Salisbury Steak and Mashed Cauliflower

I had never had Salisbury steak before making this. I know it's known as a old-person dish, but that's about it. Basically it's a meatloaf-type patty with mushroom gravy. I really liked it, but it needed some oomph, so I added a few things.

Salisbury Steak w/ Mushroom Gravy*

Ingredients:

2 lbs. ground beef
1/4 c. parmesan cheese (1 oz)
1/4 c. ground pork rinds (1 ounce)
1 egg
2 Tbs. heavy cream
1/4 c. onion, chopped (1 oz)
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. dried sage
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced or diced finely, whatever you prefer
1/4 c. onion, chopped (1 ounce)

Gravy:
2 c. beef broth
3 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, minced, or 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. tomato paste
1 tsp. salt
4 Tbs. heavy cream
1 tsp. xanthan gum

In a large bowl, mix the first 11 ingredients. Shape in 5 or 6 oval patties. In a large skillet, brown the patties on both sides and place in an 8x11" baking dish.

In the same skillet, saute the mushrooms and 1/4 cup onion until tender. Add the gravy ingredients and bring to a simmer. Pour the mushrooms, onion, and gravy over the patties. Bake, uncovered, at 300º F for 1 hour.

*Recipe via Linda's Low Carb

Per Serving (1/5)
469 Calories; 31g Fat; 40g Protein; 7g Carbohydrate; 2.4g Dietary Fiber; 4.6g Net Carbs

Per Serving (1/6)
391 Calories; 26g Fat; 33g Protein; 6g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 4g Net Carbs

The mashed cauliflower is a big hit in my house, and I make it to go with anything I'd normally eat mashed potatoes with.

Mashed Cauliflower:

1 head of cauliflower, chopped into florets
4 slices cheese (either colby jack, cheddar, pepper jack, or gouda)
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbs. butter
dash of paprika
dash of onion powder
dash of garlic powder

Combine florets, cheese, whipping cream, butter, salt, and pepper in a microwave safe dish. Microwave on high for about 18 minutes, stopping to stir halfway through. Place cooked cauliflower into a food processor or Ninja and process until smooth.

Bourbon Chicken and Broccoli

This recipe can be found on Healthy Indulgences.net, it is not mine.

This tastes just like what you would get in the mall food court- sweet, soft, and addicting. The recipe calls for chicken thighs due to their high fat content. I doubled the sauce so I could add stir-fried veggies to make it a complete meal, but if you're just making the chicken, you can keep it as is.

Bourbon Chicken

Serves 5

Ingredients

2 lbs chicken thighs, cubed
Sauce:
2 Tbs. oil (Not EVOO)
1/4 c. soy sauce
2 Tbs. rice vinegar
2 Tbs. bourbon whiskey (I used Jack Daniel's)
1/3 c. stevia
1/2 tsp. blackstrap molasses
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 teaspoon ginger
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced (or 1/2 tsp. garlic powder)
salt, to taste

Bake in a casserole pan/glass baking dish at 350 F for 45 minutes. I'd recommend taking it out halfway through to stir it up.

about 2-3g net carbs per serving

Make another batch of the sauce separately if you want to do a veggie stir fry. I'd recommend broccoli or snow peas/sugar snap peas (in their pods).  Stir-fry the veggies in the sauce.

This was delicious. The original recipe says to marinate the chicken in this sauce overnight, but I didn't do that. It came out deliciously. I think it would have been even more tender if I had marinated it.

Mardi Gras Recipe: Gumbo w/ Cauliflower Grits!

This is rouxless gumbo. I cobbled this recipe together from 4 other ones-some low carb, others not. The only big sources of carbs in the original dish are the flour to create the roux, and the rice it is served over. I have substitutes for both-xanthan gum for thickening and cauliflower grits. It turned out delicious, everyone loved it. It was slightly spicy and had a great, warm-you-up flavor.

