LC Chicken Flour Tacos

I've been experimenting with some LC recipes so I can have a variety of food.  After a while its gets very boring eating salad 1000 different ways.
There are many good LC tortilla's out there.  Unfortunately for me the best ones I've found are made in Santa Fe, New Mexico and are not sold here in KS.  *sigh*...but the other ones out there will do as long as you have the right fillings.
This is a very easy quick lunch or dinner and you get your salad included.  :)
This recipe is for 1 but you could just double or triple it ingredients for as many as you would like to feed.

2 LC flour tortillas
1 - 2 large skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/2 small onion diced
1 cup shredded lettuce
1/3 cup shredded colby/jack cheese
1 small tomato diced
1/3 cup water
1-2 heaping TBL of Taco seasoning (see below)
sour cream
olive oil for cooking chicken

Homemade Taco seasoning
2 tsp hot chilli powder
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp fine black pepper
pinch of cayene pepper (more or less)
pinch of red pepper flakes (more or less)
The two above are based on the amount of heat you like
Mix all together.

In a skillet heat oil sprinkle chicken with taco seasoning then add chicken breasts and onion cook until almost done, remove chicken from pan and slice.  Return to pan and continue cooking, add more seasoning if desired.  Add about 1/3 cup of water and let simmer for about 5 minutes so the taco seasoning gets into meat.  You could use package Taco seasoning mix if you don't have or want to make our own.  Own is better though.  JMO
Heat your LC tortilla either on top of stove or in the microwave for about 10-15 seconds.  Fill and top with your lettuce, tomato and sour cream.  Enjoy.  YUM

Thanks for taking time to stop by, leave a comment if you like would love to hear your thoughts.  Have a wonderful day and Remember to Find the Time to Do ALL the things YOU L♥ove.
D♥onna

Taco Stuffed Zucchini Boats

Doing Low Carb can be challenging at times.  I have never been a big vegetable eater and there had not been many veggies I would eat.  I had just a small list of veggies which were.....corn, green beans (canned not fresh and not Julianne style) asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower...that's it.  Well last month I had eggplant for the first time and just love it.  Also had some different types of zucchini and so far like all of those.  I'm going to try brussels sprouts again.  I've seen several recipes for them so thought what the hey!  I adapted this  recipe from here.   She has some really good recipes so take the time to look at her many recipes.
I had this with a salad and boy was it filling.  I will make it again for sure.  She has several versions of these stuffed boats so will try adapting them to my taste.

4 medium zucchinis, cut in half lengthwise
1/2 cup mild rotel
1 lb ground beef
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 small onion, minced
2 tbsp bell pepper, minced
1/2 large tomato diced
1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used mild cheddar and velvetta mixed)
salt and pepper
chopped lettuce and sour cream for the top

Bring a pot of water of salted water to the boil.  Preheat oven to 400°
Cut zucchini in half then with a spoon or melon baller remove inside of zucchini leaving about 1/4 inch.  Put the zucchini 1/2's into boiling water and cook for about 1 1/2 minutes.  Remove and let drain on paper towel.   Dice the zucchini you removed and set aside.  Put the zucchini boats in a roasting pan lined with parchment paper (easy cleanup).  In a skillet, heat olive oil and saute the onions and garlic, add the meat and zucchini and cook until almost done, add spices, salt and pepper and continue to cook for about 15 minutes until meat is done.  Fill the boats, pressing meat into them so they are filled good.  Top with cheese and cover with foil and bake for about 35 minutes until cheese is melted and boats are tender.  Serve with sour cream and lettuce.  Enjoy
Hope you try this recipe, it's a great change from the norm.  Have a great day and Remember to Find the Time to Do all the Things you L♥ve.
D♥nna

baked stuffed chicken rolls

This is a very tasty dish that the entire family will love.  It's loaded with so  much flavor and you would make it low carb if you like.  My changes for doing it low carb are in red.  These pictures are the low carb version because that's the way I eat now, but feel free to make it your way.  I made the fried green tomatoes that night also, and the pasta is Dreamsfield LC spaghetti and a nice salad.  Very filling meal.

