Southwest Chicken Brunch Casserole

This casserole is amazing. You would never know it is low carb. Ever. You know all those breakfast casseroles that use bread, biscuits, stuffing, potatoes, etc for a base? And we can't use those, and end up with a much eggier version? This casserole solves that problem. You would swear this is a traditional bread based casserole. My secret weapon of choice today was the addition of almond flour waffles. I used my waffle stick baker, but any Belgian style machine would work.

Beyond that, the Southwest flavors are great for a change of pace. Now, if you aren't familiar in working the Diner system, this casserole will involve a few steps to assemble. If you are a Diner, you probably have some frozen waffles in the freezer, some chicken cubes in the freezer, and maybe even some cilantro pesto in the freezer. Catch the theme here? Yes, I almost always cook once and eat multiple times. That is the essence of the Diner system. You can still make this recipe from scratch, so I will give you that recipe here. I was testing this recipe as a green casserole for my Diner News, but the green colors kind of baked out. I will share it here instead.

I would suggest that you could make life easier in the months ahead if you make a triple batch of the waffles. They will be great later with chili poured over them, as breakfast wafflewiches, or as the base for another version of a breakfast casserole. You could even eat them with sugarfree syrup, but I would suggest reducing the amount of salt.


In addition to the waffles, it is also a great time to make a batch of chicken cubes. I use breast meat because it is easier to slice. You can prepare it however you want, baked, grilled, even poached. You can go plain, or use a marinade. This recipe used mesquite marinated chicken. The remaining chicken is awesome in omelets, skillet dishes, salads and even as a pizza topping.

I made my Cilantro Chile Pesto last summer. I love to keep extra summer herbs in the freezer for winter. This gave me fantastic flavor for this dish. Go ahead and make up a batch. It freezes really well and will flavor soups and casseroles, even grilled veggies and meats.

Now, if you already had those done like I did, this recipe will go together quickly. If not, the time is an investment in the future. You can pat yourself on the back when another meal goes together so easily.

Southwest Chicken Brunch Casserole


Waffle Base:
1 cup almond flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup half and half
2 tbsp light olive oil or melted coconut oil

Toppings:
4 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
3 cups cubed, cooked chicken
1 tsp mesquite flavored liquid smoke
6 eggs
1 cup chunky salsa
3 tbsp Cilantro Chile Pesto OR very finely diced fresh cilantro
1 avocado

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine almond flour, baking soda and salt. To the dry ingredients, add the eggs, half and half and oil. Mix well and spoon into a greased Belgian waffle maker. Bake until nicely browned and crisped. Line the waffles into the base of a 9" x 13" casserole dish. (It is fine to tear apart some pieces of waffle to fill in gaps as best as possible.)

Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the waffles and bake for about 5 minutes to melt the cheese into the waffles. This will help keep them from becoming too soggy.


Grill or bake the chicken if you don't have pre-cooked chicken. Cut into cubes. In a medium bowl, add the cubed chicken. Sprinkle the liquid smoke flavoring over the chicken and toss well to distribute the flavoring. Remove the waffle base from the oven and spoon the chicken mixture over the waffles.


In the bowl used with the chicken, add the eggs, salsa and Cilantro Chile Pesto. Beat all ingredients until very well combined. Pour this mixture over the chicken and waffles. Cube the avocado. Distribute the avocado cubes over the top of the casserole, using the back of a spoon to slightly press them into the wet ingredients.


Bake the casserole for 35-40 minutes, or until the center is set. Let rest 10 minutes before cutting.

6 servings, each   421 calories    42 g protein     25 g fat     4 g net carbs

This would be good served with some extra sour cream or some hot sauce for those who prefer more heat. The avocado gets very soft. If you prefer a firmer texture, add that after baking rather than before.  My guys are not huge avocado fans, so I chose to blend mine into the casserole a bit more.

So even though the Cilantro Chile Pesto turns the egg mixture green, the color disappeared upon baking. I suppose you could use more, but the flavor is nice. A little chipotle chili powder would also be good to add to the egg mixture. My marinade for the chicken had some chile heat added, but I am trying to keep the recipe a little simpler, and easier to duplicate. If you are a pepper expert, add some. This is definitely a recipe to play around with. I will be trying some more traditional breakfast bakes now that I know the waffles work so well. This dish, with the spicy chicken, could easily be a lunch or dinner entree as well. Super versatile!


