A keto substitute for roasted little potatoes? Yes! Oven roasted radishes

Photo is prior to roasting - tossed together and ready to roast

 

I have loved radishes all my life - literally since I started to eat solid foods as a baby.  My Dad loved them and by default they were a huge part of my life and one of the earlier foods I recall pulling and eating fresh from the ground as a toddler (radishes and carrots). 

But I digress.  The point of this quick fly-by post is simply to remind people you can eat radishes cooked - not just raw or on salads!   

Since we are primarily and usually lowcarb and/or keto we don't get to enjoy potatoes often, but radishes and cauliflower fill the space quite easily.   Cauliflower for mashed and radishes for the rest.

When making a roast, I add radishes in place of potatoes.  Same for chicken, one-sheet pan dinners, onions roasted 'potatoes' and more.

This particular meal, I popped some radishes in a cast iron skillet along with some avocado oil, garlic and green onions.  Seasoned with simply salt and pepper.  Roasted until the greens and radishes were a nice golden brown and served along side our main entree'.  

Freshly thrown together and ready to pop into a hot oven to roast

 

 

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QUICK AND EASY CHERRY PUFF PASTRY BRAID - (This is a great dessert for your little ones to make 'with you' since it's SO easy but SO pretty and delicious too!)

 

 

Although I can easily pass most desserts or candy by without a blink of an eye, there are a few items that I can't resist.  One of those is a 'pastry' - especially if it's either plain with just a sprinkle of sweetener or a vanilla or whipped cream filling.

Because of this, I try to keep puff pastry on hand in the freezer for when I need a quick dessert or brunch item, or I'm craving a dessert (which isn't ofen, but when it hits, it hits hard!)  Well this 'dessert' is so incredibly simple it's not even a 'recipe'.

It's literally 2 ingredients - can anything be a 'recipe' with just 2 ingredients?

You can use almonst any filling in this!  First off is canned or homemade pie fillings - cherry and apple are both perfect but if you have lemon, chocolate, blueberry, peach or any filling you like, it will work.  Another idea is to take an 8 oz. block of cream cheese and sweeten it with a couple tablespoons sweetener of your choice and a dash of vanilla.  Use cream cheese as the filling for a 'cream cheese Danish'.  More ideas include jam!  This is delicious with strawberry or raspberry jam fillings... again, so many more flavors to choose from (including our go-to which is the 'sugar free' versions.)  You can also 'meat' this up by using sausage and cheddar cheese, ham and cheese, pepperoni with a bit of cheese and sauce... oh gracious, the possibilities are endless.

But this week, it was cherry.  

QUICK AND EASY CHERRY PUFF PASTRY BRAID

1 sheet puff pastry
1/2 can cherry pie filling (or any flavor)
Cinnamon and sweetener or sugar to sprinkle

 

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Unfold a thawed sheet of puff pastry and roll it out to its rectangle shape on a piece of parchment paper.  Place it in front of you the 'long' way and spoon your filling of choice down the center of the pastry from top to bottom.
Use a knife or pizza cutter and make even slices all the way down both sides, roughly 1 inch wide.
Start from the top and fold them into the center, overlapping a bit.
Slide the parchment onto a baking sheet (or you could roll the dough directly onto a very lightly greased baking sheet and skip the parchment.)
Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and bake for approximately 25 minutes until the puff pastry is golden brown, puffy and 'done'.
Cool for at least 10 minutes or longer and serve.

 

 

 

 

We are typically sugarfree as a rule, so we have this 'no sugar added' filling in the cupboard
or I make my own cherry pie filling - you use what you like

 

Making slices down the sides of the pastry

 

Folding each slice inward to cover the filling

 

Sprinkled with cinnamon......

 

And some sweetener (we use an erythritol and monk fruit blend)

 

Into the oven to bake!

 I didn't get an 'after' photo.  We literally immediately started to eat it and when I thought to myself "I should probably stop eating and get a photo" I decided I didn't want to stop eating it to do so... so I didn't!  Ha ha.

 

 

A good day for an iced coffee frappe' (blended) kind of like a yummy coffee slushee!

 

I use ALL kinds and flavors of coffee when I make iced coffee!  I just happened to want to use up the last of the beans in this particular bag.  This day I used a rum barrel aged coffee bean, ground myself, brewed as an espresso over ice and added a splash of sugar-free vanilla syrup and topped it off with whipped cream and a sprinkle of espresso powder!

