Thursday, April 7, 2011

"Dookies!" #lowcarb #recipe

That's what my grandson (who is 2 years old today!) calls the cookies he and I make :).

I've mentioned that I never follow a recipe for our cookies, so they're probably always a little different. We got 27 out of our batch today; I've learned to make small batches because if there's a big pile sitting there, we have more of a tendency to eat several at a time instead of just 1-2.

Mixed until smooth:
1/2c xylitol
1/2 stick butter
1 tsp vanilla

Added in and beat until well blended:
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Mixed in:
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
1/2c almond flour
1/2c oat bran
1/4c coconut flour

Dropped by tablespoons (well, not actual tablespoons, I used a cookie drop - these are really swell, if you've never used one, they are great!) onto a greased cookie sheet and baked at 350F until the edges started to brown.

VERY good!

(I would typically use half Diabetisweet Brown Sugar sub and half Xylitol but I'm out of the former at the moment, and didn't want to mess with the jar of molasses.)

Great Supper! #lowcarb #recipe


Oh YUM! Wanted something easy tonight, I had a busy day, I was tired, and my spine (arthritis) was killing me. I'd gotten a package of sausage (Sav-a-Lot's own) out of the freezer this morning, not knowing what I was going to do with it, so this was a quick, flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kinda meal.

I made a sorta meatloaf. Into a bowl I put the pound of thawed sausage, to which I added about a cup of frozen chopped spinach, thawed, plus an egg, and a generous handful of finely shredded colby-jack cheese, and I mixed it all together. The beauty of sausage is that I didn't have to even think about seasoning. I patted it down into an 8" round casserole dish, and baked it at 350F for 50 minutes; it was fairly loose when it first came out, but tightened up nicely within 10 minutes or so...probably when the melted cheese within cooled.

The side dish is just frozen yellow squash, thawed under warm water. I melted some butter in a frying pan with some olive oil. I chopped and cooked a slice of onion (about 3/4"x2.5") until translucent, then added the squash which I had squeezed as dry as I could. On high, I stirred it around to keep it from burning until I got the color on it - and the onions - that I wanted.

This was a REALLY good dinner, very filling, low in carbs and high in fat, and most of all it was delicious!

The package of sausage was about $2.00. The spinach came from a 2.5# bag that cost $2.59; not sure how many cups in the bag, but I used maybe 1/10th of it...we'll say 30c just to be generous. The cheese was 1/4 of a $2.89 bag, so 75c there...and the egg was 11c. I had 7 onions in the bag for $2.99, and I used about 1/3 of one of them (let's see...21 goes in 3 about 1.5 times...) so we'll say 15c worth. 1T of butter @ $2.88/lb is less than a dime; hard to compute 2T of olive oil out of a gallon jug that I paid $24 for. Under $3.50 for the entire meal. 4 servings of "meatloaf" and 3 servings of squash - we will have the leftover meatloaf for lunch tomorrow, in low carb tortillas it will be great!

Cheap'n'easy low carb meal for sure! AND delicious :).

Sunday, April 3, 2011

White Lasanga #lowcarb #recipe

Typically I use eggplant for my "noodles" in lasagna but I was making this to take to a potluck tomorrow so I decided to use Dreamfield's instead. I am hoping that all of the protective layer that inhibits carb digestion wasn't removed - or won't be as it is stored overnight in the fridge - but it if does...well, I can't do anything about it now I guess :). I'm the only one who eats lowcarb though, so it won't matter to anyone else. (There are diabetics but they are obediently watching their fat intake and counting their calories and taking their drugs...)

It's mostly about the sauce anyway. A low carb sauce for white lasagna is indeed an art! OK, maybe not, but it needs to be rich without being overpowering, and flavorful without detracting from the lovely vegetables within.

I have some frozen roasted, seasoned chicken breast strips that I cut into bite-sized pieces, along with broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and mushrooms. I can't tell you exactly how much of each, I just poured some into the bowl until it looked about right, salted it, and tossed it together with my hands.

For the sauce I whipped up 2 eggs until they were very light. Then I added two 16 oz. cartons of whole-milk ricotta cheese, 1c of heavy whipping cream, a couple dashes of nutmeg, and about a tsp each of rosemary, thyme, parsley, and marjoram. (I would have used tarragon as well, if I'd had any.) And I mixed it all together thoroughly with my stand mixer. Then I put in a cup of chicken broth to thin it down a bit.

For cheese, I used a shredded italian blend and some shredded mozzarella, plus some parmesan from the can.

I assembled it by starting with some sauce on the bottom of my 9x14 baking dish, then a layer of noodles, a couple handfuls of the chicken/veggie mixture spread on the noodles, a generous amount of sauce, and a layer of the shredded italian blend...then another set of layers like the first, then a layer of noodles, sauce, and the mozzarella, with the parmesan sprinkled on top for the crispness and browning. (As you can see from the photo, I didn't spread it very evenly - lol!)

Baked in a 325 oven for 45 minutes, and 350 for the final 10.

There was enough of everything left over that I also made an 8x8 one for Pete and I at the same time. We each had some and it was delightful, although possibly could have used a little more salt. With all that cheese I was wary of oversalting but people can always salt at the table if need be too.

Anyway, here is what it looks like, I can't show you what it tastes like so I guess you'll just have to make your own - lol!

(P.S. This wasn't cheap to make, and it is easy but time-consuming. Just doing the math quickly in my head, it is probably close to $20 to make these 2 lasagnas, but of course they will serve quite a few people, quite a few servings, so per serving it is much more reasonable. I will cut it into very small servings tomorrow but I'd probably do 12 servings in the big pan and 4 in the small one if it was just for us, so that's just over a buck a serving, not bad after all I guess!)