TooGood #Lowcarb Flatbread #Recipe

I've been messing around with recipes for wraps, mainly to wrap around hot dogs that were cooked on a campfire, but for other things as well.

Tonight I reached as close to perfection as I'll ever get I think, these wraps are better than any I've ever had, low carb or not! Totally delicious, and just right for hot dogs! (I will make them bigger when I want to use them for sandwiches or something...although a couple of these would make a superb grilled cheese too, no doubt!)

I don't usually measure but I have been so I could duplicate this when I finally got what I wanted. Here is the recipe, before I forget it:

1.5c Wheat Protein Isolate 5000
1/4c fine almond flour
1/4c oat fiber (NOT bran)
1/2Tbsp baking powder
1/2Tbsp baking soda
1/4tsp salt

3 drops sweetzfree (equal to 3tsp sugar)
3/4c hot water
2Tbsp full-fat sour cream (plain yogurt would probably work too)

oat flour for dusting (I used 1/4c total)

Whisk together the first 6 ingredients until very well blended and "fluffy" looking.

Mix sweetzfree, and sour cream into hot water well with whisk until sour cream is fully melted in.

Using a wooden spoon (so it doesn't stick so much) stir while pouring water mixture into flour mixture. The dough will puff up, develop holes, and get fluffy. Only add enough water to make a sticky, loose dough; it will be wet and sticky. Mix until blended but no longer. Set aside for about 10-15 minutes to allow reaction (between lactic acid and baking powder) completes.

With wet hands (to prevent sticking) remove dough from bowl and knead on a floured (oat flour) surface until it is smooth but not tight. Form a loose ball, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside for 30 minutes, during which time it will rise by about 50%.

Cut into 16 equal pieces with pastry cutter (or knife dipped in water); roll each into a walnut-sized ball, pat to flatten, then roll to about 6" (that's the size I made to use with hot dogs) on lightly floured surface; re-dust surface as needed between dough balls.

I used a cast aluminum griddle that is well seasoned from over 30 years of use because I have parrots, so don't use non-stick. Turned it on high, and when a drop of water bounced across the surface I put the wraps onto the griddle, which holds 6 wraps, one at a time. By the time I put the 6th one on, the first one had puffed up and the bottom was golden; I flipped them in order, left the 2nd side to cook until golden (a minute or less), then removed them to a cooling rack. All 16 of them took less than 10 minutes to cook.

After cooling the wraps were pliable, soft, very very tasty, not dry at all...just amazing! I don't know for sure how I will store them yet, probably in a bread wrapper, but I'm just so excited about these - totally excellent!

The whole recipe contains 23gN carbs, so it's about 1.5gN per wrap.

Some October Shopping #lowcarb #frugal

I bought a few things that I don't consider "frugal", because I want to take them camping, or because my husband specially requested them. He works so hard that I don't say no to anything, and he isn't extravagant anyway :).

I spent $20.64 at Walmart, for cheese, SF treats (peanuts, chocolate - <$5), and 3 half-gallons of half'n'half.

Sav-a-Lot has gotten a lot of business from me this month, as they were running their 10/$10 sale, plus I got some meats at a good price, so I added to my freezer. (I still have about 1/3 of the meat I bought at Steve's last month.) Today I spent $100.94 there. The 10/$10 items I bought included 5 dozen large eggs, 3 packages of pepperoni, 5 brown'n'serve* links and patties, 4 frozen pizzas*, and five 12 oz. rolls of pork sausage. I also got fresh produce, butter, canned tomatoes, mushrooms, and tomato paste, shredded cheese, decaf coffee, a 24-pack of water for the camping trip, 9# of english cut roast (my favorite cut of beef) for $2.79/lb,, 11# of chicken leg quarters for $0.79/lb, and almost 5# of pork sirloin chops for $1.69/lb.

*These are prepared foods that my husband likes to have on hand. If I'm not hungry or not available to cook or whatever, he enjoys having something quick. The pizzas (1 is a complete meal for him) are less than 60gN carbs, and the sausages are 1-2gN each - it isn't the carb counts that are so important to me, it is the junk that is in prepared foods. But, as I said earlier, there are a few things he likes once in a while, and I don't deny him :).

