No-crust Hawaiian Pizza

Recently I’ve been on a low-carb keto kick.  Problem is, as you saw in my previous post with the amazing crust, pizza is pretty much my favorite food group.  So here’s a recipe for all you Hawaiian pizza lovers out there. It couldn’t be any easier and I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. I didn’t miss the crust at all! Oh, and did I mention it only takes about 10 minutes from prep to mouth?

Ingredients:

6-9 piece ham or Canadian bacon

Marinara sauce

Garlic powder

Italian seasoning

A can crushed or diced pineapple

Green onions

Shredded cheese

Red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 350. Cover pizza pan with parchment paper or tin foil.  If tin foil, give it a quick shot of cooking spray.  (You can also do these in muffin tins if you prefer) Set 2-3 pieces of ham in a stack, three times.  Spread marinara on top.  Sprinkle with some garlic powder and Italian seasoning.  Add pineapple and a few pieces of chopped green onion stalk on each.  Cover with cheese and a dash of red pepper flakes. 

Bake for 5 minutes. Broil for 2-3 minutes or until cheese begins to turn golden brown.  Sprinkle with some parmesan cheese and dig in.  

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. 

Macaroni Salad

Review by Lyndee:

Ingredients:

1 pkg. (1 lb) pkg. macaroni (or shells)

1 1/2 c. mayonnaise

2 Tbsp. mustard

1/4 c. sour cream

2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. kosher salt (or to taste)

ground black pepper (to taste)

1 c. ham steak, cut into small cubes

1 c. cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes

2/3 c. frozen peas, thawed

2-3 carrots, shredded

Optional mix-ins:

cucumber, peeled and diced

dill pickles, chopped

tomato, diced

red bell pepper, diced

celery, chopped

Instructions:

Prepare macaroni to al dente according to package directions. After macaroni is cooked, drain and rinse in cold water. Once macaroni has cooled down, drain well.  In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine mayonnaise, mustard, sour cream, apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper.  In a large bowl toss macaroni with ham, cheese, peas, carrots, and other mix-ins.  Fold in mayonnaise mixture until pasta is well coated.  Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit overnight.  If the salad seems a little dry after setting up overnight, add some milk a little bit at a time until salad becomes nice and creamy again.

I didn’t do any additional mix-ins. This salad was easy to make and tasted great. The mustard was a bit stronger than I would’ve thought it would be so if you aren’t a fan of mustard, I would half the amount.  Still, it was a great salad that made a big batch and fed my large crowd with ease.  

Potato & ham casserole

Review by Rachael:

2 cups potatoes, cubed

2 cups ham, cubed

1 (15.25 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained

¼ cup finely chopped minced fresh parsley

¼ cup butter

1 tablespoon chopped onions

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 ¾ cups milk

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

4 ounces processed cheese, shredded

1    Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain and cool.  Combine potatoes, ham, corn & parsley; set aside. In a saucepan sauté onion in butter for 2 minutes, stir in four until blended well. Gradually add milk & pepper. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat & pour over the ham mixture. Stir to mix well.  Pour into greased 7x11 baking dish. Cover and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese and bake 5-10 minutes longer until cheese melts.

I had some ham to use up and found this recipe. I had everything on hand except for a can of corn. I used dried parsley that I had in the cupboard. The prep takes a little bit of time but it’s not a hard recipe. 1 tablespoon of onion just didn’t seem like enough so I ended up adding more: I didn’t measure it, I just added.  I took mine out after it had been in another 10 minutes with the cheese on it, the cheese wasn’t exactly like I was hoping but I didn’t want to overcook the dish. I also had some homemade bread crumbs that I want to use up so I sprinkled a light layer of those on before I put on the cheese.

Next time I would not put so much parsley, it was good but a little too much for my liking. I also added a lot of pepper & salt after it baked to give it some more flavor. All & all it was a good, flavorful dish. 

Overnight Ham and Cheese Breakfast Enchiladas

Review by Lyndee: 

Ingredients:

2 cups cubed and cooked ham

1/2 cup chopped green onions

2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided

10 flour tortillas (6-8 inches)

1 1/4 cup half-and-half

4 whole eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon flour

salsa, sour cream, and additional green onions for serving

In a medium bowl stir together ham, green onions and 2 cups of cheese (save the remaining 1/2 cup for later). Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Use a 1/3-cup measuring cup to scoop out cheese mixture onto a tortilla. Roll up tortilla and place seam side down in the baking dish. Roll up all tortillas and place them into the baking dish with the sides touching.

