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lowcarbcooksnook  

 

 

 

 

 

Southwest Skewers

 

 

1 bottle (8 ounces) Italian salad dressing (find the lowest in carbs)

2 teaspoons minced garlic from a jar or 10 garlic cloves minced

1 teaspoon white pepper

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon paprika (I used Spanish paprika)

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 medium green pepper, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 medium sweet red pepper, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 medium onion, cut into 1-inch wedges

8 large mushrooms

8 cherry tomatoes

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes

 

In a bowl, combine first seven ingredients and mix well. Pour half into a large marinating dish and add vegetables. Seal dish and rotated to cover vegetables. Pour remaining marinade into another smaller marinating dish and add chicken. Refrigerate both containers for at least 2-3 hours.

Coat grill rack with non-stick cooking spray before starting grill. Drain chicken, discarding marinade. Drain vegetables, reserving marinade to use while basing. On 4 skewers thread chicken pieces. On 4 skewers thread vegetables. Grill, covered, over medium heat for several minutes until chicken is no longer pink and vegetables are tender, turning and basting frequently with reserved marinade. Yield: 4 servings.

 

Southwestern Chicken « Grace2882’s Weblog

 

 

1-1/4 lbs large shrimp, raw, peeled, tail on
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 large pinch crushed red pepper flakes, or more to taste
2 teaspoons lemon grass paste
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, minced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
8 wooden skewers, soaked for an hour in warm water

Place the shrimp in a bowl. Mix remaining ingredients. Reserve a couple of tablespoons of the mixture and pour the rest over the shrimp. Marinate, chilled, for no more than an hour. Thread the shrimp on the skewers and grill for about two minutes per side. Drizzle with the reserved marinade and serve immediately. Serves 8 as an hors-d’oeuvre or 4 as a main course.

NOTE: This can also be done on a cast-iron griddle or heavy skillet on top of the stove, or under your oven broiler.

 

 

 

 

Frozen Chocolate Kisses

1 cup whipped heavy cream

6 oz. cream cheese (softened)

2 tbs sour cream

1/8 cup heavy cream

1/8 cup water

1 package Jell-O Sugar Free Instant Chocolate Pudding

Whip 1 cup cream and set aside. In a separate bowl, cream the cream cheese. Add in sour cream, heavy cream, and water. Mix well. Stir in pudding powder and blend well. Fold into whipped cream until well mixed. Using a pastry bag with a star tip, pipe Hershey sized kisses onto a sheet pan covered with wax paper or parchment paper. Place in freezer until solid, then store in container in freezer.

Makes approx 150 kisses.
Each kiss has:
Calories - 8
Fat - 0.7
Cholesterol - 2 mg
Sodium - 12 mg
Carbs - 0.2
Fiber - 0
Protein - 0.1

These are really good so keep track of how many you pop in your mouth in one setting!

 

 

 

 

AVOCADO DIP

1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds

2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 ripe avocadoes, preferably the Haas avocadoes which dark green, nubbly skins
3 tablespoons tahini
Juice from 2 lemons, about 4 tablespoons
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt to taste

Pimento, for garnish

TOAST In a small skillet, toast the cumin until aromatic, then grind in a mortar and pestle (see TIPS) or a spice grinder.

MASH With a mortar and pestle or the tines of a fork, mash the garlic and salt until the garlic becomes soft and almost creamy. Add the remaining ingredients and mash until quite smooth.

TO MAKE AHEAD Transfer the mixture to a glass storage container, tuck a pit into the center. Cover with plastic wrap that directly touches the surface, then the cover.

SERVE Scoop all the avocado out of the skins, trim the edges with scissors if needed or to make slightly more shallow. Wash and dry, then fill with the avocado dip. Top with pimento, if desired.


KITCHEN NOTES
I've only had a mortar and pestle for a year or two but am surprised how often I pull it out. It's quite small, however, so after mashing the garlic and salt, and the toasted cumin seeds, I mixed the dip in a mixing bowl just using the back of a wooden spoon. Worked like a charm!
HOW TO RIPEN AVOCADOES: Grocery store avocados are often not yet ripe enough for eating. Put them into a paper bag and leave out on the counter until the skin depresses slightly with a gentle squeeze.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 medium or 6 small zucchini, about 1 pound before trimming
3 tablespoons butter, melted
Salt and pepper

Cut each medium zucchini in half lengthwise and then again crosswise and place on a baking sheet. If using small zucchini, just cut them once lengthwise. Brush the cut sides with butter; season lightly with salt and pepper. Broil 5-6 inches from the heat for 10-12 minutes until tender.

