Category Archives: Recipes

Main Dish, Poultry, Recipes

Simple and so delicious Chicken with Mushrooms

Photo: Chicken with Mushrooms and Gravy

I made a similar recipe with pork chops and decided it would work well with chicken. So I substituted with chicken breast cut across from side to side like you’re butterflying it, only you cut all the way through to separated the pieces. This makes a thinner cut for faster cooking. I also added cream to the gravy to make it a light, Southern-style gravy.

This dish cooks quickly and is easy to make. Serve it with a salad, mashed cauliflower, or any other low carb vegetable for a low carb meal.

Chicken with Mushrooms and Gravy

1 large Chicken Breast
1 teaspoon Garlic and Herb Seasoning
1 pinch Salt
1 pinch Ground Black Pepper
2 tablespoons Butter, divided
4 ounces Sliced Fresh Mushrooms
1 teaspoon Garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
1 tablespoons Low Carb Flour
1 cups low sodium Chicken Broth
1/4 cup Heavy Cream

Slice the chicken breast through the middle to make two thinner cutlets. If it is too large, trim the bottom portion of each to make smaller cutlets. Season each piece with the garlic and herb seasoning, pressing it in make it stick. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the tops.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, then add 1 tablespoon butter. Cook the breast pieces until they turn white part way up the side, then turn over and cook another two minutes. Remove cutlets from the skillet to a plate.

Using the same skillet over medium-high heat, melt the remaining butter. Add the mushrooms and cook until golden, around 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and mustard, cooking about 1 minute.

Add low carb flour to the skillet and stir to make a paste. Add the chicken broth, stirring until incorporated, then stir in the cream and mix well. If any liquid has gathered on the plated chicken, pour it back into the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium and simmer. Stir until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Taste to check your seasoning and adjust if needed.

Return chicken cutlets to the skillet and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Serve hot.

Makes two servings.

Nutrition Information

Recipes, Seafood

Delicious Spicy Tilapia Sandwich

Photo of Cajun Tilapia Sandwich

I am somewhat picky about the fish I eat. Usually, I don’t care much for tilapia because it is a very mild fish. If you add spices to it, the fish becomes much more tasty and works well in some recipes. This particular recipe came with the individually packaged filets in a frozen bag we picked up for the cats. (Yes, we feed our geriatric cats people food.) The recipe sounded good, so I decided to try it.

The buns aren’t included in the carb count, but you can use any low carb bun and add the extra carbs to it. If you want to make a low carb bun, you can try this recipe. Or you can order low carb buns from a couple of places. LC Foods and Franz Keto Buns has pre-made ones or you can just eat it without a bun in a lettuce wrap.

You can make this recipe a couple of ways. The easy way or the easier way. With the easy way, you need to mix your own Cajun spice and the cilantro-lime mayonnaise. With the easier way, you use pre-mixed Cajun seasoning and Herdez Cilantro Lime Salsa mixed with mayonnaise. Both options are included below:

Cajun Tilapia with Bacon and Cilantro Lime Mayonnaise

Mix the Cajun spices if you aren’t using a pre-mixed version. Ingredients and instructions are after the main recipe.

For the Cilantro-Lime Mayonnaise:
Easy way:
2 tablespoons Mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Greek Yogurt
juice of half a Lime or 1 tablespoon Lime Juice
2 teaspoons minced fresh Cilantro

In a small bowl, add all the ingredients and mix together. Put in the refrigerator to chill.

Easier Way:
You need 3 tablespoons Herdez Cilantro Lime Salsa and 2 tablespoons Mayonnaise mixed together. Put in the refrigerator to chill while you prepare the fish.

For the fish:
1 1/2 tablespoons Cajun spice blend
4 filets of Tilapia, roughly 1 lb.
4 to 8 slices Bacon
1 medium Tomato, sliced
4 leaves of Romaine or Butter Lettuce
4 low carb Hamburger Buns, split

Sprinkle each side of the tilapia filets with a generous (to taste) amount of the Cajun spice blend. Press the spices into the fish to coat. Let the filets rest on a plate while you cook the bacon.

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat, add the bacon strips and cook bacon until crispy. Remove the bacon and place on a paper towel-lined plate to absorb the excess grease. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of bacon grease in the hot pan.

Add as many of the filets to the hot pan as you can fit, and cook until the undersides are crisp and browned, about 3 minutes. Using a broad spatula, carefully flip the filets and cook for 3 additional minutes. Remove the fish to a clean plate. If more filets need to be cooked, add a teaspoon of oil or the poured off bacon grease to the pan, swirl to coat the pan, and add the filet(s). Cook for 3 minutes on each side. Lower the heat if the fish browns too quickly.

