Monthly Archives: January 2018

Beef, Main Dish, Recipes

Quick and Delish Steak and Cheese Bake

Steak cheese bake photo.

I love it when a recipe jumps out at me and screams, “I’m low carb!” This easy cheese baked steak, that I found at 12Tomatoes.com did just that. It’s so simple to make and so delicious to eat. I moved it right into my make-often file.

While it calls for steak tips, I couldn’t find any at my grocery store, but they did have a lovely package of round streak cut for carne asada, which is thinly sliced and much less expense than many cuts of meat.So I took this and sliced it into smaller strips and used that to make a tender, perfectly cooked dinner. This would be awesome served with thick plank celery root fries or turnip or butternut squash fries. I served with a cauliflower rice medley from Green Giant and some red beans. It would also be great as a steak sandwich.

Steak and Cheese Bake

1 pound Steak Tips or other steak choice
1 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese, grated
1 cup Fontina Cheese, grated
6 slices Bacon, optional
1 medium Onion, thinly sliced or chopped
2 cloves Garlic, minced
2 tablespoons Herbs de Provence
Sea Salt and freshly ground Pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees (F.) I used my stove to oven copper skillet for this, but you can transfer the steak mixture to a casserole dish.

Cook the bacon until it is almost done. It will cook more in the oven. If you didn’t cut it into small pieces before cooking, then let it cool and break it into pieces. If you cooked the bacon in a skillet, drain off most of the fat, but leave a little in the pan.

Add the steak tips or pieces and cook on high heat, turning until the steak is browned on all sides.Remove to a plate and set aside.

Reduce to medium heat,add the onions and cook until almost translucent, then add the minced garlic and cook another minute or two.

Turn heat off and add the steak and bacon to the skillet and mix it together. If you are moving it to a casserole, add the steak and bacon, then add the onions and garlic and mix it in the casserole pan. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence, about 1 teaspoon of sea salt, and pepper into the mixture and stir.

Sprinkle both cheeses over the top evenly and sprinkle a little more of the Herbs de Provence on top.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and toasty and the steak is cooked to your preference. If you prefer it pinker, then go with less time.

Let sit about 5 minutes, then serve. Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition Information per serving:
Calories: 310 Fat: 20.0 g Net Carbs: 2.2 g Protein: 28.1 g

Poultry, Recipes

Easy Chicken with Mushrooms dish

So easy you can make it on a busy night!

This simple dish is one of my throw-together combinations. Let’s see, I have chicken, mushrooms, and spinach. What can I do with that? Well, this is one delicious option. Simple, yet completely satisfying.

For a side dish, I added cut-up turnips and kohlrabi, cooked in the microwave until fork tender, then added butter and seasoning salt. Yummy. The fresher the turnip or kohlrabi, the sweeter the taste. If they sit too long in the ‘fridge, they will get tough and a bit bitter.

Creamy Chicken with Mushrooms & Spinach

2 large Chicken Breasts
1/2 cup Mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup Cream
1 oz. Cream cheese
1 teaspoon Mustard
1 cup fresh Spinach
1/2 teaspoon Cumin
2 tablespoons Butter

Cut chicken breasts into several pieces about the same size for even cooking.

In a large skillet, add 1 tablespoon of butter and let it melt. Add the chicken and brown on both sides over medium heat. Chicken pieces should be cooked most of the way through. Remove chicken to a paper towel or plate.

Add mushrooms to the pan and sauté until brown, then add cream cheese, cream, mustard, and cumin and stir. Continue to stir until the sauce begins to thicken. Tear and add spinach and stir in. Return chicken to the pan and add rest of the butter. Cook for another five minutes until chicken is done.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Information per serving:
Calories: 329.5 Fat: 22.4 g Net Carbs: 1.4 g Protein: 28.4 g

Beef, Italian Inspired Recipes, Pork, Recipes

Pizza in a Skillet

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a link to a Crock pot Pizza recipe from Your Lighter Side on my Facebook page. While I haven’t tried the crock pot version, I did go for the pan version and made adjustments for my preferences. I used a  square copper skillet that can go from stove top to oven to make mine, but you can also use a large cast iron skillet or build your pizza in any large casserole dish. Then it is baked.

Here’s a trick though. If you use a large skillet-at least 9 to 10 inch round or square skillet-to make it, you can turn the heat down on the stove to a simmer, put the top or tent with foil over the pan and cook it on the stove top for about 30 minutes. The cheese won’t brown, but the ingredients will cook and the cheese will melt into it.

Most of the ingredients in this can be swapped with other preferred items such as artichoke hearts, pepperoni, anchovies, or whatever you like on your pizza. Don’t eat meat? Simply omit and add more vegetables like cubed eggplant, zucchini, Brussels sprouts, or whatever. Pizza, even in a skillet, is versatile.

