Here are some of my favourite low-carb recipes, some I invented myself and others I have picked up along the way. Enjoy!
Pesto Pork Medallions
3 pork loins
1 c pesto sauce (from Costco, or make your own)
2 cans sliced mushrooms, drained (I like Money’s from Costco)
1 cup cream (or cream cheese)
Lard
Slice loins into ½” thick medallions and saute in lard over medium heat, add mushrooms and cream, lower heat and stir in pesto and cream. Serve hot or can be stored in freezer and gently reheated.
Beef Shortribs
5 lbs beef shortribs
medium onion, sliced
1 whole garlic, chopped
3 cans sliced mushrooms, drained (I like Money’s from Costco)
½ c porcini mushrooms
3 bay leaves
Lard (or butter)
beef bouillon
½ l red wine (optional)
brown shortribs in lard, layer in dutch oven with other ingredients (or other heavy stove-top pot or crock pot), add bay leaves, red wine and bouillon to cover, cook with lid on over low heat for 3 hours or until beef is tender
To thicken sauce, remove ribs, discard bay leaves and run the sauce through a food processor, return to pan and reduce before placing ribs back in. Can be stored in freezer.
Very Complicated Chicken Curry
4 lbs chicken thighs (skin on)
curry powder
red peppers
lard
melt lard in the bottom of a dutch oven (or other heavy stove-top pot or crock pot), add chicken and cover liberally with curry powder, cover and cook on low heat for about 3 hours, stirring occasionally, add chopped red peppers at the 2-1/2 hour point.
Serve with steamed cauliflower. I like to use as a little mango pickle as a condiment
Hot Chicken Thighs
2 lbs chicken thighs, skin on
Hy’s Seasoning Salt
Frank’s Hot Sauce
Sprinkle seasoning salt on the chicken, bake at 400 F for about 30 minutes, toss with hot sauce and serve.
BBQ Pork Chops
Thick boneless pork chops (Costco’s are best)
Worchestershire sauce
Montreal Chicken seasoning (from Costco)
Olive oil
Score both sides of pork chops with sharp knife
Toss with other ingredients and marinate for an hour
(extra pieces, uncooked, can be put in freezer bags and frozen for later use)
BBQ over medium-high heat
Can be stored in fridge and reheated or served cold with Dijon mustard.
Steak Marinade
¼ cup olive oil
2 T Tabasco sauce
2 t salt
6 cloves garlic
crush garlic
mix ingredients
marinate steaks for about 1 hour
(this is a little spicy hot)
My Favourite Salad Dressing
2 T olive oil
2 t white wine vinegar (or plain white vinegar)
2 t balsamic vinegar
2 T Hellman’s mayonnaise
salt
coarsely ground pepper
pinch of Equal
whisk ingredients together in a small bowl
toss with salad greens
Blueberry Pecan Feta Salad
Organic mixed salad greens
1 cup fresh blueberries
½ cup crumbled feta
¼ cup chopped pecans
My Favourite Salad Dressing
Toss ingredients in large salad bowl
Serve with BBQ Pork Chops
Never Boring Breakfast Fritata
6 eggs
cheese (Swiss, Gruyere or cheddar)
½ cup cream
chopped chives (or small amount of finely sliced onion)
salt
pepper
Mix eggs, cream, chives, salt and pepper in bowl
(if using onions, saute them in butter in large frying pan)
Apply medium heat to large frying pan, melt some butter and pour in egg mixture
Place cheese slices on top
Cook over low heat for a couple of minutes
Place under broiler until golden brown
Slide from pan to cutting board and cut into wedges for serving
Leftovers can be kept in fridge and reheated in microwave
Serve with bacon, sliced tomato and Hellmans mayonnaise
Goes well with Franks Hot Sauce for added flavour
Yummy Tomato Sauce
I large can Italian tomatoes (make sure they are from Italy)
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
course pepper
salt
chopped basil (fresh or dried)
olive oil
saute onion and garlic in liberal amount of olive oil
add tomatoes, basil, pepper and heat for a few minutes (don’t overcook)
put in food processor and run until smooth
salt to taste
can be stored in freezer
Excellent Eggplant and Feta Appetizer
I medium eggplant
Feta cheese
Olive oil
Yummy Tomato Sauce
Cut eggplant into thick slices, toss with olive oil and grill until soft on BBQ (can be done in advance and stored in fridge)
Place cooked eggplant slices on baking sheet, cover with slabs of feta cheese and place under broiler until cheese is golden.
Spoon 1 – 2 T warm tomato sauce onto each plate and place 1 eggplant slice in sauce.
Makes a great appetizer or larger portion can be light dinner.
Faux Mashed Potatoes
1 large cauliflower
1 can mushrooms, drained (or fresh mushrooms)
2 cloves garlic
1 small onion
1 cup cream
butter
salt
course pepper
Wash cauliflower, break into florets, steam until tender and drain.
