Chinese New Year is coming up tomorrow, January 25th to start the Year of the Rat. But there’s nothing ratty about this quick-to-make and tasty cauliflower fried rice. You can get an easy start by using Green Giant’s Fried Rice Blend with carrots and broccoli all chopped up into crumbles to cook quickly. Or you can use one of the frozen rice blends with peas and carrots.
If you want the meat version, get pre-grilled chicken from the grocery store and shred or chop it into bite-sized pieces. Add in shrimp and you have a great celebration fried cauliflower rice that is low carb and delicious. To make this meatless for Meatless Monday, use just the shrimp or add tofu cubes. To make it vegetarian, use tofu only.
I did use a little too much soy sauce in mine, so I cut back on it in the recipe, but adjust to your own taste.
Shrimp and Chicken Fried Cauli-rice
12 oz. package Green Giant “Cauliflower Crumbles” Fried Rice Blend
1/3 cup sliced Snow Peas, fresh
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
2 teaspoons Sesame Oil
2 teaspoons Garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Ginger Root, minced or grated
1/3 cup Chicken Breast, cooked and chopped or Tofu, cubed
1/4 pound small Shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 Eggs
2 stalks Green Onions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon Soy Sauce
1/4 teaspoon Red Chile Flakes (optional)
Slice snow peas into small pieces and set aside. Slice green onions into thin slices using both the white and green parts.
In a deep skillet or wok, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the garlic and ginger and stir for about 2 minutes. Add the fried rice blend vegetables and stir and cook for about 7 minutes until they are softened. Add the snow peas and chicken (if using) and cook two more minutes.
Beat the eggs in a bowl and set aside for now.
Add the sesame oil, then add the shrimp and chile flakes to the mix. Cook until the shrimp start to turn pink, then add the beaten eggs and stir into the rice. Cook until the egg is done, then add the green onions and stir in. Remove from heat and stir in soy sauce.
Looking for a little comfort food on these cold winter nights? Want to keep on your Meatless Monday plan? Look no further!
This yummy meatless sauce with Italian seasonings and zucchini pairs well with spaghetti squash to give you a delicious and low carb alternative to pasta. While it comes in a little higher in carbs than I usually aim for with my recipes, it is still only 13.5 net carbs per serving.
If you’re just not into a meatless sauce, then feel free to add ground beef and/or Italian sausage to the dish. It works great either way.
Italian Vegetable Sauce with Spaghetti Squash
1 teaspoon Olive Oil
1/4 cup Onions, chopped
3 Sweet Mini-Peppers
1 teaspoon Garlic
1 15-ounce can Diced Italian Style Tomatoes
1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning Blend
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 ounces Red Wine
3 cups Spaghetti Squash
1 cup Zucchini, diced
1/2 cup Mushrooms, sliced
1 cup Spinach, fresh
Preheat oven to 385 degrees (F.)
Cut the spaghetti squash in half, remove the seeds, rub with a little olive oil, and place face down on a foil-covered baking pan. Bake for about 40 minutes until a fork inserted into the squash goes through easily. Remove and set aside to cool.
In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil, then add onions and garlic. Cook and stir for about 2 minutes until the onion sweats. Add tomatoes, seasonings, and wines. Stir and cook for a few minutes, then lower the heat to simmer and cook about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce should be thickening. Add zucchini and cook about 10 minutes until it is almost tender. Add the sliced mushrooms and cook another few minutes.
Use a fork to separate the spaghetti strands of the squash and warm in the oven or a microwave for about three minutes.
Add the spinach to the sauce and stir it in until it is limp.
Put 3/4 cup of spaghetti squash on a plate, and top with 1/4 of the vegetable sauce. Grate Italian cheese over the top. Serve with a salad.
Happy 2020. The start of a new year and a new decade. We’ve had better starts throughout the years, but let’s make this one the best we can. Right?
I launched my new year with determination to conquer the crepe, so I bought a crepe maker. Not the dip and cook model I’d seen on Facebook that looks so simple, but the flat cooker that will make bigger crepes, not as big as the ones at the Las Vegas Paris Hotel’s buffet though. Those babies are huge! This one might go to a 10-inch crepe, but initially, I made the smaller and easier to flip 7 to 8 inch ones. My first crepe on it was a mess, stuck, wasn’t completely cooked, and practically shredded when I tried to flip it. After that, I sprayed it with cooking spray, made sure it was up to high heat, and tried again with much better success.
