Becky's Secret BBQ Sauce

This BBQ sauce is a secret family recipe from one of my best friends, but I won’t mention which friend since it’s a secret ;)

It’s tried and true, and super easy to make, I’ve adapted it for low carb...

1 bottle Heinz Low Sugar Ketchup

fill empty ketchup bottle 1/3 full with white vinegar after you empty it

2 Tbs Splenda (EZ-Sweetz) - I substituted Sugar Free Pineapple Syrup for the 2 Tbs. EZ-Sweetz and then added an extra 2 drops

Note:  This wasn’t sweet enough, I added total of 8-10 drops of EZ-Sweetz.

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. oregano

Becky’s original recipe called for pineapple vinegar, this is an old recipe, and pineapple vinegar is no longer available commercially (you can Google and find it to make your own but it won’t be carb friendly) so I substituted 2 TBS. DaVinci Sugar Free Pineapple Syrup instead of the EZ-Sweetz and then added 2 drops EZ-Sweetz.

Simmer for 30 minutes and serve.  Becky orginally made this to slather on ribs, but her family now uses it on chicken as well..

Update:  This stuff is holy grail - oh my, it’s wonderful.  I had to add more sweetener, total of 8-10 drops of EZ-Sweetz and it was perfect.  Just keep tasting until t’s sweet enough.  I just simmered this a few minutes, it was thick and yummy.

Hubby grilled chicken seasoned with Weber’s Kick’n Chicken Seasoning, and slathered this on at the end.  Spicy, yummy sweet, salty chicken...

Pioneer Woman's Spinach Salad

 

I made this today and it was over the top delicious.  The difference is caramelized onions.  You saute onions in bacon drippings and it takes away the hot, raw taste.  This recipe is absolutely delicious.  Thanks Pioneer Woman, you’ve done it again.

This is her recipe and below is her original link which you will want to look at for step by step directions.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 whole Eggs
• 7 slices Thick Cut, Peppered Bacon
• 1 whole Red Onion, Small
• 1 package Mushrooms, White Button
• 8 ounces, weight Baby Spinach, Washed Dried And Stems Removed
• 3 Tablespoons Reserved Bacon Grease
• 3 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Sugar - I used 3 drops EZ-Sweetz
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
• 1 dash Salt

INSTRUCTIONS

Cook eggs: cover with water, bring to a boil, then turn off heat and allow to sit in water for 20 minutes. Drain off water and add ice on top of eggs.

Fry bacon until crispy/chewy. Remove to a paper towel. 

Remove 3 tablespoons grease and set aside. 

Add 2 add'l tablespoons of grease to a separate skillet over medium heat.

Slice red onions very thinly, then add to skillet. Cook slowly until onions are caramelized and reduced. Remove to a plate and set aside.

Slice mushrooms and add them to the same skillet. Cook slowly until caramelized and brown. Remove to a plate and set aside.

Chop bacon.

Peel and slice eggs.

Make hot bacon dressing: Add 3 tablespoons bacon grease, vinegar, sugar, and Dijon to a small saucepan or skillet over medium-low heat. Whisk mixture together and heat thoroughly.

Add spinach to a large bowl. Arrange onions, mushrooms, and bacon on top. Pour hot dressing over the top; toss to combine.
Arrange eggs over the top and serve.

Enjoy!

Link to PIONEER WOMAN’s original recipe here

Delicious Low Carb Cauliflower Salad

 

This Cauliflower Salad is so good you won’t even miss the potatoes.  We all tend to tweak recipes, but this one is so good  made exactly as is.  ~ Jan

 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 medium head cauliflower (about 4 cups/1 quart florets) - I used 16 oz. of frozen cauliflower and cooked it covered for 10 minutes on high in microwave, don’t overcook, you don’t want it mushy
• 2 hard boiled eggs
• 1 medium stalk celery, minced (including leaves)
• ½ cup chopped red or green pepper, chopped
• 2  green onions chopped (green and white parts)
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• 1-2 drops hot sauce or a pinch of cayenne pepper - I used cayenne
• 3 drops of EZ-Sweetz
• 1/4 cup sugar-free sweet pickle relish or you could use dill
• Salt and pepper

PREPARATION

1) Break or chop the cauliflower into smallish florets. If they are too big, they're difficult to cook so that they have the right "bite" and flavor - the outside tends to overcook.

