Hot Cocoa (Under 100 calories!)

I was experimenting in the kitchen with almond milk, which to me tastes like cardboard and almonds, and I was wondering what could be done to cover up the terrible taste. The almond milk does have a really nice, silky, creamy texture though, so I thought I'd make hot chocolate. It was amazing. Super thick, creamy, chocolate-y, steamy, and frothy on top.

Hot Cocoa

1 c. unsweetened vanilla almond milk

2 Tbs. Hershey's sugar free chocolate syrup

1 Tbs. Sugar free vanilla or caramel beverage syrup

1 Tbs. heavy whipping cream

Mix first three ingredients in a microwave-safe mug and microwave for 1-2 minutes. Stir well. Stir in cream and enjoy. You could dress this up even more with some sugar free whipped cream on top, and maybe a sprinkle of cocoa or instant coffee for show.

Nutrition:

Calories: 94

Fat: 8.5g

Net Carbs: 1g

Protein: 2.3g

For a more decadent version, up the chocolate to 3 Tbsp, and add another Tbsp of whipping cream

(154 calories, 14.5g fat, 2g net carbs, 3g protein)

Roasted Garlic Soup and Coffee Panna Cotta with Ganache

I had made garlic soup before with the recipe out of Southern Living Cookbook, and it was absolutely amazing. It had potato in it though, so that's a no-go for me now. After sifting through recipes, I found that either potato or onion was used to give the soup body. I chose one with onion, and it turned out delicious. I don't think I cooked the onion long enough because when I pureed it with the other ingredients, it didn't get all the way smooth. There were teeny-tiny bits of onion left in my soup. So I'd knock a few points off of optimum texture. However, taste wise it was amazing- creamy, garlic-y, and onion-y. I think, to remedy the texture issue, next time I'll puree the roasted garlic and caramelized onion together by themselves, without the broth. That way I can get a super-smooth puree before adding the broth.

Roasted Garlic Soup

Ingredients:

3 heads of garlic, peeled + 1 head of garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil or grapeseed oil (any oil that can withstand high heat is fine. No EVOO)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups sliced onions, sliced (about 1 large onion)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme)
3 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. lemon juice

My directions:

Preheat oven to 400 F. Peel about 3 heads worth of garlic and separate into cloves. Cover a lipped baking sheet with foil and spread cloves fairly evenly. Pour over the oil and coat garlic. Sprinkle some salt and pepper over garlic. Cover the garlic with more foil and bake about 20 minutes, or until cloves are slightly browned and aromatic.

In a skillet, cook onion in the butter and thyme until onions are translucent and soft. 

In a blender/food processor (I used the largest container that came with my ninja) puree roasted garlic, the rest of the fresh garlic (that has been peeled as well), and the onion until smooth. Add in the veggie broth and pulse until incorporated. Transfer soup to a pot and add lemon juice, cream, and Parmesan. Simmer about 20 minutes. Serve with shredded Parmesan on top.

Original Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut the top(s) off of your head(s) of garlic and separate out 25 cloves, making sure each clove has an end chopped off (this will help with squeezing out the roasted garlic later on).
Place the 25 cloves in a small glass baking dish, pour the 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the top, and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for about 45 minutes, until cloves are light golden brown and very tender. Remove from oven and cool.
Squeeze the roasted garlic between your fingertips to release the garlic and discard the peel. Set roasted garlic aside.
In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions and thyme; cook until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add both the roasted garlic and the 15 peeled raw garlic cloves and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes.
Add vegetable stock and, continuing over medium heat, bring the soup just to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes, or until garlic is very tender. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
Using an immersion blender or working in batches with a blender, puree soup until smooth.
Return soup to pan and stir in heavy whipping cream. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Sprinkle Parmesan cheese into each bowl and ladle the soup over the top. Squeeze one lemon wedge over each bowl and sprinkle with additional Parmesan if desired. Serve.

*recipe from kitchentreaty.com 

You can try it both ways and see which way you like best, but I feel that my way is quicker. It takes longer to peel all the garlic, but you can buy already peeled fresh garlic cloves-which would save you about an hour of agonizing peeling. Don't use jarred garlic, it doesn't have enough flavor.

