Category Archives: Pork

Breads, Breakfast & Brunch, Pork, Recipes, Sandwiches

A Substitute for a McGriddles Pancake

Photo: McGriddles-style Pancake Sandwich

I found this recipe on Tova Foods website. They are the makers of Carbquik, but the recipe was submitted by a user who compared it to McDonald’s McGriddles pancake sandwiches. I’ve never eaten one from Mickey D’s, so I can’t say how close it is to theirs. However, I will say it tastes delicious and works well to hold the sandwich together.

In fact, you can use the pancakes with any combination you’d like for a sandwich. Not too sure about tuna, though it might work fine.
If you don’t like flax meal, you can make it with another low carb flour or all Carbquik. However, the carbs will go up to another .5 to 1 carb, depending on what flour you use.

McGriddles-Style Pancakes

1/4 cup Carbquik or other Low Carb Flour
1/4 cup Golden flax meal
1 teaspoon Sugar Substitute
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract or Sugar-free Maple Syrup
1 Egg
3 tablespoons Butter, melted
2 tablespoons Cream plus 2 tablespoons Water

Filling:
3 Eggs
3 slices Ham or Sausage Patty or 6 slices Bacon
3 slices Cheese of choice

In a medium bowl, mix the ingredients together. The batter should be easy to scoop and spread in a skillet like most pancake batter.

Heat the skillet over medium-high heat and spray with cooking spray. Put about two tablespoons of batter in it and spread to make a 4″ circle. If there’s room for a second pancake, make another about the same size. Repeat until you’ve used all the batter.

Use two pancakes to make your sandwich. Cook the meat in the same skillet with a little butter. Place the meat on one pancake. Cook the egg to your preference (I like to break the yolk and mix it into the white.) Place on top of the meat. Repeat for other two sandwiches.

Makes 3 sandwiches. If you only want one, you can store the extra pancakes in the refrigerator for a few days or freeze them to use later.

Nutrition Info for Pancakes and Sandwiches

Beef, Mexican/Spanish Recipes, Pork, Recipes, Soups and Stews

Hot Chile for Cold Days

Photo: Rene's Beef and Chorizo Chile

With a snowstorm arriving in Reno last weekend, my thoughts turned to warm comfort food. Weather like this calls for at least stew, soup, or chile. I went with the latter. Usually, I make my Tex-Mex chile, the variety that uses all meat chunks and carries a ton of heat. But I decided to try something a little different, so here’s my take on a meat and bean chile done low carb.

First, I added medium-hot chorizo in for a zap of spice and a different flavor, then mixed in ground beef. I chose black beans because they are a bit lower in carbohydrates than either pinto or red beans. The result is fabulous, tasty, and warming. Like many stews, soups, and curries, the longer the pot sits, the more flavorful it becomes. So if you want to make it a day ahead, you can cover it and put it in the ‘fridge for a day or so. Nonetheless, it is delicious on the first day.

Rene’s Beef and Chorizo Chile

1 Onion, diced
1 teaspoon Vegetable Oil
1 tablespoon Garlic, minced
2 pounds Ground Beef
1 pound Chorizo Sausage
1 can diced Green Peppers
1 packet Taco Seasoning or 2 tablespoons Spicy Seasoning
1 15-oz can Stewed Tomatoes, chopped
1 15-oz can Tomatoes with Chiles
1 can Black Beans, with juice
1 cup Pumpkin puree

In a 10 to 12 cup heavy pot, heat a teaspoon oil and add onions and garlic. Stir and cook for about five minutes until the onions are sweating. Add ground beef and chorizo, breaking it up as you stir it around. Cook until the meat is lightly browned.

Add green peppers, seasoning, and both cans of tomatoes. Add about a half-cup to each tomato can and swish them around to get the rest of the juice in the can, then add to the chile pot. Stir it together, then reduce the heat to a simmer and let cook for an hour.

Taste the sauce to check the seasoning and adjust it if you want it spicier. Add the black beans and pumpkin puree. Stir well and cook for another 30 to 40 minutes until the chile thickens.

Serve in bowls with cheddar jack or Mexican cheese and sour cream if you wish.

Makes 8 to 10 servings, about 1 cup each.

Tip: You can make an excellent chile cheese omelet with this chile. Just add 1 cup of warmed chile in the middle of the partially cooked omelet and top with cheese. Fold the omelet over or cook the top in a broiler until the cheese is melted.

Beef, Italian Inspired Recipes, Main Dish, Pork, Recipes

Perfect Time for Meatloaf

Photo: Italian-style meatloaf

Fall is here and the temperatures are beginning to drop a bit, so it’s time for another comfort food recipe. There’s nothing quite like meatloaf for a cozy and simple meal.

A few weeks ago, this delicious-sounding recipe made the rounds on Facebook. I decided I had to try it and, of course, make it low carb. With only a few changes to amounts and one real substitution, this meatloaf is delicious and lower in carbohydrates than the original. For the bread crumbs, I used one of my low carb sandwich rolls, but you can make a basic magic muffin, lightly toast it, then put it through a food processor to reduce it to crumbs. For the pasta sauce, I used Classico Vodka Sauce, which is about 8 carbs per half cup.

