Tag Archives: THM-S

Philly Cheese Chicken Skillet

September 25, 2018Chicken, Main Dishes, Tasty Tuesdayketo, low carb, THM-SLife of Joy

Creamy, cheesy chicken cooked with onions, mushrooms, and bell peppers.

When I was in my early twenties, I worked at a pizza and sub shop. I love pizza but when I worked there I realized that I also loved sub sandwiches. Specifically Philly cheese steak sandwiches. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I also really liked Italian hoagies and hot ham and cheese subs too. Most every time I worked, instead of getting a small pan pizza, I got a Philly Cheese Steak.

Early in my marriage, I found Steak-Umm steaks and figured out how to make them at home. Yummo! Well, Michael cannot have steak currently, so I decided that I’d try to make this over with chicken. We all loved it.

Without further adieu, here’s how to do it.

Slice the veggies and chicken into thin strips.

Sauté the veggies until nearly done to your liking.

Add the chicken strips

When chicken is cooked, about 5 minutes or so, depending on how big or small you cut your chicken pieces.

Add the cream cheese (or Greek cream cheese) and stir to combine until cream cheese is melted.

(We like our veggies VERY well done.)

Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese.

When it is melted, it is ready to serve.

I heated some Swiss bread to serve this on.

We like green fries (roasted frozen fancy green beans) with ours.

Philly Cheese Chicken Skillet

Ingredients

onion, sliced
green bell pepper, sliced
mushrooms, sliced
chicken breast, sliced thin
salt, pepper, and oregano
about 2 ounces of cream cheese, neufchatel, or greek cream cheese
about 3-4 ounces mozzarella, shredded

Instructions

Slice veggies and sauté in a bit of oil.
Add sliced chicken when veggies are nearly cooked as desired.
sprinkle with salt, pepper, and oregano to taste
add cream cheese, mix in and allow it to melt.
sprinkle with shredded mozzarella
Serve either in low carb roll, on low carb bread, or just eat off your plate. 😉

https://lifeofjoy.me/philly-cheese-chicken-skillet/

I hope you enjoy this.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

IP Creamy Pork (Chicken)

September 18, 2018Main Dishes, Tasty TuesdayInstant Pot, THM-SLife of Joy

I had some pork in the freezer that I wanted to use for dinner one night. I searched online and found a few interesting recipes. But what got my attention was this cream of mushroom soup DIY recipe that was already THM compliant. Her choice was to use her instant pot as a slow cooker and I wanted to use it to get it done quickly and as hands free as possible. I wasn’t really interested in her ranch flavor either.

So I kept searching and found this keto recipe for cooking pork chops. I shied away from this recipe because it had heavy whipping cream and I need to back off the dairy and lots of fat for a while. I decided to mesh the two recipes into my own making and share it here with you today.

Warning: Start an hour before you need to eat, so not exactly INSTANT.

I do this recipe with both chicken and pork. I used some bone-in pork sirloin steaks, I’ve used chicken thighs and boneless chicken breast. All turn out well.

Start by turning the instant pot on Saute and add a little bit of oil so the chops don’t stick as you brown them.

Season the meat on both sides. Now you could be all professional like and mix the seasonings in a bowl and then rub them on the meat but I’ll be honest here, I just sprinkle on the salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika. I try to season one side, then put the meat, seasoned side down onto the pan or in the instant pot then season the other side while the first side is browning.

While that is browning, dice or slice up the mushrooms and onions. Now, I’m going to be honest with you, you should probably take the meat out and put in the veggies but I didn’t do that. I just dumped the chopped onions and mushrooms on top of my meat. Then I sprinkled in the rest of the seasonings and added the broth and almond milk.

Pressure cook for 25 minutes. Let it warm for 10 minutes and then release the pressure on the instant pot. Now here is where I goofed this time around. I was so hungry and ready to eat that I forgot to thicken the gravy.

Push the meat to the side. Press the saute button and once the broth in the pot is starting to simmer I shake in some gluccie (gluccomannon) and sprinkle in about a half tablespoon of baking blend. Let it simmer for a few minutes and then add the meat back in or serve separately, your choice.

We serve this with a big head of cauliflower, mashed (caulitaters) and three cans of fried green beans.

