Tag Archives: low carb

Low Carb Chicken Tetrazzini

One of my favorite comfort foods was turkey tetrazzini.  Whether Mom made it or Stouffers made it, I loved it.  Being low carb means being without flour pastas.  I’ve not had tetrazzini for years until I realized that I could easily make it. There is a whole world opened up in using noodle alternatives like hearts of palm noodles, that are in this dish and my beef stroganoff.  

Give this tetrazzini a try!

Low Carb Chicken Tetrazzini

A comfort food of noodles, chicken, celery and mushrooms in a rich sherry mushroom sauce.

Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword "Pasta", Casserole, Chicken, Tetrazzini
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 298 kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 can Palmini
  • 1 1/2 cups Chicken Breast rotisserie
  • 1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
  • 1/4 cup Mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese grated
  • 1/2 cup celery diced
  • 1/2 cup Mushrooms canned or fresh sauteed.
  • 1 Tbsp Butter
  • 1/4 tsp Ground Pepper
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 Tbsp Sherry sweet
  • 1/2 cup Pork Rinds crushed

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

  2. Open, drain and rinse the can of Palmini linguine noodles. You can use as is or cover in milk for 10 minutes and drain and rinse to remove acidity from packing liquid. Place noodles in the bottom of a 2-quart casserole dish.

  3. Saute 1 Tbsp of butter, celery and mushrooms until soft.

  4. Add soup, mayonnaise, parmesan cheese, celery/mushroom mixture, salt, pepper and sherry to noodles and mix.

  5. Top with crushed pork rinds.

  6. Bake 45 minutes.

  7. Let cool a few minutes and serve.

Recipe Notes

  • I've used both chicken and turkey in this recipe.  I liked pulled chicken breast the best, to be honest.
  • I'm lazy.  I could make a sauce, but I'm into convenience and cream of mushroom soup and cream of chicken soups are never leaving my pantry. 
  • If you use buttered Panko crumbs on top instead of pork rind crumbs, you will add about 4 more carbs per serving.  (1 Tbsp melted butter mixed with 1/2 cup Panko.)
  • If you don't use pork rind crumbs at all, the carbs per serving stays the same.
  • To me, it is the sherry that makes it!  Kind of like how sherry makes crab bisque so scrumptious.  It just takes it to another level of flavor.  However, if you don't have sherry, this recipe is delicious without it.
Nutrition Facts
Low Carb Chicken Tetrazzini
Amount Per Serving
Calories 298 Calories from Fat 171
% Daily Value*
Fat 19g29%
Saturated Fat 6g38%
Cholesterol 61mg20%
Sodium 940mg41%
Potassium 375mg11%
Carbohydrates 8g3%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 21g42%
Iron 1mg6%
Calcium 85mg9%
Vitamin C 1mg1%
Vitamin A 210IU4%
Net Carbs 6g12%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Enjoy!

Until next time,

Dee

#lowcarb4ever

Lower Carb Cinnamon Apple Muffins

I am always missing my carb foods and trying to find low carb alternatives.  This time, I was missing applesauce doughnuts.  Well, I tinkered with a recipe for muffins, that have pretty much quelled that craving.  Give it a try!

Cinnamon Applesauce Muffins

An applesauce and cinnamon muffin that is lower carb.

Course Bread
Keyword Applesauce, Breakfast, cinnamon, low carb, Muffin
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 12
Calories 133 kcal

Ingredients

Muffin

  • 2 cups Birch Benders Paleo Mix
  • 2 tsp Baking Powder
  • 3 tbsp Truvia baking blend
  • 1 1/2 tbsp Cinnamon ground
  • 1 cup Applesauce unsweetened
  • 1 stick Butter melted
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 tsp Vanilla
  • 1 tbsp Sour Cream

Topping

  • 1/2 cup Almond Flour
  • 1 1/2 tbsp Truvia brown sugar baking blend
  • 1 1/2 tbsp Butter melted
  • 1/2 tbsp Cinnamon ground

