National Eggs Benedict Day!

For those of you not in the United States of America, we are a very traditional people. We have our traditions, and we love them. We love them so much we like to spread them around as much as possible. Fact is, most of our holiday traditions are based around food. Valentine's Day? Chocolate and heavy handed treats intended to elicit love and lust. Easter? Let's throw down on a ham, deviled eggs, and the ovum of some unholy rabbit that drops chocolate covered cream filled eggs. The Fourth of July (US Independence day) is all about filling yourself with as much grilled meat as humanly possible and then lighting things on fire. Halloween, the day of the dead, and candy, mainly candy though. Thanksgiving is were we all gather, again, and fill ourselves with way too much food, again, and then sit and watch football (So it's basically like most Sundays from August till January) Falling at the very end of the year is Christmas, a day where we spread the excess from food to gifts to decorations. So it's fitting then, that near the beginning of spring we have some sort of faux-holiday no one has ever heard of called National Egg's Benedict day.



I guess in a way it's fitting, after all it's not a dish that is known for its excessive size, however it will quickly fill even the mightiest stomach. It's a decadent, heavy, delicious little breakfast dish  in an open faced egg sandwich disguise. I myself happen to love Eggs Benedict. In fact just by looking at recent breakfasts of mine I happen to be a big fan of poached eggs on some sort of carb/starch/fiber with (most of the time) a hollendaise inspired dish.
Here to our right is a spanish style of it, instead of the normal sauce I used some salsa and it had some veggie patties and jalapenos with a little parm on top. Not terribly carb friendly I know.

Here to the right is a more Greek inspired version. Instead of the traditional sauce it was Greek yogurt with lemon and capers and olive oil. Again on a roll but skip that and just put it on a bed of spinach and bell peppers and garlic with an olive or two just for fun. Really I just like myself some poached eggs. I mean, how can you go wrong with soft boiled eggs that you don't have to deshell and can serve in a multitude of ways and have everyone all impressed with you for being able to go a step past boiling water?


But as for today's meal, the one pictured up top? It's absolutely Atkins friendly. So let's break it down a little shall we? First those rolls you see? They're called Oopsie Rolls! And are absolutely Carb Friendly rolling in at roughly a half carb per roll. At some point I'll put em in their own recipe as the Wife and I have some great dessert ideas for em. But for now you need to know how to make em! SO, here we go, what you'll need for the Oopsie Rolls

3 eggs
3oz Cream Cheese (or Mayo for a less sweet version)
one pinch Cream of Tartar.

Preheat your Oven to 300

Separate your eggs. With a whisk or a mixer whip the egg whites till they form stiff peaks (basically go at 'em hardcore with the mixer till they're all foamy and stand straight up when you pull em out.) Then add the cream cheese to the bowl with the yolks, and mix them together till they form a creamy yellow substance. Now gently fold the yolks into the whites without beating the whites too badly. Now gently spoon the mixture into a muffin pan and bake for roughly 30 minutes. IMPORTANT!!! Mine cooked in around 22 minutes and others have said 35, please watch for the golden brown deliciousness, it's how you'll know they're ready. This recipe should make six normal sized muffins/rolls within the pan and it comes out at .6 carbs per. Tasty as all get out too. In this picture I actually did one set of Mayo Rolls and one set of Cream Cheese rolls just to see the difference, mayo on left cheese on right. Soon I'll try it with Ricotta.

Ok, so those are in the oven and you've got twenty to thirty minutes so it's time to poach your eggs. As I said I love Poached eggs. Much like I have a certain proclivity for random capitalization in the middle of a sentence, but I digress. When I poach eggs I prefer to use a medium size frying pan that I can get about an inch of water, maybe an inch and a half into. Add a couple table spoons of vinegar to the water, it'll help keep the whites tighter around the yolk. Now get the water up to near boiling, where you see bubbles rising off the bottom of the pan, that's the perfect temperature. Now crack an egg into a cup/bowl if you wish, I find it easier, and use a spatula to get the water in the pan spinning. Pour the egg in, and using the spatula softly push the white to keep it close to the yolk. Typically takes 5-10 minutes to cook to soft boiled/medium boiled depending on your preference. Once it's hit the point you're happy with use a slotted spoon and lift the egg out onto a napkin/paper towel/absorbent thing to let the water run off while you make the amount you need.

Meanwhile you're actually going to be making two other things. Yes I'm keeping you busy as hell right now but believe me it's worth it! Whoever you make this for will have no choice but to love you forever because it'll be so tasty. So, action one of two here, fry bacon. Yep, fry the amount of bacon you need, you'll be having some bacon on top of the rolls in place of ham (or just use ham, I had none tonight and didn't wanna use any of my aged meats on it so we used turkey bacon and it was 5 tasties out of 5.)

