Tag Archives: low carb recipes

Main Dish, Pork, Recipes

Delightful Pork with a Mustard Sauce

I love pork, so I really enjoy finding recipes that combine it with savory sauces.  This is a very good one and the mustard adds just a little bite to the flavor.  Serve it with the vegetable of your choice and a small side salad.  If you aren’t that crazy about pork, the other white meat, a chicken breast, works well.

4 boneless pork chops, about 1/2 inch thick (2 to 3 oz. each)
1/2 teaspoon Lemon Pepper
1 tablespoon Butter
1/4 cup Hot Water
1 teaspoon Better Than Bullion
1/4 cup Heavy Cream
1 tablespoon Dijon-style or Brown Mustard
1/2 teaspoon Dry Mustard Powder
1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce

Sprinkle the pork chops with lemon pepper on both sides. In a skillet, melt the butter, then add the chops and cook until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes on each side. Remove to a plate.

Mix the bullion in the hot water and add to the skillet, stirring to get all the meaty bits loose and pulled into the sauce. Add the mustard, mustard powder and Worcestershire sauce. Stir into the mixture, then stir in the cream. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and continue to cook and stir until the sauce begins to thicken.

Add the pork chops back in with any juices on the plate. Cover the chops and cook a little longer to heat them up and finish any side dishes. I served mine with asparagus and diced turnips with butter and cheese.

Makes two servings.

Nutrition Information per serving:
Calories: 434 Fat: 30.4 g Net Carbs: 2.9 g Protein: 36.7 g

Breads, Main Dish, Pork, Recipes

A touch of the tropics in a ham patty

Another recipe from Better Homes & Gardens “Dieting for One” that I’ve adapted for a low carb lifestyle. When I first read the recipe, I chuckled at the simplicity of it, but I thought I’d give it a try. It uses chunk-style canned ham, but if you’d rather avoid the canned taste, pick up a ham steak at the grocery instead or use leftovers to make it. This tasty little round goes well with a slaw or you can put it on a low carb bun and make a tasty sandwich.

Polynesian-style Ham Patty

2 spears of fresh Pineapple, each cut into six wedges
1 6-1/2 oz. can Chunk-style Ham or 7 oz. Ham
1-2 tablespoons Mayonnaise
2 tablespoon Soft Low Carb Bread Crumbs*
1 teaspoon Minced Onion Flakes, rehydrated
2 tablespoons Green Sweet Pepper, finely chopped
2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F.)

Cut the ham into chunks or cubes, if it isn’t already, then put it into a food processor  and pulse two or three times to make it ground or flaky.

In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients except the pineapple and mix well. Form two patties with your hands, each about 4 inches in diameter. If the mixture is too moist to hold the patty shape, use a baking-spray-coated muffin ring (or cut the bottom out of the ham can or a tuna can for this purpose) to hold the patty.

Spray a baking pan with cooking spray and place the patties in the pan. Press six wedges of pineapple into each ham patty.

Bake for 25 minutes or until the ham is lightly browned.

Makes 2 servings.

Nutrition Information per serving:
Calories: 161 Fat: 9.2 g Net Carbs: 5.8 g Protein: 12.0 g

* To make low carb bread crumbs, use a Muffin in a Minute recipe, using any low carb flour to replace one tablespoon of the flax meal. If you don’t like flax meal, use almond flour and low carb baking mix.

Muffin in a Minute Adapted

1 Egg
1 Tablespoon Oil
1 Tablespoon Low Carb Baking Mix
1 tablespoon Flax Meal or Almond Flour
Pinch Salt & pinch Pepper
1 tablespoon Parmesan Cheese, grated

In a coffee cup or small microwaveable bowl, add the egg and oil and beat with a skinny spatula or fork to blend the egg into the oil until it looks creamy. You want to ensure the egg is completely mixed in. Add the flour and seasonings and mix together well, making sure the flour is completely mixed in.

