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.

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!!

Layered Coconut Flour Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting (low carb)

After making the Coconut Flour Bread recipe, I got more creative.  I've been wanting sweet treats so I decided to play with the recipe a little more.  I've seen some recipes for 'Crepe Cakes' on Pinterest and decided to make something similar.  However, I seem to have a hard time making low carb crepes based on recipes I've gotten off the internet (so far anyway!) so I decided to bake the 'faux crepe cake' this time.

Coconut Flour Cake

4 eggs (I used All Whites Liquid Egg Whites - 12 Tbsp)
4 Tbsp coconut flour
2 Tbsp unsalted almonds, ground into a flour
3 Tbsp protein powder
1/2 tsp Almond Extract (or any kind of extract you want to use in order to flavor your cake.  I just have been craving almond for some reason!)
4 Tbsp butter, unsalted (at room temperature so it's soft)
6 Tbsp Splenda (or granulated sweetener of your choice, add more or less to taste)

Preheat the oven to 350* F.
Combine all the dry ingredients first, then added the eggs, butter and extract.
Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet.
Pour batter / dough onto the parchment paper in a very thin layer.  If you have a small cookie sheet, you should be able to use it and fill the cookie sheet.  However, my cookie sheets are all average / large sized so I had a few inches of empty paper on either side and about 1 inch on the top and bottom.  Because of possible cooking inconsistencies in some ovens, I baked it about 5 minutes, then rotated the cookie sheet so the side that had previously been in the front of the oven was now in the rear and baked it for about another 5 minutes.  Times may vary.
When the 'cake' was done, I tried to cut it in fairly even sizes and let cool.  It doesn't take long because it's so thin.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. Cream Cheese, brick style, the entire brick
8 Tbsp. Half & Half or Heavy Cream
4 tsp. Splenda (or to taste)
about 1 tsp. Extract (I used Almond)

Soften the cream cheese.  I softened it in the microwave for about 20 seconds.  Combine all the ingredients.  I used a hand mixer in order to 'whip' the heavy cream into the cream cheese better, otherwise it would have been too lumpy and liquid.

Application:

Take a 'slice' of the cake, place on a plate / platter.  Apply a thick layer of frosting to the cake.  Place another 'slice' of cake on top of that, apply another thick layer of frosting.  Repeat.  At the top layer, you can either apply the layer of frosting just to the top or also down the sides.  I applied it just to the top.  

Layered Coconut Flour Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting (low carb)

Depending on the thickness of your layering of the frosting, you will probably have some leftover.  You may want to decrease the quantities some.  If you do have some leftover, you can just dollop some on top of the cake when you serve it or do whatever you want with it.  I ate what was left and it was delicious!!  Here's a photo of my cake.  I shared it with my family and we had 4 healthy servings.  I think it was a little dry (the cake part) so next time I think I'd use whole eggs rather than just the whites to see if that moistens it some.  The nutritional info below is based on whole eggs.

Coconut Flour Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting - Nutritional Information (4 servings)

513 calories, 10 carbs, 46 fat, 17 protein, 3 fiber, 277 sodium

Coconut Flour Bread (low carb)

I found this recipe here and decided to try it, though I didn't follow the recipe completely because I get sidetracked and tend to do my own thing once I get the ingredients together.  The less ingredients, the more appealing it is for me to try a recipe for some reason.  I guess I think it's going to be 'easier' (not always the case!)  This was a fairly easy recipe though.  Here it is...

Coconut Flour Bread

In a frying pan, add 2 Tbsp unsalted butter (or coconut oil) on medium to melt.

In a bowl, mix thoroughly:

2 eggs... I used All Whites - Liquid Egg Whites (6 Tbsp. total)
2 Tbsp coconut flour
2 Tbsp Bob's Red Mills - Unflavored Whey Protein Powder (you can use any kind you want, that's just the only unflavored kind I have in my house)
dash of salt or other seasonings… I opted not to use any

After the ingredients were mixed thoroughly, I poured the batter out (in two separate parts) in the frying pan and 'fried' it like a pancake.  Flipping over in a few minutes.  It didn't take too long and the batter is thick.  (the 'fried' version is to the right in the photo below).  To turn it into a sandwich, I cut one of the 'pancake' style breads in half (horizontally) and put my lunch meat and cheese in the center.

Coconut Flour Bread (low carb)

I then decided to get somewhat creative and try baking it.  I preheated the oven to 350* F.  When it was at the desired temperature, I laid some parchment paper out on a cookie sheet and, after making a new batch of 'dough' (this time with the butter added into the recipe), I poured it out onto the parchment paper and spread it out as thin as I could without being able to see any of the parchment paper through the dough.  This 'bread' is pictured above on the left hand side.  I spread it out based on what I imagined would be enough (once cut) to make two sandwiches with a 'slice of bread' for both sides, if that makes sense.  That's why, in the picture, there are 4 'slices of bread'.  It's a little dry.  I think the whole eggs may make it a little more moist.

With the butter counted as an ingredient, the nutritional information for 1 serving (there are 2 servings with the recipe, according to how I did it, anyway) is as follows (based on information from MyFitnessPal and with using whole eggs rather than the egg whites)...

Coconut Flour Bread - Nutritional Information (1 serving)

235 calories, 5 carbs (2 net carbs), 19 fat, 12 protein, 3 fiber, 106 sodium