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.

Green Chile Fiesta Chicken Bake

Gluten free and low carb! With only 6 ingredients this Green Chile Fiesta Chicken Bake makes dinner quick on even the busiest evening. And it’s only 7 weight watchers points per serving (makes 8 servings).

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2 lbs)

1 can corn, drained

1 can chopped green chiles (I prefer Old El Paso)

8 oz Philadelphia light cream cheese, softened

8 oz monterey jack cheese

1/2 cup sour cream (light) 

4 green onions, chopped

Cilantro for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 375˚F.

Lay the chicken breasts in a 9x13 casserole dish. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Mix the cream cheese, corn, green chiles, sour cream, and 1 1/2 cup monterey jack cheese together until combined.  Spread the cream cheese mixture over the top of the chicken and sprinkle remaining cheese evenly over the top.

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through (165˚F internal temp)

Garnish with cilantro and serve with your favorite side.  Or just eat it plain like I did for lunch the last three days. 😊

Jalapeno garlic cream cheese and bacon stuffed sweet peppers

Ingredients:

12 baby bell peppers cut lengthwise and seeded

2 teaspoons olive oil

8 oz package jalapeno cream cheese (if you don't like spicy you can use regular cream cheese) 

2 stalks green onion finely chopped

1 clove garlic minced

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sriracha

Ground black pepper

1 tbsp bacon pieces

Shredded cheese (I used Colby Jack)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the bell peppers lengthwise, remove the seeds and stems. Lightly oil the bell peppers by tossing them in a bowl with some grapeseed oil or olive oil. Place the peppers on a baking sheet skin-side down. Roast in the oven for 8-10 minutes until the edges begin to show some color. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

While the peppers are roasting, prepare your stuffing. Place the cream cheese, garlic, salt, sriracha and black pepper in a bowl and mix until creamy. Add the green onion and bacon. Fold in to the cream cheese until combined. Test the cream cheese for flavor. If you would like, add more salt and/or sriracha.

Heat your oven to 400 degrees. Use a spoon (or a piping bag) to stuff the peppers liberally and place them back on the baking sheet. Sprinkled with shredded cheese.  Bake about 8 minutes. Change oven setting to high broil and bake an additional 2 minutes, until the tops of the cream cheese begin to brown (If they’re already brown at this point, skip the broiling).

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! 

Caramel Sea Salt Cookies

Ingredients:

1 box yellow cake mix

10 oz. bag caramel sea salt baking chips

½ cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine cake mix, eggs, and oil in large mixing bowl, and beat well.  Stir in caramel sea salt chips.  Chill dough in refrigerator for 1 hour.  After dough has chilled, drop onto ungreased cookie sheet in rounded balls.  Bake for approx. 7 – 9 minutes or until done. 

Chicken pillow crescents

Ingredients:

3-4 cups shredded turkey or chicken (I use a rotisserie chicken)

1 can cream of chicken soup 

8 oz. brick of cream cheese

1/3 cup ranch dressing

2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

2 tubes of crescent rolls

Preheat oven to 350. Spray bottom of two 9 x 13 pans.

Combine chicken, cream of chicken, cream cheese, ranch and 1 cup of cheese in a saucepan until cream cheese is melted.  Salt and pepper to taste. Roll out crescent rolls.  Add mix to the middle of crescent rolls and make into a dumpling. Cook for 15 minutes.  Add remaining cup of cheese and bake for 3-5 more minutes until cheese is melted.  

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.