To assemble the sandwiches, place the hamburger buns on a clean work surface and spread 1 tablespoon of the cilantro-lime mayo on the face-up tops of each. On the bottom halves, layer a leaf of romaine, a tomato slice, a tilapia filet, and one or two slices of bacon. Place the tops on and serve. Makes 4 sandwiches.

Nutrition Information

 

To make the Cajun Spice Blend

1 1/4 teaspoons Salt
2 teaspoons Garlic Powder
2 teaspoons Smoked Paprika
1 teaspoon Onion Powder
1 teaspoon dried Oregano
1 teaspoon dried Thyme
1 1/4 teaspoons Cayenne Pepper

Mix all spices and herbs together until blended. Pour into an airtight container to store. Makes about 1/4 cup. Use on fish, poultry, pork, or beef.

Breads, Product Review

Bread is the Word

Hey, guys, we all love bread, don’t we?  Especially when it comes to French toast and sandwiches. Low carb bread has been a challenge for years. I actually have a pretty tasty bread roll recipe and it’s great for burgers and other sandwiches. While it makes a nice small loaf, it doesn’t rise as high as I’d like. And it’s not white bread, but more like a wheat one.

With the upswing in Keto as a diet, everyone has gone Keto-happy, which is good news for all low carb eaters and diabetics. Many more products are coming on the market to help us keep our carbs down. Today, I’m going to talk about two of those products.

Scotty's Keto BreadThe first is Scotty’s Zero Carb White Bread mix. At $12.95 for a package to make one loaf, it is a little pricy. I bought it and made it up according to directions. This is a yeast bread and you add your own while mixing, put it in the bread pan, and let it rise for two hours. Then you bake it and get a nicely browned white bread loaf.

I followed the directions, put it in a small loaf pan, and let it rise. It didn’t make a very tall loaf, about three inches high, and not nearly as tall as the one of the package. See for yourself.

Scott's bread backed from mix

The actual dough is weird, sticky and stretchy, but not like regular bread. You put it in the pan and smooth the top as much as you can. The end result is a nicely formed loaf with good texture. It tastes okay, but seems like it’s missing something in the flavor. Now, I admit, it’s been a long time since I last ate white bread, but I think it had more flavor than this did.

French ToastI did make French toast with it, but it didn’t absorb the liquid very well, so it lacked the flavor you expect.

Overall, I rate it about three spoons. It’s passable, but not worth the asking price.

Pre-made White Bread

Franz H

The second bread is also white bread, but this one is already baked for you. You can get hamburger and hot dog buns as well. This is Franz Keto White and it looks, smells, and tastes like white bread, I believe. Like I said, long time since I tasted regular white bread. Not only does this look and taste like bread, but it toasts, makes French toast and other food that requires bread. Good for a grilled cheese sandwich also.

French toast made with Franz Keto Bread
Toad-in-a-Hole (American version) made with Franz Keto Bread,

 

 

 

 

 

The buns are perfect for regular burgers and hot dogs or sausages. I also use them for sandwiches sometimes. The regular bread is standard size and zero net carbs. Hard to beat that!

At $26 for a two-loaf pack, they aren’t inexpensive, but it includes shipping and has about 17 slices of bread per pack. The bread can be frozen and thawed as needed. Let’s face it, anything with Keto on it is going to cost. This is my choice for white bread.

The hamburger and hot dog buns also come in two-packs for about the same price. Each pack has eight buns in it. Each bun has 1 net carb. Hard to beat.

I rank these at five spoons out of five. They’re that good.

One other note. While these products are high priced compared to regular bread, they are specialty breads. I figured out how much it costs me to make six low-carb rolls from scratch from my recipe and it comes out to about $8.50 a batch, and I use several different flour ingredients in it. To make a loaf about the size of the Keto White Bread would use double the amount of ingredients, so about $17.

My reviews reflect my opinion of the product. I am not receiving any rewards, payment, or product for reviewing. I bought the products and am leaving my honest review.

 

Breads

Fall is Pumpkin Bread Time!

Photo: Pumpkin Bread

Halloween is almost upon us and I’m just now getting my Pumpkin Nut Bread recipe out. This is a moist and delicious breakfast or snack bread. My secret ingredient in this to make it really rich-tasting is sugar-free vanilla pudding mix.

I used a combination of flour types to make this. Almond flour alone isn’t sturdy enough, so I reinforced it with gluten flour, DCC All Purpose Flour, and Carbquick Baking Mix. You can use any low carb flour options with this.

If you decide to use coconut flour, remember it expands up to 3 times it’s size, so 1/3 cup of coconut flour can equal 1 cup of the others. You also need to add additional eggs or egg whites when using coconut flour as it will not rise without the help.

If you like your bread really spicy, double the amount in the recipe. I usually add more than it calls for since I like to taste the cinnamon and cloves.

