September 26, 2012 - Pork Chops and Stuffing Skillet Casserole

This is a wonderful recipe! We first discovered it when I was diagnosed with insulin resistance. My mom bought me this diabetic book. While most of the recipes were still too high for me, this one is awesome! I have learned though that the cooking time at the bottom is way off. I takes us normally around 45 minutes to get the pork to cook all the way through. So, just keep an eye on it and check every 15 minutes or so. I know it says skillet. You are supposed to use an ovenproof skillet to bake the stuff in but since we don't have one we use an 8X8 glass pan. I altered the recipe to how we normally do it. We had a banana and grapes along with it. A very satisfying and filling meal. 

Ingredients:

4 thin pork chops

1/4 teaspoon thyme ( for the seasoning, we always thought these two things left the meat bland, so we use steak seasoning instead to give it more of a kick.) 

1/4 teaspoon paprika

4 or 5 sausage links - cut up into pieces

1 cup of green or red bell peppers - diced 

2 cups of corn bread stuffing mix

1 1/4 cups of water ( be sure to measure this, or it will be soggy, as I discovered tonight....) 

1. Preheat the overn to 350 F. Sprinkle one side of pork chops with your seasoning of choice. Spray large skillet with nonstick spray. Heat over medium-high heat. Add chops and cook for 2 minutes on each side. 

2. Brown sausage in a pan or in the microwave. 

3. Spray a 8X8 pan and then mix together the sausage, peppers, stuffing, and water within the pan. Lay the pork chops on top of the mixture. Cook for 15 minutes or until done. ( We have done this a lot and it always takes like 45 minutes. Maybe we are doing something wrong...?) 

Nutrition: 1 pork chop and 1 cup of stuffing mixture

Calories 305, Total Fat 14 g, Cholesterol 92 mg, Sodium 499 mg, Carbs 13 g, Fiber 3g, Protein 29g. 

We took these with an old camera since we lost the charger for the one we normally use. Sorry if the pictures aren't great. 

HAPPY EATING!!!

September 23, 2012 - Pile On's

So since our month of new recipes was over, we decided to return to one of our old favorites. They are very simple to make and you can customize them quite a bit. Each person can add their own toppings. Now, because of that, it's hard to give an exact carb count. It just all depends. I use a special type of Tortilla chip that is low carb. It's about 13 Chips for 15 carbs. And then you just add on the carbs as you add your toppings. We love this recipe. We do it all the time!

Ingredients ( Whatever you want!)

 1 pound Ground Beef (makes enough for about 3 people, with generous servings of course. 

Juanitas Gluten Free Tortilla Chips

Taco Seasoning

Sour Cream 

Tomato - cut into pieces

Salsa

Mushrooms

Shredded Cheese

Jalapenos ( for the brave ones) 

Cook the beef until completely down. Drain the grease. Add in the taco seasoning and cook according to the packaged steps. Lay one layer of chips  the plate and then proceed to top it with anything and everything! Just be sure to count your carbs as you do it. I like to put the cheese on last and then pop the whole thing in the microwave to melt the cheese for about 30 seconds. It kinds helps hold everything together. 

Simple huh? I'd say so. And it is a quick, delicious, messy dinner. Kids will love it! 

Can you guess who had which plate? :-) 

HAPPY EATING!!!

September 21, 2012 - Banana Pepper Roast Beef

Ok, there is a little story to go along with this. If you haven't noticed we skipped the 20th of September... We had everything set up to have it on the 20th. I put it in the crock pot in the morning and then went around  doing my thing for the day. Well around 4 pm, I went to check on the meat, only to discover that our crock pot had decided it no longer wanted to work. So, we ate out at Applebees that night. We borrowed a crock pot from some friends and attempted the recipe again the next day. Thankfully, the crock pot worked fine. This meat is definitely spicy. ( Although, it may have something to do with the fact that it sat in our fridge for like 24 hours marinating until we got another crock pot.....) It's good... just pretty dang spicy. So, beware. Still, give it chance, you just may like the spiciness. And according to Spencer, it was great on top of rice! 