Coffee Panna Cotta with Ganache

Ingredients:
1/2 cup vanilla or caramel Da Vinci sugar free syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided
1/2 cup granular Splenda or equivalent liquid Splenda, or to taste
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder or instant coffee granules
Pinch salt
Chocolate Glaze, optional (not suitable for induction)

Chocolate Glaze:
5-6 oz. of sugar free chocolate (I used a mix of Russel Stovers' chocolate truffles and their solid dark chocolate)
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons heavy cream

*recipe from Linda's Low Carb

Put the syrup in a shallow bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over the surface and let stand 5 minutes to soften. Microwave the gelatin for 30 seconds on HIGH or just until it comes to a light boil. Stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved.

In a 4-cup glass measure or bowl, bring 1/2 cup of the heavy cream to a boil in the microwave. Stir in the Splenda, coffee powder and salt. Add the gelatin and stir well. Add the remaining 1 cup cream and stir well. Pour into 4 dessert dishes; chill at least 2-3 hours or until set. Once it has set up, make the chocolate glaze.

To make the chocolate glaze, put the chocolate, butter and cream in a small bowl. Microwave on 40% power about 30 seconds trying not to let it boil. Stir until completely smooth, microwaving a few more seconds if needed. Divide the glaze among the dessert dishes and smooth it to cover the top of each one. Eat at once or chill to let the glaze set up.

This was so good my mother didn't believe it was sugar free. The panna cotta is fluffy yet rich, and the ganache is simply decadent. Make it. Make a double freakin' batch cause you're gonna want more, trust me. I think there's a lot of potential to change this up. You could leave out the coffee and instead add any sort of fruit extract, or simply not have any other flavor other than vanilla and chocolate. All up to you. If you can find sugar free caramel sauce, or if you get the caramel-flavored syrup instead of the vanilla, you could do banana-caramel chocolate, or raspberry-chocolate, or strawberry-chocolate. The possibilities are endless.

BBQ Sauce!

So it's been a while. I went out to dinner Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday of this week. Today I was at my grandparents for a birthday celebration. We had BBQ so I brought the Gouda Bacon Cauliflower Mash and homemade BBQ sauce. The cauliflower was inhaled in a matter of minutes, so that was good. This time, I cooked it the 18 minutes it was supposed to be cooked and Ninja'd the hell out of it. It was smoother than before and fabulous. It had the texture of dense mashed potatoes. They couldn't believe that was cauliflower (and neither could I!)

BBQ Sauce:

6 ounce can tomato paste
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup granular Splenda or equivalent liquid Splenda
2 teaspoons molasses
2 tablespoons liquid smoke (if you have it)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum, optional

*Recipe from Linda's Low Carb

Mix the dry ingredients, then combine with the wet. Stir or whisk until incorporated and there are no lumps. Refrigerate the leftovers.

This was yummy. It was sweet enough, but still tangy from the vinegar. Next time I do something BBQ, I'll see if I can make a mustard BBQ sauce, because that's one of my favorites.

You can put this sauce on ribs, pulled pork, chicken, burgers, pizza, whatever you like. It'd be great served up with some cole slaw, peppered green beans, and maybe a low carb muffin with some butter. 

Tomorrow: Creamy Garlic Soup (probably with chicken) and for dessert, Panna Cotta with Chocolate Sauce 

Cauliflower Never Tasted So Good! (Cauliflower, Bacon, and Gouda Mash) EDITED

As in hide-the bowl-to-have-the-rest-later-as-a-midnight-snack good. I mean delicious. I mean this tastes like grits! Who doesn't love bacon and cheese and cream and chives and oh my god yum. I was going to take the cheesy cauliflower with me to my grandparents this weekend, but now... I've got to take this stuff. It would be a crime not to. We had the meatloaf with it- recipe is posted under January 30th. It was so yummy together. The recipe is from IBreatheI'mHungry's website. Mine didn't turn out silky smooth like hers, but that's probably because I didn't cook my cauliflower as long.

Ingredients:

1 head of cauliflower
1/2 c. to 3/4 c. heavy cream
2 Tbsp butter (if only using 1/2 cup cream)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 Tbsp. dried parsley
1/2 Tbsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. paprika
4 slices of cooked bacon
4-5 slices Smoked Gouda cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
Place the cauliflower, heavy cream, butter, salt, pepper, garlic powder, parsley, basil, and pap in a microwave safe dish. Microwave on high for 20 minutes. When 6 minutes remain, pause the microwave and put the gouda slices evenly over the cauliflower. Finish heating. Transfer the cauliflower and liquid to a magic bullet or food processor. Add the bacon. Blend until smooth and creamy. Season with additional salt and pepper as desired.

