We decided to make a Keto Chicken Pot pie. Since we haven’t found much in the way of good recipes – I decided to “wing it”. I just started going with what I thought would work. Once I was done, I had to go sit down and write it out immediately (for fear I would forget).

Ingredients:

Small handful of frozen onions (3-4 T)
1/2 T minced Garlic

2 T Butter
2 full ribs Celery

3 oz canned Mushrooms
1/2 bag of Spinach (add some EVOO)
1 1/2 cooked Chicken breast (from a BBQ)
8 oz Mozzarella
8 oz Cream Cheese
2 C Chicken stock
1 t Xanthan gum

1 batch Fat Head Pizza crust. I added some liquid sweetener (your choice) and some Garlic to the dough. It is Pot Pie – right??

Instructions:

I checked the volume I would need to meet to completely fill my 3 Corningware dishes for the baking process (using water). Lucky too – I had an idea where I had to be for volume in the pan and I still just barely had enough.

First, I sweated off the Onion, Garlic, and Celery in butter to get things started. Once the were headed to the right place, I tossed in the Spinach and Mushrooms (side note – there was some wonderfully darkened, seasoned skin on one of the breasts. I chopped it up finely with scissors and added it with the Spinach) with a little Olive oil so they would cook down nicely. As the Spinach started to wilt I added the Chicken (I had cubed it).

As the ingredients started to gain some heat I added half the Mozzarella (shredded), half the Cream Cheese (thin chunks), 1 C (or half) of the Chicken stock and sprinkled in the Xanthan gum… once this was melted I added what was left and let it come together. I did not let it get to a boil. In fact, once everything was melted, I started working the temp down quite a bit until it was near a very low simmer. It thickened up nicely.

Just perfect.

I put the filling aside and made a normal batch of Fat Head Pizza dough – except as noted above, I added sweetener and Garlic. It’s Pot Pie, not Pizza, right? I split the dough in half so it was easier to work. I put the dough between 2 sheets of parchment I had given a quick shot of cooking spray. I gently turned the “pot” over on the dough, cut out the shape leaving about 1/2” extra around the out side edge. Once I completed one “top pastry”, I set it aside – still on the bottom piece of parchment it was on. I got another piece of parchment, gave it a quick shot of cooking spray and worked the next piece of dough down… and so on.

Once the dough was ready – 3 pieces on individual papers, I went ahead and filled the dishes. It was perfectly portioned. I prepared an eggwash of 1 egg and some light cream (beaten) for the last 8-9 minutes of cooking. I put a bit of this eggwash around the lip of the dish and then turned the dough over and carefully worked it into place. It went very easy. I did the same for the rest. I put just a light dusting of Paprika on and into the oven at 375 F for 18-19 minutes.

I advise keeping a close eye on them. At about the 9-10 minute mark I took them out, put an egg wash on them, turned them around and put them back in for the finale. Mine did not go the full time – I kept a close eye on it at the end.

Enjoy!!

It’s the 4th of July and I was thinking about something Low Carb and in keeping with the holiday and our American traditions. What could be more American than a Hot Dog on a Stick??

For this recipe I used Oscar Mayer Bun length Angus Beef Hot Dogs. Reportedly, they are less than >1 net gram of carbs per Dog.

The “bun” a is version of the Fat Head Pizza crust with a few minor adjustments.

Check out my Fat Head Blog post here > TheLowCarbBlog.com/2017/07/03/fat-head-pizza/ .

The adjustments are as follows:

1) I went with a sweet spice profile – which worked out REALLY WELL. I put 2-3 drops of QuickSweet in with the beaten egg and then a couple of drops in the actual dough as I was mixing it at the 1 min mark.

2) I added some Garlic powder, Onion powder and Paprika to the dough mix.

