Category Archives: Appetizers

Appetizers, Recipes

Game Day Tostados

It’s one of those days when everyone gathers around the TV set to watch a big game or the Olympics or even the Academy Awards.  Snack foods are the order of the day and grazing is the commercial pastime.  Staying on a low carb plan is a bit difficult in the face of this challenge, but here’s one that you can do in moderation… tasty low carb tostados made with Flax Corn Meal Tortillas.  They are about 6 carbs for a serving of  two 4″ tortillas.   Or if you prefer, build your tostado on a low carb flour tortilla.   Depending on your choices, the toppers will add 3 to 5 carbs to your total.

The toppers can be steak strips, shredded pork, or shredded chicken with cheese, lettuce, pico de gallo and guacamole.  Yum…  I love these!  Add a little sour cream or low carb dressing if you like.  Because there’s corn and corn meal in the tortillas, these are really a maintenance phase item, so if you add them to your menu, be aware that they might affect your next weigh-in, but it should be temporary.

Here’s the recipe for the tostado pictured above:

1/4 cup leftover or just grilled steak cut into thin strips
2 slices of onion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
Olive oil
1/2 cup lettuce, shredded or chopped
1/2 tomato, chopped
2 tablespoons guacamole (ready made or your favorite recipe)
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
2 flax corn meal tortillas or 1 large low carb wheat flour tortilla
2 tablespoons cheddar or jack cheese (not pictured)

In a small skillet, heat enough olive oil to make a thin layer.  When it is hot, reduce heat to medium and fry the tortillas, one at a time, until they are crisp.  Use a spatula to move and turn them in the oil and to remove the tortilla to a paper towel covered plate to drain.  The tortillas are delicate and a fork will tear them.

Clean out excess oil, leaving just a thin film on the skillet.  Reserve about 1 tablespoon of the onion and add the rest to skillet with the garlic and stir until onion is starting to turn translucent.  Add steak slices, coriander and chili powder and stir cook until mixed and ho, about 4 or 5 minutes.  Turn off heat and/or remove pan from the burner.

Mix onions with chopped tomato and add 1 tablespoon of chopped cilantro.

Place a tortilla base on a plate and put 1/2 the cooked meat mixture on top, spreading it to cover.  Put 1/2 the lettuce on top of that followed by 1/2 the tomato mix.  Top with one tablespoon guacamole and  half the cheese.  Repeat with the second tortilla.

Makes two tasty tostados.  Increase the recipe to serve more.

Nutrition info for the toppings only:

Calories: 135.6  Fat: 7.8 g  Net carbs: 4.6g  Protein:  9.8 g

Original POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 5/5/2013 10:06 AM

Appetizers, Recipes

Sizzlin’ Hot Snacks

It’s hard to beat topped crackers, breads, corn chips or potatoes for snacks while the big game is on.  But, they can really add a lot of carbs to your intake for the day.  Fortunately, you can have tasty snacks that are almost as good.

Here’s some suggestions that I use for sports viewing — or even awards shows viewing — that will round out the viewing without rounding you!

Pig Skin Nachos

This is a natural for a football game, but the pigskin I’m using is actually pork rinds or chicarrones.   If this sounds odd, think about it for a moment.  Bacon is made from pork and this is pork, so why not?  It’s crispy like a tortilla chip and it has a pork flavor.  What’s not to like?  And best of all, it’s just about 0 carbs.

1 serving cooked pork rinds (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup Cheddar Jack Cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons salsa
2 tablespoons guacamole (optional)

Use about 1 1/2 cups of cooked pork rinds on the plate, sprinkle with cheddar jack cheese and microwave for about 45 to 55 seconds.  Watch for when the cheese begins to melt, then remove it.  Put your favorite salsa in a dipping dish, a small bowl will work, and add some guacamole to the side of the dish if you’d like.  Don’t put the salsa on the nachos as they will get soggy.

