Low Carb Beef and Bacon Stuffing

Move over stove top! I'm giving your high carb stuffing a run for it's money. Sure my stuffing doesn't have dried old bread or sugar in it. Wait, I guess that makes mine better and healthier, not to mention more delicious than yours! Ha!

Directions:

2 lbs lean ground beef
1/2 lb bacon chopped
1 large or two medium stalks of celery, chopped
2 green onions including the green part, chopped
2 tbsp bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp dried sage
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp parsley
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:


1. In a large pan cook bacon until crispy. Drain and set aside.
2. In the same pan add ground beef and cook until browned, drain
3. Add the celery, onion, bell pepper, and bacon. Cook for 5 minutes or until veggies are soft.
4. Add poultry seasoning, sage, onion powder, and parsley. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.
5. Add the chicken stock and cover. Cook for 10 minutes.
6. I like to bake my stuffing alongside the turkey, but you don't have to. I just think it gives it a better flavor and texture. You can also stuff your turkey with this stuffing mixture if you wish.
7. I placed the stuffing in a pan and covered with foil. Baked it for 40 minutes at 325.

This recipe yields 8 servings

0.5 Net carbs per serving

Low Carb Holiday Green Bean Casserole

I cheated a little bit preparing this casserole by using a canned soup. Unfortunately it is not induction friendly this way, but it is certainly acceptable for OWL. It was a very good casserole. I used caramelized onions on top instead of those french fried onions which are breaded and have corn syrup in them.  It was just as good or better than the "traditional" casserole!

Ingredients:

A 16 oz bag of cut frozen green beans, thawed and drained
1 can of Campbell's cream of chicken and mushroom soup (this soup has less carbs than the original cream of mushroom soup)
1 medium onion sliced in strips
4 oz can of mushrooms, drained
1 tsp olive oil


Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F
2. Mix the thawed and drained green beans with the mushrooms, and the soup. Pour into a small casserole dish.
3. In a small pan add the olive oil and onions and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes stirring constantly until caramelized.
4. Top the casserole with the caramelized onions and bake for 20 minutes until hot and bubbly.


*TIPS*

I don't normally use canned soup but I made an exception for Thanksgiving and it was still low carb and much healthier than the original.


This recipe yields 8 servings

5.96 Net carbs per serving

Holiday Cheesy Cauliflower

This cheesy casserole has a very mild cauliflower taste and a nice punch from the flavorful swiss and cheddar cheeses. Using fresh cauliflower and cooking it the night before helps the cauliflower flavor me nice and mild. The cheese sauce has a "secret" ingredient that helped it be thick and luxuriously velvety. It was the best cauliflower dish i've made!

Ingredients:

1 medium head of fresh cauliflower
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup swiss cheese, shredded
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tsp yellow mustard
1 tbsp butter
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp coconut flour
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:

1. I cooked the cauliflower the night before using it, as I find the strong cauliflower taste becomes milder. I just steamed it in a pan with a litttle water and salt for about 20 minutes, until soft.
2. Drain the cauliflower and place it back in the hot pan to dry a bit. Give it a rough mash with a vegetable smasher:

3. Let the cauliflower cool, then place in the refrigerator overnight until it is time to use it. (You can also use it right away, the same day if you wish)
4. Preheat the oven to 350 F
5. In a medium saucepan melt the butter, add the coconut flour and stir until dissolved. Add the mustard and stir for 30 seconds.
6. Add the heavy cream to the pan and whisk to combine. Let the cream come to a simmer and keep whisking. It will get nice and thick because of the coconut flour.
7. Lower the heat and add in 1 1/2 cups of the shredded cheeses a little bit at a time whisking continuously. Reserve the other half of cheese for the top.
The sauce should look like this:

8. Combine the sauce with the mashed cauliflower and place in an 8x8 baking pan.
9. Top with remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese and 1/4 cup of parmesan.
10. Bake uncovered in the oven for 20 minutes until hot and bubbly.

This dish is very hearty and a little goes a long way, however it's so delicious i'm sure everybody will want seconds!

This recipe yields 9 servings

4.57 Net carbs per serving

*TIPS*

This is the first time I use coconut flour as a thickener and it worked amazingly well!
Even though it is a small amount, it is enough to thicken the sauce properly.
You can not taste the coconut at all in the recipe.
Coconut flour is not induction friendly so perhaps you could leave it out or use a thickener like guar or xantham gum, or even half an ounce of cream cheese.

