Easy Low Carb Turkey Casserole

Wonder what to do with the turkey leftovers from the holidays?  Here ya go! You will NOT regret trying this one. It literally makes 10-12 really nice size servings, so don’t let the presence of peas or cream of mushroom scare you. When divided by 10-12, they can easily fit into your macros no matter what they happen to be. Feel free to add bacon on green onion if you want more of a baked potato vibe.

Ingredients:

• 2 bags cauliflower rice (I get mine from Trader Joe’s), microwaved for 10 minutes, stirred, and then another 10 minutes.
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 2.5 cups shredded cheese (cheddar or colby jack work perfectly)
• 5 cups chopped cooked chicken or turkey
• 1/2 cup peas
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt (more if you like, so taste before baking)
• 2-14 ounce cans of mushrooms (one if you’re not a huge fan)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Make sure that your cauliflower has been microwaved (for 20 minutes) in a large bowl. Add all other ingredients (but only 1.5 cups of the cheese) to the cauliflower and stir to combine. Taste to see if you would like to add more salt or pepper. Spread into a large casserole dish (mine was 9X13). Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake for 30 minutes.

Makes 10-12 servings.

Low Carb Salisbury Steak with Sherry Mushroom Gravy

Another Home Chef success. The homemade mashed potato portion was given to my boys (they loved it) along with a bit of the gravy. The rest was totally low carb and easy to make.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp avocado oil (or other healthy fat)
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1.5 cups sliced cremini mushrooms
• 1/2 small onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, divided
• 1/4 cup sherry
• salt and pepper

Method:

In a skillet, heat butter over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and onions. Cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add sherry, thyme, and slowly add the heavy whipping cream and simmer until thickened (about 25 minutes), stirring often. While the sauce is cooking, add the egg to the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Form into 3-4 ovular patties. Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add oil. Cook patties about 5 minutes on each side or until the beef reaches 150 degrees on the inside. Set meat aside until gravy is to desired thickness.

Pour gravy over the top, and enjoy.

Bunless BBQ Bacon Burgers

These were so stinking good! I LOVE this BBQ sauce, and it is easy to find (mine was from Safeway).

Do I REALLY need to give instructions for this?

Simply cook some bacon and onions, season your burger, cook on one side, flip, add sauce and cheese, cover until melted. Assemble on a plate.

Low Carb “Everything Bagel” Salmon

This was one of my recipes from Home Chef delivery service. We all really loved it. Total carbs was about 4g per serving, and it was a great source of protein! We made ours over a fire in a cast iron skillet, but I will go with the oven directions so that it is more user friendly.

I made this over a bed of arugula and spinach topped with lemon-caper vinaigrette. I also made a quick and easy chive sour cream to plop over the top at the end.

Ingredients:

• 1 lemon
• 1 Tbsp capers, minced
• 1/2 shallot, minced
• 1/4 cup quartered grape tomatoes
• 6 chives, minced
• 4 salmon fillets
• 2 Tbsp dijon mustard
• 1 tsp poppy seeds
• 1 tsp sesame seeds
• 1 tsp dried garlic flakes
• 1 tsp dried onion flakes
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• avocado oil or other healthy fat for cooking

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Stir together sour cream and chives. Refrigerate.

Zest the lemon and juice one half.

Combine poppy seeds, sesame seeds, garlic flakes, and onion flakes.

Place salmon on a baking sheet. Rub the tops with the mustard. Sprinkle the seasoning generously and evenly over the top. Bake until the salmon reaches your desired level of doneness (about 8-12) minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

While the salmon is cooking, whisk together the capers, shallot, and 1 Tbsp of lemon juice. Whisk while slowly drizzling in the olive oil. Season with 1/4 tsp salt and a pinch of pepper.

Add greens to the vinaigrette and gently toss.

Place the salmon over a bed of greens and cherry tomatoes. Garnish with chive sour cream and lemon zest.