Barbecue Mini Pizzas with Cilantro

I have been so busy. These are actually Friday night's dinner that I am just now posting. I used the Nancy Elle's cheese crust recipe with cheese and eggs. I added a bit of coconut flour too. For some reason, these really stuck to my muffin top pan this time. It must be getting old, as more things are sticking these days. The crusts were a little torn, but they tasted heavenly. I do love the combo of barbecue sauce, cheese and cilantro. With those flavors going on, the chicken is rather an afterthought! I also added red onion and garlic. Such good stuff.

When time is running short, and the freezer is somehow lacking my normal supply of chicken cubes, I use a can of chicken in a pinch. My Sam's club sells cans of breast meat, very low calorie and all natural. It is easy to chunk up for use in salads or in this case, as a pizza topping. Super quick. Not as tasty as home made, but great convenience in a pinch. It makes gourmet pizza night a hit.

Mexi-Burger Casserole, por favor?

Most nights I don't bother to snap photos of dinner if it is one that is already photographed and in the e-book. But tonight, my dog got so excited when the Mexi-Burger Casserole came out of the oven, I just couldn't resist getting a shot of that face. He reallllllllly wanted a plate for himself. He didn't get one, but this must have smelled pretty darn good to him! If you want to try the recipe, it is in with the Mulitply Meals recipes. I did alter this one by swapping the cream cheese with yogurt. The texture was lighter and eggier, but I still got clean plates turned in. That is why I love casseroles. It is so easy to play around with the basic recipe. Glad there will be more leftovers later!

Smokey Chipotle Chicken--a Salvage Operation

This dinner has a bit of a story. It wasn't exactly planned, but it was successful anyway. Almost every time my hubby grills out, he comes in offering to grill more while the coals are still hot. A while back, a tossed him some fat chicken breasts. Good guy that he is, he put them into a freezer bag after they were cooked. Since it wasn't a regular prep day for me, they didn't get recorded on a freezer list, and I kinda forgot them. Okay, I totally forgot them, so don't neglect that inventory list that comes in the e-book. I sound like the parent who says "Do as I SAY not as I DO" huh? Add a trip to the meat dock sale, and they got buried in the depths of the frozen nothingness know as the bottom back of the appliance.

When I did find them, they had been man-handled pretty well by some larger bags of food and a casserole dish. Unfortunately, the seal had broken and I observed some ice crystals that let me know these were not gonna be the best. Not giving up, but too busy to deal with it at that moment, I put them into another sealable bag and promptly forgot about them again.

Today was a really hectic day, and I pulled these out of the freezer hoping to salvage them. I thawed in the microwave and tasted. Not too bad. A bit freezer burnt, so of course, my plan was to totally inundate the chicken with a really flavorful blend of seasoning and sauces. So, that is what I did. Somehow, the twenty something boy decided they were great. Compliments on freezer burn? Go figure!

Since hubby is off running high school football tonight, I knew it would be a good opportunity to use some spices that are a tad bit too hot for his Yankee tastes. I made a fusion type dish with two of my regional favorites--Mexican and barbecue. The meat already had the grilled out flavor, so I decided that smokey chipotle would compliment that well. I used a liberal amount of my locally blended orange chipotle seasoning on the chicken that I had cut into chunks. If you don't have access to any of that, just add some regular chipotle powder and a packet of True Orange crystals. After that was well coated, I put them into my cast iron skillet with about a cup of tomato juice. Sauce would work fine too. I let that simmer to tenderize the chicken a bit. For seasoning, I added a bit of sweetener and some extra liquid smoke. It made a sweet chipotle barbecue sauce after it cooked down.

The big guy had his in tortillas. The rest of us had our chicken with a side of grilled peppers. I love grilled peppers. We added a touch more home made barbecue sauce to really boost the flavor. Good if you have it, but not essential, I think. This method would work for pre-frozen chicken cubes too, and they don't have to be freezer burnt!

