All posts by RAverett

Main Dish, Mexican/Spanish Recipes, Poultry, Recipes

A Spicy Twist on a Chile

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Happy Fall, y’all! Well, at least on the calendar in the northern hemisphere, it’s Fall, but happy Spring down under. The temps where I live are still pretty warm in the days, but the nights are getting downright chilly!

And speaking of chile, I have a new variation on a chile relleno that I think is super tasty.

When I found this recipe, the author called it a Chile Relleno, but it’s quite a bit different from the ones I grew up with. Nonetheless, it is a quite delicious variation on it and not as messy. It can be made in the oven or an air fryer. Since I’ve recently acquired the latter, I made mine that way.

The recipe originally called for Poblano peppers, but I had picked up a bag of Hatch chiles at the grocery, so decided to go with those. You can also use Anaheim chiles. Each chile has a different carbohydrate count, so it will vary by which one you use. For the record, the Hatch chile is the lowest in carbs. I’ve posted the nutrition information for each chile.

For my picture, I put each chile in a zero carb tortilla for additional support, so it made a neat wrapper around it.

Tex-Mex Chile Relleno

Tex-Mex Stuffed Chiles

INGREDIENTS:

4 Hatch peppers, rinsed and dried
1/4 cup canned Baby Corn
1 Green Onion or Scallion, sliced (both bulb and stem)
1 tablespoons Chopped Cilantro or Parsley
¼ teaspoon Kosher Salt
¼ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup Chicken (white or dark meat) or pork, cooked and chopped or shredded
2 tablespoons Mexican crema or sour cream
1/2 cup Green Chile Enchilada Sauce

INSTRUCTIONS:
For the peppers: Place peppers in the air fryer basket, two at a time if you have a small basket. Set air fryer to 400°F for 10 minutes, turning peppers halfway through cook time. Remove peppers from air fryer (skins should be charred) and place in a resealable plastic bag to steam for 5 minutes. Peel skin and discard.

If you’re using an oven, use the broiler setting and place the peppers in an aluminum pan or on foil. Broil for about 5 minutes on each side. The skins should be charred. Place in a resealable plastic bag to steam for 5 minutes. Peel the skins and dump ’em.

In a medium bowl combine chicken, corn, scallions, cilantro, salt, black pepper, and grated cheese. Add 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce and sour cream or creama to the meat and cheese mixture and stir to mix. Set the rest of the sauce aside.

Carefully cut a slit down the center of each pepper with a sharp knife point. Start at the stem and continuing to the tip. Remove the seeds and toss them. Be careful not to tear the chile.

Stuff each chile with a layer of one-quarter of the meat and cheese mixture.
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Place stuffed peppers in 6-inch heat-proof pan or silicone basket and place the pan in the air fryer basket. If using an oven, put all four chiles in a baking pan.

Set air fryer to 400°F for 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted

If using an oven, preheat oven to 400°F and put baking pan with all four chiles in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Warm the extra enchilada sauce in a small microwavable bowl and spoon a little on each chile. Serve with a green salad and spiced cauliflower rice. (Salad and rice not included in nutrition information.)

Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Information Per Serving: (Hatch Pepper)
Calories 289, Total Fat 20 g , Cholesterol 86 mg, Sodium 429 mg, Potassium 173 mg, Carbohydrates 6.8 g, Fiber 0.5 g, Sugars 3 g, Protein 18 g, Net Carbs 6.22 g

Nutrition Information Per Serving: (Poblano Pepper)
Calories 299, Total Fat 20 g , Cholesterol 86 mg, Sodium 429 mg, Potassium 173 mg, Carbohydrates 11 g, Fiber 3 g, Sugars 1 g, Protein 18 g, Net Carbs 7.72 g

Nutrition Information Per Serving: (Anaheim Pepper)
Calories 309, Total Fat 20 g , Cholesterol 86 mg, Sodium 429 mg, Potassium 173 mg, Carbohydrates 13 g, Fiber 2.5 g, Sugars 5 g, Protein 19 g, Net Carbs 10.22 g

Note: Nutrition information is based on the ingredients I used in this recipe and my measurements. Although they are a close calculation, your results may be slightly higher or lower. Ingredient substitutions may affect the carb count. Different brands may have other carb counts. 

Recipes

A Quick and Easy Pie to Make for Dessert

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Lemon Custard Pie

To be frank, I haven’t done a lot of inventive cooking the past couple of months. Summer is a time to have salads, sandwiches, and just keep cool, so I’ve been pulling out recipes I make often or just throwing a couple of sausages in the air fryer and wrapping them in a low carb (or zero carb) tortilla.