Makes 3 servings

Per Serving: 120 Calories; 12g Fat; 2g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 2g Net Carbs

I found this in an old Betty Crocker cookbook. I think it tastes very good but I overcooked mine by accident. I was busy with some pork chops and left the zucchini under the broiler a little too long. I suggest watching it more closely than I did. Also, go easy on the salt. Because the zucchini shrinks as it cooks, the salt will become more concentrated. Click the photo to see a closeup.

 

Linda's Low Carb Menus & Recipes

 

This recipe is courtesy of The LowCarbRecipeBox http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/LowCarbRecipeBox/

If you would like to request a recipe from the LowCarbRecipeBox,
click here ~~>  I have a Recipe Request!

  

 

Low-carb Cook's Nook 

HOW TO GET TO THE CHATROOM:

If you are on AOL, click here:  lowcarbcooksnook or IM FOOD Magic 

If you are on AIM, IM Kasparcat, and I will Lasso you into the chat!

....from Reader's Digest:
The teacher in our Bible Class asked a woman to read from the Book of Numbers about the Israelites wandering in the Desert....
"The Lord heard you when you wailed, 'If only we had meat to eat," she began.  "Now the Lord will give you meat.  You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, or ten or twenty days,
but for a month - until you loathe it."  The woman paused, looked up, and said, "Hey, isn't that the Atkins diet?

 

 

3 eggs whites
Pinch cream of tartar
8 packets True Lime or the juice and zest of 2 limes *
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup granular Splenda or equivalent liquid Splenda **
16 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 large eggs
2 packets True Lemon
Dash ground nutmeg
Dash cinnamon

In a large mixing bowl beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and True Lime with a mixer until very frothy and thick. Add the heavy cream and beat until somewhat thickened. Then add the sweetener and beat well.

Gradually blend the softened cream cheese into the egg white mixture on low speed until the mixture is very thick. Add the 2 whole eggs and mix well. Add a packet or two of True Lemon, a dash of nutmeg, and a dash of cinnamon and beat into the cheesecake batter.

Pour the cheesecake batter into a 6x9" nonstick baking pan sprayed with cooking spray and spread evenly in the pan. Bake at 400ş for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on the edges of the cheesecake. Cool and chill at least 4 hours before serving. Top with whipped cream, if desired.

Makes 8 small servings
Freezing not recommended

* Two limes will yield about 1/4 cup juice and 2 tablespoons zest. Using fresh juice instead of True Lime only adds about 2 extra carbs to the whole cheesecake. The zest adds only a trace amoutn of carbs.

** Jimmy used 1/2 cup of erythritol. If you use that, you'll need to adjust the carb count accordingly. I used liquid Splenda equivalent to 1 cup of sugar because I didn't think it was sweet enough (see my comments below).

With granular Splenda:
Per Serving: 307 Calories; 29g Fat; 6g Protein; 6g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 6g Net Carbs

With liquid Splenda:
Per Serving: 295 Calories; 29g Fat; 6g Protein; 3g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 3g Net Carbs

Because I didn't have enough packets of True Lime on hand, I used the juice and zest of 2 fresh limes. I did use the 2 packets of True Lemon listed but I probably got closer to the equivalent of one packet by the time I scraped it out of the wrappers. My True Lemon and True Lime have turned hard and gummy due to the high humidity here in Houston and that makes them difficult to work with. I usually have to scrape the goo out of the packets and dissolve it in a little hot water to make it usable.

After seeing how the batter came out, I'm not sure if it's really necessary to beat the egg whites and heavy cream first before adding the cream cheese and other ingredients. Once I'd added the cream to the egg whites, they deflated and the cream wouldn't get very thick. In the end, the batter was pretty much the same consistency as any other cheesecake batter. I think it would have been easier to beat the cream cheese first and add the liquid ingredients to it gradually. It's easier to keep the cream cheese smooth doing it that way. I did get my batter smooth eventually, but by then it had thinned down quite a bit. Because Jimmy's mixing method is so unique, it's hard to say if beating the egg whites first made any difference in the final product or not.

I ended up using twice as much sweetener as Jimmy called for. I didn't think my batter tasted sweet enough and things made with Splenda tend to lose a bit of their sweetness with baking anyway. After baking it, the cheesecake is quite tart and not all that sweet.

Linda's Low Carb Menus & Recipes

 

 

§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
The Low-carb Cook's Nook Presents
§"The Eating of the Greens"§
St Patrick's Day Recipes from
the Low-carb Kitchen

Come join us this week
for Irish good cheer and good food.
The Pot of Gold at the end of the rainbow is filled with 

corned beef and cabbage and other assorted GREEN veggies on the side,
even a few dessert ideas!
When?  Thursday, March 12th, 2009 9-11pm EST 
Where?  lowcarbcooksnook
Who? FOOD Magic, F00D Angel, and YOU!

