Category Archives: Main Dish

Pork, Recipes

Pork Loin Chops with sauce and spinach

Photo: Pork chop with garlic cream sauce

This delectable dish comes together quickly, and it tastes fantastic. The creamy sauce is just right with a touch of heat from the flaked chile peppers. I actually had a package of three 3/4-pound each pork loin chops that I used. I cut two in half to make the 4 4-ounce pieces, and they were more than enough to provide a hearty meal while still sharing a bit with the cat.

I used frozen zucchini zoodles, but you can make these from fresh zucchini if you have some on hand. If you don’t have a spiralizer, you can use your grater to make long strips, or you can cut them thinly with a knife. Fresh zucchini makes a better tasting dish, but the frozen one is still very good.  You can also serve this with riced cauliflower or just steamed cauliflower flowerets.

Pork Loin Chops with Garlic Cream Sauce and Baby Spinach

4 Pork Loin Chops, 3-4 oz., boneless, about 1/2 inch thick
Salt and fresh cracked Pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon Paprika
2 teaspoons Olive Oil
2 tablespoons Butter
4 cloves Garlic, finely minced
1/2 cup Onion, minced
1/4 cup Chicken Stock
1 1/4 cups Heavy Cream
2 cups Baby Spinach
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon crushed Red Chili Pepper flakes, optional
1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese, optional

Season the pork chops on both sides with paprika, salt, and pepper. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat, then add the pork chops and sear for about three minutes, then flip them and sear the other side. Remove the chops to a plate to rest.

Melt butter in the same pan and add the onion and garlic and stir them for about a minute. Add the chicken stock, then cook and stir for a few minutes until the liquid is reduced a little.

Reduce the heat to low. Add heavy cream, Italian seasoning, and chili flakes and stir. Add additional salt and pepper, if needed. Cook and occasionally stir for about 5 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken a little.

Add the spinach leaves and stir in two or three minutes to allow them to wilt, then stir in the Parmesan cheese and mix together well.

Add the pork chops and any juices that have accumulated on the plate back to the pan. Cook about two minutes to reheat the chops, then serve over zucchini noodles or cauliflower rice or other vegetables of your choice.

Makes 4 servings.

Mexican/Spanish Recipes, Pork, Recipes

Cinco de Mayo book plug and a new taco recipe

Image: Pork taco with avocado crema

For those who like a reason to celebrate, Cinco de Mayo is just around the corner. That’s May 5th for anyone who doesn’t read enough Spanish to know. It’s a great celebration day for Mexico, but also just a good reason to raise a margarita in their honor and indulge in Mexican food. Of course, if you’re trying to stick to your low carb lifestyle, this presents some challenges.

One of our Reno Mexican restaurants has a sugar-free orange margarita made with Crystal Light that is not bad at all. If you’re making them at home, you can buy Skinny Syrup sugar-free margarita mixes in syrup form from Amazon. They also have a mojita mix if you prefer that flavor. Or you can find recipes on line for sugar free to make at home, like this one for a Skinny Margarita.

But moving along to the food, it is difficult to eat out and not indulge with more carbs than you want in your meal. Some dishes, like fajitas are not bad in carbs, but the tortillas, beans, and rice will really slam you, so best to avoid going out unless you can say no to the side dishes and just make something at home.

Here’s a plug for my low carb LC15 cookbooklet, Mexican Food for a Low Carb Lifestyle. This booklet has over 15 recipes for tried and true Mexican or Tex-Mex dishes that will satisfy your need for spice. At only 99-cents, this will give you main courses and side dishes with easy to follow instructions. I didn’t go into the desserts but I do have a recipe for flan on this website .

As a reminder, if you’re looking for low carb flour tortillas, most stores carry La Tortilla Factory or Mission flour tortillas in the low carb version. These vary from 3 net carbs to 6 net carbs per tortilla, so be sure to check the package for the carb count. For corn tortillas, I haven’t found a low carb offering, but I do have this recipe that is similar, golden flax meal tortillas.

