Recipes anyone?
 

Hey guys, I thought it might be fun to share some recipes. Anyone interested? I know there is a section on the site but I don't really go anyplace but the alternachicks section right now. Too busy:) Just post tried & true's that you love.

I almost started posting under the low carb thread but I figure I can always use yummy recipes that are not low carb on weekends. :devil:

If someone posts something that is specifically low carb it would be nice if you said so. I guess ditto if it is low cal or something.

Anyways, here is one I am making for supper tonight. It's super easy & everyone always loves it. I am a huge fan of crockpot cooking.

Stuff you Need:
A crockpot
tin foil
beef, anything except burger will do (pot roast is the standard but I'm too broke so right now I'm using two slabs of mock chuck steak tossed in the same packet.
a package of dry onion soup mix (the cheap kind works just fine)
a can (or 2 if you have a LOT of meat & a big crockpot) of condensed cream of mushroom soup

Optional Stuff:
dry gravy mix in the packet
vegetables of your own choosing (onions & shrooms are always great)

How To:
You take the beef and lay it on a large piece of aluminum foil. In a small bowl, combine the cream of mushroom soup (do NOT add milk, just the condensed soup) with the dry packet of onion soup mix. pour the mixture all over the meat making sure to get some under it too. Then you wrap the meat up in the foil like an xmas package. Then pull out another large piece of foil & wrap that over the already wrapped package. pour a couple cups of water in your crockpot & drop the package into it.

If your crockpot is large enough you can then drop some veggies into the open, water filles space around the package.

Cook on low for however long you think the meat should cook. This is a very forgiving recipe if you "overcook" the meat because you are actually steaming it, the foil seals in juices. When you open the packet (carefully because the steam is hot as hades) the meat just falls apart.

When it is done I usually take the meat out & just break it up into pieces with a fork. You can leave it together but I find its so tender you have to be careful if that is how you want to serve it. I usually toss in a packet of gravy mix to thicken it up to a stewlike consistency but you don't have to.

yummm...

ps...the first time I heard of this recipe I was told that I shoudl put the meat in a water filled pot in the oven. I never tried it, I immediately adapted it to the crockpot.

Ok, I don't think anyone here is doing the atkins-ish thing but I feel like posting whenever anything comes out really yummy soo....here is tonights venture. Cover some pork chops in salt & pepper, cook in olive oil & then toss them in the oven with some tin foil on low to keep warm. Then put a chopped onion into the frying pan with a little more oil...plus some chicken stock to scrape up the yummy browned bits of pork. toss in a tablespoon or so of garlic. Cook the onions until they are carmelized nicely. Anytime they get too dry pour in a smidgeon of chicken stock again. When they about halfway done toss in some sliced mushrooms, however many you like. After they grill for a few minutes pour in about a half cup of dry red wine. Let that cook down to a nice bubbly consistency then dump in a few blobs of sour cream. I don't measure, I just use a big ladel. Stir until the sour cream is mixed in well & warmed up. Pour over the pork chops immediately & serve. Some fresh dill on top of a tiny dollop of sour cream in the middle of the dish looks pretty too. This sauce works great with beef or chicken too.

That sounds really delish! I have a not-so-diety recipe that calls for a sour cream gravy, and the first time i ate it i was like - hrm that's weird, but good... and now it's my fave. It's basically the same principle as yours, you butter and bread chicken breasts and put them in a pan w/ onions and bake it til the chicken is cooked, then you use all those yummies at the bottom of the pan and the onions and toss in some sour cream and milk to make the gravy. so good with rice. Love that recipe, but like i said, with the breadding and all it's less than diet friendly. Maybe i could find a way to alter it.

Lately we've been cooking a lot of salmon and a lot of tuna steaks. So tasty! I found a great recipe for a marinade for both, and the great thing is it was all stuff i already had, so so easy! I can not for the life of me find in online right now. I'll post it when I get home from work. But I found it on www.recipezaar.com and they have some great recipes.

Here is what I made up for dinner tonight because I didn't want to go to the store. It turned out really good, unlike most of my kitchen adventures. I figure it to be about 8 points if you're doing WW. It's not low-carb, though, because of the rice, and the recipe assumes ownership of a rice cooker with a steamer basket, because I totally forget how to cook without one.

