Quickie Trick for Reheating Leftovers: Salami Cups

Not exactly a recipe, but here's a little something I made for breakfast the other day – leftovers reheated in little cups made of salami. Just pop the salami in a muffin tin, fill with whatever low-carb, keto-friendly leftover you have on hand, top with cheese, and pop in the a 350 degree oven for ten minutes until the cheese has melted and the leftovers are reheated. More pics after the cut.

What I used for filling: leftover cauliflower (no) mac and cheese. I made the cauliflower mac the night before with two types of cauliflower, heavy cream, and a cheese sauce of mozzarella, romano, and cheddar.

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!

What to Do with Leftover Turkey: Keto Broccoli Mushroom Bake

Got leftover turkey? Here's a quickie recipe to add some variety to the endless turkey-based meal slog that is the week after Thanksgiving.I ordered a six-pound turkey. I received a nine-pound turkey. This is too much turkey. Honestly, six was already pushing it for a household of two where one person is a vegetarian.I have too much turkey and I need to do stuff with it. Here's what I did this morning. Most of this was winging it with ingredients I had on hand and there was no measuring involved. So, do as you feel! Be yourself! Motivational slogans!

Ingredients

• leftover turkey, shredded by fork. I shredded up enough to cover the bottom of a small baking dish.
• leftover cream of mushroom soup. I made some yesterday, but canned is fine.
• 1 medium broccoli bunch – roughly chopped and cleaned.
• hella parmesan cheese, grated

Instructions

• preheat your oven to 350 degrees
• line your baking dish with a layer of shredded turkey
• mix half your broccoli into your cream of mushroom soup
• pour the mixture over the turkey
• sprinkle remaining broccoli over the mixture
• sprinkle parmesan over everything
• bake for 25-30 minutes

Pics of how the layers go down...

Still more turkey to go, of course! Any suggestions for recipes would be greatly appreciated! 

Easy Keto Cream of Mushroom Soup

I like mushrooms. I made soup.Not exactly sure what happened, but somehow I ended up with 1.5 lbs of white mushrooms. My best guess is that over the several trips to the store that preceded the Thanksgiving holiday, I saw some mushrooms and thought it would be a good idea to grab some. So, I grabbed some, repeatedly, at least 4 times.And that's how I ended up making my very first batch ever of cream of mushroom soup.

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs white mushrooms  – cleaned and sliced
• 6 tbs butter – picked up some amazing cultured butter from Achadinha Cheese Company at CUESA's Ferry Plaza Farmers Market
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• .75 cups heavy cream
• 2 tsp of garlic powder
• several sprigs of fresh thyme
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• In a large pot, sauté mushrooms in butter, season with salt, pepper, thyme, and garlic powder until browned.
• Add vegetable broth to pot, stir, and bring to a simmer.
• With an immersion blender, purée the mixture.
• Once the mixture reaches your desired level of smoothness/chunkiness, stir in the cream.
• Bring your soup back up to temperature and enjoy!

Nutrition

Makes about 6 generous servings of soup. Per serving... 

• Calories: 257
• Fat: 23 grams
• Protein: 9 grams
• Net Carbs: 5 grams

More pics for your viewing pleasure...

Really enjoyed the finished product! Lemme know if you give it a shot, I'd love to know how it works out for you!

Super Simple Sugar-Free No-Cook Keto Vegan Coconut Chocolate Pudding

Hey, Keto friends. Do you miss desserts? I miss desserts. I miss them so much. I wanna eat a great big bowl of rocky road ice cream on top of a pair of eclairs, topped with some profiteroles and, oh, I dunno... a tub of hot fudge. That sounds like a nice treat.Anywho, to scratch that dessert itch, I've been experimenting with keto-friendly desserts. Here's my attempt at a chocolate pudding. It's super simple, super quick, and requires absolutely no cooking! Let me know what you think!

Super Simple Sugar-Free No-Cook Keto Vegan Coconut Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients

• 1 can of full-fat organic coconut milk
• 3 Tbsp., cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp., sugar-free maple syrup
• .5 tsp., vanilla extract
• a dash of sea salt to taste
• a sprinkling of cayenne pepper

Instructions

1. Refrigerate your can of coconut milk over night. 
2. Separate the coconut milk solids from the remaining liquid. Set liquid aside.
3. Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer.
4. Beat the mixture until you get a nice, pudding-like consistency. If you find the mixture to be too dry, add a tablespoon or two of the coconut milk liquids to the mixture to loosen it up.
5. Transfer your completed pudding into little jars to refrigerate and eat later! Or, dig right in and enjoy!