Recipe adapted by Our Best Bites from Allrecipes

1/2+ tsp. kosher salt

1/2+ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons of olive or cooking oil

3 lb. beef roast, trimmed of excess fat

4-5 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1 16-oz. jar sliced pepperoncinis, undrained

Crusty sandwich rolls (for sandwiches)

Sliced provolone cheese (for sandwiches)

Or Rice ( added by Spencer) 

Heat oil in a pot or high-sided skillet over high heat. While the oil is heating, combine the salt and pepper and rub it into the meat. Add more if necessary. When the oil is hot, sear the roast on all sides so the outsides of it is browned and a little crispy. Transfer the roast to a slow cooker and add the minced garlic and the entire jar of pepperoncinis. If possible, cook on high until the liquid comes to a boil and then turn it to low and cook until the roast shreds easily with a fork, for a total cooking time of about 6-8 hours. If not possible, cook on low for 8-10 hours or until the beef is fork tender.

When ready to cook, place in a slow cooker and cook on high for 6-8 hours or on low for 8-10 hours. Serve on toasted crusty rolls with melted Provolone cheese, or rice, or eat plain, ( like I did!)

HAPPY EATING!!!

September 19, 2012 - Veggie and Cheese Stuffed Burgers

Well, despite the fact that it was hard to keep the hamburgers from breaking open, it was quite good. This a good twist on the basic hamburger. If you are bored from the traditional hamburger, you should give this one a try. It's really good! We had some cucumber and kiwi along with the meal. 

Ingredients:

3/4 slice cheddar cheese, low fat
1 tbsp parsley
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 cup pieces or slices mushrooms
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 lb ground sirloin

Directions:

1. Thoroughly combine ground beef, salt, garlic, pepper, and soy sauce.
2. Divide mixture into 8 equal patties (patties should be thin).
3. Combine remaining ingredients; divide evenly atop 4 patties.
4. Place another patty on top of each; seal edges
5. Cook on a grill, or under your stove’s broiler, until done.
6. Finally, top with cheese; when cheese has melted, the burger is ready to serve. 
7. Note: feel free to experiment with different burger seasonings, stuffing, and types of cheese, be as creative as you like!

I'm sure you can figure out which plate belongs to who... :-) 

HAPPY EATING!!!

September 18, 2012 - Creamy apple and bacon Chicken

This one also turned out excellent! It was a little hard to taste the apple, so maybe I will add more apple, or some type of apple flavoring. We had a good friend join us for dinner. We had some veggies and fruit to go along with it. We always add something like that to make the meal more filling without adding too many carbs or sugar. 

Ingredients:

·         1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, either whole or cut into pieces (see below)

·         1 small apple, cut into ¼ inch slices

·         ¼ cup apple juice (see below for alternatives)

·         ¼ cup dry white wine (or chicken broth)

·         1/3 cup heavy cream

·         2 Tablespoons oil plus one more of oil, butter, or bacon grease

·         1 teaspoon dried thyme -- or use tarragon or a mix of "French-type" herbs, or fresh if you have it -- 2-3 teaspoons

·         2 strips bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled

·         salt and pepper

Preparation:

The chicken breasts can be either left whole, cut in half, or cut into bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides.

1) Heat 1 to 2 Tablespoons oil in pan.  Lightly brown apple slices in pan. You don't want them to be too soft, just to the point where you can start to easily put a fork in them. Remove apples.

2) Add another Tablespoon of oil, and brown chicken on both sides. The chicken probably won't be cooked through at this point, which is OK. Push chicken to one side or to the edges. Add the Chicken Broth, which should deglaze the pan. Add the rest of the liquids and herbs and simmer until reduced and chicken is cooked through.

3) Serve with bacon bits sprinkled over the top.

Makes three servings (or four less-hearty servings).

Nutritional Information with apple juice: Each of 3 servings has 8 grams of carbs, plus 1 gram fiber, 37 grams protein, and 403 calories

 HAPPY EATING!!!

