VERY, VERY long time ago.  Haven’t found one I like better, homemade or commercial.  This sauce keeps about 2-3 weeks in your refrigerator (basically as long as the celery and onion last).  It is also Atkins Induction friendly just as my mother originally made it, other than I now sub in a low-carb ketchup for traditional sugar-laden ketchup!

INGREDIENTS:

1 ½ c.  low carb or no-sugar added ketchup

¼ c. fresh lemon juice

¼  tsp. salt

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

2-4 T. horseradish sauce (add to taste)

2 T. celery, minced as fine as you can get it!

1 tsp. onion, minced as fine as you can get it!

DIRECTIONS: Combine all ingredients and chill.  For a smoother sauce, you could pulse this in a food processor or blender a few seconds.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes about 2 cups or 32 tablespoons.  Each tablespoon has:

10 cals, 0.4g fat, 1.89g carbs, 0.03g fiber, 1.86g NET CARBS, 0.06g protein, 29.56 mg sodium

Homemade Mayonnaise

I don’t like the taste of commercial mayonnaise.  Wouldn’t eat it as a child; still  won’t.  For years, this impeded my eating many common foods made with mayonnaise.  I suspect my not liking it is it is because commercial mayonnaise is  cooked (to thicken and extend shelf life) and also because it has added water.  Hot water and oil just don’t mix in the favor department for me.  Mix them sometime in a glass and smell.  THAT’s the taste I don’t like. 

This aversion has driven me to make homemade mayonnaise exclusively ever since my brother, a professional chef, taught me how to make it in a blender/processor sometime in my 30’s.  Homemade mayo is not as thick as commercial mayonnaise, so I have a special ingredient I add.  In addition, the homemade only keeps 7-10 days, so I date the jar lid and make a fresh batch almost weekly.  If it is  old I just toss it out to be safe.    

To all the salmonella naysayers out there (including my mother)……….all I can say is I’ve been making this for about 20 years now and I’m still alive and kicking and have never gotten salmonella poisoning from anything in my life but a can of tuna I cooked into a casserole once.  Both I and my husband were severely effected by that tuna casserole and the doctor said it was the likely culprit for my 2-day intestinal woes.  The French, inventors of mayonnaise, have made it for centuries and the nation has no records of excessive salmonella for having done so.  🙂

This mayo also makes an excellent base for creamy salad dressings when thinned with 1 T. cream.  There are so many different spices and ingredients you can add for an endless variety of salad dressing creations!  My favorite additive is my Chicken Shawarma Spice Blend.  But the chipotle in adobo version is pretty special as well.  Be Creative!  I’ve listed some of my favorite mayo  additives below.

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. oil (I use Bertolli Extra Light olive or peanut oil)

1 egg

1 T. chopped yellow onion

Dash each of salt, black pepper, garlic powder

½ tsp red wine vinegar (or vinegar of choice)

OPTIONAL:  Pinch (1/16 tsp.) glucomannan powder for a thicker mayo

DIRECTIONS:  Place egg and chopped onion (and glucomannan, if using) into blender or food processor.  Blend until fluffy, lemon-colored and onion is pulverized.  The making of the emulsion is done with repeated taps of the “pulse” button on your machine.  With oil(s) in a pourable container, SLOWLY start pouring oil in a very thin stream the size of pencil lead into the egg mixture, pulsing every couple seconds.  I pour oil with one hand and pulse my processor with the other hand.  Repeat until all oil is incorporated into the mixture.  If using, add glucomannan powder for a thicker products.  Open processor and add all seasonings, vinegar, replace lid and pulse 1-2 more times.  Transfer to lidded glass jar and keep refrigerated for 7-10 days before I just toss out any that’s left and make a fresh batch.  It is normal for it to slightly darken on the surface, so I scrape that off and discard.  You’ll know when it has gone bad as it will start to separate, discolor and have an off odor.  

In hundreds of batches now, I’ve only had this fail on me two times, if that is encouraging……but it CAN happen.    If the emulsion “breaks” on you, just use it for salad dressings and sauces rather than spreading mayo for sandwiches.  It will still have a good flavor so there’s no need to discard it.

THINGS I’VE ADDED FOR SALAD DRESSING APPLICATIONS: (or just some flavoring):

2 tsp. Shawarma Spice Blend (thinned with cream, also makes a nice sauce for broiled fish or  chicken)

½ c. chopped cilantro, seeded jalapeno & more onion

½ seeded chipotle pepper in adobo sauce minced fine + ½  small clove minced garlic

1-2 T. chopped sun-dried tomatoes (oil pack)

1-2 T. tomato paste for roumalade sauce for boiled shrimp 

½ tsp. regular chili powder (or ¼ tsp. chipotle chili powder)  + 1 cl. minced garlic

½ avocado & 1 seeded jalapeno

¼ c. chopped black olives & 1-2 T. more EV olive oil

1 tsp. anchovy paste 

1 T. mashed capers

minced fresh basil leaves

NUTRITIONAL INFO:

Makes about 20 Tablespoons, each containing:

99.25 cals, 11.05 g fat, 0.08 g carbs, 0.01 g fiber, 0.07 g NET CARBS, 0.32 g protein, 8 mg sodium

Dad’s Peppered Beef Marinade

This recipe was my Dad’s pride and joy.  In 80 years of cooking he never found a marinade he liked better.  I often make this truly out-of-the-ordinary roast for company and holidays, but we do it on smaller cuts of beef year-round!  It’s DELICIOUS!  You grilling fanatics MUST try this recipe sometime!  This is truly my all-time favorite beef marinade as well and has been since I was in high school over 40 years ago.  We invariably have this recipe for Christmas dinner, because we are usually turkey’ed out by then.  This recipe makes enough marinade for an 8 lb. boneless rib roast, which will (after shrinkage) serve 10 nice servings, with some leftover for the most delicious cold roast beef sandwiches you ever had.  I do not recommend reheating this meat, as the meat and marinade loose some of their impact on reheating.   But it makes the best cold roast beef sandwiches you ever ate!  🙂

Once I realized this marinade could just as easily be used on smaller cuts of beef, we enjoy it much more often now.  I have used it for rib roast (shown top above), lean boneless chuck roasts, sirloin of varying sizes (shown above) and individual ribeye steaks.  It’s also good on wild game you want to do on the grill.  It’s a truly unique flavor when cooked over charcoal (not so good oven-cooked though).  It is Atkins friendly (just not Induction friendly, because of the wine).  Leaving out the wine just isn’t an option for this recipe, so wait until the Atkins OWL (Ongoing Weight Loss) phase to enjoy this wonderful dish.  I guarantee, this is so good you’ll be fighting over who gets the two end slices, just like at my house.  🙂  

MARINADE INGREDIENTS: (remember, it is not all consumed)

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. paprika

1/8 c. low-sodium soy sauce (1/4 c. if you can tolerate the sodium, I don’t though)

¼-½ c. dry red wine (burgundy or claret work nicely but any dry red will do)

1 T. tomato paste

1½ T. coarse ground black pepper (or enough to entirely coat your meat thickly)

DIRECTIONS:  Pound the coarse ground black pepper over all surfaces of an 8 rib roast (or sirloin, or chuck roast) using the butt of your palm or the smooth side of a meat cleaver. Use less pepper if doing a smaller piece of meat. Place meat in glass dish. I drizzle marinate every half hour (as often as you can remember to stop and do it) most of a day (minimum 6 hours). Most efficient way to marinate without disturbing pepper coating is to use a basting brush. Do not touch the meat with your brush, or you’ll wipe all the pepper off! Hold it over the meat and let it drip off the brush. When surface is soaked, put in refrigerator to marinate between “bastings”.  I baste hourly until cooking time.

COOKING:

This recipe really is not good cooked inside in your oven. Not sure why, but it just isn’t.  It seems it is the marriage of the marinade with charcoal smoke that makes this recipe taste divine.  You need to grill the 8 lb. rib roast for about 2 hours over medium coals (using a rotary spit if you own one).  If you don’t have one, like me, just turn the meat every half hour to sear all surfaces nicely. Best if not cooked past medium to medium rare stage.  I take mine off when my meat thermometer reads 120º degrees and set it on my cutting board for another 10 minutes to “rest”.  A piece of meat this large will continue to climb to around 130º while resting. That’s usually a nice pink medium-rare inside.

If doing sirloin or chuck roast (around 3-4 lb.) grill about 20 minutes on a side for medium-rare. This marinade really does a nice job of tenderizing a chuck or sirloin roast.  Cook rib steaks just like you usually would to your desired doneness.

This recipe always gets the WOWS when I serve it.  Hope you folks will try it! I think you’ll find you won’t be sorry you did! The outside slices are so good we always fight over them at home.  🙂

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:

The marinade is discarded when you cook the meat.  No further basting should be done while cooking as there is now raw meat juice in the marinade.   Calculating how much marinade is consumed is difficult.  It would also be impossible for me to know how many servings you are able to get out of your roast.  So I’m providing the totals for the entire batch of marinade and you will have to see how much it makes and how much is left in the pan before discarding to determine roughly how much is staying on the meat and thus consumed by how many people you are serving.   Most of the sauce goes down the drain, to be perfectly honest, so you’re getting mostly sodium from the soy sauce and a few carbs from the wine and tomato paste that cling to the surface of the meat (a little more if you get the end slices).  The figures below DO NOT INCLUDE THE MEAT.

The entire batch of marinade has:

131 cals, 0.7 g. fat, 18 g. carbs, 4.6 g. fiber, 15.4 NET CARBS (entire batch), 5.5 g. protein, 1070 mg. sodium

Montreal BBQ Sauce and Marinade

We’re grilling pork country ribs tonight.  This wonderful BBQ sauce is particularly good on pork:  chops, roasts (for pulled pork) or ribs.  You simply must try this one some time!  It has become a family regular!    You can also use this as a marinade for chicken pieces, shrimp and even on fish filets.  Marinate meat or seafood of choice in the refrigerator and then grill as usual.  Be sure to reserve some for use at the table for those that like more sauce.  This sauce is Atkins Induction friendly, too!

We find when we go out for ribs, the rub on the meat, although very tasty, is always so salty.  That just spoils my enjoyment of dinner, plus I gain weight just from the sodium load.  Tonight we’re having green beans and a delicious mushroom tomato salad  and some garlic bread made from some low-carb rolls I have in the refrigerator I baked earlier this week.   The above photo shows these ribs being served with loaded potatoes made from cauliflower, green onion, cream cheese, bacon and a little bacon.  Yummers.  

INGREDIENTS: 

2 tsp. “Montreal Steak” seasoning (recipe below)

1 stick butter, UNSALTED since the above spice has salt (but luckily no sugar!) (4 oz.)

1-2 tsp. red wine vinegar (more if you like)

1/8 – ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

DIRECTIONS:  Melt butter, add Montreal Steak spice, vinegar and cayenne.   Simmer on lowest heat possible for 1 minute to blend flavors.  Remove and use as marinade & grilling sauce.  Place meat and sauce (reserve a bit of sauce for table use) into a large zip bag with sauce.  Zip and manipulate to coat all pieces/ribs well.  Marinate for 1-2 hours in refrigerator.

My Homemade Montreal Steak Seasoning: 

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

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes about 8 tablespoons spice mix.  I use about 2-3 tsp. in the sauce above for doing a whole chicken, a full rack of ribs or 7-8 fish filets.  Each tablespoon of this sauce contains:

103 cals, 11.5g fat, 0.26g carbs, 0.1g fiber, 0.16g NET CARBS, 0.12g protein, 48 mg sodium

Mayonado Dip

I usually keep the ingredients around the house for this favorite creation.  We call this one MAYONADO.  Nothing like coining your own words!  So I fixed this favorite to stand in as our salad to have with our Italian Bolognese Penne Bake tonight.   My husband brought home 6 avocados from the grocery store this afternoon that were discounted because they were already getting pretty ripe and one was past its prime.  I knew I needed to use that one tonight! 

I’ve combined mayonnaise with avocado for various purposes but never added Ranch® style flavoring to the mélange before this creation.  Man, is that ever good!  This dip is great on cucumber slices, but would be great for dipping cherry tomatoes, raw cauliflower, broccoli flowerets, sliced yellow squash, zucchini slices, carrot & celery sticks.  It would make a tasty dip for fried chicken strips or French fries, too.  The shawarma spice really adds something special and then the Ranch® seasoning………….well……takes it to a whole new level  This recipe is Atkins Induction friendly and suitable for all keto diets, Primal and Paleo.

INGREDIENTS:

1 small avocado, peeled and pitted

6 T. my homemade Shawarma mayonnaise

1 oz. yellow or white onion

Dash salt

few drops lemon or lime juice to prevent discoloring of the avocado

1 T. my Ranch Dressing Powder Blend

DIRECTIONS:  Peel and seed the avocado.  Place the flesh into a blender or processor with all the other ingredients.  Pulse until it it smooth.   Serve any of the above mentioned ways or get creative and think of new applications for this delightful concoction!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes about 10 T.  Each tablespoon contains:

90.4 cals, 9.2g fat, 4.29g carbs, 2.08g fiber, 2.21g NET CARBS, 0.62g protein, 19 mg sodium

Air Fryer Coconut Shrimp

Seafood with a Hawaiian twist.  We just love these.  These air-fried Parmesan-coconut shrimp are so good you need to try them.  If you don’t have an Air Fryer, just bake them off on a sheet pan at 350º until they are browned on both sides.  No strong with coconut flavor, but that suits us both fine.

I would have never bought myself an air fryer, but my husband went and did so for my Christmas present, so I’m trying to learn how to cook different things in it.  I’ve since had to purchase a new wall oven and it has an air fryer feature built in.  I use my Power XL basket fryer for small amounts of food; the Frigidaire oven ‘air fryer’ mode for larger amounts of food.

