Herb Dip

Herb Dip

We had a BBQ at our house over the weekend so I whipped up this yummy Herb Dip as part of the goods we offered our guests.  This dip is very true to name and does taste very Herb-y (is that a word?!?) but I thought it was fun and different than the standard dip options.  If you like herb roasted chicken or anything else heavily herbed than you will probably like this dip too.  You can have this with bell pepper strips, as a spread on a hamburger patty, straight with a spoon (teehehe) or even with some of the yummy Cheese Crackers that I've posted before. *INDUCTION FRIENDLY*

4 STARS
Hard to say how many servings - maybe 20?
Entire recipe is 28 net carbs


16oz sour cream (full fat)
1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles - crumbled small
1/2 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese
1 TBSP dried basil
1 TBSP dried thyme
1 TBSP garlic powder
1 tsp seasoning salt
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried dill
pepper to taste


Mix all together until well blended.  Refrigerate for several hours or overnight for flavors to meld.

Lemon Roasted Asparagus

Lemon Roasted Asparagus

Any vegetable roasted is great.  Add some lemon, red pepper and parmesan and it becomes amazing.  Not too many ingredients and not too difficult, this is a really nice side dish.  I generally pan fry asparagus but I think I may have to make this one again.  I REALLY recommend getting a fresh parmesan wedge and grating yourself.  You will never go back to the green can or the refrigerated tub again.  There is a huge difference in flavor for 30 seconds worth of grating. *INDUCTION FRIENDLY*

5 STARS
3 servings
4 net carbs per serving

1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed
2 TBSP olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
Pinch of red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 ounce freshly grated parmesan cheese


Preheat oven to 425.  Mix asparagus with olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.  Roast for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally for even browning.  Plate your asparagus then grate fresh parmesan cheese onto the asparagus.

Snickerdoodle Cookies

Snickerdoodle Cookies

These are softer and more cake textured than a Snickerdoodle but I think the taste is there.  They have hereby so been named "Snickerdoodle"!  I have eaten WAY too many of these today.  I don't think it's low carb when you eat 15 or so at a time.  My 2 year old Girl devoured about three and then got upset when I wouldn't give her anymore.  The Boy had a few.  The Hubs said they were a nice little snack.  I'd have to say these are a winner.  They are nice little shortbread cookies with cinnamon and Splenda sprinkled on top.  I found the Torani Sugar Free Brown Sugar Cinnamon Syrup at Cost Plus World Market but if you can't find it, you could just use Vanilla or maybe even a complimentary flavor, Hazelnut might be good.  You might even be able to Doctor something up using a bit of blackstrap molasses and ground cinnamon.  I might try adding those myself next time I make them.  Yum!

4 STARS
36 cookies
1.2 net carbs per cookie

BATTER:
2 sticks of butter, softened
5 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated Splenda
2 egg yolks
2 TBSP Torani SF Brown Sugar Cinnamon syrup
2 cups Carbquik


TOPPING:
2 TBSP granulated Splenda
1 tsp ground cinnamon


Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Mix the butter, cream cheese and Splenda with a mixer until smooth.  Add the yolks and syrup and mix until smooth.  Add the Carbquik and mix until it looks like cookie batter.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  With a spoon, droop balls of dough onto cookie sheet.  They don't have to look good as they will spread and smooth out.  Make sure to leave a little room between each for spreading.  Heavily sprinkle the topping mixture over each cookie.  Use more than you think you need as the topping thins out as the cookies spread.  Bake for 16-19 minutes.  Watch them carefully as the tops never really brown but the bottoms will.  I made 2 batches and preferred the batch that I left in closer to the 19 minutes but ovens vary.  Remove cookie sheet from oven but DO NOT TOUCH the cookies!  They are extremely fragile when first removed.  Leave them be on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes.  Then carefully slide the parchment sheet off your cookie sheet (still don't touch the cookies) to finish cooling.  You can then get a new sheet of parchment paper for your next batch.  Let the cookies continue to cool on the parchment paper for another 10 minutes or so.  They should now be more like shortbread and easier to handle.

