Fajita Taco Buffet!

I've recently discovered the joys of using different types of lettuce as taco wraps. A warm spicy filling topped with creamy sour cream and cheese, and wrapped in a crunchy crisp lettuce leaf? Yum! I promise you will NOT miss tortillas when you try this. It makes a wonderful and filling lunch or dinner, and they're perfect for a party! Serve all the ingredients in separate plates on the table and have each family member make they're own tacos.

Ingredients:

1  lb beef fajitas
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper to taste

12 large romaine lettuce leaves, separated, washed and dried
1 medium avocado, sliced
1 cup of shredded cheddar, or a mixture of your favorite cheeses
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 red onion sliced thinly
Optional Spicy Habanero Salsa


Directions:

1. Season the fajitas with salt, pepper, cumin, garlic and chili powder.
2. Grill on stovetop grill or cook in a pan for 5 minutes per side or until well done.
3. Slice meat against the grain. Transfer to plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
4. Take a romaine leaf and add fajitas, cheese, sour cream, avocado, red onion and salsa if using.

This recipe makes 12 tacos each with 1.2 Net carbs. (The salsa is not included in the carb counts but everything else is.)

Servings vary depending on how many tacos you choose to eat. I personally ate 3 tacos as a serving and thought it was just right!

Mexican Lettuce Wraps

Who needs tortillas when you can have zesty taco meat, shredded cheese, sour cream and avocado piled high on lettuce wraps! This is an excellent light lunch or dinner and it can even be an appetizer. The flavors go so well together. Throw this simple dish together the next time you're craving tacos!

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef (you could use turkey if you wanted)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
2 green onions chopped
10 large iceberg lettuce leaves, whole, washed and dried (you could use romaine, or Bibb lettuce)
1/2 cup cheddar or monterey jack cheese, shredded (I used a mixture of both)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 large tomato, chopped
1/2 large avocado, diced


Directions:

1. In a large pan over medium heat add the ground beef. Cook until lightly browned. Drain if there's excess grease.
2. Add the white part of the green onions to the pan and cook for 2 minutes. Add onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, and chili powder, salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 5 minutes more.
3. To assemble the wraps, top a lettuce leaf with taco meat, shredded cheese, avocado, sour cream, and the green tops of the green onions.


You can also place the taco meat on a large plate surrounded by the toppings and assemble the wraps at the table or if you're hosting a party your guests can each assemble their own. This would be excellent for Taco Night maybe with a couple of low carb Margaritas or beer! Fiesta!

This recipe yields 10 wraps each with 1.6 Net carbs

It's up to you how many servings you get, I personally ate 4 wraps as a meal, but if you serve them as appetizers you'll get more servings.

This recipe is induction friendly.

I ate these wraps with Tabasco sauce and it just made the wraps 100 times better! Yum!

Super Bowl Sunday!

Super Bowl Sunday is only two days away, and while everyone is out buying frozen pizzas and cheetos you can start getting ready by making some of these low carb Game Day recipes.

Of course no Super Bowl Party would be complete without wings!

Boneless Wings

Crispy Garlic Parmesan Wings

Andi's Chicken Wings





In addition to the wings there are many more low carb options for you!

Jalapeno Poppers

Pepperoni Basil Pizza Bites

Supreme Pizza Bites

Supreme Pizza

Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs

How about some veggies with low carb ranch?

And for dessert, how about some........

Mini Chocolate Chip Cheesecakes with Homemade Chocolate Ganache

Low Carb Double Fudge Brownies



Whether you're hosting a Super Bowl party at your home, or going to a friends house, you don't have to pass up on having fun and eating yummy party food. All of these recipes have been tested and loved by low carb and high carb eaters. You can serve these along with the high carb food or take a couple of these recipes to a party. I guarantee that everyone will want some of the delicious food you'll be eating. And since most of these recipes make enough to share, it's perfect!

Make sure there is something at the party for you to eat and snack on, that way you won't feel tempted by all the high carb junk. Don't forget to have or take something to drink as well.

And most importantly, have fun! Enjoy watching the game with your family and friends, enjoy eating delicious food and not feeling deprived, but most of all feel like a winner because you can stick to your plan and still be on your way to your weight loss goal!

Have fun, be safe and good luck to your team! Hut hut!

Low Carb Boneless Wings

Just in time for Super Bowl Sunday- Boneless wings! Oh yes! You can always have wings on low carb as long as they're not breaded, but now you can also have these juicy, crispy, breaded pieces of deliciousness! They're very simple, cheap and fast to make not to mention super tasty. I made these for my sisters (teenagers) and some friends who don't low carb and they loved them! That's how I know if a recipe is really a winner, if people who don't low carb love them, I know it's a keeper!

