Hearty Beef and Cabbage Stew

This stew is so delicious and comforting, it would be delicious for the cooler weather ahead. It's one of my favorite recipes.

Ingredients:


2 lb beef chuck roast cut in 1 inch pieces
1/2 medium head of cabbage sliced thinly
1/2 medium onion chopped
1/2 medium tomato chopped
2 tbsp bell pepper chopped
1/2 tsp cumin
1 garlic clove minced
1 tbsp Knorr caldo de tomate
salt and pepper to taste

2 cups of water


Directions:

1. Add the beef to a large stock pot season lightly with salt and pepper and cover. Simmer on medium heat for 40 minutes stirring occasionally.
2. After 40 minutes remove the lid and let the meat brown for about 10 minutes.
3. Add the garlic clove, onion, tomato, bell pepper and cumin. Cook for another 5 minutes until vegetables are soft.
4. Add the cabbage and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the water and the Knorr caldo de tomate. Taste and reseason to taste.
5. Cook for 15 minutes or until cabbage is soft.

Makes 4 large servings

Carb counts from fatsecret.com:

Net carbs per serving:
6.51

*** Knorr caldo de tomate is a boullion available in the hispanic section of the super market

Savory Chicken Patties

A low carb friends member Cryssi posted some pictures of some absolutely delicious looking chicken patties. This is my take on them. Thanks for the idea Cryssi!

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp curry powder
1 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste
oil for frying

1 egg
1 tbsp cream

1 1/2 cups parmesan cheese (green can is fine)
1 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp onion powder


Directions:

1. Using a food processor, ninja, or magic bullet, pulse the chicken breasts until ground. I did two breasts at a time.
2. Mix the ground chicken with the onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, curry, paprika, salt and pepper.
3. Shape 6 patties from the mixture and place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment and sprayed with non stick spray.
4. Freeze the patties for 15 minutes. This will ensure the patties hold their shape when dipped in the egg wash and "breading"
5. Meanwhile, beat the egg and add the tbsp of cream. Separately mix the parmesan cheese with the parsley and onion powder.
6. After the 15 minutes take the patties out of the freezer and dip each one into the egg wash and then dredge them in the parmesan mixture.
7. Fry them in about and inch of oil until golden brown on each side.

Tips:
Spray your hand with non stick spray before shaping the patties, this will prevent them from sticking to your hands.
Great served with a fresh salad.
The patties were very large so one was enough as a serving.


Carb counts from fatsecret.com

Net carbs for the entire batch:
6.28

Net carb count per patty:
1.05

Malaysian Chicken Thighs

I've been eating chicken thighs very often these days, and while I love them I was getting kind of tired of eating them prepared the same way. I came up with this recipe and it was a total winner! Very very yummy and different. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
6 bone in chicken thighs
2 garlic cloves minced
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp curry powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
oil for frying


Directions:

1. In a large bowl combine all ingredients except chicken thighs
2. Add chicken thighs to mixture, coat them completely and let them marinade for at least an hour (I was busy doing something else and I ended up letting them marinade for an hour and twenty minutes)
3. Add about two inches of oil to a large pot and let it heat at medium temperature for about 5 minutes
4. Add chicken thighs in batches to the pot and fry. I added three at a time and it was perfect
5. Cook the chicken thighs, turning them about every 5 minutes. Because of the marinade they have, they tend to get brown very quickly so please turn them often to prevent burning. It took about twenty minutes for the batch of three thighs to be ready. Then I added the other batch of 3 and cooked them the same way.

This would be perfect served with a vegetable stir fry or with cauli fried "rice"

Please note: The carb count may seem a little bit high per thigh, but not all of the marinade is absorbed by the chicken. The carb count i'm giving is for all the marinade. So I think the carb count is actually lower.


Carb counts from fatsecret.com:

Net carbs for the entire batch of thighs:
9.66

Net carb per thigh:
1.61

Spooktacular trio of bat wings!

