Low-Carb Keto Green Chile Bake

Lately, I've been attempting more vegetarian dishes in the hopes of finding foods that Ben and I both can eat. Here's a dish that has been a big hit with him. I've made it twice already and he seems to really enjoy it. :)

INGREDIENTS

For the Green Chile Bake...

• 16 oz whole green chiles, canned
• 4 oz sliced jalapeños
• 4 cups grated “Mexican Blend” cheese
• 5 eggs
• .25 cup heavy whipping cream
• .25 tsp. ground cumin
• .25 tsp. chili powder
• salt and pepper to taste

For the Quickie Guacamole...

• 2 medium avocados
• 2 cloves of garlic
• .5 white onion – .25 for the guacamole, .25 alone as a topping
• salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

For the Green Chile Bake...

• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees
• Prep a casserole dish by spraying with nonstick cooking spray, or greasing with olive oil
• Place the whole green chiles in a colander and allow to drain in the sink at least 10 minutes
• Beat your eggs
• Add heavy whipping cream to eggs and continue to beat
• Add cumin and chili powder to the egg and cream mixture and mix
• Season the mixture with salt and pepper, to taste
• Set aside and get back to those chiles!
• Using your fingers, split open each chile and remove any remaining seeds
• Place the chiles onto dry paper towels to remove any remaining moisture – for this many chiles, you'll probably need to do this twice.
• Press a layer of paper towel on top of the chiles to absorb moisture from both sides
• Set aside while the magic of absorption occurs and go make guacamole (Instructions below.)
• Layer green chiles along the bottom of the casserole dish – you may have to break apart your chiles to fit in corners for an even layer
• Cover this layer in cheese – about a third of the total 4 cups per layer
• Place another layer of green chiles on top of the cheese layer, setting aside any extra chiles.
• Cover the second layer of chiles with cheese.
• Dice any remaining green chiles.
• Place a layer of jalapenos and remaining diced green chiles over the cheese.
• Top with remaining cheese
• Pour the beaten egg mixture evenly over the entire dish. Note: The mixture will NOT cover the bake completely
• Cover the dish with foil and bake for 15 minutes
• After 15 minutes, remove foil and continue to bake for an additional 25 minutes
• Allow to cool slightly before serving alongside guacamole, sour cream, diced onions, and Tapatio!

For the Quickie Guacamole...

• Peel and press the garlic cloves and place garlic into a large bowl
• Finely chop the onion. Place half of the chopped onions in the large bowl with the garlic, the other half in a small bowl to use as a topping later.
• Peel and pit the avocados and add to the large bowl
• Mash the avocado, garlic, and onion mixture with a fork
• Season with salt and pepper to taste
• Set aside in the fridge until your Green Chile Bake is ready to be eaten

Boom! There you have it.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

For the Green Chile Bake...

Makes about 8 servings. Stats per serving:

• Calories: 281
• Fat: 22g
• Net Carbs: 1g
• Protein: 17g

For the Quickie Guacamole...

Makes about 6 servings. Stats per serving:

• Calories: 83
• Fat: 7g
• Net Carbs: 2g
• Protein: 1g

I could eat this once a week. So good. If you give it a shot, let me know how it turns out for you!

IMAGES

Pictures of the process might help you make sense of the instructions! LMK!

Low-Carb Pumpkin Custards with Whipped Cream

Let's not kid ourselves: the crust is the best part of the pumpkin pie. It's typically the best part of any pie. But, if you're going keto or low-carb or have thing for self-denial, here's a pretty tasty alternative.

Ingredients

For the custard...

• .5 cups pumpkin puree
• 5 Tbsp Xylitol
• 1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
• 3 whole large eggs
• .5 cup heavy whipping cream

For the whipped cream topping... 

• .25 cup of heavy whipping cream
• 1 tbsp Xylitol
• .5 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

For the custard...

• Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Boil some water.
• Using a stand mixer (or large bow and an immersion blender), mix the pumpkin, xylitol, and pumpkin pie spice together until smooth.
• Add the eggs and continue mixing.
• Finally, add the heavy whipping cream and continue to mix until you reach an even consistency.
• Pour your mixture into individual ramekins. Tip: you can use a measuring cup to ensure your serving sizes are even.
• Place the ramekins in a deep roasting pan and place the pan (with the ramekins in it) in the oven.
• Pour boiling water into the pan until the water reaches halfway up the side of the ramekins. This water bath prevents the outsides of your custard from over cooking while the interior of the custard continues to cook.
• Bake for 45 minutes or until custards are just short of firm. There should be a slight jiggle to the custards, but a toothpick or skewer placed into the center of the custard should come out clean. The custards will firm up after they come out of the oven and even more so if you leave them in the fridge for a few hours/overnight.
• Remove the pan from the oven and allow ramekins to cool on a cooling rack. When ramekins reach room temperature, cover and refrigerate for at least a few hours or even overnight.
• Top with whipped cream before serving!

For the whipped cream...

• combine heavy whipping cream, xylitol, and vanilla extract in a large bowl
• whip with a whisk until you reach your desired fluffiness
• dollop onto the center of your custard and dust with cinnamon

Some more pics... Your mixture may look a little pale before it goes into the oven. That's okay! It will darken as it cooks.I didn't have a skewer or a toothpick, so I used the thin end of a chopstick to test firmness. Not the best choice, obviously. Luckily, I was covering up the center with whipped cream anyway.And, the finished product once again... Ta-da!

Nutritional Info

You should get 6 servings out of this. The numbers per serving are:For the custard...

• Calories: 255 
• Fat: 27g
• Protein: 3g
• Net Carbs: 7g

For the whipped cream...

• Calories: 40
• Fat: 4g
• Protein: 0g
• Net Carbs: 0g

Hope you enjoy! 

Foods I Hath Wrought

I haven't posted a recipe in ages. Here's why: I've been cheating on keto like a total jerk. Stuff happened. All kinds of stuff. There were cakes and chips and some champagne. There were bags of mini candies. One time, there was a pizza. Forgive me.Still, plagued by intermittent guilty feelings and the desire to do anything other than look at a screen, I have managed to cook myself the occasional keto meal over the last few months, and do quickie posts to Instagram. I've found that this process provides a pretty satisfying illusion of keeping healthy. Isn't that what the Internet has taught us: that it's the illusion that matters? If you've got a different takeaway, I don't know what Internet you're looking at.Anywho, how about some pics of some keto meals I made?

 

Lah-Dee-Dah: Lavender Vanilla Whipped Mascarpone Cream

Sometimes I want to feel like a fancy lady, living a fancy life with fancy accoutrements and a fancy penchant for using words like "accoutrements" and "penchant," which I fancily pronounce "ah-coo-trrrrruh-mahhhh" and "pawwwn-shawwwn," respectively.These are momentary lapses in an otherwise average daily life. But, when I get that itch, I scratch it. It was during just such an itch that I made this surprisingly lah-dee-dah-tasting lavender vanilla whipped mascarpone cream dessert thingie.It is yummy and fancy and easy to make and I wish I had some right now, but I already ate it. It goes great with drinking tea and watching British period pieces. If you'd like to try it, here's how:

Ingredients

• 0.25 cup(s), mascarpone cheese
• 1 Tbsp, heavy whipping cream
• 1 tsp, xylitol (or sugar-free sweetener of your choosing. I used xylitol because I accidentally ordered a huge bag of it because I don't understand math.)
• 1 tsp(s), dried, ground lavender flowers (I used the flowers of from three stems.)
• 1 tsp (4g), sugar-free vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Remove lavender flowers from their stems
2. Grind lavender with a mortar and pestle, coffee grinder (I used this one), or food processor
3. Combine all ingredients in a bowl
4. Beat ingredients with a whisk just until firm peaks form (be careful not to over do it!)
5. Plate and sprinkle with additional whole lavender flowers

Nutritional Info

• Calories: 308
• Fat: 30g
• Protein: 4g
• Fiber: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 5g

Notes

• This recipe makes a single serving because–who am I kidding–I am generally alone. But, you could easily double the measurements to serve two because you are a better person than I am and hang out with other people from time to time. Good job.
• The drier your lavender the more potent it will be. I was pretty generous with it because I'd just bought the lavender fresh over the weekend. Add lavender slowly to your taste.

If you attempt this recipe, please let me know how it turns out! I'm very much still learning to cook and could certainly use any tips, pointers, feedback you'd care to share.