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!