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4/15/19

Tiramisu Recipes: Both regular sugar sweetened and a low carb, sugar free version!



Regular ladyfinger and sugar sweetener version from my post in 2009





Tiramisu

1 lb. mascarpone cheese or cream cheese if you can't find mascarpone easily
6 eggs, separated
24 Ladyfingers OR for low carb, make your own almond flour based shortbread cookies (below)
1/3 cup sugar or sweetener of choice for sugar free (I use a mix of 2-3 for best flavor: Ideal, Stevia, Truvia)
1/2 t vanilla
1 oz. brandy or amaretto
6 T espresso powder mixed with 1 cup boiling water
3 T cocoa (approximately)


Have the mascarpone or cream cheese room temperature or a bit softened in the microwave for easier mixing.  If you are adding the cheese cold, do so in tablespoons with the mixer running.

Mix the water and espresso together in a dish or bowl.  Add the amaretto or brandy.  Set aside.

Beat 3 of the egg whites until light and stiff. They will hold their shape when you lift the beaters.  Set aside.

Beat the 6 egg yolks, vanilla and sugar or sweetener until it's creamy, pale yellow and thick.  Add the mascarpone or cream cheese cheese. Continue beating until blended and smooth.  Fold the beaten egg whites into the mascarpone cheese mixture. Slowly and patiently.  Do not over mix and do not use an electric mixer or you will ruin it. Fold by hand until blended and light.

Dip each of the lady finger cookies quickly into the espresso and place in the bottom of a 9X13 dish or pan - although I sometimes use an 8X8 dish.  Do not let the cookie sit in the espresso; Just dip and remove.  When the bottom is covered, add half the mascarpone cheese and spread smooth. Sprinkle with cocoa.  Add another layer of dipped ladyfingers and another layer of mascarpone. Top it off by sprinkling the top of the dessert with cocoa to cover. Refrigerate overnight.


 

FOR HOMEMADE LOW CARB, WHEAT FREE SHORTBREAD COOKIES

If you are ok with some carbs, or can have gluten with no problem, then you can save yourself a lot of hassle by using store bought cookies.  However, I made these previously for homemade sugar free, low carb Twix and put the second half of the batch in the freezer for "some other day" so I was quickly able to throw together this Tiramisu using some leftover low carb, sugar free cookies from my freezer.  As a matter of fact, I used the shortbread but also a bag of low carb, sugar free sugar cookies. 

SHORTBREAD

2 c almond flour or hazelnut flour (love hazelnut for this but I don't always have that on hand like I do almond flour)
1 c butter
1/2 c sweetener of choice
1 egg
1/2 t salt
1/4 t baking powder
1 c vanilla flavored whey protein powder or 1 c unflavored whey protein powder with 2 t vanilla
2 T water

Preheat oven to 325.  Beat the butter light and fluffy then add your sweetener, beat and then add the egg and beat again.  Add the salt and baking powder along with half the ground nuts, beat briefly then add the rest of the nut flour.  Beat in the whey protein powder and the water.  The dough will be soft and sticky.  Line a shallow pan with parchment paper.  Place the dough on the parchment, cover with a second piece and roll gently out to a rectangle about 1/4" thick.  Peel off the top sheet and score into bars or squares.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden.  During this time you can carefully break them apart on the score marks; flip them and move the outside to the inside and inside bars to the outside for even baking.  I then turn the oven off and let them stay in until the oven cools, to crisp up, as almond flour cookies tend to be soft.  Store in the freezer or use in your favorite cookie recipe, or just eat them.








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For Tiramisu

The espresso powder and amaretto - ready for dipping the cookies!


The egg whites are beat


The yummy filling... beat smooth


Carefully fold in the whites...


Cookies dipped and layering with the filling, sprinkled with cocoa powder


Layered and ready to chill...










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4/13/19

Pot Roast - Crock Pot Cooked with Mushrooms and Green Onions



Although I do enjoy cooking (usually) and we eat all our meals at home and do not go out or order in, there are certainly days when I do not feel like cooking, or I have things to do and I know finding time between 5-6 pm to worry about what to make for our evening meal just won't be in the cards for me.

That is when the Crock Pot and my instant pot come in handy. 

Although I bought two roasts to grind into hamburger patties and chop into meat to freeze for later meals, I grabbed one of them out of the freezer and prepped it for cooking all day, leaving me free to accomplish 50 other tasks.  Pot roasts are just an easy 'fall back' meal.  Often made on Sundays so you can put it into the slow cooker that morning, head off to church, come home later and have dinner ready and waiting for you! 

