Smothered chicken tenders

Super quick and super good dinner...

Ingredients:
Boneless, skinless chicken tenders (you could cut your own out of breasts but that takes too much time for me and cutting chicken freaks me out.)
1/2 cup BBQ sauce (I use a brand called Stubbs)
1 cup of shredded cheese (I use cheddar)
Real bacon bits (or strips of actual bacon...either is fine)
Salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder

Directions:
Season your meat
In a sautée pan brown your chicken tenders.
Once brown on both sides add BBQ sauce
Cook tenders throughout and then Add bacon bits and cheese
Turn your burner off and cover your pan to let the cheese melt
Serve with your favorite steamed veggies or salad

Donezo...dinner in less than 30 minutes.

Here's what it looks like:

Low Carb Almond Joys

So this is really like a chocolate truffle, but it reminds me of my favorite candy bar...so that's what I'm going to call them.

Here's what you'll need:

3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips  2 tbsp sugar substitute 2 cups almonds 6 oz dark chocolate (70-85% cacoa is best)  1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream 1 3/4 cup flaked coconut

Directions: Add 1 cup water to bottom of double boiler. Replace top pan. Bring water to boil over high and reduce heat to medium.  Combine chocolate and heavy cream in top pan of double boiler. Heat 5 minutes, stirring constantly until chocolate is melted and cream mixed in. Add sugar substitute, 1 cup of almonds, and 1 cup of coconut. Stir until well mixed. Remove from heat and lift top pan out of water. Allow mixture to come to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours, until chocolate mixture is solid, but pliable. Using small scooper or melon baller, scoop chocolate balls (about 1" diameter) onto baking sheets. Roll into smooth balls with hands. In small shallow bowl, combine remaining coconut and hazelnuts. Roll each truffle to coat completely, and replace on baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap, and place in freezer for 3 to 4 hours.  Store truffles in the refrigerator This isn't a great picture...but here you go:

Almond Butter Cookies

So we have a tradition at our house, Etheridge Baking Day, every Christmas Eve. Yesterday was our first low carb Christmas Eve, so I had to get creative. 

I was skeptical about these cookies, but wow...they are delicious.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups almond flour
• 1/4 cup of sliced almonds, I actually used hazelnuts this time so any nut would probably work.
• 1/2 cup sugar substitute, I use Stevia
• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300°F.

Combine all ingredients. 
Form dough in small balls (I used a 1/2 tsp measuring spoon for each cookie, a little bigger would have been better probably. The finished cookies were about silver dollar sized.)
Place onto greased cookie sheet 
Bake for 5 minutes
Press cookie balls down lightly with fork, like you would do normally with peanut butter cookies 
Continue to bake for another 15 minutes - until light golden brown 
Let cool & then try not to eat all of them at once

The finished product...

Low Carb Pizza - Take 2...this one is better.

• 1 head of cauliflower 
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 TBS. Italian seasoning
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. fresh ground pepper

• Preheat oven to 450F. 
• Shred cauliflower in food processor. Add cauliflower to sautee pan and cook on high for about 3-5 minutes. Get the cauliflower as dry as possible so that there won’t be extra moisture in the crust which will prevent it from crisping up properly.
• In a  bowl combine the cauliflower, egg, 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella, seasoning, salt & pepper and mix to combine well.  
• Press the cauliflower mixture into an even thickness on to a round pizza pan
• Keep the crust pretty thin, about 1/4-inch thick.  
• Grate fresh parmesan cheese over the top of the crust.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes until the crust is firm and golden brown.  
• Remove the pan from the oven and turn off the oven 
• Add sauce, toppings, and cheese to the top of the crust.
• Return to the oven for 15-20 minutes until cheese is brown on top. 

Crust cooking:

Finished product:

Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:
For the chicken:

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1 celery stalk
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic
• 16 oz chicken broth
• 1/2 cup hot sauce (I used Texas Pete)

What the chicken looks like when it's done:

For the wraps:

• 6 large lettuce leaves Iceberg
• 1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
• 2 large celery stalks, cut into matchsticks

Directions:
In a crock pot, combine chicken, onions, celery stalk, garlic and broth (enough to cover your chicken, use water if the can of broth isn't enough). Cover and cook on high 4 hours.