I’ve seen so many recipes for coconut shrimp on the internet, but the coatings can be pretty high carb.  I have trimmed down the carbs and reached a total count of 1.8 net carbs per 6-shrimp serving!  I did this by looking to my popular Oven-Fried Fish coating and then modified it even further.    The end result is a dish we have had several times now.  My husband really loves these shrimp and he’s not particularly fond of coconut!  The Parmesan helps tone down the coconut taste a bit for us.  This meal is suitable once you get to Phase 2 of Atkins ‘nuts and seeds’ level.

INGREDIENTS FOR SHRIMP:

26 medium-large raw shrimp, peeled and de-veined

1 low-carb slice of bread or roll (I used a Smart Bun )

½ c. pork rind crumbs (about 1 c. whole pieces)

¼ c. grated dry Parmesan

1 oz. desicated unsweetened coconut

1/3 c. Carbquik or other low-carb bake mix

3 egg whites

¼ tsp. my homemade Seafood Spice Blend

¼ tsp. sea salt

INGREDIENTS FOR OPTIONAL BANG BANG DIPPING SAUCE: 

½ c. homemade mayo (or from jar if you prefer)

1 T. Sambal Oelek Asian chili sauce

2 tsp. Sriracha sauce

Dash each salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:   Mix up the sauce ingredients well in a small bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve shrimp.   Drain off any water in the bag of shrimp.

In a food processor, crumb the pork rinds until fine, removing any large, hard chunks.  Add the low-carb bread/roll, Parmesan cheese, coconut, spice blend and salt.  Pulse until smooth mixture.  Pour into a medium bowl.  Break the egg whites into another small bowl.  Place the Carbquik in yet a third small bowl.  Line the bowls up beside a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone mat:   flour first, egg whites second and crumb mixture last.  Dip the shrimp first into the flour with your left DRY HAND, then drop into the egg whites.  With your right WET HAND, turn each shrimp in the egg white to coat both sides.  With the wet hand, drop the shrimp lastly into the crumb mixture without touching the crumb mixture with your WET HAND.  With your left DRY HAND, toss the crumbs up over the shrimp to also coat on the tops (will be coated on the bottom from having been dropped into the crumbs).  With your left DRY HAND, pick up and place gently on the parchment lined pan.  Repeat until all shrimp have been cooked.   If your hands get gooey/messy, just wash and dry them off mid process.

Preheat you air fryer for 3 minutes.  Also preheat your regular oven at the lowest setting or around 200º-250º.  I can do 12-13 large shrimp in my 7-qt. Power XL fryer at a time, so that means 2 batches.   Do not crowd the shrimp even if you have to cook three batches if using a smaller fryer than mine.

Fry first batch of shrimp at 370º for 4 minutes.  Gently turn shrimp over and fry 4 more minutes.    When I placed the remaining shrimp on the fryer tray and turned it on for 8 more minutes (turning at 4 minute mark), I then placed the pan with the first batch into my regular oven to keep it warm until the second batch was done.   If needed, fry your third batch similarly.  When all are done, plate and serve with the Bang Bang Sauce or other sauce of your choosing.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes four 6-shrimp servings, each contains (not including sauce):  176 cals, 10g fat, 11g carbs, 8g fiber, 3g NET CARBS, 19.37g protein, 509 mg sodium

1/4 batch sauce adds:  200 calories, 22g fat, 1.05g carbs, .02g fiber, 4.5g protein and 175 mg sodium

Ranch® Buttermilk Dressing (or dip)

I came up with a homemade version of Ranch® Dressing for my husband, who just loves it on salads.  I think my version tastes better than what is sold in the bottle (which I actually don’t like), so it’s clearly not exactly the same.  But it’s pretty good and has no unhealthy ingredients.  It’s lighter on salt, too, which I like.

I’m not too fond of dill, so I tend to reduce it in most recipes.  But my husband LOVES dill and likes more in recipes, thus the range of dill shown in the Ranch® Powder recipe linked below.  I basically used equal amounts of the herbs I selected except the dill and thyme.  A tablespoon of thyme would have been way too much!   This dressing is super yummy!  Try it and see if you don’t agree it’s even better than the famous bottled stuff!  As you well know, this also makes an excellent dip for raw vegetable party trays.  All you have to do for the dip is increase the sour cream to make it thicker.  You’ll have to recalculate carbs to add in the extra sour cream.  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and Keto diets.

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. homemade mayonnaise

3/4 c. sour cream (add ¼ c. more if using as a veggie dip)

¼ c. buttermilk (only 2 T. if using as a veggie dip)

1 T. my Ranch Dressing Powder Blend

2 tsp. red wine vinegar

1/8 tsp. salt

OPTIONAL:  1/8 tsp. glucomannan powder if you like a thicker dressing

DIRECTIONS:  Measure the first 3 ingredients into a medium bowl.  Whisk well to blend to a smooth mixture.  Add my Ranch Dressing Powder Blend, vinegar and salt and whisk a couple minutes until the herb mixture is thoroughly blended in.  If using the glucomannan thickener, whisk it in last.  Transfer to a saved empty plastic dressing bottle (I always keep and wash them for homemade dressings) if you have one, or a lidded jar.  Close tightly and chill.  Serve on crisp green salads or as a dip for raw veggies.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes two cups or eight ¼ c. servings, each contains:

251 cals, 26.8g fat, 1.81g carbs, 0.1g fiber, 1.71g NET CARBS, 1.72g protein, 66 mg sodium

Moroccan Spice Blend

If we move down and westerly along the Mediterranean coast of Africa on our travels, we eventually reach Morocco.  A country I’ve never been to, but think I would like to go there one day.  I have always loved their detailed wood art, wooden furniture, metal art and tile crafts.   Their cuisine is an interesting mixture of Arab, French, Spanish, Berber and a heavy influence of Middle Eastern cuisine.  Much of it is prepared in a tagine, a medium-sized clay pot.  I personally have never used one.  Photos of some lovely tagines below.    

I’ve only tried to create a few Moroccan dishes based on my limited reading of a very few recipes.  This spice mixture is very similar to Baharat spice in other Arab countries with the addition of paprika and a bit of spunk with the crushed red pepper (the Spanish and Berber influences).  I think you’ll like this one.  Delicious  with everything I’ve tested it on so far.   It’s great with grilled meats, or in water-braised dishes and stews.  It really lends itself to dried fruit added to your meat dishes as well.  I tried it one time on a grilled fish and it was most excellent used that way.  As most spice mixtures, it is Atkins Induction Phase friendly.

INGREDIENTS:

4 T. Smoked Spanish paprika

4    3″ sticks cinnamon, broken up, (about 3 T. if using ground cinnamon)

¼-½ tsp. cayenne, depending on taste

3 T. coriander seed

1 rounded tsp. whole cloves (about ½ tsp. ground cloves)

1 tsp. cardamom seeds, removed from their outer pod/husk

1 T. coarse black pepper

3 T. cumin seed (whole)

½ tsp. turmeric

DIRECTIONS:  Measure all whole seeds/spices into a dry, non-stick skillet.   Turn heat to high and roast spices a couple minutes until they become very fragrant.  Turn off heat and cool.  Run through a spice grinder or coffee grinder dedicated to spice grinding.  When you use your coffee grinder,, those tastes will linger for months and months, producing some really funny tasting coffee………so don’t do that.  🙂  Grind the mixture pretty fine.  Add any UNGROUND spices you are having to use instead of whole (whole is best though), mix well and spoon the blend into a lidded jar.  Store in a dark cabinet as is proper for all spice storage.  

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes about 1 cup or 16 Tablespoons.  One tablespoon is about how much you would use for a 4-serving braised entrée or to grill fish or meat for four people.  One tablespoon contains:  

18.4 cals, 0.75g fat, 3.78g carbs, 2.28g fiber, 1.5g NET CARBS, 0.71 g  protein, trace sodium

Shawarma Spice for Chicken

As we travel south out of Turkey, we come to the Eastern Mediterranean nations of Syria, Lebanon and Israel.  I have been to Beirut, but quite honestly, didn’t find the foods there to be very different from those in Greece, Turkey and Iran.  They do the stuffed grape leaves, hummus, tabouleh, grilled kibbeh meat kebabs and a lot of rice dishes with lentils, nuts and dried fruit.  I have never been to Syria or Israel, so my only exposure to their cuisines is through cookbooks and on-line recipes.

One flavor I associate with Middle Eastern dining is the taste of cumin in their dishes.  I’ve mentioned before in other recipes how much we love a chicken Shawarma spice mixture we used to buy at the Phoenicia Deli/Importer on Westheimer in Houston, TX.  I believe the family that owned it was Egyptian, but not certain about that.  My huge 1# bag of the spice was getting real low so I decided I better try to come up with my own version before it was totally gone and I would lose the capability to compare any trials to the flavor of the real thing!  Houston is 3 hours away, so buying another isn’t an option and they do not have a website for placing orders.  😦

So I took my almost empty container of this spice and studied it closely.  First I went for visual clues as to its possible ingredients. I could clearly see black pepper in it.  It had a yellow hue, so turmeric was there.  I could actually see bits of coriander seed husk in it.  Then I went for smell and taste.  I could taste cumin for certain.  I could definitely detect a little “bite” on my tongue, so I also included a wee bit of cayenne to the final recipe.    At that point I was stymied and decided to just go for it.  I mixed the few things I felt certain were present.

I usually start with equal amounts of spices when creating a blend, backing off a bit on cayenne, as I don’t like things too hot, and their shawarma blend was not “hot” at all really.  But when all was stirred and tasted, something was still missing.  Seemed a bit flat compared to the original Phoenicia product.  So I decided to spunk it up with a little onion powder and garlic powder.  A little of those never hurt anything, right?  Finally I was close enough to the original blend to just stop!  Here’s the final result of my endeavors.  This one does NOT disappoint, folks.

INGREDIENTS:

3 T. ground cumin seed

2 T. ground coriander seed

1 T. turmeric

1 T. black pepper

1 tsp. cayenne

2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

DIRECTIONS:  Mix all on a paper plat.  Curl/fold plate and pour contents into a lidded jar.  Store spices in a dark cabinet.  This is sprinkled on broiled chicken or chicken that you plan to grill outside for the famous Shawarma chicken sandwich wraps. I find I also like it on a plain cooked ground beef patty or broiled fish, on oven-roasted chicken and even roasted vegetables!  I like it so much I always put 1-2 T. of it into a double batch of my homemade mayonnaise recipe.  Mmm.  That is good on all sandwiches and makes a great dressing for your meat wraps!

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 8 T. or 24 tsp.  One teaspoon contains:

7.2 cals, 0.27 g  fat, 1.28 g  carbs, 0.47 g fiber, 0.81 g NET CARBS, 0.27 g protein, trace sodium

Baharat Spice Blend

Moving a little west of Iran on our food journey, we would be in Iraq.  When I was attending UT Austin, two of the fellows in my future husband’s social circle and roommates were Middle Eastern.  One, Sabah, was a native Iraqi and Farouk, whose father was Syrian and his mother was French (so he was fluent in French).  Farouk and I were even in a French literature class together there.  They often talked about the good foods from their native countries, both insisting the rice from their country was the best in the world.   Having never tasted rice from either country, I always said I personally couldn’t imagine any rice being better than that we ate in Iran.  

Intrigued about our culinary discussions I read in a Middle Eastern cookbook about Baharat Spice.  Never gave it another thought until after I married and started doing a little Mid-East cooking myself.  Baharat is quite common throughout all the Middle Eastern nations along the Mediterranian:  Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan,  even in Iraq.  I don’t recall it in Iran, but it might be possible they may have used it, too.  This spice mixture varies somewhat from country to country, and even from kitchen to kitchen.  I have seen recipes for it that also have dried mint and hot red chili pepper.  My husband is particularly fond of beef and lamb dishes made with this spice blend.

A couple of years after our tour in Iran, Dad was teaching at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas and was asked to ‘sponsor’ a visiting Iraqi officer stationed there for 6 weeks (military command school there).  Sponsoring a newcomer in the military means to help them feel welcome to the base/post, the city, the country, and to show them the ropes of American culture they have been abruptly immersed in.  Dad’s experience mixing with many Iranian officers gave him the experience to do so.

To make a long story short, This Iraqi officer dined in our home several times and before he went back home to Iraq, he insisted my mother allow him to cook us a traditional Iraqi dinner.  Let me just say it was delicious beyond words!  He was quite impressed my mother had Iranian rice on hand (200 lb. of which we had shipped back home with us when we left Iran, it’s THAT unusual and THAT good!).  He was blown away that she also knew how to prepare it traditionally, to create that wonderful nutty-tasting, crusty browned layer at the bottom of the rice pot that is so prized at the Middle Eastern dinner table.

He was also impressed she already had all the requisite spices to prepare his special meal.  Being a veteran recipe collector, Mom wrote down every little thing he was threw into pot the next morning lest she forget.  Sadly, I have not found it amongst her recipe collection or I would post it for you.

This spice mixture is also good in regional seafood dishes, on grilled fish and for most lamb recipes.  I use it on beef kebab as well.

INGREDIENTS:

2 T. black peppercorns

1 whole nutmeg, grated

1 tsp. turmeric

2 T. paprika

1 tsp. allspice

1 T. cumin seed

1 T. coriander seed

1 stick cinnamon, 3″ long (yields 1 tsp. ground)

1 tsp. cloves, whole (or allspice)

1 tsp. cardamom seed (Removed from outer husk/pod coating

DIRECTIONS: Break up the cinnamon stick a bit and place in spice grinder.  Grind until quite powdery.  Add all other spices and grind as fine as possible.  Depending on the size of your grinder, you may have to grind these in batches and then stir up in a bowl.  Place spice blend in an air tight jar and store in dark cupboard.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes about 1/2 cup (8 T.) of spice mixture.  Each tsp. contains:

6 calories, 0.26 g  fat, 1.25 g  carbs, 0.6 g fiber, 0.65 g NET CARBS, 0.24 g protein, 0 mg sodium

Za’atar Herb Blend

This lovely-tasting herb blend is common throughout the Middle East, most often mixed with quality olive oil to dip bread into.  I like a bit of it in the oil I encircle my hummus with.  It is also sprinkled on roasted or grilled chicken, grilled fish, or grilled lamb.  I have even used it myself over roasted root vegetables like carrots and parsnips!  We love the earthy herb flavor profile. 

