Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

There are some days when a girl just needs a cookie.

When you are doing a low-carb lifestyle, cookies are not quite in the recipe cards. Tonight was one of those nights. Sitting in my sweats, and not quite full from dinner, my sweet tooth was speaking up...

....cookies....

...cooooookies.....

...coooooooookies...........

I had to do it. Here's how:

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Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

2.8 Net Carbs per Cookie, Makes 20 cookies

1 cup creamy peanut butter with no added sugar, such as Adams No-Stir Creamy Peanut Butter

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 cup artificial sweetener of your choice (Here is where some carbs are going to come to play-- You can use splenda with more carbs or xyletol with zero here... I prefer to use 1/2 splenda and 1/2 xyletol, which is reflected in this carb count)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup sugar free chocolate chips

1. Preheat your oven to 350. Mix your vanilla and peanut butter together. Add sweetener, and baking powder and mix until well combined. Mix in the chocolate chips until well dispersed in the batter.

2. Using a table spoon (remember those things you used to eat cereal with?!) and shape into balls on a cookie sheet. (I prefer to use a silpat mat here, but if you are not using one use an un-greased cookie sheet.) Lightly flatten with your fingers and then put an "x" with your fork on top of each cookie. Bake in a heated oven for 10-15 minutes.

3. Remove from oven and let stand on a cookie sheet for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack until completely cool. (Okay okay, eat the whole pan of cookies and burn your friggin mouth off... just note your carb intake! hahaha!)

Mixed Mushroom Gravy

Mixed Mushroom Gravy

This is the easiest gravy that I have ever made.

Plus, it can top anything- For dinner tonight, we are topping it over some broiled Brie steaks (recipe to come soon!) It's delicious over the fettuccine-style shirataki noodles, or dreamfields pasta. Just mix in some grilled chicken and you have quite an entrée! You could mix in some green beans and bake with some sautéed onion and have an excellent thanksgiving-worthy green bean casserole! I love the versatility of this recipe. It makes about 2 cups. You could leave it with big mushroom pieces (like the one pictured) or you can use your stick blender to make it smoother. When topping meat I prefer to let the big pieces be, but mixed in dishes like a green bean casserole, you should puree it a bit.

Mixed Mushroom Gravy

Serves 8

1.2 Net carbs per serving (about 1/4 cup)

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

2 cups sliced white mushrooms

2 cups chopped portabello mushrooms

2/3 c heavy cream

1 c water

1 teaspoon "Better Than Bullion Organic Mushroom Base"

1 teaspoon pepper (to taste)

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1. Sauté mushrooms in olive oil until tender. Add water and bullion base and bring to a boil. Add cream, pepper and thyme and let boil for about 5 minutes until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Once it does, reduce to a simmer for about 10 more minutes.

Gong Bao Chicken

Gong Bao Chicken

This is one of my husbands favorite meals.

It's spicy and nutty and delicious over some Shirataki noodles. yummy! :) Originally, we would eat this sugar-laden spicy dish on a very frequent basis, but since low carb-- we have missed out. The carbs in this are minimal when you are on a later phase--but if you would like to have this in Phase 1 then skip out on the peanuts-- but you will be missing out! :) I have made this with cashews (just FYI if there is a peanut allergy in your family...) and it was good-- but peanuts are preferable.

Shao Xing Rice Wine (also known as Shaoxing and Shaosing) is a DARK rice wine that you can easily buy at any of your Asian Markets and in some supermarkets that carries a selection of ethnic foods. If you do not have it anywhere near you, you can buy it online from Ethnic Foods Co. I have substituted regular rice wine and didn't notice too much of a difference, but the Shao Xing rice wine gives it a little better flavor.

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Gong Bao Chicken

Serves 4 6 Net Carbs

2 boneless chicken breasts without skin cut into cubes

1 tablespoon vegetable or peanut oil

1-2 teaspoons red chili flakes, more or less to taste

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 inch of fresh ginger root, minced

2 tablespoons green onion

1/2 cup peanuts

Marinade:

2 teaspoons Tamari

1 teaspoon Shao Xing rice wine

1/2 teaspoon Splenda

Sauce:

4 tablespoons Tamari

4 tablespoons dark soy sauce

4 tablespoons Chinese rice vinegar

2 tablespoons sesame oil

8 tablespoons chicken stock

1 tablespoon Splenda

1 tablespoon Shao Xing rice wine

1. Combine the marinade ingredients and the cut up chicken and marinate for about 30 minutes.

2. In a preheated wok, heat oil over high heat. Add garlic and chilis and sauté for about 30 seconds until crisp and fragrant.

3. Add the chicken and sauté until cooked through. Add the sauce, green onions, and peanuts and cook until slightly thickened-- about 1-2 minutes.

Serve over Shirataki noodles and enjoy! :)