With Halloween just around the corner, i've been in a festive mood! This morning I made spooky pumpkin pancakes for breakfast and for dinner I made a trio of delicious bat wings! Have them while watching a movie, serve them at a Halloween party or just eat by yourself! I don't like to share anyway...

Variation # 1
Original bat wings

6 chicken wing sections
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
salt and pepper to taste

Sprinkle spices on wings and fry in a pan in 1 inch of oil till golden brown and crispy


Variation # 2
Garlic parmesan bat wings

6 chicken wing sections
1/4 cup parmesan (green can is fine)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp dried parsley

Combine all seasonings with parmesan and dredge chicken wings in it. Fry in a pan in 1 inch of oil on medium heat until golden brown and crispy.


Variation # 3
Sweet and spicy bat wings

I got this idea from this post

6 chicken wing sections
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup Franks red hot sauce
2 tsp yellow mustard
1 tsp Splenda or equivalent

Sprinkle the wings with salt and pepper to tate. Fry in a pan in 1 inch of oil until golden brown and crispy. Turning occasionally.
Mix the Franks, mustard, and Splenda in a separate bowl.
As soon as the wings come out of the pan add them to the sauce and toss to coat.

Out of the three versions, this one was my favorite. I couldn't put them down! I reccommend making a small quantity of the sauce and tossing a few wings in it  first to see if you like it. The ingredients sound kinda weird but I have to admit it was pretty good!


All of the seasonings, spices, and sauces can be doubled or tripled depending on how many wings you're gonna make.

All versions have only a trace of carbs per wing.

Spooky pumpkin pancakes!

This morning I tweaked my original low carb pancake recipe 
I had been craving pumpkin pancakes for a while now, I bought some halloween cookie cutters and used them as a mold for these spooky cuties!

To my original recipe I added :

Ingredients:

3 tbsp canned pureed pumpkin NOT pumpkin pie filling but 100% pumpkin

I upped the sweetener from 2 tbsp to 1/4 cup. (I used liquid for zero carbs, 6 drops)

1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

I followed all the same directions with the exception of pouring the batter into a pumpkin mold. This is not necessary of course you could make the pancakes round, but I was in a festive mood!

The pancakes came out really good! They were nice and sweet and had great pumpkin flavor. They didn't even need syrup, although of course you could certainly use some. I think they'd be great with a dollop of fresh whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon!

This recipe still yields 8 medium sized pancakes but the carbs counts are just a little different.

Here they are:

From fatsecret.com

Net carbs for the entire batch: 10.35
Net carbs per pancake 1.29

Fruity cheesecake tart

Based on this recipe

For my birthday this weekend, I wanted a dessert that would not sabotage all the hard work i've done and that my whole non low carbing family would enjoy. I've seen several recipes for low carb fruit "pizza". So I adapted a few to suit my tastes and needs.

This tart was sooooooo good! It did not taste "diet" at all. It didn't have any after taste either. My whole family had seconds!!!

Ingredients:

For the crust:

2 cups almond flour/meal
1 stick of butter melted
1/4 cup erythritol
1 tbsp Davinci Sugar Free vanilla
1/4 cup Splenda (I used liquid for zero carbs, 6 drops)

For the cheesecake topping:

1 8 oz package of cream cheese
1 1/2 cups of heavy cream
1 tbsp Davinci sugar free vanilla
1/3 cup Splenda (I used liquid for zero carbs, 8 drops)
1 tsp. erythritol

1 kiwi peeled and sliced
5 strawberries sliced
1/2 cup pineapple chunks in juice not syrup drained
1/4 cup blueberries


Directions:

For the crust:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2.  I don't have a microwave so I melted the butter in a pan on the stove. My erythritol wasn't powdered so I stirred it into the pan with the melted butter. (If you're erythritol is powdered you can skip this step)
3. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and spread on a tart pan.
4. Bake for 12 minutes until the edges are golden brown. Let cool for 15 minutes before adding the topping.