It is really rather humorous that a meal I considered scrapping ended up good enough to blog about. Everyone can use a break now and then.

Mini Eggplant Pizzas

Those of you who get the newsletter know September's issue is all about PIZZA! These are the little pizzas we had for lunch today. The base is a sliced eggplant. I tried baking these in the oven, but they seemed to stay too squishy. Going for a bit more crisp, I then grilled them on my cast iron griddle. They may look a bit burned, but they didn't taste that way. I sprinkled ground oregano and chopped garlic on each eggplant slice.

We ate ours topped with fresh veggies and some homemade chicken sausage I had on hand. I skipped the tomato sauce and let the fresh tomatoes fill that spot. I added some of the veggies on top raw--onions and bell peppers, and those stayed crispy. I also cooked some veggies on the griddle for more of a grilled taste. I knew I wasn't going to turn on the broiler to cook the top of the mini pizzas, and this was a great compromise. The flavor was excellent, and the melted farmer's cheese held everything together nicely. You still need a plate and fork, but if you miss the pizza flavors and want some extra nutrition, this will do it. Teenager approved--even with eggplant. Who would have guessed? Only bad point: the eggplant does shrink a bit, so I think he is still hungry. Perhaps a berry smoothie for dessert will do.

Crockpots and Avocados

We celebrated Labor Day today at my mom's house. I brought out the goodies for burritos--Southwestern Beef and Green Chili Chicken. I have a double sided crockpot, so I just cooked both meat mixtures over night and packed them up to mom's house. Of course, we low carbers didn't actually eat burritos; we had ours with salad for lunch. We treated ourselves to lots of low carb veggies--green onions, red bell peppers, and sliced avocado. Home made salsa too.

When time came for dinner, we opted for leftovers. I decided to cut a red bell pepper in half, and used the pepper for a shell for the meat. I heated everything together and it was so yummy. The photo was taken with my son's cell phone--so sorry it is so blurry. You get the idea though. My bell peppers were a special variety of sweet pepper from Sam's Club. I really like these.


After we got home tonight, I started putting away the leftovers. We had half an avocado in a bag. No one in my family cares for guacamole, so I wasn't sure what to do. Then I remembered an unusual recipe I borrowed from the raw food enthusiasts. Pudding. Yep, if you have the August newsletter, you might recognize the Avocado Coconut pudding. The whipped avocado gives it the texture of a real pudding with no thickeners and no cooking and no eggs. You get all the healthy fat in that green mush, and no Mexican food necessary.

The taste is pretty good. My recipe is simple, but you could add flavorings as you like. The avocado flavor is not strong, so what you taste is the vanilla and coconut. Your eyes love the pretty green color. Of course, for chocolate pudding, you can add a tablespoon of cocoa powder too. I only had half an avocado, so I halved the recipe, and it was just right for one. I named this recipe in honor of my friend and fellow Diner, Tinkerbelle. She loves avocados, and I always think of her when I think of them.

Tinkerbelle's Avocado Pudding

1 avocado
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar or equivalent sweetener
cocoa powder optional

Place diced avocado and other ingredients in a blender. Process until whipped. Serve or chill.

If you have some leftover avocados, be sure to give this unusual dessert a try. I poured it into my dessert shot glasses, as a little of the sweet creaminess goes a long way. It is not an amazing dessert recipe, but it is pretty darn healthy and great for those who need to avoid dairy and eggs.

My middle boy turned 20 today. We are going to college tomorrow to take him out to dinner and give him a big hug. We will have almost the same dinner, but at a restaurant. We shall see whose is the best!

Coconut Bread French Toast

What a decadent breakfast dish. It goes together in a hurry if the bread is already baked like mine was. If you recall, I baked 4 mini loaves of coconut bread. This is one made into French toast--the traditional way.

This is one of the recipes included in my new cookbook project, Low Carbing Among Friends.