Seasonings vary.  I hope readers just play around with whatever herbs and spices they love.  And honestly, some of the best tasting roasts have little more than salt and pepper along with some tasty vegetables cooked with it.  Typical would be carrots, onions and potatoes.  You don't even have to cut them.  Just peel and throw in withe roast to cook.

Today however, I took the time to sear my roast, and then used the pan to saute' some mushrooms and onions along with some garlic.  We are low carb right now so big sweet onions, potatoes and carrots are not on our menu.


Pot Roast in the Crock Pot

1 roast
1 T oil with 4 T butter
mushrooms
onions
garlic
salt and pepper
thyme
rosemary
2 T tomato paste
2 c beef broth

In a pan on the stove, heat the oil and butter. Salt and pepper your roast then in the hot pan, quickly sear both sides of the roast to give it color and seal in the juices.  Place into your slow cooker or Crock Pot.  Add bit of water to deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom - pour this over your roast.  Lower the heat, add a little more oil and butter and saute the mushrooms.  Use sliced, or baby mushrooms - whatever you wish and as many as you like.  As they start to turn golden brown, add about 3/4 cup of onions of your choice.  I love yellow onions but currently are using more green onions due to the carb counts/sugar levels.  As they continue to cook and get soft, add about one tablespoon fresh minced or chopped garlic. Only cook the garlic about 1 minute so it doesn't get bitter.  Now to the pan, add 2 cups broth and 2 T tomato paste.  Mix in, and then pour it all over the roast in the slow cooker.  Cook on high or low, depending on how much time you have before you plan to serve it.  Also, if you roast is thawed or frozen. Your meat won't 'burn' in the crock as it does have 2 cups liquid - so you can't overcook it.  I cook on high 5-6 hours if thawed and 8-10 hours if frozen. 












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4/12/19

Product Review Time! A beautiful and affordable farmhouse meets chic 8 pc comforter set in beige and cream



My regular readers might recall me mentioning over the past month or two, we are preparing for a big wedding in our family.  We have many close family members staying at our home that weekend, as well as being a 'home base' for out of town guests to gather.  In addition to all the wedding planning, I've been trying to brainstorm menu and food ideas and sprucing up the house and guest bedrooms in anticipation of the 25 people we will have staying at the house between Thursday and Tuesday!

Getting the guest rooms ready was perfect timing for a company that approached me to review one of their comforter sets.  Out of the links provided to choose from, there were bedding sets, quilt sets, comforters of all different styles and colors.  Mocha, olive green, lots of grays and ....  then I saw it.  A beautiful creamy beige, rustic chic meets a tiny bit of farmhouse style; with just enough of khaki brown trim and dark beige piping to add that 'something' special.

Once it arrived I couldn't stop smiling and I could not wait to share this with my readers!

Because... AFFORDABLE!  TOTALLY AFFORDABLE!  This particular set came with 8 pieces, so it was everything I needed to pull a new 'look' together for the bed quickly and easily.

http://www.housewifebarbie.com/2019/04/product-review-time-beautiful-and.html

EIGHT (8) pieces included!  Many Americans have the standard sham style but this one comes with both European (square) options as well as the rectangular American style shams.


IMPORTANT:  sizing.  Very generous sized (I got the queen set).  Here is a photo of the insert listing the sizes of each piece.




A close up of the stitching to show the different shades of beige, cream and khaki brown.  Just enough to add that special something without being overwhelming.




This twisted ruffle...  love love love.


Since it comes with not only the comforter, shams and bed skirt but also the decorative pillows, you literally can have a brand new look in 5 minutes.












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4/8/19

Lemon Cheesecake Bars with a Sugar Free Wafer Cookie Crust

The following version is sugar free because that is the kind of cookie and jello we purchase but this recipe can be made perfectly by anyone NOT eating sugar free.  Just use the same recipe but regular versions of the ingredients.


I snapped a picture... right before I ate it. No fancy shmancy 'photo shoots' here!  Just REAL FOOD for real people!


A package of lemon 'sugar' wafer cookies by Voortman Bakery is one of various flavors I pick up every so often.  Vanilla, lemon, chocolate, cookies and cream, peanut butter...  and this week I spied this package in the pantry, inside a Ziploc bag but would soon be stale no matter, since it had been opened upon arriving home from the grocery store that day.  Three or four cookies were eaten and then it was back to the pantry.

