Zuppa Toscana Soup – low carb

Everyone knows about Olive Garden’s famous endless soup, salad and breadsticks. I for one, am a huge fan of their Zuppa Toscana soup. I’m not, however, a fan of the calories and carbs associated with the soup. Not to mention the basket of breadsticks I would want to consume if I was at OG. So I tried my hand at a keto friendly zuppa. And I have to tell you, I didn’t miss the potatoes at all. Cauliflower really is a low carb chameleon and I’m glad that I like it.

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. mild Italian Sausage

4 slices thick-cut bacon (chopped)

32 oz beef bone broth (I couldn’t find beef bone so I used beef broth)

1 small onion, diced

3 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1 head fresh cauliflower, diced or one bag of frozen florets

½ cup heavy whipping cream

2 cups fresh spinach or kale (I used spinach)

salt and pepper, optional

crushed red pepper flakes, optional

shredded parmesan cheese for garnish, optional

DIRECTIONS

Brown your sausage and chopped up bacon together in a large soup pot. Once your meat is cooked, drain the grease and add beef broth, onions, garlic, and cauliflower. Cover and cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender. I used a potato masher to break up the chunks of the cauliflower at this point.

Once the cauliflower is softened, add in heavy cream and spinach. Cook for about 5 minutes, until spinach or kale is soft. Add salt, pepper and some crushed red pepper flakes to taste. Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

Low Carb Cauliflower Chowder

It’s snowing again. Yes, I know it’s Iowa but I could’ve done without the last 10 inches of snow we’ve gotten in the last 24 hours. And knowing there is 6-8 more inches on the way tomorrow has got me in a soup making state of mind. This is an easy keto soup. And if you like bacon and cream cheese (who doesn’t?!?) you’ll enjoy this soup no matter what the weather is in your neck of the woods. (360 calories, 4 net carbs, 28g fat, 20g protein) Makes 5 servings.  

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 head of cauliflower or bag of frozen fleurets

1 cup spinach

1/4 cup cream cheese

1/2 cup diced onion

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp minced garlic

1/2 pound cooked crumbled bacon

salt & pepper to taste

I also added a can of corn which takes it out of the keto category but added some nice texture and thickened it up

In a large pot, add the butter and onions and sauté until clear. Add the minced garlic and sauté for an additional minute. Add the chicken broth, seasoning and cauliflower to the pot and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender. Carefully pour half or more of the mixture (along with the cup of spinach) into a blender and pulse a few times until creamy. Place back on the heat and add the cream cheese. You can add a cup of water or more chicken broth, depending on your consistency preference.  Simmer for 5-10 minutes or until the cream cheese is melted and blended nicely. Top with crumbled bacon, chopped green onion and shredded cheese (I used pepper jack). I also added a couple drops of sriracha because I like things spicy.

Egg Roll in a Bowl (low carb)

My coworker McKayla had this for lunch the other day and it smelled great! She was sweet enough to share the recipe and it did not disappoint! 

1 lb. ground meat (I used beef but pork or chicken would be great too) 

Onion (green/red/white)

3T sesame oil

¾ T garlic

3T low sodium soy sauce

2T Rice vinegar

2T Grated ginger

1T olive oil

1 bag cauliflower rice – cooked per bag directions

1 bag Asian salad kit - greens only (Hyvee also has a Dole brand. If you want added crunch, save the wontons to top your bowl once it’s cooked.) or a medium chopped head of cabbage

Brown meat & onion. Meanwhile mix all remaining ingredients together (except cabbage and rice). Once meat is cooked, add cabbage, cauliflower rice & sauce and sauté to desired doneness.

I added a tablespoon of siraracha and drizzled with sweet chili sauce.  Delicious! 

Bacon Jalapeno Cheese Log

Ingredients:

2 pkgs cream cheese softened

3 cups shredded Mexican style cheese

8 slices bacon cooked and crumbled

4 jalapenos diced

1 onion diced

2-3 green onions chopped, optional

Olive oil

crackers for serving

In a sauté pan, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and jalapenos and cook for 4-5 minutes until softened and beginning to brown.  Spread jalapeno-onion mixture onto a piece of parchment or waxed paper to cool.

Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat cream cheese till soft and smooth. Add Mexican style cheese and beat to mix. Add cooled jalapeno-onion mixture and 3/4 of the bacon crumbles. Briefly beat to combine.

Spoon mixture into a rough log shape onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Sprinkle remaining bacon crumbles and green onions, if using, over the top of the cheese log. As tightly as possible, wrap plastic wrap around the cheese log and press into shape.  Refrigerate until ready to eat. Serve with your favorite crackers.

Rather than doing this as a cheese log I did it as a dip in a bowl. It made a large batch and I found this dip is great on scrambled eggs or chicken breast as well! 

Crockpot chicken tortilla soup

Ingredients:

1 pound chicken breast or tenders

15 oz. can rotel

10 oz. can enchilada sauce

1 medium onion, chopped

4 oz. can chopped green chile peppers

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups water

14.5 oz. can chicken broth

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

10 oz. package frozen corn

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Vegetable oil

7 corn tortillas

Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, and garlic into a slow cooker. Pour in water and chicken broth, and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and bay leaf.  Stir in corn and cilantro. Cover and cook on low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on high setting for 3 to 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Lightly brush both sides of tortillas with oil. Cut tortillas into strips, and then spread on a baking sheet.  Bake in preheated oven until crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes.

When soup is done, shred the chicken breasts with a fork.  Sprinkle tortilla strips over soup. Garnish with avocado if desired.

Summer made this for soup night and actually didn’t use tortillas.  It was still awesome! Just more of a broth based soup.  Also, if you don’t like heat, cut the cayenne pepper and replace the can of rotel with a can of diced tomatoes! Add some black beans! Another tweak, use all chicken broth instead of the 2 cups of water.  

Gluten-free Cheesy Pepper Jack Potato Chowder

Ingredients:

8 strips bacon, chopped

1 rib celery, chopped

1 large shallot or 1/2 small onion, chopped

pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes (or more or less)

2 Tablespoons glutenfree or allpurpose flour

2 cups chicken broth, divided

2 cups 2% milk

4 cups southern style frozen hash browns

8 oz freshly shredded Pepper Jack cheese

2 green onions, chopped

In a small bowl whisk together 2 Tablespoons flour with 1/4 cup chicken broth then set aside.

Heat a large soup pot over medium heat then add chopped bacon and cook until crisp. Remove bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain then remove all but 1 Tablespoon bacon grease from the pot. Add celery and shallots, season with pepper, and then sauté until tender, 4-5 minutes. Add minced garlic and red chili pepper flakes then sauté for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.  Add remaining 1 3/4 cups chicken broth, milk, hash browns, and lots of freshly cracked pepper to the pot then turn heat up to high and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Slowly drizzle in flour/chicken broth mixture then stir to combine. Turn heat down to medium-low and simmer until chowder has thickened and potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Remove pot from heat then add shredded cheese about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until completely smooth before adding the next batch. Stir in 1/2 the cooked bacon then serve with remaining bacon and green onions.

I made this for the soup cook off I hosted this weekend. It was so good! I made mine in the crockpot so it was even easier and could be kept warm throughout the night.  

Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

1 small onion, chopped

1 jalapeno, finely chopped

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 small can diced green chiles

1 packet taco seasoning

14.5 oz. can chicken broth

2 cans northern beans, drained and rinsed (I used one)

8 oz. block cream cheese

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

sliced green onions

Frito chips

Place onion and jalapeno in bottom of crock pot. Put chicken on top.  Add green chiles, taco seasoning, chicken broth, and beans. Cover crock pot and cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours.  Add cream cheese and cook on LOW for 1 more hour.  Add shredded cheese and stir until cheese melts, shredding the chicken as you stir. If cheese doesn't melt all the way, cover for 5 to 10 minutes.  Serve with green onions and Frito chips.