Gumbo
3 chicken thighs, cooked and chopped or shredded
4 small andouille sausages (~4 in. each) or 2 big ones (~8in. each), cooked and chopped into 1/2 in. rounds
1 medium onion, chopped finely (I used the Ninja)
1 bell pepper, diced
1 Tbs. butter
2 stalks celery, chopped (if you like it; if you don't add 2 tsp. celery seed instead)
6 c. chicken broth
5 cooked slices of bacon, chopped and their grease
1 tsp. thyme
2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. white pepper
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 Tbsp. Cajun seasoning (McCormick makes one)
2 tsp. guar gum

In a large soup pot, combine broth, celery (or seeds), and all spices and herbs. While stirring, sprinkle in guar gum little by little to prevent it from lumping. Saute onions and peppers in a nonstick skillet with the butter until peppers are soft and onions are translucent. Add into pot. Add in chicken, sausage, and bacon. Simmer until everything is hot and flavors come together, about 30 minutes. Serve over cauliflower rice.

*Note* You can use a variety of meats: oysters, fish, shrimp, chicken, brisket, sausage, etc.

Cauliflower Grits

1/2 to 3/4 head of cauliflower, chopped into florets (~4 cups)
1 c. shredded cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, colby jack, etc)
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
salt and pepper to taste
1 or 2 slices gouda cheese (optional)

Combine florets, shredded cheese, whipping cream, salt, and pepper in a microwave safe dish. Microwave on high for about 18 minutes, stopping to stir halfway through. Place cooked cauliflower into a food processor or Ninja and process until smooth. Place gouda on top of cauliflower and microwave until gouda is melted. (<-- optional) Serve with the gumbo.

This is a simplified version of the mashed cauliflower. I didn't add much flavoring besides the cheese because it's meant to be served with gumbo on top.

Lunch: Chicken Quesadilla

Chicken Quesadilla

I found these tortillas that have 4g net carbs each. They are thinner and smaller than the Mission ones, but the mission ones have 6g each. I threw some butter in a pan, and when it was melted I added in the tortilla. I flipped it to cover both sides with the butter so it would crisp up. I covered the tortilla in shredded cheddar cheese, and cut up some of my defrosted already cooked grilled chicken strips and put those on top of the cheese. I sprinkled paprika, cumin, and a bit of cayenne pepper on it, then folded it over. I usually use American cheese (I know, it's bad, I just like the way it melts) in my quesadillas but this was really good. If you have green chilies, cooked onions or peppers, or other mexican-friendly veggie, throw that in too. I used about a breast worth of chicken, so I was full for a long time.

Dessert Failures: Peanut Butter Cookies and King Cake

Desserts are arguably the most difficult part when cooking low-carb. Baking is all about chemistry, and if you do something wrong, even something small, it can ruin your baked item. Cooking with sugar and flour substitutes takes a lot of time and patience to get right. Two days ago my dad said he wanted peanut butter cookies, so I found a recipe and gave it a go.

They cooked for a long time, and didn't really taste sweet, despite using a lot of stevia. They look odd, and really puffed up, yet they are very filling. They're quite eggy, like most low carb cookies. I have yet to have a low carb cookie come out well. But experimentation is the name of the game.

Secondly, I made king cake on Friday. I noticed that the batter was very thin, even though I followed the recipe (for the cake part) exactly. It called for pecans, but I had none (and don't really like them) so I used 2 chopped up Atkin's bars: peanut butter granola and cranberry yogurt. Bad idea. Weird clash of flavors. Plus they burnt too, as they were sitting on top of the cake while it was cooking. The cake didn't want to come out of the bundt pan, and no amount of banging, tapping, or soaking the pan in ice water would make it come out. I hate that pan. The mixer bowl was in the dishwasher, so I hand mixed the cream cheese icing, so it was lumpy. I tried to color some stevia, but it all just clumped together in a sad, sorry, messy mess. I added some cream and mixed until it mostly dissolved. So after a ton of hard work, all the bowls and spoons in my kitchen dirty, I assembled this cake that had been pried out of its pan and was now in pieces. It was hideous. And then I took a bite. Disgusting. Revolting. Blech. It was essentially a sweet omlette. It even had a cream cheese filling, but that was no where to be found after it was cooked. Subbing the bars for the nuts was a dumb idea, I know, but it would have been terrible anyway if I had wasted expensive pecans on that atrocity of a "cake".

