Ham Roll-ups

These are great little appetizers. That great thing is that really have no carbs in them or at least very little.

One pound of sliced lunch meat ham.

Small dill pickles or large ones quartered lengthwise.

Cream cheese

So how easy this can be?!?

Peel off the ham slices one at a time and dry them with a paper towel.

Spread the ham with softened cream cheese.

Put a slice of the quartered pickle on one end and roll it up.

Insert toothpicks into the rolled ham and slice between them.

Viola! Ham Roll-ups! Enjoy!

These are a great hours d'ouvre to bring to.a party. At least you won't feel guilty about eating these.

Cranberry Cream Cheese Holiday Salad

• 1 1/2 cups crushed Almonds
• 4 1/2 tablespoons Splenda
• 3/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup Splenda
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
• 1 (8 ounce) container frozen lite whipped topping, thawed
• 1 (6 ounce) package sugar free Jello brand raspberry flavored gelatin
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen raspberries
• 8 ounces of cranberries (chopped)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Mix together the almonds,1 tsp salt,  4 1/2 tablespoons Splenda and melted butter. Press into the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Bake for 10 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Set aside to cool completely.
2. In a medium bowl, beat the Splenda and cream cheese until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Spread evenly over the cooled crust. Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.
3. In a medium bowl, stir together the gelatin mix and boiling water. Mix in frozen raspberries and chopped cranberries then stir until thawed. Pour over cream cheese mixture in pan. Refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 1 hour. 

Baked Mushrooms and Bacon

Low carb never tasted so good! This is an easy recipe for mushrooms. This would be appropriate for an appetizer or a side dish. I am thinking this will be an excellent dish to bring to the Thanksgiving table.

1lb. White mushrooms, sliced

1/2 lb. bacon, cooked until crisp then crumbled

1 cube butter

1 clove garlic

Lay the sliced mushrooms in the bottom of a casserole dish, add the crumbled bacon and the crusted garlic all over then slice up the butter and put that on top.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until the mushrooms are golden brown.

Low Carb Bacon Mushroom Autumn Soup

We had this soup for supper tonight and my husband, who doesn't usually do low carb, loved it and wants me to make this again! Happiness!

 This recipe is an interesting one.  I've never made soup quite like it....but seriously, I have never had soup that tastes this good.

1/2 C heavy whipping cream
8 oz. Mushrooms
1 14 oz. can of chicken broth
1 clove garlic
1/2 C crumbled bacon (I use the crumbled bacon from Costco that comes in a bag from the salad section)
1 Cube Butter
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. salt

 Wash and slice the mushrooms and put them in a casserole dish along with the bacon, the cube of butter cut up into 4 or 5 pieces, the salt and pepper. Bake this in the over at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes or until everything is bubbly and brown.

Get out the blender! This is the important part. Take two thirds of the baked mushroom mixture, put it in the blender along with the chicken broth.  Blend away! This releases so much more of the mushroom flavor than just cutting the mushrooms into chunks.  After that is all blended, pour it into your sauce pan and add the cream.  Add the rest of the mushrooms and heat it through. I kept out a few of the mushroom and bacon pieces to use as a garnish on top.

Beans With Bacon!

You can't go wrong when the recipe involves Bacon!  As I was growing up...beans were beans. You took them out of the can and warmed them up on the stove and just ate them.  When I got married I found that Spike's family cared a little more about flavors.  They fried up some bacon first maybe with a little onion and then added the beans.  Delicious!

Here is the easy recipe:

Fry four pieces of bacon
Add half an onion and saute it
Once the bacon is crisp and the onion are transparent, add a can of green beans.

I think this will be on the menu for Thanksgiving dinner for sure!

Warm Cocoa

This recipe is pretty simple. I drink a big glass (16 oz.) every morning to help me feel full and satisfied. Drinking this along with two scrambled eggs for breakfast is great for the low carb diet and helps so much with hunger pains.  I honestly don't get hungry until two or three in the afternoon.

16 ounces of warm water ( I use tap water at it's warmest)
1 tsp. baking cocoa
1/2 tsp. pure Vanilla
2 Tbs. Heavy Whipping Cream

Since I discovered the dangers of artificial sweeteners I don't add any and don't miss them, some people might like to add a packet or two.

Stir these ingredients together and enjoy!

Chocolate Frosty

I made some modifications to a Wendy's low calorie frosty that is absolutely delicious. This is perfect for an afternoon snack especially in the summertime when everyone else is having a milk shake or ice cream.

2 C crushed ice

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 C whipping cream

3/4 C water

3 Tbl. Dry sugar free chocolate pudding mix

Throw these ingredients together in a blender and let her rip. you may have to adjust the water for your desired thickness. Enjoy! I am right now!

Cucumber Salad

This salad is repeated on the menu several times a month in the summertime. This is super easy to make and has very few if any carbs. Serve this healthy salad to the whole family not just to those who are being careful with carbs.

Peel and slice six cucumbers then let them sit in a bowl of cold water while you put together the dressing.

Mix together in your salad bowl

1 cup sour cream

2 tsp. onion powder

2 Tbl. Dill weed

1tsp. Salt

Some people in the family like more dill weed. Let those favors come together for about 15 minutes then add the drained cucumbers. Mix it together and serve. Enjoy!

