Tag Archives: snacks

Breakfast & Brunch, Main Dish, Recipes, Vegetarian

Easy Cheese Pie makes great snacks!

 

Photo: Cheese Pie sticks

Whether you want a side dish,  the main course, or snacks, this cheese pie is a quick and versatile option. I adapted this from a recipe at 12 Tomatoes to a low carb version, which is only a couple of changes. You can use any cheese you like, although mozzarella holds it together well. You can also add your favorite seasoning or mix it up. Use a Mexican cheese mix with taco seasoning and add in chopped green onions for variety. Mix in broccoli and garlic herb seasoning with mozzarella and Reggiano. The possibilities abound.

My flour choice was Bakesquick from Dixie Diner, but you can also use any other low carb flour, including almond flour. If you use coconut flour, use 1/3 cup and add an extra egg. You can use 1 full cup of milk instead of the heavy cream and almond milk, or use the heavy cream and add water to make 1 cup.

Photo: Cheese Pie

Cheese Pie

2 Eggs
1/3 cup Heavy Cream
2/3 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
1 cup Low Carb Flour
3/4 cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
3/4 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon Ground Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Use cooking spray or butter to grease a 9-inch pie plate or a baking dish.

Add the eggs to a medium bowl and whisk until they are mixed together. Add cream, almond milk, and flour, and seasonings and whisk until they are fully incorporated. You can use a blender to combine these. Stir in both cheeses and any other additions. Make sure they are mixed in well. Pour cheese mixture into the greased baking dish and use a spoon or spatula to smooth the top.

Bake between 25 and 30 minutes until top turns golden brown. When a knife blade inserted in the middle comes out clean, it is done. Remove to a counter or a trivet and let cool for 5 minutes.

This makes six servings for a luncheon or dinner. Or cut into snack pieces, by cutting into slices about 3 inches long and 1-1/2 inches wide. Makes about 12 slices.

Keeps well in the refrigerator for several days if it lasts that long. You can warm them for about 10 seconds in the microwave if you wish.

Image: Cheese Pie Nutrition

Appetizers, Main Dish, Poultry, Recipes

Tasty BBQ Chicken Biscuit Rolls

Photo: BBQ Chicken Rolls

Want a low carb variation of the BBQ Chicken that tastes great and is pretty easy to do? To make these, I used Carbquick from Tova Foods. You could also use Bakesquick from Dixie Carb Counters. If you use other flours, they may not hold together as well and you’ll need to add butter and baking powder. This uses precooked rotisserie chicken, which makes it a great way to use any extra chicken.

You can order either Carbquick or Bakesquick from Netrition.com or from Amazon. It may be a little higher from Amazon, but if you have Prime, you may save on the shipping.

BBQ Chicken Biscuit Rolls

2 cups CarbQuick
1/4 cup Water
1 teaspoon Garlic and Herb Seasoning
1/2 cup G. Hughes Sugar-free BBQ sauce
1 1/2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
1/3 cup Onion, finely chopped
1 cup shredded cheese
1/4 cup parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to 425 degrees (F.) Prepare a baking pan with either a silicone mat or parchment paper.

Mix the Carbquick in a large bowl with about 1/4 cup of water. Add enough that it pulls together into a ball, but don’t get it too moist. It will roll out better if it is a stiff dough. Form the dough into a 5-inch x 3-inch log, then put in on a silicone mat or wax paper covered board. Place a sheet of wax paper over the top and press it into a rectangular shape. Use a rolling pin to roll it out to about 10 inches long by 6 or so inches wide.

Put BBQ sauce in a cup and use a basting brush to spread about half of it over the top of the biscuit dough. Add the rest to the diced or shredded chicken. Spread the chicken evenly over the dough, allowing a slight edge on each side for rolling the dough. Top with chopped onions, cheese, and sprinkle on the parsley.

Roll the dough on the long side to form a roll-up. The dough may break in places, so pat it back together as you go. If it becomes difficult to roll, then pull the other side to meet the rolled side and press together to seal. Cut the roll into 8 slices.

Photo: Pan of BBQ Chicken rolls

Place slices flat with the filling up on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until they are golden brown and the cheese is melted.

Let cool about 5 minutes, then serve with a poblano ranch dressing or more BBQ sauce. Makes 4 servings of two rolls each.

Appetizers, Recipes, Vegetables & Salads, Vegetarian

Make these Low Carb Zucchini Mounds

To be frank, I haven’t created too much new this past month or so. Late September and early October were so chilly that I turned to a favorite of mine, a simple stew, just like this recipe. Other than that, I have easy to make Zucchini Mounds, which I adapted from a recipe I saw on line from Mel’s Kitchen. It’s low carb and very tasty, and it’s very similar to zucchini fritters, except it is baked instead of fried. You can also add in bacon bits and/or minced onion for more flavor. I think this would work well with shredded or chopped cauliflower as well. The key to getting a good result is to get the vegetables as dry as possible before mixing them with the other ingredients.

This recipe will make from 12 to 18 mounds, depending on how big you make the mound. I’ve given you the nutrition information for both 12 and 18 as well as made with and without the almond flour. In this recipe, the almond flour is optional and is replacing bread crumbs in the recipe. I don’t believe it is necessary to make a very tasty bite.

Baked Zucchini Mounds

1 1/2 cups packed shredded Zucchini (About 2 large zukes)
1 large Egg
1/4 – 1/2 cup shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese or Cheddar Jack Cheese or other cheese or choice (harder cheeses work better)
1/4 cup Almond Flour (optional)
1/4 teaspoon dried Basil
1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/8 teaspoon Pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees (F.). Line a baking pan with parchment paper and spray with a light coat of baking spray.

In a small bowl, beat the egg lightly to mix the white and the yolk.