2) Microwave florets in a covered container with a small amount of water, or steam on the stove. I've never tried boiling, but cauliflower tends to hold on to water, so I'm a little skeptical. You want them to be fork-tender (a fork slips in easily), but not overcooked (avoiding the stronger smell and flavor which develops with longer cooking).

 

3) Drain and put into a medium bowl. Chop the egg and add. Toss with salt and pepper. I like quite a bit of pepper, and it does seem to take a surprising amount of salt, but this would be to taste. 

4) Mix the ingredients for the dressing (mayo, lemon juice, spices, etc.). Taste for the balance of flavors you like. Mix the chopped vegetables and the dressing into the cauliflower and egg mixture. Add chopped fresh herbs if you wish - chives, dill, or parsley work well.

Garnish with the herbs, or sprinkle with paprika. Chill.

Makes 8 servings.

Nutritional Information: Each serving has 3 grams effective carbohydrates plus 1.5 grams fiber, 3 grams protein, and 99 calories.

 

The BEST Low Carb Chili EVER

 

I’ve tried so many recipes for low carb chili over the years and this is by far the best.  It’s so yummy, you don’t even miss the beans.

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb. Bob Evans Spicy Sausage
1 medium onion
1 bell pepper (red or orange)
4 oz. cream cheese (1/2 brick) 
1 can of Rotel Tomatoes
2 cans of petite diced tomatoes (I prefer the ones with green chiles) 
1 pkt. Brooks Chili Mix Dry Seasoning
1 can drained and diced water chestnuts (optional) - I don’t add these 
1 can Beef Broth
1-3 cups chopped cabbage (I use coleslaw mix) - just add however much cabbage you want

Variation:  You can add one can of kidney beans, drained, or a half a can, or even a fourth of a can, just read the label for the carb count

Brown hamburger, onion and pepper.  Stir in the three cans of tomatoes and cream cheese, cut cream cheese into small cubes so it melts easily and cook until it’s blended.  Sometimes it’s necessary to whisk this mixture so that the cream cheese blends well and doesn’t appear curdled. Don’t just put all the ingredients in your crockpot and omit this step, you don’t want to end up with lumps of cream cheese when your chili is finished.

Put the rest of your ingredients in a crockpot, add the above ingredients and simmer on low all day or on high for 3-4 hours.

I don’t have a carb count for this, I would guestimate about 7-8 per bowl, this makes a large amount of chili.

Chips:

Brush both sides of low carb tortillas lightly with olive oil or just spray with Pam, add a little sea salt or taco seasoning, bake on oven rack at 350, watching carefully and turning often until brown and crispy

UPDATE  3.15.16

I made this chili, used an entire bag of coleslaw mix, 2 cans of beef broth because I used so much cabbage and I forgot the cream cheese.  I liked it even better this way, it tasted more like my original chili recipe.  I used a can of Rotel and 2 cans of diced tomatoes.  I may also add a can of green chiles to this...

 

Chicken Schnitzel

 

I made Jennifer Eloff’s Chicken Schnitzel this week and it was amazing, one of the best chicken recipes ever, even if you don’t eat low carb.

I did make a few changes to the recipe, I didn’t use her baking mix or Coconut Flour, I’m not a fan of Coconut Flour, I substituted Almond Flour and since Parmesan Cheese is so salty, I didn’t add as much salt as the recipe calls for.

Here’s how I made it and I’ll link to her original recipe below.