Turkey Curry with Veggie Rice

For the turkey:
1 package of turkey breast tenderloins
1 container fat free vanilla yogurt
An assortment of spices, mostly curry but also cardamom, ground ginger, cayanne pepper, paprika, stuff like that.

Mix the spices in with the yogurt. Cut the turkey breasts into medallions. Toss with the yogurt mixture and put in the fridge to marinate for about an hour.

Meanwhile...
Heat 1 tbsp of oil in the rice cooker.
Add:
1 med. chopped onion
~ 3 tbsp diced ginger root
~ 1 tbsp garlic
Cook until the onions get translucent.
Add amounts of the same spices you added to the yogurt, adjusting for taste.
Add brown rice (however much you are going to cook). Stir to coat, then add the appropriate amount of chicken broth. Cover and ignore for 15 minutes.

15 minutes later...
Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking pan with alumium foil and spray with pan spray. Spread marinated turkey pieces out, cover with another piece of aluminum foil, and put in the oven for 30 minutes.

15 minutes later...
Add once cup each frozen corn, peas, green beans, and okra (or whatever suits your fancy) to the rice cooker steamer basket and put on top of the rice.

15 mintues later...
Everything should be done at about the same time. Take the turkey out after 30 minutes. Mix the rice and the steamed veggies. Top with the turkey. I served this with sliced cucumbers because we had a couple that were going to go bad if we didn't eat them quickly.

Italian style grilled tuna or salmon steaks
from www.cooks.com

4 tuna or salmon steaks
1/4 c. olive oil
2 tsp. basil
3 tbsp. white vinegar
2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. garlic, minced
2 tsp. salt, pepper, and thyme

Combine olive oil, basil, vinegar, oregano, garlic, salt, pepper, and thyme. Marinate 4 steaks 30 minutes; grill and baste 5 minutes or until steaks flake easily.


So I liked, it's not recipezaar.com but that site is still really good. :) I never grill my fish because I have no grill. I throw it in a tin foil packet and bake it with the marinade still on it.

Oh yum....those sound great! I really want to try the tuna steak recipe. And I love anything with lots of curry & chili pepper. I just made a great curried chicken in the crockpot last week. I love crockpot cooking when I am in school. BTW, yoghurt & sour cream seem to be some of the most adaptable things I've run across. You can add either one of them to almost any sort of dripping from meat right before you serve it to bump up the creamy yummy factor.

I use yogurt in a ton of different sauces and dressings, as well as baked goods. It's so wonderful at making things moist and tasty w/o adding lots of fat :D I will try to remember to post my absolute favorite banana bread recipe later. It's from the "Conscious Cuisine" cookbook and uses non fat yogurt, applesauce and turbinado sugar. It's soooooooo yummy, has no fake anything in it and has only 110 calories a slice.

That sounds sinfully yummy. Maybe I can make it after I lose enough weight to cheat heavily! I adore bannana bread. One thing I mix in with many of the low carb cake mixes & brownie mixes that really helps the texture, moistness & taste without adding many carbs is cream cheese. Speaking of cream cheese I am baking a low carb ricotta & sour cream cheese cake as we speak. Yumm....taking it to a cookout.

Dont keep that recipe to yourself, now :0)

lilith

Ditto this one! I have a crock pot that I haven't used in awhile and this sounds like a good reason to dig it out of the cabinet.

Ok guys, I will post both of those recipes tomorrow! I am just checking in quickly & then my bf & I have a pile of movies to watch. The recipes are pretty long but I'll get them on tomorrow. Have a great night!

ok, nate just decided that he is going to take a shower so i guess i have time to type out at least one recipe. so here goes:

Low Carb Cheesecake:
24 oz of cream cheese (softened)
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 & 1/2 cups of splenda
1/3 cup cream or half & half (half & half has one carb more per serving than heavy whipping cream but its SO much cheaper that I can't bother buying the whipping cream)
1 tablespoon no sugar added vanilla extract (don't be fooled when the grocery store extract says PURE...check the back as most have corn syrup in them. I had to go to a health food store for the vanilla & it was expensive but a little goes a long way)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 eggs
3 egg yolks

Preheat oven to 275. Grease your pie pan. The recipe I have calls for a springform pan but I don't have one. So I use a 9 inch glass pie dish...then I pour all the extra (which is a lot) of mix into several small baking dishes that I have for single servings. anyways. In a shallow roasting pan, big enough to hold your pie/cheesecake pans, pour enough water to go halfway up the sides of your cheescake dish. Put it in the oven to heat up.

