BBQ Chicken Crusted Pizza

I've used chicken as the crust with pizza before.  You can take a look at my chicken crusted mexican pizza.  But in this one I did not use egg or Parmesan cheese in the crust and I like it better without.  This one is topped with BBQ sauce, mozzerella cheese, bacon pieces, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, black olives and queso fresco, but you can actually use any veggies you have on hand.  I sort of did this spur of the moment.  In the mexican pizza I baked the chicken crust first and then added toppings and baked some more.  This time, as you'll see in the video, I forgot!  I just added the toppings to the raw crust and baked for 30 minutes and it turned out great.  So do it whichever way you like.  As long as the chicken gets done.  The advantage of baking the chicken crust first is that any juices you can pour off before adding the toppings, but in spite of it being juicy, it was really good.  

Hope you enjoy it.

                      

BBQ Chicken Crusted Pizza

Serving Size  : 8    

1           pound  skinless boneless chicken breast -- (about 3 breasts raw)

1           teaspoon  smokey paprika

1           teaspoon  salt

1           teaspoon  onion powder

1           teaspoon  garlic powder

1/3        bottle  Walden Farms Thick and Spicey BBQ Sauce

2           cups  shredded mozzarella cheese -- (or cheese of your choice)

1/4        cup  bacon pieces, reduced fat -- (I used Hormel Bacon Pieces)

2           ounces  chopped mushrooms

2           ounces  chopped green chiles

3           small  artichoke hearts -- chopped

2           tablespoons  sliced black olives

1/2        cup  queso fresco

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Chop the raw chicken breast in chunks and then put in the food processor.  Process until ground well.  Add the paprika, salt, onion and garlic powder and process until well mixed in.

Spread onto a greased pizza pan using saran wrap laid over it to press it down to all sides, making a ridge around the edge.

Spread the BBQ sauce, add the rest of the toppings in order.  Top with crumbled queso fresco cheese (a mexican cheese usually found near the cream cheese in the grocery store).

Line the oven rack with aluminum foil to catch juices, or put a pan at the bottom.  Bake for 30 minutes.  

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Per Serving: 202 Calories; 9g Fat (42.0% calories from fat); 23g Protein; 6g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 63mg Cholesterol; 604mg Sodium. 

NOTES : 2 pieces is very filling!  

Revolution Rolls and a Bit More

I couldn't quite get too thrilled over the revolution rolls recipe because, to me it was too eggy, and not enough substance.  It was ok but just ok.  In a pinch, it was bread.  It was something to hold my sandwich together--sort of.  But I liked the concept and figured I could work with it a bit. I know many on the Low Carb Friends forum worked on it also.  There's probably a kazillion tweaks out there!  Well, here's another.  This one I did today.  I may still tweak away with this some more yet.  But this was pretty good.  It held together, and it tasted more bread-like and less eggy.  I like that it's light and not a heavy bread, like so often low carb breads turn out to be. It's soft, like bread should be.


                     
* Exported from MasterCook *

                     Revolution Rolls With a Bit More

Recipe By     :Ginny
Serving Size  : 6    
Categories    : Bread


  3         eggs -- separated
  1/4      tsp  Cream of Tartar
  3         oz  Cream Cheese
             Salt -- dash
  1/4      cup  flax meal, Golden
  2         tablespoons  whey protein, Jarrow Formulas -- unflavored (use whatever brand you have)
 1/4      teaspoon  baking powder

Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until it forms stiff peaks. Set aside.  Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Place remaining ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and mix with an electric mixer until well incorporated and smooth.

Gradually fold in the egg whites, 1/4 of it at a time until it is all folded in well, but not broken down.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or use silicone pads, lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray.  Plop on spoonfuls of the mixture until you have 6 blobs.

Bake for 35-55 minutes depending on altitudes, or until done and lightly browned on top.  Mine took 47 minutes.  After 30 minutes check them often.  Every oven is different.


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Per Serving: 115 Calories; 9g Fat (71.4% calories from fat); 6g Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 94mg sodium

NOTES : zero net carbs per roll!

Mexican Fried Chicken Breast and "Rice"

This was dinner last night. I have not figured out the carb count yet.  But I can't imagine it can be too high.  

Take 3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves and slice them in half and pound thin.  Take 2 shallow bowls and in one mix 1/2 cup coconut flour, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, 1 TBS. ea. of cumin and chili powder, about a tsp. (or more) of garlic and onion powder, salt (I just shook it in, about a tsp.), and a couple shakes of cajun seasoning.  In the other bowl add 3 eggs and beat well.

