All posts by RAverett

Breakfast & Brunch, Recipes

Turning Leftovers Into Lunch Pies

If you’re like me and you come home with leftover steak or you have lots of ham leftovers, then you have the main ingredient for these two quick and easy lunch pies. Of course, I do have to add that CarbQuick is a staple around my house, so the recipe also uses that low carb flour option. I think you can probably substitute almond flour and flax meal flour for the CarbQuick, but I haven’t tried it on this recipe. It worked well to make a pizza crust, so why not?

The recipe for the bread base is the same for both pies, only the toppers and the cheese change.

Bread Pie Base:
3/4 cup Carbquik
1 Egg
1/4 cup Heavy Cream
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup cheese (whichever one you are using in the pie)

Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray a pie plate with cooking spray.

Combine the cream and water in a cup and mix. In a small bowl, mix flours, egg, seasoning and 1/2 the cream mixture. Stir well or beat with an egg beater to remove lumps. Add the remaining cream and 1/2 the cheese and mix together. Pour into the pie pan.

Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven

Ham, Bacon and Cheese Pie

Honestly, you can’t go wrong with bacon in a dish, can you?

2 tablespoons Hormel Bacon Bits
1 sliced Red Ripe Tomatoes or 3/4 cup Pico de Gallo
1/2 cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded
1/2 cup diced Ham
1/4 cup Mushrooms sliced
1/2 cup Spinach Leaves, torn

Once you remove the crust from the oven, spread the topping ingredients evenly over the top covering them with the cheese last. Put back in the oven for another 15 minutes or until the cheese is lightly browned. Serve with a salad or green vegetable.

Makes 4 moderate servings or 2 hungry man servings.

Nutrition Info for 1/4 pie:
Calories: 300 Net Carbs: 2.2g Protein: 19.5g

Steak and Onion Pie

As you can tell from the photo, the mozzarella cheese got a little browner than you might like, so watch it the last few minutes of cooking.

A variation on the pie uses leftover steak or you can grill a small steak for this purpose. Use the basic pie base above with 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese then these toppings:

1/2 cup sliced Onions
1 cup grilled Steak, chopped or diced
1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, shredded
1/4 cup sliced Mushrooms
1/4 cup sliced Sweet Peppers (small or bell peppers)

Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray a pie plate with cooking spray.

Prepare pie crust as above and bake.

Once you remove the crust from the oven, spread the topping ingredients evenly over the top covering them with the cheese last. Put back in the oven for another 15 minutes or until the cheese is lightly browned. Serve with a salad or green vegetable.

Serves 4
Calories: 380 Net Carbs 3.8g Protein: 30.9g

Breakfast & Brunch, Recipes

New Year Starts With A Favorite Breakfast

We are a few days into the New Year — Happy 2013! Let’s hope that it is a really great year for everyone and you enjoy good health, happiness and a bit of prosperity in the next 12 months. I am certainly hoping to have that continue for me.

A tradition for some of us from the south is to have Biscuits and Sausage Gravy for the first breakfast, but it doesn’t exactly scream low carb! But it can be. This is a recipe that is adapted with just a few changes from the chef for Tova foods, the company that makes CarbQuick. It uses CarbQuick, but it can be made with other low carb flours. You may need to add egg to get the biscuit to rise if you use a flour like almond flour or coconut flour. Ideally, you could mix one of those with another low carb flour, such as Atkins baking mix, to balance it out. Of course, any changes you make in the recipe may change the carb and calorie count for this.

1 cup Carbquick
2 tablespoons Shortening, Crisco
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 tablespoon Heavy Whipping Cream

Gravy:
1/2 pound Pork Sausage
2 tablespoons Carbquick or other low carb flour (you can also use 1 tablespoon of Cornstarch, will change the carb count a little)
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
1/4 cup Coconut Milk (or unsweetened Almond milk)
1/4 cup Water
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
Salt to your preference (I use a dash since I don’t like things too salty)
1/2 teaspoon Poultry Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon Worchestershire Sauce (optional)

Biscuits:

Preheat oven to 365 degrees F.