As odd as it sounds, I had never made or even eaten white chicken chili before but man am I glad I did! Throw everything together in the crockpot and wait for a creamy, delicious meal? Yes, please! 

Egg muffins

Ingredients:

12 eggs (beaten)

1-2 cups shredded cheese

Diced ham

Spinach

Onion

Mushrooms

(You can use any combo of breakfast meats and veggies but this is what we had on hand)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray muffin tin with nonstick spray.  In the bottom of the muffin cups layer meat, vegetables and cheese.  You want the muffin cups to be about 2/3 full, with just enough room to pour a little egg around the other ingredients. Break eggs into large measuring bowl, add salt and pepper and beat well.  Pour egg into each muffin cup until it is 3/4 full.  Bake 25 minutes until muffins have risen and are slightly browned and set.

Muffins will keep for a week in the refrigerator without freezing.  Can also be frozen and reheated. For best results, thaw in refrigerator before reheating. Microwave on high about 1 minute if frozen, 15 seconds if fresh from the fridge. 

Grandma’s Cheeseburger Soup

 

One of my favorite Christmas traditions!! Straight from The Underbakke Family Cookbook! 

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

1/4 C. flour

3/4 C. chopped onion

8 oz. velveeta cheese

3/4 C. shredded carrots

1 1/2 C. milk

3/4 C. diced celery

1 tsp. basil

3 Tbsp. butter or oil

1/4 C. sour cream

3 C. chicken broth

Salt and pepper

4 C. diced potatoes

In a 5-quart pot, brown ground beef; drain and set aside. Saute onions, carrots, celery and basil in same pan, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour and add broth, potatoes and ground beef. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender; about 15 minutes. Add cheese, milk, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until cheese melts. Remove from heat and blend in sour cream. Serve.

White Trash Casserole

I have to admit, the name of this recipe intrigued me.  It looked simple and included ingredients I had on hand so I decided to give it a shot last night.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1 tbsp. mince garlic

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 can corn, drained

Small brick of Velveeta, cut into cubes

Tater Tots

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown beef and onion together then drain. (The original recipe doesn’t call for minced garlic but I added it and was glad I did.)  Mix cream of mushroom with the ground beef.  Spread beef mixture in bottom of a casserole dish. Layer corn, Velveeta, and tater tots. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes to an hour, until tater tots are golden brown.

This made my house smell amazing while it was cooking.  It tasted great too. It was what I imagine a casserole would taste like if Hunters Dish and Tater Tot Casserole had a baby.  If you’re looking for an easy recipe to throw together on a cold night, add this to your collection.

Tangy Chicken Tenders

Ingredients:

2 pounds boneless, skinless, chicken breast, sliced into tenders

½ cup bbq sauce (I used Jack Daniels Spicy)

1 tbsp. Franks Red Hot sauce

½ an onion, diced

¼ cup minced garlic

¼ cup brown sugar

A few dashes of Cajun seasoning and/or hickory smoke salt

Place all ingredients in a plastic bag and make sure all chicken pieces are coated.  Refrigerate for 2 hours so that flavors can meld together.  Grill over medium heat until chicken is done and juices run clear.  If it’s not grilling season, bake in oven for 25 minutes at 350. 

These are great as is but I love to make slider sandwiches with them! All you need to do is cover with a piece of pepper jack cheese and serve on a sweet Hawaiian roll.  Yum!

Grilled Green Beans

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh green beans

4 slices of bacon, diced

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. minced garlic

¼ medium onion, diced

Salt & pepper

Wash and thoroughly dry green beans. Season with salt and pepper in a large bowl.  Add remaining ingredients and shake to mix.  Place on foil that has been covered in non-stick spray.  Place on the top shelf of grill for 20 minutes, flipping half way through.  

Crockpot cheesy chicken & rice

Guest blog by Kristin O’Meara

Ingredients:

1 (8 oz) box Zatarain’s yellow rice, cooked according to package

4 boneless chicken breasts

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 medium onion, chopped

1 (10.5 oz) can cream of chicken soup

1 (15 oz) can of corn, drained

2 cups chicken stock

Place chicken in crockpot and season with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle with chopped onions.  Mix together chicken broth and cream of chicken soup.  Pour over chicken.  Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours (or 4 hours on high). 

