Here’s my second Cinco de Mayo recipe suggestion. This is a great breakfast or brunch meal and it’s easy to make.
A simple dish, but delicious and satisfying. This used the Mexican-style chili sauce chorizo that is very moist and cooks into the egg well. If you buy the chorizo in a long tube, it is usually 12 oz. folded in half in the grocery. Use 1/4 of the tube for the recipe. The secret ingredient in this is ricotta cheese , which adds a little more substance to the scramble.
This is the pork chorizo type that I used in this recipe. You can also get it in beef or a combination.
Chorizo and Eggs Deluxe
2 Eggs
3 oz. Chorizo
2 tablespoon Ricotta Cheese
1 teaspoon dried Onion Flakes or 1 tablespoon chopped Green Onions
1/4 cup Cheddar Jack Cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 low carb Tortilla, cut in half
Heat a small skillet and add the chorizo to cook down over medium high heat, stir until it melts. Beat the eggs in a small bowl and add dried onions to soften. (If you’re using green onions, do not add them at this time.)
Tear one half of the tortilla into small pieces and set aside. Cut the other half into two pieces, butter, and place under the broiler to lightly toast. This won’t take long, about a minute, so watch closely so it doesn’t burn.
When the chorizo is melted, add the eggs and ricotta cheese. Stir with a wooden spoon so the dish is blended as the eggs begin to cook. Add the cheese and seasonings and cook until the egg is cooked to your preference and the cheese is melted. (If you are using green onions, add with the cheese or use them as topping.)
Put the toasted tortilla on the plate and serve the eggs on top.
Makes two servings
Nutrition Information per serving: Calories: 306 Fat: 23.1 g Net Carbs: 3.5 g Protein: 20.4 g
And in just 5 days, happy Cinco de Mayo! No matter where you live, you’re likely to find people celebrating this Mexican holiday. It’s a great excuse to drink margaritas and eat your favorite Mexican food. So the challege here is what can I eat that isn’t going to explode the carb count? A few things on the menu at a restaurant are not too high in carbs, but avoid the chips, the tortillas, the beans, and the rice. That doesn’t leave much, does it?
Chile Verde is a good choice if you eat without any of the trimmings. A Chile Rellano isn’t too bad but the batter may have flour in it. Albondigas Soup is usually pretty low in carbs, although some places add rice to it. No matter what you eat out, you are likely to find hidden carbs. So what to do? Make a Mexican dish at home to celebrate with family and friends.
Here’s one that is easy to do and uses spaghetti squash as a stand-in for rice and tortillas. It’s a casserole that can be made in a stove-to-oven deep skillet or prepared in any skillet and transferred to a casserole dish. I’ll be posting two more recipes this week, so check back to see what else you can do for the day and check out the blog for many recipes already on it.
If that’s not enough, I have a Mexican Food booklet that has 15 recipes in it, most of which are not on this site. Check it out at Amazon.com or Smashwords (link in the sidebar.)
Spaghetti Squash Taco Casserole
3 cups cooked Spaghetti Squash (cooking instructions below) 1 cup Mexican Style Shredded Four Cheese 2 oz. Cream Cheese, softened 3/4 lb. Ground Beef 1/3 cup finely chopped Sweet Peppers 2 teaspoons Taco Seasoning 2 Green Onions, thinly sliced 1 can 15 oz. Tomatoes with Chile
To Cook the Squash:
About two hours before you want to make the casserole, roast the squash.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (f.)
With a heavy knife, like a Chef’s knife, cut the squash down the middle vertically from stem to bottom. Use a spoon to remove the seeds and any gummy strings. Rinse out and dry with a paper towel. Use about a teaspoon of Olive Oil and rub it into each side of the squash and sprinkle a little salt on it.
Spaghetti Squash face up waiting to be oiled. Turn them over to roast so the cut side is down.
Wrap a cookie tin or baking tin with aluminum foil and place the squash on top face down so the shell is on top.
