Category Archives: Pork

Italian Inspired Recipes, Pork, Poultry, Recipes

Delicious Italian Chicken Dish

Have a craving for Italian food? This is an easy dish to make and it tastes wonderful. You can serve it over zoodles or cauliflower rice to keep the carbs low.

Italian Style Chicken and Sausage

1/2 cup Onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced Garlic
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 15-oz. can Italian-style Tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup Green Bell Pepper, sliced
1/2 cup Mushrooms, chopped
2 cups Chicken, cooked and chopped
6 oz. Italian pork sausage
1/2 teaspoon Basil
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
1 package Green Giant frozen zucchini spirals
Grated Parmesan Cheese to taste

In a large skillet, heat the oil, reduce heat to medium, then add the onions and garlic. Sauté until fragrant, then add bell pepper and cook for two minutes longer.

Separate sausage into marble-sized meat balls and add to the pan. Cook until lightly browned. Add tomatoes and seasonings and stir to mix well. Then stir in the chopped chicken and mushrooms. Simmer uncovered until the liquid is reduced, about 20 minutes.

Cook the zucchini spirals as directed on the package. Drain the excess water off in a colander and pat dry with a paper towel.

Put 1/2 of the zucchini in a bowl, add a little butter if you wish, then top with 1 cup of the chicken and sausage mixture. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top and serve.

Carb count doesn’t include the zoodles, so add in the carbs for your zucchini.

Makes 4 servings.

Main Dish, Pork, Poultry, Recipes

Comfort food for cold nights…

photo: ham and cabbage casserole

Here’s a comfort-food recipe to warm cold nights with a delicious and low carb meal. I adapted this and the alternate recipe below for  low carb/Keto meals. The original called for frozen hash browns, which I replaced with grated turnips. You could also use chopped cauliflower as a substitute.

Low carb flour and baking mix will work as a thickener, but it sometimes takes more cooking or a little more flour to get the sauce to thicken. If you don’t have a gluten allergy, you can replace a tablespoon of the low carb flour with gluten flour to get the elasticity needed to thicken the roux. You can also use a tablespoon of corn starch, but that will add a little to the carbs. Coconut flour and other nut flours don’t work since they don’t have gluten.

Ham and Cabbage Casserole

1 cup chopped or cubed Ham
3/4 cup shredded Turnips
2-1/2 tablespoons unsalted Butter, divided
3/4 cup chopped Onions
2-1/2 cups chopped Cabbage
½ cup shredded Carrots
1-1/2 tablespoons Low Carb all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon Salt
¼ teaspoon Mustard
1/2 teaspoon White Pepper
1 cups Cream
1/2 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese
2 slices Bacon Strips, cooked and crumbled

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter or use cooking spray on an 8×8-inch baking dish.

Prepare all vegetables and shredded cheese before starting to cook. It will make the timing so much easier.

Spread chopped ham evenly on the bottom of the baking dish.

Set shredded turnips onto a microwave-safe plate and microwave on high power for 1 minute and 30 seconds. Set aside.

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter, add onions, and cook until they start to turn clear, about 3 minutes. Add chopped cabbage and continue to cook and stir until cabbage starts to wilts, about 4 minutes. Add shredded carrots and microwaved turnips and stir to mix well. Spread the mixture over the ham in the baking dish.

Use a paper towel to wipe out the skillet then melt the remaining 1-1/2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. In a small bowl, combine low-carb flour, salt, and white pepper. Add a little garlic powder if you like. Sprinkle flour and seasonings over the melted butter and stir until the flour and butter make a paste and the mixture is bubbly. Cook for 1 minute while stirring.

Gradually pour in cream and stir to break down any lumps. Stir in mustard. Still stirring, continue to cook, until the mixture thickens. If the mixture is too thick, stir in an additional 2 tablespoons cream. Remove from heat.

Add half of the grated Cheddar cheese and stir until it is melted, then add the remaining half and stir. Pour cheese sauce over the casserole and top with crumbled bacon.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes until the top is bubbly and brown. Let sit a few minutes to set, then serve.

Makes 4 servings.

Alternate recipe. This one is almost identical but doesn’t use a cream roux and cooks in a skillet. I didn’t include the bacon pieces in this one, but you can without adding any carbs.

Skillet Cabbage and Sausage with Cheese

photo: skillet sausage and cabbage

1 lb. Sausage Links, cut into 1/2 inch slices.
3/4 cup shredded Turnips
1 tablespoons unsalted Butter, divided
3/4 cup chopped Onions
2-1/2 cups chopped Cabbage
½ cup shredded Carrots
1 teaspoon Seasoning Salt
1/2 teaspoon White Pepper
1/2 cup grated Sharp Cheddar cheese

Prepare all vegetables and shredded cheese before starting to cook. It will make the timing so much easier.

Set shredded turnips onto a microwave-safe plate and microwave on high power for 1 minute and 30 seconds. Set aside.