Pizza in a Skillet

1/2 pound Ground Beef
1/2 pound Italian Sausage
1/2 cup sliced Mushrooms
1/4 cup sliced Bell Peppers or Mini-Peppers
1/2 cup diced Onions
1-1/2 cups Cauliflower, riced
2 cups Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
1 teaspoon minced Garlic
1 cup Pasta Sauce of choice (look for low carb)
2 cups fresh Spinach

I used Pumpkin Chipotle Pasta Sauce from my local Raley’s brand but you can use whichever pasta sauce you prefer. The nutrition information is based on a Vodka Pasta Sauce.

Preheat oven to 30 degrees (F.).

Put the cauliflower into a food processor and process until riced. Add 1 cup of the mozzarella and pulse until it is chopped and mixed into the rice. In a large and deep ovenproof skillet, such as a copper or cast iron one, press the cauliflower and cheese mixture into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

In a large skillet, cook the ground beef and sausage until almost done. Remove to a bowl, but leave the oils. Add the onions and garlic to the pan and saute until onion is tender. Add to the ground beef and sausage and mix together.

In the deep pan with the cauliflower crust, spread 1/3 of the pasta sauce on the bottom, top with 1/2 the spinach leaves making a mostly solid layer of greens. Add 1/2 the meat mixture on top, then sprinkle 1/2 the mushrooms, peppers, and olives on top of that. Sprinkle 1/3 cup of mozzarella on top. Add another layer of spinach leaves followed by the rest of the meat mixture, mushrooms, peppers, and olives and sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top.

Tent with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 10 minutes to lightly brown the cheese. Let sit about 10 minutes to set up, then serve.

The bottom crust will not be firm enough to lift to eat, so this will require forks.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Nutrition Information per servings (6 servings):
Calories: 394 Fat: 26.9 g Net Carbs: 9.8 g Protein: 25.2 g

Nutrition Information per servings (8 servings):
Calories: 295.5 Fat: 20.1 g Net Carbs: 7.3 g Protein: 18.9 g

Have fun making your own variation on this pizza and let me know how you like it.

Main Dish, Poultry, Recipes

Easy Chicken Piccata Dish

Happy 2018. How’s it going for you? So far, it’s been busy and not perfect, but not too bad either. Currently, I’m editing two books, and although that’s time consuming, it’s also fun.

So not too much cooking going on in the year so far, but I did make this tasty chicken recipe yesterday. I found the recipe on a package of skinless, boneless chicken breasts and just made a couple of minor adaptations for low carb and my personal taste buds. It’s super low carb at only 1 net carb per chicken breast.

I love the light lemon taste of this sauce and the chicken is delicious. I am not a big fan of parsley as an edible garnish, so I added it to the pan at the end of the cooking and let it wilt and soak up the lovely flavor of the sauce. If you prefer the fresh taste of the parsley, then add it when you serve the dish or just omit if you don’t like it at all. No one will tell.

Chicken Piccata

4 boneless Chicken Breasts, no skin
2 tablespoon Low Carb Flour
6 tablespoon Butter
2 tablespoon Olive Oil
3 tablespoon Lemon Juice
1/2 cup Chicken Broth
2 tablespoons Green Onions, chopped
1 teaspoon Garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground Sage or 2 tablespoons Fresh Sage
Salt and Pepper
Fresh Parsley, 1 or 2 sprigs

Dredge chicken in low carb flour and set aside.

In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 2 tablespoon of Olive Oil over medium heat. When the mixture starts to sizzle, put the chicken breast in the skillet and cook 3 to 5 minutes until the chicken is lightly browned. Turn chicken over and cook another 3 to 5 minutes. Remove chicken to a plate to rest. Don’t use a paper towel or anything to drain on in the plate. You’ll put the drippings back into the pan.

Remove skillet from heat and add lemon juice, chicken stock, onions, sage and garlic to the pan. Return it to the heat and bring to a boil. Use a wooden spoon to stir the mixture, being sure to loosen any tasty bits from the pan. Add another 2 tablespoons of butter and melt it in as you stir.

Add the chicken, with any drippings on the plate,  back to the pan, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 5 to 8 minutes until the breasts are done all the way through, but still moist. Add salt and pepper.

At this point, I added fresh parsley to cook in the sauce for a minute or so, but if you prefer, simply garnish with the parsley once the chicken is on the plate. Remove breasts to serving plates and spoon sauce over the top.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Information per serving:
Calories: 332.3 Fat: 27.5 g Net Carbs: 1.0 g Protein: 20.4 g