Category Archives: Recipes

Appetizers, Recipes, Vegetables & Salads

Broccoli Bacon Bites appetizer for any party

Photo: Broccoli Bacon Bites

Recently, this recipe came around on my Facebook feed as one of those tasty, simple-to-make appetizers that work well for a party. The original recipe said to fry them in fryer– you can do that if you’d like, but I wanted mine to be a little lighter and without the extra oil flavor, so I decided to bake them.

To make this low carb required only one change, swapping out regular flour for low carb flour. In my case, I used Bakesquick, but you can use whichever one you prefer, such as almond flour or CarbQuick.

While I simply dropped my batter on a parchment paper, you can also put these in mini cupcake pans with papers so they retain a more compact shape. This is a versatile recipe and you can easily swap in cauliflower for the broccoli, add peppers, or other spices to it to personalize your bites.

Broccoli Bacon Bites

1/2 cup Bacon, chopped
3 cups Broccoli, chopped (or Cauliflower)
1 teaspoon Salt
1/4 cup Water
4 Eggs
1 teaspoon Pepper
2 cups Cheddar Cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Green Onions, chopped
1/2 cup Low Carb Flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F.) Prepare a baking pan with parchment and spray with oil.

Put broccoli in a microwaveable bowl, add salt and water. Microwave for 3 minutes until almost tender. Drain.

In a bowl, put all the ingredients and mix together well. Use a small scoop to form balls and place each on the parchment-covered baking pan.

Cook for 15 to 18 minutes until golden brown.

Remove to serving plate and put out a bowl of Ranch Dressing for a dipper.

Makes 40 to 45 bites. (I got 42, but some were quite a bit larger than the rest.)

Photo: Nutrition for Broccoli Bacon Bites

Main Dish, Poultry, Recipes

E-Z Cauliflower and Chicken Sausage Risotto

Photo: Cauliflower Rice Risotto with Chicken Sausage

Last night, I made a quick dinner using Green Giant’s frozen Riced Cauliflower Risotto Medley with Aidell’s Chicken with Gruyere Sausage in it. While I had a busy day yesterday, the deciding factor in making this meal was that the freezer tossed the risotto package back out on the floor when I put it in, and I didn’t notice. So, when I found it, I had a bag of thawed, but still cold, risotto. It’s not a big production to make, but it’s a good example of how you can manage a delicious quick meal on a low carb diet.

Now, if you want to start from scratch with the riced cauliflower, you can make it by running the cauliflower through the food processor, then chopping about a quarter cup of mushrooms and about three stalks of asparagus up finely. You will need to cook this a little longer than you would the frozen one that is already cooked.

For this version here’s the recipe:

Cauliflower Risotto with Chicken Sausage

1 package Green Giant Riced Veggies Cauliflower Risotto Medley, thawed
2 links Aidells Chicken Sausage – Roasted Garlic & Gruyere Cheese
2 tablespoons Heavy Whipping Cream
3 tablespoons Parmesan Cheese
1 teaspoon Garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb Seasoning Blend
1 teaspoon Olive Oil

In a large skillet, add the oil, then add the garlic and cook until it is fragrant. Add the cauliflower medley. Stir for about three minutes, then add the chicken, cream, and about a quarter cup of water. Heat the mixture to a boil, then lower the temperature to a medium simmer. Let simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring a couple of times.

Serve with a salad or other side dish. I used a broccoli salad from the grocery store.

Makes 3 servings.

Do you have a recipe that you would like for me to try to adapt to low carb? If so, let me know in the comments and I’ll tell you where to email it.

Breads, Recipes

Need a Substitute for Garlic Bread?

Photo: Garlic Cheese Waffle

Here’s a nice twist on a waffle to make a delicious toast to go with your savory dinner. It’s especially nice if you have anything with a sauce so you can soak up the goodness. It’s also great with chicken, pork, steak, or soups and stews. You can use buttermilk and a bit of cornmeal for extra flavor if you wish, but they do add a few carbs to each serving. The flax meal helps to bring some of the cornmeal texture and a nutty flavor, so the waffle is quite tasty without the added ingredients.

For a low carb flour, you can use almond flour, soy flour, coconut flour, or any low carb flour mix such as Bakesquick or Carbquick. If you use coconut flour, use 3 tablespoons instead of 1/3 cup low carb flour and add 1/4 cup egg whites.

Garlic Cheese Waffle

1/3 cup Low Carb Flour
2 tablespoons Golden Flax meal, ground
1 tablespoon Yellow Cornmeal (optional)
1 Egg, fresh
1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Garlic powder
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 tablespoon Grated Parmesan & Romano Cheese
1 tablespoon Buttermilk(optional)
1 tablespoon Butter
1/4 cup shredded Mozzarella or Cheddar Cheese

Preheat your waffle iron while preparing the mix.