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Green Tea Party

My friends and I have decided to make a monthly girly day for tea, lunch and girl talk. Today was my day to hostess. The sweet girls who came to my house are also friends of the Diner, so they agreed to let me experiment on them. Haha!  Since the theme for the March News is Green, that meant I served mostly green foods. We had a Basil Vinegar Roasted Green Beans, Spinach Gnocchi, and Chicken Alfredo in Spinach Crepes. Amazingly, neither spinach dish tasted very much like spinach, but they were a gorgeous green color. Despite the full bag of fresh spinach that went into these two dishes, they tasted more like---cheese! That is always a great thing for me, since I adore cheese.

Both test recipes worked well, even though I decided I liked the baked gnocchi better than the traditional boiled potato variety. That is the recipe I will give to you. I will share that one here on the blog, but it will be in the Diner News too. The wonderful crepe recipe, well, that will stay in the Diner News for my subscribers. I really appreciate those of you who support me by ordering the Diner News. I try hard to keep it different from the blog, although sometimes, recipes are available in both places. Other recipes I am including this month? Broccoli Bites, Romanesque Dolma, Nori Chips, Avocado Dip, Spinach Flatbread, Cream Cheese Mints... and more assorted veggie recipes. It is all green!

Now these Spinach Gnocchi. I tried them boiled the traditional way, and baked. I much preferred the baked. The texture is a little lighter than my Notato Gnocci from the Low Carbing Among Friends book. Those I like boiled. Baking is actually a little faster too. These are tender, not chewy. The are great with Alfredo sauce poured over the top. Use that sparingly, because these are tasty without sauce. I think I may try the leftovers with some garlic butter. I will keep you posted on that one!

Baked Spinach Gnocchi

8 cups fresh spinach
1 cup Ricotta cheese
1 cup Parmesan cheese

2 eggs
4 tbsp coconut flour

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder

Place the spinach, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, eggs, coconut flour, xanthan, salt and baking powder in a food processor or good blender. Pulse until all ingredients are finely blended. Chill dough for an hour or more.

Using a small scoop, drop balls of dough on parchment or a silicone liner on a cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes at 350. Remove from oven and cool two minutes before removing from sheet. Serve with Alfredo or red sauce.

 These might be good enough just to serve as snacks, rather like spinach puffs. They are a little more moist than bread, but lighter than most pasta. Good either way! 

Tea parties are such fun. We probably tried 15 flavors from my tea arsenal. I borrowed an idea from Martha, and used mismatched china and napkins, so that each serving was unique. Since I collect one of a kind pieces for my photography, I doubt I could put together a formal service these days anyway without pulling out my Christmas china...but we had fun.The younger girls were not too keen on the green beans, but we old ladies liked them. I needed the tangy bite of vinegar to balance all the cheesy flavors from the other dishes. Our dessert was a strawberry lemon mousse served as dessert shots. I was not so crazy about that, but I was trying to use up the rest of the container of ricotta cheese, leftover from the gnocchi. Maybe I should have just made more gnocchi? Any way, a good time was had by all. I think in this hurry scurry world, we often forget to create the time to spend with our dear friends, nurturing those relationships. I made a special meal, and we spent real time connecting. I can't help but think those are the moments that matter the most.

Among Friends Thursday - Vanessa's Cheeseburger Bacon Roll

It is meat lover's night at the Marshall house. Tonight we tried a recipe from Jennifer's section--a recipe belonging to Vanessa Romero of Healthy Living How To.  Cheeseburger Bacon Roll. A cross between a meatloaf and a bacon burger. I had never tried a bacon weave before, but it really wasn't hard at all. And the effect--well, I am betting it attracts more male adoration than the most beautifully dressed cupcake! My hubby is working late tonight, so he hasn't tried it yet. The boy told me three times how much he liked it. Thanks,Vanessa for making me a mom/wife hero.

My men are not the only ones affected by the delicious smells of bacon. My pitty boy Tinker cried and cried for a bite. When he really begs, he forms the word "mama" over and over. Poor guy.  From the time I took the roll to the table to photograph and slice, he begged. Sorry, guy, it is too good to share. Kibbles for you. Yes, that is him in the photo below. He climbed up on our bench at the kitchen table and watched every move I  made.

I did a couple of things differently. Vanessa uses sausage seasoning, but she says to use any spice blend of your choice. I used a meat rub made especially for my favorite team, my Oklahoma Sooners. That was tasty and gave the meat a steak seasoning kind of flavor.  I  also used sliced PepperJack cheese. Vanessa's photos show sliced cheese, but she says that shredded might work better. Next time if I use sliced cheese, I will be sure to let it warm up a little, since it was a bit difficult to roll up while it was cold. Not too hard, though. Once I cut into my roll after baking, it seemed that much of the cheese had leaked out, so I may not have sealed the meat well enough. It was still really delicious, though, and great fun. I think this would be a great show stopper for entertaining.

