Dessert, 0 carb, 0 calories!

Busy day, even though I have been home all day. Went to church last night, so I thought I would have time to get all my chores done. Wrong. I had to get this month's newsletter completed and ready to mail out. Check on that one. You who have the e-book or newsletter subscription should have yours in your inbox now. It is filled with fun recipes that use only three ingredients. How Simple! I included new Multiply Meals, several recipes just for chicken, some super yummy vegetable dishes and even some quicky desserts.

I had a visit from my niece today, along with her little son, who is going on three. He and my golden retriever really hit it off. I think I have nearly forgotten what a bundle of energy little ones are. To think I once had three little blond boys under 5! Hard to remember considering that those are the same boys that just emailed some college papers for me to proofread for them. Check. That is done too. Just covered a rebuke to atheism and a paper on liberty vs. government protection. Fun stuff.

Now, the sun is setting, and I still haven't gotten to filling out the FAFSA--the government forms for financial aid in college. My oldest is considering going to grad school, so I have two sets to complete. On top of that, I need to get more of my kitchen prep work done today. John was a dear and cooked out a bit. That is a huge help. But now, instead of cooking, here I sit drinking a cup of hot tea. Can you spell procrastinate? It also didn't help having the USA-Canada hockey game on. Pooh.

The tea however, is a story unto itself. This is the most decadent tea I have ever tasted. I swear it is dessert in a cup--even without my normal cream. Try this if you have a sweet tooth. No calories, no carbs. Lipton Vanilla Caramel Truffle Tea. It has a new tea bag which is actually shaped like a tiny pyramid. They say this enables the flavors to flow through better. What ever it does, this is the most uniquely flavored tea around. It really lives up to the taste, even with one bag in a medium sized mug. If your friends are eating desserts you can't have, delight in a cup of this stuff, and you won't feel like you are missing out on anything. (except maybe a bigger bootie!) I've been longing for warmer weather, but with this tea, maybe not. A hot cup can have its own appeal.

Friday Night Breakfast

We don't do it much anymore, but when the boys were young, we often made breakfast for dinner on Fridays. Sometimes John would even drag out the waffle maker. Good memories. Today, I had to figure out what to do with our Christmas ham. No it is not old and moldy, we got a gift certificate for one, and already had one at Christmas time. So now it is an almost spring ham. Actually our coupon was only good through February.

Since Fridays are my busiest teaching day, I like things simple if possible. Tonight the guys had the ham paired with scrambled eggs. To replace the bread for the hubby, I made a Vanilla Nut Minute Muffin. I used coconut flour tonight. If you do that, add a bit more water to make the batter less dense. After it was microwaved, I cut it in thirds and toasted it so the edges were crispy. Just a touch of butter--no sweetener needed because the muffin is already sweet. Christian preferred a bagel and cheese. To each his own.

This is going to be our Triple Play meal for the week. The ham is so big, I will also use it to make some Multiply Meals of Ham and Vegetables au gratin. Word to the wise. Watch the carbs on the ham labels. They usually are processed with some sugars. If in doubt, make sure to use the lowest carb side dishes as possible.

Salsa Dancing Fish

Everybody at my house loves my Salsa Dancing Chicken from the e-book, which I make by the big batch as Multiply Meals. But today, I am trying to find new ways to really like fish--at least not the battered and fried variety. Since I really like that chicken, I decided I just might really like the fish too. Actually, I really did!

The Salsa Dancing sauce is a combo of spicy mustard and salsa, with just a touch of sweetener. Yum. It converted really easily to a single serving for my lunch today. I still haven't convinced the guys to eat fish.

Salsa Dancing Fish for One

1 tilipia fillet
1 teaspoon salsa
1 teaspoon spicy mustard
1-2 drops of stevia or other sweetener

Combine the salsa, mustard and sweetener. Spread it over a frozen or thawed fish fillet. Wrap the fish in foil and bake until it flakes easily.

I served some sauteed veggies on the side. By adding lime juice, the flavor really pops and tastes like fajitas! Use whatever veggies you like, but a little onion will really boost the flavor. A salad would be good too.

Barbecue Chicken Wraps

The great thing about making up a giant batch of chicken is that the meals that come from it will be so easy. Such is the case tonight. Mmm. Part of the batch of flavorful Ultra Chicken becomes Ultra Barbecue Chicken Wraps in almost no time. All I have to do is cut the chicken breast into strips and toss it in the pan with some KC Masterpiece Classic no sugar Barbecue Sauce. Love that stuff.

John gets his wrap spiraled up in a Lavash bread. Since that is not quite enough to fill a hungry man, I also made him a lettuce cup with the BBQ chicken inside. What you want in your wraps is up to you. We like onion, cheese and lettuce. Sometimes we add pickles too.