3) When forming the dough (be sure and follow the logic I laid out in the Pizza post), I did it in half batches and formed a long “ribbon” loaf, then worked it into a pretty symmetrical piece. Use two pieces of parchment, a couple of shots of cooking spray – wet hands, etc, etc, etc…

Once I had it laid out as shown, I rolled each dog up carefully. Once it was fully encased, I cut the dough and moved the finished dog over to a cooking sheet lined with parchment paper. I repeated this process until I had 7 dogs done. With a little effort I might have gotten all eight in the batch. Oh well.

I measured the sticks – cut them and soaked them in water (to prevent burning) for a few minutes before inserting them into the dog. Once I had them to this point – I rolled the dogs up in the dough.

I “docked” the dough before rolling the dogs and added a few more holes after they were set into place on the cooking sheet.

I put them in the oven at 400F with the timer set for 15 min. With about 6-7 minutes left to go, I took them out and put a quick egg wash on them. The wash was 1 whole egg and a little light cream (HWC would work too) – well beaten. I put them back in the oven to finish up. I kept a close eye on them toward the end and reset the timer once. I was looking for just the right color. Probably about 18-19 min. total cooking time.

I took them out – let them rest a minute. Dusted them with just a little more Paprika for color and Oh MY GOODNESS!! These things were RIDICULOUSLY GOOD. I had a couple of sauces ready – none needed. They were PERFECT just the way you see them.

The sides were Avocado Lime Angel eggs (the other Avocado egg!!) and a Bacon Jalapeno Cream Cheese ball. I’ll cover these two recipes soon. I was feeling a little light on my fat intake lately. Ha HA!! Problem solved.

If you like this recipe – share it with your friends!! Enjoy!!

Fat Head Pizza

For this pie – I did a BBQ / Smoked Pork rendition. I had some leftover Homemade BBQ sauce and some Smoked Pulled Pork I had just done…

I mixed what BBQ I had left with some Rao’s Red sauce, added some Garlic, Basil and Oregano to the sauce – BOOM. BBQ Pizza Sauce. Next topping was some Spinach… then the Smoked Pork. I used a mix of three cheeses – Mozzarella, thick grated Parmesan and a bit of Fontina Fontal (a delicious white melty cheese). Just UNREAL FLAVOR. I painted the crust with a pass of Garlic butter right before the final cook off.

Crust Ingredients:

1 3/4 C shredded mozzarella
3/4 C almond flour (or 1/4 C Coconut flour??)
2 T cream cheese
1 egg – beaten
Pinch salt (or to taste)
Garlic powder to taste (or other spice profiles)

Instructions:

Cube up the cream cheese before melting with the Mozzarella. Mix both Cheeses. Microwave for 1 min, mix well. Add Almond flour, stir then microwave on HIGH for another 30 seconds.

Add Egg, Salt, Rosemary or other flavorings – mix gently.

Quick tip: Use Parchment both top and bottom when forming it. A tiny shot of cooking spray on the paper (both pieces – won’t hurt).

Place in between 2 pieces of parchment paper and work into a circular pizza shape.

Remove the top sheet of parchment paper.

If the mixture becomes difficult to work with, pop it back in the microwave for 10-20 seconds to soften again. Not too long or you cook the egg.

Make fork holes all over the pizza base to ensure it cooks evenly.

Slide the baking paper/parchment with crust, onto a cookie tray and bake at 425F for 12-15 minutes, or until brown.

To make the base crispy and sturdy, flip the crust over (onto baking paper/parchment) once the top has browned.

Once cooked, remove from the oven and add all the toppings you like. Make sure any meat is already cooked as this time it goes back into the oven just to heat up the toppings and melt the cheese. Bake again at 425F for 5 minutes.

Options:

Rosemary, Garlic or other spice profiles optional. I’ve done Red Neck Tacos – and even Corned Dogs with this recipe!! Get creative!!

Tom’s additional tips:

If you like a thinner Pizza – make it that way in the forming process (under
sprayed paper). Take care – thin crust will carry less in toppings well, be judicious.

If you like a crispier pie… cook on a plain cooking sheet (pan) – NOT A STONE!! I use my stone for presentation only. Before you add toppings, cook on one side – in the oven for 5-7 minutes… just until it just starts to get a tiny bit brown. Take it out and flip it over. Go
another 5-7 minutes.