It is all herbs and spices, with some toasted sesame seeds, so it does have carbs, but not many, plus herbs are so good for you.  I put no salt in mine, but you can add a bit if you like.  This recipe is suitable once you reach the nuts and seeds rung of the Atkins carb re-introduction ladder.  Keto, Primal and Paleo followers can also enjoy this flavorful condiment.

INGREDIENTS:

1 tsp. dried marjoram

2 T. dried oregano leaves

3 T. sumac

1 T. toasted sesame seeds

2 T. dried thyme leaves

½ tsp. Aleppo pepper (optional)

2 tsp. onion powder

Optional:  ¼ tsp. sea salt

DIRECTIONS:  Toast sesame seeds over medium-high heat in a non-stick skillet or in your oven.  Watch them closely to not over brown.  Remove and pour them onto a paper plate or into a jar (that has a lid).  Add all remaining ingredients and stir/shake well.  Store in a lidded jar in your spice rack.  Will keep as long as the sesame seeds keep, or about a month or so.  Add ¼ c. extra virgin olive oil for a pita bread dip or to use on hummus.  If using on grilled/roasted meats, coat meat surface with olive oil and sprinkle on 1 T. of the spice mixture and cook meat as usual until properly done.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes about ½ cup, or 8 tablespoons.  1 T. contains (spice only, oil not included):

26 cals, 1.51g fat, 3.07g carbs, 1.68g fiber, 1.39g NET CARBS, 0.98g protein, 350 mg sodium (salt can be omitted and added at table).

Iranian Grilled Chicken

Leaving Italy, let’s turn our fun food ‘tour bus’ a bit toward the east.   That part of the world produces so many  culinary delights.  As I’ve said before, we lived in Teheran for two years when I was just a wee lass of 10-12.  Sometimes we would take a 4pm hike on 6-lane Shimran Boulevard to go buy our daily fix of fresh-baked Iranian flatbread called ‘noon‘.  It was so good, some of the bread didn’t make it all the way home most trips.  🙂 

On our walk, we passed a number of merchant shops where turban-wearing shopkeepers were crouched down  cooking their dinner on portable Aladdin kerosene heaters they used as grills.  I still own our old Aladdin in fact.  They might be cooking a lamb grill or curry; perhaps kubideh meat rolls, or this popular grilled chicken.    It was fascinating to watch and the aromas on our ventures were indescribable!  Fatimeh, our maid and ‘translator’, would often stop & chat with the ‘cooks’.  They offered my brother and I a bite of their goodies more than once.  We knew just a few words of  Farsi, so we would just soak it all up, mesmerized.  This yogurt sauce with onions was about the sum total of what went on the chicken.       

This is a dish we attempted to copy, with pointers from Fatimeh and our motor pool driver, Reza.   Just talking about this evokes those olfactory memories.  I understand they renamed many streets after the Iranian Revolution so Shimran Blvd. may even be called something else now.  Not sure which aroma was more intense on our walks to get ‘noon’, the chicken or the fresh wheat bread sheets cooking in the kiln-like open-front pebble ovens.  At my age, it was always fun picking off the remaining pebbles when we got home, as some typically burned right into the bread surface.   

My changes to the traditional method on this dish:  subbed butter in for some of the yogurt to cut carbs; added the  Spanish paprika.  They used ALL yogurt in their marinates.  They used all sumac & turmeric for the spices, which can be obtained in better spice stores, ordered on-line from places like Penzey’s Spices.   Sumac is the ground, dried berries/fruit of the sumac bush.    It is slightly acidic, lemony tasting and is used in many Iranian, Israeli and other Gulf State dishes.  The yogurt and onions are in the flavor driver’s seat.   This recipe is Atkins Induction friendly and Paleo-Primal acceptable as well.  Because it is impossible to calculate the total nutritional info per serving on a portion of this meal, I will just provide the information for each of 10 servings of the marinade.  You will have to add in the values for the meat pieces eaten.

INGREDIENTS:

1 stick butter + ½ c. yogurt  (or 1c. yogurt & no butter to stay traditional)

Juice of 2 lemons

Dash each salt and black pepper

1 tsp. sumac 

1 tsp. Smoked paprika

½ tsp. turmeric

1 onion (either minced fine or sliver extremely thin)

1 whole chicken, cut in 10 pieces ( cut breasts in half)

DIRECTIONS:  Melt the butter in a small pot.   Remove from heat.  Stir in yogurt and add all other marinade ingredients.  Stir again well.  Cut up the chicken into 10 pieces (I reserve the back for making stock).  Place chicken into gallon Ziploc bag.  Pour 1/2 of the marinade over the chicken.  Zip bag and manipulate it to coat each piece of chicken well with marinade.   Set rest of marinade aside for basting meat during grilling.  Allow the chicken to marinate in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours.  This is important as the yogurt tenderizes the meat. 

Although this chicken is OK baked in a regular oven (I have tried it) it is worlds better done on your grill.  Prepare charcoal fire.  When the coals are hot and white, place chicken on the grill and cook on each side until done (about 20 minutes per side).  Baste with the remaining marinade mix as it cooks.  Allow the last application of yogurt sauce to brown on both sides of meat before taking off fire.  You don’t want to have uncooked onions/sauce in the end.   Enjoy a true Iranian feast!   Typically served with butter basted grilled vegetables like long slices of summer squash, tomatoes, eggplant or bell peppers.  If we don’t grill veggies, I serve with my sour cream cucumber mint salad.  

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes ample sauce for 10 pieces of chicken.  Each serving of the marinade only contains:

95 cals, 9.2g fat, 2.87g carbs, 1.2g fiber, 2.67g NET CARBS, 1.8g protein, 17.9 mg sodium

Clam Sauce on Zoodles

I have always loved a good clam sauce on pasta.   This recipe is one I often turn to when it’s late in the day and I’ve forgotten to defrost meat for dinner.  I make sure I always have a few cans of clams in my pantry for this reason. Though you can serve this on real pasta for your non-low-carb guests, it goes nicely for low-carbers over sautéed zucchini “noodles”, as shown above, or shirataki noodles.  Allow about 6 oz. zucchini noodles per person.  The zucchini noodles soak up the sauce’s wonderful flavor.   This dish is OK for Induction if served on zucchini noodles.  I do NOT think this would be good atop spaghetti squash threads as I think the squash taste will negatively impact the overall flavor of the clam dish.  If you are already to the OWL phase of Atkins, ¼ c. dry white wine is good added to this before thickening.  You want to talk healthy?  Get a load of the nutritional info below!!  I think clams (‘molluschi‘ in Italian) may just be the highest source of vitamin B12 in the food kingdom!  And it’s mostly in the juice!  Moral of the story:  EAT MORE CLAM LINGUINE!!  🙂

INGREDIENTS:

2  6-oz. cans clams with juice (do not drain)

4 slices bacon, cut into ½” pieces

2 T. butter, unsalted (or olive oil)

2 oz. onion, chopped

6 medium mushrooms, sliced

2 oz. red bell pepper, chopped coarsely

¼ c. parsley, chopped fine

1 clove garlic, minced

¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

Dash black pepper

VARIATIONS:   A splash of white wine is good in this sauce.  It’s also tasty with about ½ c. heavy cream added if you’re a white sauce fan.  This is more traditionally served on low-carb linguine pasta.  I use Al Dente’s product called ‘Carba Nada’ when I want this over real noodles.

DIRECTIONS:  Chop bacon and brown over med-high heat.  Add butter to melt in with the bacon drippings.  Add onion, mushrooms and garlic.  Sauté until onion and mushrooms are both tender.  Add red pepper, parsley and seasonings.  Add clams with their juice and simmer 2-3 minutes to blend flavors.   Thicken slightly with your favorite thickener and serve.   Garnish plates with a sprinkle of parsley if desired.  Serve on zucchini noodles or “zoodles” as shown above, Carba Nada linguine or shirataki noodles (the ones with oat fiber).

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 3 servings, each containing:  (numbers are for sauce only, as written)

253 cals, 13.8g fat, 8.27g  carbs, 1.75g fiber, 6.52g NET CARBS, 23.8g protein, 330 mg sodium

Eggplant Sauce for “Pasta”

My second most favorite pasta sauce is eggplant sauce.  This is a recipe my family has been using forever and is it ever good!   It freezes well and is even tastier when reheated.  It’s very versatile for making other casseroles and meat dishes as well.  Although I created this when I was still eating Dreamfield’s pasta occasionally (before the lawsuit over false carbohydrate claims on their products) and show it above on Dreamfields pasta, I now use Al Dente ‘Carba Nada’ pasta whenever I don’t want to use spaghetti squash threads, zoodles or steamed cauliflower for serving.   

I always make a double or triple batch and keep it in small containers in my freezer for handy use.  I don’t like to be without a good spaghetti sauce!    It’s so nice to be able to pop one out, zap in the microwave a few minutes and have a great dinner fast, only having to cook the “pasta”!  You can add ground meat to this recipe, but to be quite honest, it’s quite tasty with just the eggplant!  I encourage you to try it without the meat at least one time to see for yourself.  

VARIATION:  Add some browned ground beef or Italian Sausage to make this a meat sauce.

INGREDIENTS:

1 clove minced garlic

3 oz. onion, chopped very fine

4 T. olive oil

1 ½ c. eggplant diced into ½” cubes

2-3 T. chopped parsley

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

Dash cayenne pepper

¼-½ tsp. fennel seed

1 tsp. dried basil (or 2 T. fresh, chopped)

20 oz. crushed canned tomatoes

DIRECTIONS:   Sauté onion in olive oil in large pot (high heat) until partially tender.  Add eggplant cubes and minced garlic and continue sautéing until eggplant is half cooked.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer 15-30 minutes, but not until eggplant dissolves completely in the sauce (as it will if overcooked).  Excellent over spaghetti squash threads or zucchini noodles or in your favorite Italian low-carb recipes that call for sauce.  Garnish with freshly grated Parmesan if desired.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 5 servings of about 1 c.,  each contains:  (numbers are for the sauce only without added meat)

145 cals, 11.22 g fat, 11.44 g carbs, 3.32 g fiber, 8.12 g NET CARBS, 2.36 g  protein, 385 mg sodium

Spaghetti Sauce Bolognese

This week I’m going to take you to Italy!  Italian foods are on the menu, so get set for some fun!   Some of the recipes I’ll showcase are authentic Italian fare; some are my own creations.  But I promise they are all delicious!  One can’t think of Italian food without immediately turning one’s thoughts to spaghetti!  This is the spaghetti sauce recipe I have used for nearly 75 years now.  It was my mother’s version long before me.  🙂  Haven’t found one I like better.  I usually double or triple this recipe and freeze some for convenience in other kitchen creations.  This recipe is acceptable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets, Primal-Paleo as well.

INGREDIENTS:

1 ½ lb. lean ground beef

½ c. green pepper chopped

½ c. parsley chopped

1 c. celery chopped

6 garlic cloves minced

6 oz. yellow onion chopped

2   14-oz. cans crushed or diced tomatoes (with no added sugars)

1   small (8 oz.) can tomato paste

½ tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (less if you don’t like it very spicy)

1 T. dried crushed oregano

1 bay leaf

1 T. fresh rosemary (or ½ tsp. dried)

1 T. fresh basil leaves, chopped (or ½ tsp. dried)

½ tsp. fennel seed, crushed

VARIATIONS:  Add 1½ c. diced eggplant, 6 sliced fresh mushrooms, or replace 1/2 lb. of the ground with with browned Italian sausage crumbles, balls or links.  Any of these variations are quite nice in this recipe.

DIRECTIONS:  Brown meat in large stew pot.  You may need a little oil if your meat is real lean.  Chop all veggies and add to meat and stir well.  Now add garlic, seasonings, tomatoes and tomato paste.  Simmer covered for 1½-2 hours on lowest heat possible.  Stir often during cooking and if it gets too thick to do so, add ½ c. water to think the sauce a wee bit.  Will yield about 8-9 cups of sauce, or 8-10 servings, depending on how saucy you like things and how you plan to use the sauce.   For my noodles, I use spaghetti squash threads, zucchini ‘noodles’ or I order on-line low-carb commercial noodles like Al Dente’s ‘Carba Nada’ line of pasta.  Those still on Atkins Induction might consider the shirataki noodles with oat fiber for your Italian dishes.  I think they are the best shirataki noodles out there.  I believe the brand I’ve tried is Zeroodle I obtained at Netrition.com.  

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Serves 10, serving is about 1 cup.   Each serving has (excluding ‘noodles’)

295.3 cals, 20.75g fat, 13.18g carbs, 4.48 g fiber, 8.7g NET CARBS, 18.3g protein, 116 mg. sodium

Tzatziki

A Greek condiment for many of their meat dishes.

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 the typical condiment with Greek food and  Middle Eastern/Mediterranean grilled beef or lamb kebabs or ground beef/lamb koftas.  It’s also great on tuna, salmon or crab cakes or on gyros-type sandwich wraps.  I’ve even used this sauce on some salads as a dressing!  It’s ever so simple to make, too!

Be sure to squeeze out (in toweling) 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.

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 cals, 8.1 g fat, 4.6 g carbs, 0.8 g fiber, 3.8 g  NET CARBS, 3.2 g protein, 110 mg sodium

Blackberry-Coconut Smoothie

I’ll be glad when blackberries are in season.  I have been craving one of these.  I can get blueberries, so perhaps I can substitute.  This is a wonderfully refreshing afternoon treat or even a dessert!  It is not suitable until the nuts and seeds rung of the Atkins OWL carb ladder.  It is perfectly OK for Paleo-Primal folks. The sweetener I used has no carbs, so if you use one with a bulking agent, you will need to add in those carbs to the numbers below.   Of course, you can always add protein powder to this if you wish, but be sure to add in those carbs to the stats below.

