Low Carb/Keto Meatballs Lisa C. 9:03 PM

 

The oft asked, "What do you want for dinner tonight?" was answered swiftly with "Spaghetti and meatballs!" I am glad my significant other, Fred, knew what he wanted, and that I had all the ingredients on hand. 

Years and years ago, before going low carb, I was satisfied to get a bag of pre-made frozen meatballs at the grocery and throw them in some sauce and be done with it, but those grocery store meatballs are loaded with high cab fillers, like bread crumbs. So, I substitute other ingredients for the bread crumbs, low carb binders that make the meatballs tender, but not mushy and falling apart. This isn't my first low carb meatball rodeo, this is just the first time sharing it with all of you! These are hearty, delicious meatballs loaded with protein and good, healthy fat, bursting with Italian flavor.

After preheating the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, the first thing we need to do is mix the ground beef and Italian sausage together. I like to do this with my clean, bare hands so I can feel that I am not over-mixing, but rather gently combining these meats to keep from making the mixture too dense. If you have an aversion to doing this with your hands, a spoon or rubber spatula will work, too. I would advise against an electric mixer to avoid over working the meats.

Mix until meats are fairly well incorporated with each other, then add the dry seasonings and eggs. Blend again with hands or spoon/spatula until the eggs are mixed in. Then add the Parmesan cheese, mixing until the egg has been mostly soaked up by the Parmesan.

Roll into 1 1/2 inch balls and place on a parchment or aluminum foil lined baking sheet.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until nicely browned.

These meatballs are great without sauce, but in marinara they are an excellent addition to use over spaghetti squash, as I did this evening, or zoodles, or even a meatball sandwich made with a keto or low carb bread of your choice.

Here's the recipe:

Low Carb/Keto Meatballs

(Makes approximately 30 meatballs)

1 lb ground beef
1 lb bulk Italian sausage
2 lg eggs
1 t salt
1 t garlic powder
1 t onion powder
1/2 to 3/4 C Parmesan cheese (use more if not dry enough after mixing with meat and eggs)

1. Preheat oven to 400° F.
2. Combine ground beef and Italian sausage until loosely combined.
3. Add dry seasonings.
4. Add eggs. Mix to combine meats and eggs.
5. Add Parmesan cheese and combine until cheese soaks up the egg. Add more Parmesan if mixture does not form a solid ball when rolled in hands.
6. Place meatballs on a foil or parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until nicely browned.   

Keto/Low Carb Creamy Chicken, Broccoli, and Mushroom Soup NoPainNoGrain 2:02 AM

Winter is hanging on even though spring is right around the corner. There's a chill in the air that's going right through my bones, so last week I thought I'd throw together a comforting, creamy soup that was low carb/keto with some ingredients I had on hand, using my trusty pressure cooker.

What resulted was a rich, hearty soup that disappeared all too quickly! I had a little left over from the first batch and was looking forward to warming up a bowl to enjoy after work. That was, until my daughter messaged me and told me she was sorry, she couldn't stop herself from eating the rest of it, it was so delicious!

So, I've been craving it ever since and made another batch last night. There are no leftovers this time! No, I didn't eat it singlehandedly, I had plenty of help! That's okay, though, it's so quick and easy to make, I can make it again in the coming week when the craving hits again. This soup is so good, I just can't keep it to myself, I have to share because I think you'll love it as much as I, and my household, do!

This recipe will work with either the Crock Pot Express (the brand I use) or the Instant Pot.

Let's get started with the ingredients:

1 Whole Chicken (or 4 thighs and drumsticks, bone in with skin on)

4 C water
1 8 oz. package fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 bunch fresh broccoli
3 heaping teaspoons powdered chicken bouillon
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, room temperature
1 half pint heavy whipping cream
4 T Grass fed butter
Thyme, dried
Salt

The first time I made this I used the thighs and drumsticks. My preference is using those, but the whole chicken I used this time was very good.

Can you use skinless, boneless chicken? Sure, but you won't get all the flavor and fatty goodness you get when using whole chicken parts, but you may be able to make up for it with chicken stock or bone broth if you have some on hand.

Let's get to making some great soup, shall we?

Instructions:

1. Rinse chicken and place in cooker on rack with 2 cups of water.

2. Sprinkle salt and thyme on the chicken.

3. Secure top on the pressure cooker, making sure it's sealed and steam release is closed, and set on high pressure for 35 minutes.

4. When time is done, quick release the steam, and when fully released open the lid and remove chicken and rack, leaving broth from cooking in the pot.

