Month: July 2017

Low Carb Crustless Taco Pie

Until recently, soft shell tacos were very hard to find here. Yeah, we could have used tortillas which are everywhere!!! It seems lots of people are on low carb diets these days and I was able to find this GREAT recipe on Pinterest. Who needs a crust? The result was awesome, so much so that we couldn’t believe we ate the WHOLE thing at one sitting.

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FYI…. you will notice in the recipe Taco Seasoning. It’s quite simple to make and cheaper. I have included the recipe I use for taco seasoning at the end of the Pie recipe…

 Low Carb Crustless Taco Pie

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef 
  • 1 packet taco seasoning (see recipe below)
  • 3 green onions thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup salsa (I like La Costena brand with added chipotle)
  • 1 cup Mexican blend cheese finely shredded, quantity divided
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2/3 cup heavy cream 
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • OPTIONAL – a layer of refried beans on the bottom of the pie shell!

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350º Fahrenheit. Prepare a 9″ pie pan by greasing with butter or spraying with coconut oil.
  2. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. If your ground beef is low in fat or if your skillet is not well seasoned, you may want to spray the pan with coconut oil to prevent sticking. When skillet is hot, add ground beef, breaking up into small pieces with a spoon or spatula. Cook, stirring occasionally until browned. Drain beef and add taco seasoning and cook according to package instructions. Set aside and allow to cool while continuing with the next step.
  3. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and heavy cream. Stir in the green onions, salsa, 3/4 cup of the cheese, and the salt.
  4. Stir prepared taco meat into the egg mixture. Pour this mixture into the prepared pie pan. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. 
  5. Bake pie in preheated oven for 35-45 minutes or until the top is brown and the pie is set. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Serve with your favorite taco toppings such as salsa, sour cream, guacamole, sliced green onions, or whatever else you like! Maybe add a few sliced radishes…

Taco Seasoning (enough for this recipe)

1/4 tsp Garlic powder

1/4 tsp Onion powder

1/4 tsp Oregano, dried

1 tsp Black pepper

1 tbsp Chili powder

1/2 tsp Paprika

1 tsp Salt

1 1/2 tsp Cumin, ground

 

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Shrimp and Green Bean Stir Fry

Too many string beans from Costco AGAIN! What to do? Stir fry of course. Hope you enjoy this recipe with or without the rice…

 

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Shrimp and Green Bean Stir Fry

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 pound large shrimp-shelled, deveined and cut into 1-inch pieces (I cheated and used a dozen frozen, cooked shrimp – no need to thaw)
  • Salt
  • 1/2 pound green beans, thinly sliced 1/4 inch thick on an extreme diagonal
  • 1 or 2 sliced radishes (optional) seriously, I have started cooking radishes in my stir fries)
  • 1/4 cup chicken stock or low-sodium broth
  • 1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • OPTIONAL RICE

Heat a wok until very hot.

Add the vegetable oil and heat until shimmering.

Add the garlic and stir-fry for 10 seconds.

Add the shrimp and a pinch of salt and stir-fry until the shrimp are just beginning to turn pink, about 30 seconds.

Add the green beans and radishes and 2 tablespoons of the stock and stir-fry until the beans soften slightly, about 3 minutes.

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of stock along with the fish sauce and a generous pinch of pepper and stir-fry until the shrimp are cooked through and the beans are crisp-tender, about 3 minutes longer.

 

Serve right away.

 

Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef

I know it sounds a little odd, but this is a very good dish served with rice or maybe Costco Ancient Grains. As usual my slow cooker had it ready in three hours on HIGH, contrary to what the recipe says. It seems every time I use my SC I have the same problem. What do the rest of you find? Mine is a Hamilton Beach with setting – High, Low and Warm. I can never go away and leave it even on LOW…grrr. Be aware…

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Mongolian Beef

  • 1.5 lb. trimmed flank steak
  • 2 cups sliced onions
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • ½ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
  • ½ cup water
  • 1 T. quick cooking Tapioca, crushed
  • 1 T. grated fresh ginger
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 green onions, sliced (whites and greens separated)
  • 3 cups hot cooked rice (or Ancient Grains)
  1. Cut meat into 6 portions. In a 3.5 cup slow cooker combine meat and sliced onions.
  2. In a medium bowl, mix the next 6 ingredients (through garlic). Pour over the meat. Sprinkle with WHITE portions of the green onions
  3. Cover and cook on LOW 8 to 10 hours…or HIGH for 4 to 5 hours. (3 in my case!)
  4. Remove meat, reserving cooking liquid.
  5. Slice meat across the grain or coarsely shred and return to the cooker.
  6. Serve over rice and sprinkle with the GREEN portions of the green onions.