But last week, I spotted this recipe for the Impossible Lemon Pie in my news and entertainment feed, so I decided to see if it would work with low carb flour. I used Dixie Carb Counters All Purpose Flour for it. It does work although the bottom is on the top of the pie rather than falling through as Bisquick “impossible” recipes usually do. This works fine as you can flip the pie once it’s cooled so the pie is on top.

The actual pie is more of a custard rather than the lemon-curd-like pie of a regular lemon pie. So, I dubbed this a Lemon Custard Pie since it has the taste and texture of custard. It is tasty, but not as lemony as I like. If you want a stronger lemon flavor, I suggest adding another two tablespoons of lemon juice. Or, what I plan to do next time I make it is to add a packet of sugar-free lemonade mix.

The recipe only calls for dusting the top with confectioners’ sugar (I use Swerve, but you can use any or make your own), but in quest of that lemony flavor, I made a quick drip glaze to put on top. I’ve included that recipe also. You could also top this with fresh raspberries or blueberries.

Lemon Custard Pie

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup Heavy Cream
1 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
1/2 cup Water
4 large eggs
3/4 cup granulated Sugar Substitute
1/2 cup All-purpose Low Carb Flour
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/4 tsp. Salt
2 teaspoons grated Lemon Zest
2 tablespoons fresh Lemon Juice
1/2 tsp. Lemon Paste or regular Extract
Confectioners’ Sugar Substitute, for dusting

Glaze
1/4 cup Confectioners’ Sugar Substitute
1 teaspoon Lemonade Mix
1/2 tablespoon Heavy Cream
1/2 tablespoon Water

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a deep 9-inch pie pan or aluminum pie pan with baking spray.

In a blender or a mixing bowl, add all of the ingredients, except the confectioners’ sugar. Blend until completely combined and smooth. If you don’t have a blender, use a mixer to mix, working to high speed until the mixture is smooth.

Pour blended mixture into the sprayed pie pan. Place it on a baking sheet or tray and put it into the oven gently. The pan is likely to be quite full.

Bake about one hour until the top is golden brown and the center appears firm. The center will wobble a bit, but it sets while it cools.

Set the pie on a rack and let cool completely.

Just before serving, dust with confectioners’ sugar or spread a the glaze below on top. Cut into wedges to serve. Makes 8 servings.

Mix Glaze
In a small bowl, add confectioners’ sugar, lemonade mix and heavy cream. Stir together until it is combined. It’s likely to be thick. Add a teaspoon of water and stir, repeating until you have the consistency of a glaze.

Notes: As I mentioned, you can top this with raspberries or blueberries to add color and a complimentary flavor. I plan to add cream cheese to the next time I make this to see if it creates a lemon cheesecake flavor. I am also considering adding ricotta cheese to bring our that same flavor. Once I do it, I’ll update this page to let you know how it works! I also haven’t tried this with almond, coconut, or other flour products, but I believe it will work.

I believe this recipe can be easily adapted to make a lime or orange custard pie. Leave out the citrus flavors and add vanilla or almond extract to make a regular custard pie.

If you make this recipe, please comment and let me know how you liked it or if you made any enhancements to it you’d like to share.

Nutrition Information: Calories 114, Fat 8.5 g, Sodium 75 mg. Potassium 56 mg, Carbohydrates 3.1 g. Fiber 1.7 g, Protein 7.1 g, Net Carbs 1.42 g

Note: Nutrition information is based on the ingredients I used in this recipe and my measurements. Although they are a close calculation, your results may be slightly higher or lower. Ingredient substitutions may affect the carb count. Different brands may have other carb counts.

Italian Inspired Recipes, Main Dish, Pork, Poultry, Recipes

Easy and Quick Skillet Casserole for a Hot Night

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skillet casserole

In my part of the world, it is hotter than normal this summer and we’re getting enough thunder storms to add humidity. Typically, in dry climates, evaporative coolers work really well, but with humidity, they tend to not cool as effectively. So, when I went into the kitchen to fix dinner, I wanted something that didn’t need much cooking, could use the stove, and was ready fast.

This throw-it-together recipe ticks all those boxes. Often we buy roasted chicken from the grocery store, eat one meal off it, then strip the rest of the meat and freeze it in one-cup packets. I had a jar of Classico Alfredo sauce in the pantry, so I thought perfect match. Instead of pasta, I chose to use a spaghetti squash I’d purchased a couple of months ago. Eight minutes in the microwave, wrapped in plastic, and it was ready to go. I always have a bag of bacon pieces in my refrigerator ’cause I use them for lots of dishes. The real kicker was we had a small bag of spinach from a salad we didn’t eat and it had about 1 tablespoon of craisins in it. Granted, these weren’t the sugar-reduced, bur when I calculated the recipe for this post, I used the stats for the lower sugar ones.