5. De-bone the chicken, discarding skin (you could save the bones to make bone broth if you were so inclined!).

6. Remove about a half cup of broth and pour over cream cheese in a mixing bowl.

7. Place the de-boned chicken back into cooker pot.

8. Add 2 more cups of water, mushrooms and powdered bouillon and stir gently.

9. Seal cooker with lid again, steam release closed, setting cooker to high for 3 minutes.

10. Using a mixer, wand blender, or magic bullet, mix the cream cheese with the broth until smooth. (This tempers the cream cheese so it incorporates better into the soup broth and helps prevent separation).

11. After the 3 minutes, quick release the steam again, and remove lid.

12. Add broccoli that's been trimmed to yield only the crowns, and the butter.

13. Close cooker lid and steam release, and cook on high for 2 minutes.

14. Quick release steam when finished, and remove lid.

15. Stir in cream cheese.

16. Stir in heavy cream.

17. Add more salt to taste if necessary.

18. Serve to the delight of your family and friends.

Enjoy!

Keto Chocolate Mousse Lisa C. 9:34 PM

Found somewhere on the Internetz. Looks good!

World's Best Low Carb Cheesecake Lisa C. 5:34 PM

After reading a tirade some comments on my Facebook regarding the sweetener I used in this cheesecake, I feel the need to preface this post by telling you I occasionally use artificial sweeteners with no guilt and no perceivable adverse effects (no headaches, no weight gain, no second head growing from my shoulder). I have lost weight while occasionally eating something sweetened with Sucralose (Splenda). It doesn't affect my blood glucose at all (especially compared to sugar), and that's a great thing to me when I want something sweet, or I am baking for myself and my family for a special occasion. I personally despise the aftertaste of Stevia, and I have gastrointestinal issues if I ingest Erythritol, honey effects me like table sugar, but for ME Sucralose is benign. If you are sensitive to artificial sweeteners, or if you have issues with Sucralose, don't use it! And you find another sweetener works better for you (even sugar), use it! If you find even the thought of sugar or sweeteners or photos of sweet treats spike your blood sugar and make you gain ten pounds, turn back! If you feel the need to lecture me and everyone else on the use of sweeteners I suggest you do it on your own Facebook or start your own blog. Making blanket statements about *anything* is not wise, nor is it intellectually honest, regardless of where or whom you heard it from that sweeteners are the devil. As with anything about low carb eating, YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary). But for those of you who, like myself, can tolerate some sugar substitutes and low carb sweet treats every now and then, have I got something special for you...

The one piece I hid so I could have it for lunch at work yesterday. Yum!

I LOVE cheesecake! I had a recipe I had been using for a while, but after making it the last few times I decided I could probably find a better low carb recipe, or I could convert a good cheesecake recipe to low carb myself. After scouring the Internets and coming up empty on what I thought would be a good low carb recipe for cheesecake, I stumbled upon a full sugar version that sounded wonderful:  
Perfect Cheesecake on Simply Recipes.
I used this recipe to make a cheesecake for the holidays, substituting bulk Sucralose for the sugar and my own almond flour crust for the graham cracker crust. It got rave reviews from family and friends. It IS a perfect cheesecake, so creamy, rich and delicious! Its high fat content fits in nicely with my low carb, ketogenic way of living, too!

If you've ever been intimidated by the prospect of making your own cheesecake from scratch, fear not. As long as you follow the directions it's really pretty easy, and no more time consuming than anything else from scratch. You can do it! I know you can! And the payoff is delicious.

My pointers after having made this are these:

1. After reading a comment in the recipe post someone mentioned using a crock pot liner instead of foil to keep the water out of the springform pan. I happened to have some, so I tried it and it worked like a charm!

2. I made the sour cream icing from the recipe (with Sucralose instead of powdered sugar) and didn't like it. I ended up scraping it off the piece(s) I had, as did all but one other person who had some. I intend to leave it off entirely the next time I make this.

3. I didn't have a pan big enough to do a water bath, so I picked up an aluminum roast pan at the grocery. That also worked great!

4. I do have a Kitchenaid stand mixer, but opted not to drag it out of the pantry and used a hand mixer instead. It worked just fine.

My crust recipe is as follows:

Ingredients

1 ½ C blanched almond flour

4 T butter, melted

4 t Sucralose (or other preferred sweetener)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375° F.
2. Combine almond flour and sweetener.
3. Mix in melted butter and press into bottom of springform pan.
4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly golden brown.

Proceed with the recipe for the cheesecake batter from the linked site, substituting the sweetener of your choice for sugar.

Enjoy!