Tag Archives: low carb recipes

Slow Cooking Coc au Vin

I don’t know about your part of the world, but here in Reno, Nevada, the season just turned to the crisp, darn near freezing nights, of FALL!  At our house, we try to hold out until November 1 before turning on the heater, but I broke down this week when I woke up in the morning from sleeping with my robe wrapped around my head and surrounded by cats seeking warmth.  So mid-October and the heat is on.

But it’s also a great time for stew and soups.  One terrific way to make a delicious meal is your slow cooker.  With a little preparation, you can toss all the ingredients into the pot before you head off to work or whatever else you have planned and come home to a fully cooked meal.

This isn’t the recipe for that.  Yes, it’s a slow cooked meal and it is a delicious French version of a chicken stew with wine, but the preparation takes about thirty to forty minutes with the chopping and cooking.  But, if you do all the work the night before, then put it in the cooker in the morning, then it is simple.  Just prepare  the ingredients, do the skillet cooking, then bag the chicken and the vegetables separately and refrigerate overnight.  Layer them into the pot with the vegetables first, then the chicken, set the cooker on low, then get on with your day.

Slow Cooker Coc au Vin

8 boneless, skinless Chicken Thighs
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons Low Carb Flour
4 slices Bacon , roughly chopped
3 tablespoons unsalted Butter or Olive Oil , divided
1 package white or Baby Bella Mushrooms , sliced
2 large Carrots , cleaned and sliced
2 stalks Celery, cleaned and sliced
1 medium Yellow Onion , chopped
2 cloves Garlic , chopped
1/2 cup Chicken Broth
1 cup Red Wine
2 large sprigs fresh Thyme

Begin by prepping the vegetables. Cut the carrots into about 1 inch slices. If they are thick, you can cut each slice in half so they cook quicker. Clean and slice the celery stalks into the same size pieces. Chop or slice the onion, depending on your preference. If the mushrooms need to be cut, do that also. Chop or mince the garlic into tiny pieces.

Put a piece of waxed paper on a baking sheet, then place the skinned and boned chicken on it. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to your preference, then sprinkle and pat low carb flour over the chicken. Turn the chicken over and repeat. Set aside.

Cook bacon in a large skillet or use my method and cook it between two pieces of paper towel on a plate in the microwave until it is crisp. Discard any bacon grease and wipe the pan clean with a paper towel. Add 2 tablespoons butter to the pan and cook the chicken until browned on each side, then remove to a paper towel.

Add the rest of the butter along with the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms begin to brown along the edges, then add the onions, garlic, celery and carrots. Add a little salt to your preference. Cook until the carrots begin to soften, then transfer all the vegetables to the bottom of the slow cooker. Add chicken broth. Layer the chicken over the top, then pour the wine over the top and add the thyme. I prefer to remove the leaves and just use those as to putting the whole sprig in.

Turn the slow cooker to the low setting. For those who have a warmer setting, medium and high on their cookers, this would be the medium setting. The stew will be cooked in about six hours. In a hurry, use the high setting for two hours, then lower it to low or medium.

Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition Information per serving:
Calories: 268.5 Fat: 12.3 g Net Carbs: 5.3 g Protein: 21.3 g

Simply Peanut Butter Cookies

I’ve seen this recipe for Peanut Butter Cookies go around a couple of times on Facebook, so I decided to try it with sugar substitute. Generally, I use a little less sugar than called for and when possible, I try to use more than one sweetener for more balance. It works pretty well although the cookies are small,  about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. I don’t have a ball scoop, so I used two teaspoons to drop the cookies and it works although they are not as pretty. Check the carb counts on the peanut butter. My jar of JIF was pretty low, but when I checked to buy another jar, the carb count was higher. So I calculated the carbs on peanut butter that is 2 net carbs per tablespoon.

Peanut Butter Cookies #1

1 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup sugar substitute
1 large egg

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F.) Prepare a baking sheet by putting parchment paper or a silicone mat on it.

In a bowl, mix the ingredients together until they are well blended. Use a 1-inch ball cookie scoop or a teaspoon to put balls of peanut butter on the baking sheet about 2-inches apart. You can press down on the center with your lightly sugared (in sugar substitute) thumb to make a well for a thumbprint cookie or press down with the tines of a fork one direction, then the opposite direction to get a grid pattern.

Bake for about 8 minutes until the cookies are starting to brown around the edges, but don’t overcook. Let cool and top with a little sugar-free jam if you wish.

Makes 24 cookies.