Herb Roasted Turkey Breast

Ok, I don't want to sound annoying but this was THE BEST turkey breast I have eaten in my entire life! And I have eaten at quite a few Thanksgiving dinners. It was moist, flavorful, and fall apart tender.  The secret is the herbed butter medallions placed inside the skin of the breast that baste it as it cooks.  You can certainly use this recipe for a full size turkey as well.

Ingredients:

A 6 lb bone-in turkey breast
1 stick of butter softened at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning (the one I used had sage, rosemary, marjoram, black pepper, and thyme)
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried parsley
salt and pepper to taste
plus extra poultry seasoning for sprinkling on top
1 medium ziploc bag

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F
2. Rinse the turkey breast and pat dry
3. In a small bowl mixt the softened butter, poultry seasoning, onion powder, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. It should look like this:

4. In the ziploc bag pour the sotened butter mixture and shape in to a log.

5. Freeze this herbed butter log for about 15 minutes until it is frozen hard.
6. Season the breast all over with salt and pepper, including inside the cavity and bottom and sides of the breast.
7. Slice the frozen log into medallions and stuff them under the skin of the breast. Make sure you slide as many medallions as you can under the skin to ensure all of it will be basted. If you have any leftover medallions place them inside the cavity of the breast. Sprinkle breast with extra poultry seasoning.
8. Bake uncovered in the oven for 2 hours. Oven temperatures vary, but my turkey came out perfectly cooked and juicy in two hours.
9. Let the breast rest for 10 minutes before you carve it so the juices can redistribute and you won't lose them as you slice.

*TIPS*
Make sure the turkey breast is not frozen when you place it in the oven or it won't cook evenly.
Thaw the turkey in the refrigerator the night before.
Letting it rest is part of the reason it stays so moist and juicy.


Only trace carbs per serving

Thanksgiving Is Here!

I just had the most AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS LOW CARB Thanksgiving feast!!!

Herb roasted turkey breast, beef and bacon stuffing, holiday cheesy cauliflower, low carb green bean casserole!

I'm going to be posting these recipes individually in just a moment.

I'm so happy because the food couldn't have been better and it was all low carb!

Chiles Rellenos Acapulco

I love chiles rellenos! I make them all the time, sometimes with picadillo (mexican ground beef) and sometimes with cheese. I do the chile relleno "breading" as well but it's very time consuming. So today I did a fresher take on one of my favorites and it was absolutely amazing! Very cheesy, savory and spicy! The spice will depend on the pepper you get, they're pretty unpredictable. I've gotten some that taste like bell peppers and some that are really spicy and that's the way I like 'em!

Ingredients:

3 poblano peppers
8 oz of muenster cheese, cut in thick sticks
12 large shrimp, chopped
2 tbsp chopped onion
2 tbsp chopped tomato
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
2 tbsp tomato sauce
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:

1. Place the poblanos on a griddle or skillet on high heat. Roast them, turning until they are blackened on all sides, about 20 minutes. They should look like this:

2. Wrap the peppers in a napkin and place them in a plastic ziploc bag for 10 minutes to steam:

3. Take the peppers out of the bag and napkin and peel all the charred skin off. Rinse them under cold water. There will be a little bit of skin left and that's ok.

4. Cut a slit in the pepper from the stem to the tip and remove the seeds with a spoon. Set aside.
5. In a small pan on the stove add olive oil, onion and garlic. Cook for 3 minutes until soft and tender. Add tomato, cilantro and shrimp. Cook until shrimp turn pink, about 4 minutes then add tomato sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer on low for 2 minutes until heated through.

6. Stuff peppers with cheese sticks and top with shrimp mixture.

7. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.

I served mine topped with sour cream and avocado. Carb counts not included for these toppings.


3 servings
Each at 4.7 Net carbs each

100 Thanksgiving Recipes

source

I would like to apologize to my readers for not posting in a while, but I have been a little sick. I think it's due to the change of weather here in Texas.
I'm sure everyone is busy planning and shopping for their Thanksgiving dinners. Hopefully most of you, like me, anticipate staying on plan this Thanksgiving.

I already have some recipes planned for Thanksgiving, including an herb roasted Turkey breast, beef and bacon stuffing, some form of cheesy cauliflower, green bean casserole, and possibly mini pecan pies or pumpkin pie.

