Category Archives: Main Dish

Main Dish, Pork, Recipes

Fat Tuesday Made Easy and Low Carb

Today, March 4 of 2014 is Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday and marks the feast day that starts Lent. Traditionally, it is a day of feasting before the fast, but in New Orleans, Louisiana, it’s time to party while you feast. Around our house, we don’t wait for this time of year to dine on Cajun-style food.

I had a recipe that I got from our local grocery store for a Cajun Style Ham casserole dish. With a few tweaks, it easily became a low carb version of the recipe. Give it a try if you want to bring some spicy, Cajun style flavor into your dinner.

Cajun Ham and Greens Skillet

This recipe from Raleys grocery store originally called for black eyed peas, which are not very low in carbohydrates. I substituted in kohlrabi, plus added different greens and fresh asparagus to the recipe and used canned tomatoes in place of fresh. You could also use turnips or celery root in place of the kohlrabi.

1 1/2 cups Ham or Turkey Ham, diced
1 tablespoon Olive Oil,
3/4 cup Celery, chopped
1/3 cup Onions, chopped
1/2 cup Leeks
1/4 cup Sweet Peppers chopped
1/2 cup Stewed Tomatoes
1/2 cup cup Kohlrabi, cubed & parboiled for 5 minutes to pre-cook
2 to 3 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1 cup Turnip Greens, Collard Greens or Spinach, chopped
3/4 cup Cabbage, fresh, chopped (optional)
1 cup Asparagus, cut into pieces

Heat oil in a large, deep skillet and add onions, leeks and celery and saute until tender. Stir in the sweet peppers, kohlrabi and tomatoes. Add the Cajun seasoning and stir well. Stir in the ham, then reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for about 30 minutes. Stir every 10 minutes to make sure it isn’t burning and that there is still enough liquid. If not add about 1/4 cup of water or chicken broth to the pan. Check the kohlrabi to see if it is fork tender. If so, then add the asparagus and cabbage and cook another 5 minutes, then add the greens and cook and stir until they are wilted.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Nutrition Info: 6 servings
Calories: 112.8 Fat: 6.1 g Net Carbs: 5.8 g Protein: 7.4 g
4 servings
Calories: 169 Fat: 9.1 g Net Carbs: 8.6 g Protein: 11.2 g

Posted on 3/4/2014

 

Beef, Main Dish, Recipes

Salisbury Steak is a Simple and Delicious Dinner

When I’m craving the taste of delicious beef that’s more than a simple hamburger, I turn to a Salisbury steak. If you make it from ground sirloin or one of the other fine grinds of meat, the flavor is just fabulous. I make this with or without mushrooms. Last night happened to be without, since I didn’t have any mushrooms in the house. Although, I actually did have some and didn’t think about them because I had dried mushrooms, which can be re-hydrated and used. So, if you have dried fruits and veggies, it’s a good idea to keep a list of what you have and remember to check it!

This simple to fix recipe can be made with or without the onions and mushrooms. The carb count varies just a little for the addition of onions and mushrooms and I’ve included the nutrition information for each way you can fix it.

A delicious and easy pan fried hamburger dinner with all the flavor of a yummy steak. If you make it from ground round or ground chuck, you have a wonderful beef taste, Use the best quality ground beef that you can. Add the taste of onions and, if you like, mushrooms, and you have a feast for the palate.

Serve with a green salad or a nice green vegetable mix, like Basic Greens and Bacon or the tasty Cabbage and Spinach mix shown in the picture and Roasted Turnips and Kohlrabi.

Salisbury Steak with Onions and Mushrooms

A delicious and easy pan fried hamburger dinner with all the flavor of a yummy steak. If you make it from ground round or ground chuck, you have a wonderful beef taste, Use the best quality ground beef that you can. Add the taste of onions and, if you like, mushrooms, and you have a feast for the palate.

1 pound lean ground beef or ground steak
4 tablespoons low carb cracker crumbs
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon garlic-herb seasoning with salt and pepper
1 tablespoon Carbquick or other low carb flour
1 1/2 tablespoons Better than Bullion Beef or 2 cups beef broth
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
1 onion, sliced into strings
1 cup of mushrooms, sliced (optional)
2 tablespoons butter

In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, cracker crumbs, egg, and garlic-herb seasoning. Shape into four round or oval patties.

If using bullion paste, mix it with 2 cups of hot water and stir to make a broth. Add the Worcester sauce, mustard powder and flour, then stir to mix well. Make sure there are no lumps of flour in the mix.

In a large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat, then sauté the onions and mushrooms until they are just tender. Remove to a plate. * Add the rest of the butter to the skillet, then cook the patties, browning each side. Pour off any excess fat.

Pour bullion mix over the meat patties, stirring a little to make sure it is blended. Cover and let cook about 10 minutes. Add the onions and continue to cook for another 10 minutes or until the sauce is thickened to a gravy consistency.