HOW TO GET TO THE CHATROOM:

If you are on AOL, click here:  lowcarbcooksnook or IM FOOD Magic (those are capital o's in FOOD) or F00D Angel (those are zero's in F00D).

If you are on AIM, send yourself a Chat Invitation, to go to the room "lowcarbcooksnook" (without the quotation marks).  If you have any difficulty with that, IM Kasparcat, we will lasso you into the room.

Can't make it? Don't worry... a little leprechaun always posts the recipes for our Low-carb Cook's Nook Chats at: Low-Carb Cook's Nook - AOL Message Boards

 

Bring your favorite recipes and requests...
Hope to see you at the chat on Thursday!

 

The Low-Carb Cook's Nook Presents...
Vegging Out in the Nook with Magic & Angel

Can you do Low-carb as a vegetarian?
Are you looking for Meatless recipes if for Lent?

It's pretty close to impossible to go full vegan,
but if you eat fish, eggs, dairy, and soy,
the answer is a resounding YES.
Whether you are vegetarian, "pressed" for Lenten recipes,
worried about Mad Cow disease, looking to cut meat-costs, or just looking for some new LC cooking ideas with a little bite,
THIS is the chat for you!

Join us for an evening of meatless Low-carb recipes.
When? Thursday, February 28, 2009, 9-11 pm ET
Where?     lowcarbcooksnook

Who? FOOD Magic and F00D Angel and YOU! 

    HOW TO GET TO THE CHATROOM IF YOU ARE ON AIM:

Invite yourself to a Buddy Chat to go to the room "lowcarbcooksnook" (all one word, lower case, without the quotation marks).  If you have any difficulty with that, IM Kasparcat or WildAngel6, we will lasso you into the room.

 

Can't make it this week?

A

 

-----------------
Forwarded Message:

Subj: Bowl 'em Over with Low-carb This Sunday  Date: 1/28/2009 3:11:51 P.M. Pacific Standard Time From: FOOD Magic To: FOOD Magic Right-click picture(s) to display picture options

It's Superbowl Sunday!  Can You Score 
 Low-Carb?

Planning a Super Bowl Party?
What to make that's tasty AND low-carb ??
Come join FOOD Magic & F00D Angel ... come share and swap 
new ideas and recipes, 

Bring your favorites to share and compare!

When:  Thursday, January 29th, 2009, 9-11 pm eastern time
Where: lowcarbcooksnook  
Who: FOOD Magic, F00D Angel, and YOU!
Virtual Refreshments will be served!

HOW TO GET TO THE CHATROOM:

If you are on AOL, click here:  lowcarbcooksnook or IM FOOD Magic (those are capital o's in FOOD) or F00D Angel (those are zero's in F00D).

If you are on AIM, send yourself a Chat Invitation, to go to the room "lowcarbcooksnook" (without the quotation marks).  If you have any difficulty with that, IM Kasparcat or WildAngel6, we will lasso you into the room.

 

If you aren't on AOL, you will need AIM to get into the chat.   You can download it free from www.AIM.com.  If you don't want to download AIM, try AIMExpress.

As always, recipes from this and prior Low Carb Cook's Nook Chats
are posted at Low-Carb Cook's Nook - AOL Message Boards

http://messageboards.aol.com/aol/en_us/articles.php?boardId=495619&func=3&channel=US+Food

Stand and CHEER for this nifty Low-carbing SuperBowl article:   

Kicking the Super Bowl carbs

 

Hope to see you at the chat!

Your emcee,

~Rani & Laura~

FOOD Magic

-----------------
Forwarded Message:

Subj: A Wok on the Wild Side... Oriental Lowcarbing in the Cook's Nook  Date: 1/21/2009 5:22:11 P.M. Pacific Standard Time From: FOOD Magic To: FOOD Magic Right-click picture(s) to display picture options

Kung Hei Fat Choy
A HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR TO ALL ...

in the YEAR of the Ox!

The Low-carb Cook's Nook
presents
A Wok On The Wild Side!
 January 26th is the start of the Chinese New Year. 
In honor of the Year of the Ox, let's take a
"Wok" on over to the Low-carb Cook's Nook Chat
for a night of tasty tidbits of all kinds of Oriental foods,
from Chinese stir-fries to low-carb Pad Thai to soups,
fried "rice" to egg foo yung . 