This is why we can't have nice things. This little piece of crap cake. Screw you, cake.

The only good thing about this damn cake was that I took some frozen blackberries and raspberries, added some sugar free simple syrup, and some guar gum. It thickened up to create a pie filling like consistency, and I ate that. I had made it as a topping for the cake, but I ended up eating the berries and chucking the cake.

Chicken Cordon-Bleu with Green Beans in Mustard Cream Sauce

This Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe was very yummy and very quick to assemble. I did think it needed more swiss cheese, so if you want to top the whole dish with more swiss I think it'd be good. The cream cheese mixture that was on top sort of curdled up in the heat of the oven, but still tasted good. I think that knocked a few presentation points off. If you care about presentation, I'd recommend topping the chicken with the ham and then another slice of swiss, and then when the chicken is done, spoon over the cream cheese mixture that has been warmed in a saucepan.

Lazy Chicken Cordon Bleu

1 lb. chicken thighs

8 slices ham

8 slices swiss cheese

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

1 clove garlic, minced

dash of black pepper

1/2 tsp dill

2 tsp. chives

1 tsp. parsley

Open up chicken thigh, fold slice of swiss in half, and lay swiss to one side of the thigh. Fold the thigh over. cover thigh with a slice of ham. Lay in a greased baking dish. Mix last 7 ingredients and spread on top of thighs. Bake at 350 F for about 35 minutes. Thighs are great because their higher fat content means that you can over-cook them a bit and not even notice.

Green Beans in Mustard Cream Sauce

~12 oz steamable bag of green beans or 3/4 lb. fresh green beans

2 Tbs. stone ground mustard

1 Tbs. spicy brown mustard

1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

Microwave green beans if you bought the bagged ones. If you bought fresh, snap the ends off and discard, and boil for about 7 minutes. Mix 2 types of mustard and cream, and pour over prepared green beans. Toss to coat if you wish.

Traditional Style Pizza (They like the pizza, ok?)

 The pizza I make is a big hit with everyone in the house, so I've made it a 3rd time!

Pizza Crust:
1 8 oz. package cream cheese (remember to use full fat)
2 eggs
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese from the canister

Optional:
couple of twists of freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
Bit of rosemary or basil/other Italian seasoning

This has a batter-like consistency. 

Directions:

Soften cream cheese in the microwave, about 30-45 seconds. Beat cheese, eggs, and parmesan in a mixer or by hand until creamy. Add spices. Line a lipped baking sheet with parchment paper and let the paper hang over the edges just a bit. Pour mixture into baking sheet and bake at 350 F for 25 minutes. Add your sauce, cheese, and toppings and bake 5-10 minutes more, or until cheese is melted.

Alex (bf) and I each like different things on our pizza, so I did half and half. My side was pepperoni, onions, spinach, basil, and bell pepper; his was pepperoni, basil, spinach, mushrooms, olives, and banana peppers. And a bit of fresh minced garlic too. I ended up doing a double layer of cheese, one before toppings (just mozzarella), and a lighter layer on top of the toppings (mix of shredded romano, parmesan, and mozzarella)

Cheese was late to the class picture...

It was delicious as always, and Alex stared at me until I told him he could go get 2nds! 

Projected recipes for the rest of the week:

Thursday: Chicken Cordon-Blu w/ Green Beans in a mustard cream sauce

Friday: The "I was snowed-in for Mardi Gras" feast: Gumbo and maybe king cake