Hawaiian Chicken

Yummy. I tried it without the cornstarch to save carbs, but it would be much better if thickened, so I will add it next time.

8-10 bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed
1/2 cup sugar (or your sweetener of choice)
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp pepper
1 can (20 oz) unsweetened pineapple chunks or tidbits, undrained
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup vinegar (I used apple cider)

Grease a 9x13" pan and place the chicken thighs in it. Cover and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

In a bowl, combine the sugar, cornstarch and seasonings. Stir in the pineapple, soy sauce and vinegar until blended. Pour over chicken. Bake, uncovered, 20-30 minutes longer or until done, basting occasionally.

Serve over rice.

Baked Chicken and Rice Soup

We visited our son in Tennessee this past summer and he took us to eat at a lovely place called Demos. At his urging, we ordered soup instead of salad with our meal. "It's the best soup ever!" he claimed.

The whole family got it and we all loved it! Such a simple soup, quite unlike what I usually make. I had to find the recipe, so I searched online. Apparently they do not share it, but many have tried to duplicate it! I found one that claims to be spot on, and altered it slightly. The original used canned broth and bouillon. I tried it this way, but the soup base made it way too strong and salty (besides being full of artificial crap). I now use homemade broth. You can concentrate it if you want a stronger flavor by cooking it down. Be careful - it's really easy to end up too salty! Add the salt after concentrating it. I did use a rotisserie chicken for the meat, skin included for flavor.

I can't guarantee this tastes exactly like Demos', since we can't compare. But I can promise you it is totally delicious comfort food!!

Baked Chicken and Rice Soup

• 2 quarts chicken broth (after concentrating, if you are)
• 1 can water
• 1 cup milk or cream 
• 1 cooked rotisserie chicken, bones removed and thinly sliced (leave skin for more flavor)
• pepper to taste
• garlic salt to taste
• fresh parsley, for garnish

• cooked rice

Put broth in a stock pot and add chicken. Boil until chicken is tender.

Add milk and heat through.

Spoon rice into bowls as desired. Ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle with fresh parsley.

Hot Chicken Dip

We tried this at a wine tasting and it was excellent! I think I might try Rotel tomatoes, and I will certainly use finely chopped cooked chicken rather than canned. They served it with crackers. Mmmm.

HOT CHICKEN DIP

Ingredients:

1 can chicken
1 can diced tomatoes
12 oz cream cheese
1 Tbsp spices (Italian, Parmesan pesto, etc)

Method:

Use slow cooker, oven or microwave to heat.

Tzatziki Sauce

1 cup Greek yogurt
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 med cucumber

1 tsp salt, divided
Black pepper to taste

Drain yogurt if desired (I don't, because I don't care.)
Shred cucumber. Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt, then wrap in clean towel and squeeze out liquid.

Mix all together and refrigerate. It's best if you let it sit for a couple of hours.

It's got a really great texture with the shredded cucumber, but if you want to save time, you can just chop them. If I'm really lazy I don't de-seed or drain them, either. It tastes great either way and is super healthy!

Roasted Eggplant with Garden Vegetables

I have a lot of tiny eggplants in my garden, that don't seem like they want to grow any bigger. So I went searching for a recipe.

I found the basis for this online - simply stuff baby eggplant with garlic, drizzle with olive oil, and roast. I had some other fresh garden vegetables and of course need to tweak everything anyway. This is the result!

* 6 baby or small eggplants
* 1 lemon, sliced thin
* 3 cloves garlic, sliced thin
* 2 tomatoes, large dice *or* 20 cherry tomatoes, halved
* 1 large or 2 small bell peppers. large dice
* 6 basil leaves, cut in half
* 2 tsp. capers
* 1/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved
* 1 tsp. sea salt
* 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* juice of 1 lemon
* 1/3 cup feta cheese

Lightly grease a 9x13 baking pan. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Slice each eggplant in half lengthwise, not cutting all the way through. Stuff the garlic, basil and sliced lemon into the slits. Arrange in pan. Arrange remaining vegetables evenly around the eggplants. Sprinkle with capers. Drizzle the olive oil and lemon over all, then season with salt and pepper.

Cover pan with foil and roast, basting frequently with pan juices, for about 40 minutes. Remove the foil for the last 10 minutes.

Serve with pan juices, topped with feta cheese.

** Using different colors of tomatoes and peppers looks beautiful!

Blueberry Custard - Low Carb

I found the basis for this recipe online. I tweaked to make it low carb, along with a few other changes. It was delicious! The kids had no idea it was low carb. One even chastised me for "cheating". WIN!

BLUEBERRY CUSTARD

6 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, picked over and rinsed

Place berries evenly in a 9x13 pan.

• Custard:

Sweetener of choice, equal to 1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 tsp. sea salt
5 eggs, beaten
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp. vanilla

mix together the dry ingredients. Add eggs and sour cream, beating until well blended. Pour over the blueberries (do not stir).

• Topping: 

Sweetener of choice, equal to 1 cup sugar
3/4 cup almond flour
2 Tbsp flax meal
2 Tbsp hemp hearts (use more almond meal if you don't have this)
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Combine dry ingredients. Cut in butter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle evenly over the custard.

Bake at 350 for about 55 minutes, until lightly browned. Do not overbake!

Eat warm or chill. This would be great with some whipped cream or ice cream!

• Sweeteners: I like to mix different sweeteners when it calls for this much. I think it makes it taste better. For this, I used a combination of Splenda, erythritol, and stevia. It would be fine to use whatever you like. 

Cauliflower "Mac and Cheese"

I'm doing so well eating low carb, and I hardly ever crave carb-full food anymore. But my kids have been eating a lot of mac and cheese this summer and that's something that's hard for me to resist! I Googled for a recipe and adapted it quite a bit from the original. It was absolutely delicious. Next time I will use half-and-half instead of cream, or water it down some, because some of the comments said they used milk and it was fine. Milk is higher in carbs, but this was really too rich to use full cream as originally called for. Also, I used a Mexican blend cheese mix because I had that on hand. I want to try it with medium to sharp cheddar.

Here is the exact recipe I used tonight. I will update once I try anything mentioned above.

"MAC" 

2 bags frozen cauliflower florets (1 pound each)

Cook the cauliflower as directed until done. It should not be mushy, but more on the soft side. Cool enough so you can cut it into small pieces (I tried to mimic the size of a macaroni noodle). Cut, then set aside.

Put the cut cauliflower in a lightly greased 8x8 baking dish.

"CHEESE"

1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup half-and-half
1-1/2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. sour cream
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1-1/2 cups shredded cheese (see note above)
1.2 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

In a small saucepan, heat the cream, half-and-half and butter to simmering. Stir and simmer for 3 minutes. Whisk in sour cream and mustard, and simmer, stirring, for 3 more minutes. Reduce heat and stir in cheese, stirring until melted, about 1 or 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and pour over cauliflower in the baking dish. Stir to combine. Be sure the cheese mixture completely coats the cauliflower.

There are two ways you can go from here - I served mine as is. It was delicious!

Or, you can turn it into an oven casserole. Top with an additional 1/2 cup of grated cheese. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven  until browned and bubbly - about 15 minutes.

Yum! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.