September 17, 2012 - White Castle Hamburger Pie

This one turn out pretty good! We added Red Robin seasoning to the meat and it gave it a nice flavor. We had a lot to do before dinner, so it was another 8 pm dinner. We just ate the meat pie because we were too hungry to make anything to go with it. I'm sure and veggie or fruit would go just fine with it. We would make this one again.

White Castle Hamburger Pie

Ingredients

120 g cheddar cheese, grated
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 large eggs
1 dash pepper
1 dash salt
1/2 cup mayonnaise
500 g minced beef
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, nonfat ( we are not sure where this comes into the recipe so we just left it out. ) 

1. Brown the ground beef in a saucepan. Drain off the fat and season
to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Add meat to a 9-10" pie plate and stir in half the grated cheese
and top with the remaining cheese.
3. Beat eggs, mayonnaise and cream and add a dash of pepper.
4. Pour mixture evenly over ground meat and cheese.
5. Bake at 350 °F (180 °C) for 30-35 minutes.
6. Once cooked, cool and divide into 8 portions.
7. As a variation, add 1 packet onion soup mix or onion seasoning to
the ground beef during browning stage. ( We added Red Robin Seasoning) 


Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 serving

Calories 370  Total Fat 30.29g   Saturated Fat 11.586g  Cholesterol 125mg   Sodium 384mg 
Potassium 187mg  Total Carbohydrate 4.54g  Dietary Fiber 0.2g   Sugars 1.47g  Protein 18.95g

HAPPY EATING!!!

September 16, 2012 - Creamy Spinach Enchiladas

Tonight's dinner was a great success! We had some friends come over for a nice Sunday dinner. We had so much fun talking and catching up! Everyone loved the food, or at least claimed too... haha.. Unfortunately, with having good friends over, we kinda....sorta.... well.... forgot to take a picture of the deliciousness. And there were no leftovers. So... anyways... This is definitely a good recipe to try! If you aren't low-carbing it, you can use regular tortillas. We made almond flour crepes that we found online. We will include that recipe as well. 

Ingredients For the Crepes:
• 5 eggs
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

Directions: 
1. Beat the eggs together. 
2. Add all the other ingredients except the olive oil. 
3. Heat the olive oil in a pan on medium heat and move it so it covers the bottom of the pan. 
4. Add 1/4 cup of the mixture, quickly spreading it to cover the whole 8" skillet. 
5. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes until the top is set but still slightly wet. 
6. Flip the crepe and cook another 20 seconds of so until browned. 

Makes 4 crepes. 

CREAMY SPINACH ENCHILADAS 
10 Almond Flour Crepes ( we only made 8 which is two batches of almond crepes.) 
10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained well 
6 green onions, chopped, divided 
1 cup ricotta cheese 
1/2 cup sour cream 
Salt and pepper, to taste 
8 ounces Monterey jack cheese, shredded, divided 
10 ounce can green enchilada sauce

In a medium bowl, mix the spinach, 3 green onions, ricotta and sour cream. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in half of the Monterey jack; blend well. Divide the filling mixture among the crepes. 

Spread the filling down slightly off center of each one, then roll up. Place seam-side down in a greased 9x13" baking dish. 

Pour the enchilada sauce evenly over the top and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese. 

Bake at 375º 20 minutes, or until hot, bubbly and slightly browned. Sprinkle the remaining green onions over the top.

Makes 10 servings 
Can be frozen

NOTE: This does not include the crepes nutrition... I'm not sure on those counts. The recipe didn't have any. Almond flour is really low in carbs. 

Per Serving: 290 Calories; 24g Fat; 14g Protein; 7g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 5g Net Carbs   

<Enter Picture here> Oops....

HAPPY EATING!!!

