Amish Salad

Going to a pot luck and want to stay Keto?? Here’s a great idea!

Recipe:

2 stalks of Broccoli Flower Canopies cut into florets
1/2 head of Cauliflower cut small (as shown)
3/4 C Mayo
3/4 C Sour Cream
1/4 C Truvia (a bit more maybe? – or equal
Low Carb / Keto Sweetener of your choice)
1/2 t Kosher Salt
8 oz Bacon – Cooked, chopped… BTW – anything worth adding 4 slices of bacon – is worth 5 slices!!
1 C Shredded Cheddar

Mix well – let come together overnight. Creamy, DELISH!! This goes great with BBQ!!

Twice Baked Cauliflower Mashers

For this I went a little bit of a “non-traditional” route…

I did the Cauliflower as a stir fried Riced Cauliflower first. This will take a lot of that moisture out of the Cauliflower. Once I got the moisture out, my thought was to then go back and add in the things for taste and body.

I started with a whole fresh head of Cauliflower. I saved two thick steaks out of the middle for a blackened recipe tomorrow. I riced the rest in a small food processor. I stir fried it in some Kerry Gold butter, Salt, Pepper and a little Garlic Powder. I also used just a little Rice Vinegar in the stir fry. I used just enough to start muting the heavy fresh Cauliflower notes.

I baked it for 20 min @ 350* and broiled it for 2 min at the end. It gave the peaks a nice browning and some texture.

I was shooting for something tasty, with a better texture… more like a twice baked masher should be… not a mushy runny Fauxtato mixture. This was a HUGE WIN.

This is BY FAR my favorite Mashed Cauliflower recipe (for now).

(My own creation – BTW)

Keto wisely my friends!!

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.

Ingredients:

6-8 slices of Low Carb Bread (I had a few slices from the Great Low Carb Bread Co. left in my freezer. It was time to clean it out. Only about 4 net grams for this ingredient). One could easily use some of The Best Low Carb Bread – EVER as the base for this. This  adaptation would make this recipe ENTIRELY Keto friendly.

1/2 C Melted butter (1 stick)
2 C Half & Half (or Heavy Cream)
1/2 t Salt
1/2 t Dry Mustard
5 eggs
1 package Sausage (I used a Mild Sage)
8 oz Cheddar Cheese
4 oz canned Mushrooms

Directions:

Brown the Sausage – reserve, and for HEAVEN’S SAKE!! SAVE THE GREASE!! You can make gravy and pour it over my Diet 7-up Biscuits or some Keto Bread!! Melt butter – soak bread (or tear it up into pieces) on bottom of a 9×13 casserole dish. Beat eggs – add all other ingredients and mix well. Add most of the Cheese – except maybe 1-2 oz. Add everything over the first layer. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

Bake at 325* for 1 hour. Remove – let rest for 10 min… top with remaining cheese, a dusting of Paprika and Pepper (if you like).

Enjoy!!

This gem of a meal was a couple of slices of Low Carb Almond Bread seared off in a buttered skillet. A smear of our Low Carb Creamy Horsey Sauce topped off with an egg, some Pepper and Scallions. This is very quick, easy and 5 star TASTY!!

I had the Bread made up and in a Tupperware container in the fridge. I did the egg in the microwave. The Horsey sauce was made a couple of days ago (and very quick – even then). Searing the bread off in butter took longer than anything (maybe a minute??). The whole process was done in less than 5 minutes.

A while back several of us were debating the merits of “cheat meals”, “cheat days” and “carb cycling”… I guess I got sucked into the wrong train of thought. I am wholly against such ideas. There are always other ways to go about results. I guess it boils down to one simple idea. We were asking the wrong question…

Why would I ever want to go back? Why would I want to eat anything but the way I do? In the event there is something outside my current set of standards – there is most often a creative way to get there.

I have tried a lot of Low Carb breads, tortillas, recipes and substitutes. I have a few very good – “Go to” Low Carb / Keto “bread” recipes. However, this is FAR AND AWAY the best Low Carb Bread – EVER!

The Best Low Carb Bread – EVER

Best Bread Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 C Melted Butter
2 T Coconut Oil
7 eggs (I used 8 – a few were small. They were our farm eggs)
1 t Baking Powder
2 C Almond Flour
1/2 t Xanthan gum
1/2 t Salt
6 drops QuickSweet

The above is a great version. It works really good for searing or in another recipe. However…

I highly encourage some creativity with a flavor profile for your bread and going all the way with it.

For instance – Garlic powder, Rosemary and Thyme?? Or Cheddar…

Or Cinnamon, Pumpkin Spice and QuickSweet.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*

Beat Eggs on high a full minute (or more?), add Coconut oil and melted butter – beat another minute.

Add additional ingredients and 1/2 the Almond flour – continue beating – add last half of the Almond flour. Continue beating. It will be thick.

Scrape into loaf pan lined with parchment paper. A quick shot of cooking spray on the bottom and sides won’t hurt a thing either.

Bake 50 – 60 minutes. I have found 45 minutes wasn’t even close to enough bake time. Mine turns out done and a nice medium color at 55 minutes.

Let stand a few minutes. Carefully pull parchment sides up. Gently remove loaf – it should come out with little coaxing. Let cool – cut with bread knife. It will be soft, moist, warm and have an INCREDIBLE bread texture. Enjoy.

I have been able to store in Tupperware for a few days while using it – but I have no clue how long it will last. Because it never makes it long enough to find out. It’s usually gone in a few days.

Keto wisely my friends!!

Tom’s Ranch Dressing

Here was a lunch – WOWSERS!!

