Spaghetti Squash w/Caramelized Onions and Browned Butter

Happy December!! I have been a little obsessed with caramelized onions lately -- Caramelized onions are a magical substance -- seriously, they can turn any dish into a feast! This dish contains 2 kinds of magic -- Caramelized Onions AND Browned Butter!

Spinach Artichoke Chicken

You know that appetizer served at the big apple chain restaurant that is served with tortilla chips? Oh, man I LOVE that stuff!!

Blueberry-Cream Cheese Crumb Cake

While never a huge fan of cake, coffee cakes are another matter altogether. Coffee cake is served on leisurely mornings with lots of coffee flowing or an afternoon get together with friends....at least to my way of thinking. 

Cranberry-Walnut Scones

As the holiday season approaches I am thinking of increased social activities and the food that comes with those activities. One in particular concern to me is a coffee date I am planning with the girlfriend of one of the sons and her dear Mom -- neither of these gals eat low carb. Extra pressure there!! In my pre-low carb days I would have pulled out one of my staples -- SCONES and coffee.

Cheesy Garlic Mashed Cauliflower

In my collection of side dishes I have several favorites that feature cauliflower. There isn't one as easy as this one and since it features frozen cauliflower, an economical one too.

Roasted Broccoli w/Toasted Pine Nuts

Nuts & seeds make such great additions to low carb dishes like this Roasted Broccoli dish. I especially enjoy them added to veggies and salads where they add both interest and crunch!

Green Beans Almondine

Totally ignore this dishes *fancy* name -- it is the easiest side dish and VERY economical too!

Herbed Cauliflower Gratin

Been a little under-the-weather the last few days. Finally feel back to par and am in the kitchen again. Back to the subject of side dishes.....

Broccoli, Cranberry and Feta Salad

This salad is so festively colored, wonderfully crunchy and D.E.L.I.O.U.S. Including it on my holiday menu is a no-brainer!

Pan Roasted Brussels Sprouts w/Browned Butter & Shallots

According to my children, it simply isn't a holiday feast without Brussels Sprouts!!

Braised Green Beans w/Tomatoes & Onions

Confession time -- I use (and like) frozen veggies. Now my first choice is usually fresh - especially if fresh means right out of our backyard garden BUT when that isn't a possibility, I reach for frozen.

Some of my favorite low carb frozen choices -- spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and green beans.

Butternut Squash w/Pecans & Gorganzola

No series on Thanksgiving sides would be complete without at least one squash recipe thrown into the mix -- Expect more than one from me. This one features (from our garden) butternut squash -- about my favorite!

Creamed Spinach

Creamed Spinach probably tops my favorites list -- that said, I have about 3 recipes I use to make it -- all are wonderful and all would make a great side at your holiday feast.

Company Green Beans

Another great holiday worthy side dish. I was first introduced to this recipe when I was reviewing cookbooks for Gooseberry Patch. 

Creamed Turnips

Have you started planning your holiday menus? Having a plan always helps me stay on target with my low-carb way of eating. Over the next few weeks I am going to be showcasing some side-dishes that would make wonderful low-carb additions to any holiday table.

Up first, Creamed Turnips!!

Bacon Braised Cabbage

Yes, I am totally among the throngs that think that bacon makes everything better, lol. 

Honestly I hesitate to post this *recipe* - mostly because it is so simple and since it is only 3 ingredients, hardly seems like a recipe at all, BUT on the off  chance that you've never had cabbage made this way, I feel compelled to post. 

Sausage & Spaghetti Squash Bake

Colder temps and shorter days have me yearning for comfort foods -- soups, one-pot meals and CASSEROLES! Well casseroles can be harder with a low-carb lifestyle. They tend to rely heavily on ingredients like pasta, potatoes and rice.

Pumpkin Pancakes -- Grain, Gluten & Sugar-Free

I am all-about fall and the tastes of fall most especially! I started making these pancakes way back in September and have made them at least once a week since -- shame on me for just now getting around to blogging and sharing them with you!

Pork Tinga

A weekend off work (and no garden or canning chores calling my name) and man did I get some *stuff* done. I managed to cross a few small projects off my to-do list and cooked up a storm. I worked on 3 new recipes and did some follow up work on some other recipes that I have been tweaking. Today I am going to share the one that was my favorite (shhh -- don't tell, like children, all the recipes should *think* they are my favorite).