INGREDIENTS
2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts (8 4-ounce pieces)
1 cup whole wheat Italian style bread crumbs (*I used low carb Italian flat-bread let it stay out til it was hard then processed to make crumbs)
6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, divided
5 ounces fresh baby spinach
1 clove minced garlic and olive oil for sauteing
½ cup part-skim ricotta cheese
⅓ cup beaten egg whites
3 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly slice
1 cup marinara sauce
fresh basil for topping


INSTRUCTIONS
Prep the chicken: Cut the chicken into 8 pieces and pound the pieces until they are thin (for quick cooking) and have expanded in surface area (for more filling). Place the breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl with 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese and set aside.
Prep the filling: Chop the spinach and sautee it with the garlic and just a drizzle of olive oil for 2-3 minutes or until just barely wilted. Combine the sauteed spinach with the ricotta, Parmesan cheese, and 2-3 tablespoons of the egg whites. Place the remaining egg whites in a separate shallow bowl and set aside.
Assemble the chicken: Oil the bottom of a large baking dish and preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place one piece of chicken on a flat working surface. Put a spoonful of ricotta-spinach filling right in the middle and roll the chicken up so that the edges meet to form a “seam”. Dip the entire chicken roll in egg whites, and then roll it in the breadcrumbs. Place in a baking dish, seam side down. Repeat for the remaining 7 pieces of chicken. Bake for 25 minutes.
Finishing touches: After 25 minutes, the chicken should be cooked through (white on the inside) and browned on the top. Cover the chicken with the marinara sauce and slices of fresh Mozzarella. Bake for another 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melting. Sprinkle with fresh basil.
NOTES
Don’t try to cram all the pieces too close together because if the sides are touching each other, they won’t get crispy. Leaving a little space between each piece allows the breadcrumbs to bake, brown, and get crispy.
Thanks for stopping by, sure hope you try this recipe.  Have a great day and Remember to Find the time to do ALL the things you L♥ve.
Donna

Broiled Lobster Tail

One of our local grocery stores had lobster tails on sale so it was the perfect time to make them.  They are delicious, easy to cook and low in both calories and carbs.  I made this in the toaster oven.  You just cut the shell and pull up the meat, and then put in the toaster oven and bake for about 10 minutes.  The last couple of minutes turn on the broiler and brush with some butter.  YUM.  The green beans are made with bacon and onion.  This was a quick easy delicious dinner.  Oh I might add cheap too, the lobster tails were only $5.00.
Thanks for taking time to stop by.  Have a wonderful day and Remember to Find the time to Do ALL the things YOU L♥ve.
Donna

Roasted Cauliflower and Mild Cheddar Soup

Doing LC can be a challenge at times.  You can eat so many things so your menu can be almost limitless (of course minus the carbs...ie bread, rice pasta)  But I can tell you from experience that you should never be hungry eating this way.  If you are you're not following the plan right and you are not eating enough.
Fall is upon us and the weather is just now starting to change.  Here in Kansas you really don't know what the weather will be like from day to day.  I've seen days where it's 40° and the next day it's 85°.  With the weather being a bit cooler the past couple of days I've been craving soup.  Cauliflower is a good veggie when doing LC....so what better to make than a nice roasted cauliflower and cheese soup.  Cheese is also another yummy food you can have with not guilt but you can't go overboard either.


Ingredients:
1/2 head fresh cauliflower (roasted or boiled)
3 cloves garlic
2 medium sized carrots
1 medium onion
2 stalks celery
1/3 to 1/2 cup shredded mild cheddar (or cheese of your choice)
1/2 and 1/2 (you can use heavy cream)
1-2 slices of bacon
2 large tomatoes quartered (guess you could use canned tomatoes)
salt and pepper

 In a sauce pan put a cook bacon and cook the onion until tender, add garlic carrots, celery and cauliflower, and tomatoes.  Add chicken stock and cook until tender.  Salt and pepper to taste.  With an emulsion blender blend soup until smooth.  Serve with some fresh basil on top.  Enjoy.
Thanks for taking time from you day to stop by and always Remember to Find the Time to do all the Things You L♥ve.
Donna

Zucchini Sticks and Yummy Dipping Sauce

My daughter's mother in law posted a recipe she found on somewhere on FB the other day and thought I might want to try it but make the dipping sauce LC so it would fit into my style of eating these days.  This is a super easy recipe and I also made the coating for the zucchini sticks LC, so all around it was a win win recipe once it was adapted.  I really had no idea that zucchini was sooooooo low in carbs so guess I will try other recipes with it and see how much I like it.  Will be very honest I really have never had zucchini of any kind except in bread and you can't tell it's zucchini.  Oh I take that back, there is a restaurant here in town that sneaks small pieces of zucchini in salad and one day I asked the waitress what that one thing was (because I liked it  :)  ) and she told me it was zucchini.