Ok, action two here is making the Hollandaise sauce. For this I stole the recipe from Atkins.com so here it is, by the way it's not mine, it's Atkins.com's.  ( and by I stole it I mean my lovely wife did and made it tonight and it was oh so tasty)

• 1 1/2 Cups unsalted butter
• 3 egg yolks
• 3 Tablespoons water
• 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 Teaspoon salt
• 1/8 Teaspoon ground black pepper

 This recipe calls for clarified butter - meaning the milk solids are removed, which makes the sauce more stable.  If you prefer, simply melt the butter and add it in step 2 without straining it.

1. Line a sieve with a damp paper towel and set over a 2-cup measuring cup. Bring butter to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook until foam on top falls to the bottom and the butter begins to clear, about 8 minutes. Pour butter through sieve; set aside.
2. Combine egg yolks and water in the top of a double boiler set over (not simmering in ) water set over medium-low heat; simmer until mixture has tripled in volume, about 3 minutes. Add butter in a slow and steady stream, whisking constantly until sauce thickens. Whist in lemon juice, salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Me, I like it the way my wife makes it, just a touch of mustard in it and some Paprika and black pepper on top once served.

Ok, now you've got all the components prepared, BUT WAIT! You still need a side dish! Even McDonald's offers a hash brown with their egg concoctions! But we can't have hash browns! Personally, I suggest just wilting some spinach in olive oil with some diced garlic, simple, tasty, and easy to do with the pan used for the bacon. (If you used real bacon, just do it in the bacon grease, still tasty and ties the dish together nicely. Turkey Bacon doesn't greasify like that.)

Now for the final step to this whole mess.ASSEMBLY! What? You think this is easy? PSSSHHHH! Look, there's an art to this... OK, there's really not. Just put down the rolls, then the meat, then the egg... Wait, the eggs got cold didn't they? This is no bueno, it's ok poached eggs are easy to reheat, just put em back in boiling water or hot water for a minute or two and you're set! Ok, back to the task at hand, now that the egg is neatly placed on top, drizzle a little sauce on it, place your side dish, maybe add a splash of sauce all around to look all pretty and fancy and what not. BAM! Amazing food. Now if only I had gotten this posted before or during National Eggs Benedict day (April 16th apparently. I think Kotaku.com had the link about the holliday or something. In truth I just wanted a reason to post about eggs.)

So, your nutrition round up per serving

Oopsie Rolls - .6 net carbs (really it'll depend on the brand of mayo/cream cheese)

The Poached Egg - .77ish if they're large eggs

Turkey Bacon - 0 carbs

Hollendaise Sauce - .2

Spinach side dish thingy!(name pending) - roughly 1 per serving. I did 3 cloves garlic to like 4 cups of spinach between 4 people.

Total per plate! (Traditionally it'd be two rolls each with meat/egg/sauce and some of the side dish) 3.2! Filling, tasty, a little bit of fiber, and room for desserts! Now that's a man meal!

Faux Pasta Time!

Faux Pasta Time!

So, it's time for some legitimate Faux-Pasta. Why the end of sentence capitalization? Because it's just that tasty. Let's face it, spaghetti and meat-balls is an eternal meal. From the age of 2 to 102 it's something that just about everyone can agree with. It's a great food to give to picky children. It's the easy choice at most Italian restaurants, and there are as many variations on this dish as there are places to order it. It's one of those heavily romanticized dishes, from Lady and the Tramp on we get to see couples coming together over this dish. So why miss out on it just because you're following a low carb lifestyle?

Now, please be aware of one thing, this is a fairly carby meal. At about 8 net Carbs per cup of spaghetti-squash, it's very easy to run up a massive amount of carbs. Either plan your day around this carb-heavy meal, or do this the true Italian way and allow the pasta to be a side dish as opposed to the Olive Garden style gargantuan main dish of pasta. Another thing to consider is the fact that your tomato sauce is also going to have it's fair share of Carbs in it. In other words, not till pre maintenance or maintenance.

Spaghetti Squash

1 Spaghetti Squash

Cut off the top most portion where the vine connected, and then split the squash in half length-wise and proceed to remove the seeds.

Pre-heat oven to 350

Place both halves of squash face down on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, flip them face up and bake 5-10 more.

Here's where things get tough, you two choices, serve your spaghetti squash like this, using it's shell as a bowl. You can place your sauce and meatballs directly onto this and then just scoop the squash out with some sauce/meat as you go with your fork. It's definitely a fun way to show the dish off as it's fairly unique.

Your other choice is to use a fork, and with long steady strokes remove the squash in noodle like shapes. Depending on the done-ness of the squash it'll have a near al-dente like texture and will form long noodles. This is definitely the better way to prepare for multiple people/keeping your carbs in check.

But at the end of the day the choice is yours.

Now for what to put on the squash. Im going to give you two suggestions.

First is my favorite, a good spaghetti-sauce and scallops.