So my brain-storming mind kicked in... WHAT CAN I MAKE WITH LEFTOVER SUGAR WAFER COOKIES?

And the answer was either a pie or dessert bars.

In particular - a cold lemon pie or lemon cheesecake style bars.  I wasn't sure which at first, but then decided on bars because they seem to get eaten better than pie in our house.


Lemon Cheesecake Bars
Approximate 8X8 ish pan


Approximately 9-12 vanilla or lemon sugar wafer cookies, more or less on how thick the crust or big the pan
4 T butter (add 1-2 T more if you use more cookies)
1 small package sugar free lemon jello
1/2 c boiling water
2 pkg. 8 oz. cream cheese, soft
2/3 c granulated sweetener of choice (I like to mix 2 natural sweeteners for best flavor)
1 c half and half (or heavy cream)

Process the cookies in a food processor with an S-blade until crumbs.  Take about 2 tablespoons out to save for a crumb topping. Now, you can add the butter cold to this and pulse a couple times to mix; or melt it and mix with the crumbs after.  Press firmly into a lightly sprayed/greased pan.  The smaller the pan, the thicker the crust.  8X8 or 8X10 oblong is good for about 11-12 cookies.  Use the whole pack (9 oz) for a 9X13 pan.

Take the boiling water and pour it over the lemon jello in a small bowl or dish.  Stir to dissolve. I add an ice cube to this to help it cool down a little bit faster.  Let it cool a little while you beat the cream cheese and the natural sweeteners (or sugar).  Turn your mixer to low and add the jello to the cream cheese slowly, by pouring a thin stream down into the bowl as it's beating.  It will splatter if you turn it up on medium and high too quickly.  When the jello is added, now do the same with the half and half.  Beat on low, slowly turning up to medium high.  Whip it until it's starting to get thicker.  If you are using heavy cream it may actually get thick right away.  Now do a taste test!  If you need it sweeter, add a tablespoon of sweetener of choice (sugar, Ideal, Truvia... whatever you use) keeping adding and tasting until it's as sweet as you are used to.  As soon as it's thickened a little bit, pour and spread over your crust.  Sprinkle the top with the reserved crumbs. Chill for at least 3-4 hours, preferably 8 or more.  It will thicken beautifully as it chills.




This recipe was made because I wanted to use up these sugar wafer cookies before they lost their crisp from being opened too long.



Use as many cookies as you wish.  More or less depending on how thick you like your crust and how big your pan is.


You can add the cold butter to the crumbs and pulse a couple times or melt the butter and mix it in after.  The butter is just to help the crust form and stay nice and firm.


Start on low so it doesn't splatter all over and then work up to a medium high speed until it starts to thicken.


Spread over your crust, sprinkle with the reserved crumbs, and chill.


This was cut and ate almost immediately after making it!  I couldn't wait.  The next day it was set up perfectly and the squares were firm and perfect.  The crust was still firm and crisp too!







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Pan Fried Chicken with Creamy Garlic Sauce


If you saw my previous post, I joked about how I was cooking dinner while my mind was completely (COMPLETELY) elsewhere.  Something was bothering me so while I tried to concentrate on making dinner, I was mostly just doing it on automatic pilot and not thinking about what I was doing at all.  That's when I grabbed basil instead of black pepper... and got a laugh out of it.




This is a dish that doesn't really need a recipe so much as just a reminder to make it.  A lightly seasoned chicken breast or boneless thigh, cooked in a pan, removed and then a simple white sauce, thinned and made yummy with a lot of garlic and a little bit of green onion.  Very rich... very good.

Chicken with Creamy Garlic Sauce

Boneless, skinless chicken thighs (you can use thin sliced breasts if you wish)
Flour
Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
Onion powder
Garlic powder

The amount of flour and seasoning depend on how many pieces of chicken you are making. I don't measure anything but for the 4 boneless chicken thighs, I used about 1/2 cup of flour, a couple tablespoons parmesan, a teaspoon of salt, half teaspoon of pepper and about 3/4 teaspoon of garlic powder and onion powder.

We are doing low carb but the flour in this case is only to season to the chicken - and since it's used for making it nice and crisp and golden brown, but not actually using it as an ingredient, the amount is minuscule.  If you want to use a low carb baking mix, or almond flour, feel free.

