Low Carb Pizza on my way to a new me!

I have been following a low carb diet since the 1st of January. My husband had a diabetes scare, and so we have both been eating low carb, exercising, and eating more healthy to get back on track. Since the first I have lost 15 pounds so far and my husband lost about 7.

I have not been posting much, because I have been trying to eat the Atkins way and it would get pretty boring if I just posted grilled chicken everyday.

I don't know how long I will eat this way, as I am trying to make it apart of my lifestyle, not just a diet.

I miss bread:(  

I miss pasta:(

I miss cake most of all!

But I am trying and I'm going to go the distance. I am trying to find new ways of  hiding vegetables in my families food as they just do not like them. I'm also trying to find healthy low carb, low cal recipes that is easy to prepare. If and when I try them I will post them.

I am also a little down because I found out that BlogHer will not accept me at this time. Bummer:(

I did however find a low carb pizza recipe that I thought I would share with you.

It is only 9 carbs for the whole thing! That is awesome compared to a slice of white bread that has 28!

I found this recipe on Pinterest and it led me to www.sugarfreelikeme.com and there she explains the most easiest low carb pizza ever!

I just use a low carb tortilla and spread about two tablespoons of pizza sauce on it. Sprinkle about 1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella and some pepperoni and pop it it the microwave for 1 minute. I then take it out of the microwave and place it in a heated pan on the stovetop. Let the bottom of the tortilla get crisp for just a minute or two and its done!

Now I can have pizza again, how cool is that! Even the kids loved it and its done in just minutes. Movie night is back on!

 

Miracle Grill Mat Review - Lil' Smokies and Beans Recipe

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This is not a sponsored post. I just love QVC. I recently saw an on air demonstration for these grill mats and I fell in love with the idea! 

You can now cook veggies on the grill without a grill pan, without the fear of veggies or foods falling through the grates, without all the leftover mess on the grates. You can fry an egg right on the mat, fry cheese right on the mat. That's right I said fry cheese! 

Cheese came right off!

It is non stick so it cleans right up. And when you grill a steak on it, you still get great grill marks without flare-ups. This was all done on a QVC on-air demonstration, so I got to see it in action on live T.V. but since it is still a bit warm here in California, I am going to grill some food to try it out for myself.

I found them very easy to use, just place them on the grill before turning on grill.

When grill is warmed up just place meat and veggies as you normally would on a grill. Everything cooked so well and the finished food  looked even better than cooking on a grill without the mat. 

Now you can fry bacon on the pit!

The food was absolutely tender and delicious , and the mess cleans right up, just use a wet towel to wipe it off.

The veggies never fell through the grates and they cooked beautifully.

You can cook bacon and eggs right on the grill with these mats!

Check out my bacon and eggs happy face:)

Everything came out wonderful 

Here is a bacon egg burger. YUM!

From QVC website:

Get out of sticky situations with this set of nonstick mats. The two grill mats are designed to reduce flare-ups and burns, while helping to keep foods juicy, tender, and with great grill flavor. The ultimate baking mat allows for cooking and baking with no sticking and no need for fats and sprays.

Includes two grill mats and one baking mat

Microwave-safe; oven-safe up to 500F

PTFE-free nonstick fabric

Measure approximately 13"W x 15-5/8"L

5-year Limited Manufacturer's Warranty

Made in China

This comes with two grill mats and one baking mat which I tried out with simple pumpkin cookies and when the cookies cooled I tried to lift one with my hands. That did not turn out so well. The bottom of the cookie stuck to the baking mat and while removing the cookies with a spatula worked a little better, I still prefer parchment paper to this baking mat:( 

I had high hopes for the baking mat but for now I am sticking to parchment.

The grill mats make up for the baking mat. And I feel that it was still worth buying.

Yes these mats need to be cleaned by wiping them down with a wet cloth then when they have cooled, take them into kitchen and clean them well with a dishcloth and warm water and soap. But compared to scrubbing down grill grates, this is a breeze. 

And the best part is, it is only  $19.86 for two grill mats and one baking mat! 

How awesome is that!