Oh, if you don't own the e-book, the Triple Play Ultra Chicken is so named because it is marinated in Michelob Ultra before baking. No alcohol is left, the flavor is unique and worth a try. If you don't have that made up, these wraps work well with Freezer Favorites Chicken Cubes too. When it can be this easy, no excuses for take out, right?

Polish Pasta

Back when I was young, a restaurant here in my town featured a multitude of spaghetti sauce choices to add to pasta. From what I remember, that was pretty much all they sold. We would buy a bowl, and head out to the tables to watch ice skaters down below in the Forum. Fun memory. Even though I can't remember what the name of the place was, I still do remember one of their recipes. We always called it Polish Spaghetti because the meat was polish sausages. They also used sauteed bell peppers and onions. So delish we went home and duplicated the recipe.

That dish has been out of my regular rotation for a while because it is just too carby. Tonight, I did still have half a polish sausage in the fridge, though, and it needed to be used up. So, I plugged this into the menu. Be careful there and be a label watcher. This one has only one carb for every two ounces. You still need to limit portions somewhat, but many sausages have 4 carbs for the same serving.

I used Dreamfield's pasta for John's serving. He only eats it once in a while. One serving there is supposed to be 5 carbs. Some have problems with it, some don't. It does tend to raise his blood sugars, so it is an occasional treat. I am going to freeze the rest of the pasta that I cooked up. That will be nice for a quick weekend meal or a weekday lunch.

A good find at the grocery store is the Hunt's no added sugar Italian sauce. We were happy to find that at just 6 carbs a serving. I couldn't add in the onions and peppers and still keep him in the low carb zone, but the sauce and sausage has so much flavor, it is still a nice meal. Just a shake of Parmesan cheese, and John was fed for the night. For the boy, I cooked up regular pasta and added a side of pears.

Shrimp and Pico de Gallo

This is another one of those low carb, low calorie lunch ideas. Low calorie, but very highly flavored! Because the shrimp is precooked and cleaned, it is very quick. The home made pico de gallo tastes so fresh, and goes together so fast if you use a food processor. I used the Ninja my mom loaned me last week. Oh my, is that faster than chopping by hand! I modified this recipe from Cooking Light. I think it is very light and refreshing--even if it is cold outside!

To prepare the shrimp, I first thawed it in the microwave for a minute. Then I dredged it in this seasoning mix. I let the flavors soak in while I put the vegetables together.

Shrimp Seasoning Mix

3 teaspoons paprika
1 packet Truvia
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon jalapeno salt
1/4 teaspoon chipotle chile powder

After the shrimp is coated, grill the shrimp until cooked or heated through.

Pico de Gallo

2 tomatoes
1/2 small onion
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, loosely packed
1 T lemon or lime juice

First, blend the cilantro until coarsely chopped. Next add in the onion and pulse. Lastly, add the tomato, pulsing until just chopped. You want chunks left. Add the lemon or lime juice.

Because I like this and John doesn't, I am going to have more Pico left over. I will probably blend it with more tomatoes to make a salsa. Then, I will use that for a salad dressing with a lettuce based salad.

We had a great weekend with our college boys. Both teams won their basketball games and the talent show was very creative and funny. Made me miss my own college days. It is fun to get to meet friends of my sons and other parents too. Lucky for us, their favorite Mexican restaurant serves a great grilled chicken or steak salad, so we didn't break too many rules while eating out. In fact, that is why I made this dish today. I needed more pico de gallo after that dinner, and my shrimp was cheaper than theirs!

Sausage Roll

Think of the roll as a verb, not a noun. The roll is actually an egg wrapper, made with a beaten egg. It is easy. Just stick a sheet of plastic wrap on a saucer. Beat an egg and pour 1/3 onto the plastic wrap. Microwave that egg for about 30-45 seconds, or until it is set. Let it cool just a bit, then peel it off the plastic wrap. You can then use it to keep a sausage link nice and toasty. Ooops, there goes that darned bread reference again. Then just cook the next two wraps on the same plastic covered sheet.

The Japanese way of making egg wraps uses some soy sauce to flavor the egg. I think it would be just as fun to add some maple flavoring and a bit of sweetener to make these. I might try that next time.

I had some extra time to play around in the kitchen this morning. All my classes were canceled because we seem to have the plague running through our high school classes. Every student but one, mine included, got sick after attending last week's Valentine Party. We are all better now, but my boy was one of the first to succumb. The rest of them are still suffering.

The rest of the afternoon is devoted to packing some snacks and goodies for our trip to visit my college boys for Family Weekend. That will be fun.