Lemon Silk Mini Cheesecakes

These mini cheesecakes are yet another variation of my original cheesecakes. The addition of extra lemon juice gives them a tangy sweet twist. They're so creamy and luscious they'll feel like silk in your mouth. Serve them for dessert tonight if you're looking for something tangy, sweet and refreshing!

Directions:

Use the same recipe and directions for Adriana's Mini Cheesecakes. The only change you will need to make is to increase the lemon juice from 1 tbsp to 3 tbsp.

*Optional* You can add 2-3 drops of yellow food coloring to the batter to make it look a little more bright and yellow.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until set. Let cool and refrigerate overnight before eating. Garnish with slivers of lemon zest if desired.

This recipe is suitable for induction IF you make it WITHOUT the crust.

This recipe yields 12 mini cheesecakes. Each cheesecake has 1.91 Net carbs

You can also make this cheesecake in a pie pan if you'd prefer.

Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs

These bacon wrapped hot dogs are a cinch to make and they can be made outside on the grill, stove top grill, or in the oven under the broiler. You can serve these bacon beauties with mustard, ketchup, melted cheese, onion, jalapenos, pico de gallo, relish or anything your little low carb heart desires! They're very tasty, the combination of the crispy, salty bacon and the juicy beef hot dog make for a snack or entree that you'll love and will fill you right up! They're also very portable, you can take them with you to work and reheat, add them to your kids lunchbox or bento box, or even eat them for breakfast on the road. Enjoy!



Ingredients:

6 All beef hot dogs I used Hebrew National 1 carb per hot dog and no added sugars

6 strips of bacon (I used center cut)

Directions:

1. Wrap the bacon around the hot dogs, stretching as you wrap. The more stretched out the bacon is on the dog the better it will stay on and not unroll while you cook it.

2. Grill the hot dogs for 10-12 minutes or until the bacon is cooked and crispy. OR turn the broiler in the oven on high and broil the hot dogs for 4 minutes per side until done.

Simple! Each hot dog comes out to 1 Net carb if you use the Hebrew National brand. If not, then count the carbs that the hot dogs you use have because the bacon has no carbs. Of course try to get the bacon with no added or reduced sugar.

Grilled New York Strip Steak

I use this marinade with all the steaks I make: ribeyes, New York Strip steaks, all steaks. It gives the steak a very good flavor and color. I like my steak cooked well done but you can cook it to your preference of course!

Ingredients:

2 New York Strip Steaks

Marinade:

1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
sprinkle of salt
black pepper to taste


Directions:

1. Mix all the ingredients for the marinade and combine with the steaks. Let the steaks marinade for at least an hour.
2. Preheat the grill (I used an indoor stove top grill) to medium high heat
3. Add steaks and cook until it reaches your desired doneness
4. Top with a couple of pats of  Garlic and herb compound butter and serve with Deluxe mashed cauliflower  and assorted roasted vegetables.


1.5 Net carbs per steak with this marinade.

The marinade can also be doubled or tripled for more steaks.

Deluxe Mashed Cauliflower

I've made mashed cauliflower several times before with different results. I've made it smooth in the food processor and chunky with a vegetable masher. I've used frozen and fresh cauliflower. And of course I much MUCH prefer the fresh cauliflower taste and texture. I think it's personal preference, frozen cauliflower is more convenient and sometimes less expensive. If you've made mashed cauli with frozen cauliflower and have had good results go ahead and use it. But if for some reason you haven't liked the mashed cauli using frozen cauliflower, then give it one more chance using fresh it makes a big difference.

Ingredients:

1/2 large head of cauliflower, broken up into florets
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup water
salt and black pepper


Directions:

1. In a medium pan add the 1/4 cup of water and the cauliflower. Cover and steam on medium heat until the cauliflower is soft. About 15 minutes. Drain
2. Important Step: Add the cauliflower back to the pan and mash it with a vegetable masher. Let it cook in the pan for another 5 minutes stirring occassionally. This is to help the water dry off of the cauliflower so it won't be soggy and watery.
3. Add the butter, sour cream, salt and pepper. Serve


This recipe yields 4 servings with 4.5 Net carbs each

Garlic and Herb Compound Butter

I've made a compound butter for turkey breast before, but never for a steak. Last night I decided to give it a try and with the addition of this butter that was the best steak i've ever eaten! The butter melts on the sizzling hot steak and gives it really good flavor.