Bake for 50 minutes. Remove and let cool about 15 to 20 minutes until you can handle the squash without burning your fingers. Use a fork to separate the strands of the squash into a bowl. Cover and set aside or refrigerate until you prepare the meat sauce.
Sauce and assembly:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees (f.)
In a deep skillet-to-oven pan, such as a cast iron or copper skillet, brown the ground beef until it is lightly browned. Remove to a plate or bowl and wipe any excess oil from the pan. Put the cream cheese in the pan and add the taco seasoning, sweet peppers, and tomatoes. Cook and stir until it is blended and heat up. Add the ground beef, then stir in half the cheese and add the spaghetti squash and mix until the sauce is evenly distributed into the squash. Smooth with the back of a spoon until even.
If you don’t have a skillet that can go into the oven, then transfer the mixture into a large casserole dish and smooth it with the spoon.
Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top and put in the oven. Bake for 25 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown and the dish is bubbly.
Cooked casserole in a skillet.
Let cool about 10 minutes, then serve with sour cream and guacamole if desired.
Makes 6 to 8 servings
Nutrition Information per serving (6 servings): Calories: 292 Fat: 20.5 g Net Carbs: 7.9 g Protein:16.2 g
Nutrition Information per serving (8 servings): Calories: 219 Fat: 15.4 g Net Carbs: 5.9 g Protein:12.1 g
Unless you can’t eat peanuts, who doesn’t love peanut butter bars? They are so tasty and satisfying. And they can be low carb as well. Incidentally, if you happen to be one who can’t eat peanuts, but you can eat almonds, you can make this with almond butter also.
I’ve seen several recipes for these bars, but this one is based on the one from Dixie Diner(tm). Of course, they would like you to use their sugar substitute and flour in it, but it works with any of the options available. I used CarbQuick and Ideal Sugar in mine. If you aren’t concerned about the quantity of carbs in your food, lucky you, then go ahead and make these with regular flour and sugar.
Crunchy Peanut Butter Bars
1 cup Skippy Peanut Butter or other 4 nc per 2 tablespoons
1/4 cup Peanuts, chopped
1/4 cup Low Carb Flour
1/4 cup Sugar Free Chocolate Chips (optional)
1/4 cup Sugar Substitute
2 Egg Whites (boxed will work)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F.) Prepare an 8×8 inch pan by spraying with baking spray or putting parchment paper on the bottom and spraying the sides with baking spray.
In a bowl, mix the peanut butter, egg whites, flour, and sugar substitute together until you have a nice, thick dough. Stir in the sugar-free chocolate chips if you are using them.
Spoon the dough into the baking pan and smooth with the back of a spoon. I used a 6×6 inch pan to get thicker bars, but it does make only eight bars, so higher carb’d ones.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the bars are golden brown. Let cool so they set up before cutting them into bars. To cut into twelve, cut across the middle of one side, then cut each section into three equal cuts. Then turn the pan and cut through the middle of the uncut side and you’ll have six long bars on each side of the middle cut.
If you chill them in the refrigerator, they will come out of the pan easier. You can also melt the sugar free chocolate chips with 2 tablespoons butter and use it as an icing on the top, if you wish.
Makes 12 bars.
Nutrition Information per bar: Calories: 161.3 Fat: 13.3 g Net Carbs: 3.5 g Protein: 6.6 g
If you add in the chocolate chips, it adds about .2 grams of carbs to each bar.
Note: I specified Skippy Peanut Butter because I know that the carb count is 4 net carbs per 2 tablespoons and others are not. Some of the store brands (such as Wal-Mart, Raleys) are the same count. So check the net carbs to see that they are as low.
Take a good look at that sandwich bun. It’s lovely, it’s fresh, and it’s easy to make as well as low carb! What more do you need?!
To be specific, this is the Dixie Carb Counters ™ Multigrain Sandwich Bun Mix that I’m talking about. DCC makes excellent bread mixes. So far, when it comes to their breads, I haven’t found one that I didn’t like. The flavor is very good and they are sturdy breads. The same is true of the sandwich buns. Excellent taste and they hold up to a juicy hamburger just fine.
