#WhatsForDinner from my Instagram... Chicken Cordon Bleu and Roasted Brussels Sprouts

 

Just a quick fly-by post of dinner:  Chicken Cordon Bleu with Roasted Brussels Sprouts - so easy!

Remember when I posted my homemade chicken nuggets post?  Using that breading I did some make-ahead cooking prep for a couple versions of stuffed chicken breasts.  I did one as a Cheese Stuffed Taco Flavored Chicken and a more traditional Chicken Cordon Bleu with Swiss cheese and ham.  This is that one.

Here was the nugget breading post:  Link

Here was the breading from that post that I used on this chicken as well (the options are for the amount of carbs you want in the breading)

Chicken Cordon Bleu

2 cups protein puffs, rice krispies, ground pork rinds or almond flour (or a mixture of any of them)

3/4 t paprika (see option below for a smokey spicey option)
3/4 t salt
1/2 t garlic powder
egg whites - about 2

2 t oil of choice (I used avocado but you can use whatever you like)
optional: 2 t of any Rotisserie Chicken Seasoning Blend (I use Lawry's but any brand will do!)

1-2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Swiss Cheese
Diced ham

 

Mix the dry breading you've chosen with the spices.  Set aside.
Beat the egg whites with the oil.  Set aside. 

Slice the chicken on the top, thickest part of the breast.  Using your knife, cut inside the slice to form a pocket inside the chicken breast, careful not to cut through to the outside.  Stuff the inside pocket with a mixture of diced or shredded Swiss and ham.  Close the flap of the chicken.

Roll the chicken breast in the egg white/oil mixture.  Dredge in the dry breading mixture.  Lay on your baking sheet - I like to use parchment or greased foil for easy clean up.  Bake at 375 or 400 about 25 minutes until done.  I made mine ahead of time and froze them, took them out to thaw for about an hour and then baked at 400 with the Brussels Sprouts for about 25 minutes.

Brussels Sprouts

Trim Brussels Sprouts, slice in half if they are very large
olive oil - about 2-3 T
salt and pepper
butter - about 2-3 T

Line a baking sheet with foil for easy clean up.  Drizzle about 1 T oil to cover.  Place the other 2 T oil in a Ziploc or a bowl.  Add salt and pepper.  Add about a pound of Brussels Sprouts (however much you want) and add salt and pepper.  Shake, roll or stir to coat.

Lay the Brussels sprouts on the oiled foil, dot with bits of butter.  Bake at 400 about 25-30 minutes until done.  You can shake the pan or use a spatula to flip and move them around half way through.

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Sugar Free Butter Cookies

 

Even when we do eat traditional wheat flour based breads, biscuits or desserts, we still make them sugar free even without thinking about it really.  I have natural sweeteners in my pantry like most people have sugar.  So yes, these cookies are made with flour so they have carbs but they are sugar free.  They melt in your mouth... oh how they just melt in your mouth! 

If you want to make them lemon or peppermint flavored, just add a few drops of flavor oils to the dough with the butter but yesterdays were just plain butter cookies with vanilla.  I topped some of with a sugar free glaze made of confectioner's style sweetener with a bit of cream and a drop or two of vanilla.  Others I left plain like a traditional butter cookie. 

Last notes:  the sweeteners.  As I always mention - I mix at least 2 or 3 for best flavor but you can use whatever your favorite go-to natural sweetener is.  I love Wholesome Yum Allulose, and Lakanto Monk Fruit/Erythritol.  I do keep Swerve on hand because it's so easy to find and is always stocked at the two grocery stores I shop at but I don't love it because of the minty taste and aftertaste but I know many people love it.  If you don't have a powdered confection version on hand you can put your granular style in a clean coffee grinder or a food processor and grind it yourself.  I think you could probably use it straight into this recipe without grinding if you add it to the butter before it's whipped so long - as it should incorporate well but honestly I always use powdered/confectioners or grind it to a power myself so I don't know what your texture might be by doing so.

