Braised Beef Short Ribs (low carb, dutch oven)

My nephew came across this recipe and said it was really good and that we had to try it. We did and it was good.  I wanted to share it.  I also added some other ingredients when I made later on, which I'll share (the added ingredients) later in this post. While the recipe calls for a dutch oven, I also used just a big cast iron pan and I imagine it would work in a crock pot as well.  Here's the original recipe...

Braised Beef Short Ribs

6-8 bone-in beef short ribs
1 large onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
2 Tbsp Olive oil, divided
1 1/2 cups tomato paste
2-3 cups dry red wine
1-2 cups water
salt, to taste for all sides of ribs
1 bundle of fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
garlic cloves, to taste / chopped or minced

Directions

Preheat oven to 375*.
Blend onion, celery, carrot and garlic in blender to form a rough paste.
Heat 1 Tbsp oil in large dutch oven on high heat.  Add ribs to pot and sear meat on all sides, about 2-3 minutes per side.  Remove ribs from pot and drain fat from pot.
Add remaining Tbsp of oil to pot and add pureed vegetables.  Allow veggies to brown a bit.  Add tomato paste and allow it to brown.  Scrape bottom of pan often to prevent sticking.  Add wine to pot and scrape bottom again.
Return ribs to the pot and add water until ribs are covered.  Add thyme and bay leaves to pot.  Cover pot and place in oven for 3 hours.  Turn ribs over about half way through cooking.  Remove lid from pot for last 20 or so minutes of cooking to allow sauce to reduce.  


Braised Beef Short Ribs (my tweaked version)

6-8 bone-in beef short ribs
1 large onion, chopped
2-4 ribs celery, chopped
2 small cans of tomato paste
2-3 cups dry red wine (optional)
1-2 cups water
salt, to taste for all sides of ribs
1 bundle of fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
garlic cloves, to taste / chopped or minced

My added ingredients...  (optional)
2 packets of sugar-free sweetener (I used Stevia with Inulin Fiber)
2 servings of instant coffee powder (may want to use more)
1-2 tsp cinnamon powder
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions

Preheat oven to 375*.
Blend onion, celery, garlic and tomato paste in blender to form a rough paste.  Add sugar-free sweetener, coffee, cinnamon and cocoa powder.  Mix well.
Place ribs in dutch oven.  Pour the rough paste of vegetables over the ribs.  Add thyme and bay leaves.  Add wine if desired.  Add water.
Cover pot and place in oven for 3 hours.  Turn ribs over about half way through cooking.  Remove lid from pot for last 20 or so minutes of cooking to allow sauce to reduce, if desired. 

Braised Beef Short Ribs (low carb)

The cast iron pan and skillet I used for a lid.

Creamy Tomato Chicken (low carb / p2)

I've been craving a 'creamy' sauce lately and, as I'm currently doing HCG and in phase 2, I can't have any cheese.  Technically even the Greek yogurt in this recipe is somewhat 'rogue' (for the HCG diet) but the brand I use is higher in protein and since it's plain, there are no added sugars or anything.  All of the spices really are optional and you can use them in the amounts that you want to (to taste) but I've come up with this recipe and I really like it for a 'creamy' sauce.

Creamy Tomato Chicken

5 chicken breasts
1 large can (28 oz) diced tomatoes
1 cup plain Greek yogurt (I use 0% Fage)
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp basil leaves
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric powder, optional

Combine tomatoes, Greek yogurt and spices, mixing well.  
Place chicken in a crockpot or in a glass baking dish.
Pour sauce over the top.
Bake in crockpot for 4-6 hours on low heat (or however long you want pretty much).
Or bake in oven at 350* F for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until meat is cooked.

Creamy Tomato Chicken (low carb / p2)

Sugar Free Sweet Pickle Relish (low carb)

I've been trying to find a sweet pickle relish that's sugar-free / low carb and I've found that Cain's has a version (it's good, sweetened with Splenda) but I can't always find it in my local stores and that's the only one I've seen (though, I've read that other brands have some too).  I came across this recipe (it's in all the comments) and I wanted to make a note of it so I'll be able to find it again.  Hopefully I'll make it and actually post a picture of it at some point.  I've also contemplated food-processing dill pickles and adding sweetener to try it...  If I do it, I'll be sure to share the results on here. 