This quick skillet-casserole dish turned out to be super-tasty and took less than 20 minutes to make once all the ingredients were prepped. For a side dish, I added Brussels sprouts, but any green vegetable would compliment it. I also added a small tomato spiced tortilla with butter to help get the sauce off the plate. I used 0 carb mini-tortillas that are available from Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, Win-Co and several other grocery stores. Perfect for snacks! (Sometimes I sprinkle cheese on one, pop it in the microwave for about 20 seconds, then fold over to make a mini-quesadilla snack.)

Serving of chicken and spaghetti dish

Chicken and Spaghetti Squash Skillet Casserole

1 cup Chicken, cooked and shredded
1 cup Alfredo Sauce
1 to 2 cups raw Spinach
1/4 cup Bacon pieces, cooked
2 cups Spaghetti Squash, cooked
1 tablespoon Craisins (optional)
1/4 cup Italian 4 Cheese mix

Prepare your ingredients before you start. Shred the cooked chicken, tears the spinach into smaller pieces, cook and crumbled the bacon (unless you use premade ones) and cook, cool, and separate your spaghetti squash, removing the seeds.

In a large skillet, add Alfredo sauce and chicken. Stir together and heat until sauce is slightly bubbly.

Add the spinach and bacon and stir the mixture again. When the spinach wilts, add the spaghetti squash and craisins (if using) and heat over low heat a few minutes.

Sprinkle the cheese over the top and let it melt.

Serve with a vegetable, side salad, and/ or low carb slice of bread or tortilla.

Makes four servings.

Nutrition Information Per Serving:
Calories 233 , Total Fat 11g , Cholesterol 83mg, Sodium 974mg, Potassium 340mg, Carbohydrates 11g, Fiber 2.2g, Sugars 4.2g, Protein 22g, Net Carbs 9g

Without the craisins, the calories are 224, and the net carbs are 7.2g

Note: Nutrition information is based on the ingredients I used in this recipe and my measurements. Although they are a close calculation, your results may be slightly higher or lower. Ingredient substitutions may affect the carb count. Different brands may have other carb counts.

Breads, Breakfast & Brunch, Main Dish, Pork, Recipes, Vegetarian

A Delicious & Trendy Breakfast

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Guacamole Toast

My gosh, May slipped right past without a post, although I got the Cinco de Mayo one up before the end of April! My life has been super busy, but I want to publish at least one new recipe this month. This one is simple but big on flavor and in demand right now.

Avocado toast is one of those quick breakfast items that people are finding popular in the past couple of years. You can even order it at IHOP and other restaurants. It’s simple to make at home, where you can use low carb bread and other ingredients to create a filling breakfast treat.

I use premade guacamole on my toast to add extra spice, but you can start with avocado slices. Avocados turn brown quickly once they’re cut open or the guac container is unsealed. A little lemon juice and plastic wrap can slow the process in any unused avocado.

Guacamole and cream cheese toast.

Guacamole Breakfast (or Snack) Toast

Ingredients:
1 slice Keto Wheat Bread (or Keto bread of choice)
2 tablespoons Philadelphia Jalapeno Cream Cheese Spread
2 tablespoons Guacamole or Mashed Avocado
1 or 2 slices of cooked Bacon, broken into 2 pieces

Instructions:
Toast the Keto bread. Spread the cream cheese over the top and smooth. Spread the mashed avocado for the next layer and top with the cooked bacon.

Makes one serving.

Nutrition Information Per Serving:
Calories 199 , Total Fat 15 g , Cholesterol 30 mg, Sodium 332 mg, Potassium 210 mg, Carbohydrates 16 g, Fiber 12 g, Sugars 2 g, Protein 10 g, Net Carbs 4 g

Add-ins: You can easily add an egg to your toast and it won’t add another carbohydrate to it, but it will raise the calories to 342. You can also add a little cheese, either white cheddar or mozzarella and it won’t add carbs, but it will increase the calories. For a variation, replace the bacon with thin sliced ham. If you don’t want to put cream cheese on your toast, feel free to substitute mayonnaise. If you don’t like Jalapeno cream cheese, use plain cream cheese.

About Bread: Many tasty Keto breads are now available in your local markets. They are not created equal. Inked Timberwolf Keto bread is 1 net carb per slice, Hero bread is 0 net carbs, Sola bread is 1 net carb, Franz and Oro Wheat are 2 nc, Carbonaut is 2 net carbs, and Alvarado St. Wheat Sourdough is 4 nc, I will be doing a post soon comparing some of the low carb breads I’ve tried. I used Timberwolf for this recipe and also tried the sourdough with it. Both are very good.

