Meatless - It's (Not) What's for Dinner

For many years I was a vegetarian and the men in my life - hubby and son - managed just fine. They ate meat when we went out, but not at home. I spent a good deal of time cooking meatless dishes I thought they'd like, and for the most part they did. However, a few years ago I just got tired of never eating meat - specifically pork. (I have a weakness for bacon, barbecue, ham, etc.) So, slowly I added meat back into the family diet (to the sound of much rejoicing, I think). These days, if I make something meatless, I generally expect the guys will enjoy it as much as I do. Apparently I am mistaken.

It all started when I picked up some lovely, quite large portabella mushrooms at a local produce market for next to nothing. After looking at them in the fridge for a couple of days, I decided stuffed mushrooms would be the way to go. While I like ground beef or turkey in my stuffed peppers, I thought the mushrooms would be meaty enough on their own, but my guys disagreed. (So, the lesson here is that hubby doesn't really believe something is a meal if no meat is involved. I thought all those years of eating vegetarian goodies had persuaded him otherwise.) Thus, next time I will be adding ground beef (or turkey or pork or whatever is in the freezer) to these beautiful mushrooms. It occurs to me that crab meat would also be an interesting addition to the filling mix. So, maybe I could get a little fish in here, instead. That could be a nice compromise.

Since I wanted something meatless, I stuffed the caps with a mixture of cheeses and roasted veggies. Usually I roast all my vegetables at once so they'll be ready for use throughout the week. After a trip to Superstition Ranch Market, I came home with an assortment of squash and bell peppers, so that's what went into the stuffing. Of course other vegetables would work just as well, so use what you have. If you don't want to spend the time roasting the veggies beforehand, just chop what you need and cook them along with the hamburger. It's all good.

Roasted Veggies - Roasting works best when the vegetables are about the same size and consistency. I do frequently roast mixed vegetables, but it is easier to roast everything alike together. I cut everything into one inch pieces, put it all in a large bowl, and drizzle with olive oil. Usually, I have one batch that is seasoned with salt and pepper only and another that gets a liberal dose of Italian herbs. Thirty minutes in a 350 degree oven is about right for most vegetables, though potatoes take a little longer.

Jenny's Stuffed Mushrooms

1 pound ground beef (0 carbs)
6 large portabella mushroom caps - cleaned (1.5 net carbs each for a total of 9)
1/2 cup roasted squash (2.4 net carbs)
1/2 cup roasted bell peppers (3.5 net carbs - Use the red and green ones since the yellow ones have a higher carb count.)
4 ounces cream cheese - softened (4 net carbs)
4 ounces fontina cheese - grated (2 net carbs)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise (0 carbs)
Salt and Pepper to taste (I don't use much because the roasted veggies have already been seasoned.)

• Brown the ground beef, using a spoon to break it up as it cooks.
• If are not using pre-roasted vegetables, finely chop the squash and peppers and add them to the meat to cook. If you are using pre-roasted veggies, chop them finely and set them aside until the meat is done.
• While the meat cooks, place the mushroom caps in a glass dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Drain the mushrooms and pat off the excess liquid. Return the mushrooms to the dish.
• Drain the beef thoroughly and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, fontina cheese, and mayonnaise.
• Stir in the chopped vegetables and meat, and season to taste.
• Divide the mixture evenly among the mushroom caps.
• Return to the microwave for 2 to 3 minutes, until the filling is bubbling and melted.

Serve with a green salad to finish the meal.

The entire dish weighs in at 20.9 net carbs, which comes out to 3.5 net carbs per serving (6 servings).

If you omit the meat and use smaller mushrooms, this would make a nice appetizer. Crab would also be a good change in either the meal-sized shrooms or the smaller appetizer portions.

Enjoy!







