Pages

6/22/16

Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies! No sugar, no white flour but oh so good!


This is my 'go to' chocolate chip cookie recipe when I do not want to use flour or sugar.  

Although I like to bake on parchment lined sheets, almond flour cookies and baked goods like to stay very moist and sometimes fall apart too easily if they are not baked a little longer than regular flour/sugar versions.  After some trial and error I've found that using one of my older 'darkened' cookie sheets gives these cookies the more sturdy foundation they need to not be too moist, to the point where they want to stick to each other when stored.  It's a very traditional chocolate chip cookie style, but none of the flour or sugar to weigh down your digestive system or pump your system full of sugar.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 c butter
1 1/2 c sugar substitute of your choice 
1 1/2 t black strap molasses
2 eggs
1 c almond flour or fine almond meal
1 c Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
1/4 c wheat bran (or oat bran)
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 c chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
1- 8 oz Bag of Sugar Free Chocolate Chips


Preheat your oven to 375. Beat the sweetener equivalent to 1 1/2 cup, with the butter and molasses until well mixed. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well. In another bowl stir the ground almonds, whey powder, wheat or oat bran, baking soda and salt. Add this to the butter/sweetener mixture about 1/2 cup at a time to incorporate.

Stir in the nuts and chocolate chunks or chips. Drop by tablespoons onto a sprayed/greased cookie sheet. Form into nicely shaped rounds and flatten a bit with your hand. Bake for approximately 10 minutes, let cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes and then remove to a rack or counter to cool. The original recipe said each cookie yields about 3 carbs.






Print Friendly and PDF

6/14/16

Homemade Cheese Balls








Homemade Cheese Balls


Play with the ingredients in this recipe. Use different cheeses, add jalapeno, add crumbled bacon, some chipolte, use only cheese but mix in smoked provolone, smoked gouda and cheddar, add chopped shrimp, crab or lobster to make a seafood ball.. etc.

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) real butter
1-2 green onions, chopped
1/4 c flour (I used a hard white wheat I ground myself this time)
1 c milk
1 c mozzarella, shredded
1/2 c cheddar, shredded

1/2 c flour, extra for tossing with the cheese
oil for frying


Combine the shredded cheeses and extra flour in a bowl. Set aside.


Heat the butter in a saucepan, add green onions, cook briefly until soft and add the flour. Whisk until bubbling, stir in milk and heat until it thickens.

Combine the flour/milk mixture with the cheeses in a bowl. Stir until blended and let cool.


Form the mixture into small balls. (Roll in some panko crumbs if you wish.)

When all the balls are formed, heat your oil. Deep fry the cheese balls in hot oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve hot.








Print Friendly and PDF

6/13/16

When you can't or won't cook with alcohol... here are substitutions for alcohol of all sorts!

When it comes to substitutions in cooking I've never really had to worry about it because it comes naturally to me. I stop, think about what I want or need to substitute, an idea comes to me and it's done.  Some of them are so second nature I don't even think about it (like souring milk with lemon juice or vinegar in place of buttermilk).

So with 'substitutions' in mind I thought I should probably put a post up on An American Housewife...  but before I could post one, I saw this list and realized;  someone else already did it - and did a far more thorough and great job than I probably would have!  Ha.  So... without further adieu, a substitution list for when you can't or don't want to cook with alcohol.