Dip each piece of meat first in the egg mix, then in the flour mix and place on a cookie sheet until you are finished, meanwhile heating a large skillet (I used stainless steel) with the bottom covered with oil.  When you're ready, drop the chicken (carefully) into the pan and fry about 3 minutes on each side.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

 Place in a baking pan lined with aluminum foil and sprayed with non-stick spray.  When all of them are fried, top each one with salsa.  Mine was Market-Fresh with 1 g. carb per TBS. Then top with shredded Mexican cheese or cheddar.

Bake in the 350 degree F. oven, covered with aluminum foil for about 10 minutes.  Meanwhile shred some cauliflower to make cauli-rice in your food processor.  In a frying pan melt some butter, place 1/2 cup cauli-rice per serving and 1 TBS. salsa per serving, onion powder and garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste, some sliced black olives, and stir and fry, just until hot.  Serve together.

Another top rated meal for my family.  They had real spanish rice though and I had the cauli-rice.  Today I had a cold left over breast chopped on top of cold cauli-rice salad.  It was great!  Hope you try it and enjoy it.

MEXICAN FRIED CHICKEN BREAST

6 SERVINGS

24      ounces  skinless boneless chicken breast halves -- (4 oz. each, or 3 -8 oz. chicken breast halves sliced horizontally in half)

1/2      cup  coconut flour

1/2      cup  parmesan cheese

 1        tablespoon  cumin

 1        tablespoon  chili powder

 1        teaspoon  garlic powder

 1        teaspoon  onion powder

 1/2     teaspoon  cajun seasoning

 1/2     teaspoon  salt

 3        eggs -- beaten

 6        tablespoons  salsa

 1 1/2  cups  shredded colby jack, (Happy Farms brand)

oil for frying

In a shallow bowl add coconut flour, Parmesan cheese, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cajun seasoning and salt. Mix together well.

In another shallow bowl add beaten eggs. 

Preheat oven to 350F. Dip each piece of meat first in the egg mix, then in the flour mix, and place on a cookie sheet until you finish the rest.  Meanwhile heat a large skillet covered with oil (stainless steel if you have one.) Drop chicken carefully into the pan and fry about 3 minutes on each side. 

Place in a baking pan lined with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Top each breast with about 1 tbsp each of salsa. (I used a 1g carb per tbsp brand)

Sprinkle 1/4 cup of shredded cheese on top of each piece. 

Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake about 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

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Per Serving: (Oil for frying not included) 358 Calories; 17g Fat (42.5% calories from fat); 41g Protein; 10g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 207mg Cholesterol; 713mg Sodium.  

Stuffed Kielbasa

It's a cold rainy day here in Minnesota's June.  Doesn't feel much like summer yet, though we did reach 103 one day.   I felt like some good comfort food for supper.  Everyone has their own idea of what constitutes comfort food.  I guess for me, this hit the spot tonight and on a scale of 1 to 10 my husband and son both said it was tops.  Theirs had garlic mashed potatoes and mine had garlic mashed cauliflower.  It was wonderful.  The recipe was from allrecipes.com, which is one of my favorite recipe sites.  I find a lot of recipes there that I can easily low carb.

In mine the changes were the mashed cauliflower, which was made from a lb. of frozen cauliflower microwaved for 10 minutes, pureed in my food processor, then a glob of butter (about 1 TBS.) and a glob of sour cream (about 2 TBS), salt to taste, a gob of garlic powder (to your taste--mine is heavy on the garlic), and mixed in well.  I used about 1/2 cup of that probably... didn't measure.

I also took one viewers advice and simmered the saurkraut in 3 TBS. of Brown Sugar Twin and a little water to keep it from burning.  I started that first and let it simmer all the while preparing the rest.

I used sharp cheddar cheese instead of mozzarella, but you could use any cheese you like.  In my opinion the sharp cheddar was wonderful.  I'm thinking next time of trying smoked cheddar.

Make sure to look for a polish kielbasa sausage that is gluten free and low carb.  Read the label.  Look in your health food store.  Unfortunately, I didn't until after I ate it!  It had corn syrup and monosodium glutamate and 4 oz. had 8 g. carbs.  So that was my blunder!  I usually am pretty good at checking labels.  This time I wasn't, for some reason, on the ball.  But I like this recipe so much that I'm going to have to find some that is healthier for me and lower carb.  But so far, hey... no side affects.  I'm still alive.  I'm feeling good.  :)

If anyone finds a good kielbasa, please let me know!