September 15, 2012 - Slow Cooker Chicken Stroganoff

This was a pretty good recipe! We didn't put enough chicken in so it tasted a lot like cream cheese. Next time, we will put more chicken in. I didn't like it as much as the others, but Spencer says he will eat it! Crock pots recipes are always good to on-the-run people. We had some kiwi and apple slices along side it. Spencer ate it in flour tortillas while I ate mine atop toasted low carb Sara Lee bread. ( I swear by that bread. I eat it all the time! And it only has 45 calories and 7 carbs per slice!) And this recipe only has 2 steps! Now that's easy!

Slow Cooker Chicken Stroganoff 

INGREDIENTS:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
1/8 cup margarine
1 (.7 ounce) package dry Italian-style salad dressing mix
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup

DIRECTIONS:
1. Put chicken, margarine and dressing mix in slow cooker; mix together and cook on low
for 5 to 6 hours.
2. Add cream cheese and soup, mix together and cook on high for another 1/2 hour or
until heated through and w arm.

Nutrition Information
Servings Per Recipe: 4
Calories: 456  Total Fat: 31g  Cholesterol: 136mg  Sodium: 1603mg  Total Carbs: 9.5g
Dietary Fiber: 0g  Protein: 33.4g

HAPPY EATING!!!

September 14, 2012 - Tangy Pork Chops

This one does take a little preparation ahead of time. You need to marinate the meat for 4 hours or so before cooking it. So, I just made up the marinade in the morning before going to work, and it was ready to go home at night. We REALLY liked this one! While it was cooking, we both commented how good it smelled.  We would definitely make this one again. We had grapes, half an apple and a stir-fry mix of vegetables for sides. 

Ps. We just cooked our in a skillet for about 15 minutes on medium heat, turning them over often. We don't have a grill so... yeah. We improvised with what we have. 

INGREDIENTS:
4 boneless pork chops
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Combine the pork chops, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, vegetable oil, and garlic
in a large resealable plastic bag. Squeeze as much excess air from bag as possible.
Marinate in refrigerator 4 to 24 hours.
2. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat, and lightly oil the grate.
3. Remove the pork chops from the marinade directly to the grill. Discard the marinade.
4. Cook until the pork is no longer pink in the center, about 5 minutes per side. An instantread
thermometer inserted into the center should read 145 degrees F (63 degrees C).

Nutrition Information
Servings Per Recipe: 4
Calories: 359  Total Fat: 30.3g  Cholesterol: 33mg  Sodium: 354mg  Total Carbs: 9.9g
Dietary Fiber: 0.2g  Protein: 12.7g

HAPPY EATING!!!

September 13, 2012 - English Beef Roast

Tonight's dinner turned out really well! When it got finished, we started eating before realizing that we forgot to make the gravy. Oh well, it still tasted good! We actually cooked the roast in a slow cooker for about 6 hours. It turned out excellent! It would be great for those Sunday dinners. We had half a banana and green beans as sides. 

English Beef Roast

INGREDIENTS:
5 pounds beef round roast
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup w ater
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 teaspoon dried mint
1 medium onion, sliced (optional)
1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
1/8 teaspoon seasoning salt (optional)
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

Gravy
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cold w ater
1/4 teaspoon dried sage
1/4 teaspoon dried mint

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Season the roast w ith salt and
pepper to taste. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
Brow n the outside of the roast on all sides in the butter. After the roast is brow ned,
add 1/2 cup w ater to the pan, and sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of sage, and 1/2 teaspoon of
mint onto the roast. Place onion and garlic into the pan if desired, and season w ith
seasoning salt and red pepper flakes, if using.
2. Cover the pot, and place the roast in the oven for 2 to 3 hours depending on how w ell
done you prefer the meat to be. 2 hours for rare, and 3 for w ell done. Removed
finished roast to a pan to keep w arm.
3. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a medium skillet. Whisk flour into melted butter until
smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in 1/2 cup cold w ater. Mix until a smooth paste is
formed. Return to medium heat, and season w ith remaining sage and mint. Stir in the
liquid from the roasting pan, and boil, stirring constantly until the gravy is thickened.
Remove from heat. Slice the roast and serve w ith gravy poured over the meat.