Then, in a large bowl, beat the softened cream cheese, ricotta, sour cream, & splenda on low for about a minute or until well blended.

In a seperate bowl, mix up the half & half, vanilla, lemon juice, eggs & egg yolks until blended.

Gradually pour the egg mixture into the cheese. Do not over whip.

Pour batter into the pie pans & place in the heated water bath. Bake for approximately an hour & a half. The cheese cake should not be too brown. You will know its done when the sides of the cheese cake pull away from the edges of the pan. Turn the oven off & open the door a bit for a few minutes to let out a little of the heat, but not too much. Then close the door & leave the cheese cake in there for three hours. This keeps it fluffy for some reason. Take the cheese cake out & let it cool to room temp to prevent condensation (which makes it nasty) in the fridge. Then cover with plastic wrap or whatever & stick it in the fridge. It should cool in there for a couple hours before you serve it. Its very nice with cool whip (also low carb) and blueberries. Go easy on the berries as they are not low carb. ok, my turn for a shower. Will be back with curry tomorrow. Happy baking.
ps...this is the most expensive low carb dish i have ever made thanks to the splenda & sugar free vanilla extract. Definitly a special occasion item.

Dawnlizbeth...I think that I saw this on Low Carb and Lovin it....it looked wonderful, is that where you go it?

sounds so good

I got one!!! I mixed it up but haven't named it.

Ingredients
4 oz Lean ground turkey 120 Cals 8g Fat, 0g Carb, 15G Pro
2/3 cup Kroger frozen fiesta style mixed veggies 35 Cals, 0g Fat, 13G Carb, 2g Prot
2 Tbsp Salsa 10 Cals, 0 Fat, 2G Carbs, 0G Pro
1.5 Tbsp FF Sour cream 15 Cals, 0 Fat, 2G Carb, 1G Pro
1/4 cup FF shredded cheddar, 45 Cals, 0 Fat, 2G Carb, 9G Pro
Taco seasoning

Brown grown turkey, drain, mix in Taco seasoning. Steam veggies. Mix veggies, meat and toppings together. Eat.

Total dish= 225 cals, 8G Fat, 19G Carb, 27G Protein

YUM!

Tiki.

That sounds like a nice easy recipe Tiki...I bet I could mix it in with regular burger too.
Rowan, I don't remember where I got that recipe from. I have a bad habit of surfing around for recipes (since cookbooks are so expensive) and then I forget where I found them. Also, the recipe is a combo of 2 different ones I think. Like the bit about putting the cheesecake in a pan of water came from some weird educational sort of program. Something about cheesecake is not really cake, more of a gellatin & the water makes it cook better without so much cracking. Also, the original recipe called for cooking at a higher temp then cutting it down but I found that made my stuff too dry & darkened so I experimented. I daresay temp & time varies a lot from pan type & oven, etc.

Ok, here is the curry recipe. It is from Fix-It & Forget-It Recipes which is a pretty good crockpot cookbook I got awhile back. This recipe is actually a combination of 2 recipes which happened when I forgot which one I was looking at halfway through cooking. When I made them both seperately though I found that I liked them better combined. lol.

Ingredients:
large can of tomatoes (i like diced & spiced)
4 chicken breasts (or whatever you've got)
1 chopped onion (i always use 2 though)
half a green pepper chopped (i use a whole one)
2 ribs of celery, chopped
1 cup of plain yoghurt (i use 2)
2 carrots, chopped
2 tbsp curry
3 tsp turmeric
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp pepper (i dump way more than that in)
1 tso ground ginger
1 tsp ground cumin
1tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cardamom
1tsp ground cinamon
1/2 tsp chilli powder (i like hot stuff so I usually put like 3 or 4 tbsp in, i figure 1/2 tsp is not even noticeable!)
1 tsp red pepper flakes (i use more like a tbsp)
The recipe does not call for fresh garlic but I always toss a big tablespoon of fresh diced garlic in. Garlic Is Good!