Nutrition Info 1 serving
(with guacamole)  Calories:   399.3  Net Carbs: 3.8  Protein: 22.5 g
(1 servings without guacamole)   Calories: 314.8  Net Carbs:  1.8   Protein: 21.5 g

Sweet Porkers

For those who might like a sweet snack and who like the taste of bacon and maple syrup, this is a tasty alternative (although the bacon works also).  I use Piggy Tails cinnamon and sugar pork rinds for this snack.  You can order them through Amazon.com and they come un-puffed.  Put 1/8 to 1/4 of a cup of pellets on a microwaveable paper plate for about 2 minutes and they puff up into a full plate of goodness.  The cinnamon sugar flavor is really mild though, so I pour out a little cup of sugar free maple syrup and dip the pork puffs in those while I munch on them.  Wal-Mart sells a sugar free Log Cabin syrup that is delicious.  DaVinci also has a sugar free pancake syrup that tastes great, but is a little thinner.

Bacon Cheese Chips

Tempting tomato, cheese and bacon topped daikon chip.

Here’s a tasty little appetizer made with daikon chips topped with bits of bacon and cheddar cheese.  What could be easier to put together for a TV afternoon?  The daikon has a slight peppery taste that is enhanced by the garlic pepper seasoning.

6 inch piece of daikon radish, cut into 1/3 inch slices
6 thick bacon slices, baked and broken into thirds
Sharp cheddar cheese, grated or sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
Garlic pepper seasoning

Heat a large griddle or skillet and put 1 tablespoon olive oil on it.  Cook the daikon slices, 9 at a time on the griddle until they are browned.  Add more oil before doing the second batch.

If you are making a lot, you can roast them instead of frying.  Spread slices on a baking sheet and cook in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until just tender.

Place the cooked daikon on a baking pan and place 1/3 slice of bacon on each piece.  Sprinkle a little garlic pepper on each piece.  Top with a small piece of cheddar cheese or about a tablespoon of shredded cheese.

Place under broiler for a few minutes to melt the cheese.  Makes 6 servings, 3 pieces each.

You can also put these in a microwave for about 30 to 40 seconds to melt the cheese.  Watch closely to make sure the cheese doesn’t overflow.

Makes 6 servings of 3 chips per serving.
Nutrition: per serving   Calories 182.1  Net Carbs: 1.5 g  Protein: 8.5

Variations:

Use cream cheese spread on each chip and top with sliced tomato or thinly sliced sausage or ham.

Italian style:  Spread cooked daikon with pasta sauce and top with pepperoni and sliced mozzarella cheese

You don’t have to be limited to daikon.  This also works well with kohlrabi, jicama, golden beet and turnip slices that are fried or roasted.  Jicama remains crunchy when cooked.

Hot snacks: Top clockwise – salami and cheese beet chip, jicama chip & daikon chip

Hot snacks:  Top clockwise – salami and cheese beet chip, jicama chip & daikon chip

I mentioned using the fillings for the mushrooms as snack toppers.  Here is the Pesto Sausage filling on tops of daikon chips, golden beet chips and kohlrabi chips.  Delicious although my favorite was the golden beet.

Pesto sausage filling on daikon, golden beet and kohlrabi chips.

 

Originally POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 1/31/2013 2:01 PM 

Appetizers, Recipes

Mushroom Party Creations


I love stuffed mushrooms and it was ages since I last had a mushroom party, so I was excited for the one last week. A party means an opportunity to get creative with the fillings, meaning it was time to experiment. Between the roomie and me, we made four really super-tasting mushroom fillings and I’m sharing three with you – Turkey Teriyaki, Pesto Italian Sausage and Tamale Pie.

Each recipe made 18 to 24 plus stuffed mushrooms, so adjust down if you don’t want to make that many or bag and freeze the extra stuffing for another time. If, by any chance, you don’t like mushrooms, these fillings also work well in hollowed out zucchini or as a topper on toast or vegetable rounds.

This photo is actually from the first experiment that didn’t include the rice or cabbage. Adding these really brought the flavor in to the dish.

Teriyaki Stuffed Mushrooms

The objective was an oriental flavor in the filling and I think this one worked very well.

1 pound Lean Ground Turkey
1/2 cup Water chestnuts
2 tablespoons Onions, chopped
24 large Mushrooms, stems removed and chopped
1/4 cup Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce & Marinade or a similar product
1 packet Swanson Chicken Flavor Boost or chicken bouillion
1/4 cup Celery, diced
1/4 cup Bean sprouts, chopped
1/2 cup Cabbage, fresh, shredded
1/2 cup cooked White Rice or riced cauliflower
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil

Makes 24 stuffed mushrooms

Clean and prepare mushroom caps. Lightly oil and bake, top down, for about 10 minutes in 400 degree oven.