Bring your chopsticks and join FOOD Magic & F00D Angel on
Thursday, January 21st , 4707,  9-11 pm ET at the Lowcarbcooksnook 

HOW TO GET TO THE CHATROOM:

If you are on AOL, click here:  lowcarbcooksnook or IM FOOD Magic (those are capital o's in FOOD) or F00D Angel (those are zero's in F00D).

If you are on AIM, send yourself a Chat Invitation, to go to the room "lowcarbcooksnook" (without the quotation marks).  If you have any difficulty with that, IM Kasparcat or WildAngel6, we will lasso you into the room.

 

Join us for "Jai," the traditional dish served for the Chinese New Year.   As you can see, other than the mung-bean noodles and arrowroot, it IS low-carb!

Want some dessert to go with that?  

Now here is a gift to you from F00DAngel: 

No Carb Fortune Cookies

LOL... Online Fortune Cookies have no carbs!  :)

Hashed Breakfast Cauliflower, My Tweak

 

Faux Cous Cous
by Patty Wallace

2 cups cauliflower florets
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
1 tablespoon dried currants
Salt and pepper to taste

Place cauliflower florets in a food processor and pulse until very finely chopped, about the size of couscous grains; set aside.

In a pan with a tight-fitting lid, sauté onions in olive oil over medium heat until translucent. Add garlic and sauté another minute or two. Add the curry powder, cumin, and cinnamon and cook until fragrant. Add the cauliflower and sauté several minutes until heated through. Add water, chicken bouillion, and currants. Bring to a boil then immediately reduce heat to low and cover pan. Let steam for about 10 minutes.

Servings: 4

Nutrition Information (per serving):

Calories: 91
Fat: 7g
Protein: 2g
Carbohydrates: 7g
Dietary Fiber: 2g
Net Carbs: 5g Patty Mae's Low Carb Recipes - Faux Cous Cous

 

The bird's the word in the following days to Thanksgiving. Turkey soon leads to leftovers, but there's no need for them to be anything but savory and delectable.

Just pre-bake the oopsie crust and pre-cook and chop turkey in advance, mix the ingredients together when ready, and bake. The Alfredo sauce can be home-made, as well!

Just think-- in 30 minutes, your tastebuds will be exalting your fantastic acumen from the frosty autumn rooftops.

Turkey Pot Pie

Crust: Oopsie roll dough

3 ounces cream cheese
3 eggs, separated
1/8 tsp cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Beat whites with cream of tartar for 3-5 minutes or until stiff peaks form. In a separate bowl, mix yolks with cream cheese. Combine the two bowls carefully, folding ingredients together until just blended.

Pour batter into 2 greased 9" pie pans and bake for 30 minutes. Makes 2 crusts (this recipe uses only 1 crust).

Filling:

1 cup Alfredo sauce
1 cooked, chopped turkey
1 can Veg-All

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine filling ingredients. Pour into prepared, baked crust.

Topping:
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Top casserole with cheese and bake at 350 degrees until cheese is bubbly, about 30 minutes.

Makes 8 servings.

Nutritional Information: Calories: 462, Carbohydrates: 9 g, Fiber: 2 g, Net Carbohydrates: 7 g, Protein: 21 g, Fat: 40 g

 

Low Carb Examiner: Quick dinner idea: Turkey pot pie recipe

 

 

 

 

1 tablespoon oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup spicy brown or Dijon mustard *
2 tablespoons dry white wine
3/4 cup parmesan cheese, the kind in a green can, 3 ounces
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
8 chicken thighs, bone-in and skin on *
Salt, to taste

Combine the oil and garlic in a pie plate. Let stand about 5 minutes. Add the mustard and wine to the oil. In another pie plate, mix the parmesan cheese, paprika and cayenne. Coat the chicken with the mustard mixture then coat well with the parmesan cheese mixture on all sides. Place the chicken in a non-stick foil-lined 9x13" baking pan and sprinkle any remaining parmesan cheese mixture over each piece of chicken. Bake at 350ş 75-90 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the coating is golden brown. My boneless chicken thighs took 60 minutes.

Makes 8 servings

* This is what Dana's recipe called for but I removed the bones from mine because I think they're easier to eat without them. I did leave the skin on. I used spicy brown mustard on mine.

Per Serving: 273 Calories; 20g Fat; 21g Protein; 1g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 1g Net Carb

This recipe is from Dana Carpender's blog. Although I'm not big mustard user, this was quite nice and has a very unique flavor. Dana didn't say to season the chicken with salt so I didn't because I figured the cheese would be salty enough. I think you may want to at least lightly salt the chicken after coating it. Click the photo to see a close-up.

Linda's Low Carb Menus & Recipes