Nutrition Info per cookie:
Calories: 108 Fat. 8.2 g Net Carbs: 2.0 g Protein: 2.3 g

Now, I simply can’t leave the recipe as it is. By my very nature, I have to make a change or two in it. I like a little more of a cookie taste to it, so I added 1/4 cup of Vanilla Whey Protein Powder to the mix. You can also use Almond Flour or any low carb baking mix. Then I also added sugar-free mini chocolate chips.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar substitute
1 large egg
1/4 cup Almond Flour or Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
2 tablespoons mini sugar-free chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F.) Prepare a baking sheet by putting parchment paper or a silicone mat on it.

In a bowl, mix all the ingredients, except the chocolate chip together until they are well blended, then stir in the chocolate chips. Use a 1-inch ball cookie scoop or a teaspoon to put balls of peanut butter on the baking sheet about 2″ apart. Press down with the tines of a fork one direction, then the opposite direction to get a grid pattern.

Bake for about 8 minutes until the cookies are starting to brown around the edges, but don’t overcook. Let cool a few minutes then eat warmed or at room temperature.

Makes 30 cookies.

Nutrition Info per cookie:
Calories: 95 Fat. 7.1 g Net Carbs: 1.7 g Protein: 4.4 g

For a more traditional Peanut Butter Cookie, try the Peanut Butter Blossoms or the Triple Peanut Chocolate Chip Bars.

Quick Low Carb Snacking Options

We’re into football season and baseball is wrapping up with the World Series, so we’re often thinking about a Sunday afternoon get-together with friends and delicious snack foods.  They just naturally go together, right?

Well, it’s not the best thing for a low carb lifestyle unless those snacks are low in carbs.  You can always put out a meat and cheese tray and a vegetable dish, but there are some quick put-together recipes that make great snacks.

Here’s a few that are already on this blog and a new one for Little Smokies Wrapped in Blankets is just below on this page.  I’m sure you’ll find a couple of good choices for your television watching.

For a delicious do-ahead snack, you can’t beat deviled eggs and this is my recipe for Texas Style Deviled Eggs.    Another easy one is Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts and these are so good you’ll want plenty of them.  Ham and Pepper Madeleine Cakes are also a tasty snack and are great dipped in Chipotle Ranch dressing.

Little Smokies Wrapped in Blankets

This is a standard appetizer that normally uses crescent rolls and are easy to make. I’ve adjusted the recipe to a low carb option. For this, I use CarbQuick, but any low carb baking mix will work. I don’t know how well almond flour would hold together and I haven’t tried it. It uses Little Smokies or any other cocktail wiener. As another option, you could take premade cocktail meatballs, cut them in half and wrap those. For a vegetable version, try wrapping a 2-inch piece of asparagus or broccoli stems or kohlrabi cut into 1/4×2-inch sticks with the dough.

1/2 cup Low Carb Baking Mix
1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
Pinch of Salt
1 tablespoon Butter or Shortening
1 teaspoon of Buttermilk or Cream
1 tablespoon very cold Water
2 tablespoons Cheddar Cheese, finely shredded
Butter flavored Cooking Spray
15 Little Smokies or (8) Meatballs or (15) Vegetable sticks

In a small bowl, add the flour, garlic, salt, and butter or shortening. Cut together with a fork until the mixture turns to crumbles. Add the buttermilk and water and mix together until it begins to pull together. If it isn’t moist enough, add just a little bit more water until it forms a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F.) Prepare a baking sheet by spraying with baking spray or put a silicone mat on it and spray the mat.

Pinch off enough dough to make a one-inch ball and hand press it to a 2×1/2-inch strip. I use a sheet of wax paper to press this on. Place the smokie in the middle and press the dough around it to form a wrap over it. Press together to seal. If the dough breaks, simply press it back together. Repeat for each little sausage. For the meatballs, cut the meatball in half and roll each half in the dough.

Place on baking sheet, then spray the tops with the baking spray and bake for 18 to 20 minutes until golden brown.

Serve with a mustard and mayonnaise sauce. My preference is a cranberry mustard and mayonnaise. Or you can eat them as they are. These are usually a hit at a party.

Makes about 15 appetizers.

Nutrition Information per appetizer (Little Smokies):
Calories: 49 Fat: 1.7 g Net Carbs: 0.5 g Protein: 2.1 g

Nutrition Information per appetizer (Meatballs – 6 to serving):
Calories: 52 Fat: 3.6 g Net Carbs: 1.5 g Protein: 3.2 g

Nutrition Information per appetizer (Kohlrabi- 1/4×2-inch strips):
Calories: 22 Fat: 1.7 g Net Carbs: 0.4 g Protein: 0.9 g

Tip:  To get a lower carb count on the meatballs, make your own.  Most of the ones you buy pre-made have a bread crumb filler in them.  Make one-inch meatballs and bake them until they are just done. Cool, cut in half and wrap.  This will bring the carbs down to about a half carb each.