 

THIS ICED COFFEE:

4 oz. espresso

3-4 cups ice
splash of sugarfree vanilla syrup
Whipped Cream
Instant Espresso Powder sprinkled on top

 

 

 

LowCarb and Sugarfree option for the traditional Mexican Wedding Cake Cookies

 

 

 

 

 

While glancing through some of my food files I saw photos of my lowcarb, sugarfree Mexican Wedding Cookies and realized I had apparently never posted these to my site.  All I can think of is that because I make these every year at Christmas, I snapped a few quick photos, got busy with the 25 other Christmas cookie recipes I make and never got around to posting it.  These photos were taken a few years ago actually - but better late than never.

This version is the low carb and sugar free version of the traditional vintage version that's been around for a hundred years. 

 

Mexican Wedding Cakes

 

1 1/2 c almond flour
dash of salt
dash of baking soda
2 T butter
2 T honey substitute 

1 t vanilla
1/2 c chopped pecans, toasted
1/2 c powdered confectioner's sweetener of choice

Combine the almond flour, salt and baking soda either in a food processor or with electric mixer.  Pulse or mix in the imitation honey and butter (or shortening if that's your thing) and vanilla.  Stir in the toasted pecans by hand.  Form 1" balls or use a cookie scoop and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment.  Bake at 350 for 8-9 minutes.  Cool on the baking sheet for approximately 20 minutes before dipping and rolling in the confectioner's sweetener. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Briefly toasting the pecans

 Pulsing the ingredients in a food processor

Stirring in the pecans

 

Scooped

Into the oven

 

Rolling in powdered natural sweetener

   

  Sugarfree and low carb options

 

 

 

Low Carb, Sugarfree, Keto Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

I've been cooking and baking low carb and sugar free off and on since 2003; so I've tried and made a lot of low carb cookies.  A couple years ago I started to make a few different versions of low carb and/or keto cookies using a couple different ingredients like unflavored gelatin and sugarfree honey substitute, which really improved the texture of some of them. 

Last year I bought a cookbook off Amazon called The Southern Keto Cookbook and one of the cookie recipes in it was basically like a thousand other keto chocolate chip cookies except it did call for almond butter - which I don't keep on hand because we don't really like it or use it.

But I picked some up a couple months ago at the store and kept it in the pantry for whenever I decided to make cookies again.  And that was this week.

I based the recipe off the general idea in the cookbook I mentioned, except I never actually follow recipes - so I changed a couple things and my cookies are more like 3 carbs each instead of 2.

 

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 stick butter, melted and browned a bit in a skillet or pan and then cooled
1/4 c almond butter
1/3 heaping cup of natural sweetener substitutes (I mix 2-3 for best flavor; erythritol/monkfruit)
1 egg
1 T black strap molasses (optional but I use it for the flavor and it only adds barely 1 carb to the count)
2 t good quality vanilla
1 1/4 c almond flour
1 1/2 T oatmeal (Optional - I added this for a more authentic oatmeal cookie and texture)
1 T unflavored gelatin
3/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/4 c unsweetened coconut shreds
1/2 c sugar free chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 and place a sheet of parchment paper on your baking sheet.

Mix the cooled, caramel colored 'browned' butter with the almond butter and sweetener until creamed.  Add the egg, molasses if you are using it and vanilla.  Mix in the rest of the ingredients, stirring in the chocolate chips last.  Scoop equal sized portions onto the parchment.  Bake for 8 minutes until they are starting to turn golden on the edges.  Gently use a metal spatula to lightly press the tops of the cookies to flatten just slightly while they are still on the cookie sheet.  Let them cool on the cookie sheet(s) for about 10 minutes before removing them to wire racks to cool completely.  I got about 20 cookies from this.  The size cookie you make will vary.

 

Old Fashioned Spice Cake and Spice Cake Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting: sugarfree and low carb OR original

 

I posted this recipe previously here:  https://www.housewifebarbie.com/2019/08/spice-cake-regular-and-low-carb-version.html 

This time around I used the same recipe (pasting it here again) but I used a larger bar pan to bake it in, and then when it came out of the oven, I let it cool, and then covered the pan with plastic wrap, and gently rolled a rolling pin over it lengthwise to gently compact the cake a bit to make it into a nice textured bar.