Take it out and add toppings – cook a few more minutes. Basically long enough for the cheese to melt. 5 min at 425F.

If you are going to make a smaller pizza (when I make a batch – I usually split the dough in half and save one for later) cook one – freeze the other.

Cook the one for freezing about  5 min per side, take out, let cool and put in a Ziploc bag in the freezer. It won’t last long. You will remember where you put it.

BTW – if you like it crispier, the smaller size is much easier to flip and handle. It is not so awkward.

Good news… your next Low Carb Pizza will be done in like 5 minutes!!

(left overs – the next day. A wonderful college breakfast!!)

Extras:

Fat Head pastry can also be made by replacing the almond meal/flour with 1/4 cup (4 tbsp) coconut flour.

If you enjoy this recipe – share it with others.

I am always doing some kind of Low Carb / Keto recipe research or adaptation. I have a bunch of “go to” dressings and sauces I have used for years. All VLC (Very Low Carb) – of course. However, I have never gotten around to doing a Caesar Dressing. My wife loves the stuff – good, bad or ugly. She just loves it. How could I have been such an oaf to pass up making her favorite thing. How could I have missed this?

I ran across a Caesar Recipe on FaceBook that looked interesting. Some kind of “shake up” in a pint jar routine. Fair enough. Time to right some past wrongs.

I did it. It went OK. She loved it. It was very yellow – and had A LOT OF BANG to it. Very powerful. She was soooooo happy. I was not happy – I gave it a 5 out of 10. Maaaaaybe not – maybe a 3.

Have you ever gotten to some point in a recipe and you realize you’ve been hacked by some dude in Islamabad, Pakistan typing stuff on the internet and he’s never cooked so much as a bean?

Well – I got to that place on this one. All of the ingredients they showed would not fit in the jar – as illustrated. It was not possible. Further, my past experience making and creating dressings and sauces told me someone can’t tell the difference between a “big T” and a “little t” in English  cooking vernacular. This spice profile was waaaaaaay off.

I realized I would have to make my own. I wanted a creamy, slightly sweet, gentle Caesar that would be so enticing – so inviting, it would always leave you wanting more. Here’s where I went…

I trimmed a little here – added some Sour Cream, cut the MONSTROUS SPICE profile down to something that wouldn’t burn your eyes, added a Low Carb sweetener and PLENTY OF PARMESAN.

If someone tells you there is too much Parmesan in here – UNFRIEND THEM IMMEDIATELY. No one needs that kind of negativity in their life!!

Tom’s Caesar Dressing

1/2 C Mayo
1/2 C Parmesan (grated, bottled)
1/2 C Olive Oil
1/2 C Sour Cream
1 t Pepper (medium grind preferred)
1/2 t Salt (Kosher)
2 t Garlic (minced)
2 t Mustard (I have used both yellow and ground dark)
2 T Lemon
4 drops QuickSweet (or 2-2 1/2 t Truvia – or 4 t Stevia.  Relax – use what you like)

Mix all well – I put it in a quart jar. It didn’t fill it up. Let it steep a day (or not). When I made the Caesar I chopped the Romaine quick, tossed it well in some of this dressing – maybe 3-4 T per serving.

When I had plated it I added a few more shakes of black pepper and more shaved Parmesan. Voila’ – plated with LOVE!!

I think I NAILED IT. I don’t even like Caesar. This is my favorite Caesar and maybe one of my favorite dressings – EVER!!

P.S. Some sliced, grilled Chicken on this wouldn’t hurt a THING. Enjoy!!

I picked up some frozen chicken tenderloins at Wal-Mart the other day… I was kind of curious how they would do in this dish.

I took 5 tenderloins out early in the morning to let them thaw so we could get started as soon as my Sweetie got home from Church. With about an hour to go (around 10 O’Clock or so), I put them in a big Zip Lock bag and added some Kosher Dill Pickle juice as a marinade/brine (for the last hour).

They had thawed enough to take some of it on.

