Sunday, August 12, 2012

Low Carb Dinner Menus, August 12-17

It's back to school time! I need to plan and organize in order to get through a very busy week. So here is my dinner menu for August 12-17.

Sunday - pork ribs with Walden Farms Sugar Free BBQ Sauce, broccoli slaw with Walden Farms Sugar Free Cole Slaw Dressing
Monday - bacon cheeseburgers sans bun, salad
Tuesday - chicken breasts with vegetables
Wednesday - grilled pork chops, broccoli and cheese
Thursday - shrimp in Cajun garlic butter (from HEB), salad
Friday - taco pie (using Carbquik)

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Low Carb Taco Muffins

Last night I played around with a Bisquick recipe -without the Bisquick. I wanted to try making mini pot pies in a muffin tin, but of course, I wanted to create a low carb version. I used leftovers from taco salad from the day before and Carbquik as my magic ingredient.

Directions:

In a bowl, combine:
1/2 c. Carbquick
1/4 c. whole milk
1/4 c. heavy whipping cream
2 beaten eggs
1/8 tsp. xanthum gum
1/8 tsp. baking powder

Put 6 muffin papers into a muffin pan and spray with Pam. (Next time I'll probably just spray the pan well instead of using the papers.) Put about a tablespoon of mixture into each muffin pan (about 1/3 full).

I confess I didn't measure anything for the next step. I just eyeballed the ingredients.

In another bowl, combine:
cooked ground beef in taco seasoning (I made my own.)
salsa
shredded cheddar cheese
chopped green onion
chopped black olives
salt & pepper

Spoon the taco ingredients into the muffin tins until almost full, but not quite. Spoon the rest of the Carbquik mixture into each tin to cover the taco ingredients. Sprinkle taco seasoning onto each muffin. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. They came out so good that I won't tell you how many I ate by myself! They are approximately 1.5 carbs each.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Low Carb Lemon Cake

My daughter wanted lemon cake, but I refused to bring an entire cake into the house to satisfy her sweet tooth. I bought her a lemon cupcake instead, but that got me to wanting lemon cake...

Mix together the following dry ingredients in a bowl:

1 T. Splenda
1/4 c. almond flour
1/4 c. Jay Robb Vanilla Whey Protein
1 tsp. baking powder
a dash of salt

In another bowl, mix together the following wet ingredients:

1 T. melted butter
1 beaten egg
1 T. whipping cream
1 tsp. real mayonnaise
1/4 tsp. lemon extract
2 T. Torani Sugar Free Lemon Syrup

Whisk the wet and dry ingredients together. Pour the cake mix into a Pyrex rectangular microwavable container. Microwave for approximately 4 minutes (you may need more or less time depending on your microwave). I used a spatula to move the cake to a plate. It pops out easily.

Lemon Cream Cheese Icing

Mix together in a bowl:

1 1/2 T. of cream cheese (soften in the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds)
1 T. butter (melted)
1 T. Splenda
1 T. Torani Sugar Free Lemon Syrup
1/4 tsp lemon extract

Spread the lemon cream cheese icing onto the cake. Cut the cake into 6 small pieces. 1.5 carbs per slice. You can return the cake to the Pyrex container, cover it with the lid, and store it in the fridge. You might want to warm it up for 15 to 20 seconds when you decide to indulge in a second piece.

Monday, August 6, 2012

Low Carb BBQ Sauce

Are you ready for some seriously sweet BBQ sauce that will make your mouth water? I made this sauce, then spooned it onto my pork butt roast. I let the roast sit (covered in foil) for one hour. I turned on the oven at 475 degrees and let it warm up for 15 minutes, then I put in the roast, and immediately turned the oven down to 200 degrees. I cooked my roast for 4 hours. I poured the rest of my sauce over Hillshire Farms Little Smokies in a small Crockpot. (Little Smokies have 2 carbs for every five smokies - sad face, right? I made these for my kids.)

Directions:

1. Chop two strips of bacon into small pieces. Fry the bacon in a pan that comes with a lid.
2. Add chopped onion (I threw in two handfuls. I buy the pre chopped onion at the grocery store.) Saute the onion for about 5 minutes or until soft.

Add the following ingredients:

1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 6 oz. can of tomato paste
1 - 12 oz. can of Diet A&W Root Beer
2 T. paprika
1 T. Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tsp. of Frank's Hot Sauce

Stir well, cover, and let simmer for 20 minutes. 10 servings, 1/4 cup, approximately 3 carbs.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Low Carb Strawberry Almond Breakfast Cake

Low Carb Strawberry Breakfast Cake
I created breakfast happiness this morning. I decided to take my Blueberry Bliss recipe and tinker around with it to make a strawberry breakfast cake. It was so good I'm chomping at the bit to make one tomorrow morning.