1. Place chicken in a big slow cooker with the tomatoes & their juice, add some water if they are not covered enough.
2. cook on high for 2 hrs. remove & cut or shred (i like it shredded) the chicken & put it back in the crockpot.
3. Put all the other ingredients in & cook on low for 4 to 6 hrs.

If I have to be gone all day I dump everything in at once with frozen chicken breasts even (yeah, i know, that is supposed to be bad but I've been doing it for a decade & no food poisoning, knock on wood), for 12 hrs & it tasted just fine. Not as spicey that way though. I serve mine over safron rice with a dollop of sour cream on top with some chives as an accent. I am thinking of sauteing a bunch of shredded cabbage & serving it over that as a low carb option next time though. I do that with chilli seasonings & beef & its a raging hit around the house.

Summer Soup

1 package of pre-cooked spicy chicken sausage, diced
2 diced leeks
1 cup sliced sweet onions
4 small-medium moon sliced zucchini
2 sliced garlic cloves
1 Tablespoon Fresh Thyme
2 Bay Leaves
60 ounces of water

Take a one count of olive oil, add the sausage and brown the sausage last few minutes, add the garlic and stir. Remove the sausage, add the onions, leeks, celery and just a splash of water. Cook down the mixture and add the zucchini, saute for about one minute, add the thyme, then add the water.....Cook until all is tender. It is very tasty and light. You could pour it over brown rice as well or a bit of parm cheese

Added: If you can't find flavorful sausage, add some chicken bouillion to taste...

Thanks for the recipe, Dawn!

I do have a springform pan but I dont know if that would work with this recipe, since it calls for immersing the pan in water.. im thinking it would seep through? So I'll have to modify. Probably by using a regular pie pan, since that works for you.

I had no idea vanilla extract had corn syrup in it, so thanks for the heads up. I already have the Splenda, I bought it a few months ago and havent even used it yet. Now I can finally use it with something. :0)

lilith

that summer soup sounds so good

I don't think I have every had chicken sausage, much less spicy & precooked. I will have to keep an eye out for it though I rather doubt the Commisary will have it. That sounds like a pretty low carb recipe too. I just bought a thyme plant a few days ago.

Lilith, the recipe originially called for springform even though it also talked about submersing in water. I saw a springform pan at the thrift shop before I made the cheesecake the first time....almost bought it but I kept thinking how much splenda costs & decided that I did not want to risk that much money....I could just see me opening the oven to a wet gooey puddle. lol.

Hey, here is a quickie snack before I head out the door to school. This one came from a friend who got it from a friend who copied it out of Stella's low carb cookbook which I really wanna buy some payday.

You take pepperoni (i have only tried regular but I bet you could use turkey) and lay it out on a cookie sheet, so they are not touching each other. Toss them in the oven on 400 degrees for a few minutes. Take them out, blott the grease up with paper towels then put them back in the oven until they are crispy & a little brown but not black obviously. Take them out, blott again & let them cool. they are a GREAT substitute for potato chips if you are doing low carb. We eat them with a dip I make that combines dry onion soup mix, cream cheese, sour cream & diced cucumbers. My bf actually swears he'd rather have pepperoni chips instead of regular. Supposedly you can store them in an air tight container & they stay crispy for several days but they never last long enough to store around here.

Definitely do not put the spring form pan in the water! Alton Brown (my ultimate TV crush) did a show on cheese cake and was very adamant about this. He preferred the water method, and suggesting lining the bottom and sides of the pan with wax paper to make it easier to get the cheese cake out.

Disclaimer: I have never actually made a cheesecake, although I do own a springform pan for some reason.

I'm going to make that curry crockpot chicken tomorrow, I believe. I like the ground turkey recipe above, too. I am usually famous for putting frozen vegetables in EVERYTHING but I hadn't thought about putting them in taco meat like that.