I've been away on vacation for a few days and I thought I'd throw in a video of our trip.  It was beautiful!!  Ashland, WI and Copper Falls State Park NE of Mellen, WI.  If you live near and have a chance to go there, do so!  It's one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited.  Of course that isn't saying much.  I haven't been to many places in the world.  Haven't had a chance to do a lot of travelling.  But with something like this so close to home, who needs to go far?

Sally Fallon on butter and more...

Oh happy day when I found out Butter is good for me.  It was sort of like finding coffee and chocolate were good for me.  When I think of the foods I'm "deprived of" being on this WOE, the rich foods I can have so far outweigh them! I remember starving on a low fat, low calorie diet, longing for real food that tasted good, instead of diet margarine, skim milk, egg beaters etc.  Take the fat out, take the taste out!  I remember how scared I was at first eating real fat when I went on a low carb way of eating.  I remember also how surprised I was when I began to rapidly lose weight and all the while doing that feeling full and satisfied, and no longer craving sweets.  Don't get me wrong, I do love my sweets and occassionally bake myself a treat.  But I don't HAVE to have them.  I don't CRAVE them in a way that I cannot resist them, thinking about them all day until I finally just have to give in.  That was what it was like for me before going low carb.  I was ALWAYS hungry, always craving, and always feeling bloated and fat besides.  And while on that low fat, low calorie diet I also gained weight actually.  I remember how out of control I felt starving and gaining weight.  I thought I was destined to just get fatter and fatter and more miserable feeling besides.

I found this video by Sally Fallon, "The Queen of Butter".  She is the author of Nourishing Traditions.  Also take a look at some of her other videos on YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/user/lowcarbkitchen#grid/user/694041C0E9911ED8

French Vanilla Low Carb Ice Cream

It's been HOT here lately.  Yesterday it was 103.  Heat like that makes me think of one thing--ICE-CREAM!!  Yes, I was screaming for ice cream.  Unfortunately I didn't have my ice cream freezer ready.  But today I did.

So I made ice cream.  I really did not want all the calories of heavy whipping cream right now, and I also wanted something lower in carbs than I get with heavy whipping cream.  But I wanted it smooth and creamy.

This was an experiment, and one that turned out pretty good actually although it is not going to be scoopable after sitting in the freezer all day.  It was great soft serve right out of the ice cream maker, and it was wonderful a couple hours later also.  But I can tell now when I checked it 6 hrs. later, that it is not going to be scoopable and will have to sit out a bit before eating it. I think tonight it will be part of a root beer float.  Another thing that screams at me on hot days!!  Reminds me of my childhood I guess, and begging my dad to stop at the A&W Root Beer Stand.  What a treat!!

So here's the video I did.  It was rather spur of the moment, as most of my videos tend to be.




  NOTES : Only 105 calories and 2 net carbs per serving!!!
                   
* Exported from MasterCook *

            Low Carb French Vanilla Ice Cream

Recipe By     :Ginny Larsen
Serving Size  : 8  
Categories    : Dessert

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
  2          cups  almond milk, unsweetened -- Vanilla flavored is best
  1          cup  thai Kitchen Coconut Milk
  3/4       cup  kefir
  12        packets  truvia -- or equivilant of 1/2 cup sugar
  1/4       cup  Torani vanilla flavored SF syrup
  1/4       cup  splenda -- granulated or equivilant in drops
  4          egg yolks
  1          teaspoon  vanilla extract

In a sauce pan, bring the almond milk and the coconut milk along with all the sweeteners, just to a low boil.  Don't let it boil hard, but when it just starts to bubble take it off the heat.

Temper the egg yolks by slowly drizzling about 1/2 cup of the hot milk into the yolks while whisking vigorously.  Then pour the mixture slowly into the rest of the milk while again whisking. At this point add the vanilla extract.

Stir constantly over a medium low heat until the mixture begins to thicken.  For me it took around 15 to 16 minutes.  When you are done it should coat the spoon.

Remove from the heat and set in a bowl of ice for about 10 minutes stirring all the while.  When it is cool, stir in the kefir and chill another 5 to 10 minutes in the bowl of ice or put in the refrigerator until completely chilled.

Process in your ice cream maker according to directions.


Yield:
  "4 cups"
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Per Serving (1/2 cup each): 105 Calories; 9g Fat (67.0% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 7g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 108mg Cholesterol; 60mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 0 Lean Meat; 1/2 Fat.

Corned Beef Hash with Jicama

My original corned beef hash recipe which I posted on the Bernstein forum, I actually liked better than this one with Jicama, but I had Jicama today and wanted to try it.  I think though, that next time I make it I will try soaking the Jicama in water with some salt in it for a while and then cooking it longer, until tender before baking it.  Otherwise, this was still pretty good, although crunchier than I want my corned beef hash to be.  The original one with turnips was perfect.  You could not tell that it was not a hash with potatoes.  It tasted as corned beef hash is supposed to taste.  So I am posting the recipe below using both the Turnips and the Jicama and you can choose which you want to try.  If you use the Jicama though, I would make sure to cook until tender and soak in salt water first.  It's a little sweet (which is ok) and a little too crunchy.  

