Featured Recipe

I cooked my very first ever spaghetti squash tonight! I will be the first to admit that it is not one of my favourite foods but I'm becoming more open to trying new things.
I asked a couple of people the best way to cook a spaghetti squash and the unanimous answer was in the microwave, cut in half with the cut side down in about 1/2 cup of water, covered in plastic wrap. I am not a fan of using plastic wrap in the microwave as I'm pretty sure it leeches chemicals into the food. So I took to the internet to try and find a way to cook it in the microwave without covering it in plastic warp and, lo and behold, I found one! Here's the link: http://fishcooking.about.com/od/howtochoosefreshfish/ht/How-To-Cook-Spaghetti-Squash-The-Easy-Way-An-Easier-Safer-Method.htm (not quite sure why it's under the "fish and seafood" category of the website, but whatever). It actually works really well. I have simple instructions also included in the recipe below.

I've heard of people using spaghetti squash as a substitute for regular spaghetti so I though why not? It's worth a shot. The sauce is just a slight variation on a regular sauce I use. I often use kielbasa style turkey sausage but I wanted to use steak strips this time around. Unfortunately, the steak was a funny colour and I didn't want to risk using it; luckily my mother in law gave me some leftover cooked ham from Christmas dinner, so I used that. It gave the sauce a nice smoky flavour.

Spaghetti Squash "Pasta"

Ingredients:
1 large-ish spaghetti squash (you could use 2 as the sauce makes more than you will need)
1/2 cup chicken broth (or water)
black pepper
dried minced onion
1 cup cubed cooked ham (or steak strips, or diced chicken, or turkey sausage, or meatballs, etc)
1 large shallot, diced
1 each green and red pepper, diced
1 can diced, stewed tomatoes
3 TBSP olive oil
1 tsp oregano
black pepper and salt to taste
1 TBSP corn starch (optional)

Method:
1. Cut the squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and the stringy bits (for each half) and discard. Do not cut the ends off. Rinse out the cavity. Sprinkle each half with black pepper. Place one half in a microwave safe casserole dish, cut side up. Sprinkle that half with some dried minced onion. Fill the cavity with the 1/2 cup chicken broth. Poke holes in the skin side of the other half of the squash (make sure they poke all the way through). Carefully place that half of the squash on top of the first half, cut side down (this is going to enclose the liquid in the middle). Cook on high heat for 10-12 minutes. The squash will be done when the top feels flexible or a little squishy. (Be sure to wear an oven mitt as it will be hot). Using a fork, string the squash into strands and put in  bowl. Set aside.
2. While the squash is cooking, heat 1 TBSP olive oil in a large pan. Cook the shallot and peppers for about 5 minutes. Add the ham and cook until heated through.
3. Drain the tomatoes, reserving the juice in a small bowl. Add the tomatoes to the pepper mixture. Add the remaining olive oil, the oregano and the salt and pepper to taste. Stir to mix
4. Here, you have 2 options. if you have time and you want very low carb, add the liquid from the tomatoes and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half (about 30 minutes). If you have less time or you don't mind a few added carbs, mix the cornstarch with the liquid (use a fork to get all the lumps out) and add to the mixture and cook for about 8 minutes (this is what I did tonight).
5. Serve the sauce over the squash and enjoy!

 

What's for Dinner?

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season and I wish all the best in 2012.
Christmas totally de-railed my attempt at eating low carb, but it's back on the wagon now and hopefully all the delicious, tempting cookies and chocolates and treats from the season are all gone until next year.

Here's what I am going to attempt to make this week.
Tonight was spaghetti squash "pasta" with a tomato, shallot sauce with ham (I was going to make it the week before last, but didn't ever get around to it). Both the hubby and I were skeptical (I have never liked spaghetti squash) but it was really really good and my husband said he didn't even miss the pasta! See today's featured recipe for all the details.
Other meals are going to include Parmesan Chicken Strips (see today's other featured recipe) with caesar salad. I made these last week and they were quite amazing and I wished there was more (I even got the hubby to eat caesar salad!);
Chili is a must for winter in my house and I managed to find a poblano pepper at the grocery store and it is going to go so great in the chili. I'm not adding rice like I usually do though, to keep with the "low-carb" theme;
I'm making whole wheat bowtie pasta with kielbasa sausage and peppers (I can have pasta occasionally and I mainly making it for hubby as it is his favourite);
I'm going to do another crust-less quiche as it is easy and fast and full of protein. This one is going to have peppers, onions and bacon topped with Monterrey jack cheese (my fave combo for quiche);
And last but most certainly not least, mini meatloaves with lemon-dill broccoli slaw (a new found favourite).
Who says low-carb can't be delicious?

Bon Apetit!