While a few of my recipes from the book are on this website, most of them are exclusive to the booklet. If you prefer a book you can take to the kitchen and scribble notes in, the booklet is included in the 3-in-1 paperback book with Breakfast Choices and Magic Muffins for just $4.99. You can buy it here.

image: Open pork taco with apricots

Grilled Pork and Apricot Tacos with Avocado Crema

Now, for a new recipe that I tried last week, here’s a very tasty pork taco with an apricot salsa. This can also be made with peaches. I settled on apricot because I had some in my freezer and I couldn’t find a ripe peach at the grocery store. Using fresh is better than a frozen fruit that doesn’t look quite as attractive, but it tasted very good.

1 large  (8 oz) boneless Pork Loin Chop, about 1/2 inch thick
1/2 tsp. Chipotle Powder
1/2 tsp. Cumin
1/4 tsp. Oregano
1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder
1/8 tsp. Coriander
1/8 tsp. Allspice
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Freshly ground Black Pepper
1 tbsp. Olive Oil, divided
1 Avocado, diced
1/4 cup Sour Cream
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1 Peach or 2 Apricots, chopped
1/2 Green Onion, finely sliced
Juice of 1 lime, divided
1 1/2 tbsp. freshly chopped Cilantro
1/2 tsp. Sugar Substitute
4 Low-carb Flour Tortillas
Cilantro leaves, for serving (optional)

In a large bowl, add chopped apricots or peaches, shallots, cilantro, sugar substitute, 1/2 the lime juice, and 1/2 tablespoon olive oil. Mix together well and season with salt and pepper to your taste. Cover and chill until ready to use.

In a big bowl, add chipotle powder, cumin, oregano, garlic powder, coriander, and allspice and salt and pepper. Mix all together, then add the pork and cover it the seasonings on both sides. Let sit while you mix the avocado crema.

Using your food processor, add the chopped avocado, sour cream, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, and the rest of the lime juice. Blend until it is smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides with a silicone spatula if necessary. Set aside.

Grill pork chop on an outdoor grill or in your grill pan for three minutes. Turn to grill the back side for another two to three minutes until the pork is done. Let rest a few minutes, then slice thinly.

Heat the tortillas on the grill or in the grill pan until they are hot. You can also do this over an open gas flame allowing them to blister or bubble, then flipping to the other side. Top each tortilla with 1/4 of the avocado crema, then the pork, and top with the salsa.Garnish with cilantro if you wish.

Makes 4 tacos.

My picture at the top shows the taco with a scoop of riced turnips with green chile, corn, and beans. I’ll share that recipe next week.

Main Dish, Poultry, Recipes

E-Z Cauliflower and Chicken Sausage Risotto

Photo: Cauliflower Rice Risotto with Chicken Sausage

Last night, I made a quick dinner using Green Giant’s frozen Riced Cauliflower Risotto Medley with Aidell’s Chicken with Gruyere Sausage in it. While I had a busy day yesterday, the deciding factor in making this meal was that the freezer tossed the risotto package back out on the floor when I put it in, and I didn’t notice. So, when I found it, I had a bag of thawed, but still cold, risotto. It’s not a big production to make, but it’s a good example of how you can manage a delicious quick meal on a low carb diet.

Now, if you want to start from scratch with the riced cauliflower, you can make it by running the cauliflower through the food processor, then chopping about a quarter cup of mushrooms and about three stalks of asparagus up finely. You will need to cook this a little longer than you would the frozen one that is already cooked.

For this version here’s the recipe:

Cauliflower Risotto with Chicken Sausage

1 package Green Giant Riced Veggies Cauliflower Risotto Medley, thawed
2 links Aidells Chicken Sausage – Roasted Garlic & Gruyere Cheese
2 tablespoons Heavy Whipping Cream
3 tablespoons Parmesan Cheese
1 teaspoon Garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb Seasoning Blend
1 teaspoon Olive Oil

In a large skillet, add the oil, then add the garlic and cook until it is fragrant. Add the cauliflower medley. Stir for about three minutes, then add the chicken, cream, and about a quarter cup of water. Heat the mixture to a boil, then lower the temperature to a medium simmer. Let simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring a couple of times.