Cooper's pasta sauce of super uniqueness

1 jar low carb spaghetti-sauce

3 cloves garlic

1 zucchini

thyme

basil

red pepper flakes

Pour Spaghetti-sauce into a large pot and turn the heat to medium/medium high. Slice Garlic and put into pot.

Slice the zucchini into small triangles and place into pot.

Sprinkle a tsp or so of thyme/basil/red pepper flakes into pot, and let it heat thoroughly/until the zucchini/garlic are cooked in.

Mix this with meatballs of choice, and pour over your spaghetti squash and enjoy. Here are two forms of meatballs, first is the aforementioned scallops, second will be my version of an italian meatball.

Scallops-

5-10 large Scallops

1.5 Tbs Butter

1.5 Tbs White cooking wine

in a frying pan heat the cooking wine and butter together on medium-high till the butter is completely melted. Place thawed scallops onto pan and cook a couple minutes, and then flip. The Scallops should have turned a slight golden brown around the edges on the face down side that's just a tiny bit crispy. Repeat on the other side, and they are ready to eat! tasty.

Cooper's vaguely italian meatballs

Another choice is these vaguely Italianish meatballs. Tasty, and slightly more traditional in the Americanized-Italian-food sense.

1lb Ground Beef

1lb Ground Pork

Grated Parmesan (The cheap stuff in the green canister)

Salt

Garlic powder

pepper

1egg

oregano

Basil

First thing you notice here is I didn't give you any measurements on anything beyond the meat and the egg. Why's that? Well, as I always say "Cooking is more of an Art than a science" This here is all about the flavors you like. I love a lot of pepper and garlic, some people don't. I can pick up on a faint hint of oregano and basil, some people can't. Do what you think tastes best.

Mix the meats together in a bowl so you have some bastardized pow or kig meat concoction. And the season it as you wish, mix the egg in, and lots and lots of Parm. At least 1/4 cup if not more as the Parm is acting as your bread crumbs. Once everything is thoroughly mixed together mold the mix into small golf-ball sized balls and place onto a baking sheet that's been lightly oiled/buttered.

Pre heat oven to 350 and bake for 25ish minutes, or just put these meatballs in with the squash, and pull them out when the squash is finished, that's what I do. Oh, and with meatballs it'll look something like [IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b293/kouper/008.jpg[/IMG]

Ground beef and Eggplant.

Ground beef and Eggplant.

So, for the many of you out there who don't know (and yes, there are that many of you that I say many) I lived in Hong Kong for 2 years. I won't go into why I lived there here, perhaps on a different blog, but it was an amazing time in one of the single most amazing cities on the planet.

Hong Kong truly is amazing, you have this massive range of architecture, from the sleek ultra modern HSBC headquarters building in Central, to the (insert traditional temple from all over the place here) right on to the multi century old walled cities in the new territories.

In just a few minutes walk you can go from a dense urban center with 40 story tall high rises to suddenly finding yourself in open fields of rice patties and other farms with just 3 story multi family homes with families working in the fields in traditional garb.

A city where you only drive if you wish to for pleasure or have to as a work duty, the public transportation is fabulous and a model of what the US should be using. Even still on any given day you can see a variety of cars as diverse as the people. Citizens and ex-patriots from all over the world reside here. Bringing with them their own cultures.

While the city isn't as much a melting pot of cultures as New York is, I'd still say it's the single most incredible place I've ever been in all my long hard years on this planet. It's beautiful in all sorts of ways, as I said before the man made creations are great, you've got beautiful jungles and mountains and the ocean near by, beautiful people (minus a snaggletooth or ten.) and amazing food.

Seriously, the food is amazing. One of my favorite things I've ever eaten was here, it's called in Cantonese -Yu Heung Kehji Faahn- or fish fragrant eggplant rice. Yep, that's an amazing translation there that tells you nothing. It's an eggplant dish in a sauce made of tomatoes, ground fish or beef or chicken (I've ordered it at dozens of places and gotten all sorts of variants for the ground meat) some onions and miscellaneous spices and rice. So freaking tasty.

So tonight after a long drive home from Sun Valley I decided I'd try and make it. Sadly I used some of the wrong ingredients and failed miserably, though I did enjoy what I made. Feel free to serve it as a soup/stew/chili thingy mabobber, or over the cauliflower faux rice we've posted.

1lb ground (beef/chicken/fish of some sort, preferably a darker tasting fish/tofu

1 white onion, cut into strips

1 large eggplant (Chinese preferred but normal eggplants work as well.)