If you try this recipe and/or come up with a different variation, please comment on it and tell me what you added or changed.

Note: Nutrition information is based on the ingredients I used in this recipe and my measurements. Although they are a close calculation, your results may be slightly higher or lower. Ingredient substitutions may affect the carb count. Different brands may have other carb counts.

Beef, Main Dish, Mexican/Spanish Recipes, Pork, Poultry, Recipes

Something Special for Cinco de Mayo

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Sopes with chicken and green sauce.

Mexican Sopes are the bomb!

I didn’t try Mexican Sopes until recently. Sure, I had the corn cakes at Cheesecake Factory and those are so delicious! They are more of a tamale mix than sopes are although the both use masa. But they are equally high in carbohydrate’s. So, I decided to try to make a similar-tasting one from low carb ingredients. I tried a couple of different recipes I found from other Keto sites, but they didn’t quite do it.

Ultimately, I came up with my own recipe for sopes using a combination of flours and Mozzarella cheese. Yes, cheese. The Mozzarella melts well, has a very mild flavor, and helps the flour ingredients hold together. For this, I used CarbQuik, a biscuit combination flour that works well. I added a little corn meal to get the corn flavor into it, but if you want to lower the carbs a little more, you can leave it out and add 2 more tablespoons of flax meal or almond flour. The flax helps with the texture and adds a golden color. Adding in taco seasoning brings more flavor to the mix. If you prefer, just add a little salt and a bit of garlic powder.

Although the ingredients are low carb, a sope still comes out to 8 grams of carbs, but if you have a low threshold, plan for your higher carb dinner by eating really low carb the rest of the day. I find two sopes are a good dinner meal, but if you add a side salad, you can get by with one.

The fillings also affect the carbs, so use cheese and meat, chicken, or fish with a salsa or low carb sauce. Feel free to top with a bit of sour cream or chopped lettuce and sliced radishes.

Give it a try for Cinco de Mayo!

Mexican-style Sopes

1/3 cup Almond Flour
2 tablespoons Corn Meal
1/3 cup Low Carb Flour
1/3 cup Golden Flax Meal
1 tablespoon Lard
1/3 cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
1/4 teaspoon Taco Seasoning
1/4 to 1/3 cup water

Mix the ingredients, except the water together and cut with your clean fingers until it forms crumbles. Add 1/4 cup water and mx together with your hands. The dough will begin to pull together to form a ball. If the mix isn’t adhering together well, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it forms a smooth, but not wet ball. Roll into a log about 4 inches long. Cut in half.

Form the 1st half into a 3″ circle about 1 thick. Smooth the top and sides and make it as even as possible. Repeat with the second piece of dough.

Two balls, flattened and cooked on both sides long enough to lightly brown, but not cook through.

Heat a griddle or heavy skillet over medium high heat until it is hot. Place each rounded ball into the griddle and cook for about 1-1/2 to 2 minutes until it is lightly browned. Flip and repeat on the other side. Remove dough patties to a work surface. Carefully cut each one across the middle of the 1″ side, like you would split an English muffin. The dough in the center will be raw, so cut carefully.

Press down the bottom and pinch the sides to form a ring around the top.

With the doughy side up, push down the middle of the sope and use your fingers to pinch the edges to a 1/2 inch wall around the middle. It’s easier to use the pointer finger on each hand to shape this. If it cracks, pinch it closed. This is like forming the top edge with pie dough. Push the center down more if needed, then use a finger to push the bottom of the edging to be even with the base.

If you are not cooking right away, cover the sopes with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you are ready to cook.

You can cook the sopes in hot oil and it will take about 4 minutes to get them completely done. Or you can cook them in a hot oven or air fryer. If you do that, spray with oil or cooking spray and cook until they are browned and cooked through. This will take about 10 to 15 minutes at 375 degrees.

Fill with your favorite fillings and serve with salsa if you like.

Makes 4 sopes.

Nutrition Information per Sope:
Calories 390 , Total Fat 32 g , Cholesterol 12 mg, Sodium 45 mg, Potassium 312 mg, Carbohydrates 18 g, Fiber 10 g, Sugars 1.3 g, Protein 14 g, Net Carbs 8 g

Note: Nutrition information is based on the ingredients I used in this recipe and my measurements. Although they are a close calculation, your results may be slightly higher or lower. Ingredient substitutions may affect the carb count. Different brands may have other carb counts.