So that said, here is the video I made this morning.  Hope you enjoy it.  I know my leftovers are going to be great with some scrambled eggs in the morning!

                      

* Exported from MasterCook *

                  Corned Beef Hash and Cheese Casserole

Recipe By     :Ginny Larsen

Serving Size  : 4     

Categories    :  Beef                            Main dish

                Breakfast                       Casserole

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method

--------  ------------  --------------------------------

12 to 18            ounces  corned beef, canned  (depending on what brand you use)

4               cups  turnips -- (about 4 medium turnips, or use 4 cups jicama) peeled and diced small

1/2        medium  onion -- chopped (or you can use 1/8 cup of onion flakes)

2               cups  fiesta blend shredded cheese -- I get it at Walmart (or cheddar)

3                     eggs

1/2           cup  parmesan cheese

About 30 minutes before you put the casserole together, dice the turnips and let them soak, either in milk (but then you are getting the lactose), or better, in water with sweetener added.  I used Fasweet liquid sweetener.  It cuts the bitter taste of the turnips and makes them more "potatoey" like.  this is optional, but I think it makes them better.  Also sprinkle in some salt to the water.  I didn't measure, just poured some in.  Stir and let sit for 30 minutes.  (If you use jicama you can soak in salted water for about 30 min.)

Drain the turnips and cook in boiling water for 10 minutes (20 for jicama, or until tender).  Drain.  Cut up the corned beef into cubes or shred with fork, and mix both the turnips and the corned beef in a baking dish. Sauté onions.  Mix in onions and 1 1/2 cups of the cheese.  Beat eggs and stir them into the casserole.  Sprinkle the top with remaining Fiesta blend cheese, and the parmesan cheese.  

Bake in a preheated 350 degree F. oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until lightly browned on top and knife inserted in center comes out clean.  

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Serving Ideas : Great for a breakfast or anytime meal.

*NOTES : Using Jicama:  493 Calories; 29g Fat (54.9% calories from fat); 41g Protein; 13g Carbohydrate; 6g Dietary Fiber;

Using Turnips: 482 Calories; 29g Fat (56.0% calories from fat); 41g Protein; 10g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber

Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce and Quick Icecream

A good friend who has lots of rhubarb gave me some the other day.  It's so nice to have friends with gardens!  I live in a town home and have a patio but no yard for a garden anymore.  I do intend to grow some tomatoes and zucchini and maybe some herbs in pots this year, but it's been cold here in Minnesota!  I haven't gotten anything started yet. But I'm thankful for friends who like to share their excess from their gardens.  I love rhubarb!  It was a delight to get some!  So I made some rhubarb sauce with it and it turned out so good, I thought I'd share it.

Of course when you have rhubarb sauce, it's nice to have something to put it over also.  It's pretty good all by itself but I've been eating it in sweetened kefir cheese, and tonight decided to make some ice cream but I didn't want to do the messy stuff in a bag.  So I just did it this way...

                   
* Exported from MasterCook *

                         Quick and Easy Ice cream

Recipe By     :Ginny
Serving Size  : 1     Preparation Time :0:00
Categories    : Dessert

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
  1/2         cup  heavy cream
  1/2         cup  Trader Joe's Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
  2            packets  Truvia
  8            drops  liquid stevia -- (or sweetener of your choice)

Mix together all the ingredients and pour into an ice cube tray.  Freeze for about an hour or until solid.  Put in a food processor and process with the S blade until it's smooth and creamy.  Eat right away or freeze for about 20 min. longer or until desired consistency.



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Per Serving: 430 Calories; 46g Fat (88.6% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 10g Carbohydrate; 6g Dietary Fiber; 163mg Cholesterol; 133mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 1/2 Non-Fat Milk; 9 Fat.

NOTES : 4 g. usable carbs

Here's the Strawberry Rhubarb sauce:

                   
* Exported from MasterCook *

                         Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce

Recipe By     :Ginny
Serving Size  : 16  
Categories    : Dessert/Sauces/dressings/Misc.