For a quick to make dinner with lots of Italian flavor, this meatloaf is perfect. It makes enough servings to leave a little extra for meatloaf sandwiches if you’d like.

Photo: Full shot of meatloaf

Italian-Style Meatloaf

1 pound Ground Beef
1/2 pound ground Mild Italian Sausage
1/2 cup Onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped Bell Pepper
1 teaspoon Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Garlic, minced
1-1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1 Egg, beaten
3/4 Low Carb Bread Crumbs
1 T. Cream or Half and Half
1 cup shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
3/4 cup Pasta Sauce

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F.)

Heat a small skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil and let it get hot. Add the onion and chopped peppers and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat.

In a medium mixing bowl, add the ground beef and sausage along with the onions, peppers, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, egg, bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, and cream. Mix together with your clean hands or a wooden spoon. Add 1/2 cup pasta sauce, Parmesan Cheese, and 1/2 cup of the mozzarella. Mix well.

Put the mixed meatloaf into a loaf pan or a deep baking pan about 9″x6″ and form into an even loaf. I used my Copper Chef Loaf Pan with an inset that allows for the excess grease to drain below the bottom, so I can get a nice crust and less oils on the bottom. But it isn’t necessary.

Spoon 1/4 cup of the pasta sauce on the top and spread it around. Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes. Pull it out and top with the remaining mozzarella cheese. Put it back in the oven and cook for another 10 minutes to melt the cheese.

Baking time may vary depending on how thick your loaf is. If you have a larger round but shorter than 3″ loaf, it may take less time, so check on it after about 25 minutes. If you have a meat thermometer, it is done at 160 degrees.

Makes 6 servings.

 

Pork, Recipes

A Touch of Spice in Honey Sriracha Pork Chops

Photo: Honey Sriracha Pork Chops

When I wanted to spice up a pair of pork chops for dinner, I borrowed a recipe for Honey Garlic Chicken and added in Sriracha Sauce to the mix. This turned out wonderfully. The sugar-free honey gives it just enough sweetness while the sriracha adds the zing to it. It’s easy to do and can be done in one stove-to-oven pan. I have a set of copper skillets that can all go into the oven and broiler, but a cast-iron or any other skillet rated for the oven will work as well.

The same recipe works with chicken if you’d rather have bird for dinner. You can use chicken thighs or breasts, but allow a little more cooking time for thicker breasts or cut them horizontally and lay flat if they are too thick. You can easily double the sauce to make more than two pieces.

Honey Sriracha Pork Chops

1 tablespoons Butter
1/2 tablespoon Garlic Powder
1 tablespoon Sriracha Sauce
1 pinch Salt
Ground Black Pepper to taste
3 tablespoons Sugar-free Honey
2 Pork Chops, 4-6 ounces each

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
In an oven-usable skillet, such as copper or cast iron, melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Cook for 1 minute. Stir in honey and Sriracha sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Measure out half the sauce into a small bowl or cup and set aside.

Dip pork chops into the sauce, coating on both sides. Leave chops in the pan and use a pastry brush to coat any extra sauce on top of the chops.

Bake for about 30 minutes. Pork chops should be about 145 degrees on a food thermometer inserted to the middle of the chop. Remove pan from oven, turn the pork chops over with a fork to coat the top. Next, pour the reserved sauce over each chop and put under the broiler for 5 minutes to brown the edges.

Makes 2 servings.

Image: Nutrition

Breakfast & Brunch, Main Dish, Pork, Recipes

Not quite Irish, but close… Welsh Cheddar Egg Melt

Photo: Welsh Cheddar Egg Melt

Well, I’m a little late for St. Patrick’s Day, and I’m presenting a dish that uses Welsh cheese rather than Irish, although Irish White Cheddar is also excellent in it. I actually made a dish last night that I thought would be good, but I wasn’t happy with result. I’m going to work the recipe a little more to make it much better. That will come along when I perfect it. Besides, St. Patrick was originally kidnapped from Wales and taken to to Ireland as a slave, so it sort of fits, doesn’t it?

This makes a tasty breakfast or brunch meal. Add a little fresh fruit or broiled asparagus for a more filling meal.

Welsh Cheddar Egg Melt

4 strips thick-cut bacon or 2 slices Irish Style Bacon
1 slices low carb Focaccia Bread, cut through the middle
1/2 ripe Avocado, mashed
2 slices tomato
1/2 cup shredded Welsh (or Irish) White Cheddar Cheese
2 Eggs
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large skillet, cook the bacon until it is crisp. Drain on paper towels. Lightly toast the bread in the oven or toaster oven. Put bacon on top of bread, then layer a tomato slice and spread avocado over the it. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top.

Prepare eggs while the broiler heats. Use either fried, poached, or scrambled eggs to your preference. Salt and pepper to taste. Keep eggs warm.

Place sandwiches on the foil-covered broiler pan or in a pie tin and broil for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes until the cheese is melted. Top each sandwich with an egg and serve.

Serves two.

This focaccia bread recipe is 1.8 g of net carbs per slice. So, combined with this recipe, it’s only 4.7 net carbs if you use the whole slice or 3.8 g if you cut it in half.

Photo: Nutrition info