In the meantime here's a helpful link with 100 low carb holiday recipes. enjoy!

Andi's Chicken Wings

I have made these wings twice in a week. The sauce is AMAZING! It's really spicy which I LOVE!
The recipe was posted at Lowcarbfriends by a wonderful girl named Andi. The recipe is here.

I deep fried the wings and skipped the oregano because I didn't have any. I used 3 chipotles, 2 garlic cloves and olive oil.
I made them for my family over the weekend and they loved them!

Thanks for the recipe Andi!!!

Here is a picture of the sauce:

Net carbs for the entire batch of sauce:
7.71

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

This was my breakfast this morning. It's my original low carb pancake recipe, to which I added 1/4 cup sugar free chocolate chips. I used the Sensato sugar free brand. I bought them at netrition.com. You can also use any other brand of chocolate chips or a chopped up piece of a Lindt dark bar.
I topped them with with a dollop of whipped cream and a drizzle of sugar free Hershey's syrup. I normally don't care for this syrup but it worked very well with these pancakes. You can also use Walden Farms chocolate syrup, or Davinci's but it's a lot more watery.

Overall these pancakes were decadent and delicious!

The carb counts will depend on what kind of chocolate chips you use and if you choose to add the whipped cream and syrup.

Chicken Lasagna Florentine

I had been craving something creamy, cheesy, and with spinach. I had this recipe in my mind for a while and finally decided to make it. It was very, very delicious! I think fresh spinach is infinitely better than frozen. But if you do not have any you can certainly substitute frozen. This comforting dish is great for the winter months ahead and is also great as leftovers.

Ingredients:

Alfredo sauce:
1 tbsp of butter
1 clove garlic minced
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup parmesan
2 oz cream cheese
salt to taste if needed, I didn't use any in the sauce

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast chopped into 1" pieces (I used 5 large breasts)
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 cups fresh spinach
1/4 cup parmesan


Directions:

1. Add olive oil to large pan, season chicken with salt and pepper and add to pan.
2. Cook until lightly browned.
3. In a separate pot, add butter and garlic, saute for 30 seconds and add heavy cream. Simmer for 5 minutes then add parmesan and cream cheese. Whisk until smooth if necessary. Simmer sauce for about 10-15 minutes on low. It will thicken up with the cooking and the cream cheese.
4. Mix cooked chicken with Alfredo sauce.
5. Preheat oven to 350 F
6. In a 9x9 pan layer chicken in sauce, spinach, and mozzarella, repeating as necessary. I did:
chicken
spinach
cheese
chicken
spinach
cheese
and top final layer with parmesan.
7. Bake uncovered in the oven for 20 minutes until cheese is bubbly and melted. I also turned on the broiler for a few minutes to get the parmesan on top golden brown.

This recipe yields 6 big servings.

It's a little difficult to serve in squares as soon as it comes out of the oven because the cheese is very melted. If you let it rest for 10 minutes it will be easier to serve. This is only if you want a uniformly shaped square. If not you can serve it right away.

You can also use the recipe for the Alfredo sauce with chicken breasts, fish, shrimp, or even vegetables.

6 large servings

Net carbs per serving:

3.25

Deep Fried Mexican Carnitas

These carnitas are deep fried to a golden buttery deliciousness. They are so addictive! I think while I was making them I almost ate an entire pound while "sampling" them!
Deep frying them is the traditional way to make carnitas and its the way I made them, but if you're concerned about your fat intake or if you only eat organic then you could follow the steps for my steamed and fried short ribs and they'd still be delicious.

Ingredients:

3.5 pounds of pork "carnitas" usually they are labeled this way at the store but the cut you should use is boston butt
1 lb lard
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:

1. Use a large deep pot. Add the lard and set on medium heat until lard is melted.
2. Rinse the meat, dry and cut into 2-3 inch cubes
3. Season meat liberally with salt and pepper
4. Carefully add pieces of meat to pot. Make sure you only add enough carnitas to the pan so that they are completely covered in the lard. You might have to do this in 2 batches like I did. It's important not to overcrowd the pan.
5. Cook the carnitas for 20 minutes turning occasionally to ensure they get golden brown on all sides.
6. Repeat with the rest of the batch.

