Category Archives: Beef

Beef, Pork, Sandwiches

A Twist on the Corn Dog

Photo: Frankfurter in biscuit called a Frankenpot.

Ever have the urge for a corn dog? One of those batter-covered frankfurters on a stick dipped in mustard or mayo can be a wonderful taste of comfort food. Unfortunately, corn bread batter is one of those things that can really pack on the pounds.

My alternative to it is this tasty hot dog in a pot, a personal-sized batter-covered frank made with low carb flours and golden flax meal. While it doesn’t replicate the corn dog, it is similar and satisfies my cravings for this simple summer fair food. Give it a try.  With this flexible recipe and you can add several variations. I haven’t tried the sauerkraut option, but I don’t see any reason it won’t work.

Frankenpot in a one cup ramekin. Run a thin knife around the edge and flip upside down to remove to a plate.

Frankenpot

Recipe by Rene Averett

This is a simple, low carb version of a corn dog, except it doesn’t use cornmeal. Instead, I’ve substituted in golden flax meal. It has the texture and a bit of the taste of the corn dog although it is baked instead of fried, so it isn’t quite the same.

If you want to try to fry it, I suggest baking it part way, then dropping it in a fryer for a couple of minutes to brown the exterior. I’d also leave off the cheese topping until after it’s fried.

Per 1 person serving

1 Hot dog or frankfurter
1 Egg
1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil
1 tablespoon ground Golden Flax Meal
2 tablespoons Low Carb Flour
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
Pinch of Salt
1/2 teaspoon Sugar Substitute
Pinch of Black Pepper, if you wish
1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder (optional)
Mayonnaise and/or Mustard for dipping

Additional add-ins you can try:
1 tablespoon Onions, chopped
1 tablespoon Green Chilies, chopped
2 tablespoons Chile Con Carne, no beans
1 tablespoon Sauerkraut, drained

Preheat the oven to 365 degrees (F). Spray a one-cup ramekin with baking spray. (You can also use an oval ramekin that fits the uncut frankfurter or any other shape you want.)

In a small bowl, add egg and oil and whisk until blended. Add sugar substitute, baking powder, salt, pepper, flour, and flax meal. Stir until completely blended and smooth. Put 1/2 of the batter in the bottom of the ramekin. Cut the hot dog into 1/2 inch rounds and layer them over the mixture.

At this point, add any of the additional add-ons you wish to include. Sprinkle 1/2 the shredded cheese over the top and spoon the remaining batter over the top, smoothing it out. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.

Let cool and eat with a dipping sauce of mayonnaise and mustard or use either alone. I love this with a mayonnaise and cranberry mustard sauce.

Nutrition Information per serving:
Calories: 538 Fat:46.9 g Net Carbs: 6.3 g Protein: 22.1 g

With onions, add 0.6 grams of carbs to the count.
With green chiles, add 0.5 grams
With chili con carne with beans, add 3.4 grams
With sauerkraut, the count is the same as with onion.

Loaded with onion, chiles, and chile con carne, the total net carbs are 10.9 g.

Hint: For a simple dipping sauce, I mix 1 tablespoon Mayonnaise and a teaspoon of Cranberry Mustard together. You can also use regular mustard. For a touch of sweetness, add a little sugar-free sweet pickle juice or a drop of liquid sweetener.

Looking for a more savory sauce? Use a couple of tablespoons of Ranch Dressing or a Sugar-Free Honey Mustard Dressing.

Give this a try and if you come up with some other good add-ins, let me know.

 

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

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.

Beef, Breakfast & Brunch, Desserts, Healthy Life, Main Dish, Vegetables & Salads

Induction Eating Plan Day 9

Today was a slow start day, so I took a short cut or two.  First, I skipped breakfast and just opted for an Atkins Lemon Bar. It’s 3 nc and I think it is safe for Induction. I couldn’t find any information on the box saying differently.  Then lunch was a leftover from earlier in the week as I finished off my fajita salad. It was less than what I had eaten at the restaurant, so I reduced the carbs accordingly, Therefore, the only new entrees were in the dinner and dessert.