3/4 cup Almond Flour
1/2  cup grated Parmesan cheese, I used a blend of Parmesan and Romano
Scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 eggs
1Tbsp water
4 large chicken breasts
Olive Oil for frying

Garnishes:Lemon wedgesChopped parsley

In medium bowl, combine Almond Flour, Parmesan cheese, salt, Italian seasoning and black pepper.  Mix well.  In another medium bowl, beat eggs and water together well with a fork. 

You want the chicken breasts thin, so I slice them in half longitudinally and separate into two pieces.  Then flatten more, I pound them with an iron skillet.  I put the chicken breasts between parchment paper or plastic wrap and give them a good whack on the garage floor.  This is so easy, one whack and you have uniform breasts :)

Dip each piece of chicken in egg wash and then dredge in seasoned bake mix.

In two nonstick frying pans, get olive oil hot then place 3 pieces of prepared chicken in each skillet, don’t crowd it.  Turn temperature down and fry 5 minutes on medium heat on one side until golden brown underneath, flip carefully and fry another 4 to 6 minutes, watching the temperature and lowering if needed if they are becoming too brown.  Watch the heat, I start with it relatively high and quickly turn it down because Almond Flour browns  more quickly than regular flour.

Do not overcook or the chicken will no longer be tender.  Just cook it until it’s no longer pink.  You want the chicken to be moist and tender under the “breading.”  

Serve with lemon wedges and sprinkle chicken with chopped parsley.

Yield:  6 servings

1 serving 224.8 calories
27.0 g protein
10.4 g fat
3.5 g net carbs

Here is Jennifer’s original recipe

Recipe Courtesy Low Carb News

Comfort Noodles

When I saw this recipe that The Clothes Make the Girl posted back in 2011, I was intrigued.

Here’s in part what she had to say about this dish.

Trust me: this does not taste like a big bowl of zucchini. The garlic and olive oil trump transform this dish so it tastes like neither vegetables nor eggs, but some miraculous, noodle-y merging of the two. It’s warm and tender and scrumptious. A hug in a bowl.

I made it for lunch today, found out that I need to make a few alterations to make this work for me, but it was one of the yummiest low-carb dishes I’ve had in a long time.

So, hats off to you, Melissa, this indeed a keeper recipe that I will make again and again.

First I’ll give you her recipe, with a link to her site, and then tell you what I did and will do differently the next time.

Ingredients:
2 small zucchini, julienned (about 2 cups) [Julienne peeler or Spiralizer is essential.]
generous 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon almond flour or almond meal
1/2 teaspoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
3 eggs, scrambled
a handful of fresh parsley, minced for garnish (optional)
salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Place the julienned zucchini in a colander or wire strainer and toss with the salt until coated. Allow to sit for 20 minutes to drain excess water, then rinse and pat dry with paper towels. (You may be tempted to skip this step; I strongly advise against it. This step insures tender, rather than watery, noodles.)

2. While the zucchini is sweating in the colander, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Mix the almond flour with the coconut oil, sprinkle it with a smidgen of salt, then sauté in the pan, stirring often with a wooden spoon, until it’s toasty brown, about 1 minute. Remove from pan and save for garnish.

3. Return the pan to the heat and add the zucchini noodles. Sauté until just tender, about 1-2 minutes. Push the noodles to the side of the pan, and reduce heat to medium-low. Wait a minute; it’s essential that the pan cools down before adding the eggs. Add the olive oil and garlic. When the garlic is fragrant, about 20 seconds, pour in the eggs and allow them to cook until just beginning to set a tiny bit. Mix the zucchini noodles into the egg and continue to stir gently and continuously until the egg is set and clinging to the noodles. Taste, then add salt and pepper to your liking.

4. Serve noodles in a deep bowl and sprinkle with the almond flour crumbs and minced parsley. Slurping and ridiculously big bites heartily encouraged.

And here are my changes.

First of all, 1/4 a teaspoon of salt was not enough salt for me to sweat my zucchini after I spiraled it with the Paderno.  Perhaps I used larger zucchini than she did, or perhaps it was because I added a couple of summer squash because I didn’t have enough zucchini.  I could see it not sweating, I added probably a total of 2 teaspoons of salt to sweat it.  I need to research this a bit more.