In a saucepan on the stove, heat a mixture of about 2 tablespoons oil with a tablespoon of butter.  Cook the chicken over medium high heat until it's golden brown on both sides and done in the middle.  This will probably be about 4-5 minutes for each side.  Remove to a plate so you can make the sauce in the same pan.

Sauce:

Oil and butter for the pan if needed
2-3 green onions, sliced or chopped
4 T chopped garlic
1 c chicken broth (1 cup water with 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon base)
1 1/2 c cream or half and half
1/2 c parmesan cheese

If there is no oil/butter in the pan after you removed your chicken, add just a bit more.  Put your green onions in the pan and cook them briefly - about 2 minutes.  Add the fresh garlic, stir and cook about 30 seconds before adding the chicken broth.  Blend all and then add the cream, continuing to whisk or stir.  Simmer this for a few minutes to heat through and blend all the seasonings and bits from the pan together.  When heated through, add the cheese.  Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.

Either pour over your chicken on a serving dish, or easily just pop the chicken back into your pan and serve.
















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4/4/19

Cooking while my mind is elsewhere.... Basil? Black Pepper? They're the same right? Ha ha.


I needed to get dinner started but my mind was a million miles away.
Deep in thought, I was going through the motions but obviously wasn't paying attention.

My spices in the pantry are in alphabetical order so the basil is next to the black pepper.

That does not, however, mean they are interchangeable.  So... don't grab one for the other while you are thinking about other things.







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4/2/19

Low Carb Option for Potatoes Au Gratin - Cheesy Turnips Au Gratin






I love my cheesy au gratin potatoes but when we being strict about low carbs, potatoes are 'out' and other replacements are 'in'.  Sometimes cauliflower can replace potatoes but other times, things like leeks, jicama or turnips fit the bill.

In this dish, turnips do just fine!

When I make these the traditional way, with potatoes, I also use 1 tablespoon of flour to thicken the sauce.  If you can't do gluten you obviously need to leave this out, but those just doing 'low carb', you can either leave it out or  leave it in.  One tablespoon of all purpose flour is about 6 carbs and this is for the WHOLE casserole.  Serving this casserole to 8 people is .75 of a carb added.  Because of the other ingredients in this recipe it's going to run about 10-12 carbs per serving as it is depending on how big your servings are.

Note the bread crumb topping.  This isn't 'needed' but adds so much to this dish if you are 'used to it' on regular potato au gratin.  You have a lot of options - use what you have on hand.  Pork rinds?  Crush or process and use them!  Gluten Free Panko crumbs if you can do some carbs but no gluten.  If you have any low carb or keto bread on hand, run it through the food processor!  Instant bread crumbs.  That's what I used as I do not like most low carb almond flour based breads so when I try a new one and don't care for it or have half a loaf left and it's been a couple days... whirl it in a food processor, put it in a Ziploc in the freezer and pull it out any time you need a bread crumb topping!  Great on chicken breasts, a mozzarella stick coating or... topping casseroles like these.

Half it if you wish.  


Cheesy Turnips Au Gratin

6 turnips, peel and slice thin
1/4 c butter
1/2 onion, sliced
1 T flour (optional)
1 t salt w/ pepper to taste
2 c cream or 1 cream, 1 half and half
2 c shredded cheddar cheese
Keto or Low Carb crumbs optional

Place the the thin sliced turnips in a greased oven-safe pan.  Melt 1/4 c butter in a pan on the stove, add the onion and cook til soft and translucent.  Add the flour if you are using it.  Add salt and pepper.  Stirring it all as it starts to bubble, add your cream/half and half.  Whisk or stir until it just comes to a simmer/boil.  After 1 minute, turn down the heat to low and stir in the cheese, adding by small additions to melt.  Stir until smooth. Remove from heat.  Pour over the turnips in the dish.  Bake at 375.  After about 40-45 minutes, add extra cheese or your optional bread crumb topping.  Bake another 20 minutes til it's golden brown and thickened.  Let it set for 10 minutes to 'set up' and continue to thicken before serving.



Peeling turnips



Turnips are so pretty.  Like snowballs.



I thin sliced mine in my food processor but you can do it with a hand grater (usually I do) or with a knife - although it is hard to get a nice uniform 'thin' that way.


I wish I had 2 more turnips.  I didn't.  So mine was 'extra' creamy.


I used some keto bread crumbs I keep in the freezer from some of my 'trial' keto bread recipes.






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