I've got a good low carb salmon, i've done this one multiple times and it can be done with either two large pieces of salmon if you're feeding a crowd, or you can just slice into a salmon steak for a good single serving. I got it from "low carb and lovin' it" and it is seriously delicious. It's even better if you grill it on the BBQ in some tin foil because it gets all carmelized and yummy.

Fet-Spinach Salmon Roast

3 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup crumbled feta
2 scallions, thinly sliced, including the crisp part of the green
1/2 cup fresh spinach, chopped
3/4 pound salmon fillets, cut into 2 pieces
Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees.
In a bowl, combine the cream cheese and feta, mashing and stirring with a fork until well blended. Add the scallions and spinach and combine well. Spread the mixture evenly over 1 salmon fillet. (The filling will be about 3/4-inch thick.) Top with the second salmon fillet. Brush both sides with olive oil, turning over carefully with a spatula, and place on a shallow baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes; test for doneness with a toothpick

Liz...do you actually own the low carb & lovin it cook book or are you getting your recipes from the show on foodtv? If you do have it, do you think its got enough stuff to warrant buying as opposed to just using the website recipes? I've been debating as my budget is tenuous at best. Thanks! The salmon sounds lovely...I really like salmon. Maybe I can get my bf to spring for a few pieces on payday. yummmmm.

Merg...I tried doing the wax paper thing with my cheesecake. lol..I think I need to go back to kindergarden...I could not seem to get the wax paper cut to just the right size...the cheescake oozed under the not quite fitting wax paper then I had to pick out the wax paper. lol. Now I just grease the heck out of it. Thanks for mentioning that the springfoam is a waste of time...so I won't be inclined to buy one...I had been thinking about it. Hope the chicken turns out good for you.

OK, I did the cheesecake in the springform pan, and it didn't occur to me that the pan would leak (ignorance can be bliss sometimes) however when I put the cheesecake in it did start to bubble and I almost pulled it out, but figured at that point I was going to just let it ride and it worked....

I would probably chalk it up as luck, so I don't want to say hey it works...maybe the splenda god was looking out for me....I also threw in a few splashes of limoncello and it did come out very yummy.

The Sausages are readily avialable here in California at Bristol Farms, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, etc....and they thyme really added something to it...and yes very low carb. It was really good, I brought some to work and everyone ate it, I only got a few bites...damn employees raving about how good I cook, I just think they do it to get free food........

Cook book!? What's that? Nah, I can't see buying anybody's cookbooks from food network when the website has all the recipes I could ask for. I'm not a big fan of the low carb and lovin' it recipes as a general rule, but I do really love that salmon.
I do like Juan Carlos Cruz (Calorie Comando) and would buy his book, if only he had one! I have copies several of his recipes and tried one or two and they are good. I like the idea of just lower cal, rather than omitting any main staple of your diet. Finding the balance is going to be the hard part though.

Rowan - is the soup recipe somewhat bland? I'm just wondering since there's no broth, just what comes from the veggies soaking in the water. I wonder how it would be if a few boullion cubes were tossed in with it. I've never tried Leeks,maybe they have a lot of flavor - are they onion-y? They look like it. :)

Liz
It did not turn out bland, but I think that it was due to the spices in the sausage. I did brown the sausage first and let it carmelize, and there was a lot of flavor in the sausages that added to the broth...If I was going to subsitute another less flavorful sausage I would add some bouillion cubes to taste, I use the powder broth, because it can add too much salt, and I like to monitor salt in my food.

The fresh thyme and I think that I may have ommitted the bay leaves added a ton of flavor...let me go make use I added those bay leaves before someone tries it...oops!

Liz
Added the bay leaves...Leeks are really great, they are a mild onion flavor, they add tons of flavor to soups. I cut them in half, wash well, toss with olive oil salt and pepper and just grill them. I top them with homemade vingarette...

Don't be afraid of leeks or shallots they are wonderful additivies!!!....Cut the leeks in half, rinse well...dirt does form in the folds. Then put the flat side down and slice them long ways, then dice them across for small pieces.....they can be tough in soups so the smaller the better.....