Sugar Free Butter Cookies

1 lb. real butter
1 c powdered/confectioner style natural sweetener (links below this post to some I use)
1/2 c corn starch
pinch of salt (optional if you use salted butter)
3 c flour
1 1/2 t vanilla extract (or use 1/2 t various good quality flavor oils like lemon or peppermint)

Whip the 4 sticks of real butter in an electric mixer for at least 3-4 minutes until it's smooth and pale in color.  Add the cornstarch and sweetener(s) along with a dash of salt if you are using it. 
Add the flour and vanilla.  As soon as the dry is blended, remove the dough and use in your favorite cookie press to press out cookies on an un-greased cookie sheet.  Bake about 13 minutes at 325 or until they are done but not browned.  These freeze well.  You can drizzle or brush them with a simple powdered sweetener glaze if you want.

Homestyle Pizza Dough

 

 

Recipe trials... they never end.  Not for me they don't.  Even if I have a recipe I know we love.  A go-to recipe that I make for years... that doesn't mean I'll never try a similar new recipe in the future to see if we might like it better, or perhaps our tastes have changed over the years and we find we like a different recipe better.  

I have a pizza crust recipe I love.  I've made it for 20 years.  I've posted it here numerous times.

At this point in our lives, we typically eat keto or low carb but sometimes we just want a real, traditional flour-based awesome pizza crust.  Last weekend I decided although I love my go-to crust of the last 20 years, I'd go ahead and try a new one just to check and make sure I still love my go-to crust of the last 20 years.

And I do.

This one is fine... it's good. Interestingly enough, it doesn't use dry milk like my go-to recipe does, but it tastes almost exactly like the one I usually make which does use powdered milk.

I made two pizzas last weekend; One regular pepperoni (my husbands favorite) and one a Greek Style with feta, kalamata olives, garlic and spinach.  If you follow me on Instagram I'm sure you saw them on my story.

 

Pizza Dough

2 1/4 t dry active yeast
1 t sugar
1 1/4 c warm (not hot) water
dash of salt
3+ c bread flour or all purpose flour
2 T olive oil

Mix the yeast, sugar and water together in a small bowl and let it foam for a couple minutes while you mix the flour and salt together in a large mixing bowl of a stand mixer like KitchenAid.  Add the water/yeast mixture and the olive oil.
Stir with the bread dough hook slowly until it starts to mix and then up to a slow-medium. Let it knead for about 5 minutes.  Rub your hands with oil and remove the dough ball from the bowl - it will be a bit sticky.  Cover it with a thin layer of oil and place into a sprayed/oiled bowl and place in a warm area to raise to double size.
Preheat your oven to 500 degrees.  Heat your pizza stone in the oven while it's preheating.
Separate your dough into 2 or 3 (depending on how many you want and how thick the crust).
Sprinkle flour on parchment paper and form your dough into a circle, pressing or rolling it out as thick and large as you wish.
Now you can bake your pizza on the pizza stone by removing it, tossing on some cornmeal so the dough doesn't stick, and carefully transferring your dough to the hot stone and quickly adding the cheese and toppings and sauce you want or you can transfer the dough to the stone still on parchment and bake it that way.  Up to you.  Either way, make your pizza, bake it for about 20 minutes and check for doneness in the center. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Grandmother's Recipe Box: Butterscotch Cake and Sweetened Condensed Milk Dessert

 

This morning I have a few minutes free so I thought I'd quickly add a couple more recipes from my Grandmother's recipe box.  One of them is pretty difficult to read as it's one of the older ones and written with a pencil.  The second one is in pen so it hasn't faded as much!

This is one of the older ones, and quite faded as it's written in pencil.  Looks like it's from 'Francis'.  I have no idea who that is but butterscotch cake sounds pretty good.

 

Butterscotch Cake

2 1/4 c cake flour
2 1/2 t baking powder
1 t salt
1 1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c shortening
2/3 c milk
1 t vanilla

Beat these items 2 minutes.  Then add

1/3 c milk
2 unbeaten eggs

Beat 2 minutes more.  Bake 315 30-35 minutes.

 

Condensed Milk Dessert

Boil 1 can sweetened condensed milk for 3 hours.
Remove from can.
Add 1/4 c cold coffee.
1 cup nut meats.

Serve with whipped cream.

My Grandmother's Recipe Box - Fattigman's (A Christmas Cookie)

  

 

This recipe is old, old, old.  This card is much loved, much used!  

My mother remembers Grandma making these from the time she was born.  It was a Christmas cookie they had every single year, without fail ever since she can remember.  My Mother turns 70 this year so this recipe card is probably her age or a few years older as she can't remember Grandma 'not' making these and she is the 3rd sibling in their family and she was making them before my Mom was born.  

