Cottage Cheese Pancakes

I’ll be the first to admit, the name of these pancakes sounded sketchy to me. But they were super easy to make and seriously tasted so awesome. I topped mine with a few raspberries, blackberries, one Tbsp 100% maple syrup and served with a scrambled egg (with spinach) for a protein packed breakfast.

Makes: 6 servings - Serving size: 2 pancakes

Each Serving Contains: 1 Protein, 0 Carbohydrates, 0 Vegetables, 1 Fat

INGREDIENTS

1 cup full-fat cottage cheese

3 large eggs

1/3 cup whole wheat flour

2 tbsp. unsalted butter

 

DIRECTIONS

In a blender or food processor, combine cottage cheese and eggs. Pulse until mixture is smooth.

In a mixing bowl, combine cottage cheese and egg mixture with flour and melted butter and mix with a spoon until combined.

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Pour out a small amount of batter and let the pancakes cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side.

I think this could easily be done in a waffle maker too! 

Cheesy Chicken Penne Pasta (clean eating)

If you think clean eating can't be delicious, this recipe will prove you wrong. I can’t say enough how phenomenal this pasta dish was. Also, it says 4 servings, but it makes a very large batch. It ended up being 6 servings for me. I’ve never cooked the spinach this way and I was nervous it wouldn’t work but it did. New cooking hack! This is definitely going into my dinner rotation. Also, feel free to add mushrooms or other veggies that you enjoy too.

Makes: 4 servings

Each Serving Contains: 2 Proteins, 1 Carbohydrate, 2 Vegetables, 1 Fat

INGREDIENTS

1 cup whole wheat penne pasta, uncooked

1 tsp olive oil

1 lb chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces

5 cups baby spinach

1 tsp dried basil

1 14.5-oz jar spaghetti sauce (I used organic)

2 cloves garlic

1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes, liquid drained

2 oz ricotta cheese

1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375°F. Cook pasta according to package directions (omit salt). Add spinach to boiling water for the last minute of cooking.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and basil. Cook 3 minutes. Stir in spaghetti sauce, garlic and drained tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Simmer on low heat for 3 minutes or until chicken is done. Stir in ricotta cheese.

Drain pasta and return to pan. Stir in chicken mixture and 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese. Spoon into 2-quart baking dish. Bake 20 minutes. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese and bake 3 minutes more, or until cheese is melted.

5-Ingredient Bread (clean eating)

When it comes to bread I am so very picky. I’m a bread lover to the core but I’ve always been anti-wheat bread (or pasta or tortillas for that matter). It’s just a nasty taste to me. So when I saw this recipe on a clean eating website I did not have very high expectations, despite the great reviews. The bread turned out pretty dense but it was actually really good! Especially toasted! I sprinkled some everything but the bagel seasoning on the top before I baked mine. Because there’s no preservatives, if you’re not going to eat it up in 3-4 days, I would suggest freezing half and pulling it out as needed. As a party of one, I take out 1/3 of a loaf from the freezer at a time. I can’t wait to try it as rolls next time to use with sandwiches.

Makes: 12 servings - Serving size: 1 slice

Each Serving Contains: 0 Protein, 1 Carbohydrate, 0 Vegetables, 0 Fat

INGREDIENTS

1 Tbsp yeast

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 Tbsp honey

1-1/2 cups warm water

3 cups whole wheat flour

 

DIRECTIONS

Add yeast, salt and honey to water and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Gradually mix in flour until dough forms and is not sticking to your hands. Add flour in increments of 1 Tbsp at a time, if necessary.

Put in lightly oiled bowl and cover with damp towel for 20-30 minutes. Mine didn’t seem to rise much after 30 minutes so I did an hour.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place in lightly oiled loaf pan and bake 15-20 minutes, until hollow when tapped.

Note: Optional toppings / additions before baking:

• Everything but the bagel seasoning
• Sprinkle with garlic powder
• Herbs: oregano, parsley, rosemary
• Sun-dried tomato
• Olives

You can also roll into 12 individual rolls instead of using a loaf pan.

Peanut Butter Brownie Puppy Chow

 

Be warned - this is super addicting! 

