Southern Pimento Cheese Spread

A container of this cheese spread with a platter of celery sticks knocks back most hungry munchies without blowing the daily carb count.

Photo source: Homesick Texan

1 lb sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1/2 cup sour cream

3 Tbsp Cholula

7 oz jar diced pimento peppers, drained

1/4 cup green onion, chopped

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Mix well, adjust seasonings, and chill. How easy is that?

If you're tempted to use the bags of pre-shredded cheddar, don't. There simply is no comparison, and no substitute for moist, sticky, freshly grated cheddar.

Serve with any fresh veggie or use as a cheese element in any dish. Southerners actually make grilled cheese with this stuff.

Low Carb "Potato" Pancakes

Every now and then, I need a batch of crispy, savory potato pancakes. Served with applesauce, sour cream, and a platter of sausages, they're serious comfort food.

They're also not even remotely low carb.

Fortunately, we live in the ninnynet age. Fueled by continuous and compounding cravings and aided by the Google machine, I found a recipe that, with a few alterations, produces drop dead knockoff potato pancakes:

3 chayotes
1/2 large onion
3 eggs, beaten
1.5 teaspoons garlic salt
1/2 cup flax meal
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Oil for frying

Peel and quarter the chayotes. Remove the seed and coarsely grate. Allow to rest and drain in a colander for 10 minutes. Heat your oil of choice (or fat - I use lard for the extra flavor it lends) to 375 degrees.

Peel and grate the onion, place in a large bowl. Add the salt, flax meal, parmesan, and baking powder; mix well. Place the chayote in a clean tea towel and wring it to extract as much liquid as possible. Add to the bowl and toss with the egg mixture. Add to the hot oil, a quarter cup per pancake, and fry until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels.



If your reaction is 'WTF is a chayote?', join the club. I've seen them in the produce section, but have never encountered a recipe using them before and I knew only two things about them: 1) they're green and 2) they're sorta gnarly looking. Chayotes, it turns out, are members of the squash family. They're native to Mexico, are now grown worldwide, and in this hemisphere are especially popular in Latin American and Caribbean dishes. They're also fabulous for low carbing: a full cup of diced chayote is only 25 calories and about 3 grams of net carbs. The mild flavor works well as a substitute for starchier vegetables.

Gherkin Salut (Creamy Cucumber Salad)

Our current can't-get-enough side dish!

Source: chow.com

3 English cucumbers
1 T. kosher salt
1 small onion
2 T. cider vinegar
4 oz sour cream
1 t. sugar or substitute (optional)
1 t. pepper
2 T. fresh dill (I'm a fan of Gourmet Garden) or use an equivalent of dried

Wash the cukes, peel if desired, then slice very thinly. Toss in a colander with salt; allow to drain for 30 minutes. Shake out the excess juice and pat dry with paper towels, place in large bowl. Peel the onion and slice very thinly; add to bowl. Whisk together vinegar, sour cream, sugar, pepper, and dill; toss with cukes and onion. For best flavor, refrigerate overnight.

The balance of sweet / sour will need adjustment to personal taste (I'm usually pretty heavy handed with the vinegar!).

Almost Paula Deen's BBQ Sauce

While the fruity flavor of Blackberry BBQ Sauce goes well with a lot of roasted and grilled meats, we occasionally need a sauce more tomato-y, sweet and sour, Kansas City style to go with classic BBQ fare such as ribs. I cruised the ninnynet searching for a good substitute when I came upon UpLateAnyway's version of Paula Deen's Sugar Free and Low Carb Original BBQ Sauce. The author, Elizabeth, raved so convincingly about this particular sauce that I was persuaded that was the one to start with.

I made a few modifications to the original recipe. Why add nearly as much water as ketchup, then thicken with Xanthan gum? With all that flavor, is lemon juice really going to make a difference? Is a particular brand of mesquite liquid smoke critical? I doubled the ketchup, reduced the water, used the liquid smoke I had on hand, and nixed the xanthan gum - which meant dividing ingredients, heating, whisking, then cooling was no longer necessary. Bonus!

Note: I use pure diluted sucralose for recipes such as this, where bulk doesn't matter.

     
1 3/4 cup Heinz reduced sugar ketchup
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons liquid smoke
2 teaspoons paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar equivalent (start with 10 drops homemade liquid sucralose and adjust from there)

Whisk together thoroughly, then serve (heat if desired). Store in fridge.

Homemade Liquid Sucralose

Why? Because Splenda and store brand sucralose contain fillers that contribute unnecessary carbs. They're also very expensive.

Make your own. Save a bunch. Save carbs.

Buy your sucralose here. This particular package will last even the most out of control sweet addict a year or more.

1/2 c distilled water
2.5 Tablespoons sucralose

Microwave the water to lukewarm. Add the sucralose and stir until dissolved. Cool. Store in a small (4 oz capacity or so) squeeze container in the fridge.