It should look like this:

For the filling:

1. Mix the cream cheese, heavy cream, Davinci, Splenda, and erythritol. (You can leave the erythritol out. I added this small amount because it's always better when you use several types of sweeteners. It gives the food a more "real" sugar taste)
2. I beat mine with a mixer until it was thoroughly mixed and fluffy.

It looked like this:

3. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the crust.

4. And top with the fruit.

I let the dessert chill in the refrigerator overnight before trying it.

Erythritol can sometimes have a "cooling" effect when not combined with other sweeteners. I detected a slight "cooling" effect on the crust by itself. But when it was topped with the cream and fruit it was amazingly delicious!!! No after taste or any type of artificial taste at all!

I got 12 good sized slices out of the tart.

Carb counts from fatsecret.com:

Net carbs for the entire tart: 70.88

Net carbs per serving: 5.90

Fresh Mexican Salsa

This fresh salsa goes great with my steamed and fried short ribs. It would also go great with cheese chips, or on a taco salad. It's spicy but just enough give your food a nice kick.

Ingredients:
2 medium tomatoes
1 fresh jalapeno
juice of half a lime
a medium slice of onion
handful of cilantro
salt to taste


Directions:

1. Add all ingredients except cilantro and salt to a food processor or blender.
2. Blend until smooth
3. Add the cilantro and the salt and pulse. You don't want the cilantro to be completely pureed, you want there to still be bigger pieces of cilantro running through the salsa. Taste and adjust salt.

The spicyness of your salsa will depend on the heat of the pepper you use.

Keeps covered for up to a week in the refrigerator.

Carb counts from fatsecret.com

Makes about 2 cups
Net carbs for the whole batch: 11.76


8 servings of 1/4 cup
Net carbs per serving: 1.47

Steamed and Fried Short Ribs

This is more of a method of cooking not so much a recipe. The ribs first get steamed and then fried. They end up fall of the bone tender, while still being crispy.

Ingredients:
2 lbs short ribs rinsed, cleaned, and cut
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:
1. Season ribs with salt and pepper to taste
2. Add ribs to deep pot and cover with a lid
3. Steam ribs on low heat for 40 minutes stirring occasionally
4. After 40 minutes when ribs have steamed and cooked remove the lid and turn the heat to medium. They're will be a good amount of water and grease in the pan, but the water will start to evaporate and the ribs will fry in the grease that's in the pan.
5. Turn the ribs will they fry for about 25 minutes.

The reason I only season the ribs with salt and pepper is because the method of cooking gives the ribs such great flavor that it doesn't need much else. Except maybe my fresh Mexican salsa!

*no amount of carbs in this recipe

Parmesan crusted chicken with zucchini ribbons in garlic butter

You will NEVER miss "breaded" chicken and "pasta" with this dish! I've made the chicken lots of times and every time it's delicious! I've made the zucchini ribbons before also but in alfredo sauce, this time I made them in garlic butter sauce and added mushrooms and it was much better lighter and garlicky just a perfect side for the rich, cheesy, buttery chicken.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

2 lbs skinless boneless chicken breasts

1 1/2 cups of grated parmesan cheese (I used the kind in a green can)

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp dried parsley

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 eggs beaten

1 tbsp heavy cream

2 tbsp olive oil

For the zucchini ribbons:

2 large zucchini

4 white mushrooms sliced

3 tbsp butter

1 clove garlic minced

1/2 tsp parsley

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

For the chicken:

1. For my 2 pounds of chicken I got 4 large breasts each of which I sliced in two.

2. Place the parmesan cheese in a large plate and add onion powder, garlic powder, parsley, and pepper. It should look like this:

3. Add the tbsp of cream to the beaten eggs. This helps the eggs be a little more liquid and the flavor of the chicken to be richer
4. Dip the chicken breasts into the egg wash, the dredge them in the parmesan cheese mixture. Repeat for all pieces of chicken
5. Heat a large pan on medium heat and add the 2 tbsp of olive oil. Add the chicken pieces to the pan in batches, do not over crowd the pan
6. The key to the "breading" on the chicken not falling off is waiting for the edges of the chicken to be golden brown before flipping. You'll have to cook for about 5 minutes on each side. It is also reccommended that you use a non stick pan. You might have to add a bit more oil to the pan after a few batches of chicken
7. When the chicken breasts start being ready, line a plate with napkins and place the chicken on the plate to drain a bit of the oil until the rest of the chicken is ready. Repeat with all pieces of chicken

For the zucchini ribbons:

1. Wash and peel the zucchini. With the vegetable peeler keep "peeling" strips of zucchini until you get to the seeds. Discard the part with the seeds.

2. This is how the zucchini ribbons should look:

3. Clean and slice the mushrooms.
4. In a medium pan on medium heat add butter to pan, when melted add minced clove of garlic and parsley and cook for 30 seconds. Make sure not to burn the garlic or it will be bitter.
5. Add mushrooms to pan and cook for 5 minutes.
6. Add zucchini ribbons to pan and cook for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally. They will cook very quickly and you don't want them to turn into mush.
7. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve alongside chicken.

Carb counts from fatsecret.com:

4 Servings of 2 pieces of chicken and zucchini ribbons

Each serving has 5 net carbs

It's Taco Night!

Since starting low carb i've enjoyed taco salads once in a while, you know all the ingredients that normally go in a taco but on a salad. For example: on a bed of iceberg lettuce you'd have taco seasoned ground beef, tomato, sour cream, salsa, and cheese. I've been seeing several recipes for cheese taco shells in the low carb community and i'd thought tonight i'd give it a try. Well for my first attempt I have to say they came out delicious! They were nice and crispy they held up very well to the filling I used and held up very well to eating them with my hands.

Ingredients:

For the taco meat:
1 lb ground beef
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
2 tbsp of onion chopped
2 tbsp of bell pepper chopped
salt and pepper to taste

For the cheese shells:
12 oz of cheddar cheese shredded

Yields 6 tacos

Optional garnishes: shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, shredded cheese, sour cream, salsa. Carb counts for the garnishes not inlcuded.


Directions:

For the taco meat:
1. In a medium pan brown ground beef until cooked through. Make sure to drain all the grease from the ground beef before adding the spices and seasonings because if there is too much liquid the cheese shells will become soggy.
2. After meat has been cooked and drained, add garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, and chopped onion and bell pepper. You can leave the onion and pepper out if you'd like they'd make the carb count just a little bit lower but they do add a lot of flavor to the taco meat so please try it if you can afford the carbs.
3. Cook for an additional 5 minutes until onions and peppers are soft.
4. Turn off heat and keep covered and warm until all shells are done.

For the cheese shells:

In a small pan on low heat (I set mine between a 2 and a 3) add 1/4 cup (2 ounces of cheese) and let it melt. It's going to start to bubble and grease and liquid will collect on top like this:

Let the cheese cook for about 7 minutes. Until the edges are light golden brown and the cheese is set and easy to flip. I blotted some of the liquid and grease with a napkin to help it hold together better.

After 7 minutes flip the shell over with a spatula and cook for 1 minute longer. It should look like this:

Remove the shell from the pan and fold over a piece of foil. It should look like this:

After the shell cools it'll harden up and retain its shape.
Repeat the steps for the remaining cheese shells.

Stuff the shells with the taco meat and add optional garnishes if desired.

Carb counts are for cheese shell and taco meat only.

Carb counts from fatsecret.com

Recipe yields 6 tacos each with 1.34 Net carbs

I ate two tacos as a serving and it was just perfect. Very filling and yummy.

If you're on induction you can have up to 2 of these cheese shells per day, but keep in mind that you'll use up your 4 ounces of cheese in this one meal.

Italian Meatballs in Tomato Alfredo Sauce!