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

  2. Lightly grease muffin tins.

  3. Mix topping ingredients together in a small mixing bowl and set aside.

  4. Mix Birch Benders mix, baking powder, Truvia and cinnamon together in a large mixing bowl.

  5. Add applesauce, butter, eggs, vanilla and sour cream to the dry ingredients and mix well.

  6. Spoon into muffin tins.

  7. Add topping to each muffin tin.

    Applesauce Cinnamon Muffins
  8. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

  9. Let cool and enjoy.

Nutrition Facts
Cinnamon Applesauce Muffins
Amount Per Serving
Calories 133 Calories from Fat 135
% Daily Value*
Fat 15g23%
Saturated Fat 7g44%
Cholesterol 85mg28%
Sodium 186mg8%
Potassium 114mg3%
Carbohydrates 10g3%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 3g3%
Protein 4g8%
Iron 1mg6%
Calcium 67mg7%
Vitamin C 1mg1%
Vitamin A 331IU7%
Net Carbs 7g14%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Enjoy!

Until next time,

Dee

#lowcarb4ever

Stroganoff

This is one of those comfort foods I missed.  Traditional stroganoff, in our family, was always served over egg noodles.  Well, noodles are out the door for a low carber, but there are alternatives.  I discovered hearts of palm noodles a long while back.  They are probably my favorite pasta alternative.  Sure you can use zoodles, cooked broccoli slaw (another favorite noodle alternative especially for spaghetti), and so on.  However, for this recipe… the Palmini hearts of palm linguine noodles fill in just right.  Give it a try!

Beef Stroganoff Low Carb Style

Beef Stroganoff using Palmini noodles instead of egg noodles.

Course Main Course
Cuisine International, Russian
Keyword "Pasta", Beef, Hearts of Palm, Mushrooms, Stroganoff
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 390 kcal

Ingredients

  • 1.5 pounds Beef Sirloin sliced
  • 8 ounces Mushrooms sliced
  • 1 medium Onion sliced thin
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1/4 tsp Pepper
  • 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
  • 1 cup Sour Cream
  • 1/2 cup Vermouth dry
  • 2 cans Palmini

Instructions

  1. Open cans of Palmini. Drain water from cans. Fill cans back up with milk. Let sit while making Stroganoff. Use a fork to separate the noodles for milk to reach.

    Palmini Noodles
  2. Add meat, salt, pepper and garlic powder to large skillet and fry on medium high heat until color changes.

    Stroganoff meat
  3. Add mushrooms and onions to pan and cook until tender.

  4. Turn skillet to low.

  5. Take pan off heat and add vermouth and sour cream. Stir until sour cream smooths out.

    Stroganoff
  6. Put pan back on heat and cook mixture until sauce thickens. Stir occasionally, but keep an eye that sauce doesn't boil.

  7. Drain Palmini and rinse with water. You can eat as is or put in microwave safe container and microwave on high for about 4 minutes to soften. (Or longer, if desired.)

  8. Serve stroganoff over palmini noodles.

    Final Stroganoff

Recipe Notes

  • This recipe is how my mother made it.  It didn't miss a beat using Palmini noodles instead of egg noodles.
  • If you don't have dry vermouth, any dry white wine that you like to drink will work.
  • I didn't add milk to ingredients for the Palmini as it would add to the recipe counts, but it takes about 1 cup or so to fill the cans.
Nutrition Facts
Beef Stroganoff Low Carb Style
Amount Per Serving
Calories 390 Calories from Fat 162
% Daily Value*
Fat 18g28%
Saturated Fat 9g56%
Cholesterol 130mg43%
Sodium 481mg21%
Potassium 909mg26%
Carbohydrates 10g3%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 4g4%
Protein 42g84%
Iron 3mg17%
Calcium 107mg11%
Vitamin C 4mg5%
Vitamin A 358IU7%
Net Carbs 7g14%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Enjoy!

Until next time,

Dee

#lowcarb4ever

Low Carb Swedish Brownies

One of my ALL TIME FAVORITE treats when growing up was my grandmother and mother’s Swedish Brownies. On Low Carb 4 Life… I thought I would adjust it and see how it came out. Pretty good. Looks a little different, but same great taste!