Source: Pelletlab

Measure as follows:

1 cup sweetening power = 20 drops
1/2 cup sweetening = 10 drops
1/4 cup sweetening = 5 drops (you knew that, right?)

Amounts smaller than 1/4 cup require some fiddling. One drop is (very) roughly equal to a tablespoon - depending on the recipe and ingredients, you may need 2 drops for a tablespoon of sugar. If you use smaller units of sweetening power on a regular basis - a tablespoon, a teaspoon - you may want to make a weaker solution by doubling the water to 1 cup per 2.5 tablespoons. At that ratio, 40 drops would equal a cup and so on, so that when you measure smaller amounts, a tablespoon would be equal to 2 to 3 drops, a teaspoon equal to one. Always use the lesser amount and adjust as desired.

Tomato Salad with Red Onion, Feta, and Dill

Source: thekitchn.com

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
2 large tomatoes, about 1#
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch chunks
1/2 English cuke, thinly sliced
1 cup black olives
1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped (optional)
1 cup feta, crumbled

Put the sliced onion in a bowl, cover with cold water, and let soak 10 to 15 minutes. 

Place the garlic, a pinch of salt, and the vinegar into a large mixing bowl. Drizzle in the olive oil while whisking. Add the red pepper, cucumber, olives, and herbs and let marinate for 10 minutes.

Cut the tomatoes into bite-sized chunks. Drain the onion and pat dry.

Add the tomatoes, onion, and feta, and toss gently to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Creamy Balsamic Dressing

1 quart sour cream
1 T. minced garlic
1 T. dijon mustard
1/2 c. balsamic vinegar
2 T. worcestershire sauce
1 T. salt
1 T. pepper

Blend well. Thin with milk as desired and adjust seasonings to taste. Store tightly covered in the fridge for up to 10 days. Makes about a quart.

Chili Verde

4 pounds pork butt, trimmed of fat and cut into 2-inch cubes
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 yellow onions
2 green bell peppers, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 Anaheim or Poblano chiles, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 jalapenos, chopped (remove seeds and membrane for less heat)
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 1/2 pounds tomatillos, husked and chopped
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 bay leaves
1 bunch cilantro leaves, cleaned and chopped
3 cups chicken stock

Add the flour, salt and pepper to a large ziplock bag and shake to mix. Add the pork and shake to coat. Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium high heat and brown pork chunks well in small batches, on all sides. Lift pork out of pan and place in a wide soup pot. Discard fat and place the onions and peppers in the same skillet and sweat over moderate heat, stirring occasionally until limp, about 5 minutes. Add all of the chiles and cook an additional 3-4 minutes, then add the garlic and cook 1-2 minutes more. Add the sauteed vegetables, chopped tomatillos, dried herbs and cilantro to the meat, cover with the chicken stock and simmer for 2-3 hours uncovered or until the pork is fork tender. Remove bay leaves and adjust the seasonings to taste with salt and pepper.

Hominy Grill's Squash Casserole

This recipe is from the Hominy Grill, a fabulous little restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina. We visited there last summer, had a wonderful late breakfast, and I snatched up a cookbook as we paid our tab (yes, it's autographed by Chef Robert Stehling - aren't you jealous?).

Fairly low in carbs, this has become one of our favorite side dishes. It was a surprise hit when I offered it at our Xmas Eve buffet two weeks ago. Here's the recipe, for those who asked for it. It looks intimidating, but it's easy to put together - read my notes at the end for ways to make it simpler.


Squash Casserole

 2 T. butter

3 zucchini, thinly sliced (about 4 cups)

3 yellow squash, thinly sliced (about 4 cups)

1 cup onion, diced

1/2 cup celery, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

4 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, grated

1/2 cup parmesan, grated

1 1/2 T. fresh basil, chopped

1 1/2 T. fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 t. hot sauce (Tabasco or Cholula)

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. black pepper

1/8 t. nutmeg

1/4 t. sugar

3 cups dried breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease an 8x8 baking dish, dust with crumbs, set aside.

Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add garlic and cook another minute, add squashes and cook until they're tender and browning slightly, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, cheeses, basil, parsley, hot sauce, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and sugar. Set aside.

Pulse 1/3 of the squash mixture in a food processor until it's chunky-smooth. Add to the bowl with the rest of the squash and the egg and cheese mixture and stir to combine.

Pour the mixture into the prepared dish and top with an even coating of breadcrumbs. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the egg sets and the mixture is puffed slightly.

Serves 6.

My notes:

- I usually don't buy fresh parsley, so I just add a heaping teaspoon of dried parsley instead. I do use fresh basil because that's usually on hand, but you could substitute dried basil, as well. 

- I don't use either nutmeg or sugar in my version.

- For low carb or gluten-free, use crushed chicharrones (pork rinds) in place of breadcrumbs.