Pumpkin-Nut Muffins

Sunday mornings and muffins just go together in my mind....mostly because when my children were growing up, it was our family tradition.

Cottage Pie

Last week Mr Dreamy showed me a recipe that someone had posted onto Facebook. Said it looked pretty tasty -- it did! It was a recipe for Shepperd's Pie -- now I tend to think of Shepperd's Pie as showcasing lamb and since I tend to use beef for this classic comfort food, I call it Cottage Pie. Mental note to myself, do a low carb makeover and serve this SOON!!

Hot Cereal Time of Year

photo credit: Earth Sky

Do you feel that? We have certainly had a change in the weather in the last couple weeks. No more 100°+ days and although it is still gorgeous during the days, the nights are getting nippy. We went all the way down to 50°F last night.

Orange-Gingerbread Muffins

What a wonderful weekend -- both of us off for the entire weekend (that doesn't happen often). A short road trip (to see college son play football), lots of great food and some wonderful fall like temperatures -- oh, and it was my birthday weekend too. By Sunday I was a little worn out and ready for a day of rest.

Pork Verde w/Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

We have something new in the garden this year -- Tomatillos!! Oldest son gifted us 2 plants last spring and wow, they took off and are covered with fruit.

Parmesan Baked Tomatoes

We have gotten relatively few tomatoes from our backyard garden -- until the last couple weeks. Now production is in overdrive.....especially my little mini-plum/grape type tomatoes. I have canned and frozen some for future use and have been using them in every way I can think of. Last week at work someone else was talking about crumb topped tomato halves.

Hazelnut-Spice Muffins w/Honey Cinnamon Butter

These muffins are me getting a jump on fall and all the wonderful flavors the season offers -- although it is almost here, I couldn't wait any further!!

Roasted Vegetable Skillet

As the summer winds down, I have found myself reaching for lots of *EASY* eats. It has been hot, the garden has been producing in overdrive and I, the queen of timing, have taken on a mini (turned major) kitchen  (pantry, laundry room) remodel. Whew!!!!

Butternut Squash Hash

Hash: a dish of diced or chopped meat and 

often vegetables, as of leftover corned beef

and potatoes, sautéd in a frying pan.

I am not sure you can define hash, but the above statements attempts to. Growing up, it meant some awful, smelly stuff that came out of a can that for whatever reason my Dad enjoyed, mostly at breakfast.

Cool & Creamy Cole Slaw

Many times upon hearing that we stick to a low-carb way of eating, people will remark about how difficult that must be and/or that we must eat a lot of specialty things. Well, truth is our diet is pretty ordinary. If you were a guest in our home you may not even know -- we often feed guests low-carb (even desserts) and they don't know it, lol. Many recipes are perfectly low-carb with some minor tweaking -- especially what I call *Old-Timey* salad recipes -- this Cool & Creamy Cole Slaw is just one of those!

Garden Scramble

We are at the point that everyday we are taking a stroll thru the garden and harvesting what is ready. Our onions are all in and daily we are picking zucchini and tomatoes -- and other goodies are not far off. That means planning meals around what is on hand.

Low-Carb Zucchini Muffins

The garden is in full swing -- we are harvesting tomatoes for table use daily (a couple more weeks before canning and salsa production levels) and zucchini -- LOTS of zucchini. Before I became a low-carb zealot my favorite things to do with the over-abundance of garden zukes was muffins and breads.

Individual Dark Chocolate Brownie Cakes (and Ice Cream)

With a title like that, it is hard to imagine this is a low-carb post......

BUT it is!!

Mexican Meatloaf

If there is anyone still out there reading -- THANK-YOU!! I have had some computer difficulties and some changes recently. The last few years have been years of change for me....change continues. I have relocated 2 hours (and a new state) away. Change can be good and this one is GREAT. More to come.

Recently a friend told me about a new favorite for her family -- Mexican Meatloaf.

Italian Meatball Bake w/Zoodles

Italian Food isn't usually what you think of when you *think* low-carb BUT there are many pasta-less options. One of my favorites is Zoodles -- julienne cut zucchini -- very pasta like in consistency and very flavorful. A fantastic side to this Italian Meatball Bake recipe!!

