Category Archives: Recipes

Poultry, Recipes

Quick to Make Malibu Chicken

Photo: Malibu Chicken
Better than a restaurant’s version!

I recently ordered Malibu Chicken at a restaurant that was noted for it. To be frank, it disappointed me. The skinny chicken piece tasted bland and dry, even the breading brought little flavor to the meal. I figured it wasn’t that hard to make and I could substitute a low carb breading pretty easily.

I found this recipe at Low Carb Maven’s website and made a couple of changes to it. She used crushed pork rinds for the breading, which is okay, but my experience with them in the past was that they came out soggy. I substituted with an almond flour topping. It also tends to get a little too moist from the chicken, but I think it tastes better than the pork rinds. You can use whichever works best for you or eliminate the breading altogether. It makes a delicious chicken dish without it.

I buy large chicken breasts, usually about a half pound each, so one breast easily makes two servings. If you use smaller breasts, figure on one breast per person. I also use a thicker slice of ham on it than the original recipe stated. I like to taste my ham. I didn’t have Swiss cheese, so I substituted slices of Edam cheese. I think any similar cheese will work in the flavor profile.

Malibu Chicken

2 chicken breasts (6-8 ounces each)
salt and pepper
4 pieces deli ham (1/4-inch slices)
4 slices of Swiss cheese

Malibu Dipping Sauce
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1-1/2 tablespoons yellow mustard (or Dijon or a combo)
1/2 tablespoon sugar substitute or Sugar-Free Honey

Crumb Topping
1/2 cup Almond Flour or finely chopped almonds
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoons Granulated Garlic
1/2 teaspoon Onion Flakes
pinch salt
pinch Black Pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C) degrees and place rack in the middle of the oven.

Pat the chicken breasts dry with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper. Cut the breasts in half so you have four about equal-sized pieces.

In a bowl, mix almond flour, parmesan, garlic, onion flakes, and salt and pepper. Sprinkle 1/2 of the crumb mixture in the baking dish about where each breast will be placed.

In a small bowl, add the mayonnaise, mustard, and sweetener and stir until blended. Reserve about 1/2 of the sauce for dipping.

Use a pastry brush to spread the sauce over each chicken breast on one side. Place the coated side of the chicken on top of the crumbs. Now, brush the top of the chicken with the mayonnaise sauce. Sprinkle the rest of the crumb mixture over the top of the chicken breasts.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Poke the chicken with a fork to make sure any juices are clear or test with an instant-read thermometer to see it reads 165 degrees F (75 C.) Remove the chicken from the oven and add a slice of ham and cheese on top of each piece. Return to the oven for about 5 minutes until the cheese has melted.

Makes 4 servings.

Main Dish, Mexican/Spanish Recipes, Poultry, Recipes

Delicious Enchiladas with Zucchini and Chicken

I grew up with Mexican food in El Paso, Texas, so it’s one of my favorite things to eat. Often, I find my homemade is more like the food I ate as a child and certainly, it’s like the meals my mother and grandmother made at home. Unless you’re starting completely from scratch with making the chile sauces and tortillas, it’s also easy to put together.

Luckily, several companies have started making low carb flour tortillas and wraps. that make it easier to make great tasting meals like these lovely enchiladas. The sauces have been around for decades and you have a wide selection to chose from made by various companies.

For my mild chicken and zucchini enchiladas, I chose a mild green sauce and instead of green chiles, I used a frozen combination of bell peppers and onions. You can start with fresh if you prefer. Confession here, I used the frozen because I didn’t have fresh in the house. My technique is a little different than many recipes since I prefer to mix part of my sauce with the chicken filling. This recipe also uses a bit Mexican crema to make a creamier filling.

You can make these vegetarian easily by increasing the zucchini and/or adding other vegetables like butternut squash, crookneck squash, cauliflower, or kohlrabi to replace the chicken. Hatch Green Chile Enchilada sauce is vegetarian and vegan, but check other brands to be sure they don’t have a chicken broth in them.

If you’re not crazy about spicy food, you might enjoy these as they are light and tasty without the burn.