Featured Recipe

Gluten-Free, Low-Carb Chicken Strips

 

I love carbs. A lot. Particularly the really bad kind – baked goods made with white flour. But carbs do not love me back. So I am trying to spoil all their fun but creating things that taste like they are full of carbs, but are really not. I promise you, these are so delicious (and so easy) that you will not even miss the breadcrumb coating (even for a carb-aholic like me). And the melted butter keeps them super moist and helps them to brown. Plus, they’re gluten free (for those who can’t eat gluten)! The proportions are easily adjustable as the recipe only makes 9 strips. Please do not add salt to this recipe; the parmesan, Johnny’s Garlic seasoning and butter all contain salt and adding any more would make them way too salty.  If you don’t have Johnny’s Garlic (you can get it at Costco), you can substitute regular garlic powder with a pinch or two of dried oregano or parsley

 

Parmesan Chicken Strips

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

½ cup grated parmesan cheese (the kind in a container, like Kraft, not freshly shredded)

2 TBSP Johnny’s Garlic seasoning

3 TBSP butter, melted

 

1. Line a baking sheet with foil, shiny side out. Spray with no stick spray (or brush lightly with melted butter)
2. Cut each chicken breast into 3 strips of similar width (if using chicken with the fillet attached, separate the fillet from the rest of the breast, which will give you an extra strip)
3. Mix the parmesan and the garlic seasoning in a wide, shallow bowl. Roll chicken strips in mixture to fully coat on all sides. Place chicken on prepared baking sheet. Repeat for all strips. Drizzle melted butter on each strip
4. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes, flipping over after about 15 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn the broiler on to low and broil the strips for about 5 minutes to brown them up
5. Serve with an extra large Caesar salad

Featured Recipe

Here's a quick filling meal you can make on a weeknight. Delicious on a cold winter night when the wind is howling. This has a bit of kick from red pepper flakes and will warm you right up.
Tip: if you have Johnny's Garlic Powder (you can get it at Costco), use it in place of the regular garlic powder as it adds more flavour.

Weeknight Beef Stew

Ingredients:
1 pound cubed lean beef (not stew meat as it's not tender enough)
4 medium red skin potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 cup baby carrots, diced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
splash extra virgin olive oil
3-4 cups beef broth
3 TBSP plain tomato sauce
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp each dried oregano, parsley and thyme
1 TBSP garlic powder
2 pinches red pepper flakes
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste


Method:
1. Cook the potatoes, onions and carrots in a large non stick pot in a little olive oil until the potatoes are fork tender but still a little firm. Transfer to a bowl and set aside
2. Season the beef with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook the beef in the pot you cooked the potatoes in until cooked through. If liquid collects in the pot, spoon it into the bowl with the potatoes (there's a lot of flavour in that liquid)
3. Once the beef is cooked, return the potato mixture, along with any liquid to the pot. Add 3 cups of beef broth and the tomato sauce. Stir. Add all the spices, the green pepper and the Worcestershire sauce.
4. Mix the flour with 1/2 cup remaining beef broth until there are no lumps. Stir into the pot.
5. Simmer over medium heat for at least 10 minutes, uncovered, until the potatoes are melt-in-your-mouth soft and the stew has thickened. If you like a thinner stew, add the remaining beef broth.

What's for Dinner?

This week will be a whole bunch of experiments. I'm trying to eat less carbs and it's getting the wheels in my brain turning figuring out what to eat that is delicious and low carb. Here are my attempts for the next little while.

Roasted tomato and pepper soup with chicken and parmesan. I was inspired by a recipe I saw for roasted vegetable gazpacho, but I'm not into the cold soup thing, so I'm going to keep it hot and add cooked chicken and parmesan cheese for texture. Sounds good in my head anyway.
Spaghetti squash (which is not my favourite food, but I'm sure I can come to love it) and serve it like spaghetti with a shallots and tomatoes with steak strips (shallots are kinda like a cross between garlic and a red onion, with a milder flavour than a red onion).
I'm also going to attempt to make coconut pork with bean noodles. I found a recipe for the coconut pork made with coconut milk and it looks good (with a few amendments of course - it calls for peas and neither my hubby nor I are big fans of peas in things and I'm going to add bok choi and green onions). A friend introduced me to bean noodles, which are similar to rice vermicelli but are made from bean and pea starch instead of rice and they turn clear when they're cooked, not opaque like rice noodles.
I will be making past one day this week because sometimes you just need pasta (and the hubby goes a bit batty if he doesn't get pasta regularly). I'm making chicken carbonara pasta with bacon on whole wheat rotini (the big spirals). If you're not already on board with whole wheat pasta, you really should give it a try. It is way more filling than regular pasta, it has a great cooked texture and the flavour is really nice.
It's winter and nothing goes better in the winter than a hearty beef stew with big chunks of meat, carrots, onions, potatoes, tomatoes....I'm salivating just thinking about it.
Lastly, parmesan chicken with caesar salad. I'm going to "bread"the chicken with grated parmesan and bake it like chicken strips. It will feel like "cheating" but it won't be!

I've also started my Christmas baking, which will be a test of my willpower. Tonight was Chocolate Toffee Bars (shortbread crust, sweetened condensed milk caramel, chocolate, topped with Skor toffee bits. Yum!

Hope you've enjoyed reading. You can wipe the drool of your screen now.

Bon Apetit!