Low Carb Mushroom Risotto

If you don’t like cauliflower, have no fear. Microwaving the heck out of it takes away the cauliflower flavor and smell, and it allows for you to be able to really use it as a blank slate vessel for sauces and amazing flavors.

I was messing around making some creamy mushrooms for a steak dinner, and it took so long that the steak was eaten by the time I finished. When I tasted my completed creamy mushrooms, I immediately realized that the amazingness would be perfect as a mushroom “risotto”.  SO good. My husband was stuffed from his steak, but he couldn’t stop eating this anyway. You will need to season with salt and pepper quite a bit because you’re dealing with a lot of relatively bland ingredients. The seasoning will perfectly bring out the flavors of the mushrooms and sherry wine.

• 1 Tbsp Kerrygold butter
• 3 cups sliced mushrooms (more if you really love them)
• 2 cloves chopped garlic
• 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 1 cups beef broth
• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/3 cup sherry
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 bag Trader Joe’s riced cauliflower

Method:

Melt butter over medium-high heat, and cook the mushrooms. About 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove to a bowl. Add garlic and onion and cook for 3-4 minutes. SLOWLY, add beef broth, heavy whipping cream, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a low boil, stirring often for about 15 minutes. Add mushrooms back in and cook for 15 more minutes.

While the sauce is cooking, microwave the cauliflower rice for 15 minutes.

Add the sherry to the mushroom cream mixture and continue cooking until desired thickness is reached (stirring often). Make sure to simmer and not boil so that you do not break the sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in cauliflower rice and taste. Make sure to use enough seasoning.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Oh happy day! My son says that this tastes like Panera’s soup. Add some chicken to it if you need more protein in your meal. This was easy, and definitely a winner.

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• 6 ounces broccoli (I used the riced broccoli from Trader Joe’s), cooked for 6 minutes in the microwave
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1 SMALL carrot, chopped
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1 1/4 cup water or chicken broth
• 1 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add celery, carrot, and onion. Cook 2-3 minutes or until the onion is translucent. Add 1 1/4 cups water to the pot and simmer for 5 minutes. SLOWLY stir in cream and broccoli. Return to simmer until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon (this can take a while, so try to be patient). Sprinkle in cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Eggplant Lasagna

Yummers. This was part of a Home Chef (click here for coupon) recipe, and I loved it! I modified it by adding protein (sausage), eliminating artichoke hearts, and also getting rid of the totally unnecessary panko breadcrumb topping. I was happy not to have to peel the eggplant since that’s a pain in the neck. It was easy, and really wonderfully filling.

Ingredients:

• Avocado oil (or other healthy fat)
• 1 shallot, diced
• 1 lb cooked, crumbled Italian sausage
• 1 Eggplant cut in 1/2 inch slices
• 3 Basil Sprigs, chopped
• 2 Garlic Cloves, crushed
• 14½ oz. Diced Canned Tomatoes
• ½ cups Ricotta Cheese
• 1.5 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• salt and pepper

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In an oven proof skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Place one layer of eggplant slices and brown for 4-5 minutes on each side. Remove to a plate, season with salt, and cook batches until all eggplant is cooked. Remove from skillet, season with salt, and set aside. In the pan, add 1 tsp oil. Add garlic and shallots, and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add tomatoes. Simmer for 3 minutes until liquid is a bit reduced. Add basil, stir, and turn off heat. Season with salt and pepper, and spoon 3/4 of the sauce into a bowl. On top of the very thin layer of sauce in the pan, place a single layer of eggplant. Spoon half of the ricotta, half of sausage, and half of mozzarella over the eggplant. Repeat this process starting with the eggplant until all remaining ingredients have been used. Place in the oven and bake until the mozzarella on top is starting to get brown and bubbly, 10-15 minutes. Serve.

 

Two Ingredient Mahi Mahi Burgers with Garlic Mustard Aioli

Yep. TWO ingredients. Thank you Trader Joe’s for giving us some convenient keto options!

This was so good. A little crispy on the outside, and just AMAZING with the aioli. i’m not much of a fish eater, but this is GOOD.

Trader Joe’s Spatchcocked Chicken

I have no clue what Spatchcocked means, and I don’t care. All I know is that this was stupid easy, low carb, an amazing source of protein, and GOOD. Trader Joe’s find #213.