 

Cooling Off the Kitchen

Temperatures in the valley of the sun can be brutal this time of year. (As a matter of fact, we're expecting to hit 117 today!) When the mercury rises, no one - especially me - wants to be stuck in a hot kitchen making dinner. So to beat the heat, I frequently make dinner first thing in the morning, store it in the fridge, and reheat as needed. And when the temps get really hot (like today), I don't even turn on the stove! One of my favorite summertime dishes is gazpacho, which requires only about 10 minutes of work with a food processor and makes a perfect snack or light meal.

Generally, gazpacho is pretty low in carbs because of its veggie ingredients, though I did have to make a couple of tweaks to my favorite recipe. The original calls for one diced red onion, and since that comes in at 5.5 g. of carbs for half a cup, I decided to use green onions instead and reduce the amount. With about half as much onion removed from the recipe, I decided to add some extra herbs to enliven the flavor. In addition, the original recipe calls for three cups of tomato juice, but after reading all the labels I ended up with a generic brand of vegetable juice (like V8) because it had the lowest carb count at 6 grams per cup. Finally, I substituted red wine vinegar (which has 0 carbs) for the balsamic vinegar which adds 2 grams per tablespoon (this saves 8 grams total for the 1/4 cup in the recipe).

Gazpacho gets better as it rests, so I mixed it up early this morning to allow the flavors time to meld before I scoop some up for lunch. One of the best things about this dish is the fact that the longer it sits, the better it tastes. It is also versatile in that a cup of gazpacho makes a wonderful cold summertime snack, but it could easily become a meal by adding some salad shrimp to the bowl. In addition, it is an elegant appetizer with boiled and peeled shrimp arranged around the edge of the bowl and a dollop of sour cream (only one carb for two tablespoons!) in the middle. Enjoy!

Cool as a Cucumber Gazpacho

1 hothouse cucumber, quartered and seeded, but not peeled (5 net carbs - Hothouse cucumbers are lower in carbs than regular cucumbers with only 1 net carb per 3 ounces.)
2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded (7 net carbs - Red and green bell peppers have a lower carb count than the yellow ones. Who knew?)
2 cups chopped tomatoes (12.8 net carbs - A plum tomato will yield about half a cup chopped. Because this recipe is all about the freshness of the veggies, I used two larger heirloom tomatoes.)
1/2 cup chopped green onion (2.4 net carbs)
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 net carbs - You can use three cloves of fresh garlic instead, but I always have the minced garlic in the fridge.)
3 cups tomato or vegetable juice (18 net carbs - Read the labels. Six carbs per cup was the lowest one I found at the supermarket.)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar (0 net carbs)
1/4 cup olive oil (0 net carbs)
Basil paste or chopped fresh basil (0 net carbs)
Salt and pepper (0 net carbs)

• Rough chop all the veggies to fit easily in a food processor.
• Begin with the onions and bell pepper, pulsing to chop finely. Add the cucumber and continue pulsing. Finish with the tomatoes.
• Process the veggies until they are the size/consistency you like. (I like mine pretty fine, so I run the blades longer. If you like bigger chunks of vegetables, stop processing sooner or process the veggies separately to control the size better.)
• Pour the veggies in a large non-reactive bowl.
• Add the tomato/vegetable juice, vinegar, olive oil, and garlic. Stir to combine well.
• Season to taste. (Remember, the flavors will get stronger as the dish rests in the fridge. I usually add some salt, pepper, and basil at the beginning, and then add a little more after several hours of chilling.)

This makes 7.5 cups of gazpacho with a total of 48.2 grams of net carbs for the entire batch.
That's 6.4 grams of net carbs per one cup serving.
 

Tortilla Flat

Chips are my weakness. I love them all - potato, tortilla, vegetable; plain, salt and vinegar, olive oil and rosemary - you name it, I probably like it. The light crunchiness of a chip combined with that fatty mouth feel just makes me smile. (Heavy sigh.) Alas, chips are high in carbohydrates, and thus, off my everyday menu. (Please don't misunderstand. I don't foresee a future in which I will never again eat another potato chip, but for now I'm trying to kick the habit. It's a good thing coffee and vodka are still on the okay to eat list!) Ironically, many dips are allowed in a low carb lifestyle, which makes the hankering for chips even harder. So, as I cut up my little cocktail avocados this morning (yes, 10 cents each at Ranch Market - my new favorite store), I knew I needed some chips to seal the deal.