I've bought this sauce canned before, but this homemade version blows it out of the water! It was so good I wanted to drink it with a straw! Even if you make your own meatball recipe please try this sauce I know you'll love it as much as I did!

Ingredients:

For the meatballs:

1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
1 egg
1/4 cup grated parmesan (green can is fine)
1/2 tsp. onion powder
2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
2 cloves garlic minced
salt and pepper to taste


For the sauce:

1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1/2 medium onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
2 tbsp. fresh basil
1 cup chicken stock
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (green can is fine)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. Splenda or equivalent sweetener of choice (I used liquid Splenda for less carbs)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

For the sauce

1. Heat a medium sauce pan to medium heat and add olive oil. Saute onions for 5 minutes until translucent then add minced garlic and saute for 30 seconds longer.
2. Add the balsamic vinegar and the Worcestershire sauce, stir and cook for one minute.
3. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken stock, crushed red pepper, and Splenda. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Simmer on low heat while you make and cook the meatballs.

 For the meatballs

1. Preheat oven to 375 F
2. Mix the ground beef, ground pork, egg, parmesan, onion powder, 2 tbsp fresh basil, 2 cloves galic minced, and salt and pepper to taste.
3. Form meatballs and place on cookie sheet. (I got 20 good sized meatballs out of the mixture.)
4. Bake in oven for 25 minutes until done.

Meanwhile stir in parmesan cheese, heavy cream, and basil into the sauce. Add meatballs into the sauce and simmer for an extra 5 minutes.

Serve meatballs with sauce on their own, with zucchini ribbons, or low carb pasta.

Yields 5 servings of 4 meatballs with sauce each


Carb counts from fatsecret.com

Net carbs per serving:
10.2

It seems a little high for induction so it might be better suited to OWL. Even though the carb count is a little high you get a lot of sauce in each serving and there are no "mystery" ingredients like corn syrup, cornstarch, or any type of added sugar so its definitely better for you than store bought sauce, not to mention much, much, tastier!!!


Update: On October 17, 2010

I had alot of leftovers so I ate them today. The sauce was just as amazingly good if not better than yesterday. It holds up very well to reheating. Also, after all the servings of meatballs were gone (I shared, honest) I still had alot of sauce left over. Maybe about another serving of sauce. So this would bring the carb count considerably down. Yay! That means you would get 5 servings of 4 meatballs with about 1/2 cup of sauce plus have an extra 1/2 to 3/4 of sauce left over. Don't throw it away! It is too good to be wasted! Use it on a low carb pizza, pasta, or toss it on some italian sausage with peppers.

Here is the carb count per serving afer having 6 servings of sauce:
Net carbs: 8.5

Chicken Milano

I've made this recipe several times and every time it blows me away! It's something i'd expect to get served at an Italian restaurant! It would be delicious served with mashed cauliflower, zucchini ribbons, or low carb pasta if your plan allows it.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic minced
2 Tbsp sun dried tomatoes chopped
3 large basil leaves chopped in ribbons
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp parmesan cheese
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast sliced thin
salt and pepper to taste

Seves 4


Directions:
1. Cut the chicken breasts in to thin slices and season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. In a medium skillet heat the olive oil and add the pieces of chicken.
3. Meanwhile in a medium saucepan melt the butter, add the minced garlic and the sun dried tomatoes. Cook for 30 seconds and add chicken broth. Let simmer on low for 8-10 minutes until the tomatoes are soft.
4. When the tomatoes are soft, add the cream and simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes while chicken finishes cooking, stirring occasionally.  You might need to cook the chicken in batches like I did because it didn't all fit in the pan at the same time. Remove the cooked chicken to a plate and keep warm while the rest of the chicken cooks.
5. During the last 5 minutes add the parmesan cheese and the basil to the cream sauce.
6. Serve chicken on a plate and cover with the sauce.


Carb counts from fatsecret.com

4 servings
Net carbs per serving 3.24

Jalapeṅo Poppers!