I remember these from Grandma's house as well.  Grandma didn't have time to make a lot of Christmas cookies, but our Swedish heritage came out in those she did.  These and Rosette's were always, always served at Christmas at Grandma's house along with our Christmas Eve dinner of Oyster Stew, Lefsa and Lutefisk. 

 

Fattigman

5 egg yolks, beaten slightly
5 T sugar
5 T sweet cream
1 t vanilla
Flour enough to make a stiff dough

Roll out thin and cut in shapes with a slit in the middle.  Fry in hot fat.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Note:  You cut them into a diamond shape, cut the slit in the middle and then right before you drop in hot grease to fry, you flip and tuck one end of the cookie dough through the slit and pull it gently forming a little 'knot'.  

 

 

My Grandmother's Recipe Box - Matte's Corn Flake Cookies and Jello Rhubarb Jam

  

Many years ago I started a 'thing' on An American Housewife called "My Grandmother's Recipe Box" after I inherited one of her actual old recipe boxes.  The recipes are often so... vintage... that they are hard to read, faded and the cards are lovingly worn.  She and most of the ladies that shared these recipes back and forth were born circa 1920-1928 so they would have been trading recipes as newly-weds and young mothers in the 40's-50's. 

I was given the recipe box a long time ago - when she was still alive, although she did pass away in 2017.  Now it's even more special to me. 

I've posted a number of these previously, but it's been enough years ago now that I don't recall which ones I've posted so I'm just choosing a couple at random.

 

Today is Matte's Corn Flake Cookies and  Jello Rhubarb Jam

 

 

Matte's Corn Flake Cookies

1 c white sugar
1 c brown sugar
3 eggs
2 c oatmeal
2 c cornflakes
2 c flour
1 t vanilla
1 c coconut
1 t baking powder
3/4 t baking soda mixed with 2 T hot water

Drop with a teaspoon on a greased pan.  They spread. 

Jello Rubarb Jam (spelling original to her card)

4 c rubarb (sp -rhubarb)
4 c sugar
add: -
1 pkg. jello

Boil rubarb and sugar.  Add 1 pkg. jello.  Put in jars and seal. 

(I'm guessing a good jello flavor would be strawberry or raspberry with this one!)

Cheez-It's - homemade

I've posted a couple cracker recipes already - but this one has been sitting in my files, forgotten, for 5 years now!  I've made numerous versions of these little Cheez-It like crackers and use whatever cheese I have on hand. Usually just mild cheddar but once in a while I buy sharp - which is really what these little crackers like best.

This version is not low-carb or keto as it does use a whole cup of flour.  Some of my other recipes are low carb though if that's what you're look for!

 

Cheez-its

8 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 c butter, room temperature
1 teaspoons kosher salt
1 c flour
2 T water, iced

In a food processor, pulse the cheese, butter, and salt until combined. Add the flour and pulse a couple times to form crumbs.  Slowly add the water until the dough just forms a ball.  Chill the dough in plastic wrap for about an hour.  

Roll out the dough very thin (about 1/8") between parchment paper.  Cut them in 1″ squares and to give them a Cheez-It look, you can use a straw to punch a hole in the center - or you can just prick with a fork.  Sprinkle lightly with a bit of salt and bake at 375 for about 12 minutes, checking to move some around if the outside crackers are getting done before the center.   Let cool and eat!

Grilled Chicken with Basting Sauce - using red wine vinegar and red pepper

Another grilled chicken recipe!  So, again, I'm going through draft files and trying to clean up some of the clutter.  Apparently I put this one in my files over 5 years ago!  I honestly don't recall if I've made it or not.  Many times I make the recipe, but if I don't take a photo at the time (because you all know this is NOT a 'food photo blog' for pete's sake, LOL) then sometimes I just keep the recipe unpublished until I can grab a photo on my cellphone to post with it.

So... in order to get more draft files out of draft and into publish where I and my family can find them faster, here is another grilled chicken basting sauce.  This one however, is good use on chicken BREASTS.  Whereas my previous and most recipe posting (the fair-like chicken marinade) is really only good on the thighs/legs of dark meat.


