Unsure

I am still following a low carb, high fat way of eating, but I am unsure if I should continue this blog. It seems no one is looking at it, so maybe I am wasting my time doing this. Let me know if I should let this go, or continue on. Thank you.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Are these not the cutest little cookies? I can't remember where I got the recipe from. I remember it said that you could push your thumb into it, create a dent and put a dab of sugar-free jam in the middle. I used Smucker's Strawberry Jam with Splenda. They are so tasty, and depending on what peanut butter you use, they are 4 g net carbs. I used Skippy Natural Creamy. They are very good, and they are quite delicate right out of the oven, so make sure they cool down.
So I will go ahead and put the recipe down, and if someone knows where it came from, they can let me know so I can give credit where credit is due.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Yields: 20 cookies

1 cup peanut butter
1 large egg
1 cup Splenda sweetener
1/2 tsp Baking soda
1/4 tsp Baking powder

1.Mix all ingredients together and roll into 20 balls.
2.Preheat oven to 350° F (175° C). Bake for 9 to 10 minutes - bake to the size of half dollars.
3.Divide the number of cookies by the carbs in the peanut butter to get a count per cookie.
4.Note: you can use creamy or chunky peanut butter.

Roll into balls, press your thumb into it and add a dab of sugar-free jam.

Chicken in Paprika Cream Sauce

I apologize for the bad sauce. Apparently it separated on me. I think it is because I cooked it on too high heat. But the sauce was amazing. It was rich and creamy, and had a nice different flavour with all that paprika. The original recipe came from Taste of Home .  I adapted it to my liking. I served it over shirataki fettucine. Geoff and I didn't like them, and next time, I will serve it over cauliflower "rice". Or use the shirataki thin noodles. We found the fettucine too rubbery and slid down the throat too easily.

Chicken With Paprika Cream

Adapted from Taste of Home recipe

 

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

1 tsp each garlic powder, thyme, paprika

1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 Tbsp butter, divided
1 Tbsp coconut oil
5 green onions, chopped
1 to 2 Tbsps paprika (I used 2)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup sour cream

Mix garlic powder, thyme, paprika, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle over both sides of chicken breasts.
In a large skillet, brown chicken in 1 tablespoon butter and oil over
medium heat. Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 170°. Remove chicken; keep warm. In same skillet, saute onions until tender. Reduce heat to medium.
Add paprika and remaining butter; heat until butter is melted. Stir in cream; cook and stir until sauce is thickened, about 4 minutes. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Add in sour cream, and heat gently until heated through. Serve with chicken.
Yield: 2 servings.
8 grams carbs per serving

Flourless Brownies with Chocolate Frosting

These delectable little morsels are just right for the sweet tooth we have. I found the recipe for these at Diabetic Connect. They were really quite good, despite the fact that they had dark chocolate in them. I used 72% dark chocolate bars. I normally do not like dark chocolate because it is so bitter to me, but I guess at this point, I am getting used to it, and coming to appreciate it. The only thing I would change is lowering the cooking time. They are rather thin for a 9x13" pan, so the edges burnt before the time was up. I think I would cook them for only 40 minutes, then check them. To make them even more decadent, I frosted them with a low carb Chocolate Frosting (who knew?).
I can't seem to find where I got this recipe from, so hopefully someone will know. This recipe will cover the brownies sufficiently.
Update  Oh my. These are even better the next day after being in the fridge! I think next time, I will add some walnuts to the brownie mix.

 Low Carb Chocolate Frosting

3 tbsps unsalted butter softened (not melted)
5 tbsps unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup sugar substitute (recommended: Splenda)
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tsp no sugar added vanilla extract
Few drops hot water

 Place all ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk until well combined.
Use to frost brownies, but make sure brownies are completely cooled, or the
butter in the frosting will melt.

Low Carb Clam Soup

I did it! I made my first low carb recipe. :)
This is my Low Carb Clam Soup. I have a recipe I have had around for many years, but it had potatoes in it, so I figured if I use cauliflower for my "potatoes", why not add it to clam soup?
So here is my recipe.

 Low Carb Clam Soup 

Not a chowder, because it isn't really thick, but it is warming and hearty anyway.