Sweet Pickle Relish

1 lb kirby cucumbers
1/2 cup vinegar
3/8 cup sweetener (I use liquid sucralose)
1 t mustard seed
1 1/2 t salt

Process cucumbers in food processer to desired-sized pieces. Put in strainer to drain for about 20 mins. Press out liquid with a spoon. Combine all other ingredients. Add cukes. Done. Tastes better as it sets. Lasts for months because of the high salt and vinegar content. You can thicken it with guar or xantham if you need to. But if I drain the liquid first, I can avoid this step.

Dog Cookies (for Dogs!)

I'm wanting to bake and I forgot that I had decided (in my head) that I was going to make some cookies for someone I know...  Yeah, I'm seriously that forgetful.  I ended up coming up with a recipe for dog cookies instead.  My dog is fairly picky but I wanted to make something he might like and he ate them!!  My sister's dog (who is much less picky) loved them!!  So, here it is...

Dog Cookies!

Dog Cookies (savory & full of dairy)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup Vita-Gravy for dogs (dry mix - or you can just use Brewer's Yeast)
1 egg 
1/4 cup Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream
2 Tbsp cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp butter, softened (or non-butter equivalent)
opt. 1 tsp. powdered barley grass (just because I had it and figured it would be good for them)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350* F.  Combine all dry ingredients.  Mix thoroughly.  Add egg.  Add in wet ingredients.  Mix well.  
Lay a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet.  Pour or spoon batter in dollops like you would regular cookies.  Mine made about 12 good sized 'cookies'.  If you have a smaller dog, you may want to make them smaller.

Right out of the oven!

Garnished with cheddar cheese
(because our dogs love cheese!)

Chicken Enchilada Quiche (crustless & low carb)

I haven't actually made this recipe but I want to.  I'm not sure where I found it either so I can't give credit where credit is due at the moment.  Forgive me.  Just know that it isn't my recipe and I haven't made it yet.  

Chicken Enchilada Quiche

4 eggs
1 cup milk (half & half or heavy cream will work also)
1 cup salsa (make sure there's no added sugar!)
1 can (4.5 oz) green chilies
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 can chicken breast in water, drained (or fresh cooked & shredded chicken breasts would be a better option)
pepper, to taste
sour cream, salsa and guacamole as optional toppings

Directions

Preheat oven to 350* F.
Use a deep dish glass pie pan if possible and grease it.
Whisk milk and eggs together until blended.  Add remaining ingredients to the egg mixture and stir well until fully combined.
Pour into pie pan and sprinkle with pepper (or more cheese!) if so desired.
Bake for 55-65 minutes (it's recommended that you put a cookie sheet under the pie pan as original post mentioned they've had this quiche spill over a few times in the oven).
Allow to cool 10 minutes before serving.
Add optional toppings if desired.

Once I've made this, I'll be sure to re-post with pictures!!

Chai Almond Cookies (low carb)

If you've tried my Almond Bun / Bread / Base recipe, then this is a sweetened up rendition of that.  

I love Chai spices.  I don't care what form the spices come in...  tea, coffee, sweets, and whatever else they may be in that I've yet to try.  I'll drink it or eat it (to be honest, that pretty much goes for anything!!)  This 'cookie' recipe has more of a texture like cake kind of, so they'd make really good Whoopie Pies, I just haven't tried them that way yet.  I have to figure out a good filling (maybe my Cream Cheese Frosting recipe!!)  Anyway, here's the recipe I came up with...