New flash! It’s going to be a while before I’m an expert with crepe-making, but even with the odd-shaped pancakes, they do work and taste quite good.
So, I made a simply delicious broccoli-and-cauliflower-filled crepe with ricotta and spinach and an amazing cream sauce on the top. Pop in the oven to just lightly toast the sauce and warm the whole dish up and you have a great meal for a meatless Monday or a delightful side dish with any meat or seafood entree.
While I haven’t tried it yet, I believe you can make crepes with coconut flour and unsweetened coconut milk, which makes it easier to find the flour ingredients. I’ve posted the carb count and the recipe for coconut flour crepes in case you want to experiment. When I make a batch, I’ll update this to let you know how well it works.
So, without further ado, here’s the recipe for these heavenly crepes.
Broccoli and Cauliflower Crepes with Cream Sauce
1-1/2 cups of Cauliflower, chopped
1-1/2 cups of Broccoli crown and stems, chopped
3/4 cups Mushrooms, sliced
1 cup Baby Spinach
1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese
8 Cherry Tomatoes, halved
Cream Sauce
1 tablespoon Butter
1 tablespoon Low Carb Flour
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
1/4 cup Water or Vegetable Broth
1/2 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb Seasoning
1/3 cup Parmesan Reggiano Cheese, grated
Crepe Recipe:
3/4 cup Low carb Flour
3/4 cup Cream
1/4 cup Water
2 Eggs
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
Basil or Oregano if desired
Make the crepes batter. In a blender, add all the crepe ingredients and pulse until the ingredients are mixed together, then blend a little longer to make sure the flour is completely mixed in. Put in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
While the crepe batter is chilling, prepare the filling:
In a skillet, heat a tablespoon olive oil. Add cauliflower and broccoli and sauté until lightly browned. Add 1/4 cup of water plus Garlic and herb seasoning and stir. Cook a few minutes more until the vegetables are almost tender. Add sliced mushrooms and cook another 3 to 4 minutes. Remove vegetables to a bowl and set aside.
Add about a teaspoon of olive oil to the pan and heat it a minute. Add spinach and sauté until it is limp. In a small bowl, place ricotta cheese and stir to loosen and smooth,, then stir in spinach. Add a little basil or Italian seasoning and mix. Set aside.
Cook the crepes: Heat an 8 inch skillet or crepe pan until a drop of water skittles across the surface. Spray the surface with cooking sprray for each crepe. Pour 1/4 cup of the batter into the pan, lift pan from the heat, and gently roll until the batter coats most of the pan. If you have a crepe pan, spread the batter with the back of a spoon or a spreader, keeping the rounded or oval shape. Cook until the crepe looks dry on the top then carefully slide a wooden or silicone spatula under the crepe and flip it to cook the back side.
Cook for about a minute, then put on a plastic, parchment, or foil sheet on a plate. Put another sheet on top, then make the next crepe. The recipe will make 8 crepes. You will only need four for this recipe, so save the others for another meal. You can fill with eggs and cheese for breakfast.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Assemble the crepes. Put the crepe in a baking pan, spread 1/4 of the ricotta mixture down the middle. Spoon in 2 to 3 tablespoons of the vegetables, then top with two cherry tomatoes cut in half. Roll or fold the crepe over the vegetables. (Mine looked more like tacos.) Slide the crepe to the end of the baking dish and repeat to make four crepes.
A few of my tomatoes escaped during the plating, but they still tasted yummy. You can see these weren’t the neatest crepe yet they tasted wonderful. Cooking doesn’t have to be perfect.
Make the sauce. In a skillet or pan, melt the butter. Lower the heat to medium. Stir in flour and cook until it begins to form a paste. Add cream and water along with seasoning and stir until the liquid sauce begins to thicken. Add grated cheese and stir until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Spoon 1/4 of the sauce over each crepe. Bake for 15 minutes or until the sauce looks slightly browned.
Serve with a salad or riced cauliflower.
Makes 4 crepes. A pair of crepes make a substantial dinner serving, or you can use just one as a side dish.
Coconut Flour Crepe Recipe
5 tablespoons Coconut Flour
1 cup Unsweetened Coconut Milk
2 Eggs
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
Basil or Oregano if desired
In a blender, add all the crepe ingredients and pulse until the ingredients are mixed together, then blend a little longer to make sure the flour is completely mixed in. Put in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes. Pulse a couple of times before using.