Grilled Chicken with Basting Sauce

8 bone-in chicken breasts halves
1/4 c butter
1/2 t dried crushed red pepper
2 T red wine vinegar
1/2 t coarsely ground black pepper
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T sugar
1 t salt
1-1/2 t lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced

In a saucepan, combine butter, red pepper, vinegar, black pepper, worcestershire sauce, sugar, salt and lemon juice.  Heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter melts and everything is blended.  Season chicken with salt and pepper, and grill about 15 minutes before starting to baste every 5-10 minutes, while keeping the grill lid down in between bastings.  Continue to turn and baste until the chicken is done - about 35-40 minutes total for thick breast halves.  Smaller might not take as long.

 

 

 

 

 

 

German Waffles - Thick and light and dessert-like

I was craving waffles today.  I'm a fan of almost any kind of waffle, but thick Belgian waffles are a favorite.  I don't use syrup or butter or any topping; I just add an extra dose of vanilla extract and eat them as they are.  Many people love whipped cream and strawberries on them - which is fine - or chocolate (yuck) but I'm pretty happy with plain old Belgian waffles, or maybe just a light dusting of powdered sugar/sweetener.  Yum!

However, when I had waffles earlier today, I opted to stay true to keto/low carb and didn't give in to yummy, thick Belgian waffles.  I will though soon.  I'll still make them sugar free - we are completely sugar free without even really thinking about it.  But on a day when I'm ok with higher carbs, I'm going to give in and make nice thick, cake like Belgian waffles.   

But today in my recipe collection - a German waffle.  I just want to get a few of the draft files posted so I can find them quick and easy later on... and clean up the clutter of 'draft' files.  Clutter.  Clutter I tell ya!  Clean it up.

From my files circa 2016... waiting to be published but never saw the light of day.   Get outta my draft files and into my saved online collection for future reference! 

German Waffles

1 c softened butter
1 1/4 c sugar
1 1/2 t vanilla
6 eggs divided into yolks and whites
4 c sifted flour
1 T baking powder (sifted in with flour)
2 c slightly warmed milk, adding a bit at a time as you mix

Beat the butter, sugar, vanilla and egg yolks in a bowl.  Set aside.

Beat the 6 egg whites until they form stiff peaks, then fold the whites into butter mixture gently, until mixture is evenly colored.

Make in a Belgian style waffle iron as usual.  Serve as is, or with a dusting of powdered sugar, whipped cream, berries, etc.

 

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Keto Runza (or Beirocks) as seen on my Instagram

 

 

If you follow me on Instagram, then you saw the keto, low carb Runza we had last week.  You might know them as Beirocks, but it's all the same;  a ground beef and cabbage based filling inside a sealed pastry.

I'm not a big fan of meat sandwiches in any form, but when it's cold and gray outside, your body craves hot, filling foods like this.  The original kinds use a bread/bun wrapped but being low carb most of the time we made ours with a fat head style pastry dough.  I loved how it well it worked on these pastries, and it held together even after baking.  

The filling can be played with as you wish.  I did.  I kept tasting it and deciding what else I wanted to add, as it's really bland made the basic way it's often made in the Midwest.  Adjust and add things you like.   Next time I make these for my husband I'll probably add mushrooms and cheddar to the fillings as well.

Keto Runza

Dough:
2 eggs
3 c shredded mozzarella cheese
4 oz. cream cheese
3 c almond flour

Blend the eggs and cream cheese in a food processor with an S blade by pulsing a couple times.  Add the shredded mozzarella and almond flour.  Pulse a few times until it comes together to make a dough.  Remove.  Cut dough in half to work with one half at a time.  Form squares or rectangles (about 4 per disk) about 5" or so.  I made rectangles and folded them over as pockets instead of the way a lot of people make them (squares) and pinch the corners together.  

Place about 1/2 c filling in each rectangle, fold over, fold edges and seal.  You can fold and seal them however you wish including making a circle, folding in half and sealing the prongs of a fork.  Here is a photo of my rectangle made into a pocket.

Filling:
1 1/2 lb. ground beef
1/2 - 1 head cabbage (depending on the size of your cabbage)
1/2 large yellow onion or if small, use the whole thing
salt and pepper to taste
worchestershire sauce - about a teaspoon, or soy sauce optional
garlic - fresh or powder optional
mushrooms - optional, teaspoon of mustard or vinegar optional

Brown the beef and onion.  Add the cabbage, salt and pepper.  Taste and decide if you want to add any of the options.  Simmer about 30-40 minutes.  Drain well in a wire colander so your pastry dough stays firm.  Use in Runza.