I then whisked 1 egg as a wash. I would (normally – see notes) bread in the following:

My Chicken Nugget/Strip Breading:

1 T Almond Flour
1 t Baking powder
1 T Paprika
1 t Onion Powder (that’s a SMALL t – for teaspoon)
1 t Garlic Powder (that’s a SMALL t – for teaspoon)
Plenty of Salt and Black Pepper (a little Cayenne might not hurt)…

Note: However, I skipped the above step because I had a left-over batch of CarbQuick in the fridge already seasoned correctly – lots of Salt, Pepper, Garlic and Cayenne.  Well – it was close enough!!

Take it straight out of the Pickle Brine, into the egg wash and dredge in the coating…

Listen – don’t freak out over CarbQuick. Is it grain – Yes. Is it Low Carb – YES. It only has a carb count of 3 net grams per 1/3rd Cup. Is it something you should use as a staple – probably not. In fact, I don’t use it that much. In lot of things, it just doesn’t do so well.

I use it in CarbQuick in three primary ways – ONLY.  As an easy breading for Fresh Oysters, for Shrimp (if I need a coating)… and in the Diet 7-up biscuits.

That’s it… so you might see a CarbQuick recipe out of me from time to time. This only means we eat a tiny bit of this “slightly sketchy” Low Carb product about once every other month or so. No biggie. We also carefully monitor how it affects us. We weight every morning.

I really like the Pickle Brine routine. I think it adds to the plump, juicy factor.

On another related note – Chicken Nuggets, depending on their size are more like in the 4-6 minute range – mine are usually perfect at 5 min… same oil – same temp.

For the Waffles I did a Pecan Protein Waffle – VERY low carb count.

Protein Waffles

2 eggs, beaten
1 Scoop Quest, unflavored, all – purpose mix (1 gram – natural Carb count)
¼ t Baking Powder
2 T Kosher Philly Cream Cheese (softened in microwave)
Cinnamon, a splash of Sugar Free Vanilla flavoring – a couple of drops of liquid Sucralose and a splash of Maple extract…

Whisk thoroughly – if it gets too gooey just add a little water, won’t hurt a thing.

Next add about a half a hand full of chopped Pecans in the batter – not too many, the lid won’t shut right.

Preheat the Waffle iron – give the Waffle maker a shot of cooking spray, pour the mix in and 3 minutes later – Boom. Waffle!!

Trim it – plate it… add a pat or two of butter in the middle, stack the Chicken – then douse it with “Sweet and Sassy” topping.

Sweet and Sassy Waffle topping

½ C Sugar Free Syrup – the kind you would find at most grocery stores
¼ C Valentina hot sauce (Salsa Picante)
Pretty generous portion of Cinnamon
1 T Maple Extract
Whisk together…

(this was enough for two full servings)

And there is our Epic Low Carb Sunday Brunch…

The End

Smoked Meat Loaf – Oh my…

So this past weekend we had a lot of guests on kind of a short notice – so I swung into action and made a bunch of these Smoked Meat Loaves (16 to be exact) and a Smoked Pork Shoulder (which means easy, delicious meals and lots of pulled pork sandwiches).

Here is my recipe for a smaller “home brew” batch…

Smoked Meat Loaf Recipe

1.5 lbs of Eye of Round, Sirloin, Inside Round or similar beef cut – custom grind

1.5 lbs of Pork shoulder – trimmed and ground (twice)

1/2 C Celery and Onion mixture sauteed in Butter, Garlic and Oregano

1/2 C finely diced Orange Pepper (NOT A HOT PEPPER – just plain Orange Bell Pepper)

1 T Worcestershire sauce (I use the 40% Low Sodium version)

Kosher salt and Pepper to taste

2 T of Tom’s Low Carb Rub

1 C finely ground plain Pork Rinds… (not flavored)

2 eggs

1/4 – 1/2 C Nature’s Hollow Sugar Free Honey

Heinz Reduced Sugar Katsup (about 1 gram per 1 T) as a glaze

For the last 1/2 hour – I added some Katsup on the top as a glaze…

Let them cool and store – or not…

Slice off nice thick hunks – microwave about 1 minute per loaf and then and give each slice a quick sear on a grill, in a pan or on a flat top (preferably in butter). Oh my… LOW CARB FLAVOR MADNESS!!