Nutrition Information
Servings Per Recipe: 8
Calories: 547  Total Fat: 31g  Cholesterol: 184mg  Sodium: 255mg  Total Carbs: 2.3g
Dietary Fiber: 0.3g  Protein: 61.2g

HAPPY EATING!!! 

September 12, 2012 - Mushroom Pork Chops

Tonight's dinner was wonderful! It had a lot of flavor and, as always, is very easy to make! ( I love easy dinners! It makes life so much... well... easier!) I tend to skip the measurements of the spices.... so our pork chops had a pretty strong flavor of pepper. It was still fantastic.. just a little on the spicy side. I like to improvise while cooking... :-) We had half a banana, a few grapes, and zucchini fried in olive oil for the side dishes! So good! The zucchini also had some garlic salt, pepper and salt to taste! This would be a good dinner for company! 

INGREDIENTS:

4 pork chops
salt and pepper to taste
1 pinch garlic salt, or to taste
1 onion, chopped
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream
of mushroom soup

DIRECTIONS:
1. Season pork chops w ith salt, pepper, and garlic salt to taste.
2. In a large skillet, brow n the chops over medium-high heat. Add the onion and
mushrooms, and saute for one minute. Pour cream of mushroom soup over chops.
3. Cover skillet, and reduce temperature to medium-low . Simmer 20 to 30 minutes, or until chops are cooked through.

Nutrition Information
Servings Per Recipe: 4
Calories: 210  Total Fat: 8.5g  Cholesterol: 65mg  Sodium: 924mg  Total Carbs: 9.6g
Dietary Fiber: 1g  Protein: 23.6g

( Don't you just love our cheap plates!?) 

HAPPY EATING!!!

September 11, 2012 - Sicilian Meat Roll

Today's dinner takes longer than most of the previous posts. It takes over an hour to bake since it is a thicker meat roll. It is relatively easy to make, it just takes a long time to bake. ( ha, that rhymed) Anyways, It turned out pretty good! After eating one serving, we realized that ketchup would help with the dryness. It was much better with a little ketchup so we recommend it for you! We had a few grapes and half a kiwi along with come carrots and Lemon pepper for the sides! Another success! 

INGREDIENTS:
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup tomato juice
3/4 cup soft bread crumbs
2 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
2 pounds lean ground beef
1 (6 ounce) package thinly sliced ham
1 (6 ounce) package sliced mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large bow l, combine eggs and tomato juice. Stir in the bread crumbs, parsley,
oregano, salt, pepper, garlic and ground beef. Mix thoroughly. Preheat oven to 350
degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. On a piece of foil or w axed paper, pat and shape meat into a 10x8 inch rectangle.
Arrange ham slices on top of meat, leaving a small margin around edges. Tear up the
cheese slices, reserving 1 slice w hole, and sprinkle over the ham.
3. Starting from the short end, carefully roll up meat, using the foil or w axed paper to lift.
Seal the edges and ends of the meat. Place roll, seam side dow n, in a 9x13 inch
baking dish.
4. Bake in a preheated oven for about 75 minutes. Cut the reserved slice of cheese into
4 triangles. Overlap the triangles on top of loaf. Bake for another 2 minutes or until
cheese melts.


Nutrition Information
Servings Per Recipe: 8
Calories: 449  Total Fat: 30.4g  Cholesterol: 163mg  Sodium: 670mg  Total Carbs: 9.7g  
Dietary Fiber: 0.9g  Protein: 31.8g

September 10, 2012 - Cheesy Eggplant Baked

Tonight's dinner was another sweet, delicious, and easy dinner! We both actually liked it! I'm started to like cooking with eggplant! I had never had it before but this recipe and the last one we made have been excellent! We both agree that we would make this recipe again! Most of the recipes we have found are definitely ones to repeat! We added some tomato sauce on top and had half a banana and some green beans with lemon pepper. It turned out great! 

This is from Linda's Website again. 