I think I'll have to try them sometime. Actually, I think they would be great in this new recipe I tried. This recipe below comes from "BH&G Biggest Book of Slow Cooker Recipes" which I've had for a couple years and honestly haven't tried anything out of it. I wanted something fulfilling without being heavy because of bad weekend eating that I'd already done. This just did the trick!

Asian Chicken Soup w/ Noodles

2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1 meduim onion cut into thin wedges
2 meduim carrots, bias-sliced
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 cloves minced garlic
2 tspns grated fresh ginger
2 14 oz cans chicken broth
2 tbspns soy sauce
3 cups shredded Swiss chard or spinach
8 oz Chinese egg noodles or rice sticks
optional garnish: cilantro leaves or chile oil

1. Place mushrooms, onions, carrots in slow cooker. add chicken. combine garlic, ginger, chicken broth, and soy and pour over veggie/chicken mixture.
2. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-5 hours
3. Stir in Swiss Chard/Spinach and cook covered 5 more minutes.Cook noodles in the meantime, following package directions.
To serve, divide noodles into bowls and pour soup over the top. Garnish as pleased.

Nutrition facts: 285 cal, 3 g fat/1 g sat. fat, 80 mg chol, 758 mg sodium, 39 g carbs, 3g fiber, 27g protien 114% vit A, 11% vit C, 4% calcium, 14% iron

I omitted the ginger because I just hate ginger, but I did add some sliced green onions in the soup as well as on top for garnish. I also just used the bottled teryaki sauce I had instead of soy because it's my preference. I chose spinach because it was onhand and because I thought I had purchased Swiss chard but it turned out to be kale. oops! Also tossed in some celery because I had it onhand too. Quite delish and for those of you staying away from carbs, stands on it's own without the rice noodles underneath it.

I posed this question in another thread but so far no answer, so I'll try here. I accidently bought a head of Kale and haven't got a freaking clue what to do with it. I couldn't find any recipes online other than suggestions to steam or boil it, which just seems kinda... blech. Any thoughts?

I usually heat a little olive oil to a nonstick pan, saute some garlic, add the kale (freshly washed with water still clinging to it) cook it for about 10 minutes adding some more water if you need to. When you serve it sprinkle some crushed red pepper over it. Soooo good.

I wonder if you could treat kale like cabbage? With some worcestershire, grilled onions, peppers, mushrooms, etc. & sauteed strips of chicken or pork chops? And garlic of course.

Not really a recipe but rather a suggestion. I do not fry foods any more in oil or fats but I put a little fat free Italian dressing in the bottom of my pan and sautee in that. What a great flavour it adds to meats and veggies. Give it a whirl and let me know what you think.
Virginia

mm.....right there with ya Virginia. I have a ton of recipes for sautee'ing stuff in italian dressing. In fact, I like to just toss a chicken in the crockpot with a bunch of it & it smells soooo good around the house when I walk in.

i got so sick of italian dressing when i was dieting last time - but if i wasn't.. I loooved the lite done rite version, it's nice and spicy.
I prefer to just make my own with some olive oil and balsamic now. Great trick. Another great trick I found is either to use a mister for my olive oil because it sprays all over with a fine mist, no wasting and no excess... also they make a Pam spray that is olive oil and it works fine and tastes okay - for being pam.
My favorite thing to do is toss meat into a foil pouch with some veggies, seasionings or a little bit of whatever sauce I have onhand. Always comes out perfect, plus it's the fastest easiest and laziest way to cook (hardly any clean up involved!)

The pouch sounds like a great idea, I think I just might try that, Thanks!
Virginia

Low Carb Kale

Smoked Chicken Breast or favorite spicy sausage or thick bacon diced
Olive Oil
1/2 onion
2-4 minced garlic cloves
splash of chicken stock or water with powered bouillion
salt and pepper

small bit of olive oil, diced chicken breast/sausage/bacon, brown until carmelized. Add onions cookdown, add garlic about 1-2 minutes laters add the kale, about 1/4 cup - 1/2 cup of the stock and salt and pepper. Cook all down,about 20 minutes.....

Yummy high in fiber

Great ideas everyone - thanks for sharing! :)

I'm closing this thread now so everyone can post their recipes in the alternachick fab food sections. Everything is broken down into categories there so it is much easier to find the recipes.