Low Carb Sweets Are Possible!

BookCove-kindle

Just in time for the start of the major holiday season that begins with Halloween and runs through New Year’s almost non-stop, my new low carb cookbook “Sweets by the Seasons” is coming out!  Today, in fact!  It’s up on Amazon and at Createspace and ready to help you stay on track during the holidays.

Low carb desserts are absolutely possible and they are very good.  Granted, they don’t taste like cakes and cookies made with wheat flour, but they have great flavor of their own and I actually prefer many of them over the flour ones, particularly when I know they aren’t going to add unwanted pounds to my body or wipe out all the good work I’ve done over the last few month to get my weight down and keep it there.

Cranberry Almond Shortbread Torte

This book will give you over 55 recipes for cakes, cookies, candy, pies and other goodies to carry you through all the holidays and special days in between.  I think there are more like 64 or 65 recipes in the book.  I kept adding them in up until publication date!  A few are posted on the Bistro site, but the majority are new and not posted here or anywhere else by me.  They are exclusively for the book.  Delicious recipes like Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, Cranberry Almond Shortbread Torte,

Dresden-style Stollen bread made low carb.

Lemon Poppyseed Pound Cake, Dresden-style Stollen Bread and so many more.  Great-tasting food that will almost make you feel guilty until you realize they don’t have that many carbs!

So, check out my launch page for more information (and my first ever book trailer video!) and links or go directly to the Amazon link to Sweets by the Season for the Kindle and the Amazon or Createspace links for the print version.

Because low carb doesn’t have to be boring…

Fall Harvest Means Cranberry Pumpkin Nut Muffins

In the northern hemisphere, the weather has begun cooling as we move into Fall.  Places further to the north and at higher elevations are starting to see the first signs of fall with the trees beginning to change colors.  Around here, all it takes is a cold snap at night and our trees begin the transition.  I had one turn orange in spring one year when a false spring had lured it out, then a cold snap came in and the tree went into fall mode.  It never got green through the whole summer, but the leaves stayed on until late fall.

This is truly the beginning of fall and for me that means cranberries and pumpkins and other winter squash.  So I’m offering up my first fall recipe for this time of year– a delicious and wonderful low carb pumpkin muffin enhanced with chopped cranberries and pecans.  I also have a secret ingredient to help keep them moist.  So let’s just keep it between us, ok?

Cranberry Pumpkin Nut Muffins

I call these my deluxe muffins with everything good in them and less than 3.5 carbs!  Yes, it looks like a lot of ingredients, but it mixes together quickly and with little fuss.

1/2 cup Low Carb Baking Mix
2 tablespoons Almond Flour
1/4 cup Vanilla Whey Protein Powder(optional)
1 tablespoon Sugar-Free Pudding mix (Vanilla, Butterscotch or Cheesecake)
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 cup Sugar Substitute
2 tablespoons Butter or Coconut Oil
1/2 cup Pumpkin Puree
1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 oz Sugar-free Pumpkin Pie Spice Syrup (optional)
2 tablespoons Heavy Whipping Cream
2 tablespoons Water
2 large Eggs
3 tablespoons Liquid Egg Whites
1/3 cup Cranberries, chopped
1/2 cup Pecans or Walnuts, chopped

For the optional vanilla whey powder, use the equivalent amount of either baking mix or the almond flour if you prefer.  For the pumpkin pie spice syrup, use just a little more sugar substitute and 2 tablespoons of water.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F.) Prepare 8 cupcake molds by spraying with baking spray or putting cupcake papers in them.

Chop the cranberries in a food processor so that they are small pieces but not too tiny. Chop the pecans into small pieces or break with your fingers.

In a medium bowl, add the flours, sugar, pumpkin pie spice and baking powder and mix together. Add the remaining ingredients, except the cranberries and nuts and mix until all the ingredients are moistened. Stir in the pecans and cranberries and mix into the batter well.

Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, about two tablespoons to each cup until they are about 2/3rds full. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, depending on your oven. Check with a toothpick inserted in the middle. If it comes out mostly clean, they are done.

Makes 8 cupcakes.

Nutrition Info per cupcake:
Calories:130.6 Fat: 10.2 g Net Carbs: 3.2 g Protein:5.9 g