Makes four servings.

Nutrition Info per serving (with onions and mushrooms):
Calories: 323.8 Fat: 20.4 g Net Carbs: 4.2 g Protein: 27.6 g

Nutrition Info per serving (with onions only):
Calories: 320 Fat: 20.4 g Net Carbs: 3.8 g Protein: 27.1 g

Nutrition Info per serving (with mushrooms only):
Calories: 313.3 Fat:20.4 g Net Carbs: 2.3 g Protein: 27.3 g

Nutrition Info per serving (no onions or mushrooms):
Calories: 284 Fat: 17.4 g Net Carbs: 2 g Protein: 26.7 g

*To make without onions or mushrooms, reduce the butter to 1 tablespoon and skip the brown onions and/or mushrooms step.

Posted on 02/20/2014

 

Breads, Italian Inspired Recipes, Main Dish, Poultry, Recipes, Vegetables & Salads

Easy Ways to Warm the Heart

From me to you with love, here’s a few recipes to warm your heart or that of your special someone. I’m going to start with a delicious and quick to fix dinner of Parmesan Chicken. This is so good that it should really make a hit with your honey bun or the whole family. Pair it up with the wonderful taste of roasted celery root or kohlrabi.

This is based on a recipe from a mayonnaise company and it takes only a little adjustment or two to make it low carb. One of those adjustments is to make your bread crumbs from a low carb bread. If you don’t have a bread made up, a quick way to do it is to make a cracker bread. You only need a little, so here’s how you can do it.


Quick Almond Flax Cracker Crumbs

2 tablespoons Almond Meal
1 tablespoon ground Flax Meal
pinch Salt
1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1 tablespoon Olive Oil or Coconut Oil
1 tablespoon Water

Mix together almond flour and flax meal. Add salt, oil and water. Mix well. You want a spreadable paste. Spray a pie tin or cookie sheet with baking spray. Spread the dough over the pan to about 1/4 inch thickness and about 3″ x 3″ square. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes until lightly browned. Let it cool. Crumble the crackers to make crumbs. Makes about 1/4 cup of crumbs.

Batter is shaped into a square, then baked until brown around the edges.

 

Nutrition Info for whole recipe

Calories: 216.8 Fat: 21.6 g Net Carbs: 1.5 g Protein: 3.8 g

One tablespoon is about 0.4 g

 

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

1/2 cup Mayonnaise
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, fresh
4 boneless, skinless Chicken Breast halves or 4 large Chicken Thighs*
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon Salt
4 teaspoons seasoned Low Carb Bread or Cracker Crumbs

Preheat oven to 425° (F)

Combine mayonnaise with cheese in a small bowl. Wash off chicken and dry with paper towels. Place in a baking pan and sprinkle with Italian seasonings and salt. Spread the mayonnaise mixture evenly over each piece of chicken, then sprinkle with bread crumbs.

Bake until chicken is thoroughly cooked, about 20 minutes to 25 minutes. The thighs may take a little longer to cook. Check at 20 minutes and cover the pan with foil if the tops are getting too brown and the chicken isn’t quite done.

Remove from oven and let the chicken rest a few minutes before serving.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Info:
Calories: 195 Fat: 14.2 Net Carbs: 0.7 g Protein: 15.7 g

* If you can’t find large thighs, plan for two thighs per serving.

Quick Roasted Celery Root

Honestly, I love the taste and texture of celery root, also called celeriac. It’s a strange-looking root, but the flavor is wonderful. With just a hint of celery flavor, it’s like adding celery salt to your vegetable. While it isn’t exactly a potato flavor, it comes closer to both the taste and texture of potato than anything else I’ve found, which makes it really satisfying with this type of meal.

1/2 Celery Root, cleaned, peeled and cut into large cubes
2 tablespoons Olive oil
1/2 teaspoon Seasoning salt
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning blend

Preheat oven to 425 degrees(F).

Bring a medium-sized pot half-filled with water to a boil. Put the cleaned and cut up celery root in the boiling water and boil for about 10 minutes. Check that the pieces are fork tender. Drain and dry the cubes.

In a tin pan or cake pan, put the olive oil and seasonings and mix together with a spoon. Add the celery root cubes and make sure they are coated with oil and seasonings. You could also put the oil and seasonings in a plastic baggie, then add the celery root to the baggies and roll them around with your fingers to coat. Then pour the vegetable and oil into the pan and spread around.

Put in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, then turn each piece over and cook for another 10 minutes. Pieces should be lightly browned on each side.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Info:
Calories: 93.3 Fat: 7.3 g Net Carbs: 6 g Protein: 1.2 g

Coming Soon…

Look for some fast and yummy chocolate candy recipes tomorrow. I have three of them lined up that are taste-tested in my house.