Remove the chicken from pot, reserve 1/2 cup broth and discard the rest. Shred the chicken with two forks, return to the slow cooker with the 1/2 cup broth and the hot sauce and set to on high for an additional 30 minutes. 

To prepare lettuce cups, place 1/2 cup buffalo chicken in each leaf, top with 1/4 cup shredded carrots, celery, ranch dressing, and blue cheese crumbles

Low carb cheesecake

I love cheesecake. I had to have some...so I combined different recipes and came up with this:

Cake Ingredients:

• 3 packages (1 and 1/2 lbs) cream cheese (room temperature)
• 4 eggs (preferably room temperature)
• 3/4 Tablespoon vanilla
• 1/2 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 and 1/3 cups of Stevia
• 1/4 cup sour cream

Crust Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of hazelnuts
• 1/2 cup of sliced almonds
• 2 Tablespoon melted butter
• 2 Tablespoons of Stevia

Crust Preparation:

• Heat oven to 375 F
• Grind nuts in a magic bullet until they are dust
• Combine melted butter, and nuts - spread on the bottom of a pie pan
• Bake for 8 to 10 minutes

Cake Preparation:

• Raise oven heat to 400 F
• Put cream cheese in mixing bowl, and beat until fluffy. 
• Add other ingredients, scraping the bowl and beaters each time to fully incorporating each ingredient. 
• When all ingredients are combined, scrape one more time, beat one more minute, and pour mixture into pan over crust.
• After putting the cheesecake in the oven at 400 F, turn the oven down to 200 F. 
• Bake for 60 to 90 minutes
• When the cake is firm to touch but slightly soft in the center, or the center reaches 155 F, remove from oven.

Before:

                                                       After:

Cauliflower Biscuits

Ok...These have become a staple at our house lately. Super simple, super yummy, and a great bread substitute for you low-carbers. Everyone at my house loves them and you can pair it with pretty much anything. 

Ingredients:
12 oz of fresh cauliflower 
1/2 cup of minced onion
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup of almonds
2 eggs
1/2 cup of real bacon bits
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of Italian seasoning (basil, rosemary, thyme, etc.)
1/4 tsp of garlic

• Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.
• Shred cauliflower & onion in a food processor
• Sweat in a sautee pan for about 5 minutes. You're not going for brown, but cooking out some of the cauliflower taste and any extra moisture.

• While your cauliflower mixture is cooking...Turn your blitz almonds to dust. (I used shredded almonds to begin with, but whole will also work) I use my magic bullet. This is what it should look like:

• In a bowl add cauliflower mixture, almonds, eggs, cheese, bacon and seasoning. Mix well
• Spoon mixture evenly into a oiled muffin pan:

• Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes. They should look like this when they are done:

 

• This is a close-up of the width when cooked too.

Low-Carb Pizza

Are you looking for something to scratch the pizza itch? I think it's been the hardest thing to give up going low carb. Here's a great, and easy recipe that is a great replacement for pizza.
Ingredients:


The crust:
3 eggs
4oz of creme cheese
1/3 cup of heavy whipping creme

You cover the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan with 8oz of shredded cheese, pour the mixture above over top of it and then bake it at 375 for about 25 minutes.
Then you add your sauce and favorite pizza toppings, cover it with cheese and put it back in the oven for 20 more minutes or until it looks about like this. Pretty easy to make, and delish. The "crust" is kind of pliable so you have to eat with a fork.

Shepard's Pie

So this one is freaking good. I mean...freaking good. A must try.

Ingredients:

• Ground Beef (about 1.5lbs) - You could also use Turkey if you want.
• 1 medium/small onion
• 1 tsp. Rosemary
• 1 tsp. Thyme
• 4 cloves of Garlic
• Salt (To taste)
• Pepper (To taste)
• Worcestershire Sauce (several splashes - I do about 8)
• 1 8oz can of tomato sauce
• 1/3 cup of red wine 
• 1 head of Cauliflower
• 1/4 cup of Heavy Whipping Cream
• 2 oz Cream Cheese
• 2 Tbsp. Butter
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup of freshly grated Parmesan Cheese (No green can, you know how I feel about that.)

