Hamburger Cauliflower Casserole

Hamburger Cauliflower Casserole 

moderately easy

This recipe is like a Shepherd's Pie but modified to be low carb. And it is very good.

• 16 oz.frozen green beans, cook and flavor them ahead of time. I put chopped onion and bacon bits and also some J&D's Bacon Salt, Original.
• 1 lb. ground beef or turkey, fry up and drain
• 1 t. or 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1.5 t. dried onion bits
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 head of cauliflower, prepared cooked and mashed or you could use a pkg. of mashed cauliflower that is in the freezer section of some stores
• 1 pkg. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/2 pkg. cream cheese

My ceramic baking dish measured 9x10.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Put the drained, cooked beef or turkey in the dish and spread it out evenly. Layer the green beans over the top of the meat. Then I put chunks of the cream cheese all over the top.

As it bakes the cream cheese will melt down into the meat and beans. Next, I put the mashed cauliflower on top and spread it out evenly. Stick it in the oven and let it bake for 10 mins. The top of the cauli-mash should be slightly browned. 

Pull it out of the oven and put the shredded cheese over the top. Return to the oven and let it bake until the cheese on top is nicely golden brown. 

That pretty much wraps up this recipe. If you've never made mashed cauliflower it's made just like mashed potatoes but without all the carbs. Thanks and have a good low carb day!

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Low carb Salmon Patties

Low Carb Salmon Patties

easy

Ingredients:

1. 1 can Salmon
2. 2 eggs, beaten
3. juice from half lemon
4. 1 t. Old Bay Seasoning
5. 1/2 c. mayonnaise
6. 1 c. processed pork rinds
7. 1 slice of onion, diced up 
8. salt and pepper to your taste

I ran the pork rinds through my food processor until it was a pretty fine meal. I used almost the whole bag to get a cup's worth. I threw the can of salmon in the bowl with the beaten eggs and stirred it around breaking up the chunks of fish in smaller pieces. Then add the lemon juice, the mayo, the spices and onion and mixed it all together. Then I put in the pork rind meal as a filler to use instead of the typical breadcrumbs thus cutting out those carbs. 

Let the mixture sit for a few minutes and the pork rind meal will absorb the juices and thicken up the mixture. As a side note, I should have diced my onion into smaller pieces. And if you don't care for an onion that much you can use less than a whole thick slice, but I like the onion. 

I made them into hamburger-sized patties and put them in a heated skillet sprayed with some canned cooking spray. You can use canola or olive. And another way to put the mixture in the pan is to use a big spoon and put a hefty spoonful on the hot skillet. Let them cook on a medium heat for about 7 mins. on one side and then gently turn them with a spatula. Then you can take the spatula and smoosh the patties down a little 

Let them cook another 7 mins. and they should be done and golden brown. The picture shows 4 patties but the mixture makes 6 nice sized ones. I could only fit 4 at a time in my cast iron skillet. 

These went well with some cauliflower salad (faux potato salad) which I will post the recipe soon and add the link here.  No Potato Tater Salad  I think they'd be good with just a dinner salad, too. I enjoyed them a lot and I hope you will, too!

Below are some links to some of my favorite products. If you click through them I may earn a few cents but it's at no additional cost to you. It just helps me to keep bringing people these low carb recipes. 

Today I'm featuring the cast iron skillet that you see in the above picture. I love this skillet!

10.5 inch cast iron skillet by Lodge

Lemony Blueberry Muffins

Lemony Blueberry Muffins (low carb)

Fairly Easy

A really go to breakfast for those on a low-carb way of eating is bacon and eggs. I love some bacon and eggs for breakfast! But, even a hardcore bacon and eggs eater can go for some variety, in my humble opinion.