Pro Tips: here are a few short cut ideas…

If I had limited items available to me – I might try 2 lbs of regular ground beef and 1 lb of packaged mild sausage.

If I didn’t have access to a wood smoker – I would pick up a cheap, used electric smoker. It will work great for a lot of stuff. In fact, I am going to pick one up for all kinds of stuff I do like this. Great for short, quick smoke sessions. If I couldn’t do any of this – skip it and add 1 T of liquid smoke and just bake it in the oven. Same time – same temp.

Tom’s Low Carb Dry Rub

3 1/2 t Truvia
7 t Chili Powder
3 t Onion Powder
3 t Garlic Powder
3 t Oregano
1 T Black Pepper
1 T Kosher Salt
2 t Paprika

Whisk this rub thoroughly – then use it on EVERYTHING!!

Enjoy. 

Smoke-A-Palooza 2017

My intention here was to fire up the smoker and do a bunch of meat for both us and my parents…

As you can see, I started off with 3 racks of ribs, 2 pork tenderloins, two whole chickens, some brats (for anyone wandering by during the day – something to snack on) and (not in the picture) I also prepped up 6 thick fish steaks.

For the ribs and pork tenderloins I used a rub I got some years back from a dear friend.

The Rub Recipe:

1 part Smoked Parika
1 part Salt
1 part Garlic Powder
1 part Sweetener (Brown Sugar/Splenda mix or powdered Splenda)
1 part Black Pepper
1 part Raspberry Chocolate coffee – plain grind

The 1 part will depend on how much rub you are making at one time. I think I used either a cup of half a cup and it was the perfect amount for everything I was doing. This trip through I used plain powdered Splenda – worked great.

I made a much smaller batch of the rub for Mom and Dad’s stuff. He’s supposed to be on a strict low sodium regime and she doesn’t like things as spicy.

I covered the ribs and tenderloins in a plain yellow mustard coating – let it set up just a bit, maybe an hour or so in the fridge.

I had put them all on a rack covered in tin foil. So I could handle them easier…

Then I generously doused and rubbed all the pieces with the rub. One of the pork tenders and one rack of ribs was meant for Mom and Dad so I cut out all the salt in the rub, cut the hotter spice profile in half and added some extra Splenda / Brown sugar mix to their portion. Mine I did a little different.

The Brats didn’t really need any treatment.

Here is the brine/marinade I made for the chicken and fish.

Brine recipe:

16 Cups water
3/4 Cup Kosher salt (I cut this number way down for this batch)
2/3 Cup powdered Splenda
2 Heads Garlic (I think I used minced garlic – if I recall correctly)
1/4 Cup Sage
1 Bay Leaf
1 TBSP Peppercorns
Cook on stove top 20 min. Take off and let cool (at least 2 hours). Don’t put the chicken in hot – you will start the poaching process.

I mixed it up in a medium / tall pot. Before I dumped the chicken in the brine I dipped some of the mixture out for the fish (which I waited to brine until about 6 hours before I was ready to smoke). The chicken would eventually end up soaking for about 36 hours. 8 is plenty – but it was in the fridge. No biggie.

I had everything ready – then we had some serious storms in the forecast. I decided to leave everything as it was in the fridge overnight and try again the next morning. No problem.

The next morning I fired up the smoker. Good thing we waited, I had a hard time getting it to draft properly so I moved it out in the open and put a plain box fan about 4 feet away from the firebox on low – worked great. Got everything moving right along. I would have been drenched all day.

I put the 3 racks of Ribs, 2 Loins, and some Brats on first – trying to keep a consistent 225* heat profile. Turns out I didn’t have room on the smoker for any of the Chicken.