Nutritional Info Per Serving

This recipe made about 3 servings for me – each about the size of a typical individual pudding cup. It's very rich, so a small serving is all you need.

• Calories: 250
• Fat: 25g
• Protein: 3g
• Carbs: 8g
• Dietary Fiber: 2g

Some pics of the process!

Before eating, I sprinkled some coconut flakes and cayenne pepper over the pudding for just a little added texture and heat. I think it turned out great, but I'd LOVE to know what you think! Chocolate desserts can be so divisive! Is this recipe sweet enough? Chocolate-y enough? Try it out and let me know!  

Keto Spinach & Cheddar Soufflé

I love meat. I adore it. There is no time of day – sleeping, showering, jury duty – when I couldn't go for a nice grass-fed ribeye. But, I acknowledge that there are folks out there who prefer their eats a little less "moo" and a lot more "imperceptible sound of plant growth." In fact, one of those people has been my boyfriend for the past 17 years. (Life is weird sometimes. I've learned to stop asking questions.)So, for him and several of my similarly meat-averse friends, I've decided to attempt some vegetarian keto cooking. This spinach soufflé was my first experiment. I thought it was damn delicious, frankly. That boyfriend guy liked it, too.

Relatively Simple Spinach & Cheddar Soufflé

Ingredients

The dish itself:

• 3 egg yolks
• 5 egg whites
• 1/2 tsp., cream of tartar
• 3 Tbsp., butter
• 3 Tbsp., almond flour
• 1 cup, heavy cream
• 1 cup, shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 bag, frozen chopped spinach (thawed and wrung out thoroughly)
• salt and pepper to taste

And for prepping the ramekins (I used six individual 6-ounce ramekins, but you can use one great big dish, if you prefer):

• butter 
• grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

Prep:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease the insides of your ramekins (or large, oven-safe dish) with butter.
3. Dust the greased ramekins (or dish) with grated parmesan cheese and set aside
4. Separate the eggs, placing the whites in the (very clean, super dry) bowl of your stand mixer. Yolks can go in any old bowl.
5. Add cream of tartar to mixing bowl and set aside.

Sauce:

1. In a large pan, melt 3 Tbsp of butter over medium-high heat until it begins to bubble.
2. Add the almond flour to the pan, stirring constantly to develop a smooth roux.
3. Add the cream to the pan and continue to cook the mixture, stirring, stirring, stirring until smooth and thickened.
4. Add the cheddar cheese and continue to stir, until the cheese has melted into the sauce.
5.  Add the spinach to the sauce and stir some more. So much stirring.
6. Season the spinach/cheese sauce mixture with salt and pepper to taste. You can season it pretty strongly at this point, as the final mixture will be diluted somewhat by the addition of eggs.
7. Set aside to work on the eggs.

Eggs:

1. Beat the egg whites in a stand mixer until they form soft peaks. I've heard other folks say that the whites should cling to the bowl as you roll it around in your hands. Still other folks say to whip them to firm peaks. I went somewhere in the middle.
2. Add the yolks to the spinach/cheese sauce mixture and stir.
3. Very gently fold your egg whites into spinach/cheese sauce mixture. I did this in two steps. First, I added about a quarter of the whites to the saucepan and folded gently. Then, I poured the entire mixture into the mixing bowl with the whites and continued to fold.

Bake:

1. Once folded together, pour the completed mixture into your prepped ramekins/dish. You can place the ramekins on a single baking sheet to simplify the baking (and cleaning) process.
2. Bake in your preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, until risen and golden brown. Important: DO NOT open the oven until at least 30 minutes have passed!
3. Remove from oven, allow to cool for a few minutes (the soufflés will deflate slightly) and serve!

Nutritional Info Per Serving

This recipe made about 6.5 servings for me. I baked the remaining .5 in a small oven-safe bowl.

• Calories: 358
• Fat: 28g
• Protein: 17g
• Carbs: 4g
• Dietary Fiber: 0g

And how about some pics from the whole soufflé-making process?

I think it turned out pretty well for a first attempt! I wish they had gotten a puffier. Perhaps I should have used milk instead of cream? Or dried the spinach more thoroughly? Or cleaned the mixing bowl better? Or beaten the whites harder? I will try the recipe again in the future and see how it all shakes out.If you give this recipe a shot, please let me know how it turns out for you and what you may do to alter it! I'd love to know!Hope you're doing super!