Here’s the menu for the day:

Food NC
breakfast Atkins Lemon Bar 3
Coffee 1/2 tsp creamer 0.5
B12 Gummie 1
Lunch Fajita Salad leftover 6
Tea 0
dinner Steak 0
1.3 cup GG mashed cauli/bacon 3
sauteed zucchini 2.6
mini-cheesecake 1.6
Raspberry sauce 0.5
18.2

 

For an alternate breakfast option, try these Egg Puffs, little cupcake sized baked eggs. For induction, omit the tortilla pieces in it. They make great snacks as well.

 

A nice brunch alternative is this tasty Skillet Italian Frittata that has more sticking powder to it. It uses either turnips or kohlrabi or Daikon radish as a substitute for potatoes.

 

Now for the dinner options.  The main course is really simple as I used a bacon wrapped filet for the meat. You can purchase these ready to go at the grocery. Season with a 0 carb rubbing mix and toss them on the grill to cook or put them under the broiler. The problem I often have with bacon-wrapped items is getting the bacon done without over-cooking the meat. This is a particular problem when someone likes very rare meat. I cooked this on my broiled at 485 degrees (F) to try to slow the cooking a little and give the bacon a chance to crisp.

I paired this with Green Giant Mashed Cauliflower with bacon and cheese. This is a fairly new product from the Jolly GG and it is very good. The package contains about 4 servings, but I usually get 6 out of it by serving 1/3 cup of the potato substitute instead of 1/2 cup. The flavor and texture of the cauliflower mash is excellent.

The other side dish is a quick and easy saute of zucchini and tomatoes.

Zucchini with Tomatoes

1/2 cup Zucchini, sliced
6 Cherry Tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
1 teaspoons Olive Oil
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet and add the garlic. Cook for about 30 seconds, then add the sliced zucchini and stir fry it until it is lightly browned on both sides. Add the tomatoes and cook for another minute.

Serves 2

Nutrition Information per serving:
Calories: 58 Fat: 4.6 g Net Carbs: 2.6 g Protein: 0.8 g

Finally, for dessert, I went back to one of my favorites, cheesecake! Unlike the one I made earlier in this induction experiment, this cheesecake is baked so it is rich and creamy. I made it into 6 cupcakes for small, easy servings. At only 1.6 net carbs per cake, have two if you have the available carbs for the day.

Mini Creamy Cheesecakes

6 oz. Cream Cheese
1 large Egg
1 teaspoon Lemon Juice
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
3 tablespoons Sour Cream
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Xylitol or liquid sucralose

Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F.)

Place softened cream cheese and egg in a medium bowl and beat with a mixer until they are blended and creamy. Add 1/4 cup sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla and beat until blended and smooth.

Put cupcake papers in a 6-well cupcake pan and spray with baking spray. Put two tablespoons of batter into each well, then distribute the remainder evenly over the wells.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the cakes are fully set.

While they are baking, prepare the topping. Put three tablespoons of sour cream in a bowl, add 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, and 2 tablespoons sugar substitute. Mix well. When the cupcakes are set, spoon onto the top of each cake, then bake for another 10 minutes to cook the topping.

Chill for at least two hours in the refrigerator before serving. Serve as is or top with a teaspoon of sugar-free jam or jelly and/or a teaspoon of Cool Whip.

Makes 6 mini-cheesecakes.

Nutrition information without jam or whip cream per serving:
Calories: 124 Fat: 11.9 g Net Carbs: 1.6 g Protein: 3.3 g

Beef, Breakfast & Brunch, Healthy Life, Recipes

Induction Eating Plan Day 6

So, I’m up to day 6 of the plan and I think it’s going very well. I can’t tell you if I’ve lost weight, but I feel better and my clothes are a little looser. I didn’t weigh at the start and won’t weigh in at the doctor’s office until August, so it will be a surprise if I’ve dropped a few pounds. But I think the fit of my jeans will give me a pretty good clue before then.