Ingredients:

4 oz stick of butter softened in the microwave

2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

1 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

sprinkle of salt

Directions:

1. In a small bowl combine all the ingredients until completely mixed.

2. Pour the soft butter into a sandwich ziploc bag and place it in the freezer for 10 minutes

3. Remove the butter from the freezer and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve

4. Slice a couple of pats over a big juicy steak, over roasted or steamed veggies, over cauli rice, or spaghetti squash. Delish!

This recipe yields 8 tbsp of compound butter. Each tablespoon has 0.3 Net carbs.

Low Carb Batter Fried Fish

I had been craving some fried fish for a while. I have a recipe for a simple breading that I love but I was looking for a batter fried fish. So I came up with this recipe and it was fabulous! It was exactly what I was looking for. The batter is light and adds great taste and texure to the fish. I bet this would be excellent on shrimp or even chicken! Long John Silvers Who!?

Ingredients:

For the batter:

6 tbsp coconut flour (I used Bob's Red Bill Organic, but you can use whatever you have on hand)
4 eggs
1/4 cup half and half
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
2 tsp baking powder
salt and pepper to taste

1 lb fish, I used Tilapia but you could use Catfish or whatever is your favorite fish

oil for deep frying


Directions:

1. Preheat oil for deep frying
2. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until frothy, add the coconut flour and mix, add the onion powder, garlic powder, baking powder salt and pepper. Let the batter rest for 5 minutes before using it. It will thicken up nicely.
3. Dip the fish into the batter and drop into the hot oil or deep fryer
4. Fry until golden brown and cooked though about 5 minutes depending of the thickness of the fish
6. Repeat until all of the fish is done, if you have any leftover batter drop in some onion rings!
I served mine with finely shredded lettuce, lemon wedges, and my tartar sauce


Make sure the fish is dry before you dip it in the batter. If it has moisture the batter won't stick as well as it should.

Coconut flour is very thirsty, it soaks up alot of moisture so this amount, even though it seems to be small is perfect for the amount of half and half and eggs. It won't be as thick or crispy as the high carb white flour batter, but I promise it's very good. I had a high carb batter fish lover sample it and they thought it was delicious and had seconds!

There is no coconut taste to the batter. It's very light and crisp no coconut taste at all.


The carb count for the whole batch of batter is 19.72. I got to batter 1 lb of fish which was 7 fish fillets. Assuming 7 servings per batch each piece would have 2.8 Net carbs.
Thats pretty good considering one piece of high carb batter fried fish has 17 carbs!

Low Carb Tartar Sauce

Bottled tartar sauce usually has sugar and some other mystery ingredients and to be honest it doesn't even taste that great. Instead make you own and save on carbs and increase the taste!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of mayonnaise
2 tbsp chopped dill pickles
1 tbsp finely minced onion
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp Splenda
1 tsp Dijon mustard
salt to taste

Directions:

1. Mix all of the ingredients in a medium bowl. Taste and add more Splenda and lemon juice to taste if necessary.

This recipe yields 1/2 cup or approximately 4 servings of 2 tbsp

Each serving has 0.8 Net carbs

This sauce would go great with fish, shrimp or even chicken if you'd like!

