Jalapeno Cheeseburger Pie and Greens with Homemade Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

This pie is based on a recipe by LindaSue. Her website is amazing and has lots and lots of recipes and pictures. If you haven't already done so, stop by and check it out!

This pie is sooooo cheesy and hearty and has a kick from the jalapenos. It's very filling and yields 8 large pieces so it's great as leftovers too!

This was the first time I have ever made a vinaigrette, I just made it up as I went and it was delicious! The taste of the mustard goes great with the cheeseburger pie. I had a friend over to eat who is very picky and she loved the salad with the vinaigrette!

Ingredients:

Jalapeno Cheeseburger Pie

1  1/2 lbs ground beef
1/4 of a medium onion, chopped
1 cup Muenster cheese, shredded (or you can use Monterey Jack)
1/2 cup sharp cheddar, shredded
1 fresh jalapeno, diced
1 tsp onion powder
3 eggs
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Brown ground beef in a large pan, season with onion powder, salt and pepper. Drain off excess grease.
3. Add chopped onion and cook until onion is soft, about 5 minutes, then add in the Muenster cheese. Set aside.
4. In a separate large bowl whisk the eggs, add the mayo and heavy cream and mix very well until completely combined
5. In a large pie pan (I used a 12" round pan) Add the ground beef mixture spread evenly
6. Top with the egg mixture and then add the sharp cheddar
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until top is set and golden brown. Slice into 8 pieces and serve.

Pie yields 8 slices with 1.4  Net carbs per slice


Greens with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette 

5 cups Spring mix (or your favorite greens, carb counts will vary)
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tsp (1 packet or 1 drop of liquid) Splenda
pinch of salt


Directions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk the olive oil and vinegar until combined
2. Add the mustard, Splenda and salt, whisk until completely combined
3. Add greens to bowl and toss, serve immediately

Serves 4 as a side salad or 2 as a main dish salad


The vinaigrette has only trace carbs per serving and it depends what greens you use for the carb count on them but they're usually very low in carbs.

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.

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.