Suggested serving is with chopped cilantro and onion, and my Spicy Avocado Salsa! Low carb beer optional *wink*

No carbs in this recipe as written

Spicy Avocado Salsa

I LOVE spicy! I have always loved jalapenos, hot sauces, salsas, you name it! I'm a Texas girl and i've grown up eating Mexican food. Really good Mexican food that my family makes.
This is the BEST avocado salsa you will ever try. It's creamy and spicy and it would go great with low carb tacos, taco salad, fajitas, ribs, and especially with my delicious deep fried carnitas!

Ingredients:

1 28 oz can of La Costena tomatillos
1/4 small onion
1 clove of garlic
1/2 avocado
3 jalapenos
2 serranos
1/4 chopped cilantro
salt to taste


Directions:

1. Drain the liquid from the tomatillos and put them in a blender. Add the onion, garlic, peppers, and avocado.
2. Puree until smooth. Add the cilantro and salt and pulse a few times to mix but not to completely puree the cilantro.
3. Taste to make sure salt is ok.
4. Store in a covered container in the refigerator for up to 5 days.


*Tips*
* La costena tomatillos are available in the Mexican section of your grocery store for example HEB or Walmart. They're usually close to the jalapeno and hot sauce section.
* The nutritional info states that 4 tomatillos have 4 carbs and 4 grams of fiber so they even out Net carb wise.
* There's no strange ingredients or sugar in these and they are very convenient to use versus peeling and boiling fresh ones yourself.

* I used 3 jalapenos and 2 serranos and the salsa came out super spicy. But that's the way I like salsa. If you prefer a mild salsa use one jalapeno and one serrano.
* The acidity of the tomatoes help the avocado not to turn brown. It's important you only use half an avocado, otherwise it might turn brown sooner.
* This recipe makes approximately 3 cups of salsa.
* I don't really measure salsa I just eat as I go, but for those of you who want to know, here you go!


Yields 12 servings of 1/4 cup each

Net carbs per serving: 0.5

Adriana's Texas Brisket

Being a Texas girl , I love brisket! But I can't always have it because of the carb count and because who has the time to smoke it for hours and hours! This version I came up with is cooked in the oven. I bought a large brisket and cut it into 2 pound sections, that way I can cook up a batch and not have to wait 12 hours for it to cook and not have a years worth of leftovers.

Please note this recipe can definitely be doubled or tripled which I recommend because even non low carbers will love it!

Ingredients:

A 2 lb piece of brisket
Salt and pepper to taste
Adriana's Brisket Rub (recipe follows)
1 batch of Adriana's Low Carb BBQ Sauce

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 250 F
2. Season the brisket with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Rub all over with brisket rub and place in a roasting pan or any other deep pan.
4. Cover pan with foil. And place pan in the oven.
5. Cook for 3 hours at this temperature without opening the oven door or removing the foil.
6. After 3 hours take the brisket out of the oven. It should be very tender. Drain any grease in the pan and slice brisket against the grain. place the brisket slices back in the pan and cover with BBQ sauce.
7. Bake uncovered for another 30 minutes.

Serve with my low carb coleslaw, sliced pickles, and onions


*** A few tips about cooking brisket:
1. It is best if your brisket is at room temperature before it goes in the oven.
2. Cooking it on low for a long time ensures you will get a tender ,juicy brisket. In the past I have made the mistake of cooking it on high for a short time and it came out incredibly tough. So make sure you have the time to set it to cook for 3 hours.
3. I have also tried cooking it in the crockpot and it has never come out as good as it does in the oven.
4. I don't like to trim the fat off the brisket because it bastes the meat as it cooks. If you'd like you can trim it after it cooks.

I got 4 large servings of brisket out of this recipe.



Adriana's Brisket Rub

For a 2 pound brisket

1/2 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tbsp onion powder
1/2 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp liquid smoke

Mix all of these ingredients in a little bowl. It will be kind of a moist rub. And rub it all over the brisket before cooking.

Recipe can be doubled or tripled depending on the size of your brisket.

Adriana's Low Carb Coleslaw

I've never been a huge coleslaw fan. I mean I did like it and eat it once in a while from fast food chicken places, but I had never made it at home. With this recipe I have to say i've made it at least 5 times in the past month. My mom loves it and even a few friends who "hate" coleslaw have requested specifically that I make it. It's definitely better than any coleslaw ive tried and I hope you'll like it too!