Buy it, make it, and eat over cauliflower rice (because the juices in the bottom of the pan are to die for).

The finished product.

Purchase the Spatchcocked Chicken from Trader Joe’s.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Cut a small hole in the package and drain the chicken juice before removing chicken from the package.

In a pyrex dish, place chicken and all herb, garlic, and butter remnants over the top of the chicken. Bake the chicken until it is 155 degrees in the center (it took longer for me than the package directions said that it would).

Once the center of the chicken reaches temperature, let the chicken rest for 10 minutes (this should bring the temp up to 165 degrees).

Serve over cauliflower rice or alone. Spoon the pan juices over the chicken, and enjoy!

Cod over Cauliflower Rice

The key to cauliflower rice is to cook it to death. It gets rid of any cauliflower odor, and just absorbs the surrounding flavors. This recipe would work with many different kinds of fish, but I chose to use cod. I love the little parsley topping. It is SO good, and well worth that little touch.

Tomatoes and onions have a carb count that can be significant depending on your macros. Make sure that you control your portion and go heavier on the protein part of the dish. 

• 1 head of cauliflower, riced, OR 1 bag frozen riced cauliflower from Trader Joe’s.
• 4 cod fillets
• 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
• 3 cloves garlic (thinly slice 2 cloves and mince 1 clove)
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1 large bunch parsley, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp sherry vinegar
• avocado oil
• olive oil (for parsley mixture)

In a large bowl, microwave the cauliflower for 12 minutes, stirring once half way through. Set aside.

In a medium, nonstick pan, heat 2 tsp oil on medium-high heat until hot. Add onion and sliced garlic, and season with salt and pepper. cook 6-8 minutes.

While this is cooking, combine parsley and the remaining garlic. Slowly stir in enough olive oil to make a paste. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Add tomatoes and vinegar, and season with salt and pepper. Cook 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once it is slightly reduced, transfer to a bowl and set aside. Wipe out pan.

Pat the fish dry, and season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tsp oil on medium-high heat until hot. Cook fillets 3-4 minutes on the first side and 2-3 minutes on the second side until cooked through.

Spoon a serving of cauliflower rice onto a plate, top with some sauce, fish, and garlic parsley. Serve.

Veggie Feta Egg Cups

Usually, egg cups end up dry (in my experience). These were amazingly creamy with the kick up in fat content. Even the pug knew that something good was coming. You could really use whatever veggies you wanted in this, and the bacon is optional.

 

This recipe actually didn’t come from my brain. We have been experimenting with delivery services such as Blue Apron (pssst…costco has gift cards $80 for $100 worth of gift cards). Home Chef has some of their ingredients prepped a bit more, and they are also much more modifiable for those with food restrictions  (no dairy, gluten, soy, low carb…) They also have WAY more menu options for any given week. If you want to give Home Chef a try, you can get $30 off your first order with this link Home Chef $30 off. Right now, I am leaning towards Home Chef because of the variety of recipes and ease. The 2 person serving size at Home Chef feeds our family of three, so it is ideal for us. Their app is also great on my phone. I can cancel delivery for the upcoming week, can change menu selections, can change delivery dates. It’s pretty convenient, and it really would work well for people who don’t have time to menu plan, shop for ingredients, and do a lot of prep for cooking.

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup roughly chopped spinach
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 cup mushrooms, chopped
• 6 dill sprigs, chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2 Tbsp sour cream (optional)
• 1 Tbsp avocado oil or other healthy fat
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 3 slices bacon, cooked and chopped (optional)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Over medium-high heat, cook the spinach, shallot, and mushrooms. Season with salt and cook until moisture has cooked off, 4-6 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine eggs, cream, feta, half of the dill, salt, and pepper.

In a small bowl, combine sour cream and remaining dill.

Remove the veggies to a plate covered in paper towel. Pat dry. Add veggies to the egg mixture and stir to combine.

Grease ramekins and pour equal amount of egg mixture into each one. If you don’t have ramekins or a muffin tin, you can use an 8″ square casserole dish.

Bake for 20-22 minutes

Top with a dollop of sour cream dill mixture and bacon. Serve immediately.

Makes 5-6 muffins.