If you have our cookbook, the recipe is on page 42. Vanessa has an amazing site too, so be sure to visit her. Our book features so many talented cooks, all with their own style, it has something--lots of things, for everyone.



Tonight, I served ours with some steamed cauliflower with cheese sauce, and a recipe I am working on for the March Diner News. Broccoli Bites made in my cakepop machine. The theme for the month is Green. These fit the bill and they are fun to eat. They will definitely make it into the News!

Bacon Brown "Sugah" Brussels

So these may not be everyone's favorite veggie. I seldom made them while my boys were little. It just was not worth the battle. Perhaps if I had made the much maligned vegetables this way my guys would have liked them. The trouble with the cute little sprouts is their tendency to be bitter. None of that here!

The secret is just a bit of sweetener, some broth and everybody's favorite--bacon. I mean, most things are better with bacon, right? This is a recipe from a Diner News from last year, but I tweaked it just a bit for a smaller amount of veggies, and checked it to make sure that frozen ones would work as well as fresh. This is pretty easy to put together. I used Ideal Brown Sugar substitute. It is made with xylitol. The sweetness is not strong at all, but it does cut the cabbage taste. If you don't have a brown sugar substitute, this will probably work just about as well with a bit of erythritol or Splenda. Just whatever equals about a tablespoon of sugar.

Bacon Brown "Sugah" Brussels Sprouts


14 ounces frozen brussel sprouts
3 slices bacon
1 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp brown sugar substitute
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter


Partially cook the frozen Brussels sprouts in the microwave oven for 3 minutes. Cut each sprout in half. Fry bacon until crisp. Place bacon on a plate to cool and pour the drippings into a saucepan. To the saucepan, add broth, sugar substitute and salt. Bring to a boil. Stir in the Brussels sprouts, place a lid on the pan and cook over medium heat for 7-9 minutes. Remove the Brussels sprouts with a slotted spoon. Dot with butter and crumble the bacon on top.If you like a slightly sweeter flavor, add another sprinkle of brown sugar substitute and stir gently before serving.

4 servings    101 calories      6 g fat   5 g net carbs

This a a delicious way to get some green things in. That is the theme for the March Diner News--GREEN. Not just greens, but all sorts of delicious green low carb foods. Desserts and dips, dressings and...well, vegetables too, of course. If you have any favorite green recipes, send them to me and I will include them in the March Diner News. If you aren't a subscriber, but your recipe meets Diner standards, that would get you a free issue too.




Get more great recipes at the Low Carbing Among Friends Facebook Page:               https://www.facebook.com/LowCarbingAmongFriends

Order our books at: 
http://amongfriends.us/24-7-LCD.php

Love the recipes I share on this blog? My ebook helps you plan and prep to stay healthy 24/7.   http://www.247lowcarbdiner.com

Among Friends Thursday - Maria's Cheeseburger Stuffed Buns

This is fun food! Maria, like I have said on the Low Carbing Among Friends Facebook page, is a substitution genius. She invented this recipe for a nutritional client who loved cheeseburger pockets wrapped in regular bread dough. I remembered my mom trying out the German version of these--Bierocks, which included cabbage too. I remember those being hard to make, trying to get the stretchy, gluteny dough to wrap around the filling. ( and just as tough to get it to stay wrapped) We did love them though, and I could imagine how great they would be as all American cheeseburgers. If Maria could invent it, we could give it a try.

Normally I don't like messing with bread doughs that rely on whipped egg whites. Beyond trying to get the timing right on how long to beat the eggs, there is a texture that just doesn't do it for me. I couldn't imagine any other way to get the wrap around job done for this recipe though. So I took Maria at her word and began to follow her recipe. The dough was easy enough to put together--much like the oh so popular Oopsies from Cleochatra, or the original Revolution Roll from the Atkins books--but with additional whey added for stability and a few other alterations.  Like I said, Maria is a genius. While this is still not my favorite bread replacement, no other bun would work for this application. And these are delicious all put together!

I think I made mine a little too big on the base, because I ran out of fluffy dough before I could cover them all over the top. Still, I think they look even better with some ground beef and cheese peeking through.(I also had to substitute some shredded cheese instead of sliced, but I don't think this made much of a difference) You can pick them up with your hands and chow down. Or, you can plate them over some lettuce and add your favorite burger fixings. I like them best that way. Sure, I had to eat with a fork--small price to pay.