I baked on parchment paper for about 35 minutes at 350 and opted to brush them with butter both before and after baking.

 

This shows my seams... place seam side down to bake.

Grilled Chicken Marinade - similar to the kind you see/smell/taste at a fair

 

Too many files in my files!  I have thousands of food photos I've snapped over the years with the intention of putting them on the website for easy-finding later that I never got around to or just updated photos for things I've been making for years and already have the recipe in my files online but thought I'd add a new photo.

And then... life.

So I never did.

And the files reproduced like rabbits because I'm frustrated every time I open the food file on my laptop.

So quick and simply - here is a photo of chicken grilling - I have no idea of when or where I've posted this marinade but I'm sure I have as I've been using it for about 20 years now.  It's a summer 'fair' style chicken marinade.  Like, when you are at a county fair, walking down the food vendor aisles and there is a fundraiser by a local non-profit group that is grilling chicken.  This is that kind of chicken.

Note:  I only like this marinade with chicken thighs.  Oddly enough, when I've tried it with chicken breasts, it doesn't have the same flavor and I really do not like it.  But for whatever reason, this is excellent with the chicken thighs and legs.

Chicken thigh/leg marinade

1 egg
1 c oil of choice (like canola)
2 c apple cider vinegar
1 t hickory smoke flavoring
1 t garlic pepper
1 T salt
1 T poultry seasoning
1 t black pepper

Put the ingredients into a saucepan on the stove, and whisk them as you turn on the heat.  Warm over medium and stir until thick, but do not boil.  Cool.  Add 3-4 lbs. chicken thighs and marinate for at least 2 hours, up to 6-8.  Grill as usual.  

Amazing Homemade Chicken Nuggets! - AND a Keto (low carb and sugar free) healthy chicken nugget option that can also be made into boneless hot wings or use in keto orange chicken/general tso's chicken

 

 

There are more low carb food options on the market than ever before... but unfortunately they are expensive. Oh so expensive. And the main ingredient for the keto option for these nuggets does involve one high-budget ingredient.  The unflavored protein puffs. 

I keep a container in my pantry at all times and I've been buying them for a few years now but they are about $20 a jar.  *But* they have a LOT of uses and are a fun ingredient to have on hand.  Because they are expensive I want to talk about them for just one second.

The unflavored protein puffs are little crispy, hard balls.  I keep these on hand to make keto rice krispy bars using sugar free marshmallows!  I also use these to make our own version of sugarfree candy bars of all kinds.  Even if you just use sugar free chocolate and mix these in, you have a perfect imitation of a Crunch bar - but I use them with sugar free caramel and chocolate, sometimes sugar free wafers, etc. You can also put these in yogurt, ice cream, etc. Any time you need a crunch with high protein and no sugar.  So yes they are expensive but there are a lot of uses for them and I love them... I just wish they weren't so expensive!  I order mine from Amazon.

I'm also going to mention there are great keto cereals out there now - which make good rice krispy (rice crispy) style bars but dang... it's $11 - $15 a box for the cereal.  Sigh. 

Now, back to the chicken.

 

• To make awesome homemade chicken nuggets if you don't eat keto or low carb - use Rice Krispies.
• To make awesome homemade chicken nuggets if you are kind of low carb, use the Rice Krispies.
• To make awesome homemade chicken nuggets with a lower carb count but you can't afford to use half the container of ProMix unflavored protein puffs, use half protein puffs and half the crispy cereal.
• To make awesome homemade chicken nuggets that are keto, use all protein puffs or supplement with part pork rinds.

I didn't have enough protein puffs left for a full batch, but I did have crispy rice cereal in the pantry left over from my Christmas baking shopping trip.  The carb count in the cereal isn't bad when you consider you aren't eating a whole bowl of it and you aren't eating a couple rice krispy bars!  You are grinding it up and using it to bread your chicken.  Two cups of the cereal has a total of 45 carbs (Fitday) and that would be enough to do a LOT of chicken chunks.  So it would feed 4-6 people.  

Play with the recipe and the ingredients and make it your own.