Ingredients

·         6 C. rice Chex cereal (I found peanut butter Chex and used that)

·         1 C. milk chocolate chips or melts

·         1/2 C. peanut butter creamy

·         1 tsp. vanilla extract

·         1 to 2 C. brownie mix from the box (dry) 

·         Optional: Brownies, Reese's Pieces, or Peanut butter cups (chopped)

Instructions:

Place cereal in a large bowl and set aside.

In a microwave proof bowl, melt chocolate, peanut butter and vanilla extract and stir until smooth. Pour over cereal and fold until covered.

Dump into a large plastic bag and add brownie mix, seal and shake until coated. (If you don't have a large plastic bag, pour brownie mix over cereal and stir well. Or you can use a pot with a lid to shake it in.)

Toss in whatever chocolate or peanut butter candy pieces you want. I did peanut butter M&Ms, fudge brownie M&Ms and Reese’s pieces.  Shake again.

The original recipe called for 1 cup of boxed brownie mix. I found that didn’t coat the cereal mixture very well, so I added more. Then I made an 8x8 pan of brownies with the remaining mix. You could crumble those into the puppy chow too.

Garlic Butter Steak Bites with Lemon Zucchini Noodles

I was pretty on the fence when trying this recipe. I had never had zucchini noodles before. I know that probably sounds crazy, but I’ve always been a “give me all the pasta” kind of girl. But this recipe was better than I could’ve imagined! Easy to make and filled me up fast with barely any carbs. Can’t beat that!

Ingredient

1 - 1.5 lbs sirloin steak cut into small cubes

4 medium zucchini, spiraled (or a 24 oz bag of store-bought zucchini noodles)

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 tablespoons butter, divided

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1/4 cup beef, chicken or vegetable broth

1 tablespoon minced parsley

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

1/2 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes, optional

Juice of 1/2 lemon (or ¼ cup)

Marinade:

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon hot sauce (I used Sriracha)

Fresh cracked black pepper, to taste

Juice of 1/2 lemon 

Instructions

In a ziploc baggie, combine the ingredients for the steak marinade (soy sauce, olive oil, hot sauce, pepper, and lemon juice) and add the steak bites. Mix well and marinate for 15 to 20 minutes minimum, while preparing the other ingredients. I let this marinade for an hour, flipping halfway through.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Drain steak bites from the marinade. Keep the remaining marinade for later.  Place the steak bites in the skillet in a single layer.  Do not overcrowd the skillet or meat will steam, so you may have to work in batches depending on the size of your skillet. Cook steak bites for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally until steak bites are golden brown. Repeat with remaining steak bites if needed.

Once all the steak bites are golden brown, add 2 tablespoons butter and garlic to the skillet; cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring to coat the meat in the sauce. Remove the steak bites to a shallow plate and set aside, leaving the juice in the pan.

Add 1 tbsp butter, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, beef broth, and remaining marinade juices. Bring to a simmer and allow to reduce for 2-3 minutes, stirring regularly.

If you spiral your own zucchini: add the noodles and toss for two to three minutes to cook it up. Stir in the fresh parsley and thyme, then allow the cooking juices to reduce for one minute if the zucchini noodles render too much water. If you use a steam and serve bag like I did, cook the zucchini as directed then drain. Add zucchini and coat in the sauce. Push the zucchini noodles on the side, add the steak bites back to the pan and reheat for another minute while mixing. Serve immediately your garlic butter steak bites and zucchini noodles. Enjoy!

Note: I didn’t have any parsley. And my thyme was the dried kind in a shaker, not fresh. I did add a couple extra shakes of red pepper flakes.

Egg roll in a bowl

Love egg rolls but trying to cut carbs? This is the perfect dish for a healthified Asian fix. Quick, easy and makes a big batch.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground pork sausage (you could use chicken, turkey or beef also)

1 bag (6-7 cups) coleslaw mix or shredded cabbage

4 cloves garlic minced

1 tablespoon ginger minced

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1 tablespoon sesame oil

Instructions:

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and sausage. Cook, stirring often to crumble, until cooked through. Do not drain.  Add the coleslaw mix, ginger, and soy sauce to the skillet with the sausage. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until cabbage has softened a bit. Remove from the heat and top with the green onions and drizzle with sesame oil. Serve immediately.

Optional: I also fried an egg, chopped it up and added it.

Drizzle with sriracha, sweet chili or sweet and sour sauce before serving, if desired.

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.