5 slices Nitrate free bacon cut into 1" pieces
1 Leek quartered and sliced
1 Onion chopped
3 Stalks celery chopped
3 c Chicken broth
2 8oz Jars of clam juice
6 1/2 oz Can chopped clams drained, reserving juice
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
1/2 head Cauliflower cut into a bit larger florets
2 c Heavy whipping cream

 In a Dutch oven, cook bacon until crispy. Add the leeks, onions, and celery. Cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring often. Add chicken broth, clam juice, reserved clam juice, salt and pepper. Simmer for 30 minutes.
Add the cauliflower and simmer for another 10 minutes. Add the cream and the drained clams, and adjust seasonings to your taste. Simmer on low for 10 minutes.
Serve.
Makes approximately 5-6 1 cup servings.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 387.4
Total Fat 34.7 g
Cholesterol 130.4 mg
Sodium 639.6 mg
Total Carbohydrate 9.7 g
Dietary Fiber 1.6 g
Sugars 1.0 g
Protein 10.9 g

Now this is my first recipe I have actually written, and I forgot to measure out exactly how many servings there were. Geoff and I had a large bowl (2 cups) and there was about 3 cups leftover, so it depends on how much soup you want, I guess? I never did figure out how people know these things. LOL

I served this with a wonderful biscuit recipe found here. Sugar Free Mom I didn't have fresh basil, so I used 1/2 tsp of dried basil, and I didn't have real parsley so I used dried as well. I also used 1/4 cup coconut instead of 1/3 cup because I found it was too runny. Geoff said I could make these everyday.

Beef Stroganoff Meatballs

You can find this recipe at Peace Love and Low Carb . I changed it up a little. I used coconut oil to fry instead of olive oil. I made meatballs and baked them before adding them to the sauce. I used white mushrooms, one garlic clove and the rest garlic powder, and I didn't have sherry, so I used that cherry wine I had from before. I also added about 1 tsp dill weed.
This was really good. I served it over cauliflower and had a side salad. The meatballs were nice and tender, and the sauce was so tasty. I think the dill added a nice touch. There was enough leftover for Geoff for lunch tomorrow. Always a bonus!

My "German" Meal

This was a very good supper, I must say. I say "German" because it has German overtones. It is pork in a mustard oil, turnips and cauliflower puree, and cabbage in a creamy mustard sauce. Geoff and I both loved it. I found the cabbage recipe at To Food With Love. I didn't have bacon, so I just used some leftover bacon fat to fry up the onions instead of olive oil. I also used garlic powder instead of fresh.

For the turnip and cauliflower puree, I cooked half of a large turnip until it was fork tender, steamed half a head of cauliflower until it was fork tender, then pureed it in my food processor with about 3 tbsp. of butter, a bit of nutmeg, and salt and pepper. It was creamy, and full of wonderful flavour. It has a nice combination of both vegetables without overpowering one another.
Kate, you would love this!

The pork was a pork tenderloin cleaned up, then I mixed together some coconut oil, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, lemon juice, salt and pepper, thyme and rosemary. Then I just poured it over the meat, turned it to get it all over, then baked it at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. I let it sit for 10 minutes then sliced it up. Next time though, I would let it bake for 40 minutes. It wasn't quite cooked enough for me.

This is the dessert we had last night. It is a peach blueberry something....buckle? I am not sure, but it is made with frozen blueberries, frozen peaches, some Splenda, some arrowroot flour, and cinnamon, with a Coconut Flour Biscuit topping. The biscuit topping can be found here: Wellness Mama.  I found that I needed to add 1/4 c of coconut flour, not 1/3, because it was a bit runny.

Ginger Beef

Well, I just had to try this recipe. Lin, it just doesn't look as good as the photo you showed us. I have to admit to being disappointed. I found the beef tough, and despite my claims, I used 3 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar instead of 2, and as I feared, it kind of overwhelmed the overall flavour. I also didn't use the tomatoes cause...that's just weird to me. :)   I changed a few things and added notes for me for next time. There will be a next time, because I feel with some tweaking, this could be a really good recipe. It was missing something...maybe a bit of sweetness, or maybe some soy sauce? Couldn't place my finger on it. If any of you try it and do some tweaking of your own, please let me know!
I served this with shiritaki spaghetti and steamed broccoli with a bit of soy sauce.

 Ginger Beef

Yields: 2 Servings

2 sirloin steaks (4oz each), cut in strips
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion diced
1 clove garlic crushed
2 diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon ground ginger
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar *
Salt and pepper

1. Place the oil in a large skillet and brown the steaks in it over medium-high heat.
2. When both sides are well-seared, add the onion, garlic, and tomatoes.
3. In a bowl, stir the ginger, salt and pepper into the vinegar and add that mixture to the skillet, stirring to combine.
4. Cover the skillet, turn the heat to low, and let the whole thing simmer until liquids evaporates completely.

* Use only 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, and more fresh ginger. I used about a 4" piece.
Maybe a 5-6" piece next time. I grated it on the large side of the grater, and put half with the garlic, and the other half with the sauce. I did put the ground ginger into the sauce as well.
I would also use chicken or pork instead of beef. Needs something else....not sure what. The concept is good though!

Nutritional Facts
(Per Serving)
Calories: 208
Protein: 31g
Carbohydrates: 3g
Fat: 8g