Mix flour and baking powder together and add a dash of salt. Cut shortening into flour until it is mixed into pea-sized clumps. Add whipping cream and a little water to make a thick dough that barely clings together.

Divide dough into quarters and shape into rounds, patting the tops down. Use just a little extra flour if the dough is too sticky to handle. Placed on a greased pan and bake for 6 to 8 minutes until the biscuits are golden brown.

Gravy:

In large skillet, over medium-high heat, cook and crumble sausage to lightly brown. Pour off fat from pan.

Sprinkle flour over sausage in skillet, stir to blend, add cream, milk. Worcestershire sauce and water to pan all at once.

Cook, stirring constantly over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. This may take up to 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve over hot baked biscuits. 1 biscuit and 1/4 of gravy is one serving.

Nutrition info: Calories: 458.6 Net Carbs: 3.8 g Protein: 12.4 g

POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 1/5/2013 1:44 PM

Breakfast & Brunch, Recipes

Simple Baked Eggs for One Or Two

This is one of my standard breakfast items, low carb and filling. It is similar to a quiche and the ingredient list is very flexible. Add a slice of flax bread and you have a great start for your day.

Ham and Egg Cheese Puff

Makes 1

By Rene

1 Egg, large
1/4 cup Ham, diced
1/4 cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded
1 tablespoon Ricotta Cheese
1/4 teaspoon dehydrated Onion flakes
Pinch Parsley, dried
Dash Salt
Dash Black Pepper, ground

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a ramekin or other individual serving sized baking container.

Mix egg, ricotta cheese, onion flakes, parsley flakes, salt and pepper in a small bowl until the ricotta is well mixed in. Add diced ham. Reserve about 1/3 of the cheese and stir the remainder into the egg mixture. Pour into the buttered ramekin and top with the remaining cheese, so it will have a nice cheese topping when cooked.

Bake in oven for about 20 minutes until it is puffed, a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean and there is a nice browning on top.

Serves 1.

Nutrition Info: Calories 250.5 Net Carbs 2.6 g Protein 19.4 g

For a vegetable variation, add 1/2 cup of mixed vegetables (zuchinni, broccoli, mushrooms, onions, bell peppers), omit onion flakes

Nutrition Info: Calories 248 Net Carbs 3.3 g Protein 18.8 g


Sausage Egg Puffs for Two

2 Eggs
1/4 cup Sausage
2 tablespoons Pico de Gallo or Salsa
2 tablespoons Ricotta Cheese
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese, reserve 1 tablespoon
Salt & pepper

Makes 2 servings

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Butter two 1/2 cup size ramekins.

In a small skillet, crumble and lightly brown the sausage. Divide into the ramekins. In a small bowl, mix together eggs, ricotta cheese, pico de gallo, salt and pepper. Reserve one tablespoon of the cheddar cheese and stir the rest into the egg mixture. Pour or spoon half of the mixture into each ramekin. Sprinkle reserved cheese over the top.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the eggs are completely set and it is lightly browned. Let sit a few minutes then run a knife around the edge of the ramekin and gently lift it underneath until the egg releases. Carefully lift to serving plate or put the plate on top of the ramekin and flip it, then turn the egg over to the top.

Serve with a heaping teaspoon of salsa if desired.

Nutrition Info

Nutrition Info: Calories 250.5 Net Carbs 2.6 g Protein 19.4 g

Originally  POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 2/18/2013 10:49 AM

Breakfast & Brunch, Recipes

Special Brunch of Classic Eggs Benedict

Once I got a successful recipe of English muffin, it was time to tackle the Classic Eggs Benedict. And it was just in time for Easter, so this made a wonderful brunch. The recipe is low carb, but not necessarily low calorie. Then again, it is very filling. I am going to try to refine it a bit so that the calories aren’t quite as high.

