welcome

lus.cious adjective

1. highly pleasing to the taste or smell


Welcome to Luscious Low Carb! A place where low carb recipes are the only thing on the menu. A place where you'll find incredibly delicious food that's simple to make and legal to eat on your plan.

So come in, take a seat and enjoy your stay!

Monday, March 14, 2011

Ready for Spring and new recipes and pictures coming soon! :)

Hello, to all my blog readers and fellow low carbers!  I wanted to come in and apologize for not posting in a long time. I have been extremely busy and haven't had a chance to blog. I have been cooking and taking pictures, just haven't had a chance to post them on here.

I hope everyone is doing well in their low carb journey and healthy ways of eating. I'll be posting again soon.

In the mean time, i'm ready for Spring! Beautiful weather, barbeques, pool parties and the Easter bunny, yeah!

Keep it healthy, keep it low carb, and keep it luscious!


Low Carb Hugs & Kisses

- Adriana

Monday, February 28, 2011

Steak Salad

This is another post on how to use up leftovers. It's not a true recipe just an idea for a quick and easy lunch or dinner. I love making salads with leftover chicken or steak and add all my favorites like cheese, bacon, and avocado. Leftovers never have to be boring, as a matter of fact they make getting lunch on the table and in your tummy lightning fast!




This salad was baby spinach topped with leftover grilled steak, fresh cucumbers, sliced tomato, shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese, crumbled thick cut bacon, sliced red onion, and diced avocado. I ate it with some Caesar dressing and it was delish!

Fajita Taco Buffet!

I've recently discovered the joys of using different types of lettuce as taco wraps. A warm spicy filling topped with creamy sour cream and cheese, and wrapped in a crunchy crisp lettuce leaf? Yum! I promise you will NOT miss tortillas when you try this. It makes a wonderful and filling lunch or dinner, and they're perfect for a party! Serve all the ingredients in separate plates on the table and have each family member make they're own tacos.









Ingredients:

1  lb beef fajitas
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper to taste

12 large romaine lettuce leaves, separated, washed and dried
1 medium avocado, sliced
1 cup of shredded cheddar, or a mixture of your favorite cheeses
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 red onion sliced thinly
Optional Spicy Habanero Salsa


Directions:

1. Season the fajitas with salt, pepper, cumin, garlic and chili powder.
2. Grill on stovetop grill or cook in a pan for 5 minutes per side or until well done.
3. Slice meat against the grain. Transfer to plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
4. Take a romaine leaf and add fajitas, cheese, sour cream, avocado, red onion and salsa if using.

This recipe makes 12 tacos each with 1.2 Net carbs. (The salsa is not included in the carb counts but everything else is.)

Servings vary depending on how many tacos you choose to eat. I personally ate 3 tacos as a serving and thought it was just right!

Spicy Habanero Salsa

If you know me or follow my blog then you know I LOVE spicy! I can have spicy food for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks! For me the hotter the better, so it's no wonder one of my favorite spicy peppers is the habanero. It's been named by some as the hottest pepper in the world, i'm not sure about that, but I do know I love it's fruity heat that sneaks up on you. This salsa is perfect to serve with fajitas, tacos, taco salad, or with low carb tortillas for chips. Hope you enjoy!




Ingredients:

1 extra large or two medium tomatoes
1/4 onion
1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper
1 habanero pepper
salt to taste


Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to a blender, food processor, or Ninja, and puree until smooth. Serve

Keep salsa covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Makes about 6 servings each with 1.2 Net carbs

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Chicken Guisado

Chicken guisado is the poultry equivalent of carne guisada. It's delicious in a bowl topped with sour cream and cheese. Or stuffed in a low carb tortilla for a taco or burrito. Or inside some poblanos for chiles rellenos. Or like I did, in Joseph's Lavash wrap as enchiladas. It's great for those Mexican food cravings. Enjoy!




Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts or thighs, precooked (boiled or roasted) and chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp oil
1/4 cup water
salt and black pepper to taste
optional, chopped cilantro to sprinkle on top


Directions:

1. In a medium pan add oil. Add onion and garlic and fry for a few minutes, when it's soft add tomato, salt, pepper, and cumin. Cook for 5 minutes.
2. Add the precooked chicken to the pan, combine with vegetables and add water.
3. Let the mixture simmer for 5 minutes. Taste and adjust salt if necessary.
4. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve in a bowl topped with sour cream or cheese or wrapped in a low carb tortilla.


Recipe yields three servings, each with 3.1 Net carbs  (carb counts do not include optional garnishes like cheese or sour cream)


Here's something fun I did with this chicken guisado. I took one serving of Joseph's lavash wraps.



I heated it lightly in a griddle. Cut it in half. Stuff each half with 2 tbsp of grated cheese (muenster) and 1/4 cup of chicken guisado. Roll them up and top with 1/4 cup of enchilada sauce. (I like Hatch 5 pepper enchilada sauce because it's very low in carbs and it has no added sugars.)





And 1/4 cup of muenster cheese. Nuke in the microwave for a few seconds until cheese is melted and filling is hot.








Ginger Prawns

I had been wanting to try this recipe for quite a while, but I never had all the ingredients on hand at the same time. I finally got around to it and of course it was delicious! Thank you Cerise for a great recipe.




The recipe is on Cerise's blog here.