1 can diced tomato

1 can diced tomato with chili seasoning (yep, this was my mistake)

3 cloves garlic

1tsp ground ginger/diced ginger

2tbsp dark soy sauce

1/2 cup shao xin cooking wine (I substitute a dry sherry for this for other dishes, unsure here)

small chili peppers to taste

In a large wok Sauté the onions and then add the beef. Once the beef is mostly done add every thing else. For the eggplant, just before you put it in, slice it into thick sticks 2-3 inches long and maybe 1 inch squared, the second it's sliced toss it in so you don't have to watch it turn that nasty brown eggplant does when it oxidizes.

From here, let it all boil a bit with a lid over it till the meat is cooked through and the eggplant is soft and squishy. Serve, eat, marvel at how tasty your food is.

I must say, it wasn't the dish I wanted to make, but it was still quite tasty, not the prettiest, feel free to green it up with some zucchini or a little cilantro added last second. Please feel free to change it around, cooking is more of an art then a science, what strikes you may not strike me but as long as it's not poisonous/burning your house down/inflicting napalm.... never mind. If it's not causing harm and you like it you're doing it right.

Shepard's Pie..... the Cooper way (ish)

Shepard's Pie..... the Cooper way (ish)

Let's see, what do we have here? Beef, fauxtatoes, cheese, some green chili and garlic as well as some random veggies? Yep must be a man meal. Basically, it's male comfort food, good hearty winter grubbin here. A most excellent way to make use of some tasty ground beast. Let's face it, it's a crustless, large, beef pot pie and it's awesome, basically

2lb's Ground Beef

1 can diced tomatoes

half bag (8oz) green beans

2 cloves garlic

1 small can green mild chile's

1 onion

large mushrooms, I used 8 or 9

2 packages frozen cauliflower for fauxtatoes,

cheese. Your choice, however freaking much you want. (cheese is good! but no more then 4 oz per person per day of course)

Preheat oven to 350

in sauce pan sate mushrooms/onions then add beef. Once the beef is mostly cooked through add your can of tomatoes, the green beans chilies and garlic. Let this cook a bit till whatever liquid was added cooks out (should be fairly thick)

While you are doing this, prepare your fauxtatoes the way you like best.

Once both are finished move the beef mixture into a casserole, and then pat the Fauxtatoes down on top so it looks like a fauxcrust (HA! see what I did there?)

Sprinkle cheese on top of fauxtatoes, place in oven for 10-15 minutes (cheese should brown just a little on top)

Withdraw from oven, let cool a few before attempting to serve.

Devour the tasty beastmixture and rejoice.

Greek Chicken + Bonus Dish

Greek Chicken + Bonus Dish

Cooper here, likely posting on my wife's behalf for the foreseeable future.

So, here is where I should ramble on about this beautiful trip I took to Greece. Truly a beautiful country, a remarkable history, and wonderful people. I could tell you about all the delicious food and the amazing sights the ancient ruins and the beaches. And of course I couldn't leave out the women. Lets face it, Mediterranean women in general are fairly attractive and Greek women? Damn.

I would also tell you about how one evening this beautiful woman invited me home, we had this amazing chicken that she'd baked up. It was cooked with lemon and oregano and basil and feta cheese with a hint of garlic. The chicken was tender perfect, the herbs building up while the acid in the lemon cut straight through and balanced out the sharpness of the feta. She served it with a side that was comprised of sliced tomatoes, doused in an artichoke vinaigrette dressing topped with Feta cheese and then baked till the top of the cheese was crispy. This meal in particular was something to include in a story I could tell you about my trip to Greece.

Unfortunately I can't tell you about my trip to Greece as I have never been, the story I tell you would likely be a complete and utter fabrication, a work of poorly devised fiction designed to build up some meal that I cooked here in snowy Utah where the oldest building is less than 150 years old and the nearest ocean side beach is more then 600 miles away. Though the part about hot Mediterranean women and Grecian women in particular being hot? Totally true. And the attractive Greek girl baking this meal for me? Also true as my wife has made it several times, and is of Greek descent.

Greek Chicken

4 Boneless Chicken Breasts

2-3 Lemons

Oregano

Basil

Feta Cheese

Capers

Preheat oven to 350

Rub a little butter/olive oil/pam/whatever other semi flavorful-lubricating substance on bottom of a medium to small sized casserole

Slice 1-1.5 lemons into small rings and place them on the bottom of a casserole dish

Pat both sides of Chicken breasts with the oregano and basil, then place in casserole dish ontop of lemon rings

Slice up one more lemon (maybe just a half, this is all to your own taste anyway) and put a couple rings on each breast, and squeeze out maybe a half lemon onto the chicken breasts.

Sprinkle feta and capers onto chicken, more is always better. (in my opinion of course)

Let the chicken bake for 25-30 minutes. Since all ovens vary, your altitude and the alignment of the moon and planets will vary as well this may change for you personally. (though seriously, 30 minutes should be about perfect for moist amazing chicken)

Remove from oven, check to make sure your chicken is cooked properly (I like my beef and fish rare, but uncooked chicken is just nasty.... and dangerous) Now serve alongside the ground up cauliflower like rice, or maybe some fotatoes and the usual large helping of rabbit food + a boring dressing!!!!!