In a large skillet. Add 1 tablespoon butter and sauté onion and celery until onion just begins to turn translucent. Remove from pan to a bowl. Add cabbage and stir fry until it is limp. Remove to a bowl with onion and celery. Wipe excess butter from the pan and add ground turkey. Cook until lightly browned. Add mushroom stems, water chestnuts and chicken broth. Stir and cook for about 10 minutes then add the rest of the vegetables, rice and teriyaki sauce. Stir until well mixed and cook about 10 minutes longer. Stuff each mushroom cap with the filling and serve.

Nutrition per mushroom (with rice) (24 yield)

Calories: 39.8   Net Carbs: 1.7 g    Protein: 4.5 g

Pesto Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

Pesto Sausage Mushrooms, ready for the oven.

These have a nice Italian flavor without any tomatoes in it, which pleases my friends who don’t like them.

2 Italian Sausage, pork, links
1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese, whole milk
1 Egg, large
1/4 cup Baby Spinach, fresh and chopped
1 tablespoon Dried Onion Flakes in a tablespoon water
1 teaspoon Parsley, dried or 1 tablespoon fresh parsley
2 tablespoons sweet pepper, diced
1/4 cup Pesto Sauce (I used Classico Basil Pesto)
1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese, Finely shredded
1 to 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
18 to 24 Mushrooms, fresh, cleaned and trimmed – save stems for other uses

Heat the broiler and broil sausages until they are browned. Remove and cut into small pieces.

Put 1 teaspoon olive oil in skillet and heat. Sauté peppers in hot oil, then add onions. spinach and parsley. Cook and stir for a few minutes until spinach is limp, but bright green. Remove from heat.

In a bowl, combined ricotta cheese and egg until mixed well. Add vegetables and pesto sauce and mix well. Stir in sausage and mozzarella.

Spray a pan with cooking spray. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Make sure mushrooms are dry, then stuff each mushroom with about a tablespoon of filling and place in the pan. If you have leftover filling, refrigerate until you use it. This also makes a great filling for a stuffed zucchini.

Sprinkle mushrooms with parmesan cheese, then bake 25 to 30 minutes.

Nutrition Info for 1 mushroom (18 yield)

Calories: 112   Net Carbs: 1.6 g    Protein: 6.6 g

Tamale Pie ‘Shrooms

This, like the Teriyaki recipe, uses a couple of forbidden items unless you are on maintenance. But, honestly, it doesn’t use a lot and the carb count is still pretty low, so for special events, I think it’s a nice treat to include them. To stay legal on the OWL phase, omit the baby corn and cornmeal.

1.25 lbs Lean Ground Turkey
Egg, fresh, 1 large
Onions, raw, .5 cup, chopped
4 oz can diced green chiles, drained
2 tablespoons Red Chile Powder
1 15 oz. can Diced Tomatoes
2 tablespoons Black Olives, chopped
3 oz (1/3 cup) Baby Corn – chopped
24 to 30 Mushrooms, stems removed and trimmed
1/2 teaspoon Tumeric
1 cup Shredded Mexican Four Cheese blend
1 cup Ricotta Cheese
3 tablespoons Corn Meal Flour

In a skillet, crumble and cook the ground turkey until it is slightly browned. Remove to a bowl. Add the onions to the pan and cook them until they are just tender. Add the chiles, chile powder, tumeric, diced tomatoes, black olives, baby corn and the corn meal to the pan and stir together until all ingredients are well mixed. Cook for about five minutes. Add to the turkey and add ricotta cheese, Mexican cheese and egg and mix well.

Spray a pan with cooking spray. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Make sure mushrooms are dry, then stuff each mushroom with about a tablespoon of filling and place in the pan. If you have leftover filling, refrigerate until you use it.

Sprinkle mushrooms with parmesan cheese, then bake 25 to 30 minutes

Makes 24 to 30 mushrooms

Nutrition Info (Yield 24) Calories: 64 Net Carbs: 1.4 g Protein: 7.1 g
(Yield 30) Calories: 58.3 Net Carbs: 1.3 g Protein: 6.1 g

Originally POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 1/30/2013 3:48 PM

Appetizers, Recipes

Savory Stuffed BCT Mushrooms

BCT? What’s that, you may ask? Well, picking up from BLT for Bacon, lettuce and tomato, it’s what I call my Bacon, Cheese and Tomato stuffed mushrooms. These are delicious little snacks that can liven up a party or make a dinner when you stuff portobello mushrooms. The cheese in it is a combination of cream cheese and cheddar cheese. Or you can substitute in mozarella or an Italian mix cheese for the cheddar. The recipe is flexible.