I completed it with a package of cream cheese whipped with a couple tablespoon's confectioner's style sweetener, a dash of vanilla, and a bit of whipping cream until it was the consistency to spread.

Spice Cake (regular and low carb version)

3/4 c butter (for the low carb version I cut this down to about 1/2 cup)
1 c brown sugar (brown sweetener - like Swerve)
1 egg
1/2 c raisins (leave out for low carb/sugar free)
1/4 t salt
1/4 t cloves
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 t allspice
1/2 t cinnamon
2 c flour (2 c almond flour and 1/4 c whey protein powder & optional 1 T coconut flour for texture)
1 t baking soda
2 t baking powder
1 c sour milk

Mix the butter and sugar or sweetener.  Add the egg.  Add raisins if you are using them.  Mix the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl and add alternately with the sour milk.   Divide into 2, greased round pounds or a 7X12 baking dish.  Bake 375 degrees for about 25 minutes until done.  Cool completely and frost if you wish - cream cheese frosting is wonderful on it.

To make it into bars (as I mentioned above) pour and spread the batter in a larger, shallow bar pan, and bake until then, then let cool.  Cover the pan with plastic wrap and gently roll a rolling pin over the top lengthwise to contract the bars just a little bit to give them a good bar texture.  Cover with cream cheese icing and sprinkle chopped pecans and cinnamon on top if you wish.

 

 

 

Creamy, Spicy Keto White Chicken Chili (with an option of beans that are low carb and keto friendly) and UPDATE it makes amazing enchiladas the next day!

Adding this photo and update - this was my plate of chicken enchiladas the next day - literally as I was getting ready to take a bite and dig in!  I remembered to grab my cell phone and snap a quick picture!

A great way to use the leftovers of my cream white chicken chili.... a low carb tortilla wrap!

The next day's leftovers made into a low carb chicken enchilada... SO GOOD

A really bad photo of a really good white chili!  I grabbed my old iphone and quickly snapped a couple photos yesterday for instagram, but never did get around to taking any better pictures.  I have two really good white chili recipes - only one of them is low carb or keto (this one).  But the other one is so good that I do cave and make it sometimes with the white beans, because I love them so much.

 
The first night:  White Chicken Chili

 

Spicy White Chili (low carb/keto option)

3 T butter
3/4 c chopped onion
1 chopped green pepper
2 T minced garlic
2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and diced or use rotisserie chicken, leftovers or even canned chicken
1 T cumin
1 T chili powder
1/2 t oregano
salt and pepper
1 small can diced green chilies
4 to 8 oz. fresh, sliced mushrooms, chopped or not, up to you and amount is up to you
optional 1 or 2 cans Eden brand black soy beans (not regular black beans, those are high carb)
2-3 c chicken broth
1 c heavy cream
2 - 8 oz. pkgs. cream cheese
1 small fresh lime, juiced (about a tablespoon)

Saute' the onion and green pepper in the butter in a pan.  Add the garlic, cook for another minute or two.  Add the chicken, the seasonings, mushrooms and chilies along with the broth and cream.  If you are using black soy beans, rinse them well and add them.  Heat through, then add the cream cheese and lime juice and continue to stir and heat through until it's smooth and creamy.  Simmer on low.  Serve.

RANDOM NOTES OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD

The mushrooms.  You can leave them out if you don't like them!  Totally optional.
I used my own dehydrated green peppers (LINK TO THAT POST HERE) and just added about 1/4 cup water to the butter in the pan when I was cooking the onion/peppers to help re-hydrate them.
The chicken used this time was 2 chicken breasts I precooked a couple days ago with seasonings and then placed into mason jars with some of the broth as well as one raw chicken breast I grabbed from the freezer, thawed just enough to dice it up and then cooked it in the pan with the onion and pepper.
I decided to try to cut down to one package of cream cheese and see if it was acceptable... it wasn't.  The second package really does make it nice and thick and creamy and brings out the chicken/cheese flavor.

UPDATE TO ADD:

These make amazing enchiladas!

The leftovers in the refrigerator really thickened up the next day - which was perfect to grab 2 low carb tortillas and fill them up!  It just made the most amazing low carb chicken enchiladas.  Two meals from one... I like those!