Hash Brown 'Potatoes'

This delicious dish helps on those special days that you make a special breakfast for your family and you get stuck eating eggs......again.

Start with 

1 cup of finely chopped just barely cooked cauliflower

1/2 cup of drained cottage cheese

1 egg

Mix this all up with salt and pepper to taste. I wanted them to taste like potatoes so I added about 3/4 of a teaspoon.

Put butter or olive oil in a frying pan and drop a generous spoonful into the heated oil. This browns nicely so watch it closely. It gets done way faster than the actual potato hash browns.

Yum!

Low Carb Biscuits!

Yippee! I can't tell you how often I have been craving any sort of bread while doing this low carb thing. So, usually I cheat and have some anyway. Now I can satisfy the cravings using carb quick. I finally ordered a box, which I wish we're twice as big for the money I spent,and made myself a few Bisquits. These are pretty good. Clearly not as good as my home made Bisquits but they will do. I am still experiencing an aftertaste of baking powder but I got to eat a Bisquits and not feel guilty. I got on the scales this morning after weighing myself for two weeks and I had lost a pound and a half. Just ten more to go. I think the car quick will be a useful tool to put in my belt.

Low Carb Pizza Crust

Ingredients

• 1 medium head cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded
• 1 teaspoon oregano or Italian seasoning blend
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Rice the cauliflower in a food processor, place it in a microwave safe dish and microwave for 8 minutes or until cooked.
2. Place the cauliflower in a tea towel and sqeeze as much moisture out as you can.
3. Mix the cauliflower, egg, mozzarella, oregano, salt and pepper, press the mixture onto a baking mat or parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake in a preheated 450F oven until lightly golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.

Add your favorite pizza topping on this crust. You should be able to pick it up with your hands.  Try half size unless you have a lot of people are going low carb with you.

Reality Check!

I am going to try to post more recipes with no artificial sweeteners. I had a reality check starting about three weeks ago.  I started having pain in my muscles every so often.  I wondered if my treadmill workouts were getting out of control and then I thought maybe this was happening because I am just getting older. That number 49 is creeping ever closer by the day. Then I had a couple of days where my muscles hurt really bad and even at night that I couldn't sleep even after taking a double dose of ibuprofen. After a while I started wondering if I had MS or some other condition. Then I had an remembered reading an article about body aches and artificial sweeteners. Some people react to them badly and I had been using artificial sweeteners a lot. So... I have cut them completely out of my diet.  I am still trying to do low carb but I will not use the artificial sweeteners anymore.  After a week, I don't have the pain anymore and I feel better.  The weight gain that I feared hasn't come back.  I just need to be more careful about what I am putting in my body.

Bacon & Cheese Deviled Eggs

When on a low-carb diet, eggs are your friend.  I eat a lot of eggs, usually scrambled or boiled for breakfast. I use then in a salad for lunch and a flourless cake for dessert.  This is one of my favorite ways to eat eggs!

Deviled Eggs with Bacon and Cheese 
12 boiled eggs, sliced in half lengthwise
1/2 Cup of Mayonaise 
1 tablespoon mustard
4 slices of bacon, well-done and crumbled
2 tablespoons of finely shredded cheddar cheese

Mix the last four ingredients together along with the yolks out of the boiled eggs. Mix this up very well and then spoon it back into the white part of the boiled eggs.  Sprinkled them individually with a little paprika.  These are delicious any time of day.  This is a terrific way to use up all those boiled eggs the kiddos just found around the house on Easter morning. 

Easter 'Potato' Salad

The Easter season is almost here! What do you do with all those Easter Eggs? I have the answer! Make Easter Potato Salad. This is a low carb alternative to real potato salad. I use cauliflower to replace the potato. This is seriously good stuff. I actually make this salad once every two weeks or so.

6 boiled eggs
1 package of frozen cauliflower
1 1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp. mustard
1 Tbl. Sugar substitute
1/4 cup table cream
1/2 tsp. onion powder

After the eggs are boiled, peel them and chop them into bite sized pieces. Boil, drain and chop the cauliflower, again into bite sized pieces. Put these in a bowl. In take separate bowl mix the rest of the ingredients together and then pour over the eggs and cauliflower. You can a season it with salt and pepper and maybe a bit of paprika. If you like it sweeter add more sugar substitute.

Pumpkin Roll

I haven't posted a new recipe or a long time. Life has been busy, busy, busy. So... I was craving something pumpkin. I looked all over for a low carb pumpkin dessert and couldn't find anything so I changed up the flourless, sugar free chocolate cake recipe and this turned out great. My husband loved it. This would be great to bring to a thanksgiving or harvest dinner.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
Prepare a cookie sheet by putting parchment paper on it and spraying it with a vegetable spray.

6 eggs, separated and pit into two small bowls.
Use 1 cup of canned pumpkin in a bowl and mix into it
1 cup of Splenda or some other sugar substitute
Mix the 6 egg yolks into the pumpkin mixture and add
2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice

Whip up the six egg whites in your mixer until the whites are stiff then pour them on top of the pumpkin mixture.
Carefully fold the mixture together being careful to keep it fluffy.
Pour the batter out into the parchment paper and into the baking sheet.
Spread it out in the form of a rectangle
Bake for 18 minutes at 350
Let this cool for a good half hour . Then top it with either home made whipped cream or some lite cool whip.
Roll it up and slice it into about 12 pieces.