INGREDIENTS:

6 T. coconut cream (this is NOT cream of coconut bartenders use, which has added sugar & carbs)

3/4 c. blackberries

½ c. water

about 3/4 c. ice cubes

Your preferred sweetener to taste

DIRECTIONS: Put everything in the blender and let ‘er rip until all is smooth and ice is no longer in chunks.  The coconut cream will thicken it adequately.  Pour into a glass and ENJOY!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 1 smoothie which contains:

193 cals, 24.5 g fat, 13.4 g carbs, 6.7 g fiber,  6.7 g NET CARBS, 1.5 g protein, 16 mg sodium

Greek Olive Tapenade

This is my take on the olive spread often served with the bread and salad course at Greek Restaurants.  We just love this stuff and it disappears sooooo fast at my house.   I am absolutely in love with spreading it on my Almond-Flax Crackers or my Almond-Arrowroot Crackers for a delicious snack.  Just made a fresh batch this afternoon!  🙂  Other ways to use this tasty spread:   stuffed inside slit chicken breasts before baking along with a dab of Boursin or cream cheese, spread on top of broiled fish filets when serving, atop tomato slices for a unique salad, or with a little more oil and balsamic vinegar, it’s great as a Greek salad dressing!  This recipe is Induction friendly and the flavor is totally addictive if you like kalamata olives.  

INGREDIENTS:

6 oz. pitted black olives (I use a mixture of canned black olives & kalamata olives)

1 small clove minced garlic

¼ c. olive oil

2 T. chopped parsley

DIRECTIONS:  Pulse all ingredients in a food processor until uniformly coarse texture, smooth but not reduced to a paste.  You want it very finely chopped.  You can pulse in a blender if you do not have a food processor.  Serve with your favorite low-carb crackers or Greek bread (for those not on Atkins).

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes about 3/4 cup or serves 6, each 2 T. serving contains:

111.5 cals, 11.7g fat, 2.2g carbs, 1g fiber, 1.2g NET CARBS, 0.4g protein, 200 mg sodium

Einkorn Low-Carb Bake Mixes

I have two low-carb bake mixes now.  The first has a little bit of Einkorn flour and is very low-carb.  The second has considerably more Einkorn flour and a higher carb count.  I present both below for my newer readers. 

Buttoni’s Low-Carb Bake Mix #1 (2014)

This was my first mix to put together.  It only has 4.83 net carbs per ¼ cup of mix!  That’s fewer carbs than my Einkorn Bake Mix!  Regular Pioneer Bake Mix has 25 net carbs per ¼ cup.  Bisquick has 27 net carbs per 1/3 c.  Carbquik has only 2 net carbs per 1/3 c. but has a funny back taste to me even after their product changes some years back.  My goal with this experiment was to create a mix with no ‘funny taste’ and still keep it fairly low carb.

My inspirational recipe was a low-carb flour mix I saw over on Pam’s Low Carb and Delicious blog (she links to the mix inside her bread recipe).  Her mix has 18 NC per 1/2 cup; mine has 9.66 NC per 1/2 cup.  So a nice carb drop there.  Her bread photo a thing of beauty, so I keep her recipe around to maybe try when I can afford a carb splurge on special occasions and I want a loaf just like her photo!

I modified both ingredients and amounts.  The final bake mix has produced several tasty, nice-textured items so far.  First to try was a 2-serving vanilla microwave quick cake

Vanilla Microwave Cake

Next I tried a Blueberry-Lemon Snack Cake (shown right).  It performed well in my

Blueberry-Lemon Snack Cake

Fluffy Pancakes as well.

This recipe makes a big batch of nearly 11 cups of bake mix, so you might want to make up just 1/2 recipe to trial it and see  what you think.  I would love your feedback.

INGREDIENTS:

4 c. almond flour

1 c. oat flour (I grind mine from rolled oats)

½ c. oat fiber

½ c. Einkorn Flour

1 c. vital wheat gluten

2 c. Carbalose Flour

2 c. unflavored whey protein isolate

1 T. glucomannan powder

4 tsp. baking powder

DIRECTIONS:    If grinding your own oat flour (my 2 local grocers don’t carry oat flour that is pre-ground), do this step first, letting your food processor or blender run a pretty long time for the finest grind possible.  This will lead to better texture in your final baked goods. When you have 1 cup of oat flour ground, place in large mixing bowl.  Measure all other ingredients into the bowl.  Stir well.  Then stir well at least 4 more times!  You want the ingredients uniformly mixed.  Spoon mix into lidded container and store in your pantry for use whenever you want to bake.  Since there is no fat or sweet item in this, you will, of course, have to add butter/oil/fat and and naturally, sweetener if making a dessert recipe.  Eggs and possibly cream/liquid will be needed for binding and moisture to achieve the correct batter thickness.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes about 11 cups bake mix.

1 cup mix: 443 cals, 24.9g fat, 33.78g carbs, 14.44g fiber, 19.34g NET CARBS, 34.4g protein, 223 mg sodium

¼ cup mix: 110 cals, 6.22g fat, 8.44g carbs, 3.61g fiber, 4.83g NET CARBS, 8.61g protein, 55.7 mg sodium

Einkorn Bake Mix #2 (2018)

This is a very large recipe of bake mix and you may prefer to make only a half batch to start out with if you want to experiment with it.  You SHOULD be able to use this mix as a substitute in any Bisquick or Carbquik recipes.  You should also be able to replace the flour+leavening+shortening in your regular baking recipes successfully with this, but never lose sight of the fact that all substitutions in recipes are ‘experiments’.

I would first trial it in a favorite recipe, so fewer ingredients will be wasted if the test is a fail.  Feel free to post links to pictures of your experiments with this mix in the comment section.  We’d all love to learn from your experiences.   

MIX INGREDIENTS:  (I recommend NO SUBSTITUTIONS)

5 c. almond flour

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

1 c. Einkorn flour

1 c. oat flour  (ground from about 1¼ c. rolled oats)

¼ c. oat fiber

1 tsp. glucomannan powder

3 T. baking powder

2 tsp. cream of tartar

2 tsp. salt

1½ c. palm shortening (I order at Tropical Traditions)

DIRECTIONS:  Grind the oats into flour in your food processor.  Add all dry ingredients and pulse couple times.  Then add shortening and pulse few more times until mixture is a nice crumbly texture.  If using a blender, before adding shortening, I would place dry mixture into a large mixing bowl.  Then, using a fork or pastry cutter, cut the shortening into the mixture until it resembles coarse cornmeal.  Place finished bake mix into a lidded container.  Can be stored on the counter safely as palm shortening has a very long shelf life at room temperature.  If you decide to store in the refrigerator, be aware the shortening will firm up and cause the mix to clump a bit.  So you need to set it out, bring to room temperature and re-work with a fork in a bowl to evenly distribute shortening clumps before attempting to use in recipes.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:     Makes 11 cups of mix.  ½ cup mix contains:

338 calories, 28.2 g  fat, 15.99 g  carbs, 4.6 g fiber, 11.39 g  NET CARBS, 14.5 g  protein, 170 mg sodium

SIDE NOTE:  I just had my very first kidney stone December 2022.  Ouch!   After it was removed and lab-analyzed, it proved to be a calcium oxalate stone, the most common type.  I was told to reduce oxalates in my diet.  Guess what are very high in oxalates?  ALMONDS!  Learning that sure popped my low-carb balloon!  I’ve been using almond flour since 2009 when I began low-carbing, so it likely has been a big factor in my stone formation.   I will have to greatly reduce my consumption of almonds or risk future kidney stones!  Whatever shall I do?  If I develop a higher Einkorn flour bake mix, the carbs will go MUCH HIGHER.  I really don’t like baking with all coconut flour (although coconut is low in oxalates).  Whey protein isn’t an option for stone formers either.  Will have to start experimenting with macadamia nut flour (could get real expensive).  I can also try using more Hi-Maize flour and tinker with more oat fiber in things, but it is very drying.  I feel like I just got kicked back to square one, after 14 years of success with my low-carb baking.   

Maple-Bacon-Bourbon Sauce

      Shown on seared pork chops

I often make compound butters and store them in my freezer.  There are literally limitless flavorings you can blend into butter for serving on grilled meats and vegetables.  They’re quick to make and ever so handy when you want an exotic taste FAST!  My Maple-Bacon-Bourbon Butter is one of my favorites.  I occasionally put it to work in creamy sauces like the one pictured above over pork chops.  This sauce is divine on pork chops and what a quick meal for week nights!  This recipe is not suitable until you reach Atkins Phase 2 (OWL) due to the bourbon.   It is not suitable for Primal-Paleo on several levels.

INGREDIENTS:

2 slices thick-slice bacon, chopped (3 oz,)

4 large mushrooms, sliced (optional)

3 T. Bacon-Bourbon Butter

1 tsp. sugar-free maple syrup

¼ c. cream

1/3 c. water

2 T. bourbon

Dash of your favorite thickener (optional)

Dash sea salt and black pepper

1 tsp. parsley, chopped (for garnish)

VARIATION:  Serve over seared chicken or duck breast for an interesting change.

DIRECTIONS:   Fry the chopped bacon in a skillet.  Remove bacon with a slotted spoon to a paper towel.  If planning to serve with skillet-seared meat, sear the meat over high heat to nearly done stage right in the same skillet in that delicious bacon grease.  Or have your spouse grill the meat outside over charcoal to the desired stage.  When skillet chops are browned and done, remove them to a plate while you put the sauce together.  Add the 3 T. Bacon-Bourbon butter to the pan juices, melt and add the mushrooms.  Saute until mushrooms are done.   Lower to medium heat and add water, cream, bourbon, salt, pepper, and maple syrup.  Stir well and lay pork chops on top of the mushroom sauce.  If doing grilled meat, you won’t do this step. Simmer sauce on low heat 5-10 minutes to reduce/thicken the cream.  If not thick enough for you, you can slightly thicken with a dash of your preferred thickener. Gently pour mushroom sauce onto serving platter and set the meat on top.  Garnish with chopped parsley.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 2 servings, each contains: (does not include meat)

496 cals, 48.2g fat, 5.35g carbs, 0.95g fiber, 4.4g NET CARBS, 7.65g protein, 475mg sodium

Momma’s Baked Chicken

This was the baked chicken I was raised on.  Throughout my childhood, I disliked intensely the sour taste of vinegar.  Wouldn’t eat pickles, wouldn’t eat pickled vegetables, wouldn’t eat salads or even condiments that contained vinegar.  But man, when my mom made this baked chicken, I just could not believe I watched her douse it with such an “evil” ingredient and LIKED IT!!!  The natural red grape sugar in the red wine vinegar caramelizes under high heat and gives the chicken skin such a sweet, tangy taste.  The pan juices make a lovely gravy/baste for the drier breast meat.   Fortunately, my taste has changed over the years and I will now consume vinegar without hesitation, provided the food isn’t drowning in vinegar.  🙂

This recipe can be used on a split/butterflied/spatchcocked chicken as pictured, or you and cut the chicken up into pieces.  This method is delicious on Rock Cornish Hens, too.  It is also excellent for BBQ’ing of the chicken, and even for BBQ pork.  This recipe is perfectly suited to all phases of Atkins, Keto diets, Primal and Paleo as well.

SAUCE INGREDIENTS:

6 T.  melted butter

3 T. red wine vinegar

1/4 tsp. salt (omit if using salted butter)

1/4 tsp. coarse black pepper

THAT’S IT!!

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 400º.  Place butter in baking pan (I use a metal pan) as the oven is heating up.  Remove pan and add red wine vinegar to the butter, as well as the salt and pepper.  Prepare the chicken.  You can either split the chicken up the back with kitchen shears and spread it out as shown above, or cut the bird up into quarters or single pieces.  Using a brush, baste the pieces of chicken all over.  Sprinkle lightly with the salt and pepper and pop into hot oven for about an hour (less time for smaller birds, a little more for the butterflied bird shown) or until golden brown and reaches internal temp of 170º at the joint where the thigh meets the torso and in the thickest part of the breast.  I like to baste the chicken once or twice during cooking for the tastiest result on the skin.  I’m a skin fan, so that’s real important to me.  My husband just rips it off and hands it to me.  That works out just great, huh?  🙂 Remove from oven and serve at once with your favorite sides.  Be sure to put a spoon or brush into the pan for diners to baste their meat with the buttery juices if they wish (or pour the juices into a gravy boat).

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  These numbers are for the baste/sauce only.  You will have to add in the values for whatever pieces of chicken you eat.  Makes enough for 10 pieces of chicken (1 whole l cut-up chicken).  Each portion of the sauce, assuming you even eat that much of the sauce, has:

62 calories, 6.9 g fat, 0.02 g carbs,  0.00 g fiber, .02 g NET CARBS, 0.13 g protein (add in your piece of chicken)

Montreal BBQ Sauce and Marinade

We’re grilling chicken and pork country ribs tonight.  This wonderful BBQ sauce is great on either one.  You simply must try this one some time!  It has become a family regular!  It is particularly good on pork, but we use it on other meats as well.  It’s so easy to whip up a batch, so no complaints there.  This sauce is Atkins Induction friendly, too!  You can also use this as a marinade for chicken pieces, shrimp and even on fish filets.  Marinate meat or seafood of choice in the refrigerator and then grill as usual.  Be sure to reserve some for use at the table for those that like more sauce.  We find when we go out for ribs, the rub on the meat, although very tasty, is always so salty.  That just spoils my enjoyment of dinner, plus I gain weight just from the sodium load.  Tonight we’re having green beans and a delicious mushroom tomato salad  and some garlic bread made from some low-carb rolls I have in the refrigerator I baked earlier this week.   The above photo shows these ribs being served with loaded potatoes made from cauliflower, green onion, cream cheese, bacon and a little bacon.  Yummers.  