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter, add onions, and cook until they start to turn clear, about 3 minutes. Add chopped cabbage and continue to cook and stir until cabbage starts to wilt, about 4 minutes. Add shredded carrots and microwaved turnips and stir to mix well. Add the sausage and reduce the heat to medium low. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring a couple of times. Add shredded cheese and cook another 3 or 4 minutes until the cheese melts.

Serve with a side salad and/or low carb toast or biscuit.

Nutrition - skillet sausage & cabbage

Italian Inspired Recipes, Pork, Poultry, Recipes

Italian Flavors in this Chicken & Sausage Dish

Photo of Chicken & Sausage Italiano dish

I wanted to use up a little pasta sauce I’d opened for a pizza a few nights earlier, so I came up with this variation on Chicken Parmesan. I use the extra Italian sausage in it along with two cheeses. Simple to make and delicious. You can use a premade pasta sauce or your own recipe.

I had a bear of a time getting the nutrition information for this. The website with the calculator I’ve been using shut down and the others I’ve found aren’t as robust. I finally located one that calculated about what I estimated the carbs to be, but it didn’t include the fiber, cholesterol, or potassium counts in it, so I had to hunt those down individually. I believe the final result is accurate, depending on which pasta sauce you use. I used Prego’s plain sauce. If you use a dry red wine in it, the count may be about 1 net carb higher.

Chicken & Sausage Italiano

2 chicken breasts
1/2 pound Italian Sausage
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1/3 cup sliced Mushrooms
1 cup Pasta Sauce
1/4 cup Water or Red Wine
1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese

In a medium skillet over medium-high burner, heat the olive oil. Season the chicken with salt and pepper then add to the skillet. Brown chicken on both sides. Set aside on a plate. Add sausage to the pan and use a spatula to separate the meat. Cook and stir for about three to five minutes until the sausage is browned. Push to one side.

Add mushrooms and cook about two minutes. Add pasta sauce and water or wine and stir sausage and mushrooms until mixed. Return chicken to the pan and spoon sauce over the top. Cover pan and reduce heat to simmer. Cook about 20 minutes until chicken is tender. Sprinkle Parmesan over the chicken and sauce, then cover with mozzarella cheese. Cover the pan again for about 5 minutes to melt the cheese.

Makes two servings.

Image: Nutrition Information

Short Non-Cooking Message:

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Asian Recipes, Beef, Pork, Poultry, Recipes

A Taste of Asia with an Eggroll Filling

Photo: Eggroll in a Bowl

I haven’t been posting much this month. It’s a writing month for me, so I have been working on two books needing their final chapters, plus editing a book for Amazon’s new episodic format called Vella and another book’s final edit. Then it seems like a dozen other things happen that need your attention immediately.   And now the Olympics have started and I’m trying to watch while writing this. Consequently, I haven’t been cooking much this month either. But this recipe is a winner! It comes together quickly and tastes great.

An eggroll filling makes or breaks the eggroll, but often there’s just not enough in the wrapper. But for those who don’t need a wrapper, here’s a great low carb filling that you can eat without the rice or add a serving of cauliflower rice.

Eggroll in a Bowl

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound lean ground turkey, sausage, or beef
1 1/2 cups sweet onion finely diced
1 cup carrots shredded
1 15-oz can Asian Baby Corn, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ginger paste or minced ginger
3 cloves garlic, crushed or 1 tablespoon Minced Garlic
1/4 cup chicken broth
5 cups shredded cabbage
2 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon pepper to taste
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Toasted sesame seeds, optional
Green onions, optional

First, begin by cooking your meat. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet.

Cook the turkey or beef until nearly cooked through (about 5-6 minutes).

Push the meat to one side of the pan and add the onions and another tablespoon of olive oil. Cook for 3-4 minutes.

Then, add the carrots, garlic, and ginger. Saute for 2 minutes and stir the veggies and meat together.

Then, add the chicken broth to the pan and scrape the bottom of the pan.

Add in the cabbage, soy sauce, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Combine and cover, reducing the heat to medium-low. Cook for 12-15 minutes, or until the cabbage is cooked to your desired tenderness.

Add the toasted sesame oil, sesame seeds, and green onions before serving. Makes 4 servings.

Tip: I wrapped about a cup of this mixture into a warmed low-carb spinach tortilla and it makes a great fusion wrap.

Condiments and Sauces, Main Dish, Mexican/Spanish Recipes, Pork, Recipes

Cinco de Mayo Tastes Great with Chipotle Chorizo Skillet Dish

photo: chipotle chorizo skillet

Are you ready to celebrate Cinco de Mayo? The 5th of May is a time to celebrate Mexico and the culture of these passionate people. I grew up on the border in El Paso, Texas, so I was inundated with the flavors of Mexican food early.