Orange-Pecan Salmon

Lately I have been trying to get more fish into my diet. I used to be much better at that than I am now but fell off the wagon at some point. I took a good look at some of the recipes I used to enjoy and think I understand why -- many of them are not very low-carb friendly. 

Low Carb Tortillas & Fish Tacos

I grew up in San Diego, CA and developed a love for fish tacos early on. It is hard to get a good one outside of Baja - and now that I dwell in the Midwest, let's just say it's impossible BUT I have been making my own for eons now -- I even figured out how to enjoy them low carb.

Jammin'

 JAM is not something one thinks of as a low-carb food. Sure you can buy sugar-free jams (that are pretty good actually) but making them at home isn't entirely possible without TONS of sugar....at least that is what I thought.

Pork Roast & Cabbage

As a single, empty-nester, I don't buy a lot of large cuts of meats unless I have a plan to cook for a crowd. A few weeks ago I scored a great deal on a pork loin roast. I threw it into the freezer with the thought that I'd either cook it for Easter (we went a different direction) or I would cook it for the special man in my life (hadn't got around to that one).

Beef & Asparagus Stir-Fry

Early in my low-carb journey I saw Chef Ming Tsai and his Mom make a dish that featured thin-sliced beef steak and asparagus. It had simple ingredients and certainly could be made low-carb. Weeks later when I decided I wanted to try it I couldn't find the recipe to save my life.

Stuffed Poblano Peppers

When growing up, I spent a good amount of time in New Mexico -- my grandparents and extended family lived there (we were a military family and had moved away). We visited as often as possible. As a result of this connection, I learned to LOVE green chilies - on most everything. Burgers, eggs, etc., Well, my grown-up palette has decided that even better than green chilies is Poblanos. 

Low Carb *Rice* Pudding

I got an email from my friend Beth this week. She is a fellow low-carb eater who has the most wonderful success story and she inspires me. Seems her Mom has recently found a cherished family recipe for her Swedish Grandpa's FAMOUS Rice Pudding. Beth wondered what we could do to bring down the carbs so she could again enjoy this wonderful treat.

Stuffed Pork Chops

I have always liked stuffed pork chops -- an easy way to make an ordinary dish pretty special. Problem with a low-carb way of eating is just what do you stuff them with? I've been thinking about that for a while.

Spicy Roasted Lemon Chicken Thighs

I spent the weekend visiting a friend -- a very special friend!! After church on Sunday we put together what ended up being a very simple, yummy (and still low-carb) meal!!

Sirloin Steak Chili

This recipe came about quite by accident. I was pretty much snowed in and shoveling myself out and decided that chili was a must -- problem being I had no ground beef....and I wasn't heading to the store anytime soon.

Cheeseburger Cauliflower

Sometimes the best dishes are the most simple -- in both preparation and ingredients. You don't get much simplier than this one -- put a simple salad on the side or if you're like me, just scoop it in a bowl and call it good!!

Good Eats!!

My FAVORITE Sous Chef *helping* me!!

What you been cooking? Many days at my house it is very simple fare -- some eggs cooked in sauteed spinach or a bowl of Greek yogurt tends to be my go-to dishes as an empty nester. BUT I still LOVE to cook -- feeding people is probably my love language. So when the opportunity to feed someone arises, I try to rise to the occasion. Here are some dishes I have made recently.

Hazelnut Blondies -- Yes, these ARE Low Carb!!

Hazelnuts have been on my mind lately. I LOVE nuts - (most of them anyway) and up at the top of my list is hazelnuts. Even in my pre-low-carb days, they were a favorite..... especially in my baked goods. I recently picked up a bag of hazelnut flour for the express purpose of *playing*. A couple things came to mind to make -- scones, biscotti and then it hit me -- I wanted to make a HAZELNUT BLONDIE!!

Stocking a Low-Carb Pantry



Photo Credit: Country Living Magazine

The above image is one I've drooled over for YEARS -- this is my dream pantry, complete with the vintage RED screen door. Maybe someday!!

Pantry is more about what you have on hand than it is about where you store that supply. I thought I would share with you what my pantry consists of although low-carb is done is a vast number of different ways and your pantry could look completely different than mine.

Nailed IT!!

a low carb version of Blueberry Greek Yogurt Pancakes that is!! Remember my attempt here? I didn't have a cute little house guest but a snowed in day was the perfect time to work some more on this recipe.