INGREDIENTS: 

2 tsp. “Montreal Steak” seasoning (recipe below)

1 stick butter, UNSALTED since the above spice has salt (but luckily no sugar!) (4 oz.)

1-2 tsp. red wine vinegar (more if you like)

1/8 – ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

DIRECTIONS:  Melt butter, add Montreal Steak spice, vinegar and cayenne.   Simmer on lowest heat possible for 1 minute to blend flavors.  Remove and use as marinade & grilling sauce.  Place meat and sauce (reserve a bit of sauce for table use) into a large zip bag with sauce.  Zip and manipulate to coat all pieces/ribs well.  Marinate for 1-2 hours in refrigerator.

My Homemade Montreal Steak Seasoning: 

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

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes about 8 tablespoons spice mix.  I use about 2-3 tsp. in the sauce above for doing a whole chicken, a full rack of ribs or 7-8 fish filets.  Each tablespoon of this sauce contains:

103 cals, 11.5g fat, 0.26g carbs, 0.1g fiber, 0.16g NET CARBS, 0.12g protein, 48 mg sodium

London Broil

When you want to tenderize a tougher cut of meat, like flank steak or London Broil, you have to marinate it to loosen up those meat fibers a bit.  This is one of my favorite steak marinades to use on London Broil.  If you can’t get flank or London Broil, use a piece of lean chuck roast. The flavor on the outer crust of meat is just divine.  The longer you marinate the meat, the more tender the meat will get.  Marinating all day long is preferred, but a minimum of 4-5 hours is a must lest you end up with a very tough, difficult to chew experience.  My husband cooked ours tonight a bit too long (medium) for our personal taste, as we prefer medium rare, but it was still quite tasty and still fairly tender.  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins beyond Induction.  If you are still on induction, sub in some beef broth for the red wine.

INGREDIENTS:

3 lb. piece of London Broil or flank steak

½ clove garlic, minced

1½ tsp. tomato paste

½ c. red wine (or beef broth if still on Induction)

¼ c. low sodium soy sauce

2 T. balsamic  vinegar

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

DIRECTIONS:  Coat the meat with the black pepper and set in a glass or plastic marinating pan.  Add the remaining ingredients, stirring in the tomato paste well until it is evenly distributed in the liquid.  Using a basting brush, drizzle the marinade over the meat and place marinating pan in the refrigerator.  Marinate for at least 4 hours to all day long, drizzling over the meat carefully hourly.  Turn the meat once or twice while marinating.

When ready to cook, prepare a hot charcoal fire.  Lift meat out of marinating pan and discard the marinade.  Place meat directly over the hot coals and grill for about 8-10 minutes on a side or until it reaches your desired stage (around 8 minutes per side for medium rare; around 10 for medium as shown).  These two cuts of meat are really too tough to cook them well done.  Just being honest.  Serve with a nice salad or your favorite green side dish.  This is delicious with compound butter, if you have a favorite recipe.  Here’s the one I used tonight:  Garlic Herb Butter.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  As the marinade is discarded, a firm count per serving is difficult to arrive at.  No more than 1 T. is consumed on the meat surfaces, if THAT much.  1 T. marinade contains around 1.27 net carbs, so that is what is added to the serving below.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Serves 6-7 people nicely (maybe 8), so each serving of meat with 1 T. marinade contains around:

297 calories, 12g fat, 1.3 carbs, 0 fiber, 0 NET CARBS, 44 g protein, 101 mg sodium

Homemade Everything Bagel® Spice Blend

Just made a fresh batch of my Everything Bagel spice blend.  Next time you bake low-carb bagels, baguettes or dinner rolls, try my mock version of this popular spice/seed blend.  It’s great on top of my low-carb dinner rolls https://wordpress.com/post/buttoni.wordpress.com/25406 or sprinkled atop your favorite low-carb loaf breads.  Though not quite the same, it’s real close to the taste of the well-known proprietary blend, considering I’m just guessing on the amounts of each spice/seed that appear in the ingredients listed on the commercial spice bottles.  It works for me anyway.   If you’d like to try a more aromatic blend, you might also like to try my 8-Seed Blend sometime!  It’s got a wider variety of spices and is very good in its own right.

INGREDIENTS:

3 T. dried minced onion flakes

2 T. dried minced garlic granules (I find at Sam’s)

3 T. white sesame seeds

4 T. toasted white sesame seed

1 T. coarse black pepper

1 tsp. sea salt (I used Himalayan pink)

4 T. black sesame seeds (I order on-line)

DIRECTIONS:   In your broiler, toast the 4 T. sesame seeds on a small baking sheet until lightly browned.  Please do not get distracted as they can burn in the blink of an eye!  Been there myself a time or two.  Remove and cool.  Pour them onto a paper plate.  Measure out remaining ingredients and stir well.  Fold the paper plate to pour them up into an awaiting lidded jar.  I always keep my old spice jars when emptied as they are so convenient to have when I make a new homemade spice blend such as this one.  This blend will keep for months, as the only real perishable thing in the blend are the sesame seeds, with their high oil content.  As with all spices, store in a dark cabinet or closed spice rack.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 18 T. or 54 tsp.  1 tsp. contains:

12.44 cals, 1.6g fat, 1.09g carbs, 0.34g fiber, 0.75g NET CARBS, 0.4g protein, 44.7 mg sodium

London Broil

When you want to tenderize a tougher cut of meat, like flank steak or London Broil, you have to marinate it to loosen up those meat fibers a bit.  This is one of my favorite steak marinades to use on London Broil.  If you can’t get flank or London Broil, use a piece of lean chuck roast. The flavor on the outer crust of meat is just divine.  The longer you marinate the meat, the more tender the meat will get.  Marinating all day long is preferred, but a minimum of 4-5 hours is a must lest you end up with a very tough, difficult to chew experience.  My husband cooked ours tonight a bit too long (medium) for our personal taste, as we prefer medium rare, but it was still quite tasty and still fairly tender.  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins beyond Induction.  If you are still on induction, sub in some beef broth for the red wine.

INGREDIENTS:

3 lb. piece of London Broil or flank steak

½ clove garlic, minced

1½ tsp. tomato paste

½ c. red wine (or beef broth if still on Induction)

¼ c. low sodium soy sauce

2 T. balsamic  vinegar

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

DIRECTIONS:  Coat the meat with the black pepper and set in a glass or plastic marinating pan.  Add the remaining ingredients, stirring in the tomato paste well until it is evenly distributed in the liquid.  Using a basting brush, drizzle the marinade over the meat and place marinating pan in the refrigerator.  Marinate for at least 4 hours to all day long, drizzling over the meat carefully hourly.  Turn the meat once or twice while marinating.

When ready to cook, prepare a hot charcoal fire.  Lift meat out of marinating pan and discard the marinade.  Place meat directly over the hot coals and grill for about 8-10 minutes on a side or until it reaches your desired stage (around 8 minutes per side for medium rare; around 10 for medium as shown).  These two cuts of meat are really too tough to cook them well done.  Just being honest.  Serve with a nice salad or your favorite green side dish.  This is delicious with compound butter, if you have a favorite recipe.  Here’s the one I used tonight:  Garlic Herb Butter.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  As the marinade is discarded, a firm count per serving is difficult to arrive at.  No more than 1 T. is consumed on the meat surfaces, if THAT much.  1 T. marinade contains around 1.27 net carbs, so that is what is added to the serving below.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Serves 6-7 people nicely (maybe 8), so each serving of meat with 1 T. marinade contains around:

297 calories, 12g fat, 1.3 carbs, 0 fiber, 0 NET CARBS, 44 g protein, 101 mg sodium

Portobello Mushrooms in Wine Sauce

I just realized this evening (we grilled ribeyes for dinner) that I have never posted my mushroom recipe on the site before! Oh, my! I don’t know how I could forget this favorite. They’re simple to prepare and ready in 5-10 minutes! I usually start these when the steaks go out to the hot charcoal fire. Omit the red wine and use ½ c. more beef stock if you are still on Atkins Induction.

Whenever I make a chuck roast or oven-baked brisket, I always save all the broth and freeze it in 1/2 c. blocks for just such quick recipes. You can use canned broth, but your final dish won’t be quite as tasty.

INGREDIENTS:

2 large portobello mushrooms

3 T. butter

1 large clove garlic, minced

½ c. rich beef stock

¼-½ c. dry red wine (I usually use Merlot or Cabernet)

Dash each sea salt and coarse black peppper

Optional: chopped parsley to garnish

DIRECTIONS: Wipe any dirt off mushrooms with a paper towel. Never rinse mushrooms in water else it will bleed into your sauces! Chop mushrooms into 1″ chunks. You can scoop out the gills if you like, but frankly, I never bother. Melt butter in skillet over medium high heat. Add mushrooms and minced garlic to the pan and sauté a few minutes or until they begin to look translucent. Add wine and beef stock and simmer a few minutes longer or until ‘shrooms are done. 🙂

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes two 3/4 c. servings, each contains:

232 cals, 19g fat, 7.4g carbs, 2.7g fiber, 4.7g NET CARBS, 6.5g protein, 93 mg sodium

London Broil

Shown with Garlic Herb Butter.

When you want to tenderize a tougher cut of meat, like flank steak or London Broil, you have to marinate it to loosen up those meat fibers a bit.  This is one of my favorite steak marinades to use on London Broil.  If you can’t get flank or London Broil, use a piece of lean chuck roast. The flavor on the outer crust of meat is just divine.  The longer you marinate the meat, the more tender the meat will get.  Marinating all day long is preferred, but a minimum of 4-5 hours is a must lest you end up with a very tough, difficult to chew experience.  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins provided those still on Atkins Induction sub in some beef broth for the red wine.  It’s also delicious with my Garlic Herb Butter.

INGREDIENTS:

3 lb. piece of London Broil or flank steak

½ clove garlic, minced

1½ tsp. tomato paste

½ c. red wine (or beef broth if still on Induction)

¼ c. low sodium soy sauce

2 T. balsamic  vinegar

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

DIRECTIONS:  Coat the meat with the black pepper and set in a glass or plastic marinating pan.  Add the remaining ingredients, stirring in the tomato paste well until it is evenly distributed in the liquid.  Using a basting brush, drizzle the marinade over the meat and place marinating pan in the refrigerator.  Marinate for at least 4 hours to all day long, drizzling over the meat carefully hourly.  Turn the meat once or twice while marinating.

When ready to cook, prepare a hot charcoal fire.  Lift meat out of marinating pan and discard the marinade.  Place meat directly over the hot coals and grill for about 8-10 minutes on a side or until it reaches your desired stage (around 8 minutes per side for medium rare; around 10 for medium as shown).  These two cuts of meat are really too tough to cook them well done.  Just being honest.  Serve with a nice salad or your favorite green side dish.  This is delicious with compound butter, if you have a favorite recipe.  Here’s the one I used tonight:  Garlic Herb Butter.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  As the marinade is discarded, a firm count per serving is difficult to arrive at.  No more than 1 T. is consumed on the meat surfaces, if THAT much.  1 T. marinade contains around 1.27 net carbs, so that is what is added to the serving below.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Serves 6-7 people nicely (maybe 8), so each serving of meat with 1 T. marinade contains around:

297 calories, 12g fat, 1.3 carbs, 0 fiber, 1.3 NET CARBS, 44 g protein, 101 mg sodium

Cheddar Cheese Sauce

We all love a good cheese sauce for broccoli and cauliflower.  This one goes together quick and is extra thick.  Because of the amount of cheese, please note the high sodium content of this sauce.  No way to reduce that unless you cut back on cheese, resulting in a thinner, less cheesy sauce.  I like to pour some of the sauce on my veggies and bake off awhile, topping at the table with another spoonful per serving.  But that isn’t necessary.  You can just dip the sauce over the veggies right at the table when serving!  This works great for a Mac ‘n Cheese sauce, too!

INGREDIENTS:

½ c. heavy cream

½ c. tap water

2 c. shredded cheddar cheese (I actually used 1 c. each American and Cheddar)

Dash coarse black pepper

DIRECTIONS: Measure the cream and water into a small saucepan over medium heat.  Add the cheese and black pepper.  Stirring constantly, heat mixture until cheese is fully melted and blending  (no visible bits or lumps) into a creamy smooth golden sauce.   You can either pour half over your veggies in an oven-proof dish and bake for 20 minutes at 350º.  Or simply serve the sauce in a bowl at table for each person to dip their own up over their pre-cooked veggies.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 4 servings of about ½ c. each.  Each serving of cheese sauce (approx. 1/4 batch) will contain:

305.5 cals, 27.05g fat, 3.77g carbs, 0.07g fiber, 3.7 NET CARBS, 12.42g protein, 618 mg sodium.

Dad’s Poultry Seasoning

My Dad, the REAL cook in the family, made a lot of his own spice blends.  This was one he nailed!  I got ready to make some holiday cornbread dressing this afternoon and realized I was completely out of this blend and had to make a new batch today.  So I thought I’d share his special recipe in case you might like to try it on for size for your Thanksgiving recipes.  This recipe has a little more intense flavor, with a little less sage and a dash of cayenne, but I think it’s much better than commercial poultry seasoning.  It has a dash of garlic powder for a nice twist, too.  In a 9×13 pan of dressing, I tend to use around 1T.+2 tsp. of this mixture. This recipe usually lasts me about a year.  It’s great in stuffing, on roast pork, pork chops and baked chicken.  You may even think of more uses for this tasty spice blend.

