Tag Archives: low carb recipes

Desserts, Recipes

Cool Off with a Piece of Brandy Alexander Pie

While looking for a light, cool dessert, I spotted this recipe on a box of Knox Gelatin and decided it would be pretty easily adaptable to a low carb dessert.  I changed the crust, which was crushed Oreo Cookies, to an almond flour crust with cocoa in it for a rich, chocolate flavor.  Instead of Creme de Cocoa, I used a sugar free chocolate mocha syrup.  It is a delightfully refreshing and does remind you of the drink of the same name.  Oddly, I did discover that the brandy taste was quite pronounced on the first day, but the second day, instead of getting stronger, it seemed to blend into the overall flavor of the dessert and was not as strong.

Brandy Alexander Pie

Adapted from Knox Gelatin recipe by me

Crust:
1/2 cup Almond Flour
2 tablespoons Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
2 tablespoons Carbquick
Butter, 2 tbsp
2 tablespoons sugar substitute
1 tablespoon unsweetened Cocoa

Filling
1 envelope Knox Gelatin, unflavored
1 1/2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
1/3 cup sugar substitute
1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract, 1 tbsp
2 tablespoons Brandy or Brandy extract
1 tablespoon Sugar Free Chocolate Mocha Syrup
1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F.) Spray a pie tin or an 8″square pan with cooking spray.

To make the crust, put all the crust ingredients in a small bowl and blend with a fork until you have small crumbs clumped together. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan and spread them smoothly to cover the entire bottom. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until it is firm and just a little brown around the edges. Set aside to cool.

In a small saucepan, add 1/4 cup cold water, then sprinkle the gelatin over the top and let stand for a minute. Stir and cook on low heat until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes.

While it is cooling, beat whipping cream with an electric mixer on high speed until it is slightly thickened. Still beating on low speed, gradually add the gelatin mixture, vanilla, brandy, sugar substitute and sugar free syrup. Mix until it is well blended. Pour into the prepared crust. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 2 hours until it is set.

To serve, cut into 8 servings. Decorate with sugar free chocolate syrup or shaved sugar free dark chocolate, if you wish, then add a heaping spoonful of whipped cream or Cool Whip.

Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition Info per serving (with topping):
Calories: 266.4 Fat: 24 g Net Carbs: 3.4 g Protein: 3.3 g

Breads, Recipes

Peanutty Chocolate Chip Scones For Tea Time

Scones are a great breakfast or tea time treat.  The American scone has taken a few turns from the classic English scone and is made in a variety of ways with fruits, nuts and more like a biscuit at times.   I like experimenting with the various ways you can make these and still be low carb.  One of the flours available at health food stores and online is peanut flour.   Unlike some of the other nut flours, peanuts really retain the peanut taste when used in baking.  So it isn’t as versatile as almond flour for general baking, but it is terrific when you want the peanut taste, as in these scones that get a bit of a peanut butter flavor without any peanut butter in them.  For the sugar free chocolate chips, I used Sensato Mini-Chocolate Chips, but you could also use Hershey’s Sugar Free Chocolate Chips, which I usually find at Wal-Mart.

Peanutty Chocolate Chip Scones

1 cup Carbquick or Almond Flour
1 cup Peanut Flour
1/4 cup Sugar Substitute
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
2 tablespoon softened Butter
1/3 to 1/2 cup Buttermilk or Heavy Cream
1 Egg
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 cup chopped Peanuts
1/2 cup sugar free Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 435 degrees (F.)

In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients together. Add wet ingredients and mix well. Add in peanuts and chocolate chips and mix into the dough. The dough should be stiff and a little sticky, but not wet. Use your clean hands to mix the dough if necessary.

Prepare a baking sheet by spray it with cooking spray. Turn the dough into the center of the pan and press and shape it into an 8 inch circle. If it tries to stick to your fingers, wet your hand. Score the dough into 8 pieces (scored into quarters, then each quarter scored in half) but don’t cut all the way through.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the scone loaf is golden brown. Let cool a few minutes, then slice on the scored lines. Serve warm with clotted cream or butter or with jelly or jam. Delicious afternoon tea break!

Makes 8 scones.

Nutrition Info: Per scone
Calories: 155  Fat: 8.9 g  Net Carbs: 4.5 g  Protein: 7.7 g

Main Dish, Mexican/Spanish Recipes, Recipes

Quick Beef Enchilada Casserole

Enchiladas are spicy and very tasty and are a part of my childhood onward.  I love the many varieties, but sometimes I don’t have time or the patience to make the rolled ones.  The easiest way to make enchiladas is into a casserole rather than rolling each one individually. It doesn’t come out as pretty, but it tastes as good. This low carb version uses low carb flour tortillas (3 nc each) that are not pre-fried briefly in oil, although you could do that if you would like to add a fried bread flavor to the dish.

1 lb Ground Beef
3/4 cup Onion, chopped
4 Low Carb Tortillas (6″)
4 oz. can Green Chiles, chopped
10 oz. can Red Enchilada Sauce
2 teaspoons Taco Seasoning
1 teaspoon red Chile Powder
1 cups shredded Cheddar Jack or 4 Cheese Mexican Cheese
1 tablespoon Butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F.)

Prepare a casserole dish by spraying with cooking spray or rubbing oil on the bottom and sides.