...... You could serve it like that, and it'd still be delicious. Or you could go the extra mile and whip up the little tomato dish I described.

Baked Tomato and feta side thingy!

5 large tomatoes

Feta cheese

The tasty vinaigrette of your choice

preheat oven to 350

Butter/oil up a small pie dish

Slice tomatoes into thin rings spreading them all around the dish and on top of each other.

Douse in dressing, but don't drown them

Sprinkle feta on top to taste

Put in oven on very top rack for 5-10 minutes. I did it for last 10 of the Greek Chicken dish and it was perfect.

Pull out, serve, and enjoy in how tasty a simple 3 ingredient combo can be!

Parmesan Baked Egg

Parmesan Baked Egg

You know those lazy Saturday/Sunday mornings (or whatever day of the week you have extra time in the morning) where you want breakfast, but you want something more than the usual egg scramble? That is what this dish is for. I love it, you get cheese, butter, cream and eggs cooked in a fashion that you don't see often. Carbs are practically none existent here and in their place is loads of taste!

Using ramekins as serving and cooking dishes fill each with

1 Egg

2Tbs Cream

2Tbs butter

2Tbs Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 350 and place the ramekins in another dish/pot/pan filled with enough water to come half way up the ramekins. Once the oven is preheated, let them cook for 30 minutes and they should be done. To be honest I've only ever done four at a time, so your time may vary. They should look as pictured the egg will be fully cooked but soft and submerged in that tasty goopy melted butter. Depending on how many Carbs you are consuming per day you may wish to serve this with grilled asparagus, a sliced up tomato (oh so tasty) or other options. If you happen to be serving them for someone who can consume more carbs, or just plain doesn't care this goes great with toast or an English muffin.

Product Rave: La Banderita Low Carb Tortillas

Product Rave: La Banderita Low Carb Tortillas

So to me, lots of Low Carb Tortillas Whole Wheat Tortillas taste a lot like....um...well... cardboard. Even in my all about whole grains/whole food/whole wheat craze, I still bought the white flour tortillas because I could stomach their taste....

Not These.

These tortillas are so awesome! I found La Banderita Low Carb Tortillas at my normal Kroger grocery store. They come in packages of eight and they are 5 NET CARBS each (9g total carb, 5g Dietary Fiber) with ZERO sugar, and 5 grams of protein.

Basically, they are pretty awesome. I have so far made beef burritos (man, have I MISSED these!), had one toasted on the stove with butter and salt as a snack, and one for lunch with peanut butter and low carb grape jelly. mmmm.... They are quite versitile. And DELICIOUS. :) Go get some!

Double Chocolate Muffin in a Minute

Double Chocolate Muffin in a Minute

I woke up this morning wanting chocolate cake.

"What do you mean I can't have a 58 net carb serving of molten chocolate cake for breakfast today!?"

That is pretty much what my brain yelled at me this morning. But then I got to thinking... I bet I could make a chocolate muffin in a minute, and if I add sugar free chocolate chips, I can get a similar molten effect!

mmmm..... chocolate cake for breakfast. (kinda)

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Double Chocolate Muffin in a Minute

3.9 NET carbs

1/4 cup flax seed meal

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon Splenda (or low carb sweetener of your choice)

1 tablespoon Sugar Free Chocolate Chips

1/2 tablespoon cocoa powder

1 egg

1 tablespoon butter (plus more for spreading if wanted)

1 -2 tablespoons Sugar Free Chocolate Syrup for drinks, such as DaVinci or Torani

Mix your dry ingredients together in a mug along with your chocolate chips. Add your egg and your butter and mix. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Serve and enjoy! :)

Pumpkin Spice Muffin in a Minute

Pumpkin Spice Muffin in a Minute

I love autumn. It is my favorite season. Driving down a frequently used road and one morning all of the leaves are yellow and not the bright green they were the summer before. The leaves turning colors, falling to the ground and crunching beneath your feet. The crisp wind against my cheeks and blowing through my hair. (As you can see, I am clearly cheating on my husband with a season...) The smell of a Halloween Jack-o-Lantern as the candle inside slowly cooks the pumpkin. mmmm... pumpkin.

Here is another great recipe featuring pumpkin. It is one of those great quick breakfasts, the muffin in a minute.

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Pumpkin Spice Muffin in a Minute

Makes one muffin, 3 Net Carbs

1/3 cup Golden Flax Seed Meal (golden really does help with the pumpkin flavor... you can use the regular flaxseed meal, but you might have to add more pumpkin to really get the taste.)

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ginger

6 drops liquid sweetener (such as liquid Sweet'N Low)

1 large egg

1 teaspoon butter (plus more for spreading if wanted)

2 tablespoons pumpkin

1 teaspoon sugar free vanilla syrup (or, sugar free Pumpkin Pie Syrup!)