Low Carb Swedish Brownies

A delicious brown sugar brownie from my youth converted to low carb

Course Dessert
Cuisine Southern
Keyword Applesauce, Cake, Iron Skillet, Pecan
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Resting time 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings 16
Calories 173 kcal
Author lowcarb4ever23

Ingredients

  • 2 cups Almond Flour
  • 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 1/2 cup Truvia brown sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon Salt
  • 4 Eggs beaten
  • 1/4 cup Half & Half
  • 1 tsp Vanilla
  • 1 stick Butter melted
  • 1 cup Pecans pieces

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven at 350 degrees.
  2. Combine almond flour, baking powder, brown sugar Truvia and salt.

  3. In a separate bowl, beat eggs until frothy.

  4. Add eggs, Half & Half and vanilla and mix well.

  5. Stir in melted butter.

  6. Stir in pecans.

  7. Pour mixture into a 9×9 baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray.

  8. Bake 45 minutes and cool about 10 minutes before cutting.

Recipe Notes

  • I don’t know if these are really Swedish, but it is what my Grandmother and Mother called them all my life… so that is what I am calling them.  Most people call these “blondies”.  They will forever be Swedish to me!
  • The carbed version calls for buttercream frosting on these.  I don’t like frosting and so I never use it, but there are a lot of good low carb buttercream frostings out there.  The Swerve site, whose confectioners sugar I use has one too https://swervesweet.com/recipes/vanilla-butter-cream-frosting.
  • I like coconut non-stick spray.
Nutrition Facts
Low Carb Swedish Brownies
Amount Per Serving
Calories 173 Calories from Fat 135
% Daily Value*
Fat 15g23%
Saturated Fat 3g19%
Cholesterol 49mg16%
Sodium 79mg3%
Potassium 102mg3%
Carbohydrates 6g2%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 2g2%
Protein 5g10%
Iron 1mg6%
Calcium 68mg7%
Vitamin C 1mg1%
Vitamin A 160IU3%
Net Carbs 3g6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

The Versatile Chicken Salad

I love chicken salad! A friend of mine makes phenomenal chicken salads and actually makes a living doing it. I can never compare to the chicken salads she makes, but I do make a very good salad that I have discovered is pretty darn versatile on it’s own or as a base for chicken casseroles. I thought I would share those recipes with you!

I thought I had made pictures of all these, but apparently they are missing. I wanted to post the recipes. As soon as I find pictures, or make new ones, I promise to add them on here!

Basic Chicken Salad

A versatile chicken salad

Course Salad
Cuisine Southern
Keyword Chicken Salad
Prep Time 30 minutes
Servings 12
Calories 138 kcal

Ingredients

  • 5 cups Chicken Breast Cooked, boned and cut into chunks
  • 1/2 cup Mayonnaise
  • 1 tsp Mustard
  • 1 cup Celery Chopped small
  • 1/4 cup Onion Chopped very small
  • 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
  • Salt To taste
  • Pepper To taste
  • Garlic Powder To taste

Instructions

  1. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients.

  2. Cover bowl and allow flavors to meld for at least 2 hours.

Recipe Notes

  • If you have a Costco near you, the rotisserie chicken breast is exactly five cups for this recipe.  I use this often when I don’t feel like roasting or boiling chicken breasts.
  • You can use light mayonnaise, but I use the original Hellman’s Mayonnaise.  You can save some calories and fat this way.
  • If you like a little more mayonnaise, add it in.  Some people like more, some people like it barely there.
  • If you don’t like as much onion, lower the amount to about 1/8 cup.
  • I use Paula Deen’s House Seasoning that I always have on-hand instead of individually using the salt, pepper and garlic powder.  I then lightly cover the whole mixture in the bowl and that seems to be the right amount to my taste.  Maybe a teaspoon or so.
  • Eat plain or on lettuce or in a large wedged tomato.  If you have found breads like ThinSlim, Sola or other lite breads that fit into your carb counting, then by all means, this works great as a sandwich too.
Nutrition Facts
Basic Chicken Salad
Amount Per Serving
Calories 138 Calories from Fat 81
% Daily Value*
Fat 9g14%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Cholesterol 44mg15%
Sodium 143mg6%
Potassium 258mg7%
Carbohydrates 1g0%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 13g26%
Iron 1mg6%
Calcium 6mg1%
Vitamin C 2mg2%
Vitamin A 63IU1%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Now then, it is just my husband and I at home. We will eat about half of this chicken salad and then just can’t eat anymore. I then take the rest of the chicken salad as a base for one of two casseroles: a Chicken Broccoli Casserole or a Mexican Chicken Casserole.

