Refining my low-carb chicken parm recipe. Lightly coated in buttermilk powder, dipped in egg, then dredged in a mixture of grated parmesan, almond flour, dried parsley, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Then brown chicken in skillet. Layer browned chicken atop marinara sauce in a baking dish. Cover chicken pieces with slices of fresh mozzarella, sprinkle entire dish with shredded Parmesan and bake at 350 (f) for 30-40 minutes.
Low Carb Chicken Chow Mein
I find Spaghetti Squash to be an excellent low carb alternative to noodles. That’s what I used here to make this low carb version of Chicken Chow Mein. So much deliciousness!
Ingredients:
1 Spaghetti Squash
1 Tablespoon each Sesame Oil & Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon diced Garlic
1/2 cup each coarsely chopped Oyster Mushrooms, sliced Red Bell Pepper, sliced White Onion.
1 1/2 cups Chicken Breast cut into bite sized pieces
1 tablespoon diced fresh Ginger
1 tablespoon diced Cilantro
2 tablespoons sliced Green Onion
1 cup fresh Bean Sprouts
1 8 oz can whole Water Chestnuts
Soy Sauce & Fish Sauce to taste
Salt to taste
1 fresh Lime sliced in half
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice Spaghetti Squash in half length-wise. Drizzle lightly cut side with Olive Oil. Place cut side down on baking sheet. Poke several holes in the skin of each of the halves. Place in oven and roast for 30-40 minutes for an al dente type texture. Roast longer if you prefer to the noodles softer.
Meanwhile, heat remaining Olive Oil at medium-high heat and saute Mushrooms, Onions and Bell Pepper for 3-4 minutes (until they begin to soften). Add Minced Garlic and saute another minute or so. Turn heat to low.
In a separate pan heated with Sesame Oil, brown Chicken 3-4 minutes.
3. Add remaining ingredients, except Chicken and Lime, to the vegetable mixture. Stir and cook on low 5-7 minutes or until warmed through.
4. Check to see that Chicken is cooked through, once confirmed add it to the vegetable mixture. Squeeze fresh lime juice over and toss together. Set on super low if you’re still waiting for the Squash to finish.
5. Pull finished Squash from the oven. With cut side facing up, use a fork and scrape the prongs against the flesh. This will result in spaghetti type strings.
Place the veggie mixture over the faux pasta, serve and dig in! I hope you enjoy. :)
Roasted Pork Loin with Au Jus
This Pork Loin with Au Jus is a surprisingly easy recipe. Perfect for when you want to do something special on a weekday after a long workday. :)
Ingredients
3 lb. pork loin roast
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon fresh minced Italian parsley
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon each salt & pepper
1/2 cup stock (I used beef because that was all I had, but any stock will do)
1 tablespoon salted butter
1 tablespoon fresh minced Italian parsley
How to Make It
Be sure to take the roast out of the fridge and allow it to reach room temperature in order to ensure it cooks evenly.
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Mix together the minced garlic, 1 tablespoon minced Italian parsley, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and 1/2 teaspoon each salt & pepper.
Score the meat by cutting crosses in the top of the roast. Rub this over the roast and into the score slices. This can be done overnight or right out of the fridge as you’re waiting for it to come to room temperature. Of course, the longer is sits, the more flavor will seep into the meat.
Roast about 25 minutes per pound — meat’s internal temperature should read 150-160 degrees
Cover the roast with aluminum foil and make the Au Jus while it’s resting.
Set the lower part of the roasting pan over a burner at medium heat. Add the stock and de-glaze with the stock.
Constantly stirring, add the butter, fresh parsley, and salt & pepper to taste.
Allow the sauce to reduce a bit — around 10 minutes. Serve your Au Ju over the roast. Enjoy!
I’ve done other variations of this using pesto in place of the fresh parsley. It’s super yummy, too!
Drunken Shrimp a la Izzy's SF
Michael loves the Drunken Shrimp dish at Izzy's -- a favorite SF steakhouse in our SF neighborhood. Last night, I took a stab at replicating the recipe. The result was fantastic! The secret ingredient (per my source at Izzy’s)? Anchor Steam.
Ingredients
o 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
o 1/3 cup finely chopped shallots
o 2 teaspoons minced garlic
o 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined (tossed in creole seasoning and saved in fridge for at least an hour)
o One tablespoon some kind of creole seasoning
o 1/2 teaspoon salt
o 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
o 3/4 cup Anchorsteam beer
o ¼ tspn fish sauce
o 2/3 cup heavy cream
o 1 tblsn fresh diced parsley
o Crumbled crisp bacon
Directions
Toss the shrimp in your choice of creole seasoning and refridgerate for an hour.
Melt butter and sauté the shallots for a couple of minutes. Then add garlic and sauté a minute longer.
Add the shrimp, salt, lemon juice, beer and fish sauce. Cook until the shrimp is pink.
Remove the shrimp with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Add the cream and cook on medium low until sauce is slightly thickened (about 7-10 minutes)
Toss in the shrimp and fresh parsley.
Serve in a bowl with a generous portion of sauce. Sprinkle crumbled bacon over top.
City Ribs Night
I’m at it again. This time, it’s imperative we keep the kitchen door closed as the oven will be on for 3.5 hours and it’s 80 degrees in our apartment. This is a great sheltering-in option when you don’t have access to an outdoor BBQ.
Step One
Lightly season the underside of the ribs and generously season the top side. I use Oakland Dust for pork - it’s delicious! We used baby back pork ribs, but you can really do this with any kind of ribs.
Step Two
Next, fold over the aluminum foil and seal. I try to keep a bit of a tent over the top of the ribs to protect the seasoning.
Bake at 300 degrees for 3 hours.
Step Three
Peel back the top layer of foil and cook for another 30 minutes. You can also brush BBQ sauce over the ribs at this point, but we prefer them dry rub.
Step Four - Eat!
The ribs turn out so tender they literally fall off the bone! Serve with your favorite sauce.
As ever, stay healthy and safe, everyone!