So, this morning I came up with a recipe for some muffins featuring blueberries but also with a lemony flavor to them. I hope you give them a try and tell me how you liked them. 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Ingredients:

1.  1 1/2 c. almond flour
2.  1.2 c. coconut flour
3.  1 t. baking powder
4.  1 t. baking soda
5.  1 t. xanthan gum
6.  1/2 t. salt
7.  1/2 c. erythritol sweetener
8.  1/2 c. Splenda (bagged)
9.  1 scoop of vanilla protein powder (or 1 t. pure vanilla; add to wet ingredients)
10.  6 eggs, whisked well (best if room temp.)
11. 1/2 c. coconut oil, liquified  
12. 1 t. lemon zest
13.  juice from half a lemon 
14.  1 c. blueberries (frozen or fresh, I used frozen)

So how I did it is I took 2 bowls, one was larger than the other. I put all the dry ingredients into the larger bowl of the two. I took a fork and stirred and broke up any lumps in the mix. I stirred up all the liquid ingredients in the smaller bowl really well and then poured them into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mixed it well.

The last thing I did was fold in the blueberries. 

I used liners in my muffin pans but if you don't have any just be sure to grease them or use a spray so they don't stick. I had enough mixture to fill all 12 of the muffin holes. 

I then put them in the oven and let them bake for 50 minutes. But my oven may be different than yours so keep an eye on them and don't let them burn on top. My biggest fear is them not being done in the middle. I have followed other's recipes for loaf pans and the final product is not cooked all the way through. But 45-50 minutes should work fine. 

Notice: This post contains affiliate links and I earn money if purchases are made through links (at no additional cost to you) which helps support this site and keep the content free. :)

Bob's Red Mill Almond Flour   I really like this brand of almond meal/flour because it's blanched and finely ground.

Bob's Red Mill Coconut Flour

Erythritol by NOW foods 

Creamy Cauliflower Soup (low carb)

Creamy Cauliflower Soup 

Easy

 Lately, I've been wondering, what's happened to September? Because here in the midwest it seems like it's already October. I've come down with a bad cold and that makes me want comfort foods in the form of soups. I got the idea for this low carb "pretend potato soup" from a Dana Carpender recipe book that I read years a go. I forget the exact title of the book though.  

You'll need a large pan and I may have used one that was slightly too big for just a few servings for me. I might wish I had made more though if I find that my son likes it. However, he's a picky eater and doesn't like an onion. 

Here are the ingredients that I used.

1. 1/2 c. chopped onion (I used Vidalia)
2. 2 stalks celery, chopped
3. 1/2 of a 2.5 oz. bag of real bacon bits
4. 2 T. salted butter
5. 1 c. heavy whipping cream
6. 3 c. water 
7. 1/2 head of cauliflower, cut up into bite size pieces
8. salt and pepper to taste (I used Lawry's season salt)

First, melt the butter in the pan and then add the onion, celery, and bacon bits. Stir that around for a minute or two while on medium heat. Add the salt and pepper and stir it in. After a few minutes, I added the cream and the water and let it cook while I chopped up the cauliflower. I added the cauliflower and brought it to a boil on a medium high heat. I let it all cook together for about 7 minutes. At this point, I scooped about 2 cups or more out of the pot and put it in my Nutri-Bullet and let it liquefy. A blender will also work. Just be careful as the mixture is hot. If you don't want to do it while it's that hot you can probably put it aside in the fridge until it cools. But you'll want to add that back into the pot of soup on the stove. Then turn it down to a medium low and let all the lovely flavors simmer together. I'd say maybe 10 minutes or so. 

As for variety, I think some cheese sauce could be added to make it a cheesy cauliflower soup. I even thought that I may try adding half a cup of Ranch salad dressing to it sometime.  

This stuff is seriously good! I hope you give it a try.

Asparagus and Mushrooms Frittata

Sunday Morning Breakfast

Easy

Asparagus, Mushrooms Frittata

This is a really easy and delicious dish to make for any meal and can be made with many different kinds of ingredients added to the egg and cheese mixture. I used sharp cheddar but other kinds can be used such as a Mexican blend, etc. I think one could also use cottage cheese on the inside and a cheddar or other flavor. Your only limit is your imagination. I have also used spinach in them with sausage, just cook up the meat ahead of time and drain the grease. You could also use broccoli and bacon. Frittatas are very versatile. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

1. 8-10 large eggs
2.  (11 or 12 oz.) package of shredded cheese
3. 3/4 (8 oz) package of sliced mushrooms  
4. (8 oz.) package of frozen asparagus spears
5. salt and pepper to taste
6. T. olive oil

The first step is to scramble up the eggs in a medium size bowl. Add the salt and pepper as you like it. Then you'll need to put in just HALF of the package of shredded cheese. Save the other half for the last step of the process.

