Low Carb Garlic "Bread"

Today was the most Monday-est Tuesday ever. Work was a total poop show. And although every ounce of me wanted to opt for pizza and some wine I went with a treadmill workout and healthy dinner.  Baby steps. But Lyndee for the win today. I paired this with a 4 oz boneless sirloin chop and it was delicious. Not to mention, super easy to make.  18 minutes starts to finish and it tasted just like a slightly doughy cheesy bread stick from Pizza Hut.

Ingredients
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup parmesan
1 egg
Garlic powder
Italian seasoning

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Break egg into a bowl and beat.  Add a few dashes of garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Stir in the cheeses. Line a cookie sheet or pizza pan with parchment paper.  Dumb the "bread" mixture on the paper and spread into a circle.  I threw a few squirts of butter spray on top and another dash of garlic but that's optional.  Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. I did 15 minutes and then a low broil for 1 minute and 30 seconds. That's it! Remove from oven and cut. I did half of the bread for dinner which was 3 carbs.  Yes, for half of it.  6 carbs if you wanna eat the entire thing and you probably will want to.

Stuffed Garlic Bread Grilled Cheese

When I first saw this idea I was pretty skeptical but I figured if it works for Rachael Ray, I should give it a shot.  I can honestly say I will probably never make a “normal” grilled cheese again. This was beyond amazing. A grilled cheese that tastes like stuffed garlic cheese bread!

Ingredients:

2 slices of bread

2-3 cheese slices (any variety you prefer)

2 tbsp. mayo

Garlic powder

Parmesan

Italian seasoning

Mix mayo with a few dashes of garlic powder, parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning. Heat pan on stove top to medium. Spread mayo mixture on one side of each piece of bread. Put bread mayo mixture face down, layer on cheese. I used American, mozzarella and pepper jack. Place other slide of bread on top. Cook until golden brown on both sides.

Wanna step it up a notch? Throw in a few pieces of pepperoni, bacon bits or jalapenos.  This is a total game changer. 

Italian Crescent Casserole

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef, cooked and drained (I did half beef and half Italian sausage)

1 cup garlic tomato pasta sauce

1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

1½ cups shredded Italian cheese blend

¼ teaspoon dried basil leaves or Italian seasoning

Brown your meat with some minced garlic and seasonings.  Once cooked, mix in pasta sauce. Heat over medium heat until warm.  Separate crescent dough into 8 triangles. Place dough in ungreased 9-inch glass pie plate in spoke pattern, with narrow tips overlapping rim of plate about 3 inches.  Press dough in side and bottom of pan to form crust and cover the pan. Sprinkle with 1 cup of the cheese over dough in the pan. I also added 5 pepperoni’s across the cheese and some Italian seasoning.  Spoon meat mixture evenly over cheese.  Bring tips of dough over filling to meet in center; do not overlap.  Sprinkle with remaining ½ cup cheese over the dish followed by the basil. Here I added a few shakes of parmesan cheese as well.  Bake at 375°F 15 to 20 minutes.  Let cool a few minutes before cutting. 

This smelled so good while it was baking my mouth was watering.  And it didn’t disappoint when it hit my lips! It’s like a pizza pie or calzone or just some yummy crescenty Italian goodness in a pie pan.  Very delicious and easy to make. Molly loved it too.  Can’t wait to make this again soon. 

Pizza Dip

Review by: Lyndee

Ingredients:

2 8 oz blocks cream cheese (I used reduced fat)

2 tbsp sour cream (mine was sour cream and chives)

2 tbsp parmesan cheese

1 tbsp Italian seasoning

20 pepperonis

1 cup mozzarella or pizza blend shredded cheese

Optional-anything else you would like on a pizza such as onions, garlic, sausage, peppers, olives, etc.

Combine two blocks of room temperature cream cheese, sour cream, parmesan and Italian seasoning.  Dice up half the pepperonis into small pieces and mix into your cream cheese base.  Once well mixed spread into the bottom of a baking dish or crockpot. Top with shredded cheese.  Top that with the remaining pepperoni.  Bake at 350 until golden brown or in crockpot until the top cheese layer is completely melted.  Serve with crackers or small slices of bread. 

This dip is easy to throw together and was a huge hit at our Superbowl party, which is good since the game was boring.  I did a basic pepperoni dip but feel free to add whatever pizza toppings your family loves.  This dip goes a long way and is ooey gooey goodness.  

Crockpot Italian chicken

Review by Lyndee:

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 block cream cheese

2 cans cream of chicken

1 packet Italian seasoning

Salt & pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in the crockpot.  Cook on low for four hours.  Serve over pasta or rice. 

It doesn’t get much easier than this recipe.  I love the dump it in the crockpot and go method.  And this was delicious! I added a sprinkle of garlic and some parmesan cheese over egg noodles and I’ve been eating it for lunch all week.  Yum!