Here’s the eating plan for this day:

6/11/2017 Food Net Carb
Breakfast Flax Waffle 0.6
1 slice Bacon 0
Butter 0
Syrup 0
Tea 0
B12 Gummie 1
Lunch Roast Beef Rollup 4.4
Hard Boiled Egg 0.4
Snack Chocolate 1
Dinner Chile Verde 4
1/2 cup Riced Cauliflower 2
Coleslaw 1.8
Tortilla 3
TOTAL CARBS 18.2

Look at the first breakfast item and go bananas! A waffle on an induction period? Who ever heard of that? I can tell you that when I went on Atkins a few years ago, no kind of bread entered the picture and even longer back, the choices were extremely limited.

But now, with the newer approach, many more food are okay on induction. The reason this one works is that it’s made with flax meal rather than flour. While flax is a grain, it’s a marvelous one that has as much fiber in it as it has carbohydrates, so basically, it cancels itself out on the carb meter. Not everyone is a fan of flax meal and it can have some effect on your digestive system similar to a laxative, but I can say the golden flax is delicious and it does help regularity.

I really like this waffle and flax breads are okay in my book. But that is up to you to decide. If you don’t like it, hang in there. Almond flour waffles aren’t too many days away.

Fluffy Flax Waffles

Atkins recipe

I made a couple of minor changes in this. Atkins called for coconut milk and I didn’t want to open a 4 cup container for 1 tablespoon, so I sub’d in cream. I also added a little more sugar substitute. I barely had enough batter to fill my waffle iron, so next time I make it, I may add 1 more tablespoon of the protein powder. It also called for a pinch of salt, but if you use baking powder, there is enough salt in that. I am not sure what baking powder does in this recipe as I don’t think it reacts with the ingredients. Next time I make it, I will make it without the baking powder and see if changes anything.

1 tablespoon Coconut Milk or 1/2 tablespoon Cream plus 1/2 tablespoon Water
1 Egg
1/2 tablespoon Vegetable Oil
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 cup Golden Flax Meal
1 tablespoon Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 tablespoon Sugar Substitute*
1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg

Preheat the waffle iron.

In a small bowl, use a whisk to mix the milk or cream and water with the egg, oil, and vanilla extract until blended. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Spray the waffle iron with baking spray or rub a little oil on the griddles to prevent sticking. Pour the mixture into the middle of the iron and spread it around with a spatula to make sure each well is coated.

Cook for two minutes until the steam from the iron is almost gone. If the lid lifts without resistance, then the waffle is done. If not cook about 10 seconds longer. The lid will lift easily when it’s done.

Cut the waffle in two and serve with butter and sugar-free syrup. I used Mrs. Butterworth’s, but there are several brands available.

Makes 2 servings.

Nutrition information per serving:
Calories: 176 Fat: 15.4 g Net Carbs: 0.6 g Protein: 6.3 g

* Use liquid sucralose or Xylitol or other sugar alcohol to avoid any carbs from the sweetener. The granulated variety has up to 1 net carb in the substance used to carry the sweetener.

Roast Beef Roll-up

I was so full from that waffle that I didn’t want a big lunch. I settled on a simple roast beef lettuce roll. This is easy to make and very satisfying. To add a little more protein, I also added a hard boiled egg. The meat and cheese can vary with your own preferences.

1 slice Colby Jack Cheese
1 thick sliced piece of Roast Beef (about 2 oz.)
1 tablespoon Philadelphia Chive & Onion Cream cheese Spread
1 slice Tomatoes – thinly sliced
1 leaf Romaine Lettuce
1 tablespoon Mayonnaise

Place lettuce on the plate, then put the roast beef on top and spread the cream cheese spread over the top. Put the cheese on top of that, then the sliced tomato. Put whole packet across a large leaf of lettuce, then roll from the narrow end to the larger end in a loose roll. Put face down on the plate. Use a toothpick to hold it together if needed.

Makes one roll.

Nutrition Information per roll:
Calories: 289 Fat: 23.1 Net Carbs: 4.4 g Protein: 16.3 g

Dinner was leftovers from Day 2, the Chile Verde Casserole. If you didn’t have leftovers, then here’s another option for a tasty dinner that is easy to make and induction-friendly. Try this delicious Salisbury Steak (that’s another name for hamburger steak.)