Microwave for one minute. Loosen the muffin with your fingers when you take it out, then let it cool a few minutes before crumbling up as much as you need for crumbs. It will not be a fine, dry crumble, but the soft little pieces work well for this recipe. If you’d like to dry it out more, slice it into rounds and put it in a 300 degree (F.) oven to toast for about five minutes.

Nutrition Information per muffin:
Calories:269 Fat:23.8 g Net Carbs: 1.7 g Protein: 11.4 g

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Recipes

Sugar Free Fruit & Chocolate Candy

2 Comments

Product Review: Russell Stover’s Sugar Free Bites

I’ve always loved Russell Stover’s candies, even before I started on low carb.  Since switching to the new lifestyle, I’ve grown even fonder of the candies offered by this company.  They have a very good line of sugar-free chocolates and I’ve used the chocolate truffles and plain chocolate in low carb cakes and other desserts.

The newest offering is Sugar Free Bites, little dark chocolate balls with fruit centers that are wonderful.  They come in three flavors — orange, blueberry, and cranberry.  The orange really stands out well and the blueberry is tasty although not as much as the orange.  I love the cranberry, but it doesn’t have as strong a flavor as the other two.  When I first tried it, I had sampled the orange first and found that the cranberry flavor got a little lost.  But when I ate a cranberry one without eating another flavor first, it popped more.

 

 

 

 

 

The best part of this new candy is that a serving of ten of these little balls is only two net carbs!  That’s fantastic.  I usually find that five of the chocolates is enough at one time to satisfy my sweet tooth and chocolate cravings.  Each bag holds about 35 candies and sells for about $5.95.  You can purchase them at CVS and Walgreen’s drug stores, but they may be coming to other places that normally handle Russell Stover’s candies, such as Walmart and your grocery stores.  They are also available online from Netrition and Amazon.  I did notice that the price at Amazon is almost double what you can buy them for at the store.

If you have a chocolate craving, these little candies really offer a great low carb solution.

I give them five cooking spoons of goodness.

5-spoons

Disclaimer:  I have not received any promotional items to review and no one from any of the companies whose products I review have asked me to do so. I have purchased the product and am giving my honest opinion about it. Should any company send me a product to try, I will state it up front and will still give my honest opinion.

Main Dish, Poultry, Recipes

Turkey Meatloaf with Cheese & Salsa is a Winner

Using ground turkey in a meatloaf brings a different flavor to the dinner table while still being an easy and filling meal.  The addition of cheese and salsa gives it a south-of-the-border flair. For the bread crumbs, I used the Magic Muffin recipe below with a low carb flour to make a muffin, cut it into three slices and toast them.  Let them dry out or put them in a low-heat oven to dry.

Turkey Meatloaf with Cheese & Salsa

2 lbs Ground Turkey
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
1/2 cup Water
1 cup low carb Bread Crumbs
1/4 cup minced Onions
2 Eggs
1 teaspoon Seasoning Salt
1/4 teaspoon Ground Pepper
2 cups Cheddar or Colby Cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Salsa

Preheat oven to 400(F.) Spray a standard loaf pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, add the turkey, milk, bread crumbs, eggs, salt and pepper and mix together using your hands. Add the cheese to the mixture and work it in. Put the meat into the loaf pan, distributing it evenly.

Bake for 45 minutes, then sprinkle a little more cheese and spread salsa on the top. Bake another 15 to 20 minutes until the turkey is done all the way through. It should have an internal temperature of 180 degrees (F.)

Let the loaf rest for about 10 minutes, then cut into slices and serve. Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition information per serving:
Calories: 474 Fat: 34.2 g Net Carbs: 3.6 g Protein: 37.3 g

Magic Muffin

Based on the Atkins Muffin-in-a-Minute recipe.