Directions:

• Boil Cauliflower until tender
• Brown your meat & onions (for those of you who aren't counting carbs, you can also add a carrot to that mix.) Salt/Pepper to taste

• Once your meat is browned, drain it really good
• Meat back on the stove add:
• Rosemary
• Thyme
• Salt/Pepper
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Tomato sauce
• Red wine
• Let simmer while you prepare the mashed cauliflower
• Add cooked/drained cauliflower to the food processor with:
•  Heavy Whipping Cream
• Garlic
• Cream Cheese
• Butter
• 1 egg
• Blend until smooth
• Salt/Pepper to taste

• In a 9x13 baking dish layer meat mixture on the bottom, then add cauliflower mash, then add grated Parmesan Cheese. (Make sure your meat mixture has simmered down to where there is no liquid in the pan. If there is still some, you haven't let it cook long enough Keep going or your pie will be soupy.)
• Turn your oven broiler on high
• Broil on high for 10-12 minutes until Parmesan is golden brown (watch this part carefully your oven might be faster than mine.) 
• Let stand until cool and serve the deliciousness

Yummy, Yummy, Yummy, and 2 year old approved.

Cauliflower & Broccolli Gratin

This one is simple, and delicious. I've made it for several people and it has gotten rave reviews. There's nothing to it.

Ingrediants:
One head of brocolli
One head of cauliflower
(If you want to use frozen, 2 small bags of each)
1 pint of heavy whipping cream
2 cups of shredded cheese (I use Montery Jack, but use what you like)
1/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan (If you're going to use the stuff in the green can that you keep in your fridge, just skip this step. It's not the same.)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Combine in a layered style broccoli, cauliflower, and cheese in a 9x13 baking dish, salt to taste, then pour heavy whipping cream over the top of the veggies and cheese.

Bake for 25-30 minutes (for fresh, frozen will take almost an hour) until golden brown.

...Before & After...

Breakfast Casserole

So if you're busy like me, you don't have time to cook breakfast every morning. Prior to this diet change I would stop at Chick-fil-A or Sonic for breakfast every morning. Let me save you a lot of money on something that's a lot better for you, tastes great, and is easy on the go.

Ingredients:

• 1 dozen eggs
• 8 oz of sour cream
• 2 cups of shredded cheese (Cheddar is what I use, use what you like)
• 2 Johnsonville Andouille sausages (I've tried others, this is my favorite)
• 1 small green pepper
• 1/2 small white onion
• Real Bacon Bits
• Salt to taste

Preheat your oven to 350.

To begin chop up your sausage, pepper, and onion and add it to a saute pan. 

In the pan brown your sausage and veggies. Do not add oil or butter, etc.

Add the sausage, peppers, and onion to a  greased 9x13 baking dish. Cover it with 1 cup of the cheese.


While your sausage and veggies are cooking combine eggs, and sour cream (I use my electric mixer, but if you want extra exercise you can do it by hand.) Pour this mixture on top of the sausage, peppers, onions, and cheese in the 9x13 baking dish.

Add additional cup of cheese to the top, and sprinkle on some of the real bacon bits if you like that kind of thing. (If you don't, never look at this blog again.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes until golden brown. Let cool, and cut into 12 servings. I put mine in a ziplock bag in the fridge and heat up the individual servings each morning for breakfast. (I will also mention for the mommies...this recipe is approved by my 2 1/2 year old picky eater.)

Introduction to some yummy food

So for anyone who knows me, or knew me rather pre-lifestyle change you know this girl loves some mashed potatoes, bread, pasta, insert any white carb here...so you can imagine then the hesitation I had when my husband, Chris, approached me about living a low-carb, low-sugar lifestyle. For many reasons, mostly health related, I relented and have started this crazy, unexpected, yet fulfilling journey. I've discovered a lot of inventive ways to still eat yummy food while staying within the confines of my new dietary restrictions. A lot of people have asked for recipes, advice, what the heck can you actually eat...so now I shall direct your attention here. Find my recipes, I'll get them up as I make them so it will take awhile, enjoy my weight loss journey (43 lbs since June 1st), probably some cameo advice from my husband in the comments section (wink) and more...right here on Low Carb, It's the New Black.