I made a few of these this weekend and tested one out with a hamburger at a friend’s BBQ and was pleased that it didn’t crumble at all under the big burger and the go-withs piled on it. Last night, I made a BLT sandwich with added guacamole and mayonnaise on it and the bun was sturdy enough to last through the sandwich. The best part is the bun is only 3 net carbs.
The mix is under $10 and it makes a dozen buns. The instructions include proportions for making 4 buns at a time or 1 bun, which I really appreciate. There are times you don’t want too many buns in the oven or the freezer although you can certainly make a batch and freeze them if you’d like. They are quick to make, mix together in about 5 minutes and cook about 12 minutes, then cut and use. The only ingredients you need to add to the mix are 1/3 egg whites for four buns, 2 teaspoons oil, and 1/3 cup warm water. They even provide four little aluminum pans in the package to bake the buns. What could be easier?
While I haven’t tried it yet, I’m pretty sure you could add some re-hydrated onion flakes to the mix to make an onion bun. Or you could add about 1/4 cup finely shredded cheese for a cheese bun or sprinkle the tops with sesame seeds if you are so inclined.
Nutrition information for one prepared bun, made following the instructions without any add-ins:
Calories: 126 Fat: 2 g Net Carbs: 3 g Protein: 14 g
On a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the top of the flavor profile, I would give this a 5 when prepared as stated on the package.
Disclaimer: I have not received any promotional items to review and no one from any of the companies whose products I review have asked me to do so. I have purchased the product and am giving my honest opinion about it. Should any company send me a product to try, I will state it up front and will still give my honest opinion.
How about something a little special for your Easter Sunday (or any Sunday) breakfast? This baked pancake, a variation of a Dutch Baby Pancake or the German Pancake, takes about 30 minutes to make, with 20 minutes of it being the oven time, giving you time to make bacon and eggs to go with it.
Or, it also makes a yummy, not too heavy dessert after a filling meal. Serve it with a scoop of low carb ice cream, whipped cream, or a low carb yogurt topping. So good. And with less than 5 effective carbs a serving, you don’t have to feel even remotely guilty about indulging. This works pretty well with almond flour, CarbQuick, or any other low carb flour – just watch the carb count – CarqQuick is about 2 net carbs per 1/3 cup. The recipe also works well with regular wheat flour, but those carbs shoot up.
Baked Apple Pancakes
1/2 cup Cream, room temperature,
plus enough water to make 2/3 cup
1/2 cup Low Carb Flour
3 large Egg, room temperature
2 tablespoons Sugar Substitute
1/4 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 teaspoon Salt
3 tablespoons Butter
1/2 Apple, cored and sliced
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
Sprinkle ground Clove
Chop the apple into small pieces. If you wish, you can peel it first. Set aside. Alternately, you can shred the apple. I’ve done it both ways. The shredded version doesn’t seen to have as much apple taste. Set aside for now.
In a bowl or a blender, add the ingredients except the apple and butter and the topping ingredients and mix together well. Stir in the apple.
Heat a cast iron skillet on a burner over medium heat and add the 3 tablespoons of butter cut into pieces. Stir the butter until it melts completely. Remove from the heat and pour the batter with the apples into the pan. Use a rubber spatula to make sure the apples are evenly distributed.
Put the pan in the hot oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until it is golden brown. Remove from the oven and brush the softened butter over the top, then sprinkle with sugar free confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar).
Serve with a couple of slices of bacon and scrambled eggs for a great breakfast. Serve with a scoop of low carb ice cream or whipped cream for a satisfying dessert.
Image at the top of the page is with shredded apple. The photo above is with chopped apple. The first piece was also harder to get out of the pan.
Makes 4 servings.
Nutrition information per serving -4 servings (pancake only): Calories: 324.5 Fat: 27.5 g Net Carbs: 4.9 g Protein: 13.2 g
Note: In case you forgot or haven’t tried it, powdered sugar substitute is easy to make. Simply use Splenda or another crystal-type sugar substitute and pulse it in a blender until it is powdered. It takes about three times as much sugar to make the powdered version.