First up is the Cheesy Broccoli Chicken Casserole.

Cheesy Broccoli Chicken Casserole

A delicious casserole using a chicken salad base

Course Main Course
Cuisine Southern
Keyword Casserole
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Servings 12
Calories 223 kcal

Ingredients

  • 2.5 cups Chicken Salad See recipe
  • 4 cups Broccoli pieces or crowns
  • 1 can Mushroom Soup
  • .5 cup Mayonnaise
  • 2 cups Cheese grated
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 1 tsp Lemon Juice

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  2. Steam the broccoli until broccoli almost fork tender and drain.

  3. Mix broccoli, soup, mayonnaise, salt, lemon juice and 1/2 cup of cheese into the chicken salad base.

  4. Put mixture into a casserole dish sprayed with non-stick oil.

  5. Top with the remaining cheese.

  6. Bake for 40 minutes until cheese bubbly and starts to brown.

Recipe Notes

  • I like to use sharp cheddar cheese.
  • Basically, the seasoning added here is to season the broccoli that was added.
  • I like to add sliced almonds into the recipe.
  • I love how lemon juice “brightens” dishes.
  • You can serve this over riced cauliflower.
Nutrition Facts
Cheesy Broccoli Chicken Casserole
Amount Per Serving
Calories 223 Calories from Fat 162
% Daily Value*
Fat 18g28%
Saturated Fat 6g38%
Cholesterol 43mg14%
Sodium 474mg21%
Potassium 254mg7%
Carbohydrates 4g1%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 12g24%
Iron 1mg6%
Calcium 154mg15%
Vitamin C 28mg34%
Vitamin A 410IU8%
Net Carbs 3g6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Next is a Mexican casserole that I could honestly eat all portions of it in one sitting!

Poblano Chicken Casserole

A delicious casserole using a chicken salad base

Course Main Course
Cuisine Southern
Keyword Casserole
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings 12
Calories 200 kcal

Ingredients

  • 2.5 cups Chicken Salad See recipe
  • 5 Poblano Peppers
  • 1 cup Salsa Verde
  • 2.5 cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese grated
  • .5 cup Pecans chopped

Instructions

  1. Set broiler on high.

  2. Cut poblano peppers in half, seed and place skin side up on a baking sheet.

  3. Broil poblano peppers for about 5 minutes. The skin should look charred and bubbly.

  4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  5. Let the peppers cool and then remove the skins.

  6. Mix pecans and 1 cup of cheese into the chicken salad base.

  7. In the casserole dish, spray with non-stick oil and layer the peppers in the bottom. (or you can cut in strips and layer or add into the chicken salad itself.)

  8. Layer chicken salad mix on top of the peppers. (Or you could mix poblano strips into the chicken salad.)

  9. Spread salsa verde over top of the chicken salad mix.

  10. Top with the remaining cheese.

  11. Bake for 30 minutes until cheese bubbly or longer if you wish the cheese to brown

Recipe Notes

  • You can swap out the pecans for almond or walnut pieces.
  • You can serve this over riced cauliflower.
Nutrition Facts
Poblano Chicken Casserole
Amount Per Serving
Calories 200 Calories from Fat 135
% Daily Value*
Fat 15g23%
Saturated Fat 6g38%
Cholesterol 43mg14%
Sodium 343mg15%
Potassium 272mg8%
Carbohydrates 5g2%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 3g3%
Protein 12g24%
Iron 1mg6%
Calcium 180mg18%
Vitamin C 41mg50%
Vitamin A 563IU11%
Net Carbs 3g6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

I hope you all enjoy these recipes!

Until next time… #lowcarb4ever

Dee