Regular Wings Mmmmm

Or you can also try them with sauce!

Ingredients:

1 lb of boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about three large breasts)   Cut into chunks
1 recipe for Adriana's Basic Breading
2 eggs, beaten with 1 tbsp of water
1  1/2   tbsp of Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb
oil for frying


Directions:

1. Prepare the low carb breading and add it to a ziploc bag along with Mrs. Dash. Mix well to combine
2. Add about one inch of oil to a large pan, heat to medium high heat
3. Dip chicken pieces into egg wash, then add them to the bag with the seasoned breading. Shake well to coat. Add about 4-5 pieces of chicken to the bag at a time to ensure even coating. Repeat the process until all the chicken is coated.
4. Add the breaded pieces of chicken to pan. Cook until golden brown, then turn and cook on the other side till golden brown. It will take about 3-4 minutes per side to cook.

If you have any leftover breading take some cheese sticks, dip them into the egg wash and then shake them in the breading. Fry in the pan until golden brown on all sides. Mmmmmm melty, gooey, cheesy mozarella sticks!


These boneless wings are really good hot, room temperature, and even cold from the fridge as leftovers!

You can serve them plain as is, they have great  flavor and are great for people who don't like spicy food and also for kids. (trust me they'll love these!)   But if you would like them in sauce you can use your favorite hot wing sauce with no added sugar, a favorite of mine is Hooter's Hot wings sauce, very low in carbs and no added sugars. You can also use a mixture of hot sauce and butter. Or sugar free barbecue sauce or whatever way you usually like on boneless wings!

I used this hot wing sauce:

I found it at my regular grocery store for $1.99. It's very low in carbs and has no added sugars. Best of all it has great taste, its got heat but not too much, just perfect. It comes in a close second to my favorite wing sauce, Hooters.

You can serve these wings with my homemade ranch or blue cheese and celery sticks.

There is only trace carbs in this recipe as written. The only carbs you would have to look out for would be the ones of the sauce you use.


This recipe is suitable for induction.

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.

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!

Supreme Pizza!

I've tried many different pizza crusts while on low carb, and I have to say I haven't found one I didn't like. This is the easiest to make and tastes very very good! You can go crazy on the toppings and do many different variations, pepperoni lover's, meat lover's, bbq chicken, hawaiian, cheeseburger, philly cheese steak, and the list goes on and on.
I've served this pizza to several non low-carbers from teens to adults and every single one of them loved it!

I found these wraps at walmart in the deli section, but I know that Netrition.com also sells them.

Ingredients:

1 Joseph's Lavash Bread
2 tbsp pizza or pasta sauce, lowest carbs you can find (the one I used had 1 net carb per 2 tbsp)
1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
20 slices pepperoni
2 thin slices of red onion, chopped
2 tbsp black olives, sliced
2 slices Canadian bacon, chopped
2 tbsp chopped bell pepper
1 tbsp olive oil



Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. In a cookie sheet place lavash bread. Brush both sides with olive oil
3. Bake in preheated oven for 3 minutes, remove, flip over with a spatula, and bake for another 3 minutes. It should be lightly toasted. Watch it carefully because it burns easily.
4. Take crust out of the oven and top with sauce, cheese, and all toppings.
5. Return to the oven and bake for 8 minutes. Turn on the broiler to low and broil for 3 minutes. Again, watch it carefully!
6. Slice with pizza cutter and serve!


I get 12 square slices out of this pizza.

Each piece comes out to 1.2 Net carbs. I eat 3 pieces with a salad and it's just right, but it's up to you how many pieces you want to eat per serving.

Crispy Garlic Parmesan Wings

I love wings! I've tried them chinese style, cajun style, lemon pepper, and one of my favorites with Hooters Hot wing sauce! 
Tonight I tried them deep fried until crispy with a garlic parmesan sauce. Delicious! Serve with celery sticks and ranch or blue cheese. I didn't have celery today so I used green bell pepper strips. Equally yummy!

Ingredients:

8 chicken wing sections
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp parmesan cheese (green can is fine)
sea salt
oil for deep frying


Directions:

1. Score chicken wings at an angle and lightly rub with sea salt (don't go to crazy with the salt because the parmesan is salty)
2. In a large pan or deep fryer add oil and heat.
3. Add chicken wings to hot oil and fry until golden brown and extra cripsy, about 10 minutes
4. In a large microwave safe bowl add 2 tbsp of butter and minced garlic. Microwave until butter is melted. 45 seconds to 1 minute.
5. Stir in parmesan cheese.
6. Add hot chicken wings to sauce and toss to coat.