But anyway, I also don’t think I let it sweat long enough, because even though I rinsed and patted dry, it did still weep a bit when I cooked it.

I doubled the almond flour, coconut oil mixture because hubs was eating this too, and it took a lot longer than a minute for it to brown in my large skillet.  But that’s okay, I had patience and the nutty flavor was absolute heaven.   I’ll use this topping instead of breadcrumbs on casseroles, such as escalloped cabbage, that I make in the future

Okay, so then I julienned my zucchini and summer squash with my much loved Paderno Veggie Spiralizer and  went ahead and added a tablespoon of olive oil to sauté.  The recipe didn’t say to do this, but I needed the oil to make this step work.

Then I pushed them to one side, added a clove of crushed garlic, let it get fragrant, then I stirred in the eggs and tossed continuously.  The next time I’ll add another clove of garlic, you could taste the garlic,  but the flavor was a bit too subtle I thought.

ThenI served it up in Fiesta Ware bowls,  put the toasted almond flour on top, and oh my, it was wonderful.  Absolutely amazingly delicious.  And Melissa is right, you don’t taste the egg, you just taste comfort.  Love, love love this dish, Can’t say enough good things about it.

Here’s her original recipe.

Photograph is from The Clothes Make The Girl
(I was too busy eating to take my own pictures, bad Jan) 

AMAZING Low Carb Pizza

 

 

I make this pizza often, it’s absolutely wonderful, so easy to make and so good you won’t even miss the crust.

Take a 10” skillet, spray with Pam and add enough shredded mozzarella to the bottom to cover the pan, approximately 1/4 cup.

Turn the heat on medium, and when it starts to melt and run together, put a few plops of Ragu Pizza Sauce on it.  Pizza sauce has carbs, so use it sparingly, you don’t need to spread it on, just drizzle some on top of the cheese. Then I added thinly sliced red peppers, 6 slices of pepperoni and finished by dusting it heavily with parmesan cheese.

Don’t put on too many toppings, you want to let the cheese get really crisp and brown, and lots of toppings make it soggy.

Then you just let it brown slowly over medium heat, lifting the edges with your spatula after a bit and pushing your spatula underneath it.   Rotate the spatula around the skillet lifting the edges, and peek at the middle when it has browned enough so that you can lift it.  The center will look like the second picture, just tilt your skillet and slide it off onto a flat surface.  Then cut with a pizza cutter, sprinkle on more parmesan and hot pepper flakes and you have just made yourself an excellent pizza.  The bottom will be oily, I usually blot it with paper towel, but it is surprisingly good, very filling and has minimal carbs.  

The secret is to not cook it at too high of a temperature so that the cheese browns instead of burns.  It takes a few minutes, don’t rush it.  After you make this a few times it’s a no brainer, and trust me you will make it again, it’s that good!  And yes, Miss Piggy here eats the entire pizza.  

Try it and see if you don’t like it, too!  ~ Jan

Low Carb Pumpkin Pie Creamer

Oh pumpkin pie creamer, how I’ve missed you.  I just came across this post on Facebook and I was instantly smitten.  All I need is almond milk and I’m in business.  I’m so buying going to the grocery store, TONIGHT!  I’m not a Swerve girl, I need to buy it too, but for now I’ll just make it with Splenda.

Thanks to Maria Mind Body Health for posting this photo and recipe.  

You can find the recipe here!

UPDATE:  I went to the store, bought Silk Unsweetened Almond Milk, came home and made the creamer, substituting Splenda for the Swerve, and using a tablespoon of vanilla instead of the vanilla bean.  I put 3 Tablespoons of the creamer in my cup of coffee, tasted it, it wasn’t sweet enough, so I added another tablespoon of granular Splenda to my cup, and I have to tell you, IT’S FANTASTIC!   What a great recipe this is, I’ll be making this all winter.  It will be good added to my chai tea, too!  What a find, this is a keeper!