Ghost Poo aka Cream Cheese Clouds

Cream Cheese Clouds aka Frozen Cheesecake Bites

Ghost Poo (see what I did there since it's almost Halloween?!), aka Cream Cheese Clouds, aka Frozen Cheesecake Bites!  Fun and yummy and a great way to grab a little sweet dessert or snack.  I pulled this off of Linda's page as Cream Cheese Clouds.  My father (also a low carber!) came up with the Ghost Poo because he's funny like that.  I wrote the recipe below as basic Cream Cheese Clouds or Frozen Cheesecake Bites but if you'd like to swirl them to make them Ghost Poo, just spoon the mixture into a sandwich bag and then cut one of the end tips of the bag off to make a home pastry bag.  You can mix up the flavors by using different extracts or adding some unsweetened cocoa powder, a bit of pumpkin puree, etc.  Fun! *INDUCTION FRIENDLY*

5 STARS
24 clouds
1 net carb per cloud/serving

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granular Splenda (or sweetener of choice)
1/2 tsp vanilla (I used 1/4 tsp lemon and 1/4 tsp vanilla)

Beat everything with an electric mixer until fluffy.  Drop by bite-size spoonfuls onto a wax paper-lined baking sheet to make 24 clouds.  (or spoon into sandwich bag, cut the tip off to make a pastry bag)  Freeze until firm, at least 1 hour.  Store in the freezer and eat frozen.

Once frozen, these store in the refrigerator just fine.

Bangin Sauce

Bangin Sauce

I've written several times about the virtues of Bangin Sauce in my posts about BANGIN SHRIMP and DEEP FRIED CAULIFLOWER.  I made it for the um-teenth time recently and decided, d*mmit this sauce deserves it's own post!  It deserves to be put on a pedestal and admired.  Use it as dip for chicken nuggets, dip for veggies, slathered on eggs, as a sauce on burgers, sauteed with shrimp, etc.  It's great with EVERYTHING!

5 STARS
4 servings
2 net carbs per serving

3 TBSP mayonnaise
2 TBSP scallions, chopped fine
1 TBSP chili garlic sauce
1 TBSP sugar free imitation honey (can sub with 1/2 TBSP Splenda)
1/2 tsp Sriracha (aka Rooster Sauce)

Combine the mayo, scallions, chili garlic sauce, sugar free honey and Sriracha sauce in a small bowl.  Serve with anything!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Minute Cake

Peanut Butter Chocolate Minute Cake

I gotta say, I'm kind of in love with myself for coming up with this one.  I would enjoy this recipe even if I wasn't low carbing.  It's sinful, decadent, easy to throw together and cooks in one minute.  LOVE.  It's very good without the peanut butter if you feel like having just chocolate cake.

5 STARS
1 serving
7 net carbs per serving

1 tablespoon butter, softened
2 tablespoons granular Splenda (or sweetener of your choice)

1 egg
2 TBSP almond meal 
1/8 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch salt
1 TBSP golden flax meal (can replace with another TBSP of almond meal)
2 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder 
1 TBSP natural no sugar added peanut butter, softened

Mix all ingredients except peanut butter in a mug with a fork until well blended.  Scoop softened peanut butter on top of batter and blend lightly, just enough to swirl chocolate and peanut butter together but not thoroughly mix.  Microwave for one minute (time may need to be adjusted depending on your microwave but less is more with this recipe or it will become too dry).

Cheese n Chili Chops

Cheese n Chili Chops

Another meal in the series of Atkins.com meal suggestions!  As a bit of an experiment I used the Atkins.com Customize-able Meal Planner and have been following it as closely as possible for my meals during the last week.  You can see my entire week of planned Induction meals HERE. 

This was a nice basic recipe without too much fluff or difficulty with a decent amount of flavor payoff.  It was a bit awkward trying ti spread the cream cheese over the salsa layer.  Next time I'll probably just mix the two together and spread over each pork chop. *INDUCTION FRIENDLY*

4 STARS
2 servings
3.9 net carbs per serving

1 tsp canola oil
2 pork chops (I used boneless but either is fine)
1/4 cup salsa (check labels for added sugar)
2 1/4 ounce canned diced green chilies
1 tsp ground cumin
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 TBSP cream cheese, softened

Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Season chops with salt and pepper.  Brown chops about 2 minutes per side.  Combine salsa, chilies and cumin in a bowl.  Pour mixture over chops.  Reduce heat to low, cover skillet and simmer chops 5 minutes or until cooked through.  Mix cheeses in a bowl.  Divide cheese mixture over chops, cover and cook 1 minute, just until cheese melts.

Chicken Nuggets II

Chicken Nuggets II

This recipe is called Chicken Nuggets II because, well, because I already have a CHICKEN NUGGET recipe posted.  There are tons of ways to make chicken nuggets so it's great to try different ways and see what appeals most to your family.  My family really liked this one, with no mention of it being odd or "not normal" chicken nuggets.  They just scarfed them down while saying that they were good.  I don't think they realized that they were made with any type of specialty ingredients.  It's also nice to get some extra fiber in their diets by using golden flax.

4 STARS
4 servings
6 net carbs per serving

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup frying oil of your choice
1/3 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup golden flax mill
1 tsp Splenda (or sweetener of choice)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp seasoning salt
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp dried parsley
pepper to taste

Cut chicken breasts into one inch cubes.  Pre-heat frying oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet.  While pre-heating, mix all dry ingredients in a bowl.  Add chicken chunks and mix well to ensure all sides of each chicken chunk is coated.  Add chicken to hot skillet in a single layer (cook chicken in batches if needed).  Turn chicken after 4-5 minutes or golden brown until all sides are golden.

Ranch Cauliflower Mash

Ranch Cauliflower Mash

I hadn't eaten much cauliflower before becoming a Low Carber.  However, in the low carb world cauliflower is the pretty standard rice or potato replacement so I eventually tried cooking various recipes with it.  I must say that I wish I had included it in my vegetable repertoire sooner.  It is great cooked a multitude of ways, it's yummy and my whole family likes it.  This recipe for cauliflower is a quick, basic microwave recipe but it made my family and I happy.  My 11 year old even packed the leftovers in his lunch the next day.  I used commercially prepared ranch salad dressing (Hidden Valley original) but feel free to whip up your own homemade as well.

4 STARS
3 servings
4 net carbs per serving

1/2 head of cauliflower
1 TBSP butter
3 TBSP low carb Ranch dressing (check labels)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Break cauliflower up into small pieces and place into a microwave safe bowl.  Add approx 1 TBSP of water.  Steam in microwave for 6 minutes.  Remove from microwave and mash with a fork.  Add Ranch, garlic powder, salt and pepper.