2 tablespoons Low Carb Flour
1 tablespoon Golden Flax Meal, ground
1 Egg
1 tablespoon Oil
1 tablespoon Parmesan Cheese
Pinch of Pepper
Pinch of Salt

In a mug or a straight-sided bowl, stir the egg, oil, cheese, salt and pepper together until it is completely blended. I use a rubber spatula with a small head for this. Stir in the flour and flax meal until it is thoroughly mixed in. Be sure to scrape the sides down.

Cook in the microwave for 1 minute. Take out, loosen the edges, and let cool for about 5 minutes to set up. Use a knife with a serrated edge to cut the muffin into three slices. Toast in a toaster or in the oven until browned.

Let dry out or put back in the oven on very low to dry it out to make bread crumbs. Put in a food processor to crumble.

Nutrition Information per recipe (included in the meatloaf recipe):
Calories: 297 Fat: 26.6 g Net Carbs: 2.4 g Protein: 12.8 g

Main Dish, Poultry, Recipes

Asparagus and Chicken Combine for a Wonderful Entrée

Recently, as we were cleaning up the covered items in our driveway, I stumbled across an old Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook called “Dieting for One” and thumbed through the recipes.  While they are designed for low calorie rather than low carbohydrate, many of them can be easily adapted, so I thought I would take a look at the possible choices.  This recipe is excellent because it doesn’t require any real modification for low carb.  It’s also quick and easy to prepare.

If asparagus isn’t available or you aren’t a fan, then you can substitute in a stalk of broccolini or three or four broccoli flowerets.

I’ve also included the very simple recipe for poached apple slices that the book suggested as a side dish.  Apples are not on the early phases of the low carb plan, but if you are on phase 3 or 4, a few slices will be fine.

Asparagus Capped Chicken Breasts

Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens  “Dieting for One” Cookbook

2 Chicken Half-breasts, skinless
8 teaspoons Water
2 tablespoon Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce
1/2 teaspoon Sugar Substitute
1/4 teaspoon Grated Ginger root or 1/4 teaspoon Ground Ginger (I used minced Ginger from a jar.)
1/2 cup Water
8 fresh or frozen Asparagus Spears
1/4 cup Cheddar Cheese or Swiss Cheese, shredded

Place each chicken breast between two sheets of plastic wrap on a cutting board and use a meat mallet or the side of a plate to pound the meat to a rectangular shape about 1/2 inch thick. Some frozen chicken breasts are already about this thickness, so you can skip this step.

In a shallow dish, combine 4 teaspoons water, soy sauce, and ginger and mix well. Put the chicken in the dish and turn it to coat both sides. Cover and chill for one hour.

Drain the chicken, reserving the marinade, and place on a sheet of aluminum foil on the unheated broiler rack. Turn oven to broil and cook the chicken for 3 minutes per side or until the chicken is tender. Brush it a couple of times on each side with the reserved soy sauce marinade.

In a small skillet, bring 1/2 cup of water to a boil, then add asparagus spears. Reduce heat, cover and cook for about 5 minutes. Drain.

Arrange the asparagus spears on top of the chicken on the broiler rack and sprinkle with the cheddar cheese. Broil for about one minute to melt the cheese.

Makes two servings.

Nutrition Information per serving:
Calories:190 Fat: 0.1 g Net Carbs: 3.2 g Protein: 0.1 g

Poached Sliced Apples

Use a firm apple, preferably a Gala, a Granny Smith, or something along that line.  The apple choices are numerous, but avoid using  softer apples, like the Red Delicious.

6 to 8 Apples Slices, about 1/3 inch thick (about 1/2 medium apple)
1/2 cup Water
1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon

In a small saucepan, heat the water to boiling, then add the apple slices and cinnamon and poach for about 3 minutes. Remove the slices and drain. Add as a garnish to the main course. Compliments many chicken, fish, or pork dishes.

Nutrition Information per serving:
Calories: 15 Fat: 0.1 g Net Carbs:3.2 g Protein: 0.1 g

Tip: This recipe would also work well with a 1/2 inch thick pork chop.