 

 




On Thursday I did a food prep day and made a lot of the breading mix.  I made enough for 2 huge pans of homemade nuggets, plus extra I put into the container and reused to store it in the pantry.

I ground it in batches;  some I made a fine powder, some were in medium sized bits and some I only pulsed a few times in the food processor so it had some big crispy pieces left. 

BREADING

2 cups protein puffs, rice krispies, ground pork rinds or a mixture of all three

3/4 t paprika (see option below for a smokey spicey option)
3/4 t salt
1/2 t garlic powder
egg whites - about 2

2 t oil of choice (I used avocado but you can use whatever you like)
optional:  1/4 t cayenne and use a smokey paprika or chipotle blend for spicier
                or 2 t of any Rotisserie Chicken Seasoning Blend (I use Lawry's but any brand will do!)

1-2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized chunks or 'chicken fingers' size

Cut the chicken.
Place the protein puffs, the cereal or the pork rinds in a food processor.  Add the 3 spices for regular breaded nuggets.  Opt for the smokey paprika blend or cayenne option for a little more spice or add the chicken seasoning blend for a yummy regular chicken nugget that has a little more flavor.  Pulse the processor using the S-blade.  I like to do a couple different batches so I can pulse half into a powder and the second batch leaving in larger crispy pieces.  I'm all about the breading!  I like nice coverage and crispy chicken pieces.

Mix the egg whites with the oil.

Now dredge the chicken chunks first in the egg white, then the dry mix, then place on an oiled baking sheet (I line mine with foil and then oil/grease them).  Bake at 375 until golden brown and crispy.

When they come out you can salt and serve as is or for boneless hot wings, brush them with a mixture of 4 T hot sauce like Franks or Tapatio' and 4 T melted butter!  OH MY GOODNESS they are amazing.

 

 

 

 

 

I hate (hate!) breading food items.  I like to use plastic food service gloves, and I use my left hand for the egg wash and my right hand for the dry crumb mix - that keeps them from getting too gummed up.

 

All done breading... now either into the oven OR you can freeze them until frozen solid, then put them all into a Ziplock for a future meal.

 

Into the oven with you!

 

THIS BATCH is being brushed with the hot sauce and butter mixture.

Not only was amazing that night for dinner but I used the leftovers

to make a spicy Orange Chicken/General Tso's type dish the next night.

*Did I post that recipe yet? If not, I will this weekend*

 

So good.  A close up showing the different sizes of 'crispies' I like to use.  Some small, some larger.

   

Here is a close up of my empty container of ProMix.  LOL.  I was out of protein puffs with this last recipe so I reused the container to store the extra breading I made.

 

You can see big and small pieces of crispy breading.  I had to use a mixture of both cereal and protein puffs as I was down to the last cup of puffs.

 And into the pantry for future meals!!!

 

 

You might be interested in some of the products related to this post.....  available through Amazon.  You might be able to find the puffs at a GNC or some place?  I don't know.  I have only bought mine through Amazon and Netrition.com but Netrition didn't carry them anymore so the last two (or three?) times has been through Amazon.  :)

Red Velvet Cake - Recipes for real Red Velvet Cake, make it Traditional, lower carb, or low carb and sugarfree keto

 

Red Velvet Cake has been a part of my life since I was a little child.  

I've made it the traditional way with flour and sugar until we became sugar free and after that I've made it low carb, sugar free, keto and all sorts of ways in between. 

A real Red Velvet cake is not the kind you make from a store bought cake mix. 
I don't even know what those are... but they are not Red Velvet. 
They just color them deep red and call it Red Velvet.  No, a real Red Velvet cake uses vinegar and buttermilk with just a tiny tad of cocoa powder.  Not enough to taste it, just enough to bring out the deep color.   If you are making a chocolate cake that you are coloring deep red, please don't call it Red Velvet.  It's not.

• Traditional Red Velvet Cake made into a Sugar Free Version

• Milk Chocolate Cake - Similar but not quite Red Velvet Cake (low carb and sugar free)

• Red Velvet Cake Balls

• Low Carb, Sugar Free Red Velvet Cake, Chocolate Cake and White Vanilla Birthday Cake

 

This first version recipe uses about 1/2 cup of flour (instead of coconut flour), which is less than 3 carbs for flour per serving when cut into 16 pieces.  If you can't afford the 3 carbs, skip to the next version which is a mixture of almond flour and coconut flour as a typical keto/low carb cake uses.