I used a 10-inch cast iron skillet but whatever you choose it has to be able to go in the oven. I like to make them in cast iron. I put the olive oil in the skillet and used a paper towel to run it over and coat the bottom and sides of the skillet. 

I put the sliced mushrooms in the bottom of the oiled skillet. So it was pretty much covered with mushrooms across the bottom. I then poured most of the egg and cheese mixture on top of them. I laid the asparagus spears across the top and poured in the remainder of the mixture.

The next step is to put the whole thing into the preheated oven on the middle rack. I think I let it cook for about 15 minutes. I am sorry but I didn't keep an eye on the clock but rather checked on how the frittata looked. When it started looking a light toasty brown on top I took it out.

And this is what it looked like.

Now take the other half of the package of shredded cheese and layer it on the top of the frittata. Put it back in the oven and this time put it on the top rack. Turn your oven to the broiler position and let it work its magic for about 5 minutes. Again, I have a bad habit of not using a timer but just checked it by eyeballing it a few times. When the cheese has melted and is turning a golden brown it's finished.

  Remove it from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes. Now as it cools it will fall slightly instead of being all high and fluffy when it first comes out. That's alright. I cut mine into four wedges and used a spatula to lift a slice out. That first one is always the hardest, isn't it? 

I give it a thumbs up and my dogs give it two paws up. I hope you like it.

Low Carb Banana Nut Bread

This recipe comes from a book that I bought called "Cooking With Coconut Flour" by Bruce Fife. There are quite a few recipes in the last part of the book. Everything is made using coconut flour and they're gluten free.

1 ripe banana, mashed
8 eggs
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup brown sugar sweetener
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sifted coconut flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped

Blend together the mashed banana, eggs, coconut milk, sweetener, vanilla, almond extract, and salt. Combine coconut flour with baking powder and whisk thoroughly into batter until there are no lumps. Fold in the nuts. Pour into greased 9x5x3-inch loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 60 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on rack.

This stuff was very good. I took it to work and everyone who tried it really liked it. I don't know what the carb count is but a medium banana is around 27 grams and if you get 10 slices out of the loaf that would be only 2.7 grams from the banana. The other ingredients have very little net carbs.

I didn't use the almond extract in mine, just doubled the vanilla. I also used half regular eggs and half Eggbeaters. I had some brown sugar sweetener called Nature Sweet that I ordered from netrition.com but if you don't have any I think you could substitute another sweetener.

I would definitely make this again!

Pumpkin Pound Cake "Stella Style"

I might have mentioned this before but I love George Stella and his recipes. I so appreciate that he was there many years ago developing good low carb recipes and presenting them on his show that use to be on the Food Network. I miss not having him on there anymore. So the next best thing is to have all of his cook books. He has a new one out and it can be found on QVC with 130 new recipes "Still Livin' Low Carb;A Lifetime of LowCarb Recipes".

I'm just going to include the link to George Stella's Pumpkin Pound Cake instead of copying and pasting the recipe in here. People have given it a 5 star rating as most of Chef Stella's recipes on Food Network are. I found the pumpkin pound cake very good and since I live alone I cut the recipe in half and baked it in a mini loaf pan. I kept the leftovers in the fridge as baked goods containing almond meal seem to spoil faster than ones made with flour. When I wanted a slice, I'd put it under the toaster oven for awhile and then either put home made whipped topping on it or some plain cream cheese. It was good either way and once I even sprinkled some Cinnamon in the whipped topping.

I really enjoyed it in the evening with a big mug of hot tea.