Green Beans with Mushrooms and Water Chestnuts

This morning as I sip my coffee I am trying to plan dinner for this evening. Since I've been working full time hours and juggling two positions instead of one, my time to truly update my websites is fleeting. 

This afternoon, even before I arrive home from the office, my parents are going to be in town to stay with us this weekend. I'm trying to juggle schedules to make sure someone is here at the house as my husband and I will both be at work so I'm verifying schedules with my 17 and 14 year old's to be sure someone will be here to meet them. 

We are also currently hosting two 'extra' teenagers (last night and this morning before school) and I'm giving permission for tonight's plans of movies and sleepovers before getting each of them out the door to school at the appropriate time. 

 In the meantime... let's plan tonight's dinner! 

Not only will it be our family and my parents, but my oldest daughter and her roommate are returning home from college this weekend. Without a menu in place yet, I did make homemade bread dough last night. I intended on baking two loaves but admittedly, I was so exhausted and worn out from the day that by the time it finished its first rising I was too tired to stay awake and finish them. I formed them into two loaves and put them into the deep freeze. This morning I've grabbed them out and placed them in the (turned off) oven. Hopefully this morning they will thaw, this afternoon they will raise and by the time I arrive home at 5:00 they will be ready to bake! 

I'm considering a roast for dinner as I could conceivably put it into a slow cooker this morning before I leave for work and then just fix a side dish when I arrive home tonight. With 2 of my guests already at my home when I arrive and the other two arriving within an hour of myself, having the bread and roast ready to go will be a blessing. A side dish I spied this morning in my files that I've not yet made is this dish for green beans. Simple but sounds delicious! 

 Green Beans with Mushrooms and Water Chestnuts 

3 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed
4 cups water
1 1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1 small onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, pressed
1 (8-ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Combine beans and 4 cups water in a Dutch oven; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 6 to 8 minutes or until crisp-tender (I like them more on the tender side - your choice!).  Plunge beans into ice water to stop the cooking process; drain. (You can chill beans up to 8 hours, if you want to make this later.)

Sauté mushrooms and next 7 ingredients in hot oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes. Add beans, stirring until thoroughly heated; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

 

 

 

Versatile Cake Filling and Frosting

When I was a child we visited the home of one of my parents friends and the lady of the house served a brilliant red cake with a frosting that was not butter cream (the only kind I had had up to that point, being a mere 7 years old). Not only was I taken with this cake and frosting, but my mother was as well and that is how the original Red Velvet Cake recipe made its way into our household. To this day I refuse to eat Red Velvet Cake with any other frosting but the one that starts by cooking flour and milk on the stove top.

When I saw this recipe listed as a "filling" for a poppy seed cake I thought I'd copy it down for future reference. I did, but then got busy with life and working full time outside the home and didn't get around to really looking at it. Once I did, I realized it was not just a poppy seed or white cake 'filling' but was in fact, the recipe for the frosting and filling we've always used for our Red Velvet Cakes!

Versatile Cake Frosting and Filling

1 cup half-and-half or milk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup superfine sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Gradually whisk together half-and-half and flour in a saucepan over low heat. Cook, whisking constantly, 5 minutes or until a thick paste forms. Remove from heat; cool. Cover and chill 1 hour or until cold. Beat paste, butter, and salt at medium speed with an electric mixer. Gradually add sugar; beat until light and fluffy. Stir in extracts. Use as a filling between layers or frosting.

Ribollita

This recipe is for something called Ribollita which I had never heard of until 2008, but had made in my own way and with many different versions just as a vegetable soup. You may know it as Ribollita though. Enjoy.

Ribollita

4 slices bacon, cut into ¼-inch pieces
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
1 large onion, cut into a ½-inch dice
2 stalks celery, cut into a small dice
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into a ½-inch dice
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 large baking potato, peeled and cut into a ½-inch dice
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
3/4 cup dry red wine, such as Côtes du Rhône
4 cups low-sodium beef broth
1 15.5-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 bunches Swiss chard, stemmed and roughly chopped
3 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
10 slices (about 10 ounces) stale crusty bread, torn into large bite-size pieces
6 teaspoons prepared pesto (optional)

Place a Dutch oven or a soup pot over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the oil and onion and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the celery, carrots, and garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the potato and cook until it has started to soften, about 6 minutes. Add the tomatoes, wine, broth, beans, and 2 cups of water. Place the Swiss chard on top, cover, and bring to a boil. Uncover, stir to combine, and simmer gently for 45 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in the salt and pepper gently to combine. (At this point, the soup can be chilled for serving the next day.) Divide the bread among serving bowls. Ladle the hot soup over the bread and finish with a drizzle of olive oil or pesto, if desired.

Low Carb Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins (with macadamia nut oil)

Originally posted in 2010... I'm updating to say that there are a lot of really great better options for low carb baking now than there was 10 years ago.  You can find another Lemon Poppy Seed Muffin from 2018 here or do a search for my Lemon Poppy Seed Cake from June 2019 which makes amazing muffins as well.


Although I'm always on the look out for low carb recipes to add to my LC Binders, I haven't tried all of them. This is one of those. In the past 8 years I've never bought Carbquick Bake Mix and I've never even seen macadamia nut oil. If you have both of these on hand and want to try this recipe... well then, this one is for you!

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

1 whole egg
1 cup Carbquik Bake Mix
2 tablespoons Splenda
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/8 cup water
1 tablespoon macadamia nut oil
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1 teaspoon baking powder

Heat oven to 400°F. Place paper baking cup in each of 6 regular-size muffin cups, or grease bottoms only of muffin cups. Beat egg slightly in medium bow, stir in remaining ingredients just until moistened. Divide batter evenly among cups.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

253 Calories; 21g Fat; 8g Protein; 11g Carbohydrate; 4.5g Dietary Fiber; 6.5g Net Carbs

Low Carb Lemon Muffins

This was originally posted almost 10 years ago, in January of 2010.  A lot of great products have come out since then I'd like to add that you can find another terrific lemon poppy seed muffin that uses pumpkin puree' in this post from 2018.  Also, a search for my lemon poppy seed cake from 2019 can be made into great muffins!  Just use the search bar to the right.




From my files of low carb... enjoy!

Low Carb Lemon Muffins


1 1/2 Cups EAS Vanilla Whey Protein
2 T Wheat Gluten Flour
2 T oat flour
1 t xanthan gum
2 t baking powder
1 t baking soda

Wet Ingredients:

1/2 c (1 stick) butter, melted
1 1/4 c full-fat plain yogurt
2 eggs
1 T grated lemon rind (or lemon extract)
1/4 Cup Splenda
2 T DaVinci Sugar Free Vanilla or Lemon Syrup

Glaze:

1/3 Cup lemon juice
1/3 Cup Splenda
3 T water

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray.

In a large mixing bowl, melt the butter, lemon rind, Splenda, and vanilla Syrup; stir to combine. Add yogurt and the 2 eggs and beat thoroughly.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, and stir quickly, just to combine. Don't overwork this batter or your muffins will have air tunnels.

Fill muffin tins about two-thirds full. Bake at 325°F for about 12 minutes or so, until tops are pebbly-looking and just starting to brown. The tops should spring back when touched, and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin should come out clean.

Combine the ingredients for the glaze in a large microwave-safe bowl, and microwave on high power for 2 minutes. Stir well until fully dissolved. Poke each muffin two or three times with a fork, and drizzle 2 to 3 teaspoons of glaze over each muffin.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

158 calories; 10 g fat; 5 g carbs; 1 g fiber; 11 g protein.