Red Velvet Cake - Sugar Free

1 c butter
1 1/2 sweetener to equal sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 c unblanched almond flour
1/3 c unflavored whey protein powder
1/2 c  flour
1 t xanthan gum
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
2 t cocoa
1 t salt
1 bottle (1 oz) red food color
1 T vinegar
1 t vanilla
1 c almond milk or coconut milk with part heavy cream and 1 1/2 t lemon juice to sour it (let set 5 minutes)

In a small bowl place the almond/coconut milk and/or cream with the lemon juice and let set while you mix the rest.  In place of this you can use buttermilk - but I never keep buttermilk on hand so I usually end up making my own this way.

Cream the butter and sweeteners in a mixing bowl.  Add the eggs. Beat well.  In a large bowl, place the dry ingredients:  almond flour, whey protein powder, white wheat flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa and salt.

To the buttermilk or soured milk mixture, add the bottle of red food color, vinegar and vanilla.

Alternate adding the dry mix and the milk mixture to the butter, mixing well after each addition.  Pour into 2 greased and lined round cake pans.  Bake at 350 approximately 25 minutes or until done in the center.  Depending on your oven and pan, cooking times vary.  Let cool in pans about 10 minutes and turn out to cool completely.

Make your filling.  Place about a cup or so between the layers and use the rest to ice the cake.  Chill until serving.


Icing/Filling - this is the traditional frosting using flour (I grind my own soft white non-gmo wheat berries).  You can use your favorite sugar free and low carb icing if you wish (and I have a few great ones if you use the search feature to the right, in the sidebar). I'm going to try this with King Arthur's keto flour next... hopefully later this week!

3 T flour
1 c almond or coconut milk
1 c sugar substitute
1 c butter
1 t vanilla

Mix the milk and flour smooth and heat on the stove top over medium until it forms a thick paste. Remove from heat, let cool.  Cream the butter, sweeteners and vanilla in a mixing bowl and add the cooled flour/milk mixture to this.  Whip until smooth.  

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Second version:  Zero wheat flour.   I'm going to test a 3rd version very soon now that King Arthur has come out with a KETO FLOUR and I bought 4 bags to play with and recipe test with.

Low Carb Sugar Free Red Velvet Cake

1 c butter
1 1/2 c sweetener
2 eggs
2 1/2 c almond flour
1/3 c whey protein powder
1/4 c coconut flour
1 t xanthan gum
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
2 t cocoa
1 t salt
1 bottle - 1 oz. red food color
1 T vinegar
2 t vanilla
1 c almond milk with part cream and 1 1/2 t vinegar (or lemon juice) to sour

Mix the almond milk with the vanilla and 1 1/2 t vinegar in a small cup and let set.  You could buttermilk in place of the vinegar and almond milk.

Cream the butter and sweeteners in a mixing bowl til fluffy.  Add the eggs.  If your eggs are small use 3.  In a separate bowl mix all the dry ingredients.  Add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk mixture.  Begin and end with the dry.  When mixed well, pour into your pans of choice.  I use 2 round cake pans sprayed and lined with a piece of parchment.  Bake at 350 approximately 25-35 minutes depending on your oven.  When the center is set and the cake is done, remove and cool 10-15 minutes in the pan before removing from pan to cool completely.  

Decorate as you wish - the traditional Red Velvet Cake Frosting DOES NOT USE CREAM CHEESE.  It's a flour and milk based frosting you then cool and add the butter, sweetener and vanilla.

Sugar free and low carb... Daiquiri Ice Ice Cream~ (Like Baskin Robbins)

 

I thought I had this one on my site already but a quick skim over posts and I didn't see it, so I'm just going to put it up (again) just in case.  

Not a huge fan of ice cream in general (I can take it or leave it) but when I was a teenager, I did find I liked the Daiquiri Ice from Baskin Robbins.  I prefer a slushy or Icee over ice cream, so it's not a stretch that I'd prefer this icy treat with a citric acid sour 'kick' to it rather than a sweet, heavy cream.  It's just me.