Makes 6 servings.

 

Slow Cooker Easy Pork Pozole

Thanks to all of you for getting me past the 14000 views this week! You are all awesome. In return is an awesome Aztec recipe for a soup/stew called pozole. Get out your slow cooker.

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Pozole can be prepared in many ways. All variations include a base of cooked hominy in broth. Typically pork, or sometimes chicken, is included in the base.

Vegetarian recipes substitute beans for the meat.

The three main types of pozole are blanco/white, verde/green and rojo/red.

Red Pozole is usually made without the green sauce, instead adding a red sauce made from one or more chiles, such as guajillo, piquin, or ancho.

Slow Cooker Easy Pork Pozole

  • 2 – 15 oz. cans hominy (white corn), rinsed and drained (fresh in the deli section) In our grocery store here, this is the brand I buy. I use 3/4 package.

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  • 1 – 16 oz. jar salsa
  • 1 – litre reduced sodium chicken broth (I actually used almost 2 to get it less thick)
  • 2 – 4 oz. cans diced green chile peppers undrained (to taste, truthfully, I used two thin slices)
  • 1 – cup coarsely chopped onion
  • 1 – T ground cumin
  • 4 – cloves garlic minced
  • 1 – tsp. dried oregano, crushed
  • ¼ – tsp. red pepper
  • 12 oz. – pork loin, cut into bite sized pieces
  • Fresh cilantro snipped

NIGHT BEFORE!!!

In the removable crock pot liner, combine the first 9 ingredients (through the red pepper). Stir in the pork pieces. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

NEXT DAY!!!

Let the liner stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Place in slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours (depending on your slow cooker)…or on HIGH for 3 to 3.5 hours. Check frequently… mine was done in 5 hours on low!

Sprinkle cilantro onto each serving in large soup bowls. Serve with tortillas if desired.

OPTIONAL – In separate side bowls, provide a few sliced radishes, more chopped onion, oregano, chopped cabbage, avocado, cilantro. Let your guests choose what they want to add. I like to add some sour cream for smoothness. 

Makes 6+ servings.

Best Chicken Marinade Ever!

Well maybe an overstatement, as I am still looking for the BEST one…LOL. In the interim I tried this one and was quite happy with it overall. Any suggestions you might have would be greatly appreciated as I approach 14000 views on this blog!! Thanks to all of you have stopped by… here is the result with chicken thighs…

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Best Chicken Marinade Ever

Ingredients

  • 6 Chicken breasts or 3.5 lb. chicken
  • 2 tsp Garlic powder
  • 2 tsp Rosemary, dried
  • 1/2 cup Balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tbsp Dijon or spicy brown mustard
  • 1/8 cup Lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup Soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp Black pepper, ground
  • 3/4 cup Brown sugar ( I cut this back to 1/4 cup so not so sweet)
  • 2 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 cup Olive oil, extra virgin

Instructions

  1. Combine all ingredients, except for chicken, in a large Pyrex measuring cupor mixing bowl and whisk together.
  2. Remove a half a cup of marinade and reserve for basting the chicken later.
  3. Place chicken in a large, Ziploc bagand pour marinade over the top. Close securely.
  4. Marinate for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.

To grill

  1. Preheat grill to medium high heat and lightly oil the grates.
  2. Remove the chicken from the marinade, letting the excess drip off.
  3. Grill chicken for 5 to 6 minutes on each side or until cooked through.
  4. Baste the chicken occasionally with the reserved marinade.
  5. Remove chicken from grill and tent with foil. Let chicken rest for at least 5 minutes before serving