In a large skillet, lightly brown the ground beef, breaking it into small pieces. Drain any fat off. Add the Taco Seasoning and 2 tablespoons of water and mix into the ground meat until it is blended. Remove the meat to a bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to the skillet and sauté the onions until they are tender. Mix the meat into the onions. (If you wish, you can sauté the onions first, then add the ground beef and cook it all together, then stir in the seasoning mix.)

Put the enchilada sauce in a small pan and add the Chile Powder to it to give it a little more flavor and cook for a few minutes.

Pour about 2 oz. of sauce on the bottom of the casserole pan, then place a tortilla on top. Spread another 2 oz. of sauce on top of the tortilla, then put 1/3rd of the ground beef mixture on top, then put 1/4 of the cheese on top of that. Add the next tortilla and repeat with sauce, beef and cheese, then add the third tortilla and repeat again. For the top level, put the last tortilla on, top with remaining sauce and cheese.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the cheese it melted and just toasted on top.  Serve with sour cream and a green salad or Spanish Cauli-rice or Roasted Cauliflower topped with turmeric.

Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition Info: (per serving)
Calories: 396 Fat:25 g Net Carbs: 7.2 g Protein: 34.4 g

Beef, Main Dish, Recipes

Tender Short Ribs with Root Vegetables

Oddly, in my many years of cooking, I had never made short ribs until recently.  Why?  I don’t know, because these are so simple to make and so wonderful to eat.  It only took a little bit to adapt them to low carb.  They take about 2 1/2 hours to make with the cook time, but they are so worth it.  My recipe is adapted for two people, but you can easily double it to serve four.  For my root vegetables, I used golden beets and turnips.  You could also use kohlrabi or celery root in this.  The vegetables pick up the flavor from the braising liquid and I am not sure that a potato used in this would taste much different.

Short Ribs with Vegetables

4 Beef Short Ribs (with bones) – about 1 1/2 lbs
1 Golden Beet, medium
1 Red Onion, medium
1 Turnip, medium
1/2 cup Beef Bullion
1/2 cup Red Wine (Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon)
1/2 cup CarbQuick or Coconut Flour
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Seasoning Salt
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper, ground

Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F)

Peel the beet and turnip and cut into cubes. Peel the onion and slice it.

In a pie pan, mix the CarbQuick or coconut flour with the seasoning salt and garlic powder. Dredge the short ribs in the flour.

In a dutch oven or heavy oven-ready deep pot, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil until hot. Add the onions and vegetables and cook until just browned. Remove to a plate. Add the remaining oil, then add the short ribs and brown on all sides, about three minutes a side. When browned, add the beef bullion and wine and stir in the pot. Then add the vegetables back in.

Cover the pot with an oven-proof lid or heavy foil and put in the preheated oven. Cook for 2 hours. Short ribs will be tender and delicious.

Serves 2.

Nutrition Info:
Calories: 448  Fat: 24.4 g Net Carbs: 8.6 g  Protein: 35.7 g

 

Desserts, Recipes

Scrumptious Cinnamon Pecan Tartlets

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The house in Texas had two huge pecan trees in the back yard and we always had an abundant crop of pecans. One of my chores as a child was picking up the pecans that fell from the trees and then shelling them. It wasn’t that much of a chore at all, especially when it led to a wonderfully delicious treat like Pecan Pie. We used pecans a lot in cookies, jello salads, cooking and I use them interchangably with walnuts. When I moved to California, walnuts were more readily, and less expensively, available, but the pecan has always remained my first choice of nut.

Pecan pie isn’t a low carb, low calorie food usually, but when counting carbs and making a few substitution in the ingredients, it can be a great dessert for a low carb lifestyle. I made these as tartlets rather than a big pie because it makes it easier to make a small batch for two or three people and it controls the portion size. I used silicon tartlet molds, which hold about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of ingredients and come in different shapes. They are also easy to unmold.

Cinnamon Pecan Tartlets

Filling

1 Egg
2 teaspoons butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar free maple syrup
1/3 cup Sugar Substitute
1/2 cup pecans, broken into pieces
6 pecans halves for topping
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
1 teaspoon Cinnamon, ground
1/4 teaspoon ground Cloves
Pinch salt

Crumble Dough

1/4 cup almond flour
1 teaspoon butter, softened
1 tablespoon sugar substitute

Prepare tartlet molds by spraying with cooking spray. Put on a baking sheet.

Make Crumble Dough:
Mix flour, sugar and butter together with a fork, cutting through to make a crumbly dough. Press 1/6th of the mixture into the bottom of each tartlet pan.

Bake for about 5 minutes until just lightly browned. Let cool while you prepare the filling.

Make the Filling:
In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients, except reserved pecans, and mix well by stirring.  No mixer needed.

Spoon the filling over the dough and top each one with one of the reserved half pecans Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Check to see if the pie is fully set and done.

Tartlets in silicon molds.

Let cool, then remove from the molds. Serve warm with a dollop of whipped cream.

Makes six tartlets.

 

 

 

 

 

Nutrition Info per tartlet:
Calories: 134.3 Fat: 13.1 g Net Carbs: 1.2 g Protein: 3.1 g

Tip: These little tarts keep in the refrigerator for up to a week and they also freeze well. To serve, thaw them out and reheat them in a microwave for about 15 seconds.