If you want it more coarse, like grits, microwave the cauliflower for less time.

Sausage with Spicy Broccoli Pepper Stir-Fry: 15 minute dinner

Sausage! I didn't want chicken yet again so I went to the store and picked up some sausage. I've got a Wegman's near me and they've got all sorts of high quality pre-packaged foods. This was the sausage I used:

But you can use any Italian chicken sausage.

The stir-fry was just broccoli and an orange bell pepper with this sauce:

It was delicious! I am not a big fan of bell pepper, but this sauce made them really good.

I also had some raw broccoli with Hidden Valley ranch.

Since fruit and fruit juices are a no go with my carb count (~20g/day), it's been hard to satisfy my fruity sweet tooth. Sometimes you don't want chocolate, you want fruit. Well I found out that Ocean Spray has some new products: diet cranberry juice with other flavors.

I got some of this and it's delicious! Only 2g carbs/8 oz. They also have grape flavor.

So for a quick dinner, here's a "recipe" that's not really a recipe:

1 pkg pre-cooked chicken sausage (6 links)
1-2 Tbs. Kerrygold butter
1 Tbs. Italian seasoning

In a skillet, melt butter and fry sausages in the seasoning and butter until browned and warmed through.

1 large head of broccoli
1 bell pepper (any color)
1/4 c. Tom Tom sauce

Cut broccoli into medium sized florets and pepper into strips. Stir fry in a non-stick skillet with the sauce until the broccoli is bright green and tender. Serve with some of this diet cran-mango juice on ice and enjoy your 15 minute dinner!

SuperBowl Yummies!

Not pictured: mozzarella sticks with marinara

So I'll admit... I had a sip of beer. But I was good and only had one sip. (It was Crispin Blackberry Pear Cider if anyone was wondering...) But the food I made was really yummy and all low carb! You CAN celebrate and not ruin your diet! Here was the menu:

Chicken wings and drumsticks
Buffalo Chicken Dip
Spinach Dip
Sour Cream and Chive Crackers
Fried Mozzarella Sticks with Marinara Sauce
Hot and Spicy (or plain) pork rinds for dipping
Chocolate Chip Cookies (turned out like scones/biscuits)

Phew! Okay, the spinach dip and the sour cream crackers can be made ahead. The spinach dip can be made 1-2 days ahead, but I would make the crackers that morning/afternoon.

Spinach Dip

Ingredients:
1 10 oz pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
1.5 c. full fat sour cream
1 c. full fat mayo
1/2 pouch onion soup mix
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. garlic powder or 1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
pinch of cayenne pepper

Combine everything in a medium bowl. Mix well. Serve or refrigerate for up to 3 days. I recommend refrigerating it for at least 2-3 hours.

Sour Cream and Chive Crackers

Ingredients:
2 cups almond flour
small bunch (~20 g or 0.7 oz.) fresh chives or 1 Tbs. freeze dried chives
2.5 oz full fat sour cream
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Chop chives finely if using fresh. Mix all ingredients well. Kneading with your hands works well. Place dough between two sheets of parchment paper (not wax paper) and flatten a bit with your hands till it's a rough oval/rectangle shape. Then use a rolling pin to flatten it out even more. Try to make them about 1/8 of an inch thick, or about the thickness of a dime. Slide onto a baking sheet, remove top layer of parchment only, and cut, but don't move, the dough into squares/rectangles. Bake at 250 F for 50-60 minutes. If your dough wasn't uniformly even, which mine wasn't, remove the thinner pieces earlier. Check on them every 10 minutes or so. If they're browning, they're done. Let cool. They are really good with the spinach dip.


You could even make the Buffalo dip ahead too, or wait and do the final cooking right before serving, which I think is the best idea. If you have it in the fridge overnight, it will take longer to bake though. Maybe 30-40 minutes. I like it best with the ranch and the cheddar or colby jack cheese.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Ingredients:
1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. Franks RedHot sauce or your favorite Buffalo sauce (Sweet Baby Ray's buffalo wing sauce worked well)
1/2 c. ranch or blue cheese dressing
1/2 c. shredded cheese or blue cheese crumbles
2 cups well shredded chicken (I used 2 small breasts)
1/2 c. more cheese for topping (optional)

Combine all ingredients except chicken in a casserole dish (mine was ~5 x 9 x 1.5). Mix well, then add in chicken. Top with the 1/2 cup extra cheese if you wish, and bake at 350 F for 20 minutes. If you make this ahead, and refrigerate it overnight, bake for 30-40 minutes or until hot and bubbly.