Article originally published 2004 by What's Cooking America


  • Amaretto – Non-Alcoholic almond extract. Substitute 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon almond extract for 2 tablespoons Amaretto.
  • Anisette – Anise Italian soda syrup or fennel. Also use the herbs anise or fennel.
  • Beer or Ale – Chicken broth, beef broth, mushroom broth, white grape juice, or ginger ale.
  • Bourbon – 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons of non-alcoholic vanilla extract.
  • Brandy – Water, white grape juice, apple cider or apple juice, diluted peach or apricot syrups. Substitute equal amounts of liquid.
  • Champagne – Ginger ale, sparkling apple cider, sparkling cranberry juice, or sparkling white grape juice.
  • Coffee Liqueur – To replace 2 tablespoons of liqueur, use 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of chocolate extract mixed with 1 teaspoon of Pero® or Postum® powder, which has been mixed in 2 tablespoons of water.
  • Cognac – Juice from peaches, apricots, or pears.
  • Cointreau – Orange juice or frozen orange juice concentrate.
  • Creme de menthe – Spearmint extract or oil of spearmint diluted with a little water or grapefruit juice.
  • Grand Marnier or Orange-Flavored Liqueur – Unsweetened orange juice concentrate or orange juice. Substitute 2 tablespoons unsweetened orange juice concentrate or 2 tablespoons orange juice and 1/2 teaspoon orange extract for 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier.
  • Kahlua – Coffee or chocolate-flavored liqueur. Substitute 1/2 to 1 teaspoon chocolate extract or substitute 1/2 to 1 teaspoon Pero® or Postum® powder in 2 tablespoons water for 2 tablespoons Kahlua.
  • Kirsch – Syrup or juices from cherries, raspberries, boysenberries, currants, or cider. Substitute equal amounts of liquid.
  • Peppermint Schnapps – Non-alcoholic mint or peppermint extract, mint Italian soda syrup, or mint leaves.
  • Port Wine, Sweet Sherry, or Fruit-Flavored Liqueur – Orange juice or apple juice. Substitute equal amount of liquid.
  • Rum (light or dark) – Water, white grape juice, pineapple juice, apple juice or apple cider, or syrup flavored with almond extract. Substitute equal amounts of liquid.
  • Sake – Rice vinegar.
  • Sherry or Bourbon – Orange or pineapple juices, peach syrup, or non-alcoholic vanilla extract. Substitute equal amount of liquid 1 to 2 teaspoons vanilla extract.
  • Southern Comfort – Peach flavored nectar combined with a small amount of cider vinegar.
  • Tequila – Cactus juice or nectar.
  • Triple Sec – Orange juice concentrate, orange juice, orange zest or orange marmalade.
  • Vermouth, Dry – White grape juice, white wine vinegar, or non-alcoholic white wine.
  • Vermouth, Sweet – Apple juice, grape juice, balsamic vinegar, non-alcoholic sweet wine, or water with lemon juice.
  • Whiskey – If a small amount is called for, it can be eliminated.
  • Vodka – White grape juice or apple cider combined with lime juice or use plain water in place of the vodka.
  • Claret – Diluted grape juice or cherry cider syrup.
  • Gewurztraminer – White grape juice combined with lemon juice.
  • Grappa – Grape juice.
  • Port Wine – Concord grape juice with some lime zest added, cranberry juice with some lemon juice added, or grape juice concentrate. Substitute orange juice or apple juice for lighter ports.
  • Red Wine – Red grape juice, cranberry juice, chicken broth, beef broth, vegetable broth, clam juice, fruit juices, flavored vinegar. Substitute equal amount of liquid.
  • White Wine – Water, chicken broth, vegetable broth, white grape juice, ginger ale, white grape juice.
  • Sweet White Wine – White grape juice plus 1 tablespoons Karo corn syrup. Substitute equal amount of liquid.
Print Friendly and PDF

6/9/16

Homemade Macaroons (Macarons) Again - Just for fun, just for my family




I made something this week that left me with a few egg whites to use up so this morning I decided to whip up some macaron cookies to use up the egg whites.  I've already posted this recipe previously around Easter time with some 'mini' macaroons I had tinted pink.  These didn't have to be as pretty... and didn't have to be pink.  As a matter of fact I left them white and untinted with white buttercreme frosting in the middle but used a simple yellow jimmy sprinkle to add color since I chose to use "Princess" flavoring which the lemon citrus really stood out in today.

I have tried to make these completely sugar free previously.  They work 'ok' but not great when made sugar free.  The texture isn't the same and they stay 'sticky' and don't dry out to a nice meringue style crisp.  I don't usually bake or cook with sugar but I did for these.


Macarons  (Macaroons)

1 c confectioner's sugar
3/4 c almond flour
2 egg whites, room temperature
pinch of cream of tartar
1/4 c superfine granulated sugar
optional: 1-2 drops food color and 1/4 t flavor extract

Mix the confectioner's sugar and almond flour very well either by pulsing in a food processor until combined or using an electric stick blender or electric whisk, etc. It should be mixed very well and quite fine.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk whites with a mixer on medium speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar, and whisk until soft peaks form. Reduce speed to low, then add a drop or two of food color if you are using it, a drop or two of flavor extracts if you are using them, and the superfine white sugar. Increase speed to high, and whisk until stiff peaks form. Sift flour mixture over whites, and fold until mixture is smooth and shiny.

Transfer batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain round tip if you have one, or if not, leave the round 1/2 inch opening of the bag or the white plastic piece you would normally put a tip on, and pipe 3/4-inch rounds 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets.  Drag the pastry tip to the side of rounds rather than forming peaks.

Tap bottom of each sheet on work surface to release trapped air. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Bake 1 sheet at a time, rotating halfway through, until macarons are crisp and firm, about 10 minutes. After each batch, increase oven temperature to 375 degrees, heat for 5 minutes, then reduce to 325 degrees.


Let macarons cool on sheets for 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. (If macarons stick, spray water underneath parchment on hot sheet. The steam will help release macarons.)

Sandwich 2 same-size macarons with 1 teaspoon filling of your choice. Serve immediately, or stack between layers of parchment, wrap in plastic, and freeze for up to 3 months.