Chicken and Zucchini Enchiladas

1 cup Zucchini, sliced and quartered
2 cups cooked Chicken, shredded
1 cup Bell Peppers and Onions mixed (frozen)
1 tablespoon Oil
1 15-oz can Green Enchilada Sauce
1/4 cup Mexican Crema
1 teaspoon or more Garlic Herb Seasoning
1/2 cup crumbled Queso Fresca
1 1/2 cups Cheddar Jack Cheese or 4 Cheese Mexican
8 Low Carb Flour Tortillas (6 inch)

In a large skillet, heat the oil, then add the thawed and drained peppers and onions. Cook for about two minutes, then add the chicken and zucchini. Cook for a few minutes, then add one cup enchilada sauce, crema and garlic herb seasoning. Mix well and cook until bubbly hot. Add in the Queso Fresca.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F.) Spray a 14″x9″ baking pan with cooking spray. If you have an oven proof skillet, you can mix the chicken mixture above it, then transfer it to a large bowl and use the skillet to bake the enchiladas.

To assemble the enchiladas, take one tortilla and fill it with 1/8 of the meat mixture. Sprinkle a little cheddar cheese down the middle and fold one side over the other to make a roll. Place in the pan or skillet. Continue to roll each tortilla in the same way until all eight are filled. If using a skillet, you can get up to six across the middle with one at the top and bottom of the pan. In a baking pan, you should have enough room to put them side-by-side. Spoon additional enchilada sauce over the top of each roll, then sprinkle cheese over the entire top.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the cheese is melted and lightly browned. Serve one enchilada per person along with a salad for a low carb meal. If you’re really hungry, two won’t blow your carb count.

Makes 8 enchiladas.

Seafood, Vegetables & Salads

Changing Web Hosts & a Recipe

Avocado and Tuna Salad

Greetings everyone and Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

I just changed web hosts and finally moved Skinny Girl Bistro to its own domain name instead of bumming off my basic one. So the new place to find Skinny Girl Bistro is www.skinnygirlbistro.online. Could that be easier? I don’t think so. Please change your bookmarks to this new address.

Since the temperature is beginning to climb in various parts of the world, I thought a tasty salad recipe would be welcome about now. This one uses avocado along with apples, onions, celery, nuts and a tuna to make a delicious combination. You can also use chopped or shredded chicken in place of the tuna.

Tuna Salad with Avocado

1 ripe Haas Avocado
2 (5 ounce) cans or packets of flaked Light Tuna
½ medium Red Apple, chopped
½ cup chopped Red Onion
½ cup chopped Celery
¼ cup chopped toasted Walnuts or Pecans (optional)
2 tablespoons Mayonnaise
1 tablespoon sugar-free Sweet Pickle Juice
1 teaspoon dried Dill Weed (optional)
½ teaspoon Dijon Mustard
¼ teaspoon ground Cumin
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cut the avocado in half and use a spoon to scoop out the flesh into a large bowl. Mash the avocado with the back of a fork.

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Adjust the salt and pepper to your own taste. Put in the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour to three hours. The longer it sits, the more the flavors will merge and increase the flavor.

Use a big scoop on top of lettuce for a tuna salad or put it on a low carb sandwich roll.

Makes about 6 servings.

Nutrition Information Avocado Tuna Salad

Asian Recipes, Main Dish, Poultry

Delightful Thai Peanut Chicken with Broccoli

Image: Thai Peanut Chicken with Broccoli

I love cooking with a wok, but you don’t need one to cook Asian food. A heavy metal deep-sided skillet will work fine.  Prepare all your ingredients ahead of time and keep them close. Stir-fry is a quick cooking method using high heat, so you need to add the ingredients quickly.

This yummy recipe uses cayenne pepper and Asian Chili paste to add a spice to the dish. If you don’t like much spice, then you can omit them and still have a tasty, healthy main course. Pair this up with riced cauliflower, either cooked fresh or one of the frozen varieties to keep this a low carb meal.

Thai Peanut Chicken with Broccoli

3 tablespoons Low Sodium Soy Sauce
4 tablespoons Creamy Peanut Butter
2 teaspoons Rice Wine Vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
3 tablespoons Olive Oil
4 skinless, boneless Chicken Breast halves – cut into thin strips
3 tablespoons chopped Garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh Ginger Root
3/4 cup chopped Green Onions
2 /2 cups Broccoli Florets
1 tablespoon Asian Chile Paste
1/2 cup unsalted dry-roasted Peanuts

In a small bowl, add the soy sauce, peanut butter, vinegar, and cayenne pepper and stir to combine. Set aside.

Heat oil in a skillet or wok over high heat. Add chicken, garlic and ginger, and cook, stirring constantly, until chicken is golden on the outside, about 5 minutes.

Reduce to medium heat, then add green onions, broccoli, peanuts, Asian chile, and the peanut butter mixture. Cook and stir for about 5 minutes, or until broccoli is tender, and chicken is cooked through.

Serve over riced cauliflower.

 

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