Mix your dry ingredients in a microwaveable coffee mug. Add the egg, liquid sweetener, butter, pumpkin and sugar free syrup. Mix well. Put the mug in your microwave and cook on high for 1 minute. Feel the top of your muffin with your finger, if it is still a bit sticky, put it in for 30 more seconds, it should be perfect. Spread with butter and enjoy! :)

Pumpkin Sausage Soup

Pumpkin Sausage Soup

I have been slacking. My family went on vacation, and I have not had the opportunity to add any new recipes here. Bad Me. Bad Bad Bad Me!

In order to make amends, dear readers, I am adding a delicious fall soup. If you are planning a Halloween Party, or have to bring something to Thanksgiving, or a Autumn Potluck, then this is your recipe. This makes a HUGE pot of soup. Make it in the BIGGEST pot you have. I use my big 5 quart chili pot, but I would use a bigger one if I could, I have about two inches of room in mine. The main ingredient is abundant now-- pumpkin. Oh pumpkin how I love thee. 4 net carbs of delicious orange puree, all from veggies... mmmmm...

pumpkin...

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Pumpkin Sausage Soup

Makes approx 16 cups

4.4 net carbs per cup, 4.1 from veggies

2 lbs ground Italian sausage, 1 hot 1 mild

5 garlic cloves

1 small onion

3 tablespoons Italian Seasoning

1 large package sliced mushrooms (about four cups)

2 32oz cans pureed pumpkin (PLAIN PUMPKIN!)

6-8 cups chicken broth (depending on how soup-y you like it)

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup of water, divided in two 1/2 cups

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 stick butter, divided into 1/3

In your stock pot, melt 1/3 of your butter and brown both packages of Italian sausage. Remove from pot and set aside. Add another 1/3 of your butter and brown onions and garlic until soft and translucent. Add mushrooms and cook until soft. Use 1/2 cup of water to de-glaze the pan and scrape all of the yummy stuffs off the bottom of the pot. Add in the pumpkin and mix well. Stir in the chicken broth. Let simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes. Turn up the heat to medium, add the cream and remaining 1/2 cup of water and the last 1/3 butter. Add in the spices and salt. At this point, you can add more water or chicken broth if you like your soup thinner, or just top with some Italian blend cheese and enjoy!

Spicy Gazpacho

Spicy Gazpacho

Although it is now September, and Summer is starting to cool down, Gazpacho is still deliciously tasty.

This Spicy Gazpacho recipe is a great quick, one pot meal with quite a kick. Delicious hot or cold, it is very refreshing after a hectic warm day. This makes for a wonderful appetizer at a party- just spoon into shot-glasses and serve on a pretty platter! We like having this recipe while accompanying some grilled chicken or fish. Yum!

(Be sure to keep a lookout for a great recipe using this gazpacho as an ingredient! Zesty Buffalo Stuffed Red Peppers! Coming Soon! Be sure to save 1/2 cup of Gazpacho for it!)

This Recipe has been modified to this low-carb version from Rachel Ray's Macho Gazpacho on FoodNetwork.com. Thanks!

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Spicy Gazpacho

Makes 4-1 1/2 cup servings, each 9.35 Net Carbs all from veg

2 14.5 oz cans diced tomato

2 tablespoons Louisiana Hot sauce (my favorite, or your own)

1/2 European cucumber, chunked

1 small red onion (or 1/2 of a regular-sized red onion), chunked

1 jalapeño, chunked, seeds removed

2 celery ribs, chunked

Juice of 1 lime

1-2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 garlic clove OR 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1-2 teaspoons black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

In a blender, combine 1 can of diced tomatoes with the remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth. Add the remaining can of diced tomatoes and mix well with a spoon. Refrigerate til cool, at least 30 minutes prior to serving. OR, heat until warmed through, and enjoy!

This dish tastes delicious with a bit of sour cream and cheddar cheese on top!

Zesty Buffalo Stuffed Red Peppers

Zesty Buffalo Stuffed Red Peppers

My husband LOVES stuffed peppers!

In our pre-low carb living days, we would stuff them with a mixture of quinoa and ground beef. I have tried various recipes since then and none have been up to that delicious standard.

Until Now.

This recipe uses 1/2 cup of Spicy Gazpacho, so this is a great use of leftovers meal! Save 1/2 cup of your gazpacho for this!

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Zesty Buffalo Stuffed Red Peppers

Serves 4, 8.5 Net carbs per serving, 7.8 from veg

4 red peppers, whole

1 lb ground bison (or other ground meat, ground bison is my favorite!)