When I made the dip I only made 1/2 the recipe because I was not sure I would like it and didn't want to waste a bunch of food.  I will put the 1/2 in red if you choose to make just that amount, do what's listed is for the full recipe.
The original recipe used honey as the sweetener so you can do that if you want, but it won't be LC.
Dipping sauce
1 medium onion, sliced  1 1 small onion, sliced
2 TBL cider vinegar           1 TBL cider vinegar
3 tsp. truvia                        1 1/2 tsp truvia *or other sweetener*
1 TBL prepared mustard    1 1/2 tsp prepared mustard.
1 TBL butter                       1 TBL butter
1 cup mayo                          Almost 1/2 cup of mayo and about 2 TBL sour cream to make 1/2 cup level.

In a skillet melt the butter and add the onions, cook them slowly until the are caramelized.  In a small food processor add the vinegar, sweetener, mustard and all of the onions and blend until almost smooth.  In a bowl put mayo/sour cream and then add the stuff from the food processor.  Mix well.  You can either use it then or put in fridge and chill. 

Zucchini
I used 1 medium sized zucchini and cut it into 1/4 inch slices, they looked like large french fries.  Put them in a strainer sprinkle salt over them and let them sit for about an hour.  It will release a lot of the water.   Drain and rinse.


1/2 cup almond flour
1 TBL coconut flour
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese *this time I used the stuff with the green lid*
1 - 2  tsp.  Italian seasoning
1 large egg, beat with a bit of water

Dip the zucchini pieces in the egg, then into the flour mixture, do this one at a time or you will have a mess.  Line a cooking sheet with parchment paper and spray with olive oil.  Place them on sheet and bake in 425 ° for 12  minutes, they will start to brown, turn them over and continue to cook till they are all golden brown, about another 12 minutes.    Enjoy!
Thanks for taking time from your busy day to stop by.  Have a great week and Remember to Find the Time to Do ALL the Things YOU L♥ve.
Donna 

Low carb bread sticks

I was pleasantly surprised at how good these were.  The family liked them too.  I didn't have my marinara sauce ready at the time so used Ranch to dip them in.  (Update I did make them again and we all agreed they are better with the marinara sauce, makes them like Mozzarella  sticks)
I found this here, she has some awesome recipes....want to try almost all of them soon.
Easiest Bread sticks Ever
1 packed cup cooked, minced chicken breast  (I used rotisserie chicken)
1 cup packed mozzarella, shredded
1 Tbsp parsley, dried
1 tsp basil  (I used fresh)
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Process chicken and cheese together. Mixture will resemble a meal/thick, dense crumb consistency.
3. Firmly press chicken/cheese mixture to 1/2″ thick  into non-stick, miniature bread pans, about 4X8″ (if you have a regular pan, you can spray and line with parchment for easy removal and use that instead).
4. Top with parsley, basil, onion and garlic powder.
5. Bake for 20 minutes.
6. Let cool for five minutes in pan.
7. Invert onto a cooling rack until fully cooled.
8. Slice and serve.
Makes a hell of a lot of breadsticks.
These are such a great addition to food that can be eaten when you are doing LC life style.  Hope you give them a try because they are well worth making and will be a hit with all that try them.  It's also so shocking to know they are made of chicken.
Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful day and Remember to Find the Time to Do ALL the Things You Love.
Donna

Faux Chicken Fried Rice

I have been making a lot of low carb dishes lately and this was one I made the other night to have as my veggie.  It's so simple to make and very low carb.  Hope you'll give it a try you'll be pleasantly surprised at how good it is.  It's also very quick to make, so yet another big plus.
printable:

1/2 head cauliflower - grated on the large hole of box grater
1 egg
1-2 TBL oil
1/4 of an onion diced
2-3 oz of cooked chicken cut up
Soy Sauce to taste
Sesame oil

In a large skillet heat some oil, (I use coconut oil) then saute the onions, til clear, add the egg and cook til it looks like scrambled egg, add your cauliflower and stir.  Continue to cook til done..it takes about 5 minutes.  Add some soy sauce and sesame oil to taste, cook a bit longer and the very end I added some cooked chicken.
You can add things to this recipe if you like, such as peas, green onion, carrots, etc.

I made this side to go with a Tilapia Parmesan piece of fish.  Dinner was really good.  Will share the fish recipe in an upcoming post, along with some of the other low carb items I've made.
Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful day and Remember to Find the Time to Do All the things You Love.
Donna
carb count for 1 cup faux rice 10.8 Fiber 8.2  Net Carb 2.6