Category Archives: Recipes

Main Dish, Poultry, Recipes

Chicken Casserole with Biscuits #2

Very similar to chicken pot pie, but easy to put together for dinner. This recipe makes 4 to 6 servings, depending on whether you serve it with a salad or other side dish or not. I used the leftovers from my roast chicken, but you can pre-cook about 2 large chicken breasts or get pre-cooked chicken from the grocery. I substituted potatoes, peas, and carrots for low carb vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, and kohlrabi. Celery is an optional ingredient. If I’d had some in the house, I would have used it. So it’s up to the cook.

I tried the biscuits included with the recipe, which are basic Bisquick biscuits with seasoning, but it either didn’t adapt well to Bakesquick or something was missing from the recipe. My gut feel was that the mix needed butter or shortening in it as my biscuits came out a tough. So, I am including  my tried-and-true low carb biscuits. If you have enough free carbs, you can use a can of biscuits instead (26 grams of carbs in one biscuit!).

Chicken Casserole with Biscuits

3 tablespoons Butter
1-1/2 teaspoons Garlic
1/3 cup Onions, chopped
1/3 cup Low Carb Flour or Thick It Up™
1-1/4 teaspoon Mrs. Dash™ Italian Seasoning Blend
2 cups Chicken Broth
3 cups Chicken, cooked light meat, chopped
1 cup Kohlrabi, cubed
1 cup Broccoli & Cauliflower Blend
1/2 cup Green Beans, cut into pieces
1/2 cup Celery, cleaned and diced
3/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Pepper

For Low Carb Biscuits
1-1/2 cups low carb Baking Mix or other Flour
3 tablespoons Butter or Shortening
1 tablespoon Cold Water + extra if needed
1 teaspoon Garlic powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Use a deep-sided skillet that can go into the oven, such as a copper or cast iron skillet, to save having to transfer the casserole to a baking dish. Otherwise, spray a 6×8-inch (medium) deep-dish casserole with cooking spray.

Melt the butter over medium-high heat in the pan. Add the garlic, celery, and onions and cook for about 2 minutes. Mix in the flour, salt, Italian seasoning, and pepper. Stir the flour in well, then add the broth, stir, and bring to a boil. Continue to stir for 1 minute, then reduce heat. Stir in broccoli and cauliflower blend, kohlrabi, and green beans. Simmer 5 minutes, then add the chicken and mix well.

Prepare the biscuits. In a bowl, mix the baking mix or low carb flour, a little salt, and garlic powder together. If your using a flour, add in 1/2 teaspoon baking powder.

Cut in the butter or shortening or mix it in with your clean hand. Add the water, 1/2 at a time and mix it into the dough until you have a dough that pulls together into a ball easily, but isn’t too sticky. If it needs more water, add a little at a time. Add in seasoning or 1/2 cup shredded cheese if you wish. Separate the dough into six pieces and shape into balls, then press flat to a biscuit size.

If you’re using an oven-worthy skillet, place the biscuits on top in about the center of each serving. If you’re using a casserole dish, transfer the skillet mixture to the baking dish and put the biscuits on top.

Bake for 30 minutes. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 10 more minutes or until the biscuits are browned. Spoon chicken mixture over the biscuits to serve.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Image: Nutrition Information Chicken Casserole with Biscuits

 

Note: To see my original variation on this recipe, click here.  

You might also like my Chicken and Leek Pot Pie.

Main Dish, Poultry, Recipes

Simple but yummy dinner of Garlic Chicken with Parmesan

Photo: Garlic Chicken Parmesan with Turnips

Right now, it’s a difficult time to find any food, let alone low carb food, but we just do the best we can. I’m down to my last turnip that I used for this dish, but I hope to get more next week in my groceries. I was surprised that my store didn’t have any as turnips aren’t nearly as popular as potatoes. So, fingers are crossed. We were lucky enough to get chicken, so that was a big plus. I hope your supermarket foraging is doing okay.

Don’t stress if you can’t manage a low carb meal. Right now, any food is welcome, and the main objective is to stay healthy. We can worry about low carb when we’ve made it through.

If you have chicken, pork, rabbit, or even white fish in the house, this recipe will work well with it. Cream is a plus, but you can also substitute in regular milk or canned milk. Don’t have turnips or don’t like them? Substitute in riced cauliflower or even use regular rice, which is what the original recipe from 12 Tomatoes uses. You can also cut the chicken into cubes if you wish. The recipe called for 1 teaspoon of thyme and 1/2 teaspoon of rosemary, which I didn’t have in the house. So I substituted in Mrs. Dash Italian Seasoning. You can go either way with it.

Garlic Chicken with Parmesan and Riced Turnips

2 large Chicken Breasts, sliced across the middle horizontally
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup Onion, diced
2 cloves Garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
1 cups Chicken Broth
1 cup riced Turnips (about 1 medium)
1/4 cup Heavy Cream
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, freshly grated
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat and melt the butter. Add the onion, stir and cook about 3 minutes. Sprinkle half the seasoning onto the chicken pieces and put them into the pan. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, then turn the pieces and season the other halves. Cook another 3 to 4 minutes, then add garlic and cook a little longer.

Next, add chicken broth and the riced turnips. Stir to mix them into the pan around the chicken. Let the mixture come to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cover.

Let simmer until the turnips are tender. Add salt and pepper and about 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese. Stir together, then remove from the heat. Add cream along with the rest of the Parmesan cheese and stir to combine.