Pumpkin Nut Bread

1/2 cup Almond Flour
2 tablespoons Gluten Flour
1/2 cup All Purpose Low Carb Flour
1/2 cup CarbQuick or similar
1/2 tablespoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 1/2 cup Sugar Substitute
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
2 Eggs, large
1 cup Pumpkin Puree
2 tablespoons Sugar-free Vanilla Pudding Mix
1/3 cup Water
2 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice *
1/4 cup chopped Pecans or Walnuts

* If you don’t have Pumpkin Pie Spice, add 1 teaspoon Cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg, and 1/4 teaspoon Ground Ginger, and 1/4 teaspoon ground Cloves.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F.) Spray 4-1/2 x 8-1/2-inch loaf pan with baking spray or cut a piece of parchment to fit the bottom and spray.

Whisk sugar substitute and oil in a large bowl to combine. Whisk in eggs and pumpkin.

In a separate small bowl, combine all the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and the seasoning.

Add 1/2 of the flour to the pumpkin mixture and stir to combine. Add 2 tablespoons water and stir. Add the rest of the flour and stir, then add the rest of the water and mix together. Stir in the nuts.

Pour the batter in pan to about 2/3rd full. If you have extra batter, bake in cupcake papers or a greased ramekin. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour until it is firm in the middle. (If you’re baking cupcakes or a ramekin, check them at 20 minutes, allow 5 minutes more if they aren’t done and check again.)

Let the bread cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then turnout on a rack to cool completely. Cooling is important or the cake might crumble easily.

Makes 10 servings, about 3/4-inch slices.

Nutrition: Pumpkin Nut Bread

Happy Halloween!

Try these other pumpkin recipes:

Image: Pumpkin Loaf     

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Loaf              Pumpkin French Toast

     

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cupcakes  Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

This recipe is a favorite. The only thing I would change is to use Swerve Brown Sugar.  Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

 

Beef, Main Dish, Recipes

Marvelous Moussaka

Photo - MoussakaFinishing off my Greek festival cooking, I made moussaka, a delicious eggplant, meat, tomato, and cream dish which is like a Greek version of lasagna. Traditionally made with ground lamb, you can also make it with beef or a combination. I used beef in mine. The casserole is topped with a creamy white sauce, a béchamel, and is baked with feta cheese.

I adapted the recipe from an old Betty Crocker cookbook to be a half-sized and lower carb’d casserole. Serve it with a low carb bread or low carb flatbread, like this one.

Here’s a couple of substitutions. If you don’t like feta cheese, use Parmesan or Romano. Not crazy about eggplant? User several large zucchini instead.

This photo shows the layers a little better. This is when it’s cold, but once it is heated, it tends to run together more.

Moussaka

1 large eggplant, peeled and cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick slices
salt
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1/2 tablespoon Butter
1 pound lean Ground Beef or Ground Lamb
Salt to taste
ground Black Pepper to taste
1 onions, chopped
1/2 clove Garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon ground Cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground Nutmeg
½ teaspoon Italian Herbs
2 tablespoons dried Parsley
1 (8 ounce) can Tomato sauce
½ cup Red Wine
1 Egg, beaten
1-1/2 cups Cream & 1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose low carb flour
salt to taste
ground White Pepper, to taste
1 cups freshly crumbled Feta Cheese
¼ teaspoon ground Nutmeg

Preheat over to 350 degrees (F.)

Place the slices of eggplant on paper towels and sprinkle each lightly with salt. Let them rest 30 minutes to draw out moisture. Wipe each slice off with a paper towel.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over high head. Fry the eggplant until lightly browned. Remove a paper-toweled covered plate to drain.

Using the same skillet, clean it of any remaining oil with a paper towel, then set it to medium high, melt the butter and add the ground beef or lamb, onions, and garlic. Add salt and pepper to your taste preference. When the meat is browned, sprinkle in cinnamon, nutmeg, Italian herbs, and parsley. Pour in the tomato sauce and wine, and mix well. Simmer for 20 minutes.  Let cool for about 20 minutes then stir in beaten egg.

In an 8×8-inch baking dish, arrange a layer of eggplant, using half of the eggplant. Cover the eggplant with all of the meat mixture, spreading it evenly, then crumble 1/3 cup of Feta cheese over the meat. Place the remaining eggplant slices over the top, and crumble another 1/3 cup of cheese on top. Let sit while you prepare the béchamel sauce.

Scald the cream and water in a saucepan and remove before it boils. Clean out the meat skillet and melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in low carb flour until smooth. Lower heat; gradually pour in the hot milk, stirring constantly until it thickens. Season with salt, and white pepper.

Pour the béchamel sauce over the top, and sprinkle with nutmeg. Crumble the remaining cheese over the top.

Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Makes 4 to 6 servings

nutrition information