Print Friendly and PDF

Almond Flour & Whole Wheat Pasta made into Ravioli


This particular recipe is almond flour based - but it's not completely 100% wheat free.  It's not as important to me to find one completely wheat free now that I buy my own non-gmo, organic wheat berries and grind my own flour.  After I stopped buying the store-bought flour(s) on the market, we found the digestive issues, bloating, pain, etc. disappeared.  It wasn't a gluten issue, it was the stuff that passes for 'flour' in stores today. That's a whole topic, post... novel for another day.

But my point is... we do eat wheat flour now - Not a lot of it, but I keep our pantry stocked with healthy, real wheat berries I grind whenever I want to make something with flour in it.

The only homemade low carb almond flour pasta I've been happy with so far  has about 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour in it.  You can use blanched or unblanched almond flour - For the photos in todays version I used unblanched almond flour so it has more specs of brown in it, is a little darker in color and it is firmer than when I made it using blanched. It has quite a bite to it when you use whole wheat and whole ground almonds.  It's very filling.  I like my pasta with just butter, salt and pepper on it but obviously you can top it with any kind of sauce you wish.

The carb counts depend on what products you use as they vary so much!  If you cook and bake lower carb often, you also know the brand you use makes a tremendous difference in whether or not your product turns out at all.  One almond flour does not equal another even if they look similar.  Same with whey protein powders.  It's frustrating, but true.


Almond Flour Based Pasta 

1 heaping c almond flour (blanched makes a whiter, softer product. I used natural, unblanched for this batch which is firmer than usual)
1/2 c plus 2 T unflavored whey protein powder (mine has 0 carbs and 0 sugar)
1/3 c vital wheat gluten
1/2 c whole wheat flour
2 t xanthan gum
1 t salt
3 eggs

Combine the dry ingredients in a  mixing bowl.  Slightly beat the eggs and pour into a well in the center of the dry ingredients.  With a bread dough hook attachment on your mixer, lower it and turn on low to behind to slowly incorporate the eggs into the dry ingredients.  It should slowly 'grab' the dry from the edges of the bowl and continue mixing until it forms a ball of dough itself.  If it's too dry and it absolutely is not forming together even after about 4 minutes, drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil or water onto the edges - only 1/2 teaspoon at a time.  If it's too wet for some reason and won't form a ball, sprinkle a tiny bit of almond flour or wheat flour or even whey protein powder until it starts to come together.  In the photos below you can see I don't need to add anything nor touch it.  I just let it mix on its own and it forms a ball.

Turn the ball of dough out to a parchment paper and work it with your hands a bit to loosen it  up.  It's a little sticky but you could add a tiny bit of whole wheat flour to dust if you need to.  Cover with a piece of plastic and let it rest about 15-20 minutes.  Divide the ball into half if you are rolling out with a rolling pin and roll between two sheets of parchment paper to very, very thin.  Slice strips with a pizza cutter to make noodles, use a ravioli mold for ravioli or slice into wider sheets to use for lasagna.  If you are using a pasta machine, divide your dough into 4-6 small balls and proceed as your particular machine requires.  Mine is a manual pasta machine.  Photos below.  For noodles, cook in boiling water until tender, drain.  Season.




Eggs into the dry ingredients

Starting to mix - let it slowly incorporate itself

Didn't scrape down the bowl or force it to blend - just let it grab from the sides itself

It's forming a dough ball nicely

And it's a nice ball of dough

Stickier and harder to work with than wheat pasta... takes more time

Not as stretchy and smooth as flour based of course, but I got the job done

Putting together pieces into my ravioli mold

Filled with a basic egg, ricotta, garlic and parsley filling

Covered with more pasta and rolled to seal

Ready to freeze or cook in boiling water for a few minutes until done

Print Friendly and PDF

6/8/16

Drying Garden Basil




Basil is one of the easiest things to grow - it grows 'like a weed' usually!  And soon you have these beautiful little basil leaves ready to be used in your pasta dishes, your Italian sauces, your chicken or potato dishes... but because it does grow so well, you probably have more basil than you need.  No worries.  It's so easy to dry and store no matter how you choose to dry it.