Makes 2 to 4 servings depending on how hungry you are and your side dishes. For us, 1/2 chicken breast is enough, but for others, you may want the whole breast.

Nutrition Info for Garlic Chicken with Parmesan

Poultry, Recipes

Easy to make Teriyaki Chicken Zoodles

Photo: Teriyaki Zacchini Noodles

Here’s a quick-to-do dinner idea for these home-bound times. You can omit the pineapple chunks if you don’t have any or use water-packed ones. If you have fresh zucchini, you can spiralize it or cut it into thin strips. You can also use your grater with a wide setting or a peeler to make long strips. Or you can buy frozen zucchini noodles. Serve this with a side salad for a filling meal.

 Teriyaki Chicken Zoodles

1 pound boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts cut into strips or chunks
2 tablespoons Oil
3 medium Zucchini cut into noodles using a spiralizer or a vegetable peeler (3 cups)
1 cup chopped Pineapple Chunks, fresh (optional)
1 Green Onion, sliced thinly
1 cup Broccoli florets
Salt and Black Pepper to taste
Sesame Seeds (optional)

Sauce
2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 tablespoon Sugar Substitute
1 tablespoons Rice Vinegar
1 teaspoon Garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon grated Ginger
1 teaspoon Corn Starch
2 tablespoons Water plus more as needed to thin out sauce
Salt, Black Pepper, and Red Pepper Flakes to taste, optional

Whisk all the ingredients for the sauce together in a small bowl. Set aside.

In a large bowl, season chicken with salt and pepper. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of sauce over the chicken and let it marinate for 30 minutes.

Heat cooking oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add chicken and cook until lightly brown, about 2 minutes. Add in the pineapple chunks and cook for another 1 minute until slightly softened. Pour in the remainder of the sauce and turn the heat to high. Allow sauce to bubble and thicken while stirring – about 2 minutes. If sauce is too thick, add more water a little at a time.

Add salt, black pepper, and red chili flakes as desired.

Add the zucchini noodles to the pan. Using tongs or two forks, toss the noodles to coat with sauce. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until zucchini is just tender but still firm. Do not overcook.

Remove from heat, then drizzle extra sauce in pan over chicken. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds if desired.

Serves 4.

Nutrition Information

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

Asian Recipes, Recipes, Seafood, Vegetarian

A quick stir fry made easier

Image: Shrimp Pad Thai

Happy Saint David’s Day! I should have included a leek in today’s recipe in honor of the patron saint of Wales. But I didn’t.  I’ll post a Welsh recipe later in the week, then it will be on to the Irish recipes for St. Patrick’s Day.  But for today, I was thinking Asian when I made this for dinner last night.

I like to experiment with the products I find in the produce department. A couple of days ago, I found Taylor Farms Pad Thai Kit. While it is not too high in carbohydrates, it is a little higher when made with the included sauce than I can use in my daily intake. So, I tossed the enclosed pack of sauce and made my own. This was about 6 or 7 carbs lower a serving than using theirs. If you can enjoy around 30 or more net carbs in the day, then this might work well for you.

I turned to making my own Pad Thai sauce with what I had on hand in the house. You can use fish sauce in it if you wish. I found the vegetables were pretty well chopped or sliced, but not as evenly as I’d like and some pieces required cutting. The carrots are thin slices where I would prefer thin rounds or sticks that cook faster, but they worked out okay. I made mine with 2/3 pounds of medium-sized shrimp, about 27 of them. You can also add in tofu or mushrooms as an alternate protein in the dish. This makes it a good candidate for meatless Monday.

If you can’t find the Taylor Farms mix, you can make your own. The vegetable selection for this includes about 1/3 cup each of Brussels sprouts, kale, broccoli, green cabbage, snap peas, bok choy, and carrots. Most are chopped or sliced thinly.

Shrimp Pad Thai with Spaghetti Squash 

6 ounces Shrimp, cleaned
1 package Taylor Farms Pad Thai Kit (vegetables only)
1-1/2 cups Spaghetti Squash (about 1-1/2-pound squash)
1 tablespoon Rice Vinegar
1/4 cup Chicken Broth or Bullion
1 tablespoon Soy Sauce
1 teaspoon Thai Chili Sauce
1/8 teaspoon Ground White Pepper
2 tablespoons Brown Sugar Substitute (Swerve or LC Brown)
1 tablespoon Canola Oil

Cook the spaghetti squash by roasting it or cooking it in the microwave until tender. It’s easier to remove the seeds if you cut the squash in half and use a spoon to scoop them out before cooking it. Use a fork to shred the squash into strings.

Clean shrimp, removing shells and veins. Cool until ready to use.

Prepare the sauce. In a small bowl, add the rice vinegar, chicken broth, soy sauce, chili sauce, brown sugar substitute, and pepper. Stir together to combine completely. Set aside.

Heat a bowl-sided skillet or wok on medium high heat. Add oil and swirl to distribute. Add the shrimp and cook until pink on both sides, about a minute and a half on each side for medium-sized shrimp. Larger shrimp will take a little longer. Remove the shrimp to a platter and cover to keep warm.

Add the vegetables from the Pad Thai kit into the pan and stir them around. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes, continuing to stir frequently. Lower the temperature to medium and add the prepared sauce. Stir it in and cook the vegetables a few more minutes, then add the shrimp back to the pan. Heat for two more minutes.

Put 1/2 cup of spaghetti squash in each serving bowl, then spoon the vegetables and shrimp on top. Sprinkle with chili flakes if you’d like a little more spice.

Makes 3 servings.

Nutrition Information