INGREDIENTS:

1½ T. dried sage

1½ T. onion powder

1½ T.  black pepper

1½ T. celery seed (not celery SALT)

1 T. + 2 tsp. dried thyme

1½ T. dried marjoram

2¼ tsp. dried rosemary

½ tsp. garlic powder

½ tsp. cayenne pepper

DIRECTIONS: Mix all ingredients in a small bowl and spoon into dark, tinted storage jar with a tight lid.  Or store in a dark cabinet.  Spices store best away from light exposure.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes about 11 tablespoons (33 teaspoons).  Each tsp. contains:

4.79 cals, 0.12g fat, 0.95g carbs, 0.31g fiber, 0.64g NET CARBS, 0.18g protein, 1 mg. sodium

Peggy’s Poultry Rub

I’ve been trialing a new poultry rub recipe I’m developing for chicken and turkey.  Have tried it several times and I just kept increasing several of the ingredients as well as eliminating one that added nothing to the flavor profile.  I think it’s about right for my palate now.  I am quite pleased.  I have tested it on oven baked cut-up chicken parts and liked that method best, as the rub gets on more surfaces of the chicken flesh that way.  But last night I tested it on an air-fryer whole roasted chicken.  That was moist and delicious, but the seasoning does a better job on individual pieces, in my opinion.  Can’t wait to try this on duck!  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and other Keto programs.  It is also OK for Paleo and Primal Blueprint followers.

NOTE:  My husband is on a low-sodium diet, so you will notice my spice blends have little salt (if any).  I can always add salt at the table if I want more.  You may want to increase the salt in the blend itself for your family’s palate. 🙂

INGREDIENTS:

2 T. Spanish paprika (regular is OK, but lacks the smoky flavor I love)

On a whole roasted chicken

1 T. chili powder

2 T. onion powder

1 T. garlic powder

1 T. black pepper

2 t. dried crushed sage leaf

2 t. dried crushed basil

2 t. dried crushed oregano leaf

1 t. sea salt

DIRECTIONS:  Mix all ingredients on a paper plate.  Stir well.  Fold plate and pour all into a spice jar (with a lid).  Close lid and shake well to distribute ingredients evenly.  Use about 1 T. on a whole (or cut up) chicken.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes about 9 T. of the rub (or 27 tsp).   Each teaspoon contains:

6.44 cals, 0.15g fat, 1.37g carbs, 0.5g fiber, 0.87g NET CARBS, 0.26g protein, 89.6 mg sodium

 

Homemade Everything Bagel® Spice Blend

Next time you bake low-carb bagels, baguettes or dinner rolls, try my new mock version of this popular spice/seed blend.  It’s real close to the taste of the real proprietary blend.  Not quite the same, but hey….I am guessing here for the amounts of each spice/seed that appear in the ingredients listings on the bottles.   It’s close enough to work for me anyway.   If you’d like to try a more aromatic blend, try my 8-Seed Blend sometime!  It’s got a wider variety of spices and is very good in its own right.

INGREDIENTS:

3 T. dried minced onion flakes

2 T. dried minced garlic granules (I find at Sam’s)

3 T. white sesame seeds

4 T. toasted white sesame seed

1 T. coarse black pepper

1 tsp. Sea Salt (I used Himalayan pink)

4 T. Black Sesame Seeds (I order on-line)

DIRECTIONS:   In your broiler, toast the 4 T. sesame seeds on a small baking sheet until lightly browned.  Please do not get distracted as they can burn in the blink of an eye!  Been there myself a time or two.  Remove and cool.  Pour them onto a paper plate.  Measure out remaining ingredients and stir well.  Fold the paper plate to pour them up into an awaiting lidded jar.  I always keep my old spice jars when emptied as they are so convenient to have when I make a new homemade spice blend such as this one.  This blend will keep for months, as the only real perishable thing in the blend are the sesame seeds, with their high oil content.  As with all spices, store in a dark cabinet or closed spice rack.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 18 T. or 54 tsp.  1 tsp. contains:

12.44 cals, 1.6g fat, 1.09g carbs, 0.34g fiber, 0.75g NET CARBS, 0.4g protein, 44.7 mg sodium

Homemade Jamaican Jerk Seasoning Blend

I have eaten Jamaican Jerked chicken in a cafe before but found it way too spicy for my palate.  I understand the spices and amounts of each used varies a lot from household to household, much like gumbo recipes vary dramatically in Louisiana from home to home.  I have always found most commercial Jerk seasonings to be too heavy with salt, and of course, I also cannot have the sugar anymore, or in my case, not even substitute sweeteners.  I worked around that by adding a small amount of maple extract to the final marinade to mimic brown sugar’s taste.  Works for me!  I’m extremely pleased with my final version, having now tested it out on oven-baked chicken, grilled shrimp and air-fried pork.  We loved it on all 3 meats.  This spice is suitable for all phases of Atkins and Keto diets as well as Paleo and Primal Blueprint followers as well.  Here’s a delicious air fryer pork recipe made from this seasoning mix.

INGREDIENTS: 

1 T. Spanish Smoked Paprika (I order mine on-line)

2 T. onion powder or granulated onion

3 T. garlic powder

2 T. cayenne pepper

½ tsp. crushed red pepper (more if you like things real spicy)

2 T. crushed dried thyme leaves

1 T. allspice

1 T. ground cinnamon

2 T. dried parsley

1 T. coarse black pepper

1 tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS:   Measure out all ingredients into a medium mixing bowl. Stir well.  Spoon into an old empty spice jar or other jar with tight lid.  Tip:  when making spice blends, pour the mix onto a paper plate (in 2-3 portions), fold the plate to make a handy “funnel” to tap your new spice right into the receiving jar.  My Dad taught me this trick as he loved concocting his own blends.  As with all spices, store in a dark cupboard or spice cabinet that has doors. I use 2 T. for pork chops, 3 T. for whole chicken or equivalent parts, and 2 T. on shrimp.  I always rub either olive oil or butter all over the meat surfaces so the spice will adhere and marinate for 1 hour (covered) in the refrigerator before cooking.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes about 14 tablespoons of spice.  Each 1T. serving contains:

20.6 cals, 0.31g fat, 4.71g carbs, 1.07g fiber, 3.64g NET CARBS, 0.72g protein, 169 mg sodium

Bernaise Sauce

Serve with Linda Genaw’s “Just Like Baked Stuffed Potatoes”. https://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/just_like_stuffed_baked_potatoes.html

This recipe is inspired by my mories of a wonderful steak with bernaise sauce I had at Galveston’s Wentletrap Restaurant some years back.  We moved away, so I don’t know if it survived Hurricane Ike though.  Sure hope so.  For those that don’t know, a wentletrap is a beautiful seashell.  This restaurant sure was a great place for fine dining.  I’ve loved bernaise sauce so much since, I have even been known to serve it on top of scrambled or fried eggs occasionally!  Yes, I know that may be odd, but it really is quite good!   Bernaise is actually just Hollandaise sauce with a tarragon-vinegar twist added.  This sauce is Induction friendly, albeit a bit fat/calorie pricey.  🙂  This recipe makes enough to serve atop 4 servings of eggs, a bowl of fresh asparagus, over a delicious grilled steak or butter-seared chicken breast.  If any is leftover, I just cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to two days.  To reuse, just melt 1-2 T. butter in a pan and slowly add in the leftover Bernaise a spoonful at a time, whisking continuously. Voilà, it’s reborn! 🙂

INGREDIENTS:

¼ c. red or white wine vinegar

1 T.  parsley, chopped

¼ tsp. dried tarragon (or 1 tsp. fresh, chopped)

3 egg yolks

1 tsp. lemon juice

1 stick butter, unsalted (4 oz. or 8 T.)

DIRECTIONS:   This sauce goes together pretty fast, so you really have your steaks about ready before you begin.  Now for the sauce, add vinegar, parsley and tarragon to a small saucepan and over medium heat, bring to boil, lower heat and simmer to allow it to reduce to about 1-2 T.  In another  non-stick skillet over med-low heat, whisk the egg yolks with the splash (1 tsp) lemon juice and 1-2 T. of the butter until smooth.  Whisking continuously, add the rest of the butter in small pats, whisking between each pat as it melts.  When all butter is melted and smoothly incorporated, add the tarragon-vinegar mixture to the Hollandaise egg-butter mixture and stir well.  Serve at once in whatever recipe you are using this for.  If you like a thinner Bernaise, just add more melted butter and adjust the nutritional info to reflect that addition.  🙂

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes  about 1 cup, or 4 servings of  ¼ c. each.   A fourth of the recipe contains:

248 cals, 26g fat, 0.83g carbs, 0.1g fiber, 0.73g NET CARBS, 2.35g protein, 11 mg. sodium

Grilled Sriracha Shrimp with Sriracha Aioli

Grilled Sriracha Shrimp is good on its own merits, but my buttery aioli sauce is a lovely compliment.  This sauce would also be delicious on grilled fish, grilled chicken or skillet seared scallops.  I wish my husband had rotated the skewers so those pictured would have charred more evenly.  But they all tasted GREAT and that’s what counts!  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and Keto diets.  It is not suitable for Primal-Paleo lifestyles unless you can find a recipe for homemade Sriracha sauce.  As I can’t know how many shrimp you will eat, I am providing nutrition information for what I felt was a satisfying serving 1/3 lb. (5 large shrimp) with numbers for  around 2 T. aioli, which is what I ate.   You will have to adjust your numbers according to how much you actually eat.  Divide the numbers for the shrimp by 5 to get the numbers for 1 shrimp.

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FOR THE SHRIMP:

1 lb. extra-large shrimp ( There were 16 in my bag), peeled, tail piece left on

½ stick unsalted butter, melted (4 oz.)

2 tsp. Sriracha sauce  (or other bottled hot sauce of your choosing)

Dash each garlic powder and onion powder

Peal the shrimp, leaving tail shell on for a “handle”.  Place on skewers and set skewers on a platter.  Melt the butter in a small saucepan and add the Sriracha sauce and seasonings.  Stir to blend and remove from heat.  With a basting brush, baste both sides of the skewered shrimp with the sauce.  Save the remaining sauce to baste the shrimp while the are being grilled.

FOR THE AIOLI:  Process the following ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth.  Scrape into serving dish and place in refrigerator until shrimp is grilled and you are ready to serve.  (Makes about 1/2 c. sauce or about 8 T.)

½ stick butter, melted

1 jalapeno, seeded, ribs removed (omit if you prefer)

1/3 c. Homemade Mayonnaise

   Sriracha Aioli

½ c. fresh cilantro

Juice of 1 lime

Dash each salt and pepper

½ clove garlic, minced

Dash smoked chipotle  chile powder

¼-1 tsp. Sriracha sauce (to your taste)

GRILLING THE SHRIMP:  Prepare a charcoal fire.  When coals are hot, Place skewers over coals and grill about 5 minutes on a side or until they are opaque.  Baste with extra sauce in your saucepan.  Use up all the sauce on the shrimp while grilling for best flavor.  Remove the shrimp from the grill and either remove from skewers to a serving platter, or serve on the skewers if you prefer.  Using the very large shrimp I used (16 per pound) I found 5 made a perfect serving size.  Serve the aioli sauce on the side for your diners to use to suit their personal taste.  🙂

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 3 servings (5 XL shrimp per serving) each contains:

5 X-large shrimp (1/3 lb) contain:  299 cals., 18g fat, 2.06g carbs, 0 fiber, 2.06g NET CARBS, 31g protein, 265 mg sodium

2 T. Aioli sauce contains: 231 calories, 25.4g fat, 1.5g carbs, 0.5g fiber, 1g NET CARBS, 0.6g protein, 77 mg sodium

Bang Bang Dipping Sauce

This delightfully spicy sauce is amazing with fried shrimp or chicken tenders.  So much so I thought it deserved its own posting rather than just including the recipe with dishes I’ve created with it.  Have some other ideas up my sleeve for this sauce as well, so stay tuned.  You know what they say…………..the Saucier is the most important chef in a French Kitchen.  🙂

We just LOVE this stuff!  Me, I’m not so fond of overly hot, spicy food, but this has just a little bit of tingle on your tongue that I don’t think most folks will find it too spicy.  I do hope my readers will try it sometime, if you have not yet had the pleasure.   This sauce is suitable for all phases of Atkins & Keto diets, as well as Primal and Paleo folks!

INGREDIENTS:

½ c. homemade mayo

2-3 tsp. Sambal Oelek chili sauce

2 tsp. Sriracha

Dash each salt and black pepper

VARIATION:   Add ¼ clove minced garlic for a new twist

DIRECTIONS:     Measure out all ingredients into a small bowl, stir well and chill until ready to serve as a condiment with fried shrimp, chicken or whatever you little heart desires.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes five 2-T. servings of sauce, each contains:

161 cals, 17.68g fat, 0.84g carbs, 0.02g fiber, 0.82g NET CARBS, 0.52g protein, 140 mg sodium

Chicken Tenders with Bang Bang Sauce

My husband asked me to make some chicken tenders recently.  I have developed a great Southern Fried Chicken coating recipe and just took that to a new level, serving as tenders with a dipping sauce with a “bite”.  This particular coating has been my best to date and it didn’t fail me on the tenders.  I’m so pleased with this recipe!!  It’s my first time to try a spicy sauce with tenders and we loved it! The hubs said please make these again!  They were nice and crispy!  By the way, chicken coated with this coating is great leftover, cold, right out of the fridge!!  It also reheats nicely (crispy) in the oven at 350º for about 20 minutes.

As I can’t know how you cut up your chicken strips, it’s not possible to really provide nutritional stats per serving.  Instead, I am providing nutritional info for 1/10 of the coating, as I cooked 10 nice-sized strips of chicken breasts (off 2 large breasts I de-boned).  There was at least 1-1½c. coating and some egg/cream mix that didn’t get used, so this recipe would coat quite a few more tenders if you have a big family.  No need to double the recipe for say 15-18 tenders.  Therefore, the carb numbers are actually even lower than shown below.  Woo! Hoo!

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 c. plain whey protein

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

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

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

½ tsp. onion powder

½ c. Parmesan cheese

1/8 tsp. coarse black pepper

2 large eggs

¼ c. heavy cream

¼ c. water (or more heavy cream if you prefer)

½-3/4″ deep hot oil (I use coconut oil) in a large 13-14″ skillet

OPTIONAL BANG BANG SAUCE: ½ c. homemade (or regular) mayonnaise, 1 T. Sambal Oelek chili paste, 2 tsp. Sriracha, dash each salt and black pepper.  Stir all in a small bowl.  Sauce adds approximately 0.35 net carbs for each serving (1 serving = 1 T.).