Bacon, Cheese and Tomato Stuffed Mushrooms

24 whole Mushroom caps, stems removed (about 1 pound)
4 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup Cheddar Cheese, grated
2 tablespoons Fresh Chives
4 tablespoons Bacon Bits
1/4 cup chopped fresh Spinach
1/4 cup Sun Dried Tomatoes, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray the bottom of a baking pan with olive oil cooking spray. Place mushroom caps open side down and spray the tops. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove and let cool a little before stuffing.

Beat cream cheese with a spoon until it is smooth, then stir in the other ingredients, except the mushrooms. Scoop a teaspoonful of the mixture and fill the a mushroom cap. Place in the baking pan and repeat with the rest of the mushrooms. If you have more mix than mushrooms, distribute the remainder as evenly as possible over the mushrooms or eat the evidence.

Bake in the oven or a toaster oven for about 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and lightly browned. Just before serving, you can add a festive touch with a craisin and a sprig of parsley on the top of each mushroom or sprinkle chopped parsley over the tops.

Nutrition Info per mushroom: Calories: 33.5 Net Carbs: .6 g Protein: 1.8 g

Dinner version:

This Portobello mushroom was stuffed with an Italian 4 cheese mix.

 

Use 6 baby Portobello mushrooms, cleaned, stems removed
All other ingredients are the same as above.

Roast mushrooms In 350 degree F oven, hollow side down and lightly oiled with olive oil for about 15 minutes.

Beat cream cheese with a spoon until it is smooth, then stir in the other ingredients, except the mushrooms. Scoop a tablespoon of the mixture and fill the a mushroom cap. Place in the baking pan and repeat with the rest of the mushrooms. If you have more mix than mushrooms, distribute the remainder as evenly as possible over the mushrooms.

Makes 3 servings, 2 mushrooms per serving.

Calories: 211  Net carbs: 6.8 g   Protein: 11.2 g

Originally POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 12/10/2012 1:50 PM

Appetizers, Recipes

Not Your Mama’s Nachos


When you’ve grown up with nachos as a frequent snack, it’s not easy to forego them when those darn corn chips are just loaded with carbohydrates. Finding a good substitute for corn in recipes isn’t easy, no matter what you do. But I have found a work around when it comes to corn chips and nachos. This isn’t a recipe, but really just a quick substitution… use chicarrones (pork rinds or bacon curls) in place of the corn chips. I know I’m not the first person to stumble on this but I wanted to share it with anyone else who might be looking for a way to have your gooey cheese and salsa without blowing the carbs!

I tried it with melting the cheese over the pork rinds, then putting the salsa on top and that works if you eat quickly otherwise the rinds get mushy. My preferred method, as pictured above, it to put the salsa and a dollop of guacamole in a separate container and dip the rinds. I still melted the cheese on the rinds by covering them with cheese and popping them in the microwave for about 25 seconds, give or take a few. Just watch until you see the cheese melting, then take them out.

I used Lowry’s Microwave Pork Rinds (hot & spicy) for this batch and they worked wonderfully. Just cook them as directed, then pour the hot rinds onto a plate, cover with cheese and zap them back in the microwave until the cheese melts. One tip if you are not familiar with the microwave rinds, they look hard as a brick if you under-cook them, small hard pieces of pork that you think you’ve ruined. It takes up to two minutes to puff them up and those little bricks have not reached the puffed stage yet. I threw away three or four packets thinking they were bad.

If you don’t want to use the microwave variety, there are several brands of chicaronnes on the market, including Bacon-ets, Guerrero and Kroger. I think Kroger has one of the best ones I’ve tasted, but the Guerrero are right behind. They are crunchier and may hold up to salsa being splashed on the top better.

So, try a plate and even if it isn’t corn chips, it’s still a tasty nacho treat and – the best part – it’s really low carb’d at less than 1 carb for the pork rinds, less than 1 carb for cheese and around 2 carbs for the salsa. Happy snacking!

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 11/14/2012 5:19 PM