Over the past 20 years or so, we stopped in a few times with the kids but I ended up not getting anything because they never had the Daiquiri Ice.  I don't know if they stopped making it for awhile or if it was just the franchises we were visiting on vacation, etc., but there were a number of years they didn't carry it.

On top of that, we have been sugar free for 19 (?) years now so given a choice, I usually bypass sugary food items anyway. 

A few years ago I decided to make it myself.  This way I could control the sugar content.  Since then, this is the version I make when I'm craving it.  

I went to the Baskin Robbins site this morning to see if they still offer Daiquiri Ice ice cream and I saw it listed!  I don't know if it's the tangy version or the sweeter lime version I had heard they changed it to for a few years (?) but I was more interested in the sugar and carb count.

As you can see, 26g carbs and 19g sugar. Wow.

I'm positive I'd be nauseated and maybe even throw up if I had a food with 19 grams of sugar in it. 

When it comes to making this ice cream, it's quick and easy for me because I already have limes or lime juice, rum extract and citric acid powder in my pantry/fridge at all times, but if you don't have those items, you'll need to pick them up at the store or order them online.

You should be able to find all the ingredients in your local grocery store - especially if it's a Walmart or Publix. 

 

Sugar free and Low Carb - Daiquiri Ice Ice Cream

2 c water
1 c sweeteners (I used a mixture of Lakanto and Xylitol)
1 t unflavored gelatin powder
2 T fresh lime juice (bottled is fine but fresh tastes best if you have it!)
1 t rum extract
1 t citric acid powder
optional:  green food color

In a pan on the stove top, place the sweetener, sprinkle the gelatin powder over it.  Add the water and whisk. Heat until the sweetener is dissolved and mixture becomes clear.  Remove from heat.  Add the lime juice, rum extract and citric acid.  Taste test and see if you like the amount of lime and citric acid.  Adjust in tiny doses if you wish.  Chill the mixture completely before using it in your favorite ice cream machine according to your directions.  

 

 

 

Photos of the rustic 5 layer "scraped cake" with a baby bear and succulent topper for a nature themed baby shower

 

   

During 2020 I did a lot of baking and cooking but didn't feel like blogging or posting so I have a lot of food photos in files on the computer that will probably never see the light of day.   As I skimmed through some photos this afternoon I saw a few randoms of the cake I made for our family baby shower and figured I'd put them up on the website.

It was a nature themed baby shower we held last Spring, right before Covid-19 became something people decided to worry about and the quarantines started.  We are so thankful of the timing and that we got to hold the shower before everything shut down for a year!  

This is my favorite white cake recipe for special occasion cakes - which I've posted many times previously on HousewifeBarbie.com throughout the past 15 or so years.  If you don't need to make numerous layers just half the recipe.

 

White Cake

2 boxes white cake mix
2 c flour
2 c white sugar
1 1/2 t salt
2 2/3 c water
1/4 c canola oil
2 t vanilla
2 t almond extract
16 oz. sour cream
8 large egg whites, room temperature

Place all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat just to blend. Add the water, oil, vanilla, almond extract, sour cream and egg whites and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour into 2-4 greased and floured pans (shape of your choice, 2  9X13 or 4 smaller round), filling each pan about half full. Bake at 325° F oven until cake tests done in the center. Cool and use as you wish.

I used a buttercream recipe that just used butter, vanilla, powdered sugar - any of your favorite frostings/icings will do.

Here is when I laid everything out and just decided to 'wing it' as I had no  idea what to do...   just an idea of what the cake should look like in the end.

 

 

Frosting the frozen layers....  

 

 

 

Starting to put them on top of each other....

 

Good enough I think!

It went back into the freezer until I brought it out for the baby shower. 

At that point, we pushed a cake topper in the top, added a baby bear we bought on Amazon
and placed a few fake succulents around it to finish it off.

 

The finished cake!

 

We bought the 'baby bear' words cake topper off Etsy I think?  It might have been Amazon but this morning I just checked Amazon for a link and didn't see this product anymore so check Etsy or Zazzle.

The bear we used was from a set of 3 (family of bears) but the Daddy bear is growling and looked really mean so we didn't want to use him for sure!  Ha ha.  We opted to put baby bear up on top with the cake topper.

Lastly, we just used some fake succulents we had washed carefully and dried, and laid them in place on the cake right before the shower started. 

SO QUICK AND EASY!