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
  6           cups  rhubarb -- diced
  1           pound  frozen strawberries, unsweetened
  1/2        cup  Torani vanilla flavored SF syrup
  12         packets  Truvia -- (or sweetener equal to 1/2 cup sweetening power)
  2           tablespoons  dry red wine
  .3           ounces  sugar free raspberry gelatin, GV -- (Walmart brand... no maltodextrin)

Place the rhubarb in a larg pot, add the frozen strawberries.  I did not thaw them, but you can if you want, or use fresh.  Add the Torani Syrup and the Truvia and the wine and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to a simmer and simmer for about 6 minutes stirring all the while.  When it's turned into a sauce, remove from the heat and stir in the gelatin well, until it is all dissolved.  Place in the refrigerator until thoroughly chilled.

It will thicken as it chills.  If you want it thicker you could add a larger box of gelatin maybe.  Mine was just right for me.

Yield:
  "2 quarts"
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Per Serving: 21 Calories; trace Fat (2.7% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 7g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 152mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 1/2 Fruit.

NOTES : 3 g. usable carbs per 1/2 cup serving

Ham and Cheese on "Rye"

Just a quickie here cuz this turned out pretty good.  It's just another quick microwave bun or bread or whatever you want to do with it.  It turned out very close to a rye bread taste.  But there's no rye flour in it.  The ingredients that make it are coffee and caraway seeds.

It's made with my handy english muffin microwave gadget.

Here's the recipe:


                   
* Exported from MasterCook *

                         Ham and Cheese on "Rye"

Recipe By     :Ginny Larsen
Serving Size  : 1
Categories    : Bread/lunch/Pork

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
                        Rye Bun
  2        tablespoons  almond flour, Honeyville -- (I use Honeyville blanched almond flour.  You can use almond meal if you prefer or that's what you have)
  1         tablespoon  flax meal, Golden
  2        tablespoons  parmesan cheese -- grated (I used the canned stuff)
  1/2      teaspoon  baking powder
              sprinkle  salt -- (I gave it about 4 or 5 shakes... not much)
  1/2      teaspoon  caraway seeds
  1         large  egg
  1         tablespoon  extra virgin olive oil
  2        tablespoons  coffee -- (nice way to use left over coffee from the morning)

                        Ham and cheese filling
  1        teaspoon  mustard -- Or however much you like
  1        ounce  ham slices -- (I used deli ham, low sodium, thinly sliced) I actually don't know how much I used.  Pile on how much you like.
  1        ounce  Swiss cheese slice

For the bun: Put the first 5 dry ingredients in a small bowl (a cereal bowl will do).  Make a well in the middle and add the liquid ingredients.  Mix it well.

Take a microwave english muffin container (available at Walmart in the microwave section), or another microwave container of your choice, and put half of the batter in.  Microwave on high approximately 1 minute.

Plop it out on the counter and wipe out the container with a paper towel.  Pour in the remainder of the batter and microwave again for 1 minute.

Fix the sandwich by spreading on the mustard and adding your ham and cheese.

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Per Serving: 531 Calories; 44g Fat (73.2% calories from fat); 27g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 235mg Cholesterol; 1019mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 3 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 5 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

NOTES : 5 g. net carbs

Jicama

picture from Wikepedia

I love discovering new foods.  Jicama is a new food to me.  I've been seeing different places on the internet lately and have wanted to try it.  I see it in the produce section of my grocery store each week and almost buy it but then because I didn't know how to use it and didn't want it to go to waste, I didn't.  I finally bought some.  I am so glad I did!  I found that I love it.  I made hash browns with it the first time when the "norms" in the house were having potatoes.  I like it better than potatoes.  I never thought I'd say that about anything!  I have been low carbing since 2006, and sometimes I get tired of the substitutes.  They just aren't as good as the real thing.  I mean, I was ok with cauliflower mashed, hashed, riced, etc., and it was filling.  But it wasn't potatoes.  I didn't feel like, wow, this is just like potatoes!  I don't miss potatoes at all!  No... it just didn't do that for me, though I felt like I at least had something instead of potatoes that filled my plate and tasted ok.  But I do like jicama, and I won't miss potatoes as long as I have it!  I like it raw also.  I can't wait to try it in a dessert, as a pie filling perhaps?  Or a crisp?  Grated in a salad?  I like it!  I like it a lot!  Some do and some don't it seems.  I do!  Yay!  So many times when others are raving over something in the low carb community I'm thinking, "what's the fuss?"  But this time I really like it!

So I've been browsing recipes and discussions, and blogs and I have a list of links about jicama to check out if it's new to you too.  If anyone has any other links, recipes, or ideas, please share them with me!