This recipe is available in the book, along with over 60 additional 24/7 Low Carb Diner recipes. By ordering the book, you get more than 300 favorite gluten free recipes from four other well known low carb cooking experts…Jennifer Eloff of Splendid Low Carbing cookbook fame, Kent Altena, the Atkins Diet Geek and You Tube star, nutritionist and author Maria Emmerich of Maria’s Nutritious and Delicious Journal, and popular blogger and food stylist, Carolyn Ketchum of All Day I Dream About Food. Unlike any other cookbook you may own, this one is a compilation of mini cookbooks featuring the talents of these well known low carbers. Think of it as a “best of” project.

Low Carbing Among Friends also features recipes from numerous other talented low carbing friends and recommendations from the medical community who recognize the health benefits of low carb, gluten free living. To preorder your copy, visit http://www.amongfriends.us The official release date is 11/11/11, so pre-order now for a discount.

I have had a really busy week with lots of deadlines and things to be done, so fast meals are really appreciated. I will be getting the newsletter out tomorrow. I have one more pizza to test before it goes out. I made a new chili recipe tonight. I thought I had made enough for extras to freeze, but somehow we ate it all! Yep, it was that good. I didn't get a picture, so I will have to post that another day when I make it again. Fall weather is better for chili anyway. It is hot again here.

A Return to Coconut Flour

I admit that my coconut flour has been languishing in the recesses of my fridge. I have been using my oven as a mere storage site for skillets. My little kitchen has been too hot to use the oven for any other purpose. We have had a reprieve from the heat wave this week, so out it came. The former "Carby Boy" is no longer eating bread, so I thought he (and his tummy) might do well with some coconut flour bread. So far so good. I baked mine as mini loaves, and he ate one for breakfast today.


This is a really simple recipe. I put it all together in my Ninja since coconut flour often leaves clumps, and I hate to sift. I think it whipped the eggs well too, so I am planning to make it like this more often. Remember, coconut flour tends to vary from batch to batch, brand to brand, so you may need to play around with your batter if necessary. It is the kind of thing that a little experience under your belt does wonders. The batter will be much drier than a normal muffin batter, but less dense than a cookie dough and less elastic than a bread dough. It is unique, I guess.

The boy ate his this morning with butter and honey--he can have that. We had some for dinner with just butter. Everyone can have that. So yummy. Now no one is ever going to mistake this for wheat bread, but it does have a goodness all its own. There are tons of recipes out there, though most trace their origin back to the Bruce Fife book, Cooking with Coconut Flour. I don't own it personally, as so many recipes need to adjust to low carb sweeteners. It is a good resource, though. You can download more recipes here.

Coconut Bread

6 eggs
1 stick butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups coconut flour

Melt butter. Break eggs into blender. Blend about 30 seconds. Add remaining ingredients and blend until everything is well incorporated. Spoon into a greased loaf pan. Use greased fingers to smooth the tops of the loaf or peaks will burn. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, or less time if making mini loaves or muffins.

You may notice there is no baking soda or powder in the recipe. Some coconut flour recipes use leavening, some don't. The eggs should do the trick on their own. If you want it a bit fluffier, by all means add half a teaspoon. My son's diet omits baking powders, so I left it out with no problems. You make the call.

While I had the oven hot, I decided to bake some chicken thighs. John really loves fried chicken. I HATE the work. This was a compromise dish. I used a blend of poultry seasoning and coconut flour to "shake and bake" the chicken. The coating was really crisp and flavorful. I am not sure if it would work with skinless chicken, but the system worked great with the skin on the thighs. I made extra so we can get another easy meal out of the chicken too. Hubby loves it cold as leftovers. Me? Not so much.

We are celebrating our 24th wedding anniversary this weekend. I am trying to decide where to dine. Any suggestions for good low carb meals at any of the big chain restaurants? We don't eat out too often, and it is usually a salad bar when we do. I would love to hear some of your ideas.