Posted on 2/11/2014

Main Dish, Pork, Recipes

Bonus Chowder Serves Up 2 Ways

I call this a chowder even though most chowders have either corn or seafood in them and this has neither. But it does have a lot f good stuff in it and a nice creamy, cheese sauce that is wonderful. It’s very warming on a cold night and the leftovers can be made into a pot pie for a nice bonus! The Irish white cheddar cheese is a star player in this so try to get some. If you can’t, look for a sharp cheddar.

Ham, Cauliflower, Broccoli & Cheese Chowder

2 cups Broccoli, fresh,, chopped
3 cups Cauliflower, raw
3 cups Ham, diced
1/2 cup Onions, chopped
1 tablespoon Garlic, chopped or minced
1 tablespoon Mrs. Dash (R) Garlic & Herb Seasoning Blend
1/2 teaspoon White Pepper
1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
2 tablespoons Butter
8 oz. Irish White Cheddar Cheese
1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese (whole milk)
1/2 cup chopped Sweet Peppers
1 tablespoon Chicken Better than Bouillon
1 cup hot Water
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).  Fill a large pot half way with water and bring to a boil. Put chopped broccoli and cauliflower into the water and boil for two minutes. Drain.

In a large pot, melt butter and add onions and garlic. Sauté until tender, just a few minutes. Mix bouillon into one cup of water and add along with the whipping cream, ricotta cheese and seasonings and cayenne pepper and mix together. Cut cheese into chunks and stir into cream mixture. Stir in broccoli, cauliflower, ham and peppers until well mixed.

Pour into baking dish and bake for 40 to 50 minutes until chowder is bubbling and vegetables are tender.

Serve in bowls. Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition Info:
Calories: 355 Fat: 27.6 g Net Carbs: 4.8 g Protein: 20.8 g

Ham, Cauliflower and Broccoli Pot Pie

Have leftovers? With just two of us eating this, we had quite a bit left over and I decided that it would make a great filling for a pot pie, so I made two pot pies and still had enough left to make a pie in a tin for four more servings.


Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F.)

To make the pot pie, spray two single serving pie tins- you can buy aluminum foil individual ones at grocery stores, Wal-Mart and dollar stores, or use 1 cup ramekins – with cooking spray and put 3/4 of a cup of the chowder into each tin.

Mix the topping:
1/3 cup Carbquick baking mix or other low carb baking mix or almond flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasonings
Pinch salt

Spoon half the topping on each of the filled pies, spreading it evenly. It will be fairly thin. Bake 25 to 35 minutes until the crust is golden brown.

Makes 2 servings.

Nutrition Info:
Calories: 488 Fat: 38.5 g Net Carbs: 6.7 g Protein: 26.3 g

Posted on 2/7/2014

Beef, Italian Inspired Recipes, Main Dish, Recipes

Delicious Spaghetti Loaf

My grandmother served this often on Sundays and it was a favorite. Use spaghetti squash to keep the carbs low.  Or if you want the true taste of pasta, use a combination of 1 cup spaghetti and 2 cups spaghetti squash, which will raise the net carbs per serving to about 11.5 g.   For comparison, if you make this recipe with just 2 cups spaghetti pasta, the net carbs will be about 14.4 g.  Using just spaghetti squash comes in at 7.1 g.

I made this using Dreamfield’s pasta, but as of 04-14, it has been proven that this pasta is not low-carb nor is it ok for diabetics to use. My photo still shows pasta, but when making this use spaghetti squash instead to stay low carb.

Grandmother’s Spaghetti Loaf

2 lbs. Ground Beef
2 cups Canned Tomatoes, diced
1 cup Onions, diced or chopped
1 tablespoon Italian Seasonings
1 teaspoon ground oregano
2 large Eggs
1/2 cup Sweet peppers, chopped
3 cups cooked spaghetti squash
1 tablespoon Garlic, minced
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated

Cook the spaghetti squash* until done (al dente). Put in a large bowl. Turn on the oven to preheat to 350 degrees (F.)

Add the rest of the ingredients. Wash your hands and mix with your hands until the ingredients are mixed well together. Pour into a baking dish and form into a loaf. Sprinkle the top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Bake for about 40 to 50 minutes until the meat is done and the top is browned and slightly crispy.

Makes 8 servings

Nutrition Info:
With spaghetti squash: 1/8th of recipe
Calories: 240.4 Fat: 4.1 g Net Carbs: 7.1 g Protein: 28.1 g

For comparison, if you make this recipe with 2 cups spaghetti pasta, the net carbs will be about 14.4 g.

Tip:  You can cook the spaghetti squash in the oven by cutting it in half, putting both sides face up on a cookie sheet and putting it in a 385 degree (F) oven and roasting it for about 40 minutes. Or, you can poke slits in the squash with a knife, wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the mircowave for about 5 minutes on high. The squash is done when the outside skin is soft. Let cool, them cut it open and remove the seeds from the strands of squash, then pull the strands out and separate them.

Posted on  2/5/2014