Jalapeṅo Poppers are one of my favorite snacks/appetizers. A spicy pepper stuffed with gooey cheese and wrapped in bacon? What's not to love!

I usually cut them in half, stuff them, and wrap them that way, but today I had a different idea. Stuffing the pepper while it is still whole! I also did a combination half stuffed with cheddar, half stuffed with cream cheese! Mmmmmmmm! I just tasted one and it was very spicy just the way I like them and filled with gooey deliciousness!

Ingredients:

10 whole jalapeṅo peppers
3 oz cream cheese (I used Philadelphia)
3 oz cheddar cheese cut into thick cubes
10 slices of bacon

I like to parboil the peppers before I stuff them and wrap them because that makes the pepper softer then when you just wrap and bake. This step is optional, but it also helped the seeds of the peppers come out easier.

If you are going to parboil them fill a medium sized pot with water 3/4 of the way throw the peppers in and let them boil for about 10 minutes. *warning if your peppers are hot you will notice it while they're boiling cuz they'll smell hot!
After 10 minutes drain them and pat them dry. When they are cooled to the touch make a slit on the top from the stem to the end of the pepper. Please be careful when handling the seeds of the pepper. I recommend wearing gloves if possible. If you don't just be careful and whatever you do don't touch your eyes!
I used a 1/2 teaspoon from my measuring set to scoop the seeds out and it was perfect sized. Here's a picture of what the pepper will look like after the seeds are removed.

Stuff 5 of the peppers with the cubes of cheddar and the other 5 with the cream cheese. I used the same 1/2 teaspoon to stuff the cream cheese into the peppers.

Take a bacon strip and wrap one around each pepper. They should look like this.

I broiled them in the oven on Low setting for 6 minutes on each side.  That's how my oven is it only has a high or low option. I placed them in the middle rack though because if you put them too close to the top they'll burn.
That's all it takes to make this delicious appetizer or snack! If you have leftovers don't worry they reheat well!
Here's a picture of the inside of the pepper Mmmmmmmmm!

Carb counts from fatsecret.com:

Entire batch Net carbs: 10

Net carbs per pepper: 1

Adriana's Low Carb Pancakes

For my first post I thought i'd post this pancake recipe I came up with a few days ago. It was purely an experiment but what resulted was the yummiest, fluffiest, most delicious low carb pancakes i've ever eaten! A friend who doesn't low carb tried one and ended up eating three! She loved them!

Ingredients:
2 eggs
4 oz cream cheese softened, I used Philadelphia brand
1 scoop of Jay Robb vanilla whey protein powder
1/4 cup golden flax meal
3 drops liquid Splenda for zero carbs or any other low carb sweetener equivalent to 2 tbsp
1/4 cup half and half

Directions:
1. Beat the softened cream cheese and the two eggs until well combined
2. Add the half and half, protein powder, flax meal, and liquid Splenda. Mix thouroughly, you will have a nice thick batter
3. Melt some butter in a skillet (or you could also use oil instead) and drop batter into pan. I used three tablespoons of batter per pancake.
4. Cook for a few minutes on medium heat. They are very easy to flip they hold together very well.
5.You might need to add more butter as you cook more pancakes.

Recipe yields 8 medium sized pancakes


I used Jay Robb whey protein powder because that's what I have on hand. I have not yet tried making these pancakes with other protein powders, but ill be trying some different ones soon. Jay Robb has only 1 carb per scoop and is sweetened with Stevia.

The golden flax meal is all fiber so it does not affect the net carb count at all.

These are the counts I got from fatsecret.com:

For the entire batch:
Net carbs 8.35

Per each pancake:
Net carbs 1.04

I am gonna be working on some variations of this recipe soon. I'm gonna be trying banana nut pancakes, pumpkin pancakes, strawberry cheesecake pancakes, blueberry pancakes, chocolate chip pancakes, and eggnog pancakes! So Stay tuned for updates!