I also spent $12.19 on 5# of pre-cut and pre-cooked chicken breast strips. These ARE a splurge, and I know it. They just make my life easier, as I can make up a quick chicken salad or sandwich, toss some onto a salad, create a quick casserole around them, snack on them dipped in ranch dressing, or give them to my grandson to tide him over until supper. At nearly $2.50/lb it is expensive for chicken breasts - but maybe not when they've saved me the work of cooking and cutting and are so handy for quick use on busy days.

Our larders are pretty full, although if I see another sale, I'll buy anyway :).

Now I think I'll go toss together a salad for my supper with the marked-down bag of fresh spinach and some of those chicken strips! :)

CAMPING! #lowcarb

We'll be going camping with some people from our church soon. This is always a challenge, especially when they break out the s'mores, but I'm hoping we can do well anyway. One thing while camping, I don't want to carry a whole grocery store with us, nor do I want a lot of work and time involved in food. So here's the plan:

I'm making a bunch of flatbreads. Last night was the first time I made them, and they turned out really well! (Who knew they were so EASY??? And LOTS cheaper than store-bought, and lower in carbs!) Next time I will just roll them a little thinner and make the dough not quite so stiff, but other than that they were/are great! I'm also making cheese chips, pepperoni chips, hard-boiled eggs, pork rinds, and tuna salad. I'll make up a simple dip for the rinds and chips with salsa and sour cream, we can also put this on our hot dogs and our tuna salad sandwiches. A batch of chocolate cookies for our sweet tooth is a must. And lastly, I'll make some breakfast "muffins" with eggs, spinach, bacon, and cheese. For reheating, we'll have our portable grill (with an warming upper rack) and foil. I have an old-fashioned stove-top drip coffee pot to use on the grill as well. And I'll splurge on a 24-pack of drinking water. Of course I'll have lowcarb ketchup, mustard, cream (for coffee), and a baggie of chopped onions for dressing up everything.

I believe this will sustain us for 2 days, and if we have plenty of easy, grab'n'eat lowcarb options with us we will be less likely to eat carby foods that others may offer us. My goals are easy - not sloppy - needing few utensils - no, or next-to-no, prep time and effort - enough variety and quantity to enable us to fight carby temptations.

After the trip I will post how it went, and what I will change for next time. If you have any ideas, I'd be happy to hear them!

Ham'n'Eggs with Frosting #lowcarb #recipe

Added 2 eggs to a little hot bacon fat in my mini-cast-iron skillet, then just broke the yolks and spread them around a little. Took a slice of ham and layed it in the middle, pressing down until egg covered it on top. After the bottom was cooked, I turned it to cook the egg on the other side, and put a chunk of cream cheese on top of the lightly-browned egg. Covered it and turned off the heat (the iron stays hot enough to cook the egg!) and let it sit for a few minutes.

When I slid it out onto my plate, the cream cheese was soft; I spread it across and it looks like frosting - lol.

EASY #lowcarb Cream Sauce, & A Lovely Chicken #Recipe

This sauce is so easy that I will be pouring it over everything now I think! I poured about a cup of cream into a bowl, added a half-cup of parmesan out of the can, about 1/8 tsp of xanthan gum, and whisked it until well-blended but not whipped cream.

Browned bite-sized pieces of chicken breast in some bacon fat, then added a bag of frozen broccoli/cauliflower/carrots, a full Tbsp of onion powder, some thyme, parsley, paprika, S&P, and garlic powder. Stirred it all together and cooked on med-low, covered, for about 10 minutes until vegetables were softened but nowhere near mushy. Poured the sauce over the top, stirred in, and let cook an additional 5 minutes. The sauce thickened nicely and took on the herbs and spices very well. I poured it into a casserole dish, sprinkled more parmesan on top with some paprika and parsley on top of that, and it was pretty - cheap - and delicious!

Chicken was $1.87; vegetables were $1.19; cream was just over $1.00. Bacon fat and spices were negligable but even if I add another $1, it's still under $5 for 4 large servings.