Cook as directed above. Take extra care in turning the crepes as they will be delicate.
Nutrition information for the filling and sauce only.
I decided to get a little creative with this great recipe from Carb Counters All Purpose Flour for chocolate chip cookies. I decided to add craisins and pecans, so it’s not a big change, but the result is delicious. If you want just chocolate chip cookies, leave out the craisins and pecans. I used CC’s low carb flour but you can make this with almond flour. Just substitute the same amount for the flour.
To make this low-sodium, use almond flour and unsalted butter. Otherwise, the recipe is the same.
1 cup Low Carb Flour
1/2 cup Sugar Substitute
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 Egg
4 tablespoons Butter, melted
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1/3 cup Sugar-free Chocolate Chips
1/4 cup Reduced Sugar Craisins
1/4 cup Pecans, chopped
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F.). Place parchment paper in a cookie tin.
In a medium bowl, add flour, sugar substitute, and baking powder and mix together. Add eggs, butter, and vanilla, then stir to mix. If the dough does not absorb all the flour, add a little water and stir to incorporate. Stir in the craisins, chocolate chips, and nuts.
Drop cookies by one tablespoon at a time onto the cookie sheet about 2″ apart. Press down to about 2″ in diameter. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes for soft cookies.
Makes 14 to 16 cookies. (I got 14 using a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop.)
… or any other time you feel like eating it. I even like it for breakfast.
I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com and adapted it to both low carb and low sodium. The original recipe is called a Cranberry Pie, but it’s really a very moist cake. I’ve made it three times now, varying the third version to use 1 cup of apples in place of 1 of the cups of cranberries. I believe it will also make a great blueberry, raspberry, peach, or pear cake. The carbs will vary depending on the fruit you use. I also used pecans instead of walnuts, but either will work well with it, and I suspect almonds or macadamia nuts would be good also.
As a cranberry cake, it’s festive and delicious for an easy holiday meal dessert. Warm it up a little, then top it with a little whipped cream or ice cream.
Low Carb Cranberry Nut Cake
1 cup Low Carb Flour
1 cup Sugar Substitute
1/4 teaspoon Salt
2 cups fresh Cranberries
1/2 cup chopped Walnuts or Pecans
1/2 cup Butter, melted
2 Eggs
1 teaspoon Almond Extract
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F.). Prepare a 8″ pie pan or a cast iron skillet or other oven-proof pan by lining the bottom with parchment paper, then spraying the bottom and sides with cooking spray.
In a medium-sized bowl, add the flour, sugar and salt and whisk together. Add the cranberries and nut, then stir to coat them with the flour.
In a small bowl, beat the eggs, then add to the flour mixture along with the melted butter and almond extract. Stir to mix the liquid into the flour, making sure to get all the flour mixed in. The batter may be thick, but if it is too thick to spread, add a little water.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth to even it. Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle.
Makes 8 servings.
Low Sodium Cranberry Nut Cake
1/2 cup Almond Flour, finely ground
1/4 cup Coconut Flour
1 cup Sugar Substitute
2 cups fresh Cranberries
1/2 cup chopped Walnuts or Pecans
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil or Coconut Oil, melted
2 Eggs
1 Egg White
2 to 4 tablespoons Water
1 teaspoon Almond Extract
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F.). Prepare a 8″ pie pan or a cast iron skillet or other oven-proof pan by lining the bottom with parchment paper, then spraying the bottom and sides with cooking spray.
In a medium-sized bowl, add the almond and coconut flour, and sugar then whisk together. Add the cranberries and nuts, then stir to coat them with the flour.
In a small bowl, beat the eggs and egg white, then add to the flour mixture along with the oil and almond extract. Stir to mix the liquid into the flour, making sure to get all the flour mixed in. The batter may be thick, but if it is too thick to spread, add a little water. a tablespoon at a time to get the mixture to a spreadable consistency. When using coconut flour, it will absorb a lot of liquid, so add liquid, mix it in, then let it sit and add more if necessary.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth to even it. Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle. Let cool at least 10 minutes before removing. Nut flours are delicate and might break when you lift them out of the pan.
To flip to a plate, let the cake cool completely, then put the plate on top of the pan and turn it over. The parchment will allow it to release easily. Remove the parchment, then put another plate over the cake and flip it to get the top up. Serve with a low sodium whipped topping.