The fried mozzarella sticks didn't work too well. They were still delicious, but the pork rind breading didn't stick to the cheese well enough when frying, even with the egg coating. Oh well.

The pork rinds make wonderful chips for my dips though! They are big and pretty sturdy, which is great for heavier dips. If you use the plain, you just end up tasting the dip, which is great. The hot and spicy ones taste good on their own though.


The chicken wings and drumsticks were delicious. I did a rub, baked them in the oven with plenty of oil, and then added Buffalo sauce (for me) to 1/2 and BBQ sauce (for the family) to the other half. BBQ has too much sugar for me, but if you have a low carb one, go for it!

Rub for Wings and Drumsticks (or any other part of the chicken you please)

Ingredients:
2 Tbs. salt
2 Tbs. chili powder
2 Tbs. paprika
1 Tbs. garlic powder
1 Tbs. onion powder
2 tsp. cumin
2 tsp, oregano
1 tsp. allspice

Mix well in a wide mouth bowl. Cover the bottom of a lipped baking pan with high heat safe oil. Rub chicken in oil, then coat with rub, then place on baking sheet. After all the chicken is coated, drizzle more oil over the chicken. The oil makes the skin crisp up nicely. Bake at 375 F for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and brush on either BBQ sauce or Buffalo wing sauce, or both. Bake for another 15 or so minutes. Always check your chicken when you think it's done.


The cookies... *sigh*...well, they didn't turn out as planned. See, the recipe was fine. Fine and dandy. The texture was more like biscuits or scones. But that's perfectly ok. I don't mind. The chocolate however... I made the (horrible, horrible) mistake of thinking that I could just buy bakers chocolate and add my own sugar substitute. Nope. Wrong. Never been more wrong in my whole life. Don't do it. Please don't. I beg you. It's awful. If you just go buy chocolate chips with Splenda, it will be fine. Even breaking up a stevia sweetened bar is good. Just don't do what I did unless you love to eat plain baking chocolate. Not that I've ever met anyone who does. Even my mother, who usually eats 85% chocolate bars, said it was rough.

Chocolate Chip Scones/Biscuits

Ingredients:
2/3 c. almond flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp xantham or guar gum
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 Tbs. coconut flour

1 c. sweetener of choice
3 eggs
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 tsp vanilla
2 Tbs. butter
1 Tbs. nut butter (I used peanut butter)

1 1/2 c. chocolate chips (stevia or splenda sweetened)
1/4 c. shredded unsweetened coconut (optional)

Beat butter, cream cheese, nut butter, and sweetener together until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beat in between for 1/2 a minute. Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl, and add in dry mixture to wet ingredients little by little while mixing. Add in chocolate chips and coconut if you want it. Spoon onto baking sheet and bake at 350 F for about 15 minutes or until the tops start to turn brown. Remove to baking rack to cool.

Friday Night Italian

Tonight I'm posting for Friday night and then I'll make a post for all my SuperBowl recipes.

Friday I made a delicious impromptu dish with whatever I had on hand.

Spinach Marinara Chicken

1.5 lbs chicken, either breasts or thighs (or a mixture)

1 package creamed spinach, prepared as directed

1 c. lower carb tomato sauce ( I used Classico Tomato and Basil)

8 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese

1-2 Tbs. (opt. Kerrygold) butter

Italian seasoning or make your own: oregano, basil, salt, freshly ground black pepper, little bit of red pepper flakes

Shredded Romano or Parmesan for topping

In an oven safe skillet, pan fry the chicken in the butter and Italian seasoning. You may need a dusting of flour on the chicken to keep it from sticking, especially if you're using cast iron. Sear in 2-3 batches so chicken isn't crowded. Add all chicken back into pan once browned and top with tomato sauce. Spread it around well so it covers all of the chicken. Top with creamed spinach and spread well. Slice up mozzarella and place fairly evenly over the chicken. Top with a bit of Romano, Parmesan, or other hard Italian cheese and bake at 350 F for about 30 minutes. 

It's freaking amazing, and everyone went back for seconds. You can serve this over mashed cauliflower or spaghetti squash, or just on its own.

Pictured: the chicken served with Cheesy Cauliflower and the Marinated Green Bean Salad