While at the grocery store, I picked up a jar of Chipotle Salsa Crema. Chipotles were not such a frequently mentioned word when I was growing up, but lately it and chorizo have become the new flavors of this century. Anyway, I went to the Herdez company’s recipes to see what sounded good with the salsa and found this combination sounded wonderful.

I’ve adapted it to work with a low carb lifestyle and managed to keep it below 10 net carbs. This does involve slightly smaller portions, so if you have carbs to spare, go ahead and make your portions a little larger. Otherwise, use a low carb side dish to help fill out the meal. You can use cauliflower rice, a salad, or asparagus for this purpose.

I made my dish with the Great Low Carb Bread Company’s rotini pasta, which is 7 net carbs per serving. Four servings are in an 8 ounce package, so I am using only two servings for this dish. I plan to make it again for this month’s celebration using 2 cups of spaghetti squash as a substitute. I believe the squash will be a great replacement and I’ll update this post after I try it. It saves about 1 1/2 carbs per serving to use spaghetti squash, and it is a good substitute if you can’t find low carb pasta.

Be sure to use the right chorizo. You want the sausage-style Mexican chorizo, not the one in a tube with a chile sauce with it that works great with scrambled eggs, and not the Spanish hard chorizo. Sometimes you can find the sausage in a bulk package but you can also use a tubed sausage. such as Don Juan brand. You want a ground meat you can break down in the skillet.

This is the first time I have tried toasting the pasta before cooking it. I wasn’t sure how well it would cook once it was toasted, but it works fine. It does take the pasta a little longer to cook. If you make this with spaghetti squash, skip the toasting step.  Instead, you will cook the spaghetti squash in the oven or microwave and use a fork to separate the strands, then just stir it in after you add the chorizo back to the pan.

I reduced the amount of Cotijo cheese used in the original recipe as I found the dish to be very salty and it seemed a lot of it came from the Cotijo. The sauce is also salty. If you can’t find Herdez Chipotle Salsa Cremosa, you can substitute any other brand you might find, or you can make your own from the recipe below the main dish.

If you’re looking for other Mexican food recipes, just type Mexican in the search on the top left. You’ll find many options. You’ll also find 16 other recipes in my booklet, Mexican Food for a Low Carb Lifestyle.

Chiptole Chorizo Skillet with Pasta

1 Tablespoons Olive oil
4 ounces Ziti, Rigatoni, Rotini, or medium Shells Low Carb Pasta, uncooked
1⁄2 cup White Onion, diced
1 1/2 teaspoons of Garlic, minced
1 Red Bell Pepper, diced
Salt to taste
dash Black Pepper
1 /2 (16-ounce) jar Herdez® Chipotle Salsa Cremosa (433.7 grams)
2 cups Chicken Broth
8 ounces Mexican Chorizo, cooked
1/2 cup Mexican Crema
4 ounces Oaxaca or Chihuahua Cheese, crumbled or Mozzarella Cheese
2 ounces Cotija Cheese, finely crumbled
2 tablespoons Cilantro or Parsley, finely chopped (optional)

In a large skillet, break up the chorizo into pieces and cook until almost done. Use the spatula to continue to break the pieces down while you’re cooking. Set aside. If you are using the same skillet for the next step, then wipe it out with a paper towel.

In a large, deep oven-safe skillet (such as cast iron or copper), add oil and heat to medium.  Add uncooked pasta. Toast and fry the pasta, stirring often, for about 6 minutes.

Add onions, garlic, bell pepper, and black pepper to the toasted pasta and sauté for 3 or 4 minutes until the onions are softened.

Stir in the chipotle salsa cremosa and chicken broth.  Cover, reduce heat slightly, and continue cooking for 15-25minues or until pasta or spaghetti squash, if you are using it, is cooked through and most of the liquid is absorbed or reduced.

Turn the oven to the broiler setting.  Mix in the chorizo, Mexican crema and Oaxaca cheese. Reserve other cheese for garnish. Cook on low just until cheese melts.

Place skillet under the broiler on high. Broil until Cheese starts to bubble and brown lightly. Remove from oven. If your deep skillet doesn’t fit under the broiler, put it in the oven on 500 degrees (F) and cook for about 5 minutes.

Garnish with Cotija cheese and cilantro. Makes 6 servings.

To make Chipotle Salsa Crema if you can’t find it bottled, use this recipe from Laylita.

Chipotle Salsa Cremosa Recipe

1 cup Mexican Crema or Crème Fraiche
1-2 small Chipotles in Adobo, seeds removed
1 clove of Garlic
Juice of 1 Lime
Salt to taste

Place all the ingredients in a blender or mini-blender, like a Bullet or drink mixer. Pulse until the sauce is smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust the spice level.

Use immediately or refrigerate until ready to use. The sauce will be thin, refrigerate to thicken it.

TIP: I found the flavors melded together more and the sauce was thicker after it had a chance to sit overnight. So, this is perfect to make the day before you want to serve it, then just reheat.

Nutrition Information_Chipotle Chrorizo