Instructions

Use a fork to mix the following dry ingredients in a bowl:
1 T., 1 tsp. of Bob Mill's Almond Flour
1 T., 1 tsp. flaxmeal
1 T., 1 tsp. Jay Robb's Strawberry Whey Protein Powder
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. Splenda

Add in:

1 T. heavy whipping cream
1 T. DaVinci's Sugar Free Strawberry Syrup
Whisk the wet ingredients well.

Pour the dry ingredients into the microwavable bowl with the wet ingredients. (I used a 2 cup Pyrex microwave safe bowl). Mix together well.

Dice 3 to 4 strawberrys. Fold half of them into mixture, and a small amount of almond pieces (I broke up several slivered almonds).

Microwave for 1 1/2 minutes (my microwave is old and slow, so adjust accordingly), or until done (cake like). Your breakfast cake pops right out and onto your plate. Top your breakfast cake with the rest of the strawberries, whipped cream topping, and a few almond slivers. Approximately 2 carbs per cake. One cake equals 1 serving.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Hot & Spicy Mock Fried Chicken

I love the version of French Fried Onion chicken that I developed (based on the original), but tonight, I took it to a whole new level. Instead of French Fried Onions, I used Baken-ets Hot & Spicy Pork Rinds. OMG! Prepare each step prior to dredging your chicken.

Step 1: Mix a cup of Carbquik with spices of your choice. I used the Dr. Tea's All Purpose Tea Rub. Dredge each chicken breast through the Carbquik and spices.

Step 2: Beat 2 eggs in a bowl, then add salt and pepper to taste. Dredge your chicken breasts through the egg wash.

Step 3: Pour a bag of Baken-ets Hot & Spicy Tender Pork Cracklins into a large zip up baggy. Use a rolling pin to crush the pork rinds until they are a fine powder. Coat your chicken breasts with the pork rinds, pressing the pork rinds into the chicken.

Step 4: Place your chicken breasts into a greased baking dish. Pour any leftover pork rinds on top of the chicken breasts. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Variation: Use French's French Fried Onions instead of pork rinds.

Friday, August 3, 2012

Whooshie Burger

Perhaps you've heard of Whooshie Pie -the pie that makes low carb dieters go "whoosh". It's kind of huge, and kind of yucky looking and not that tasty, so I did a little reinventing and created a Whooshie Burger with the same whoosh, but a much better taste!

Instructions:

Break off enough hamburger meat for one nice sized patty. Add 2 tsp. of Worcestershire sauce, 1/4 tsp. prepared yellow mustard, and 1/4 tsp. horseradish. Generously sprinkle salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Mix the ingredients into the hamburger well, then shape it into a patty. Fry it up in a pan. Add a thin slice of cheese, if desired.

You can also try adding a little softened cream cheese and a small egg to your Whooshie Burger.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Blueberry Pecan One Minute Low Carb Breakfast Cake

I've been experimenting in the kitchen again, and this time I invented heaven. Imagine a mouthwatering low carb cake like breakfast treat with blueberries and pecans? OMG! And I made it in a minute (okay, 5 minutes maybe)!

Instructions

Use a fork to mix the following dry ingredients in a bowl:
1 T., 1 tsp. of Bob Mill's Almond Flour
1 T., 1 tsp. flaxmeal
1 T., 1 tsp. Jay Robb's Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. Splenda

In a microwavable bowl, melt 1 T. of real butter in the microwave. Add in:
1 egg
1 T. heavy whipping cream
1 T. DaVinci's Sugar Free Vanilla Syrup (you could possibly substitute vanilla extract)
Whisk the wet ingredients well.

Pour the dry ingredients into the microwavable bowl with the wet ingredients. (I used a 2 cup Pyrex microwave safe bowl). Mix together well.

Fold in 24 blueberries and a small amount of pecan pieces (I broke up 8 whole pecans).

Microwave for 1 1/2 minutes (my microwave is old and slow, so adjust accordingly), or until done (cake like). Your breakfast cake pops right out and onto your plate. Approximately 2 carbs per cake. One cake equals 1 serving.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Butter, Butter, Butter

One thing I love about low carb living is butter! Real butter. Not fake Fabio margerine. If you want to give your vegetables a kick, then try some yummy butter and extract or spice combinations.

Orange Butter
I bought a bag of frozen (steamers) broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots with nothing else added (I check the ingredients). I put the bag in the microwave and half a stick of butter in a pan. About a minute before the vegetables were done, I turned on the stove and melted the butter. Once the butter was melted, I added a teaspoon of orange extract. I stirred the extract and butter together, then added the vegetables. Then I stirred the vegetables (along with some slivered almonds) into the butter until they were well coated and snapping hot. I also topped the vegetables with salt and pepper. The end result was a light buttery orange flavor added to my vegetables, and let me tell you - it was dee-licious!

Garlic-Lemon Butter
This time I stirred up some fresh cut zucchini and squash in butter with a teaspoon of lemon extract, and a heavy dash of garlic salt and cracked pepper. You could also cook a chicken breast in garlic-lemon butter. Yum!

Almond Butter
Add almond extract to your butter, plus some slivered almonds to go along with your vegetables (try it on green beans).

Italian Herb Butter
Melt your butter and stir in Italian herb seasoning and use it stir up whatever vegetables suit your taste buds.