1/2 cup Spicy Gazpacho

2 cups cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice the tops off of the red peppers and dice, discarding stem. In a large bowl, add bison meat, diced pepper tops, gazpacho, and 1 cup cheddar cheese. Mix well. Divide meat mixture in four parts and stuff into the pepper cavity. Top each pepper with 1/4 cup of remaining cheese. Put stuffed peppers in a large glass baking dish. Bake until cooked though, about 30-40 minutes. Enjoy!

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

I think red velvet cake is one of the yummiest cake flavor available... plus it really is quite pretty! These cupcakes are sure to surprise anybody who thinks that you can't have delicious cake desserts while living low-carb!

There are two secrets to these cupcakes.

1. Sour cream. You could substitute yogurt if you prefer, but I love the taste of sour cream in chocolate flavored cakes, and it is delicious in this one.

2. Coconut flour. Obviously, you cannot use white flour while living low carb. 2 tablespoons of white flour contains 11.6 net carbs, in comparison to the 3 net carbs in the coconut flour! The coconut flour I use is Bob's Red Mill Organic Coconut Flour. Most grocery stores will not carry it, but you will be able to find it readily available at your local Whole Foods Grocer.

Coconut flour very easily absorbs liquid, so while you are making this recipe, do keep that in mind. You need LOTS of liquid (i.e. 9 eggs) to work with the coconut flour used int he recipe! It may seem runny for a cake-mixture, but I promise it turns out!

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Red Velvet Cupcakes with

Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes 18 cupcakes,

about 4 net carbs per cupcake

Cupcakes:

1/2 cup Softened Butter

1 cup Xylitol

2 packages Granulated Stevia (I like Truvia the best! Easily available at most grocery stores-even Walmart!-)

1 tablespoon Vanilla

9 Room-Temperature Large Eggs (don't use them straight out of the refrigerator! If you do, the butter will harden up and not mix as well with the eggs!)

3/4 cup Coconut Flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons cocoa powder (you could add more if you like, I found 2 tbs gives it the best chocolate flavor for the red velvet.)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon red food coloring

Preheat the oven to 350. In an electric mixer using the paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar and stevia until it is nice and fluffy in mixing bowl. Add vanilla and mix well. Add eggs, one at a time to the butter sugar mix. Make sure to add one egg and beat the mixture until it is fully incorporated before adding another, scraping down the sides as needed. In a separate bowl using a whisk, mix together flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder. Try to get out as many lumps that you can. While the mixer is mixing on medium-low speed, using a 1/4 cup measuring scoop, add the dry ingredient mix one scoop at a time until fully incorporated. Add the sour cream and then the food coloring mixing well. Divide into two cupcake pan baking sheets, lined with paper cups using your 1/4 cup scoop (or an Ice Cream scoop!). Bake in hot oven until a stick inserted in the middle of the cupcakes comes out clean, about 15-20 minutes.)

Remove cupcakes from pan, and let cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Frosting:

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 softened 8oz packages of cream cheese

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup xylitol

3 packages Stevia

Using your electric mixer using your whisk attachment, mix your heavy cream on high speed until it is whipped cream. Do not over beat. Remove whipped cream from the bowl and set aside. Add softened cream cheese to the empty bowl, and mix until it is fluffy. Add butter, 1 tablespoon at a time until incorporated, then add whipped cream. With the mixture running, slowly add in the xylitol and the stevia until well mixed. Top your cupcakes with this delicious frosting! Enjoy!

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! :)

Muffin In A Minute

Muffin In A Minute

Pretty much every Low-Carber has heard of the "Muffin in a Minute" or "MIM" on low-carb internet forum speak...

For those of you who have never heard, basically it is a single serving flaxseed muffin. Mix one up and pop it in the mircowave and you have a great quick breakfast or snack. I have used this recipe to make the "bread" of a breakfast sandwich, and have also made an open faced "french toast" sandwich with them too. Mmm... quite delish! Plus, the fiber in the flax seed keep you quite...ahem...regular.... which is always a plus on a diet like Atkins.

I prefer to use the Bob's Red Mill Flaxseed Meal. It comes in four varieties: regular Flaxseed Meal, both organic and not, and Golden Flaxseed Meal, also organic or notl. I use the regular Organic Flaxseed Meal. The Golden Flaxseed has a milder "grainy" flavor to it and some people prefer to use that instead.

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Muffin in A Minute

Makes 1 muffin

2 Net carb

1/4 cup flaxseed meal

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon xyletol

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 large egg

1 teaspoon sugar free vanilla syrup

1 tablespoon butter (plus more for buttering if wanted)

Mix the dry ingredients in a mug. Add the egg and the vanilla, mix well. Top with butter and microwave for 1 minute. Enjoy!

If you are making multiple muffins, microwave for an additional minute. So, if you are making 2 muffins, microwave 2 minutes, 3 muffins, 3 minutes, etc.