Jicama links

http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/lowcarb-recipe-help-suggestions/252042-just-bought-jicama-first-time.html

http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/recipes/desserts/jicama.shtml

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/low-carb-jicama/

http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/jicama_apples.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZXxc0n9LZE&feature=channel_video_title

http://www.ehow.com/how_2074707_cook-jicama.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMHH7RlfbjE
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2727/2

Chocolate Cookie Crumbs-or-Don't Throw Out Your Flops

NEVER throw away your flops.  They're too expensive when you're low carbing and gluten free!  I hate to experiment sometimes because every ingredient I use, from the flours to the sweeteners are so expensive!  I pay for my treats.  So I don't get them all that often, and have to be careful with how much ingredients I use.

I tried making some chocolate microwave brownies yesterday.  It was hot and muggy yesterday for the first time this year and I wanted something chocolate but didn't want to use my oven to heat the house.  My mistake was thinking I could multi-task while they were in the microwave rather than watch.  I know microwaves do not have the same power so times vary and you have to watch and start out low.  I just put them in for 5 minutes and let them go while I set about making the peanut butter frosting I was going to frost them with.

I took the brownies out and plopped them out of the dish, and they hit the counter with a *THUD*, sort of like what it would sound like if a piece of wood fell on your counter.  My husband felt sorry for me and decided to taste one.... which he said was good (what love will make you do).  I thought, maybe I could make them into biscotti and dunk in coffee.  They were pretty hard to swallow.  I was in no way going to throw them out.  So I decided to put them in my food processor today and make crumbs.  Turns out they made perfect chocolate "cookie" crumbs for a pie crust or whatever you want to use cookie crumbs for.  Perfect!  In fact, now I'm going to have to make this flop again so that I can make cookie crumbs again.

So I made myself a dessert today with the crumbs and the peanut butter frosting I prepared.  It was delightful.  I didn't measure, but just glopped it together so here's the way I glopped it...

I added the crumbs to my little custard cup, and moistened with a little water, and pressed them into the bottom.

I topped that with some cream cheese spread that I had on hand which was whipped with some DaVinci SF syrup.

I topped that with the peanut butter frosting I had made, which was just about 1/2 cup unsweetened peanut butter, 2 TBS. of butter, and 1/4 cup Splenda, beat together well until light and fluffy.

Topped it with whipped cream and let it tickle my taste buds.

I think I'm going to keep a bag of Chocolate Cookie Crumbs on hand from now on.  Thank God for flops.  They can sometimes turn into something really good.  The recipe for the microwave brownies were posted on  Low Carb Friends Forum, and was a great idea by Jennifer Eloff, who has a lot of fantastic recipes.  I will try it again with the suggestions further down in the thread and less cooking time watching it next time. My microwave always tends to cook in less time than most recipes call for.  I think my coconut flour that I used also was different and really soaked up the liquid so made them drier.  But I got perfect cookie crumbs!!!  

Quick Lunch Pizza

When I come home from work around 12:30 p.m. I'm usually worn out from chasing toddlers around a classroom, and really hungry and want my lunch right now!  Unfortunately there are days when I don't prepare ahead for something quick to grab out of the fridge when I get home.  But on those days, this is a pretty quick fix for a lunch pizza, for one serving.  I made this today.  Mine was a Mexican pizza.  You can choose your favorite toppings.  The crust is the part that makes it a snap.  This is a take-off from the easy Cracker/Cereal Mix.

Take 1/4 cup Almond flour (or Almond meal, blanched is best but you don't have to use blanched), 2 TBS. grated Parmesan Cheese, 2 TBS. liquid (I used kefir, but you can use cream, buttermilk, water, or any liquid), add seasonings such as a sprinkle of salt, some onion powder, garlic powder, Italian seasoning (optional).  This is so versatile!  Mix into a stiff ball.  Cover it with saran wrap sprayed with non-stick spray, and spread or roll out with a small rolling pin, or like me, use your can of spray to roll it out.  Peel off the saran wrap and microwave on the parchment paper for 1 min. 40 sec. depending on your microwave.  They are all different so your timing may be different so watch it and test to see if it is done.

Remove from the microwave and spread your toppings.  I spread mine with cream cheese...

And then I topped the cream cheese with some Salsa Verde...

I added to that some Fiesta Blend shredded cheese...

Some left over taco meat...

And some sliced black olives...

Baked it on a piece of aluminum foil sprayed with non-stick spray, in a preheated 400 degree F. oven, for 10 minutes and cut it in 4 pieces.  Very yummy!