Pork Chops with Onion Mushroom Sauce

Pork Chips with Onion Mushroom Sauce

This was GOOD!  I mean, lick the plate kind of good.  Ok, maybe not lick the plate as the sauce is salty when eaten alone but you get the idea.  This recipes from allrecipes.com is very simple and basic but tastes like it took much more time.  My carb-etarian family loved it, with the Hubs making several comments about having to make this one again.  He's generally more of an "it's good" with nothing else said kind of guy so he must have really enjoyed.  Even my Boy liked it (well after he picked off the mushrooms) and didn't complain about having to eat it, which is unusual since he's picky about some foods.  The sauce was salty because of the Onion Soup mix so I highly suggest not adding any additional.  I served this with rice to sop up the sauce for my carb-etarians but you can serve with low carb pasta, cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles or just as is (I had mine with green beans as you can see in the photo).  Also, the sauce is a little thin so if you prefer a thicker sauce you can use a little Guar or Xanthum.  I thought it was good just the way it was though.

5 STARS
6 servings
5 net carbs per serving

3 TBSP Canola Oil (or whatever oil you prefer)
6 boneless pork chops
1 package dry onion soup mix
1/2 cup white cooking wine
6-7 white mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 TBSP garlic powder
black pepper to taste


Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat.  Liberally sprinkle the onion soup mix over both sides of the pork chops.  Fry the pork chops in hot oil until the pork is no longer pink in the center, 4 to 6 minutes per side.  Remove the chops from skillet and set aside.  Pour the white wine in the pan and mushrooms; bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits off the bottom. Reduce heat to low and stir in heavy cream, garlic powder and black pepper.  Gently lay the pork chops in the pan,  spooning some sauce over each chop.  Cover and simmer for approximately 10 minutes.

Crockpot Baby Back Ribs

Crockpot Baby Back Ribs

Yowzer these were amazing!  I've never cooked ribs in a Crockpot so I wasn't quite sure what to expect but was pleasantly shocked at how great they were.  My house smelled amazing all day too.  My Boy declared these the best ribs he's ever had and the Hubs told me to use the dry rub for a roast sometime in the near future.  We scarfed these down with no leftovers.  I'll be making these again next time baby backs go on sale.  I used Chris' & Pitt's Hickory Bar B Q Sauce as it was the lowest carb I could find at my grocery store (7 carbs per 2 TBSP) but use the lowest you can find or make your own.  I think I really need to start making my own because 7 carbs is a bit ridiculous.  The dry rub is fabulous alone so you can leave the sauce off if you'd rather skip the carbs and don't mind a dry rub rib.

5 STARS
4 servings
3.5 net carbs per serving (without BBQ sauce count since they vary so much, using Chris' & Pitt's adds another 3.5 net carbs per serving)

1 rack of baby back pork ribs
1 TBSP Splenda
1 tsp chili powder (or more if you like it spicy)
1 TBSP garlic powder
2 tsp celery seed
1 TBSP onion powder
1 TBSP dried oregano
2 tsp cajun seasoning
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup LC BBQ sauce


Slice rack of ribs into 2 or 4 sections to fit in crockpot.  Mix all dry seasonings together.  Press dry rub mixture into ribs.  Cook in crockpot on low for 6 hours (more is ok if you can't get to it until you return from work).  Baste tops of ribs with BBQ sauce.  Cook on low for another 2-3 hours (less time is fine if needed).

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Peppers and Onions Egg Scramble

Peppers and Onions Scramble

This is a nice basic scramble that you can add things to in order to suit your preferences.  Shredded cheese would be good, mushrooms, maybe some salsa, sour cream, etc.  I liked this simple version for today but mix it up depending on what you are feeling.  Just remember to add the carb counts to anything you add. *INDUCTION FRIENDLY*

4 STARS
1 serving
4 net carbs per serving

1 tsp olive oil
1 TBSP chopped onion
1/3 cup frozen peppers blend
2 eggs
1 TBSP heavy cream
1/4 tsp southwestern seasoning blend
salt to taste


Heat olive oil in small skillet over medium high.  Add onions and  peppers.  Cook, stirring occasionally until vegetables are soft and water from frozen peppers has evaporated.  Meanwhile, in a separate dish whisk the eggs, heavy cream, southwestern seasoning blend and salt together until fully blended.  Once peppers and onions are done, reduce heat to medium and pour in the egg mixture.  Stir, scraping sides and bottom every few seconds until the eggs are scrambled and cooked through.