I wound up letting the ribs go about 8 hours on the grill. At the 3 hour mark I put them in a double foil wrap and dumped a bunch of Apple Cider Vinegar in with them. They were looking a little firm on the way in – the ACV started working that right out. When they came off the grill, I wasn’t super impressed with the tenderness… so I put them in a 13×9″ metal baking pan – poured all the juice from the tin foil over them. I covered them with the same foil and stuck them in the oven. I let them bake off at 250* for another 2 hours or so.

Here is what they turned out like…

This particular pic was from a “Rib Snack” about 10:30 one day… YUM!!

Psssttt –  That sauce is my very own LOW CARB BBQ Sauce.

I did much the same with the Pork Loins but not as long. Same grill – same temp, at the 3 hour mark I took them off, double foil wrapped them (if you don’t do this – you almost always puncture the foil and lose all the juice), then I added plenty of ACV to them as well. At 5 hours I took them off and let them rest a while. Ready to serve – WHOA!! Good stuff.

Here’s a shot of the Pork Loin done… nice smoke ring – huh??

The Brats really didn’t take that long – and they didn’t last long afterward either. The first pack was gone really quick. Myself, Arlyne, Dad and couple of workers at the shop – POOF. Gone. I sent Arlyne down to the store for a couple more packs – why not?? I was gonna’ be here anyway. The next two packs didn’t last long either… anyone within “smell range” had one!!

In the space on the smoker grill where the Brats had been – I put the fish. I did very little to them other than the marinade. A light, quick coating of Olive Oil, a light (and I mean LIGHT) dusting of Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning and on they went… for about an hour – 1 1/2 hour. Depends on the size what they look like. I did them in 2 batches of 3. My stainless fish rack is kinda’ small. Plus – I really didn’t have much room left on the grill surface.

Here’s what the fish looks like as starter for Fish Tacos… this was 1/2 of one filet (maybe not even that much?).

The flavor of the fish was just UNREAL GOOD.

Here is another shot of a half rack of the ribs… (this is making my mouth water all over again). Writing this crazy blog might not have been such a good idea. Ha Ha!!

Here’s a “during” shot of the same half-rack after I got into it for a minute… SERIOUSLY GOOD STUFF.

PRO TIP: This had all been done at once… These ribs have set finished in the fridge for at least 2 days. I cut out what I wanted for lunch. I dded the ribs and plenty of the juice/renderings to a plain sauce pan – threw it in the over for about 20-25 min at 250*. Just gently bringing it up to a comfortable temp. STUNNINGLY GOOD.

A few quick notes…

I have used the above rub, off and on for a few years. I’m going to experiment with a little more of a “Cajun twist” and several other sweeteners. For instance, how about dousing a rack of ribs with a No Sugar Maple Syrup? Or the Sugar Free Honey Substitute from Netrition.com? I’m also going to toy with some other sweeteners in the actual rub. One never knows, I might find something I like better.

The Chicken didn’t ever make it onto the smoker. I’ll be smoking again soon. I’ll include Chicken… and wings… probably some fish. Ha Ha – you get the idea.

BTW- I used Apple wood and some commercial hardwood chips in a smoker box to get started. Once everything is in foil, wood choice doesn’t matter that much. I finished with some Oak – I think?

I forgot to mention – towards the end, when I had some space I smoked off a pan of Roma Tomatoes and a couple of Onions. I made a Smoked Tomato and Onion salad dressing… I’ll share the recipe in another post soon. The veggies carry the smoke flavor way better than you might think. Pretty awesome.

I did bake the Chicken off in the oven the other day. It turned out great. I cleaned it all. I’ll use the breasts for salads… maybe some Chicken Salad?? I’ve got a killer recipe for that. Mom says it’s the best one she’s ever tasted. I’ll post it soon and let you decide.

I also cleaned all the leg and thigh meat and minced it down. It’s in the fridge as I write this – I’m plotting some VERY LOW CARB “Boneless Buffalo Wing nuggets” in the deep fryer soon… I can’t WAIT!!

See you soon!!