Whisk together half-and-half, eggs, salt, and flour. Pour over tortillas. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, preheat oven to 350º. Bake covered for 30-40 minutes. Remove foil and sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of cheese over enchiladas. Bake for 10 more minutes or until tops are golden brown and the egg mixture is set.   Serve with salsa, sour cream, and additional green onions.

I was a little skeptical of this recipe.  When I poured on the egg mixture it didn’t seem to cover much area and I didn’t want dry, crunchy tortillas.  I baked it last night and warmed it for breakfast this morning to have all week.  It was surprisingly excellent.  Very tasty! I added just a tiny bit of salsa and sour cream on a few bites but it wasn’t needed because it’s so rich and yummy.  Definitely will put this on the docket for when company is coming to town.   

Cheesy Ham Biscuit Pull Aparts

Review by Lyndee:

Ingredients:

1 egg

2 T. milk

1 (16.3 oz) Pillsbury Grands Flaky Layers Biscuits

3/4 cup diced ham pieces

1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion

3 oz. (3/4 cup) finely shredded Mexican-styled cheese

1/2 t. granulated garlic

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 11 x 7 or 12 x 8 glass baking dish with cooking spray. In a large bowl, beat egg and milk with a wire whisk until smooth. Separate dough into individual biscuits and cut each biscuit into quarters. Gently stir biscuit pieces into egg mixture to coat evenly. Fold in ham, cheese, onions and granulated garlic. Spoon mixture into prepared dish, arrange biscuit pieces in a single layer.

Baked at 350 for 23 - 25 minutes or until golden brown. You can either cut into squares or just pull apart and serve.

This was ok. Not my favorite breakfast ever.  I think I would try it again but use 2 eggs and bacon instead of ham.  

Fettuccini Alfredo with Prosciutto & Peas

Review by Rachael:

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Serves: 4 to 6

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra-Virgin olive oil

2 shallots, minced

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 cup heavy cream

Salt & pepper

¼ pound prosciutto, julienned

1 cup frozed peas, thawed

½ cup cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for garnish

1 pound fresh fettuccini

Directions

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic and sauté for a couple minutes or until tender. Add cream and cook for 1 – 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add prosciutto and peas and toss gently to combine. Sprinkle cheese over top and stir to melt and combine. Cook until heated through.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, add fettuccini and cook until al dente (just a couple minutes for fresh pasta). Drain, reserving ¼ cup pasta water. Add the reserved pasta water & drained fettuccini to skillet. Toss to combine pasta with sauce and season with salt & pepper, to taste. Serve, garnish with extra cheese.

After watching The Food Network’s Bizarre Foods I wanted to try Prosciutto that was made in Norwalk, Iowa. After searching their site I found out that they don’t sell that brand near me. On a trip to Target one night I picked up another brand and started my search for how to use it while cooking. I found this recipe & gave it a whirl!

I was a little worried about using heavy cream, but couldn’t find any substitute for it at my local grocery store. You can use fat free ½ & ½ in place of the cream. I didn’t have any shallots so I used onions. I opened my prosciutto and it had a very odd smell & taste to it. Therefore I opted to not use it! Instead I used ham. I think you could also substitute bacon.

Since I didn’t have fresh pasta I started that at the same time as I started the sauce.

This recipe is very easy & SO good! The flavors are wonderful!

Next time I think I would add more onion & garlic to the mix. I would also reserve ½ cup of pasta water instead of the ¼ cup to make the sauce go a little further, but you wouldn’t have to. It was so good; we will be making this again!

Healthified breakfast melt

Review by Lyndee:

Ingredients:

¼ egg beaters

2 slices fat free American cheese

2 pieces light Italian bread

4 pieces deli ham

Light butter spread or spray

Directions:

Butter one side of each slice of bread.  Lay butter side down in a pan.  Set piece of cheese and two pieces of ham on each slice.  Cook on medium heat.  Cook egg beaters in a small separate pan.  When egg beaters are done, move on top of one of the bread slices.  Flip the other slice on top.  Cook until the bread is a golden brown.

This is a great way to break from the norm of your daily breakfast routine.  It’s warm and gooey and nutritious at under 300 calories and 5 grams of fat. Plus, you get almost 30 grams of protein in this hearty little sandwich.  You could swap turkey bacon, sausage or meatless soy crumbles for the ham as well.