DIRECTIONS: Preheat holding oven to 350º.  Measure out and mix all dry ingredients in a paper or plastic bag by shaking well.  In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, cream and water together.  Cut chicken breast meat into long strips about 4″ x 1″.  Dip each one into the egg mixture and turn several times to well coat each piece.  Pick each piece of meat out of the bowl and drop into the seasoned “flour” in the bag.  This makes coating easier and less messy.  When you have 3 pieces in the bag, holding the top of the bag closed, shake the bag to coat the chicken with the dry mix.  Don’t put more than 3 pieces into the bag at a time or they will not coat well.

Heat 3/4″ deep oil over high heat.  Remove the coated chicken strips carefully from the bag and place the pieces closely together in the skillet of hot grease.  If you’re creative, you can get about 8 strips in a 13″ skillet.  Repeat the coating process with the remaining pieces of chicken.  Brown the chicken well on one side disturbing as little as possible as they cook.  With a fork, flip pieces over gently to brown the second side.   When brown on both sides they should be done (about 15 minutes total) remove to paper toweling to drain and if still frying more pieces, place the platter of first-cooked tenders in your preheated oven until all meat has been fried.  When you have finished cooking all pieces of chicken, serve at once with the Bang Bang dipping sauce.

VARIATION:  Serve with a good homemade cream gravy rather than the Bang Bang Sauce. 

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes enough coating for more than 10-15 tenders of chicken.  Numbers are for the coating only. Be sure to add in the info for the chicken piece(s) you eat and whatever dipping sauce you use!  1/10 batch of the entire coating recipe contains:

113.4 cals, 7.26g fat, 1.72g carbs, 0.53g fiber, 1.19g NET CARBS (less if not all coating and egg wash used), 12.8g protein, 209 mg sodium (sauce adds little to these numbers (mostly fat grams) and is nearly impossible to provide a per serving figure for as that would be person dependent in how liberally they used the sauce.

Chai Tea Spice Blend

We just love Indian Chai tea.  Perfect for a cold winter day.

Cardamom Pods, cloves, black peppercorns and cinnamon sticks

It was not until today, looking on the internet for the origins of the word CHAI, that I learned Indian hot chai tea, infused with all its lovely aromatic spices, actually gets its name from the Persian word for tea, CHAI (pronunced in Iran with second syllable stressed  CHA – EEEEEE )   Ya learn something everyday!

Having lived in Tehran, Iran for a couple of years when I was 10-12 years old, I just loved drinking their unspiced plain hot tea from the little 2″ tall sipping glasses they serve tea in there.   It always reminded me of my childhood days, playing “house” and having “tea parties” with my dolls.  In Iran, sugar was sold in huge solid blocks and they would just hammer off chunks, pop a piece into their mouths and sip the hot tea right through that sugar “cube”.  At age 10, what fun!  Pure sugar in your mouth!  🙂  What can I say?  My views on sugar sure have changed.  🙂  I very quickly learned considerable Pharci language at age 10, mostly from our maid, Fatimeh, who spoke little English.  When we would pass a tea shop in the bazaar she would make a sipping gesture and ask:  “Chai meekhawheed?” (sp?) which I quickly figured out meant “Do you want some tea?” I learned the proper response in no-time flat “Adeh, chai meekhawham” (sp?), “Yes, I want some tea!”.  I also knew in that setting, I’d get it served Iranian style, with those fun chunks of rock sugar, something my mother would never  allow at home.  Wasn’t I a naughty little 10 year old?   Mom was always worrying about that evil, Mr. Tooth Decay (those old enough, remember him from the Colgate TV commercials in the late 50’s?).  Moms always over worry, don’t they?  My teeth haven’t all fallen out after all!  LOL  Wonder if Chai tea is served with rock sugar in India?  Sorry, I digress with my boring nostalgia trip………..

I really avoid commercial spice preparations as much as I can, what with all the “extras” they add to those prepared mixes, beaucoup salt and sugar.  So I decided to take the most common spices I can taste in a cup of chai tea and just make up my own, using equal amounts (roughly) of the likely spices.  I quickly learned it needs to be a little top-heavy with cinnamon and doubled that 1 ingredient.  The final spice blend, brewed into a 2-cup pot of tea, was DELICIOUS!  So I thought I’d share my new blend here with my readers.

I’m a lazy cook by nature and don’t like the nuisance of shelling cardamom seeds from those big pods, so once I saw that Penzey’s sells it already shelled, well you know I was on that one like a fly on flypaper!  🙂  I order already shelled cardamom seeds from Penzey’s Spices on-line or their catalog.  Therefore, I have no earthly idea how many cardamom pods it will take to yield 1 tsp. seeds, but probably around 10-15?  There are about 8-10 little black seeds in the average green cardamom pod.

INGREDIENTS:

¼” slice of fresh ginger root (about 1 tsp.)

6 black peppercorns

10 whole cloves

2 tsp. cinnamon (or 1 3″ stick broken up)

1 tsp. cardamom seeds

3/4 tsp. fennel seeds

DIRECTIONS:  Place all ingredients in a blender or spice grinder (I use a dedicated cheap coffee grinder for spices) and grind until all is pretty fine.  Store in a lidded jar in a dark cabinet or your refrigerator if you’re worried about the ginger.   To make tea from this spice blend, boil your water in a proper teakettle and add your teabag(s) or loose tea in an infuser (my pot has a built-in infuser that lifts in and out).  Add 1 tsp. Chai Spice Blend to the infuser along with your tea for every 2 cups of water/tea you want to serve.  Steep for 5 minutes with the lid on and serve in cups with milk or cream and sweetener of your choice.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes about 9 tsp. of spice blend, each teaspoon (amount to brew 2 cups chai tea) contains:

3 calories, 0.1 g  fat, 0.75 g carbs, 0.45 g  fiber, 0.3 g  NET CARBS, < 0.1g protein

Roast Duck with Blueberry Sauce

Since there are just two of us now gathering for Thanksgiving, I sometimes just roast a duck to avoid so many leftovers.  This is a delicious recipe for duck which cooks up very moist.  I usually serve a traditional cornbread stuffing and green beans with this delicious bird.  I have never liked orange sauce on duck, so I decided to work up this blueberry sauce with a hint of herbs some years ago and that turned out to be a good decision.  The herbs and bacon in the sauce bring so many flavor layers to the table.  This can be served with your wine of choice, even red.  This recipe is suitable once you reach the berry level of Atkins (OWL Phase 2).  It is suitable for all Keto diets, Primal Blueprint and Paleo if you omit the wine in the sauce.  This Tipsy Blueberry Sauce would be good with turkey, roast pork or probably any other wild game you might be cooking this holiday season.

Many more delicious low-carb recipes 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 of Food Network fame, also brings to the table a wealth of delicious recipes added to the collection!  You’ll LOVE these recipes!  Order your copy today from Amazon  or our direct order site: amongfriends.us/order.php. Special prices available for the complete 10-volume set.

INGREDIENTS FOR DUCK:

5½ lb. duck

1/4 tsp. each onion powder, dried thyme and rosemary, crushed

Dash my Seafood Spice Blend (optional)

¼ tsp. salt

1 T. butter

DUCK DIRECTIONS:  Remove sauce packet (I throw it away) and the innards.  Boil the innards in 2 c. water for your dog.  🙂  Save the broth for your sauce.  Preheat oven to 375º.  Rub your fingers over duck checking for pinfeathers and remove any you find with the tip of a knife.  Mix the herbs and spices in a small dish with the salt.  Rub over duck skin all over.  Place duck on a grate that is then set down in a large roasting pan.  Baste with melted butter and pop into hot 375º oven for 1 hour.  Remove from oven, baste skin with remaining butter and return to oven for 30-45 minutes longer or until skin is brown, crisp and the duck read internal temperature of 180º.  While duck is roasting, prepare sauce.

SAUCE INGREDIENTS:

3 green onions, chopped coarsely

1½ oz. bacon (3 slices), chopped coarsely

1 c. blueberries (dried, fresh or frozen)

1 c. broth (or a little more if you simmer too long)

2 T. Port wine or Sherry

Dash each thyme, rosemary, onion powder and salt

¼ tsp. xanthan gum or your preferred thickener

SAUCE DIRECTIONS:  Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium-high heat and add chopped bacon, brown it nicely.  Add onion and saute until onion is very tender.  Do not drain off grease.  Add all remaining ingredients but the thickener.  Allow to simmer until berries begin to burst open and turn the sauce blue.  Here, I go by smell, and appearance, but when all appears to be cooked and it smells wonderful, slightly thicken to desired level with your preferred thickener.  Allow guests to serve atop roasted duck slices at table.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 8 servings, each contains:

385 calories, 31 g fat, 3.82 g carbs, .81 g fiber, 3.10 g NET CARBS, 20 g protein, 277 mg sodium

London Broil

Shown with Garlic Herb Butter.

When you want to tenderize a tougher cut of meat, like flank steak or London Broil, you have to marinate it to loosen up those meat fibers a bit.  This is one of my favorite steak marinades to use on London Broil.  If you can’t get flank or London Broil, use a piece of lean chuck roast. The flavor on the outer crust of meat is just divine.  The longer you marinate the meat, the more tender the meat will get.  Marinating all day long is preferred, but a minimum of 4-5 hours is a must lest you end up with a very tough, difficult to chew experience.  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins provided those still on Atkins Induction sub in some beef broth for the red wine.  It’s also delicious with my Garlic Herb Butter.

Many more delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own copy of our cookbooks  LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS.  Volume 8 is almost exclusively comprised of my recipes with some new George Stella and Jennifer Eloff creations.  Order your books from Amazon  or our direct order site: amongfriends.us/order.php.

INGREDIENTS:

3 lb. piece of London Broil or flank steak

½ clove garlic, minced

1½ tsp. tomato paste

½ c. red wine (or beef broth if still on Induction)

¼ c. low sodium soy sauce

2 T. balsamic  vinegar

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

DIRECTIONS:  Coat the meat with the black pepper and set in a glass or plastic marinating pan.  Add the remaining ingredients, stirring in the tomato paste well until it is evenly distributed in the liquid.  Using a basting brush, drizzle the marinade over the meat and place marinating pan in the refrigerator.  Marinate for at least 4 hours to all day long, drizzling over the meat carefully hourly.  Turn the meat once or twice while marinating.

When ready to cook, prepare a hot charcoal fire.  Lift meat out of marinating pan and discard the marinade.  Place meat directly over the hot coals and grill for about 8-10 minutes on a side or until it reaches your desired stage (around 8 minutes per side for medium rare; around 10 for medium as shown).  These two cuts of meat are really too tough to cook them well done.  Just being honest.  Serve with a nice salad or your favorite green side dish.  This is delicious with compound butter, if you have a favorite recipe.  Here’s the one I used tonight:  Garlic Herb Butter.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  As the marinade is discarded, a firm count per serving is difficult to arrive at.  No more than 1 T. is consumed on the meat surfaces, if THAT much.  1 T. marinade contains around 1.27 net carbs, so that is what is added to the serving below.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Serves 6-7 people nicely (maybe 8), so each serving of meat with 1 T. marinade contains around:

297 calories, 12g fat, 1.3 carbs, 0 fiber, 1.3 NET CARBS, 44 g protein, 101 mg sodium

Doggie Treats

This is not for human consumption, is not low-carb, and I’m not providing nutritional info! 🙂  Oh My!  But I thought I’d share this recipe for those out there who are dog lovers with a dog on your Christmas shopping list.  If your fur friends have many skin allergies, these have been tolerated by my allergy-ridden pooches for years now.  I started making these for my two rat terriers (a breed often plagued with skin allergies) about 10 years ago and it’s the only treat my dogs have tolerated without serious allergic reaction.

This recipe makes a HUGE 13×15″ jelly roll pan full which cuts into 195  1″ squares.  So a batch lasts me over a month for two toy breed pups.   If you have larger dogs, you may prefer to cut into larger pieces.  I freeze them in a gallon plastic bag and just take out a small baggie full each week and keep down in the refrigerator.

My dogs just adore these things!!  They go wild when I take them out of the oven to cool!  If using for training treats, to avoid weight gain from over-treating, just break these into even tinier pieces!  If your dogs have allergies to either wheat or oats, obviously these won’t work for you.  You could substitute flax meal for the flour but I don’t know about subbing for the oats.  Sorry.  I’ll have to let you experiment there on your own. Fortunately, my dogs are apparently only allergic to soy and possibly brewers rice/yeast, so often in commercial treats.

I have made these with beef liver, beef heart, chicken liver, chicken hearts, pork liver, pork heart.  You could use sheep organ meat if you have access.  They are received well no matter which meat I use. 🙂

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. whole wheat flour

3 c. whole rolled oats

1 lb. carton chicken livers (with juice), beef liver or pork liver

2 eggs

¼ c. oil

DIRECTIONS:    Preheat oven to 350º.  Process liver in a food processor until smooth.  It’s vile looking, but try not to dwell on that.  Add the eggs, oil, flour and oats and pulse until well blended.  Scrape out onto a 13×15″ jelly roll pan that has been sprayed or oiled well.  Using a rubber spatula, spread out evenly, trying to make it as evenly thick as possible.  Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes until center is dry to the touch.  Remove and cool.  Cut into 1″ squares.  When totally cool, use a metal spatula to remove them from the pan.  Store in a gallon ziploc bag in your freezer until ready to use.  The recipe rating below came directly from my two dogs.  🙂

Buttoni’s Low-Carb Bake Mix

I’m so pleased to share a handy low-carb bake mix.  I have left out the fat so it has a long shelf life.  Be sure to add butter or shortening when you bake your recipes with it.    It only has 4.83 net carbs per ¼ cup of mix!  That’s fewer carbs than my Einkorn Bake Mix!  Regular Pioneer Bake Mix has 25 net carbs per ¼ cup.  Bisquick has 27 net carbs per 1/3 c.  Carbquik has only 2 net carbs per 1/3 c. but has a funny background taste to me even after their product changes some years back.  My goal with this was to create a mix with no ‘funny taste’ and but keep it as low carb as possible.