Crispy Mexican Chicken Melts

This recipe uses my basic breading and Mexican spices to creat a zippy, crispy, juicy chicken that is then topped with salsa, cheese, and sour cream. Perfect for when you're craving Mexican food and easy enough to whip up during the week or any time. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced in half lengthwise for a total of 8 thin pieces of chicken
2 eggs beaten with 1 tbsp of water
1 recipe of my basic breading
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup of Mexican salsa (homemade, or store bought but check the label for no added or reduced sugar)
1/2 cup of Muenster cheese, shredded (Muenster is my favorite cheese but you can also use Monterey or pepper Jack)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tbsp olive oil
black pepper to taste


Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F
2. In a large pan add the olive oil and heat to medium heat
3. In a large plate/bowl add the simple breading mix and the cumin, paprika, garlic powder and black pepper
4. Dip the chicken pieces into the egg wash, then into the seasoned breading. Add to pan and fry until golden brown on both sides and cooked through. About 4 minutes per side (Do not over cook the chicken because it will still go into the oven for 10 minutes)
5. Place the chicken pieces on a plate lined with paper towels. Until you have finished cooking all of the chicken pieces.
6. In a cookie sheet or baking pan place the "breaded chicken". Top each piece of chicken with 1 tbsp salsa and 1 tbsp of cheese. Sprinkle green onion and half of the cilantro on top of the chicken
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly
8. Remove from oven and top with a dollop of sour cream and remaining cilantro

This is one of my new favorite recipes!

This recipe yields 4 servings of 2 pieces of chicken each. I served mine with a rainbow of fresh bell peppers and avocado. But you could serve your with a salad or cauli rice as well.

The carb count will vary slightly depending on what kind of salsa you use. For this recipe and carb count I used Pace Picante hot sauce.

Carb counts for recipe as written not including any sides in the picture:  3 Net carbs per serving



Recipe as written is induction friendly

Adriana's Basic Low Carb "Breading"

Since starting to eat low carb i've used several methods of "breading" food. Be it chicken or steak. I've tried crushed pork rinds and parmesan cheese and while i have to say they were both good, (especially the parmesan cheese!) They aren't always the right flavor/texture i'm looking for for an all purpose "breading." I've since come up with a way to combine both ingredients into the right proportions so that the taste is neither too cheesy, nor too porky.
This recipe can be doubled to make bigger batches of of food and can be seasoned in many different ways which makes it very versatile. A big favorite of mine is using Mrs. Dash garlic and herb. When you're seasoning this "breading" make sure you use a seasoner that has no salt, since the pork rinds and the cheese have plenty of salt already.

Ingredients:

1 bag of pork rinds, crushed. It is best if you use a food processor (I use my Ninja) Crush them until they're almost powdered, very, very fine.  I use a  3  3/4 oz  bag (This is the standard bag size found in most grocery stores in the chips and snack aisle)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese (the green can kind)

That's it! Well, that's the basic measurement. This mixture covers one pound of food. Like I mentioned you can season it any way you like, with garlic powder, onion powder, seasoning blends, any way you would season breadcrumbs for breading.

Just mix up a basic egg wash. 2 eggs and 1 tablespoon of water and beat them until combined. Dip the meat/chicken into the egg wash then into the "breading." Fry or bake and there you go, delicious!

There's only trace carbs in this recipe not including the spices you use which sould be very minimal as well. Please check you spice blends to make sure they don't have any added sugars in them.

This recipe is induction friendly!

Chicken Salad Melts

I had some leftover chicken from last night and was craving something cheesy and delicious! I made a super simple chicken salad that was really good even by itself, but I piled it up on top of fresh tomato slices and topped it with cheese. It's a great quick lunch!

Makes two servings of 2 melts each

Ingredients:

For the chicken salad I used:

1 leftover large cooked chicken breast that was seasoned with lemon pepper, chopped
1/4  cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp sour cream
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
2 tbsp red onion, chopped

You'll also need:

1 medium tomato sliced into 4 thick slices
4 slices of cheese, you choice. I used 2 sharp cheddar and 2 swiss. Both were really good.


Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. In a medium bowl mix the chicken, mayo, sour cream, parsley, lemon juice and onion, mix until combined.
3. In a small baking pan arrange the four slices of tomato and top evenly with chicken salad. Add 1 slice of cheese to each one.
4. Bake in the oven for 5-7 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Serve 2 melts per person.


Net carbs:  PER MELT 2.5    OR 5 PER SERVING


You can also make this chicken salad and just eat it over lettuce or with celery sticks. Yum!