Chai Almond Cookies

3/4 cup Almond Flour 2 Large Eggs 
5 Tbsp Unsalted Butter (softened works best, in my opinion)
5 tsp Splenda
1.5 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Vanilla Extract (or more if desired)
1 Tbsp Cinnamon (powdered)
1 Tbsp Ginger (powdered) 
2 tsp Cardamom (powdered) - I didn't have this so I didn't use it but the Chai recipes call for it
2 tsp Cloves (powdered)
1/2 tsp Nutmeg (powdered)
1/2 tsp Allspice (powdered)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350* F.
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl
Mix in the eggs
Add the softened butter to the mixture
Place a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet
Use a spatula to pour out the batter / dough onto the parchment paper into small piles at regular intervals on the cookie sheet (like you would regular cookies).  I think I got about 8 cookies but they were quite large in size.  Keep in mind that they will flatten and spread out some, so you don't want to have them too close together.  However, I also kind of twirled each cookie on the paper to make it a little more round, just to be safe.
Bake for 12-20 minutes (my oven requires about 20 minutes.  I bake it for ten minutes and then rotate the cookie sheet 180 degrees to try to get a more even bake, just to be safe).  They cool very quickly, so you don't have to wait long to eat them.

Chai (Almond Flour) Cookies

I'm sorry that I don't have all the cookies on the plate but we scarfed most of them up right away. 

Almond Buns / Bread / Base Recipe (low carb & actually easy!)

On a low carb diet, you don't get to enjoy bread like you may have once done.  I know I miss it.  I came across this recipe for Almond Buns and messed around with it some and I like what has happened.  The basic recipe has stayed the same, I've just added ingredients from time-to-time and baked it differently.   I've also begun making my own almond flour to try to save a little money.  I've read you can save a lot by doing it yourself but I can't seem to find really cheap almonds so I don't think it's saving me all that much...  it's just hard to find almond flour nearby (I have to order it online).  This recipe calls for 3/4 cup of Almond Flour and I've found that if I take 3/4 cup of whole almonds and grind it up in my Magic Bullet with the low-lying flatter blade, it usually comes out to about 3/4 cup almond flour (not packed!)
(note: supposedly it's easy to make almond butter if you grind too long but I haven't had a problem yet.  I have had to shake my Magic Bullet to get some of the almonds to actually get chopped up completely and even then, they don't always get totally ground.  It's recommended that you use a flour-sifter to get the chunkier bits of almonds out but I don't have one so I kind of just pick them out with a fork.)

Anyway, here is the bread recipe...

Almond Bun / Bread

3/4 cup Almond Flour 
2 Large Eggs (I've used whole eggs and All Whites / Egg Whites)
5 Tbsp Unsalted Butter (softened works best, in my opinion)
1.5 tsp Splenda (optional)
1.5 tsp Baking Powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350* F.
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl
Mix in the eggs
Add the softened butter to the mixture
Place a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet
Use a spatula to pour out the batter / dough onto the parchment paper and then spread it evenly.  I try to place it near the center with a few inches of empty parchment paper on all four sides to ensure a more even bake.
Bake for 12-20 minutes (my oven requires about 20 minutes.  I bake it for ten minutes and then rotate the cookie sheet 180 degrees to try to get a more even bake, just to be safe).
Once the 'bread' is baked, take it out of the oven and within a minute or so (it cools fast), you can cut it into 6-8 'slices' (about the size of regular bread).  Like this...

After baking & before cutting

Almond Flour Bread after cutting to size

You can store the 'bread' for about 4-5 days (depending on humidity where you live) outside of the refrigerator (in a ziplock bag) but it does seem to mold much faster so watch for that to happen.  That's why it's best to do it in the small amounts called for in this recipe.

This is my "go-to" faux bread recipe because it's fast and easy!  It provides a nice base to mess around with too.  Instead of Splenda, I've added 3 tsp Parmesan Cheese for a more 'savory' flavor.  I've also added more Splenda, Vanilla Extract and Cocoa Powder (unsweetened) to make a chocolatey sweet snack.  Recently I made a Chai Cookie with this base recipe and they were really good.  I'll be sure to post the recipe for those soon.  Let me know if you do anything different.  It's fun to experiment with it!!  Enjoy!!