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!

 

Rigatoni and Cheese

Well Thanksgiving is finally here and as you are reading this, I am still in full cooking mode. The in-laws are coming over today and when I tell them that dinner will be ready at 4pm, they are at my door by 1pm ready to eat!

Happens every year. So this year I made sure to leave out appetizers so they don't make me all nervous like they usually do. 

This macaroni and cheese dish was one of the first dishes ready, so I had to show you how addicting this Macaroni or should I say Rigatoni looks!

This recipe I was taught by my Mother-in-law Ruby. And as a matter of fact, she will be here shortly to critique me on the proper way to cook her traditional thanksgiving dishes. But this is one of her dishes that she does not complain about. 

After you eat this Rigatoni and cheese, you will never want that boxed stuff again. And neither will the kids. When I cook on thanksgiving, this is the first thing they ask about.

I once made three pans like this to take to a big family event feeding over 100 people. At the buffet table, it was the first thing they ran out of and all night long I was asked for the recipe.

2-16oz packages rigatoni 

32 oz Velveeta cheese block cubed and divided 

16 oz Cream cheese cubed and divided

8 oz =1 stick butter

8 cups milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In an 11 x 15 pan,  place rigatoni noodles that have been cooked and drained according to directions on packaging. 

Set aside. Meanwhile in a medium saucepan, combine milk, half of the cubed velveeta cheese block and half of the cubed cream cheese block. 

Cook on low heat until cheese has melted.

 Place remaining cubed velveeta and cream cheese pieces, scattered evenly over noodles.

 Pour cheese/milk mixture over noodles and stir a little just to make sure noodles are covered nicely. 

Stir a little just to combine.

Place butter in a small saucepan and heat on low until melted. Pour melted butter evenly over noodle/cheese mixture.

 I give it one more tiny stir to get butter a bit more incorporated. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown and bubbly, about an hour.

Make ahead tip:

 You can cook the rigatoni the night before and keep noodles in fridge, in an airtight container until ready to assemble and bake. In the morning I just zap them for a minute or so in the microwave just to take out the chill then assemble and bake.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with family, friends and lots of good food.

Finger Food - Sweet Potato Stacks

Sweet Potato Stacks

I am trying to find healthy snacks to eat while watching all of the Halloween movies and T.V. Shows that have been on lately. I usually love me some twizzlers but I know that I can do better than that. My husband helped to put these together and I think he is starting to like helping me in the kitchen. My daughter loves to help out, my son...not so much.

So when I said I was making Sweet Potato Stacks, everybody got excited.

I knew they would be good, but I did not expect them to be ADDICTIVE!

This is my first time using a mandolin, and I have to 

Say, I will never slice thinly without it!

I got mine on clearance for $5.00 at my grocery store.

It may not be a fancy one, but it's good enough for now.

My camera is giving me a hard time today, sorry:)

As soon as I got them out of the oven, they practically 

Disappeared!

I adore appetizers, I love finger food, and these will be a big hit for our next holiday party!

If you need a simple yet delicious appetizer to serve this holiday season, give this a try! 

2 sweet potatoes thinly sliced ( I used a mandolin )

2 cups of shredded mozzarella 

1/2 cup melted butter

1/2 teaspoon dry Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 350

In a small bowl combine 1/2 cup melted butter and 1/2 teaspoon dry Italian seasoning.

On a parchment paper lined baking sheet, place one slice of sweet potato

Brush with a bit of melted butter mixture. Sprinkle with some shredded cheese.

Top with another slice of sweet potato, then brush with butter mixture and sprinkle a bit more cheese on top. Repeat this process for all of the stacks.

Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese has melted and the stacks have browned a bit. I was able to get about 20 stacks from 2 sweet potatoes.  YMMV (Your mileage may vary)

Do you have a favorite appetizer?

Harry Potter Pretzel Cheese Brooms

My kids love anything to do with Harry Potter!

They love talking about the movies, the theme park, costumes, the food. So when I saw this idea on Pinterest, posted by many others. I just had to try it myself, knowing my kids would get a kick out of it.

My daughter propped up the brooms. She said it would look cool this way, and I think she is right!

So simple, just take some pretzel sticks, a slice of cheese and a scallion onion sliced very thin length wise. 

Begin by slicing the cheese slice into thirds. Make little slits into cheese to form the bristles, do not cut all the way through, just half way up the cheese. (You get what I mean;)

Wrap bristles around base of pretzel stick and tie with piece of sliced onion.

And that's it! I love this as snacks for well...ANYONE! And it is perfect for a Halloween party appetizers.

My kids loved the flavor and did not mind the onion at all, they actually loved it!

Tell me what you think? 

Eggplant Meatloaf Parmesan

My family loves meatloaf and lasagna!

So I saw an episode of giada deLaurentis with this recipe for eggplant meatloaf Parmesan , and I made my own version that the kids went nuts for!

We eat everything Italian in my house, and I must say this meatloaf meets both my Italian cravings and American favorites! The only thing that is REALLY bothering me is that I seem to be losing some natural light. But I managed to pull this one off! It was really tasty and you will find yourself munching on leftovers for sure!

The bacon and onion smell is intoxicating!

My husband stole some and put it in a slice of bread.

Makes for a hearty meal!

Ingredients

Meatloaf:

2 pounds ground beef

2/3 cup finely grated Parmesan

2/3 cup jarred marinara sauce

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 large eggs

1 small onion, finely chopped

4 strips of bacon

Eggplant: 

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 ground black pepper

1/3 cup of marinara

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella 

First chop onion and bacon strips and place in a skillet and cook on medium until bacon is browned and onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Remove from skillet, drain and set mixture aside. In a large bowl combine ground beef, Parmesan, marinara sauce, salt, black pepper, garlic, eggs, and cooked onion-bacon mixture. Mix well to combine. Dump mixture out onto a nonstick or lightly greased sheet pan and shape into a loaf. I shaped mine a bit flat, so that the eggplant can sit well. Place in oven and bake until cooked through for about 30 until Internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F.

While meatloaf is in oven, slice a medium eggplant into 4-6 slices about 1/2 inch in thickness. Season on both sides with salt, black pepper. Spay a skillet with a bit of cooking spray and cook eggplant on medium-high heat until a bit browned about 2-3 minutes per side. Spoon 1/3 cup of marinara over meatloaf and arrange eggplant slices on top of meatloaf. I was only able to fit four, so that's what I went with. Spoon a bit more sauce on top of each slice of eggplant and top with mozzarella cheese. Place bake in oven to finish melting cheese about 5-7 minutes. Enjoy!