I recently purchased two types of low carb tortillas, and today I discovered that both are excellent for different dishes. I started my quest for chips with a package of Tortilla Factory low carb tortillas which I purchased at WinCo for about $6 (for a package of 20 large tortillas). Last night we enjoyed these puppies with pulled pork from the slow cooker, wrapping the meat up with some sour cream and grated cheese to make carnitas. Generally, I like whole wheat tortillas better than plain flour because the texture is more interesting, and the tortillas seem to have more flavor. (Truthfully, corn tortillas are my favorite followed by whole wheat with plain flour tortillas a distant third. I don't really care for the glueyness I associate with flour tortillas  - especially thick ones.)  These particular tortillas are thin and a little nutty tasting, and so I assumed (incorrectly) that they would make good chips. As a matter of fact, I was so sure they'd be good, I cut up the whole bag of tortillas while the first batch was in the oven - mistake number one.

When the chips came out, I eagerly popped a warm one into my mouth (after administering a liberal amount of salt, of course), and was disappointed at the chewiness of the chip. (I had been so sure that these thin little tortillas would be crispy and satisfying!) Perhaps, I thought, they require longer baking. But, several more minutes did not improve the lacking crunch factor. After having similar results with different tortillas while visiting my parents recently, I thought that baking could be the problem. So, I dug out the wok and heated some oil, hoping that frying the tortillas would produce the desired result. I actually cooked several small batches at different temperatures, but all to no avail. Even though the tortillas were brown and appeared crunchy, they remained a little soggy and chewy after cooling. Next, I thought a combination of the two approaches might work, but that too failed. I tried baking prior to frying and frying prior to baking, but neither produced a change in the texture.

As my hubby tasted each trial chip and agreed that none were very good, I contemplated the problem. I had assumed that the thinness of the tortilla would lend itself to a crispy chip. However, I have frequently made excellent pita chips from decidedly thick bread. Thus, it seemed reasonable that the thinness of the tortilla might have less to do with its crispiness than the ingredients, so I pulled out a package of low carb plain flour tortillas for further experimentation. These (Mission Carb Balance) tortillas finally provided the taste and crunch I'd been looking for. They emerged from the oven light and crispy, tasting like "real" chips and satisfying my craving. Since the tortillas are a little bland, extra seasoning would make them better. I only added salt today, but in the future I think some interesting seasoning mixes would be great. (I'm especially looking forward to a citrus ginger mix from Pampered Chef.)

With one problem solved, another came to light - what to do with all those whole wheat tortillas I had cut up. My son suggested that if I just pushed them close together on a plate and melted cheese over the top, they would hold together enough for a quesadilla. As we discussed what to make that doesn't require the tortilla to be rolled up, my hubby suggested enchilada casserole. Oh... one of my favorite dishes. Of course, this idea had to be tested immediately, so I pulled out my basic enchilada recipe and went to work on de-carbing it as much as possible. Substitutions of spelt flour, low carb tortillas, and cream dropped the carb count a good deal, and the result was heavenly. Before adaptations, this recipe would be 14.9 grams of carbohydrates per serving made with corn tortillas or 19.4 grams per serving made with flour tortillas. My final count was 8 grams per serving. (I figured on 8 servings from this large casserole dish.) Hubby and I each had a helping for lunch and decided that this dish is worthy of being served to guests. (Add a lovely green salad and a light, low sugar dessert for an excellent meal.)