Before serving, shred the chicken with 2 forks.  Add in cooked rice, shredded cheese and corn.  Mix well until cheese is melted and serve. 

Easy to make warm meal for winter.  And who doesn’t like chicken and cheesy goodness?  This was great plain and I also tried with chips.  I bet it would be good on a bun too, like a sandwich.  

Strawberry Mango Salsa

1 cup of diced strawberries

1 medium mango diced

1 - 2 jalapenos diced and seeded

1/2 onion diced

red cabbage to preference

1 lime squeezed

Mix the fruit and veggies.  Add lime juice.  Refrigerate for at least one hour.  Serve with tortilla chips or on fish tacos.  

A perfect blend of sweet spice that will tickle your tongue and make you feel like summer is near.  

Italian Sausage sandwiches

Review by Lyndee:

1 pound ground Italian sausage

1 red pepper

1 yellow pepper

1 onion

2 tbsp minced garlic

Salt & pepper

Red pepper flakes

Mozzarella cheese

Marinara or spaghetti sauce

Hoagie rolls

Slice up peppers and onions and cook in skillet until they begin to get soft. In another skillet, brown your sausage and minced garlic. Season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.  Slice hoagie rolls and spread butter and sprinkle garlic on the inside. Broil until golden brown.  Add crumbled sausage. Cover with a few peppers and onions. On top of that put a light layer of marinara sauce.  Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese.  Broil another minute until cheese melts.  

These are easy to make and delicious! 

Weight Watchers slow cooker cheeseburger soup

Review by Lyndee

Ingredients:

cooking spray

1 medium garlic clove minced

1 medium onion chopped

1 medium celery stalk chopped

6 baby carrots chopped (not in original recipe but I’m glad I added it)

1 red chili pepper (also not in original recipe)

1 lb uncooked lean ground beef ( with 7% fat)

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 cups canned chicken broth, divided

1 cup low-fat evaporated milk

8 ounces Kraft Velveeta reduced fat cheese product cubed

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon table salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

24 baked corn tortilla chips, crumbled (optional)

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat for about 30 seconds.

Add garlic, onion, celery, carrots and pepper to skillet; cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are tender, about 5 to 10 minutes. Coat a 3-quart or larger slow cooker with cooking spray; spoon in vegetables.

Place same skillet over medium-high heat and brown beef, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon as it cooks, pour off any liquid and add meat to slow cooker.

In a small cup, combine flour and 1/2 cup of broth; stir until lump-free. Pour flour mixture into same skillet; add remaining 2 1/2 cups of broth.

Bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits in bottom of skillet with a wooden spoon, and then pour into slow cooker; stir in evaporated milk, cheese, paprika, salt and pepper.

Cook on low setting for 2 hours.

Serve soup topped with crumbled chips.

Yields about 3/4 cup of soup and 3 tablespoons of chips per serving.

Note: If the soup cooks too long, the cheese could separate.

If that happens, combine 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour and 1/4 cup of soup in a cup; stir to a paste.

Stir flour mixture back into soup in slow cooker; cover and cook on low setting for 10 to 15 minutes (does not affect POINTS values).

This soup was awesome! It was so good I didn’t add the tortilla chips.  Figured that was just wasted calories and I liked it without just fine.  Excellent flavor and I’m a sucker for crock pot soups.  

Bacon Spinach Cheese Ball

Review by Lyndee:

Ingredients:

6 slices bacon

6 ounces fresh spinach

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup onion, finely minced

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 (8 ounce) block of cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup shredded cheddar jack cheese

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper     

In a large skillet cook the bacon until crisp. Set aside to cool and drain on paper towels. Chop when cool.

Drain all but 1 tablespoon bacon grease from the skillet. Add the spinach and cook over medium heat until wilted and cooked through. Sprinkle the spinach with salt and set aside on a cutting board to cool. Chop finely when cooled.