- I don't always use the food processor. If you don't want to or don't have one, just roughly mash the squash mixture with a potato masher or fork and it'll turn out just as tasty.

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

3 pounds fresh cranberries
3 1/2 c sugar or Splenda or equivalent
2 lemons, zested and juiced
2 jalapenos, seeded and diced
3 1/2 c water
1 t salt

Wash the berries and pick out the ones that are wrinkled or soft. Combine all ingredients in a pot, stir well, and bring to a boil. Simmer until the berries have popped and the sauce has begun to thicken, about 15 minutes. Cool covered at room temp, then refrigerate.

Makes 2+ quarts.

The jalapenos don't add much heat, but they add a wonderful jap flavor.

Almond Flour Cornbread

1 c almond flour
2 green onions, chopped
3/4 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
2 large eggs
2 T butter
1/4 c sour cream

In a bowl, mix together the wet ingredients and green onions, then add the dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into a greased 8 x 8 baking dish and bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until the edges begin to brown.

8 servings at 1 carb each

Eggnog

1/2 c egg beaters
1 c unsweetened almond milk
2 T sugar-free vanilla instant pudding
1/2 t rum extract
4 t sweetener equivalent
1/4 t pumpkin pie spice
1/4 t cinnamon

Blend all ingredients well and chill.

No Bake Jello Cheesecake

1 small pkg Sugar-Free Jello - try lemon, strawberry, raspberry, lime, orange
1/2 c boiling water
1 c heavy cream
2 oz pkgs cream cheese

Dissolve Jello in hot water, set aside to cool. Whip the cream and set aside. Beat the cheese until creamy. Add Jello to the cheese slowly, beating well. Fold in the whipped cream and chill.

Pumpkin Mousse

1 pkg Jello Instant Sugar-Free Cheesecake pudding

1 1/2 c heavy cream

15 oz can pumpkin

1 t pie spice

Mix all together well, then chill thoroughly.

Short Ribs

8 short ribs
Salt, pepper, paprika
Fat, to brown
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
2 c beef broth

Rub the spices into the ribs, then brown on all sides in hot fat. Add remaining ingredients, cover, lower heat, then simmer 5 hours or more until tender

Pink Stuff

"Pink Stuff"??

I don't know what else to call it. It's not a salad or a dessert. It's something else entirely, and since I think the best tasting version uses strawberry flavored Jello, "Pink Stuff" it is.

1 small pkg Jello (strawberry is awesome!)
1/2 c boiling water
1 1/2 c cottage cheese
1 1/2 c heavy cream

Stir Jello into hot water until dissolved, then set aside to cool. Whip the cream to stiff peaks. Stir the cooled Jello into the cottage cheese until thoroughly combined, then fold in the whipped cream. Chill thoroughly.

Hot Buffalo Chicken Dip

8 oz cream cheese
1/2 c blue cheese dressing
1/2 c Frank's hot sauce
1/2 c crumbled blue cheese
2 oz mozzerella cheese, shredded
2 9oz cans of chicken breast in water, drained OR cooked and diced

Microwave the cream cheese until softened. Mix in the remaining ingredients and microwave until hot. Serve with celery.

Breakfast Brownie Cookies

3 T almond flour
1 T coconut flour
2 T butter, softened
2 oz cream cheese, softened
1 scoop protein powder
2 T cocoa powder
2 eggs
4 drops sucralose *

Beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add eggs and sucralose. Add dry ingredients and blend well. Cook on a medium skillet like pancakes, but don't overcook. Makes 6 4" pancakes.

Variation: Spread one with Peanut Butter Filling and top with a second, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a quick breakfast.

* Or use any sweetener equal to 4 T sugar

Peanut Butter Filling / Frosting

1/2 c peanut butter
3 T butter
4 oz cream cheese
3 drops sucralose *
1/3 c heavy whipped cream

Warm the butters and cheese, add sweetener, blend well. Add cream gradually to desired consistency.

Fill or frost while at room temp - refrigeration makes the product too firm to spread well.


* Or equivalent sweetener to equal 2 T of sugar

Coconut Curry Chicken

3 T. coconut oil
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and minced
4 oz portabella mushrooms, sliced
2 T. curry powder
2 or 3 dried chiles
2 15oz cans unsweetened coconut milk
2 c good chicken stock
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
6 boneless chicken breasts, sliced into 1" strips
2 large yellow squash, sliced into 1" chunks
1 lime, zest grated, then juiced
1/4 c cilantro leaves, chopped
1/4 c basil leaves, chiffonaded

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, and mushrooms and saute slowly until the onions are quite soft, about 15 minutes. Add the curry, chiles, milk, and chicken stock; simmer over medium heat until reduced and thickened, 20 to 30 minutes. Add the chicken, squash, lime juice, and zest; simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve garnished with cilantro and basil.