Here's the recipe:

Low Carb Enchilada Casserole

• 1/4 butter (0 carbs)
• 1/4 spelt flour (19 net carbs - This is only slightly lower than regular flour, but I purchased the spelt flour yesterday and wanted to try it in a white sauce. It, combined with the cream, made a pretty thick sauce, and so I think this amount could be reduced. Next time, I'll probably try it with an 1/8 of cup to see if that will be enough.)
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream (0 carbs)
• 1/2 cup water (0 carbs - The original recipe calls for two cups of milk to make the cheese sauce. However, since the heavy cream is so much thicker than milk, I reduced the cream and added some water to make it closer to the consistency I needed for the sauce.)
• 8 ounces of shredded cheese (0 carbs - I had a package of pre-mixed "pizza" cheese in the fridge, but the Mexican cheese mixture would be good, too. My guys like white cheese in their enchiladas, but cheddar or Colby Jack would also work. The package I had, listed the carb count as less than 1 gram per serving. When I looked up each cheese individually, two were listed as less than 1 gram and the other two were listed as 0 grams. Thus, I counted it as zero, though there could be 1 or 2 grams in the total package.)
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions (2.4 net carbs)
• 1 can of chunk chicken (0 net carbs -  I used a 13 ounce can of chicken packed in water, but if you have leftover baked, grilled, or broiled chicken, just shred it instead.)
• 4 1/2 low carb tortillas (27 net carbs - I used Tortilla Factory whole wheat tortillas which have 6 net carbs each. Regular flour tortillas come in at about 22 carbs each, while corn tortillas have about 8 carbs each. While the corn tortillas don't have many more carbs, they are only about half the size of the tortillas I used. Thus, I figured it would take about nine corn tortillas to complete the recipe.)
• 10 ounce enchilada sauce (18 net carbs - I used Old El Paso green sauce.)
• Chipotle sauce to taste (0 carbs)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Make the cheese sauce.
Melt butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. While the butter melts, combine the cream and water in a  container with a lid. Stir or shake to mix. Add spelt flour and cover the container. Shake the flour and cream mixture to combine well. Once the butter has completely melted and begins to bubble, add the flour/cream combo all at once. (If you have lumps left after shaking, just use a whisk once the mixture is in the pan.) Stir continuously until the sauce thickens and bubbles. Continue cooking and stirring for one or two minutes after the sauce bubbles. Remove the pan from heat and add grated cheese. (Now is the time to add some chipotle sauce to give it a little more flavor.) Stir until cheese melts completely.

Put together the casserole.
Coat a large casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Place 1.5 tortillas in a single layer in the bottom of the pan. (Cutting the tortillas into triangles makes it easier to make them fit an oval dish.) Add 1/3 of the cheese sauce, half of the green onions, and half of the chicken. Place another layer of 1.5 tortillas, followed by another 1/3 of the cheese sauce and the remaining chicken and green onions. Place a final layer of 1.5 tortillas on top. Mix the enchilada sauce with the remaining 1/3 of the cheese sauce and pour/spread it over the top of the casserole.

Bake for 30 minutes.
The casserole is easier to cut if it sets up a little after being removed from the oven. Let it rest about 10 minutes, and then enjoy. (It is also great leftover!)

Makes 8 servings @ 8 grams of net carbs per serving.

Of course, you could add chopped tomatoes, black olives, green chilies, etc. Just be sure to check the carb count for each ingredient.

 

Low Carb Tortilla Chips

1 package Mission Carb Balance Tortillas (6 net carbs per tortilla - Trust me. Use this brand.)
Salt, pepper, or other seasonings to taste (most are 0 net carbs, but check the label.)

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
• Cut the tortillas into 8 pieces.
• Arrange the pieces on the baking sheet. Spray lightly, and salt liberally.
• Bake for 5 minutes.
• Remove from oven and turn the chips over. Apply more seasoning if desired. (I usually add pepper or some other flavor at this point to complement the salt on the other side.)
• Bake another 5 minutes until golden brown and crispy.
• Remove from baking sheet and allow to cool.
• These will keep several days in an airtight container.