Low-Carb Hawaiian Haystacks

Low-Carb Hawaiian Haystacks

Now, I know that some of you who are reading this are scratching your head and thinking,

"What the heck is a Hawaiian Haystack?"

while the other half is thinking,

"I've had those before!"

While pretty much nobody can find the origination of the "Hawaiian Haystack", we can pretty much assume that it didn't come from Hawaii. It must be the pineapple and coconut on top that makes us housewives all it "Hawaiian".

I have desperately missed the wonderful combination of flavors while on this low-carb adventure of mine, and thought of a way to make it work for my new lifestyle. A "normal" hawaiian recipe a bowl of a hodge podge of ingredients that really shouldn't go together but magically do. Usually a towering bowl of rice, chicken in a creamy mushroom sauce, cheese, veggies and fruit and topped with slivered almonds, it is not- low carb friendly. Well, here is my low-carb version my friends...

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Hawaiian Haystacks

7 Net carbs per serving (if you include all the toppings)

3 from veggies

Serves 6

Base:

4 chicken breasts sliced in bite-size pieces

5 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup onion

2 garlic cloves

1 package (about 3 cups) mushrooms

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 cup heavy cream

3 packages shirataki noodles

toppings:

2 celery stalks, sliced.

cheddar cheese

1/2 unsweetened coconut

1/2 cup FRESH pineapple

1 1/2 cups cut green beans (warmed thorough)

1/2 cup slivered, blanched almonds

Tamari soy sauce if wanted

1. Cook chicken in a large nonstick skillet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray until browned and cooked through. Set aside.

2. In the same pan over high heat, add butter and let melt until no longer bubbling. Add onion and garlic cloves and cook until translucent. Add the mushrooms and cook until soft. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds-1 minute. Add in 1/2 cup chicken broth and let simmer until reduced by about half (about 8 minutes). Reduce heat to medium and while continuously stirring, add in the 1 cup of cream. Keep stirring until thickened, about 5 minutes, set aside.

3. Drain and heat your shirataki noodles according to package directions. Divide into six bowls.

4. Add a scoop of the chicken and mushroom mixture to each bowl and top with cheese, green beans, celery, coconut, pineapple and almonds. Add Tamari to taste.

Enjoy!

Upside-Down Turkey Shepard's Pie

Upside-Down Turkey Shepard's Pie

I live in Casserole County. I swear it.

Whenever there is a get together there are five different varieties of casseroles, all containing Cream of _____ Soup. Now, I'm not against casseroles, they are great when you are in a pinch and having a busy day. Easy to throw together and bake. Plus, Voilà dinner's done, scoop and serve. mmmm.... This recipe is one of those easy casseroles. Feel free to add or omit veggies as you like if you have the carb allowances for that day. It would be great with some celery or some zucchini cut up into it. Serve with a salad and you have quite the well balanced, carb-friendly meal.

This recipe calls for one of my favorite seasoning blends. The Louisiana Wildly Wicked Wing Seasoning. It is AMAZING and is delicious on anything from baked into casseroles or meatloafs to topping on eggs. It has a 0 carb count on the label, but I always count it as .5.

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Upside-Down Turkey Shepard's Pie

Serves 6

3.8 Net carbs per serving, 2.7 from veg

2 lbs ground turkey

1-2 tablespoons Louisiana Wildly Wicked Wing Seasoning

1 bag frozen cauliflower

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup cheddar cheese

1 tablespoon olive oil (or other cooking oil)

1/2 white onion, chopped

1/2 red pepper, chopped

2 cups mushrooms, sliced

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 cup water

1/4-1/2 cup sour cream

5 strips of cooked, crunchy bacon (click here for a refresher on how to cook perfect bacon)

1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese

1. In a skillet, add the turkey and sprinkle with the spice seasoning. Mix well and brown the turkey until cooked through over medium-high heat, remove from pan and set aside. In the drippings, add oil and turn up the heat to high. Cook Pepper and Onion until browned. (I like to leave them sitting so they burn just a smidge.)

2. While browning, microwave your frozen cauliflower and 1/2 cup water in a microwave safe bowl for about 6-8 minutes. Use your stick blender (that again!) mix and mash your "faux-tatoes". In a large casserole dish (I like using a round 2-qt casserole dish, but you could easily make this in a 9" x 13" rectangle one, just reduce the cooking time by about 5-10 minutes as it will be thinner.) add the mashed cauliflower and top with 1/2 cup cheese.

3. Add your mushrooms to your onion/pepper mixture and let cook for about 2-3 minutes. Add the paprika and mix well. Return the browned ground turkey back to the pan and mix well.

4. In a liquid measuring cup, measure out 1/2 cup water. Add sour cream to the water until the water level rises to 1 full cup. Whisk well and add to your pan mixture of meat and veggies.

5. Add this meat mixture on top of the faux-tatoes and top with crumbled bacon and remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes until bubbly and the cheese is melted.