We made some bacon and egg burgers!

http://www.qvc.com/The-Ultimate-Grill-and-Baking-Mat-3-pc-Set.product.K39683.html

Now for the recipe:

To go with our barbecue, I have prepared some barbecue baked beans. This dish is a regular when we grill, as it goes with EVERYTHING!

And even though I did not bake them, I am still calling them that because it sounds better than cooked beans:)

I love the way these beans taste. They are smokey with a spicy kick from the heat of the Serrano and crushed red pepper, and when dipped into with a tender piece of steak, your in heaven!

They do not take long and I usually make them while the hubby bubby is grilling, so everything is done at the same time.

Lil smokies or cocktail smoked sausage about 4 oz

2 15oz cans van camps pork and beans

Half a small onion sliced

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 Serrano pepper sliced

1/4 Teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 Teaspoon crushed red pepper

In a saucepan on medium high heat, add olive oil and cook sliced onions and sliced Serrano pepper until translucent. 

About 5-7 minutes. Add ground pepper and crushed red pepper and cook about a minute more. 

Add lil smokies,Stir to combine and cook on medium low a few minutes more or until sausages have browned just a bit. 

Add both cans of beans, stir and cook on low simmer for about 20-30 minutes.  

Serve warm.

This dish is best served with steak and some sour cream, fried pork chops, hot dogs or even fried eggs!

You can add other meats to these beans like bacon, hot dogs too!

So this is me last barbecue before the cold weather really starts to come around and I hope you like it.

Do you still que in the fall?

Ham and String Bean Stew

I can't wait for the holidays to really begin and for me that tradition starts with eating turkey and ham and Black Friday. 

Thanksgiving is an awesome day for traditional foods but I look forward to cleaning up and heading to the late night outlet sales. My kids already made there list's and they are more excited about Black Friday than I am! I love sticking to tradition, I guess I'm freaky like that.

This recipe is kind of a tradition, in that every time we make holiday ham this is what happens with the ham leftovers. This time I cooked it with added potatoes but if you desire you can just omit the potatoes and serve over mashed potatoes. Either way it is a delicious meal made with leftover holiday ham and because my ham was baked with a sweet glaze, it makes this sauce a bit sweet which adds a wonderful fall flavor.

1 small onion sliced

1 can tomato paste

1 can cut green beans drained

1 1/2 pounds ham from shank cut into 1 inch chunks

1 1/2 pounds potatoes quartered

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Using a dutch oven, on medium-high heat, begin by sautéing sliced onion until soft and translucent about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant about 30 seconds. Add ham chunks and let ham and onions cook together for about 5-7minutes. Add can of tomato paste and let it cook with ham for about 3 minutes then add I add about 2 cups of water to pot and stir. If I feel I need more water, I add about a cup more a little at a time. Add salt and pepper, add potatoes and stir. Let stew cook on low heat for an hour, stirring occasionally.

After an hour, add can of cut green beans and check potatoes for doneness. If potatoes are still not soft, cook on low for an additional 45 minutes to an hour. Serve with crusty bread if desired.

Pumpkin Spice Rice Pudding

I love rice pudding! I can eat it as a meal! I like to keep this recipe simple, just adding a few subtle changes. I am feeling very pumpkin lovin these days, so I am going to add some pumpkin pie spice to give me that flavor I love!

I had some leftover rice, so I threw some in a saucepan.

I added butter, brown sugar vanilla, and whole milk.

This is gonna be good, I can feel it!

Stir to combine and let her cook!

When it starts to bubble a little, I add 1/2 teaspoon

Pumpkin Pie Spice!

I tempered the egg yokes by adding some hot pudding

In bowl a little bit at a time and stir in-between.

Adding a bit more.

There. I think that's good enough!

Slowly pour mixture into pudding.

See how the color changes a bit?

My daughter is helping out. See!

Mmmm it's getting thick and creamy!

I add another pat of butter cuz that's how we roll!

Looks good!

This was so good, I could not stop eating!