This recipe is only for one, but you can certainly double it or even triple it to make a big batch, and you probably should because everyone will want some!

Only trace carbs for this recipe as written.

Cheesy Crab Stuffed Mushrooms

This is one of the sides I had at Christmas dinner. It was delish and would also make a great appetizer.

Ingredients:

1 container of white button mushrooms approx 14 mushrooms. Cleaned and stems removed
4 oz cream cheese softened
3 green onions
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp Old Bay spice
1/2 cup blue crab
2 tbsp parmesan, grated
2 tbsp butter melted


Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Mix the cream cheese, green onions, lemon juice, Old Bay, and 1 tbsp of the parmesan until well combined. Fold in the crab meat.
3. Dip the mushroom caps in to the melted butter, then stuff them with the crab mixture. Repeat until all of them are finished. Top them with the remaining parmesan.
4. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes intil liquid collects under the mushrooms. Turn on the broiler for a few minutes to get the tops lightly golden.

Great served with ham, or as an appetizer.  You can reserve the mushroom stems to make broth or add them chopped up to a soup or maybe a philly cheese steak melt.


Each mushroom has 0.5 Net carbs.



Supreme Pizza Bites

If you've already seen my previous post of pepperoni basil bites, this is the second batch I made. Which I turned into supreme pizza bites! These were more of a hit with the adults than the kids but it was better for us because we got more! Both versions were equally delicious and both were snatched up and eaten within 5 minutes! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

8 oz pckg cream cheese, softened

2 eggs

1/4 cup pizza or pasta sauce, the lowest carbs you can find. The one I used had 2 net carbs per 1/4 cup

1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

2 fresh basil leaves, chopped or torn into small pieces

2 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated

32 slices of pepperoni, plus an additional 1/4 cup chopped pepperoni

2 slices of canadian bacon or ham, chopped

2 tbsp sliced black olives

2 tbsp chopped green bell pepper

2 tbsp chopped red onion

1 mini muffin tin, preferably a 24 capacity one

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven at 350 F.

2. Place one pepperoni in the bottom of each mini muffin tin. Press down on them to make them stay.

3. In a large mixing bowl, mix the cream cheese and eggs until thoroughly combined. Add the pizza or pasta sauce, mozzarella, parmesan, basil, chopped pepperoni, ham, green peppers, olives and onions.

4. Fill each mini muffin space to the top with this mixture. Be careful not to overfill.

5. Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or until lighly golden brown and set.

6. Remove them from the pan by passing a small knife around the edges. They should pop right out with no problem but if you know your pan tends to stick then add pam before baking.

7. Place remaining pepperoni's in the bottom of the tins and add remaining mixture and bake as directed.


You have to do this in batches since the recipe yields 32 and the pan only holds 24.

Each pizza bite has 0.5 Net carbs

The carbs counts will vary slightly depending on what kind of pizza or pasta sauce you use.

If you haven't already seen it, I also posted a recipe for pepperoni basil pizza bites. So please check that post out as well! 

Pepperoni Basil Pizza Bites

Happy New Year! Hope everyone had a happy and healthy holiday season!

For my first post of 2011 i'm starting with these appetizers I made on Christmas Day. Warning: You might want to make them only if you're have company because they are so good, you won't be able to stop yourself from eating the entire batch, all 32 of these delicious bites!

Ingredients:

8 oz pckg cream cheese, softened

2 eggs

1/4 cup pizza or pasta sauce, the lowest carbs you can find. The one I used had 2 net carbs per 1/4 cup

1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

5 fresh basil leaves, chopped or torn into small pieces

2 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated

32 slices of pepperoni, plus an additional 1/4 cup chopped pepperoni

1 mini muffin tin, preferably a 24 capacity one

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven at 350 F.

2. Place one pepperoni in the bottom of each mini muffin tin. Press down on them to make them stay.

3. In a large mixing bowl, mix the cream cheese and eggs until thoroughly combined. Add the pizza or pasta sauce, mozzarella, parmesan, basil, and chopped pepperoni.

4. Fill each mini muffin space to the top with this mixture. Be careful not to overfill.

5. Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or until lighly golden brown and set.

6. Remove them from the pan by passing a small knife around the edges. They should pop right out with no problem but if you know your pan tends to stick then add pam before baking.

7. Place remaining pepperoni's in the bottom of the tins and add remaining mixture and bake as directed.


You have to do this in batches since the recipe yields 32 and the pan only holds 24.

Each pizza bite has 0.35 Net carbs.

The carbs counts will vary slightly depending on what kind of pizza or pasta sauce you use.

I made a second batch that I turned into Supreme pizza bites. So please check that post out as well! 

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

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.

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