Shred the zucchini, wrap in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze the excess water out to get it as dry as possible. Twist and wring the towel until the zucchini is very dry.

Put the zucchini in a medium bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix until combined together.

Drop tablespoon-sized mounds onto the baking sheet and press down with the back of the spoon to flatten and shape a little.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until they are lightly browned. Let cool a few minutes, then enjoy.

Makes between 12 and 18 mounds.

Nutrition Information per 12 (without almond flour)
Calories: 28.2 Fat: 1.9 g NC: 0.8 g Protein: 1.7 g

Nutrition Information per 18 (without almond flour)
Calories:19 Fat: 1.3 g  NC 0.6 g : Protein: 1.1 g

Nutrition Information per 12 (with almond flour)
Calories: 41.5 Fat: 3.1 g NC. 1.0 g: Protein: 2.1 g

Nutrition Information per 18 (with almond flour)
Calories. 27.7: Fat: 2.1 g NC: 0.7 g Protein: 1.5 g

Breakfast & Brunch, Desserts, Recipes

Yummy Crunchy Peanut Butter Bars

Unless you can’t eat peanuts, who doesn’t love peanut butter bars?  They are so tasty and satisfying.  And they can be low carb as well.  Incidentally, if you happen to be one who can’t eat peanuts, but you can eat almonds, you can make this with almond butter also.

I’ve seen several recipes for these bars, but this one is based on the one from Dixie Diner(tm). Of course, they would like you to use their sugar substitute and flour in it, but it works with any of the options available. I used CarbQuick and  Ideal Sugar in mine. If you aren’t concerned about the quantity of carbs in your food, lucky you, then go ahead and make these with regular flour and sugar.

Crunchy Peanut Butter Bars

1 cup Skippy Peanut Butter or other 4 nc per 2 tablespoons
1/4 cup Peanuts, chopped
1/4 cup Low Carb Flour
1/4 cup Sugar Free Chocolate Chips (optional)
1/4 cup Sugar Substitute
2 Egg Whites (boxed will work)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F.) Prepare an 8×8 inch pan by spraying with baking spray or putting parchment paper on the bottom and spraying the sides with baking spray.

In a bowl, mix the peanut butter, egg whites, flour, and sugar substitute together until you have a nice, thick dough. Stir in the sugar-free chocolate chips if you are using them.

Spoon the dough into the baking pan and smooth with the back of a spoon. I used a 6×6 inch pan to get thicker bars, but it does make only eight bars, so higher carb’d ones.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the bars are golden brown. Let cool so they set up before cutting them into bars. To cut into twelve, cut across the middle of one side, then cut each section into three equal cuts. Then turn the pan and cut through the middle of the uncut side and you’ll have six long bars on each side of the middle cut.

If you chill them in the refrigerator, they will come out of the pan easier. You can also melt the sugar free chocolate chips with 2 tablespoons butter and use it as an icing on the top, if you wish.

Makes 12 bars.

Nutrition Information per bar:
Calories: 161.3 Fat: 13.3 g Net Carbs: 3.5 g Protein: 6.6 g

If you add in the chocolate chips, it adds about .2 grams of carbs to each bar.

Note: I specified Skippy Peanut Butter because I know that the carb count is 4 net carbs per 2 tablespoons and others are not. Some of the store brands (such as Wal-Mart, Raleys) are the same count. So check the net carbs to see that they are as low.

Breakfast & Brunch, Desserts, Product Review

Product Review: DCC Carrot Snacking Cake

 

Dixie Carb Counters puts out a big assortment of low carb mixes and meals. Previously, I’ve tried and really like several of their breads. So, I picked up a package of their Carrot Snacking Cake and one of their Cinnamon Swirl Snacking Cake. Last week, I made the carrot one, but instead of making it a cake, I made cupcakes – mainly because I didn’t have the correct size cake pan. It calls for a 9×9 inch pan.

The cake goes together quickly and easily. You need to add water, eggs, melted butter, and oil. Once mixed, pour it into the cake pan and bake. Add their topping flavorings to the cream cheese and once the cake is cooled, spread the icing over it. Simple and it makes nine servings, each about 2 net carbs each. The instructions say that you can add nuts and/or crushed pineapple, water-packed with the liquid drained off, if you wish and it will add about one net carb to the count.

As I mentioned, I made cupcakes and got a dozen normal-sized cupcakes from the mix. Nice surprise for me. They looked great and so delicious. Then PK and I tasted them. They are not sweet, came out somewhat dry, and there is an aftertaste. I went back to look at the instructions thinking that I should have added sugar substitute to them, but it didn’t call for it. The added spices for the cream cheese also didn’t have much sweetener in it, so that didn’t help either. If you don’t like your carrot cake sweet, then you might enjoy this, but to be honest, the dried carrots in it didn’t seem to have much flavor and it didn’t have the moist rich texture that carrot cake usually has.

I took the last six of the cupcakes, broke them into bits and added more sugar substitute, eggs, cream, vanilla, and a little whiskey and made bread pudding out of them. I got six individual cups of bread pudding. It tastes much better, but the after taste still lingers. This uses soy flour, which I don’t care for, but I think the low glycemic mono-sacharide is the culprit producing the after taste and I suspect it is saccharine, from which I’ve always detected a bitter aftertaste.

I think if I was to try these again, I would add more oil, at least 1/2 cup sugar substitute, and pineapple to help increase the moisture. I would also add about 1/2 cup powdered sugar substitute to the cream cheese. Incidentally, I had at least half of the cream cheese left over, so it could be made with 4 ounces of cream cheese instead of the whole 8 ounce block.

On a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the top of the flavor profile, I would give this a 2 when prepared as stated on the package.

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.