Classic Eggs Benedict with Asparagus

2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon lemon juice
pinch ground white pepper
1/8 teaspoon chili powder
1-1/2 teaspoons water
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/8 teaspoon salt

4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
4 strips Canadian-style bacon
2 low carb English muffins, split
1 tablespoon butter, softened
12 stalks asparagus

Hollandaise Sauce:

Fill the bottom of a double boiler part-way with water or use a smaller pan or metal bowl inside a larger pan. Make sure that water does not touch the top pan. Bring water to a gentle simmer. In the top pan, whisk together egg yolks, lemon juice, white pepper, chili powder, and 1 tablespoon water.

Add the melted butter to egg yolk mixture 1 or 2 tablespoons at a time while continuing to whisk. If the hollandaise begins to get too thick, add a teaspoon or two of hot water. Continue whisking until all butter is incorporated. Whisk in salt, then remove from heat. Cover and keep warm on the stove.

Eggs and Assembly:

Preheat oven on broiler setting.

Brown the bacon rounds in a medium skillet over medium high heat or put under the broiler with the split English muffins. Toast until lightly brown. Remove to a plate and put the bacon on top of the muffin. Put the asparagus spears on a miscrowave safe plate and cook for about 45 seconds. Lightly butter and place over the top of the bacon. Keep plate warm in the oven.

While the muffins are toasting, poach the eggs by filling a large saucepan with 3 inches of water. Bring water to a gentle simmer, then add vinegar. Carefully break eggs into simmering water, and allow to cook for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes. Yolks should still be soft in center. Remove eggs from water with a slotted spoon and set on a warm plate. Or butter poaching cups, place in the water and break an egg into each cup. Cover with pan lid and poach for about 3 minutes. Remove egg cup and slide onto the prepared muffin half.

While eggs are poaching, brown the bacon in a medium skillet over medium-high heat and toast the English muffins on a baking sheet under the broiler.
Place 2 muffins on each plate and drizzle with hollandaise sauce. Sprinkle with bacon bits if desired and serve immediately.

Nutrition Info: 2 servings (1 full muffin and 2 eggs) With LC Muffin included:
Calories: 932.4 Fat: 82.2 Net Carbs: 6.3 g Protein: 40.9 g

4 servings (1/2 muffin and one egg) with LC Muffin included:
Calories: 533.7 Fat: 18.5 g Net Carbs: 4.3 g Protein: 23.6 g

Originally POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 4/6/2013 10:05 AM

 

Breakfast & Brunch, Recipes, Sandwiches

Super Ham and Egg Sandwich

This is another delicious sandwich for the Breakfast Sandwich Maker. This is a sandwich that I like for lunch as well. Look at that fluffy egg layer! It’s easy to add ingredients to personalize it.

Tillamook Ham And Egg Sandwich

1 to 2 slices of thinly sliced Ham or Canadian Bacon
1 Egg
A few leaves of Baby Spinach
2 thin slices of Tillamook Cheddar Cheese
1 low carb Biscuit or Roll

Preheat the sandwich maker and spray with cooking spray.

Lightly butter the cut side of the muffin or roll, spread the pesto sauce on the top half. Scramble the egg in a small bowl with cream, salt and pepper to preference.

In the lower section of the sandwich machine, put the bottom muffin half and top with ham, then the cheese. Lower the top section of the cooker, make sure the middle plate is closed, Pour the egg into the upper section. Close the lid and cook for two minutes to allow the egg to set. Open the top section and put in the leaves of spinach and the top of the muffin on top of the egg and cook another 2 minutes.

Turn middle section plate to the left, use a hot pad or hand cover, then lift the bottom section handle to remove the entire sandwich from the plate.

Remove the top of sandwich and add mayonnaise on the bread, if you like.

For a variation, use two bacon strips broken in half in place of or in addition to the ham.

Nutrition Info:
Calories 255.3  Fat: 18 g  Net Carbs: 1.7 g  Protein: 18.4 g

Nutrition is for the filling only. Add in the count for whatever bread option you use.

Originally POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 4/19/2013 12:27 PM