Choose your basil from the garden
Rinse gently in cool water and pat dry or let air dry on a paper towel
If you have cut long stems of basil, simply tie the end with twine or string, or use a rubber band and hang a small bunch in a cool, dry place like your pantry. Within a week or so depending on your humidity level, your basil will be dry and ready for use.
If you have leaves;  
  • Microwave individual leaves on a paper towel with another paper towel covering, for 1 minute. Check your leaves, remove any smaller leaves that are dried and microwave the rest for another 30 seconds if needed.  They should be dried by now, if not, continue in 15 second increments.  
  • Oven: turn your oven on it's lowest setting.  I don't use this way because my ovens lowest setting is 175 and I find it's easier to microwave for 1 1/2 minutes or use my dehydrator.  Place on a paper towel on a baking sheet in the oven at your lowest setting and watch, turning over if need be, for anywhere from 8 minutes to 20 minutes depending on the temperature of your oven.
  • Dehydrator:  Place individual leaves on your racks,do not allow leaves to touch.  If you have an herb setting, use it.  Most lower cost dehydrators just have "on" and "off" so turn it on, your basil leaves should be done in about 2-4 minutes.  The longest mine have ever taken was 8 minutes and that is when they were put in the dehydrator wet from being rinsed.
  • If it's not too humid, you can also just place them on paper towels on the counter or in the sun coming through the window to  air dry.

Crush or crumble into your air tight container and use in your recipes.  I keep mine in an old BASIL spice jar I bought a few years ago at the grocery store and just keep refilling it as needed.  I do the same with our dill, red pepper flakes and cumin containers!










Print Friendly and PDF

6/7/16

Quick, Easy and Good - Pork Chops with Stuffing (great for a new or young cook, college student, etc)




This isn't a recipe we usually have in our house because it uses a stuffing mix - which I just normally don't purchase, nor do I like the taste of (I love stuffing but only homemade!).  My college aged daughter loves stuffing as much as I do and wanted to be able to have it at school so we sent along a few 'store bought' boxed versions.  When she came home for the summer she brought all her extra 'groceries' with her and we had a large package of stuffing mix. 

This is something that is fabulous with chicken or pork chops, is quick and easy so a young person, someone new to cooking, a college student or a young single guy like my son could throw together.  It is filling and tastes good, it's great as a comfort good or to serve if you have a couple people over at your house and need to put something on the table without much work.

Chicken or Pork Chops with Stuffing

Boneless chicken breasts or pork chops - 2, 3, 4
1 can mushroom soup
1 can mushrooms, drained (optional)
1 box of stuffing mix - store bought
water

In a pan, brown your pork chops or chicken breasts so they look great.  Season with salt and pepper.  Remove them to a plate and deglaze the pan; which just means to put about 1/2 cup water into the hot pan and while it's sizzling, gently scrape the bottom with a spoon or spatula to get the yummy browned pieces and flavoring from the pan into the liquid.  Stir this into a bowl with the soup mix and a can of water. 

Mix the stuffing with the water as directed on the box but you don't need the butter nor do you heat it.  Put the stuffing in a greased 9X13" or other baking pan.  Top with the chicken or pork chops.  Pour the soup/broth mixture over the meats. Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes or until the chicken or pork chops are done in the center.  If it's getting too dry you can cover the whole pan with aluminum foil to trap moisture in to finish.



Brown your pork chops or chicken breasts in a pan, seasoned with salt and pepper

Mix the stuffing mix til moist and put it in a pan or baking dish

You can add mushrooms, extra onions, peppers, etc. if you wish.

De-glaze the pan and add it to the soup mix - stir well

If you want the sauce to be thick, add less water. If you want it more gravy like, add a full can of water plus the de-glaze liquid

Ready to bake!











Print Friendly and PDF

6/5/16

Chocolate Zucchini Bread... Moist, dark and delicious with sugar free and wheat free options too



This is a recipe for the Chocolate Zucchini Bread I've been making since 1996 (?) but in the past few years I've tweaked it to make it sugar free and now, even wheat free with almond flour and whey protein powder (and sugar free chocolate chips).  But the original recipe is a keeper for those who are fine with baking with sugar and flour. When I posted this particular post in 2013 I used part flour and part almond flour.

This is a re-post from 2013.



Chocolate Zucchini Bread

1 3/4 - 2  c sugar or substitute equivilant
3 eggs
1 c oil (I used a mixture of sunflower, safflower and olive)
1 T vanilla
2 c zucchini - grated
3 scant cups flour
1/2 c cocoa
1 1/4 t salt
1 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
dash baking powder
1/2 c mini chocolate chips

Mix the sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla and zucchini in a bowl.  Mix the flour, cocoa, salt, soda and baking powder with the cinnamon in another bowl.  Add the dry to the wet, blend til uniformly moist. Stir in chocolate chips if you are using them.   Pour into two greased and lightly floured loaf pans.  Bake approximately 1 hour at 350 degrees until center is done.  Let cool 10 minutes in pan, turn out and let cool completely.  I like to wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerator overnight for the best flavor and texture.

This is great as is, but to make it a sweet dessert, you can mix up a simple cream cheese icing and serve with a smear.

Cream Cheese Icing Spread

3 c powdered sugar (or sugar substitute, Swerve, Just Like Sugar, etc. powdered version)
6 oz. cream cheese
5 T butter
1 t vanilla extract

Mix with electric mixer till smooth.





Print Friendly and PDF