In a medium bowl, add low carb flour, Flax meal, egg, oil, Parmesan cheese, baking powder, and garlic powder and mix together until blended. Add buttermilk and stir it in. If the batter is too thick, thin with a little water. This should spread easily but not too quickly over the waffle iron grids.

Pour batter over the bottom plate of the waffle iron, close lid and cook the recommended time for your waffle maker. Mine takes about two minutes to cook. Watch the waffle iron for the steam coming out and when it is almost gone, try to lift the lid. If it resists, cook the waffle a little longer. Once it is done, the top will open easily.

Photo: Waffles under the broiler

Spread butter over the top and sprinkle mozzarella or cheddar cheese on top, then put under the broiler for about a minute to melt the cheese.

Delicious with any savory meal but especially good with Italian-style meals.

Makes 2 servings.

Photo: Nutrition Info

Main Dish, Recipes, Seafood, Vegetables & Salads

About that Salmon Salad

Photo: Salmon and Bacon Salad

Heavy winds and rain are blasting my area as we approach the end of March. (I think it came in like a lion, but not sure it will depart like a lamb.) We can only hope April looks more like spring than March has. When the month started, I promised to post the recipe for a great salmon salad. Then it totally slipped my mind as I started getting more of the St. Patrick’s Day recipes up. But here it is. This works great if you have left-over salmon, or you can grill a piece before you make it. You can also use canned or packaged cooked salmon.

This is another yummy recipe from Paleo Leap’s web site, so it is good for Atkins, South Beach, Keto, and Paleo.

1 cup Salmon, grilled and flaked (8 oz)
1 hard boiled Egg, diced
1 Mini Pepper
1/2 Avocado, diced
2 slices Bacon, cooked and broken into pieces
1/4 Onion, minced
2 tablespoons Mayonnaise (homemade or your preference)
1 pinch Cayenne Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Lemon Juice
1 tablespoon fresh Parsley, minced or 1/2 teaspoon dried Parsley
2 tbsp. Olive Oil
1 drop liquid Sweetener
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups of fresh greens (Spring mix lettuce, spinach, arugula – your choice)

To make the dressing:

In a bowl, add the mayonnaise, parsley, lemon juice, cayenne, sweetener, and olive oil then whisk until it is blended.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the salmon, diced eggs, bell pepper, avocado, and red onion. Add the mayonnaise mixture and toss it together gently. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Divide the greens into two bowls, then top with half the salmon mixture into each bowl. Serve.

Makes two healthy servings.

TIP: If you’d rather have shell fish, make this with shrimp, crab, or lobster instead of salmon. It will work just as well.

Image: Nutrition Info

Beef, Breakfast & Brunch, Main Dish, Recipes

Sooo good! A delicious Corned Beef and Asparagus Breakfast

Image: Asparagus and Baked Eggs

Well, this is a little late for a St. Patrick’s Day brunch, but who needs that excuse to make a tasty breakfast with sliced corned beef? You can also substitute in Canadian bacon or slices of turkey. I found this recipe in my excursion looking for paleo recipes that are also low in carbs. And It’s also low enough to satisfy the keto fans. Of course, I made a minor change or two, such as the extra seasoning and adding a garnish of avocado, but those are optional.

St. Patrick’s Day Brunch Asparagus and Eggs

4 Eggs
1 Leek, sliced
1/2 bunch Asparagus. sliced
4 slices Corned Beef, quartered
1/2 teaspoon Garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Olive Oil
1/2 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Tomato, Garlic and Basil seasoning (optional)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 Avocado for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F.).

Slice the vegetables and cut the corned beef slices into quarters. (If your corned beef is a small cut, then just cut in half.)

Heat a teaspoon of oil in a skillet that can go to the oven.

Add the garlic and leek to the skillet and stir cook for two minutes. Then add the asparagus and all of the corned beef pieces except 4. Cook and stir for about 6 minutes until the asparagus is almost tender.

Put the four pieces of corned beef on top, one in each section of the pan. (I used a square pan, so each corner had a piece of corned beef in it.) Press down on the corned beef piece to make a small well, then crack an egg into the corned beef. Repeat with the other three sections. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Photo: Asparagus with eggs in the pan

Bake for 5 to 6 minutes until the egg white is fully set. If you like your yolk non-runny, cook about 7 to 8 minutes.

If you wish, sprinkle a little cheese over the top before servings. Makes two servings or four servings if you’re not super hungry or want even lower carbs.

TIPS: This may be made with bacon in place of the corned beef. Use four or more slices. You can also use Canadian bacon, ham, or turkey slices.

Based on a recipe at PaleoLeap.com.