Peppered Chicken

I found these pre-seasoned chicken breasts in the grocery store last weekend. They were under two dollars a pound, and from all natural, no antibiotic farm. They were pretty thick, so tonight I cut them into chunks before grilling so they would cook more evenly. After I tasted them, I decided they were peppery enough, but needed something to make them "pop." Love how they say that on TV all the time. I promise from food to wall paint, it all pops.

I chose to add some EVOO and some balsamic vinegar. Very good with the veggie medley of zucchini, red bell pepper and onion. Mmmmm. We had ours with a nice bleu cheese salad, and the carby boy ate some pasta I had frozen. A top of garlic spice blend and some Parmesan cheese is all we needed for a really nice weekday dinner. If you don't happen to have the peppered chicken in your grocery store, just use any pepper blend that has nice big chunks of that wonderful stuff.

Now I am off to work on the newsletter for the Diner. Be watching for it if you have a subscription. If not, check out the website where you can order it. This month I am featuring side dishes made with fresh spring veggies. I bet you will find something new to enjoy with your low carb lifestyle. Some recipes just might be unusual finds from the produce aisle that are often overlooked. Ever enjoyed an artichoke or Nopalitos?

Steak, no Ale

My husband loves steak. He will eat it any time the occasion or budget allows. We don't dine out often, so he doesn't get steak too often. Tonight is an exception. We are in the process of buying a new grill, so I made this inside. Surprisingly, they are quite good. I probably have Aldi's to thank for that. The steaks came from the freezer section. Yes, I know true steak lovers would balk at that, but the price was right. I also picked up a combo pack of seasoning rubs. Tonight's spice rub was Hickory flavored. Very good stuff. To prepare, I let the rub soak in for half an hour before cooking. Then I heated up my cast iron skillet until it smoked. I added the meat, searing both sides. Then I lowered the heat and cooked them through. (Or to your stage of desired doneness)

For a side, I made some steamed cabbage topped with butter and bacon bits. Not quite a baked potato, but John returned an empty plate! After all, who can resist real butter and bacon?

Tuna Bento

What a wonderful spring day it has been here. I packed up a nice bento lunch to take to my school co-op today. I was in the mood for something light, so I grabbed a can of tuna from the cupboard.

Light Balsamic Tuna Salad

1 can tuna
1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar-- more if you like it sharper
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
touch of sweetener
sprinkle of garlic powder
1/2 small zucchini

I mixed the vinaigrette, but bottled would work too. Dice the zucchini and stir it in with the tuna. Add the vinaigrette.

This was very simple, but tasty.

I also added a wasabi mustard hard boiled egg. That is interesting if you like the flavor of wasabi. Some frozen berries and some roasted almonds rounded out the lunch.
It would be nice if the berries were fresh, but summer is coming.

Now for dinner, the hubby is grilling out some sirloin. The salad is made and the kids will get some rice as a side. Life is good.

E.Z. Chicken Alfredo

On cabbage of course. Steamed cabbage makes a fine substitute for the dreaded pasta. John raves and raves over this. This is not my usual version, which is extra decadent and full of fats. This is the weeknight version, meant for busy people.

The sauce is a jar of prepared Alfredo sauce. Mine has 4 carbs per serving. To that, I add some extra garlic. We love our garlic and don't seem to mind bad breath. I also add cream cheese. This amount is optional. I added about 4 ounces tonight, but I have been known to use a full 8 ounces with a little sherry to thin it out a bit. The way I do this is to brown the chicken breast in the skillet with a bit of butter and extra garlic--fresh, bottled or ground. When it is done, I dice the chicken and stir in the chunks of cream cheese until it is melted and coats the chicken. Then I add the sauce. Voila. If you are smart enough to be steaming finely shredded cabbage while the chicken was cooking, you are done. Just plate and serve to a very happy family.

To make this even quicker, use precooked Chicken Chunks and add the garlic to the sauce rather than the chicken. You could even cook it in the microwave that way if you needed to. I do like the little browned chunks in the sauce you get with skillets, though.

Sausage Roll-ups

Hot Breakfast. Or lunch. Or dinner. We ran out of eggs today because the snow kept me from getting my grocery run in this past weekend. That is when it is especially comforting to use the Diner system. Even if something happens like that snow, I know I have plenty of food in the freezer to tide us over. With no fresh eggs, I was still able to make a delicious breakfast.

If you have Minute Sausage in the freezer, this is a snap. You could make it up from fresh too. Just brown the sausage. Stir in a brick of cream cheese and a can of green chilies. Mine aren't in the can, but are also in the freezer. I buy a food service size can and freeze them in small batches. Huge savings there.