I hope you try it and enjoy it!  Have a great day!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

These taste very much like Reese's Peanut Butter cups, in my opinion.  Peanut Butter Cups have always been one of my weaknesses.  Well... anything with chocolate and peanut butter!  I hope you like them.  This will be my Resurrection Day treat, while the norms will have their candy from the store.  I can't help but think I'm the better off.  While I'm enjoying my treat, I'll also be thinking much on what a wonderful love, a deep love beyond what I can fathom, the Father had for me, in giving His Son to take my sin upon Himself and die for me, and then He rose again, with promise!

I hope you all have a very blessed celebration, and enjoy some chocolate!




                    
* Exported from MasterCook *

                       Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Recipe By     :Ginny Larsen
Serving Size  : 12
Categories    : desserts

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
                        Peanut Butter Filling
  1/4       cup  unsweetened peanut butter
  4          packets  Truvia
  2          tablespoons  whey protein, Jarrow Formulas -- (unflavored, or vanilla)

                        Chocolate coating
  1        ounce  unsweetened chocolate -- chopped fine
  2        tablespoons  coconut oil
  3        packets  Truvia
  2        tablespoons  erythritol

Mix all the peanut butter filling ingredients together in a small bowl.  Knead with hands until it forms a smooth ball.  Roll into a log and cut into 12 pieces.  Roll each piece into a ball and set aside.

Mix the 3 packets of Truvia and the Erythritol in a coffee grinder or bullet blender and blend for 10 sec. intervals, shake inbetween, blend again for about 3 times or until it is like powdered sugar.  (This just makes  it smoother when added into the chocolate mixture.

Over low heat, in a small saucepan, melt the chocolate and the coconut oil, stirring until smooth.  Remove from heat and stir in the sweeteners until smooth.  With a spoon, drop just enough chocolate to fill the bottom of 12 mini muffin tins lined with paper liners.  Spray the liners with non-stick spray if desired, (makes them come out easier).  Add the peanut butter balls to each muffin liner, and press down flattening the tops.  Cover with remaining chocolate.

                                    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving: 68 Calories; 6g Fat (72.2% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 3g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber;

NOTES : 1 g. useable carbs per serving

Almond-Flax Low Carb Gluten Free Quick Bread

This is a take-off of this almond bread recipe.  I added another egg, separated the eggs and whipped the egg whites until stiff, and also I used buttermilk, or kefir, whichever you have on hand.  Buttermilk seems to actually work best but Kefir works also.  Together this seems to give it a nicer rise. I also used 1/2 cup of flaxmeal in this recipe and all together I thought it came out with a nice texture. It's very moist inside and crispy on the outside.  If you don't want it as moist, you could try using less oil with it, or using coconut flour instead of the flaxmeal.  I use this for my sandwich bread.  It makes good grilled cheese sandwiches!  I also toast it and have it with my egg in the morning.  It's not wheat bread but it's pretty good bread and has only 2 usable grams of carbs per slice.

                      

* Exported from MasterCook *

                         Almond-Flax Quick Bread

Serving Size  : 16    

Categories    : Bread

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method

--------  ------------  --------------------------------

  1/4       cup  coconut oil -- melted

  1          cup  buttermilk -- (or kefir)

  4          large  eggs -- separated

  1          packet  Truvia

  1          teaspoon  baking soda

  1/4       teaspoon  salt

  2          cups  almond flour, Honeyville -- (or almond meal, I used almond flour from Honeyville

  1/2       cup  flax meal, Golden -- (1/4 cup seeds ground makes 1/2 cup meal)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (180 C.)

Beat egg whites until stiff and they form a peak. Set aside

Mix all remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix with electric mixer until well incorporated.

Gently fold in the egg whites without breaking them down. Pour into a small loaf pan, (I use a 4" by 8" pan)  that has been generously sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 1 hr. and 30 min. approximately or when a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  It is very moist in the center, and crusty on the outside.  I find the best results at this temperature and time.  Folding in the egg whites, adding an extra egg, and also using buttermilk or kefir gave me a better rise with this bread and a better texture I think.  

Description:

  "this is a take-off from the Lois Lang Almond bread recipe."

                                    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 152 Calories; 13g Fat (73.2% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 47mg Cholesterol; 148mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 0 Lean Meat; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 1 Fat.

NOTES : 2 g. usable carbs per slice

Kefir

Kefir is a wonderful, tasty cultured milk product, much like yogurt only more pourable, and has more probiotics than yogurt.  I've been making kefir for several years now and enjoying it.  I bought some very good hearty grains, (which are not really "grain", as in wheat, or rye, etc.) from someone online which I am still using, and they've never failed me.  Kefir is full of probiotics that are beneficial for a healthy gut, improve our immune systems, and protect us from the bad bacterias that can be harmful to our health.  I am not an expert on probiotics, or on kefir, but I'm thankful for those who are and have posted such great information for others on the internet.  Dom's site is especially helpful and he is the most knowledgeable person on kefir I know of on the internet.  You can get just about any question about kefir you have answered there. There's also a yahoo group on kefir if you want to join a discussion with others using it. You can buy kefir at many grocery stores or health food stores, but the best kefir is the stuff you make yourself with good healthy kefir grains.  It's worth finding a good source and buying them.  They'll keep forever if you take good care of them.  I've had them frozen for a year and then used them again.  They've worked great every time.