A bed of Baby Spinach with homemade Low Carb Ranch, Blue Cheese crumbles, some sliced Radishes and Bacon. Who doesn’t like bacon – right?? All this with a side of warm, thinly sliced Low Carb Bread smothered in butter and a dusting of dill. Oh my.

Tom’s Ranch Dressing

1 C Mayo
1/2 C Sour Cream
1/2 oz. Sugar Free Vanilla Syrup
1 oz. Apple Cider Vinegar
2 oz. Heavy Cream (or unsweetened Almond Milk)
1 t Dill
1/2 t Thyme
1/2 t Onion
1/2 t Garlic Powder
1 t Parsley
3 drops liquid sucralose

Mix well – let steep one day…

Be sure to check out our post for The Best Low Carb Bread – EVER…

If you enjoy this recipe – share it with others. 

Thanks – Tom

In an homage to Aunt Meg and Bill Paxton from the movie Twister, this is a T-Bone and eggs for breakfast in ULTIMATE Keto and Low Carb fashion. You can eat this way, right?!? So why not? It is so quick, easy and awesome.

Here are the details…

I started with pretty decent cut of T-Bone. I let it age a few days in the fridge.

I took it out – lightly brushed it with Olive Oil (both sides). I put a slight dusting of Garlic powder – Kosher salt and Pepper to taste (both sides).

I preheated the grill to near high (on my grill). I grilled this steak for 9 min total – 5 min. on the first side and 4 min. on the second (move them 45 degrees 1/2 way thru each side makes those nice sear marks).

This grill time gave me a really nice medium to medium/rare for this cut of meat. Once it comes off – let it rest under a cover for several minutes. While it’s resting make the eggs.

Two eggs in butter in the skillet and right at the end put a bit of water in a cover to firm up the tops… same seasoning – Garlic, Salt, Pepper (LIGHT).

I started in a very civilized fashion – cutting it with a knife (about twice)… then realized it would just pull apart in my fingers. I didn’t even need a fork.

This T-Bone tasted like meat flavored butter!! Perfect medium/rare…

It wasn’t long before I just picked it up and went to gnawing at it – no remorse…

Comments??  Too much egg, right??

This was Quickie Bread, butter, a Low Carb Horsey sauce with some eggs and cheese on top we had for breakfast… Quick, easy – delicious.

Here is the recipe for the Quickie Bread – it’s a bit of a take-off from the 3 minute Chocolate Cake. This is a VERY versatile and usable bread alternative.

Quickie Bread

3 T Almond Flour
1 egg (beaten)
1/4 t Baking Powder
1 1/2 T Butter (melted)
2 Drops Quick Sweet (liquid sucralose)
Pinch of salt

Melt the butter – then mix all wet ingredients. Mix dry ingredients and mix them well. Add the dry to the wet mixture and mix well again. I like to do all this in a separate bowl and then pour in the one I’m using to Microwave in. Quick tip – smooth the top of the batter a bit (if it isn’t already) – if it is uneven, once it gets cooking, it only gets more so. No need to add additional cooking spray. There is plenty of butter in it and it will come right out.

Wrap bowl in a cooking wrap and vent the top. Set microwave for 1:30 – One minute and thirty seconds. Once it is done…

Unwrap, turn over and give a gentle tap – it should come right out. It might need a little coaxing. I like to let it rest and start to get a little firm. This might take a couple of minutes.

For this meal I then cut the bun in half with a bread knife and gave it a quick sear in some butter on a skillet. WOW!!

There are NUMEROUS of different variations you can do with this recipe. For instance, swap the sweet for more salt, Garlic and add some Cheddar Cheese – you’ve got Red Lobster biscuits!!

Be creative – and enjoy!!

We’ve been making Avocado Eggs for years. They are a great Low Carb / Keto breakfast.

I’m sure you will find a number of different renditions for them out there – this is ours.

Ingredients:

2 Avocados
4 fresh eggs
Garlic Powder
Cayenne
Pepper
Cheddar
Scallions

1) Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2) Slice the Avocados in half, and take out the pit (cool trick you can look up on You Tube – once you have the Avocado cut in half – in a smooth, but forceful downward motion “set” the edge of your knife into the pit and give a little twist – comes right out). Spoon out some of flesh from the center of the Avocado, just enough so the egg will fit snugly in the center.

Save this spooned out flesh for later – goes great as a snack with dip… or a mini-batch of Guac!!

One of two things should happen here – take out enough flesh to fit the egg, or use small eggs. Lately we’ve been using pullet eggs. These are eggs from our young hens… they fit right in a smaller cavity and leave a lot of Avocado for the final dish.

3) Place the Avocados in a small baking dish. I have used a oven safe dish, pie pan (as shown) – another great method is to use a muffin tin… this holds the Avocados in place nicely. They have a tendency to want to roll a little and let some egg run over once you get the egg in them.

4) At this point, I like to put a slight (very slight) dusting of Garlic powder, Cayenne, maybe even Onion powder across them – be sparing here. Let the Avocado and the Egg be the stars!!

5) Crack an egg into each Avocado half. Try your best to crack the yolk in first, then let the egg whites spill in to fill up the rest of the shell.

6) Place in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Cooking time will depend on the size of your eggs and avocados. Me, personally – I go about 14 – 15 min… I like a juicy egg. If you like a firmer egg – just go a little longer, make sure the egg whites have enough time to set.

Remove from oven, add some cheddar on top, let them sit a minute to cool giving the cheese a bit to melt. They will be VERY HOT – so be careful.  Season with pepper, top with a sprinkle of Scallions or garnish of your choice and 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