These stuffed buns would be extra quick if you already have your Minute Beef  prepped. Just whip up the dough and bake. One note: I liked these best after I had let them cool off. When they were still hot from the oven, the bun stuck to the roof of my mouth. That did not happen when I ate another a couple hours later. I think cooling enabled them to get rid of a little more moisture. Perhaps letting them cool with an open oven door would be a good idea. Not a big issue, and certainly nothing to spoil the fun of eating these family friendly burgers. I had hoped to freeze them to see if they would hold up to be good lunch box food, but we ate them all. Maybe that it a good sign. I will just have to try it again. If you want to try them they are on page 120 of our Low Carbing Among Friends Cookbook. If you don't have it yet, order it soon. It would be fun if more of you would join me on Among Friends Thursdays and send me photos of recipes you are using from our book, or links to photos from your own blogs.

Thai Inspired Chicken Soup

I am not feeling too well today. (Maybe that maltitol in the sugarfree chocolate my sweetheart gave me for Valentine's Day?) I wandered into the kitchen to make some chicken soup. Nothing really sounded good, and I found myself just adding more and more things to the soup. I have been on an Asian kick as of late, so I had lots of those type ingredients. What I ended up with is sensational, though I am doubting it is actually very Thai. No haters, please. I have to admit I did not plan out this recipe; wasn't trying for authenticity, but it is easy enough, so here goes. Even my icky picky taste buds decided to love it today.

Thai Inspired Chicken Soup

 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 quart chicken broth (mine was home made)
4 cups cauliflower
2 cups water
4 ounces canned green chilies
1 tsp green chili powder*
1 tsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt (unless you are using a salted commercial broth)
1 cup coconut milk
3 tbsp peanut flour
1 tbsp lime juice


In a medium sized pan, add whole chicken breasts, broth and water. Bring to a boil and simmer 10 minutes. Remove the chicken, one breast at a time to trim the fat and cut each breast into bite sized chunks. Return the diced chicken to the pot. Break the cauliflower into small pieces and add to the pot. Stir in the green chilies, chili powder, fish sauce, garlic powder, onion powder and salt. Simmer until cauliflower is tender and chicken is cooked through. Stir in the coconut milk, and lime juice. Remove 1/2 cup of broth and place it into a small bowl. Stir in the peanut flour to make a paste. Add the paste to the soup in the pan and stir to distribute. Serves 4.
*If you are unable to find green chile powder, use 2 cans of diced green chilies.

This would probably be even better with some cilantro, but I didn't happen to have any on hand. The peanut flour added a great flavor. If you only have peanut butter in the kitchen, I am pretty sure that would duplicate the flavor. I really don't feel 100%, so considering the fact that I bothered to photograph this soup and post here on the blog, you should believe that I liked it. Now I think it is time to go curl up with my Kindle Fire and forget about food for a while.

Strawberry Heart and Bacon Rose Salad

This is my last chance to give you some inspiration for Valentine's Day tomorrow. It is a pretty salad--pretty because of the sliced strawberries, lovingly cut into hearts. It is a delicious salad too because it features a man's favorite rose, the bacon rose. The base is a simple plate of spinach leaves and everything is topped with a light vinaigrette dressing. Voila! ( I had not added any dressing yet in the photo because I had to shoot it too long before we actually got to serve the salad. Ahh, that elusive natural lighting!)

Making the strawberry hearts is pretty straightforward. I sliced mine with a V shape on top to make a heart. Then I sliced each berry into thirds. Pretty and no fuss.

The roses are a little more complicated, though they could probably be made simpler. For those who are eating really clean, just use bacon with no sweeteners. They certainly don't need to be sweet. But today, I chose to make ours as maple crusted bacon. To do that, I added a few drops of maple flavoring to about 1/4 cup of my erythritol blend. I then dredged each slice of bacon in the sweetener mix. I made a  couple of roses by simply rolling the bacon in a spiral shape and baking them upright. I tried making a heart shape of flattened bacon. I have seen those on Pinterest, but my shapes did not hold. Those got eaten right away! I am trying to keep the hubby away from those roses until tomorrow. Good luck there, he knows I have them. Of course, the dog is putting in his bid for the bacon too. Cooking bacon must be torture for a sensitive dog nose.

Are you all making anything special for Valentine's Day dinner? I would love to hear your ideas.