For the roll up, I just spread a little of the sausage and cream cheese mixture on a Lavash bread and rolled it up. I am not eating any bread products right now, so I just spooned some on a plate for me. The carby boys had theirs over toast. Yummy stuff and very filling too.

Diner Style Coconut Pancakes

Good morning for a diner style breakfast at home. It is snowing outside, so we are huddled up enjoying a quiet day at home. With my oldest college boy home for spring break, I wanted to make a big breakfast. I know he doesn't bother to eat breakfast at school unless his girlfriend sneaks some food out of the cafeteria.

I made sausage and old fashioned pancakes with a low carb twist. Rather than using white flour, I used coconut flour. These can be a little trickier to prepare, but the taste is equal to or better than their high carb counterparts. They don't exactly taste like the coconut, but they are sweet. These are fluffy and satisfying. The health benefits of coconut flour are well known. Once you master coconut batters, you are on your way to tons of healthy treats that make you think you are eating carbs. Coconut flours can vary widely in their moisture content, so be prepared to make little adjustments every time you bake.

I decided to try today's batter in the Ninja blender, hoping that the blending process would whip the eggs up well, and the blades would keep the coconut oil from forming chunks. It worked really well on both tasks. The batter ends up looking more like a muffin batter, so I added a bit more water so I could spread the pancakes out a bit in the pan. I have to admit though, that the thicker batter was easier to turn when on the griddle. So you have a choice. Thinner batter is easier to spread into pancakes, thicker batter is easier to turn. The end result is nearly identical in both taste and texture.

Diner Style Coconut Pancakes

3 eggs
3 Tablespoons of coconut oil
2 Tablespoons cream
2 Tablespoons water
3 Tablespoons coconut flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 teaspoon sugar equivalent sweetener
1 teaspoon baking powder

Place eggs and oil in a blender. Process until light and lemony colored. Add all remaining ingredients and process until smooth. If desired, stir in additional water until the batter is the consistency you desire. Leave it thicker than average pancake batter, however, as the batter will liquify more on the griddle. Spoon the batter onto a medium hot griddle, prepared with additional coconut oil. One oiling works for all the pancakes you make--no need to keep adding oil to the griddle. Use the back of a spoon to spread the batter into a roundish shape, but leave it fairly thick. Smaller pancakes are much easier to work with. Do not turn the pancake until you see that the edges are well set. Test the edge to see that the pancake is set on the bottom before turning. These pancakes to not form the bubbles on the top as much as wheat four pancakes. They will most probably be a bit darker in appearance as well. The pancakes should rise after they are turned, and will need less griddle time on the second side. Serve with sugar free syrup and butter or berries and whipped cream.

You may add berries or spices to the recipe as you like, but I would add them in by hand after the batter is on the griddle. I like to make my pancakes small; larger than silver dollars, but about the size of large biscuit. They are easier to turn. Three fit in my cast iron skillet. This recipe made 4 pancakes each for two people. It can be doubled. We chose to top them with sugarfree pancake syrup, which we use sparingly because of the sugar alcohols. Yes, it is there in the photo, you just can't see it. Back in the old days, Hubby used to put on so much syrup it would spill off the sides. Times have changed!

Since the weather again forced us to stay inside, this was a cozy, lazy Sunday brunch.

Fire the Grill for March Madness

We were expecting my biggest boy and his girlfriend for dinner tonight. But, since the John Brown University Golden Eagles are playing in the semi finals of the NAIA, our students headed off to Kansas City to support their team. That's OK. We grilled out anyway. Remember that we found a superb deal at last week's meat sale? They had 8 ounce ground steak patties for a dollar a pound. Really. They are quite good too. So glad we don't have to limit the meat in our diet--half a pound of beef each!. When you do the research, you really do find out what a bunch of bull we have been taught concerning cholesterol, fats and meats in general. But there are plenty of sites which can explain all that. I just here to tell the "convinced" how to cook and leave the rest to the nutrition gurus.

For our steaks, we relied on some nice smoke flavoring from the woodchips John threw on the charcoal. That and a bit of barbecue sauce. Sugar free of course. For sides, I whipped up a nice Nana's Coleslaw with a Kick. That is the perfect compliment (in the e-book). Add a few of the sweetest grape tomatoes ever, and we had a restaurant quality meal. Too bad the kiddos missed it. I might have saved the meal for a day when the boy manages to come home, but we have complications. He is not leaving until his Golden Eagles win it all--or fail to win, but I won't even entertain that idea. Our weather is not cooperating for a nice spring break either. Our beautiful sunny skies and 70s we had today are going to turn into 8 inches of snow tomorrow. No fun at all...especially if you planned a cookout! Hope my other college kiddo is finding better weather in Dallas this week.