Drain mushrooms and saute with onions and garlic in liberal amount of butter.
Add drained cauliflower, cream, salt and pepper.
Place in food processor, mix until smooth.
Leftover Beef and Mushroom Ragout
½ – 1 lb cooked beef (from roast or leftover steak)
1 or 2 cans mushrooms, drained (from Costco)
1 whole garlic
1 cup cream
course pepper
salt
drain mushrooms and saute in liberal amount of butter or olive oil, add
thinly sliced beef and chopped garlic
when mixture is warmed add cream and seasonings
cook over low heat for a few minutes and serve
Roasted Cauliflower
1 large cauliflower
olive oil
course salt
cut cauliflower into florets, wash and drain
toss with liberal amount of olive oil and coarse salt
place on baking sheet and bake at 350 F, tossing every 15 min. until tender (about 40 min)
Delicious Balsamic Asparagus
1 lb fresh asparagus
butter
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
parmesan cheese
trim, rinse and drain asparagus
Melt butter in large frying pan and add balsamic vinegar
Add asparagus, cover and saute until tender
Place on plate and cover with shaved parmesan
Creamed Spinach
2 packages frozen spinach (or equivalent fresh spinach)
small onion
3 cloves garlic
3 Tbsp butter
1 cup cream
1 cup grated parmesan
pinch of nutmeg
lightly saute onion and garlic in butter
add spinach and stir over medium heat
add cream, parmesan, nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste
Process in food processor until smooth (optional)
Can be frozen for later use
Roast Cauliflower with Cheese
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 pound Monterey Jack cheese, coarsely grated
2 cups grated Parmesan
6 ounces goat cheese, cut into small pieces
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Layer the cauliflower, heavy cream, and the 3 cheeses in a medium casserole dish. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 to 30 minutes or until the cauliflower is soft and the sauce has thickened slightly. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Low-Carb Chocolate Pecan Ice Cream
1 l. whipping cream
1/2 a vanilla bean (optional)
1 tbsp vanilla extract
9 egg yolks
5 packets Twin
5 packets Equal
3 tbsp unsweetened chocolate powder (I get mine from Whole Foods)
1 cup pecans
cut the 1/2 vanilla bean lengthwise and toss it in with the cream
heat in a double-boiler or saucepan over low heat – don’t bring to a boil
chop pecans to peppercorn size and place in freezer
put the egg yolks into a food processor (chopper or blender)
add vanilla extract and chocolate, remove vanilla bean from cream and scrape out the seeds, add to the egg mixtures
spoon about 1/2 cup of the hot cream into egg mixture and process until smooth, stir mixture into remaining hot cream
continue to heat, stirring until custard thickens a little (don’t boil),
remove from heat and stir in artificial sweeteners
cool to room temperature then chill in freezer for an hour
pour into churn, turn on, set timer for 15 minutes (more, if needed)
add chilled pecans when nearly done
serve garnished with a sliced strawberry
For Maple Walnut flavour, omit the chocolate and pecans, add 1 tbsp maple extract to custard and, instead of pecans, use chopped walnuts sauted in butter, sprinkled with 1 packet of Equal and chilled in freezer.
Store in freezer in ½ cup Glad containers, or you’ll eat too much!
(I get them from Canadian Tire)
It is best to use an ice-cream maker that doesn’t require ice. I use a Cuisinart 2 qt. size that I got at the Bay for about $100
1-minute low-carb chocolate cake
1/4 cup ground pecans or almonds
2T butter
1 egg
3T granular Splenda or equvalent
1/4 t baking powder
1T unsweetened chocolate powder
1T water
In a 2-cup pyrex measuring cup or small microwaveable
bowl mix ground almonds or pecans, Splenda, baking powder and
chocolate powder.
In separate small dish, melt the butter in microwave. Mix the water
and egg with the butter. Add to dry ingredients and mix.
Cover with plastic wrap and make a couple slits in the top. Microwave
HIGH for 1min, 10sec or until done. Flip out of bowl onto cutting board to cool.
Will appear moist at first but will set up nicely in a minute.
Can be scaled up to make layer cake. I do this for the kids birthdays and I use whipped cream and berries in place of icing.
Low-Carb Almond Cookies
2 c almond flour
½ c Splenda
½ c soft butter
1 t vanilla extract
1 t almond extract
preheat oven to 300F
place balls of dough on cookie sheet
bake for 5 minutes
press lightly with fork
bake for another 15 min
let cool
2-Minute Breakfast Souffle
2 eggs
2 oz cheese
2 Tbsp Cream
salt and pepper
chop cheese finely
whisk ingredients in small microwaveable bowl
microwave on high for 1-1/2 minute, stir and microwave for another 30 sec.