CHEESY BAKED EGGPLANT 
1 eggplant, about 1 1/4 pounds before trimming 
Nonstick cooking spray 
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded *

Breading mixture: 
3/4 cup almond flour, 3 ounces 
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, 3 ounces 
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning 
Salt and pepper, to taste 
2 eggs

For the breading, combine all of the dry ingredients in a pie pan. Break the eggs into a cereal bowl and beat well with a fork. Position your oven rack in the center position. Preheat the broiler to 500º.

Cut the eggplant into twelve slices of even thickness. Dip each piece of eggplant in egg to coat on both sides, then lightly coat them with parmesan-almond mixture. Arrange the eggplant slices on a foil-lined baking sheet in a single layer. Spray the eggplant liberally with cooking spray. Broil about 3 minutes until golden brown; turn over, spray again with cooking spray and broil the other side. Watch it closely so it doesn't burn.

Spray an 8x8" baking pan with cooking spray. Arrange a layer of eggplant over the bottom of the pan, cutting them to fill the gaps. Sprinkle half of the shredded cheese over the eggplant. Repeat layering eggplant and cheese. Bake at 350º about 20-30 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown on top. Cut into squares and serve with tomato sauce, if desired.

Makes 4 servings

Per Serving: 465 Calories; 34g Fat; 30g Protein; 13g Carbohydrate; 6g Dietary Fiber

Without Tomato Sauce

With Tomato Sauce

HAPPY EATING!!!

September 9, 2012 - Easy Cheesy Chili Chicken

Tonight's dinner was excellent! The chicken was so full of flavor, it was like a party in the mouth! A spicy party for that matter! This is definitely a meal for flavor seekers. We had some carrots and strawberries to go along with the chicken. This is a must-try!! 

This is from Linda's Low Carb Menus and Recipes. 

GEORGE STELLA'S EASY CHEESY CHILI CHICKEN 
2 tablespoons olive oil 
2 tablespoons cilantro 
1 tablespoon chili powder 
1 tablespoon cumin 
2 teaspoons salt 
1 clove garlic, chopped 
1/2 teaspoon pepper 
1/8 teaspoon cayenne 
4-5 boneless chicken breasts 
1/4 cup green pepper, julienned 
2 tablespoons red onion, diced 
1/4 cup Roma tomato, diced (about 1/2 small) 
4 ounces colby-jack cheese, shredded

Stir together the first 8 ingredients in a medium bowl. It will be a thick paste. Add the chicken and rub the seasoning mixture all over the meat until coated evenly. Place the chicken on a foil-lined baking sheet. Arrange the vegetables over the chicken. Bake at 400º 20 minutes or until the chicken is just done. Do not overcook. Top with the cheese and return to oven until melted, about 5 minutes.

Makes 4-5 servings 
Do not freeze

Per 1/4 Recipe: 321 Calories; 18g Fat; 35g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 

HAPPY EATING!!!

September 8, 2012 - Almond Coated Pork Chops

Tonight was WAY GOOD! We didn't eat until 8:30 pm because we were out and about today! It was so fun! I tell you, being married is so fun! It's fun to cruise the town, play arcade games, and talk to a good friend! Anyhoo, we wanted to make something easy since it was so late. This is a great recipe! The breading was great, with a tinny bit of spice! To go along with it, we had a helping of stir fry veggies and half a banana. We found this recipe on one of those online forum. I rewrote the recipe into steps.

Almond Coated Pork Chops

1. Make a mixture of parmasan cheese and ground almonds. 

2. Then mix in some garlic salt, pepper, paprika and a little cayene pepper to taste.

3. Dip the pork chops in eggs then into the mixture. 

4.  Line a pan with foil and spread some olive oil around in the foil. Turn over when half done to

5. Bake the Pork Chops at 375 for 25 minutes. Flip them over then cook them for another 20 minutes or until down. Just make sure they reach the pork temperature. 

HAPPY EATING!!!