Serve with a salad or other side dish. I used a broccoli salad from the grocery store.

Makes 3 servings.

Do you have a recipe that you would like for me to try to adapt to low carb? If so, let me know in the comments and I’ll tell you where to email it.

Main Dish, Recipes, Seafood, Vegetables & Salads

About that Salmon Salad

Photo: Salmon and Bacon Salad

Heavy winds and rain are blasting my area as we approach the end of March. (I think it came in like a lion, but not sure it will depart like a lamb.) We can only hope April looks more like spring than March has. When the month started, I promised to post the recipe for a great salmon salad. Then it totally slipped my mind as I started getting more of the St. Patrick’s Day recipes up. But here it is. This works great if you have left-over salmon, or you can grill a piece before you make it. You can also use canned or packaged cooked salmon.

This is another yummy recipe from Paleo Leap’s web site, so it is good for Atkins, South Beach, Keto, and Paleo.

1 cup Salmon, grilled and flaked (8 oz)
1 hard boiled Egg, diced
1 Mini Pepper
1/2 Avocado, diced
2 slices Bacon, cooked and broken into pieces
1/4 Onion, minced
2 tablespoons Mayonnaise (homemade or your preference)
1 pinch Cayenne Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Lemon Juice
1 tablespoon fresh Parsley, minced or 1/2 teaspoon dried Parsley
2 tbsp. Olive Oil
1 drop liquid Sweetener
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups of fresh greens (Spring mix lettuce, spinach, arugula – your choice)

To make the dressing:

In a bowl, add the mayonnaise, parsley, lemon juice, cayenne, sweetener, and olive oil then whisk until it is blended.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the salmon, diced eggs, bell pepper, avocado, and red onion. Add the mayonnaise mixture and toss it together gently. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Divide the greens into two bowls, then top with half the salmon mixture into each bowl. Serve.

Makes two healthy servings.

TIP: If you’d rather have shell fish, make this with shrimp, crab, or lobster instead of salmon. It will work just as well.

Image: Nutrition Info

Beef, Breakfast & Brunch, Main Dish, Recipes

Sooo good! A delicious Corned Beef and Asparagus Breakfast

Image: Asparagus and Baked Eggs

Well, this is a little late for a St. Patrick’s Day brunch, but who needs that excuse to make a tasty breakfast with sliced corned beef? You can also substitute in Canadian bacon or slices of turkey. I found this recipe in my excursion looking for paleo recipes that are also low in carbs. And It’s also low enough to satisfy the keto fans. Of course, I made a minor change or two, such as the extra seasoning and adding a garnish of avocado, but those are optional.

St. Patrick’s Day Brunch Asparagus and Eggs

4 Eggs
1 Leek, sliced
1/2 bunch Asparagus. sliced
4 slices Corned Beef, quartered
1/2 teaspoon Garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Olive Oil
1/2 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Tomato, Garlic and Basil seasoning (optional)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 Avocado for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F.).

Slice the vegetables and cut the corned beef slices into quarters. (If your corned beef is a small cut, then just cut in half.)

Heat a teaspoon of oil in a skillet that can go to the oven.

Add the garlic and leek to the skillet and stir cook for two minutes. Then add the asparagus and all of the corned beef pieces except 4. Cook and stir for about 6 minutes until the asparagus is almost tender.

Put the four pieces of corned beef on top, one in each section of the pan. (I used a square pan, so each corner had a piece of corned beef in it.) Press down on the corned beef piece to make a small well, then crack an egg into the corned beef. Repeat with the other three sections. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Photo: Asparagus with eggs in the pan

Bake for 5 to 6 minutes until the egg white is fully set. If you like your yolk non-runny, cook about 7 to 8 minutes.

If you wish, sprinkle a little cheese over the top before servings. Makes two servings or four servings if you’re not super hungry or want even lower carbs.

TIPS: This may be made with bacon in place of the corned beef. Use four or more slices. You can also use Canadian bacon, ham, or turkey slices.

Based on a recipe at PaleoLeap.com.