Ingredients:

3 cups white rice, cooked

3 cups milk

2/3 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons butter

2 egg yokes

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice , divided

Directions:

Combine cooked rice, milk, brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan. Add vanilla. Cook on medium-low heat for 20 minutes stirring frequently, make sure it does not scorch, so check heat and stir often until most of the liquid is absorbed. When it starts to bubble a bit, I added in 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice. In a small bowl or measuring cup, beat egg yokes then begin taking small ladles or spoonfuls of pudding mixture, and add it to beaten egg yokes, I spoonful at a time to temper the eggs and not scramble them. After adding about four big spoonfuls, add egg yoke mixture to pot with rice pudding. The eggs will make this pudding extra creamy!

Stir to combine mixture and let cook another 3-5 minutes. Spoon pudding into a dish or bowl and sprinkle with a bit more pumpkin pie spice. Serve chilled or at room temperature. I can eat mine warm, right out of the pot!

Sunday Meatballs and Rice

This is one of MaMa Ruby's recipes that has been passed down to me. It is yummy, cozy, and full of meatball goodness! The celery gives this dish a lighter flavor than regular spaghetti sauce. Now you can most certainly just take some meatballs from this cooked dish and throw them on a roll with some mozzarella cheese for a meatball sub for leftovers but this is how the dish starts.

We start with meatball mixture. I find myself making this kind of mixture a lot lately:)

My shaped meatballs, about 1-1/2 inches in diameter.

For veggies, start be slicing some onion. I cry every time!

Then some celery.

Add some olive oil to pot. I am using my trusty le-crueset.

Add to pot along with some salt and ground pepper.

Cook until translucent and add some chopped garlic.

I love garlic!

As MaMa says"Fry your tomato paste!"

We will be working with these today!

Lawry's spaghetti sauce mixture has everything in it.

Cheese, Paprika, Garlic, Oregano and other yummy seasonings!

It is one of my  Go-To shortcuts in the kitchen.

Add mixture to pot and stir.

I like to add meatballs in a circular pattern.

Everybody in the pool!

Spoon over sauce, and cover.

Almost done!

Whole tomatoes.

Hand crushed. Somebody's gotta do it!

Add to sauce!

Ingredients:

1 onion sliced

5 celery stalks 

12 oz can tomato paste

1 packet Lawry's extra rich and thick spaghetti seasoning mix

3 cups of water

28 oz can of whole tomatoes drained

2 pounds ground beef

1 egg

1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs

1/4 teaspoon chopped garlic

Salt

Ground pepper

First prepare the meatballs by placing ground beef in a large bowl and adding Italian bread crumbs, egg, a generous pinch of salt (maybe two) and a pinch of black pepper. Shape meatballs into 1 1/2 inch diameter meatballs and place on a baking sheet. With two ponds I was able to get 31 meatballs. Next wash hands and prepare veggies by slicing onion and chopping celery into 1 inch pieces. Add olive oil to pot and add onions and celery and cook until translucent, about 5-7 minutes stirring often, then add chopped garlic and stir, let cook for just about 20-30 seconds and then add the whole can of tomato paste and stir into veggies. 

Cook on medium heat. Continue to cook mixture for about 4-5 minutes stirring constantly. In a 2 cup measuring cup add 2 cups of water and packet of Lawrys spaghetti seasoning, and stir to combine. Add mixture to pot, stir Into tomato paste and combine well. It may be still a bit thick at this point so I added one more cup of water. Let this cook for about 5 minutes on medium-low heat and stir once more. Start adding meatballs. They are raw but they will cook nicely in sauce. Add meatballs in pot one by one and carefully as not to smash them or they may fall apart. 

Once the meatballs are added spoon over some sauce on them and place lid on. Stir every 5-7 minutes. After they have cooked half-way, about 15 minutes, add whole tomatoes that have been drained and crushed by hand. Mix until combined while still being gentle with meatballs. Add salt and pepper to season. Make sure to stir well and not let sauce stick to bottom of pot. Let cook about another 20-25 minutes, stirring every 6-7 minutes. Serve with rice or egg noodles.

This makes a lot of sauce, so you can definitely freeze half.