There are so many great ways to use kefir in recipes.  But if you want to get the probiotic goodness from it, you cannot cook it.  At the bottom of my video I'll post a few recipes I've used with kefir and kefir cheese.  Even if you do use it in cooking there are more nutrients in it than just milk, even if you are not getting the probiotic benefit.

There are so many great health benefits from kefir! I hope you do a search and read more about it.  If you are new to kefir, there's much to be discovered!  I'm currently looking into doing more lacto-fermentation with foods using kefir whey, and I hope I'll have some good ideas with that to share in the future.  I have made Sauerkraut with the whey before which turned out so much better than any I've ever had from a can!



Here are just a few ways I've used kefir:

Creamy shakes

1 cup of kefir
any frozen berries
sweetener of choice
flavorings of choice
blend until smooth

one of my favorites:

1/2 cup kefir
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tsp. vanilla flavoring (or coconut flavoring)
3 ice cubes
about 2 TBS. of sweetening power

blend until ice-creamy and smooth

Strawberry cheese dessert

For those of you who can handle a small amount of fresh strawberries

1/2 cup kefir cheese
1 TBS vanilla DaVinci sugar-free syrup
2 fresh strawberries, sliced
2 TBS. sugar-free strawberry glaze (usually in the produce section next to the strawberries)

With a hand blender mix the kefir cheese and vanilla syrup together (I add a TBS or two of flax oil to this sometimes also)
top with sliced strawberries and glaze.  

You can also make a crust out of flaxmeal and melted coconut oil with a little sweetner to press down in a bowl and then just add the kefir cheese mix and topping.  Sort of like a cheesecake.

Chocolate kefir pudding

mix 1/2 cup kefir cheese with 2 TBS Vanilla or chocolate DaVinci sugar-free syrup
and 1 or 2 packets of Truvia (to taste).  Mix in 2 tsp. cocoa.  Top with whipped topping, enjoy.   :)

Another good way I've used it is with a raspberry delight, which I will maybe do a video of soon, substituting the cream cheese in the recipe with kefir cheese.  


Use in place of creamed cheese in almost any dessert calling for it.  

Chive Dip

Mix the kefir cheese with minced garlic, chives, and seasoned salt to taste.  use it as a spread on wasa fiber rye cracker, or flax or nut bread or almond thins, whatever.  Or as a dip for veggies.  

Also makes a great sour cream topping for some dishes.  I made a taco salad yesterday and topped it with that.  Extremely yummy.  Even my skeptic son liked it who wrinkles his nose at the word kefir without even tasting it.  

For a great taco salad: 

shred lettuce and layer in bowl.  

Brown hamburger, adding a heaping TBS cummin, 2 TBS chili powder, lots of onion and garlic powder, tsp. salt, 1 tsp. cocoa (yes, cocoa--you'll be surprised), dash cayenne pepper, minced onions, stir into hamburger and add 3/4 cup water and simmer.  Then put it all in a food processor and just pulse a few times to get it like the consistency you get in a restaurant--if you like, optional. We like it that way.  Layer that on top of the lettuce.  Top with no sugar salsa, sprinkle with shredded cheese, top with kefir cheese dip and black olives.  


You can use kefir grains in different kinds of non-dairy milks, so if you are dairy intolerant that's good news. You can also convert them to water grains and make water kefirs.  Read more about that on Dom's site.  

Gary Taubes responds

I was disappointed to see how Dr. Oz covered the facts and did not let Gary Taubes explain himself on his TV show, so thank you Jimmy Moore for giving him that opportunity!  I want to spread it around all I can.  People can hold their opinions on diet, etc. all they want but when they deceitfully shut up the truth or wrongfully portray the facts, that should be exposed I believe.  I'm posting the playlist here.  The first two are Gary Taubes on the radio show, the next 3 are Gary Taubes responding to the TV program where Dr. Oz made himself look very good and edited out everything Gary Taubes said that would explain the facts about his diet.

update

Hey everyone, just wanted to let you know I'm still here. Sorry I haven't been doing much lately.  Just had a lot going on.  But I've had some ideas I want to share soon. :)

Ginny