I did a few changes to it:

I used one fresh clove of garlic instead of the garlic powder.
I used black pepper because I didn't have any white pepper.
I used half a tbsp of sesame oil instead of one tbsp.
And I didn't have any red chili's so I used 1 tsp of chili oil.


It was amazingly good!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Roasted Lemon Butter Chicken Thighs

I love roasted chicken. It comes out so juicy and the skin gets so crispy! This recipe can also be made with a whole chicken or chicken breasts. Serve with a nice tossed salad, some steamed veggies, or my delicious Cheesy bacon potato bake! 




Ingredients:

6 skin on, bone in, chicken thighs
4 tbsp (1/4 cup) of cold butter cut into small cubes
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 large lemon
sea salt and black pepper


Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F
2. Season the thighs with salt and pepper to taste. Make sure you season over and under the skin as well.
3. Take half of the butter cubes and stuff them under the chicken skin.
4. Squeeze the juice of the lemon over all of the thighs. Top with remaining butter cubes. Sprinkle with parsley.
5. Place the chicken on a roasting or baking pan. Let the chicken sit for 15 minutes at room temperature.
6. Place the chicken in the preheated oven and bake for 35 minutes. Please resist the temptation to open the oven door. Leaving the door closed will help the chicken turn this beauiful golden color and the skin to be irresistibly crispy!


This recipe yields 3 servings of two thighs each. Each serving has 1.3 Net carbs.

Cheesy Bacon "Potato" Bake

This bake is the most luscious, cheesy, flavorful way i've ever eaten cauliflower! I have always liked cauliflower prepared in any way, but this dish blew me away. A good friend who HATES cauliflower stopped by and had two big servings! It is a great side dish to chicken or steak and it's good enough for company. Enjoy!








Ingredients:

1/2 medium head of cauliflower, cleaned and separated into florets
5 slices of thick cut bacon cooked and crumbled
3 green onions including green tops, sliced finely
4 oz cream cheese (I used Philadelphia)
1/4 cup sour cream (I used Daisy)
1 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated
salt and pepper to taste
paprika to sprinkle on top, optional but adds a pretty color



Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. In a large pot with half a cup of water, steam cauliflower until tender (about 15 minutes) Turn off the heat.
3. This is a very important step please don't skip it! Drain the cauliflower and add back to the hot pot. There will still be residual heat on the pot and that heat will help dry the excess moisture from the cauliflower. Mash the cauliflower roughly. It's better if it's not completely smooth.
4. Add the cream cheese to the cauliflower and stir until completely combined. Add the sour cream, green onion, bacon, and extra sharp cheddar. Mix until completely combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Add the mashed cauliflower to an oven safe pan. And top with paprika.
6. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until it is hot and bubbly. Serve.


This recipe yields 6 servings each with 3.1 Net carbs.

I used fresh cauliflower for this recipe because I prefer the taste and texture. But you could use frozen if you wish.

This bake would be fantastic with chopped ham instead of bacon.

I think the extra sharp cheddar makes a huge difference to the quality and flavor of this recipe.

This dish would also be great as a main dish!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Sweet Teriyaki Short Ribs

I love short ribs. I love the taste and the tenderness. I always make them steamed and fried with a Mexican salsa. But today I had a great idea. Teriyaki ribs! I used a low carb Teriyaki sauce by Seal Sama. It has 1 carb per tablespoon and it is sweetened with Splenda. It tastes amazing! Doesn't taste diet at all. I got mine at Netrition.com for $4.99. I highly recommend ordering some next time you place an order there. It would also be good as a marinade, or with chicken!




Ingredients:

2 lbs beef short ribs, cleaned and cut into sections
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper
1/2 cup Seal Sama Sugar Free Teriyaki sauce
green tops from 1 green onion sliced at an angle



Directions:

1. Season the ribs with salt and pepper and garlic powder
2.  Follow the directions for my steamed and fried short ribs
3. Place the Teriyaki sauce in a large bowl.
4. When the ribs are done, add to bowl with sauce and toss to coat.
5. Sprinkle with green onion tops and serve!

This recipe yields 3 servings, each with 3.34 Net carbs


I served this with Chinese green beans.


This is what the Teriyaki sauce looks like:


Chinese Green Beans

If your tired of eating steamed green beans, try them this way next time! They're savory, slightly sweet, and slightly spicy. Delicious on the side of grilled chicken or steak or Chinese chicken wings. These are similar to the green beans served in Chinese buffets. If you can find them you can use those long Chinese green beans cut into 2 inch pieces. My new favorite way to eat green beans!




Ingredients:

6 oz  fresh breen beans, cleaned, trimmed, and cut at an angle into 2 inch pieces
1 green onion, including the green tops, sliced at an angle
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp Chinese chile paste (I used garlic chile paste)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger minced
1 tsp Splenda
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp sesame oil
3 tbsp oil, (peanut, vegetable, or coconut)


Directions:

1. Heat a wok or medium pan to high heat. Add 2 tbsp of oil.
2. Add the green beans and stir fry for 6-7 minutes until they start to get a brown color but are still tender crisp, remove the green beans to a plate.
3. Add the remaining tbsp of oil to the pan. Add the garlic, ginger, and green onion. Lightly stir fry for a minute. Add the green beans back to the pan. Add the chile paste, soy sauce, Splenda, salt and pepper. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add sesame oil and serve.


This recipe yields 2 servings and can easily be doubled for more servings.

Each serving has 4.7 Net carbs