September 7, 2012 - Zucchini Noodles and Baked Meatballs

Both of tonight's recipes were quick and small so we decided to combine them into a dinner. And both of them were really good! We just added some Italian seasoning on top of the meatballs along with some sugar free spaghetti sauce and it tasted great! We will definitely make this one again! If two of you tackle this dinner, it will be done in probably 30 minutes. Who doesn't like a quick and delicious dinner!? Oh, and we split a banana to have a fruit along with it. 

Note: The spaghetti sauce is not included in the carb counts so be sure to take that into a count. 

BAKED MEATBALLS 

1 pound ground beef 
1 pound bulk Italian sausage 
2 teaspoons dry minced onion 
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, 2 ounces (I used the kind in a can) 
2 eggs 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl using your fingers. Mix until the meat no long feels slimy from the eggs. Shape in golf ball size meatballs and place on a large baking sheet with sides. Bake at 375º for 15-20 minutes until the meatballs are done all the way through. Rinse in a colander to remove any egg and cheese that has leaked out.

Makes about 20-30 meatballs 
Can be frozen

Per meatball: 92 Calories; 7g Fat; 6g Protein; trace Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 

ZUCCHINI "NOODLES"

Trim the ends off the zucchini. Using the wide julienne blade of a mandolin, shred the zucchini lengthwise into noodle-like strips. You could do this with a very sharp knife by cutting the zucchini lengthwise into very thin slabs, then cut each slab into thin strips. Cut strips to desired length. Sauté zucchini in butter in a non-stick skillet until slightly limp, but not mushy. Season as desired with salt and pepper, etc. I used some Spicy Seasoning Salt and pepper. Serve as a side dish or top with tomato or other kind of sauce. They have a texture similar to thick egg noodles. 

Carb count will depend on serving size, but estimate:

Per Serving: 39 Calories; 3g Fat; 1g Protein; 3g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber

( I think we are getting better at this food photography thing!) 

HAPPY EATING!!!

September 6, 2012 - Chicken Divan

Tonight's dinner went pretty well! We had fun making it together. You have to make sure you boil the chicken before starting anything else. It tasted pretty good! I think we would make this one again! We have not been able to find the Xanthan Gum. We have heard that  I have no idea what this gum is, all I know is that it thickens stuff. Well, we can't find it anywhere so we just through in a small amount of flour to help thicken the sauce.  It will add a few more carbs but nothing big enough to worry about. Cornstarch is a good substitute but we didn't have any.

CHICKEN DIVAN - REVISED 
4 cups diced cooked chicken 
14-16 ounces frozen broccoli florets 
8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded 
2 tablespoons butter 
1 stalk celery, diced 
1 small onion, diced 
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced 
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum 
1 cup chicken broth 
1 cup heavy cream 
1/8 teaspoon curry powder 
Salt and pepper, to taste 
1/4 cup mayonnaise 
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, optional

Cook the broccoli according to package directions for 5 minutes; drain. Meanwhile, in a large non-stick skillet, sauté the celery, onion and mushrooms in the butter until tender. Sprinkle the xanthan gum over the surface and quickly stir in. Add the broth and cream; bring to a boil. Turn the heat to medium-high and simmer until the sauce has thickened, stirring frequently. Stir in the mayonnaise until well blended. Stir in the curry powder and season with salt and pepper to taste.

In a greased 9x13" glass baking dish, mix the chicken, broccoli and cheese. Pour in the mushroom sauce and mix well. Adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the top, if using. Bake, uncovered, at 350º for 35-40 minutes until bubbly and a little browned on top.

Makes 8 servings 
Can be frozen

Per Serving: 478 Calories; 36g Fat; 33g Protein; 6g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 

HAPPY EATING!!!

Ps. So, for desert, I made Spencer Cupcakes with the inspiration ( from pinterest) to make them into Despicable Me cupcakes. This first one doesn't look to bad. 

This one, I think, had a fight with his make-up artist because he seems to be having some issues with running black down his face..... not sure what happened there. Maybe he's crying because he was made second... who knows...