Thursday, March 13, 2014

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.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

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.

Saturday, March 1, 2014

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.