Add the onion to the skillet and cook until it's translucent and a tiny bit golden at the edges. Add the garlic to the skillet and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Place the cream cheese in a large bowl. Add cheese, onions, garlic, half of the chopped bacon, chopped spinach, and cayenne pepper and stir well. Roll the cream cheese mixture into a large ball and then roll in the remaining chopped bacon. Wrap tightly and refrigerate until ready to serve.

This was my first time ever attempted a cheese ball.  First of all, make sure your onions are cooked through. Mine were still a bit crunchy.  Also, crumbled the crap out of your bacon. I used half within and half to roll the ball in like directed but as you can see from the picture, it barely covered my ball.  The taste was very good but the presentation was lacking some style points. It was more of a cheese blob than a cheese ball.  

Cheesy Bacon Onion Dip

Review by Lyndee:

Ingredients:

1 8-ounce package of cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese, divided
8 strips of bacon, cooked and chopped into small pieces OR 1/2 cup bacon bits

1/4 cup onion, diced
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a pie dish or other small oven-save dish with cooking spray and set aside. In a medium bowl blend together cream cheese, sour cream, and mayo until creamy. Stir in 3/4 cup Swiss cheese (about half). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Saute your onions for about 5 minutes over medium-high heat using 1 tablespoon of olive oil or reserved bacon drippings. Add to the creamed mixture and stir until evenly distributed. Spread this mixture evenly in the bottom of your prepared baking dish.

Next, sprinkle the remaining swiss cheese over the top of the creamed mixture. Finally, sprinkle the bacon evenly over the top. Season with a little bit of freshly ground pepper on top. At this point, you can cover it and put it in the fridge for up to 5 days or continue and bake it up!

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until dip is bubbly and cheese begins to turn golden brown. Serve with crackers or chips!

I made this in the crockpot for a birthday party.  Mixed as directed but added half the bacon to the mixture. Then sprinkle with remaining cheese and bacon and cook on low for 3 hours. I served with tortilla chips and ritz crackers. This dip disappeared before some of the people at the party even got a chance to try it.  Yum! Will definitely be making this dip again.  

Leftover Totally Taters

Review by Lyndee:

Ingredients:

4 baked potatoes (sliced into pieces)

2 tbsp chopped onions (I used green)

2 tbsp minced garlic

6 strips cooked bacon pieces

Pepper

Salt

Optional:

Shredded cheese

Sour cream

We had leftover baked potatoes from the day before so I decided to make them into something fun for dinner the next night.  Heat a little olive oil in a pan on the stove.  Add the onions and garlic.  Cook for a few minutes.  Add the diced potatoes and bacon.  Salt & pepper to taste.  Once cooked through serve warm.  Garnish with shredded cheese and sour cream if you want.  They have such great flavor you don’t need anything but we had fun making potato “nachos” supreme.  This was simple to make and the kids loved them.  

Cucumber Onion Dip

Review by Rachael:

Prep/Total Time: 15 minutes

1 package (8oz) cream cheese, softened (could use reduced or fat free)

½ cup finely chopped seeded, peeled cucumber

¼ cup finely chopped onion

2 tablespoons Mayonnaise (I used fat free Miracle Whip)

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

Rye chips, crackers or baked chips

In a small mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, cucumber onion, mayonnaise, salt & pepper; beat until blended. Refrigerate until serving. Serve with Rye chips, crackers or baked chips. Yield: 1 ½ cups.

I was looking for a new dip to make & share at our crafting at the cabin day. This sounded so light & “summery” to me! Since I am really looking forward to warm weather this sounded like something I had to try. Very easy to make, just mix everything together. At first I didn’t think it had much flavor, but the longer it sat in the fridge the better the flavors got. I really liked this dip & will make it again. Had a great flavor & I love that I can make it ahead of time! I did make a double batch because a single batch just didn’t seem like enough for a crowd. I took both club crackers & Italian Herb Flatbread crackers. I liked the club crackers with it but really loved the Flatbread crackers with this dip. If you are looking for something very easy to take – I recommend this dip!