My inspirational recipe was a low-carb flour mix I saw over on Pam’s Low Carb and Delicious blog (she links to the mix inside her bread recipe).  Her mix has 18 NC per 1/2 cup; mine has 9.66 NC per 1/2 cup.  So a nice carb drop there.  Her bread photo a thing of beauty, so I keep her recipe around to maybe try when I can afford a carb splurge on special occasions and I want a loaf just like her photo!

I modified her ingredient listing as well as the amounts of those ingredients.  The final bake mix has produced several baked items that I am quite pleased with:  a 2-serving vanilla microwave quick cake

Vanilla Microwave Cake

an oven-baked Blueberry-Lemon Snack Cake (shown right) and my

Blueberry-Lemon Snack Cake

Fluffy Pancakes.

This recipe makes a big batch of nearly 11 cups of mix, so you might want to make just 1/2 this recipe to play around with in 1 or 2 of your favorite, tested recipes and see  what you think.  I would love your feedback.

INGREDIENTS:

4 c. almond flour

1 c. oat flour (I grind mine from rolled oats)

½ c. oat fiber

½ c. Einkorn Flour

1 c. vital wheat gluten

2 c. Carbalose Flour

2 c. unflavored whey protein isolate

1 T. glucomannan powder

4 tsp. baking powder

DIRECTIONS:    If grinding your own oat flour (my 2 local grocers don’t carry oat flour that is pre-ground), do this step first, letting your food processor or blender run a pretty long time for the finest grind possible.  This will lead to better texture in your final baked goods. When you have 1 cup of oat flour ground, place in large mixing bowl.  Measure all other ingredients into the bowl.  Stir well.  Then stir well at least 4 more times!  You want the ingredients uniformly mixed.  Spoon mix into lidded container and store in your pantry for use whenever you want to bake.  Since there is no fat or sweet item in this, you will, of course, have to add butter/oil/fat and and naturally, sweetener if making a dessert recipe.  Eggs and possibly cream/liquid will be needed for binding and moisture to achieve the correct batter thickness.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes about 11 cups bake mix.

1 cup mix: 443 cals, 24.9g fat, 33.78g carbs, 14.44g fiber, 19.34g NET CARBS, 34.4g protein, 223 mg sodium

¼ cup mix: 110 cals, 6.22g fat, 8.44g carbs, 3.61g fiber, 4.83g NET CARBS, 8.61g protein, 55.7 mg sodium

Za’atar Herb Blend

This lovely-tasting herb blend is common throughout the Middle East, most often mixed with quality olive oil to dip bread into.  I like a bit of it in the oil I encircle my hummus with.  It is also sprinkled on roasted or grilled chicken, grilled fish, or grilled lamb.  I have even used it myself over roasted root vegetables like carrots and parsnips!  We love the earthy herb flavor profile. 

It is all herbs and spices, with some toasted sesame seeds, so it does have carbs, but not many, plus herbs are so good for you.  I put no salt in mine, but you can add a bit if you like.  This recipe is suitable once you reach the nuts and seeds rung of the Atkins carb re-introduction ladder.  Keto, Primal and Paleo followers can also enjoy this flavorful condiment.

INGREDIENTS:

1 tsp. dried marjoram

2 T. dried oregano leaves

3 T. sumac

1 T. toasted sesame seeds

2 T. dried thyme leaves

½ tsp. Aleppo pepper (optional)

2 tsp. onion powder

Optional:  ¼ tsp. sea salt

DIRECTIONS:  Toast sesame seeds over medium-high heat in a non-stick skillet or in your oven.  Watch them closely to not over brown.  Remove and pour them onto a paper plate or into a jar (that has a lid).  Add all remaining ingredients and stir/shake well.  Store in a lidded jar in your spice rack.  Will keep as long as the sesame seeds keep, or about a month or so.  Add ¼ c. extra virgin olive oil for a pita bread dip or to use on hummus.  If using on grilled/roasted meats, coat meat surface with olive oil and sprinkle on 1 T. of the spice mixture and cook meat as usual until properly done.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes about ½ cup, or 8 tablespoons.  1 T. contains (spice only, oil not included):

26 cals, 1.51g fat, 3.07g carbs, 1.68g fiber, 1.39g NET CARBS, 0.98g protein, 350 mg sodium (salt can be omitted and added at table).

London Broil

When you want to tenderize a tougher cut of meat, like flank steak or London Broil, you have to marinate it to loosen up those meat fibers a bit.  This is one of my favorite steak marinades to use on London Broil.  If you can’t get flank or London Broil, use a piece of lean chuck roast. The flavor on the outer crust of meat is just divine.  The longer you marinate the meat, the more tender the meat will get.  Marinating all day long is preferred, but a minimum of 4-5 hours is a must lest you end up with a very tough, difficult to chew experience.  My husband cooked ours tonight a bit too long (medium) for our personal taste, as we prefer medium rare, but it was still quite tasty and still fairly tender.  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins beyond Induction.  If you are still on induction, sub in some beef broth for the red wine.

Many more delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own copy of our cookbooks  LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS.  Volume 8 is almost exclusively comprised of my recipes with some new George Stella and Jennifer Eloff creations.  Order your books from Amazon  or our direct order site: amongfriends.us/order.php.

INGREDIENTS:

3 lb. piece of London Broil or flank steak

½ clove garlic, minced

1½ tsp. tomato paste

½ c. red wine (or beef broth if still on Induction)

¼ c. low sodium soy sauce

2 T. balsamic  vinegar

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

DIRECTIONS:  Coat the meat with the black pepper and set in a glass or plastic marinating pan.  Add the remaining ingredients, stirring in the tomato paste well until it is evenly distributed in the liquid.  Using a basting brush, drizzle the marinade over the meat and place marinating pan in the refrigerator.  Marinate for at least 4 hours to all day long, drizzling over the meat carefully hourly.  Turn the meat once or twice while marinating.

When ready to cook, prepare a hot charcoal fire.  Lift meat out of marinating pan and discard the marinade.  Place meat directly over the hot coals and grill for about 8-10 minutes on a side or until it reaches your desired stage (around 8 minutes per side for medium rare; around 10 for medium as shown).  These two cuts of meat are really too tough to cook them well done.  Just being honest.  Serve with a nice salad or your favorite green side dish.  This is delicious with compound butter, if you have a favorite recipe.  Here’s the one I used tonight:  Garlic Herb Butter.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  As the marinade is discarded, a firm count per serving is difficult to arrive at.  No more than 1 T. is consumed on the meat surfaces, if THAT much.  1 T. marinade contains around 1.27 net carbs, so that is what is added to the serving below.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Serves 6-7 people nicely (maybe 8), so each serving of meat with 1 T. marinade contains around:

297 calories, 12g fat, 1.3 carbs, 0 fiber, 0 NET CARBS, 44 g protein, 101 mg sodium

Garlic Herb Butter

 

I love mixing herbs and spices into butter and using them on baked, broiled or char-broiled steak, pork chops or seafood.  This is one of my favorites.  FYI for those not familiar with herb butters, also known as compound butters, they are simple mixtures of softened butter and spices, herbs, seasonings that are then used in a variety of recipes, particularly on meats and fish.  This is a GREAT way to re-invent leftover steak. by the way.  It helps disguise that “leftover” taste that beef, in particular, gets when reheated.  This particular herb butter is also good for making garlic bread on your favorite low-carb bread or roll recipe.  When it comes to herb butters, the sky is the limit as to the different combinations of herbs you can create.  As you’ve probably guessed by other recipes here, I love fresh rosemary, garlic and onion powder and that combo makes a wonderful herb butter for pork done on the grill.  Another combination I’m quite fond of is fresh mint and cilantro.  Be creative and experiment!  This flavorful mixture is Atkins Induction friendly.

INGREDIENTS: 

½ stick salted butter (4 T.)

1/4 c. parsley, chopped fine

1 small clove garlic, minced

¼ tsp. coarse, cracked black pepper

2 T. chives or green onion, chopped very fine

OPTIONAL:  Dash dried tarragon (or a bit of fresh, chopped fine)

DIRECTIONS:  On a paper plate or saucer, soften the butter at room temperature.  Blend/mash all listed ingredients into it with a fork until smooth and uniform.   There are three approaches to serving.  You can (1) serve the herb butter in a saucer at table (reserving 2 tsp.).   You can (2) reserve 2 tsp. and with a small rubber spatula, spoon the rest into the slots of a silicone candy/butter mold, pressing down well (freeze for 20 minutes and pop out the individual servings).  You can also (3) form the butter into a butter-shaped stick or log in plastic wrap, chill and slice off servings at the table.  Your call.

Place 1 tsp. of the reserved butter on top of meat or fish before cooking.  Place your meat or fish in your hot oven, broiler or on charcoal grill and cook to desired stage.  Turn meat halfway through cooking and place remaining tsp. of reserved herb butter on top. Spread with a brush to distribute over the meat/fish.  When your meat is fully cooked to the desired stage, removing to a serving platter and serve at once with the herb butter to garnish.  Let beef set for 10 minutes before slicing to preserve juices inside.  Let your guests serve more herb butter atop their serving at table.  It melts as you eat.  YUM! 🙂

The slots of my candy mold that makes the shape pictured above hold exactly 2T. contents.  This is why I show serving size as 2 T.  But your molds may only hold 1 T. and you can then cut these numbers in half!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Allow 2 T. per serving, so this makes 4 servings.  Each serving has:

105 cals, 11.5g  fat, 0.67g carbs, 0.20g fiber, 0.47g NET CARBS, 0.32g protein, 84 mg. sodium

Indian Garam Masala Spice

I made the Indian version of of Creamed Spinach to have with our ham and yellow squash tonight.  I love creamed spinach so much I’m willing to eat it with so many different foods.  The flavors went quite nicely together!  Thought I’d re-share my Garam Masala recipe for anyone who loves Indian food as much as we do.    The Indian version of creamed spinach is quite unusual and very tasty.  Not hot/spicy, just aromatic with spices.  This spice blend has many uses.  Type “Indian” in the search box to see an array of Indian recipes here on my site to try this spice in. They are all tried-and-true recipes I’ve cooked many times. Give them a try some time!  I think you’ll be pleased if your an Indian food fan.

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:

6 T. coriander seeds
3 T. cumin seeds
2 T. black peppercorns
1 T. whole cardamom pods (outer part and seeds inside)
5  small cinnamon sticks broken into small pieces
2  tsp. whole cloves
1  whole grated nutmeg (about 1 tsp.)

DIRECTIONS:  In a dry skillet, over low heat, heat the first 6 spices until they become very fragrant. This step is most important, so do not skip it or your results won’t be as good.  When fragrant, turn off heat and remove pan from stove.   Using a spice/coffee grinder (I have a cheap dedicated coffee grinder for spices only), grind all toasted spices to a pretty fine grind, but it doesn’t have to be as fine as salt.  Add grated nutmeg at this point.  When adding this spice to curry recipes, I once again heat the dry skillet and reheat these until they become fragrant and then proceed with whatever recipe I’m making. This is outstanding in all chicken, beef and fish curries.  It’s great on charcoal grilled, buttered  fish and chicken, too!

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION: Each teaspoon contains:

6  calories, 0.31 g.  fat, 1.1 g.  carbs, 0.6 g.  fiber, 0.23 g.   protein, 0.5 g. NET CARBS

 

 

Chicken Breast in Shawarma Cream Sauce

This moist, delicious, quick dinner was all that I hoped it would be.  I seared off butterflied chicken breasts in butter and made a delicious sauce of a cream reduction of a mixture of cream and homemade mayonnaise along with some of my tasty Shawarma Spice Blend.  This simple recipe is perfect for a week night when you’re tired from a hard day at work.  But it would be good enough to serve guests as well!  And of course this is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets, Primal and even Paleo if you sub in coconut milk for the cream.

More delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own cookbooks from LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS, by Jennifer Eloff and low-carb friends.  Chef George Stella also brings you a wealth of delicious recipes you will love!  Order yours TODAY! from Amazon or our direct order site: http://amongfriends.us/order.php.DISCLAIMER: I do not accept payment for this book promotion. I promote the books because they are GREAT cookbooks anyone would be proud to add to their cookbook collection.

INGREDIENTS: 

2   8-10-oz.  boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied

2 T. unsalted butter

Dash each coarse black pepper and sea salt

½ c. heavy cream (coconut milk for Paleo version)

1/3  c. homemade mayonnaise

½ tsp. my Shawarma Spice Blend

Water (just a bit, if needed to thin sauce if too thick)

DIRECTIONS:   Butterfly the chicken laterally almost through, spreading the two halves of each breast out to form 4 smaller, thinner fillets.  Alternately, you can leave them butterflied and whole and let your diners cut them as they wish at the table when serving themselves. Melt the butter in a large non-stick skillet over high heat.  Sear the chicken on all sides until the meat is no longer bleeding out pink juices and is done.  Remove meat to your serving platter while you make the sauce.

Lower heat to lowest setting and add the cream, homemade mayo and Shawarma spice blend.  Sprinkle on a dash of coarse black pepper and sea salt.  Allow to simmer stirring constantly, to de-glaze any brown bits off the pan into the sauce. Pour sauce carefully around (and a little bit down the middle of) the chicken fillets and serve at once with your favorite green veggies.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 4 servings, each contains (using 10-oz breasts):

385 calories, 31 g fat, 1.07 g carbs, 0.30 g fiber, 0.77 g NET CARBS, 26 g protein, 374 mg sodium