Ingredients:

1/2 small head of cabbage, finely chopped
1 small carrot shredded
1/4 cup mayonnaise
3 tbsp sour cream
1 tsp yellow mustard
2 tbsp heavy cream
1 tbsp + 1 tsp apple cider vinegar (I like it tangy, but you could add a tsp at a time to the sauce and see how you like it best)
1 tbsp + 1 tsp sweetener (I used a total of 2 drops of liquid Splenda)


Directions:

1. In a medium bowl mix the mayo, sour cream, mustard, apple cider vinegar, Splenda and heavy cream.  (Some celery seed would be nice in here too but I didn't have any)
2. Taste the sauce and see if it's sweet enough or tangy enough for you.
3. Add the shredded cabbage and carrot and mix.
4. Chill before serving


*** Please note:
Carrot is definitely NOT induction friendly but the good news is you can still have this coleslaw on induction, just leave the carrot out and make it exactly the same way.

Leftovers taste great!

Recipe can be doubled.


This recipe yields 6 servings of approximately 1/2 cup each

Net carbs per serving: 2.8

Adriana's Low Carb BBQ Sauce

I've tried several different brands of BBQ sauce since starting low carb and while there have been several that have been quite good, this homemade one totally rocks! Use it on chicken, baby back ribs, or like I did on brisket. It's really really good and although the ingredients sound a bit strange, I promise it tastes amazing!


Ingredients:

1 cup Heinz reduced sugar ketchup
1 cup Diet Rite or another Diet soda that is sweetened with Splenda. (It has to be sweetened with Splenda or it'll turn out bitter because of the aspartame in other sodas.)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp chili powder (or more if you like it spicy)
1 tsp yellow mustard
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp Worsterschire sauce
black pepper to taste



Directions:

1. In a medium bowl wisk all ingredients together until smooth.
2. In a medium saucepan simmer sauce on medium low heat for 15 minutes. It will reduce and become thicker.


*** I didn't use any extra sweetener because the ketchup and the diet rite are sweetened with Splenda and that's plenty sweet for a BBQ sauce.


You will get 8 servings at 1/4 cup each.

Net carbs per serving: 2.43

Comforting Ground Beef and Cabbage Casserole

This recipe is based on a post at LowCarbFriends.com by a wonderful girl named Jenn. I made some changes to suit my tastes and what I had on hand. It's a really good casserole and it makes alot! It's also great as leftovers the next day.

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef

1/4 small onion chopped

1/2 small head of cabbage shredded

1.5 cups Heinz reduced sugar ketchup

2 cups cheddar cheese shredded

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp onion powder

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Brown ground beef in a pan until cooked through. Drain

2. Add onion, garlic powder, and onion powder. Cook for 5 minutes

3. Remove from pan and set aside.

4. Add cabbage to pan and saute until soft

5. In a large bowl, mix ground beef mixture, cabbage, low carb ketchup, and 1 cup of cheddar cheese.

6. Spread in a 9x13 pan and top with remaining 1 cup of cheese.

7. Bake at 350 F for 25 minutes until hot and bubbly.

This recipe yields 9 large servings at 5.25 Net carbs each.

Three Cheese Enchilada Bake

I had been in the mood for comfort food and I sure found it in this super cheesy Mexican bake. Perfect for the chilly weather ahead. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs ground beef

2 tbsp chopped onion

2 tbsp chopped bell pepper

1 14 oz can Hatch 5 pepper enchilada sauce

1 8 oz pckg of cream cheese

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1 cup muenster cheese shredded

1/2 cup cheddar cheese shredded

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Brown ground beef in a pan until cooked. Drain

2. Add 1 tsp garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper to taste and cook for 5 minutes.

3. Add chopped onion and pepper and cook until soft about another 5 minutes.

4. Add the can of enchilada sauce and simmer until heated through.

5. In a separate bowl combine the cream cheese, egg and the remaining 1/2 tsp of garlic powder.

6. In an 8x8 pan layer ground beef mixture, cream cheese mixture, and cheeses until you run out and finishing with the cheese.

7. Bake at 350 F for 25 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.

*** I used the Hatch 5 pepper enchilada sauce because it had no added sugars and it had delicious flavor! Please feel free to use another brand of enchilada sauce or even make your own.

The sauce has 3 g net carb per 1/4 cup. The entire can adds 21 carbs to the recipe.

This recipe yields 9 medium servings or 6 large servings.

Net carbs per slice if cut into 9 pieces:  4.28

Net carbs per slice if cut into 6 pieces:  6.42