IP Creamy Pork (Chicken)

Ingredients

Meat (pork chops, steaks, chicken breast or thighs, etc.)
about 1 Tablespoon oil
onion powder
garlic powder
salt
pepper
paprika
cayenne
parsley
about 6 ounces mushrooms, sliced, diced, or chopped
about 1/2 an onion, sliced, diced, or chopped
3/4 cup almond milk
3/4 cup chicken broth
sprinkling of glucomannan or xanthan gum
about 1/2 tablespoon baking blend (optional)

Instructions

Heat the oil in instant pot on saute.
Season one side of the meat, with desired herbs and spices (I hold out the parsley and cayenne until they are browned.)
Brown the seasoned side of the meat and season the other side.
When browned, flip and brown other side.
Add remaining ingredients except for glucomannan/xanthan gum and optional baking blend.
Pressure cook for 25 minutes with vent closed.
When it beeps, let it sit for another 10 minutes if you can wait. 😉 Then quick release.
Move meat to side (or remove for easier whisking)
Press saute.
Add glucomannan and optional baking blend as you stir and it simmers. It will thicken up a bit as it sits.

https://lifeofjoy.me/ip-creamy-pork-chicken/

I hope this recipe is helpful to you. We enjoy it.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Mostess Bundt Cake

June 19, 2018Desserts, Tasty TuesdayTHM-SLife of Joy

Think Hostess cream filled cupcakes but bigger.

So, I took the Mostess Cupcake recipe from the Trim Healthy Table cookbook page 395, doubled it, and baked it in a fluted pan.

The reason I doubled it is because it makes twelve cupcakes and I know that a usual cake batter that can be baked as cupcakes, bundt cake, or two layer cake makes 24 cupcakes, so I figured it would be a very short bundt cake. Doubling it made it the right height.

I made the cake one day and then the next day I made the cream filling and ganache, combined it and refrigerated it to eat the next day. It was scrumptious!

I shared a video about filling it with the cream on my instagram account on Saturday. The next picture shows the injector I used. It was a cheap one but it has a tip that allows you to inject the cream in the cake without removing any cake bits. Then it has other tips for decorating.

Tiffany’s is better but we couldn’t find hers. They can be found rather inexpensively. We found her nice one for $2 at TJMaxx, I think. Mine was a little bit more at Walmart. Mine holds more cream but isn’t all that great.

Every time I make the ganache, it is too thin and I have to add more chocolate chips. It thickens nicely at first but it is like I pour it the cream too slowly and it gets too warm to thicken after that. Hmmm, I may be on to something here . . . I do mine in a double boiler . . . maybe I need to turn the burner off when I add the cream so it doesn’t get too warm.

Well, anyway, just be aware that you may need to add more chocolate chips or not add all of the cream but it is worth the effort.

Since my ganache is so thin, it makes a bit of a mess. But we eat it anyway.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my spin on the Mostess Cupcakes.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Sausage Veggie Breakfast Burrito

March 13, 2018Breakfasts, Sausage, Tasty Tuesday, VeggiesTHM-SLife of Joy

Nice mix of veggies, sausage, and egg without any one ingredient being overbearing.

Last week I was hungry for a breakfast burrito and was so glad that I still had a Joseph’s Lavash left in the refrigerator. Half of one lavash is allowable once in a while on Trim Healthy Mama in an S meal. So I cut a lavash in half and Tiffany got half and I got half.

I put two to four ounces of sausage in my skillet and began to brown it.

Then I grated a small to medium zucchini into the pan.

Next dice up a mini pepper or about a quarter of a medium bell pepper. I used a yellow one this time but any color will do.

Add it to the pan and saute.

Dice up one large mushroom and either one some tomato and add them as well. Season with salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast, if desired. (The salt helps to draw out the moisture and cook the veggies.)

You can either add a bit of oil, like coconut oil, or just a bit of water, if things start sticking to your pan.

Slightly beat two to four eggs. The first time I made this I only used two eggs because we didn’t want egg to over power the taste but even though I wrote looked at what I’d written down previously, I did four eggs before I realized it. 😯 Not to worry though, we were still on plan, the egg did not over power the taste, and we had a lighter lunch.

Add these to the pan and mix in.

(I was dealing with a very overcast morning, so some of the pictures did not turn out very good.)

When the egg is nearly cooked through, add two wedges of light laughing cow cheese. You could use the pepperjack version if you want it spicy.

Place half of the filling on a lavash half, roll and enjoy. Tiffany puts hers on he length of the lavash.

And I put mine down the width. Hers are skinnier than mine.

Sausage Veggie Breakfast Burrito

Ingredients

2-4 ounces sausage
1 Roma tomato, about 7 grape tomatoes, or a couple of slices of larger tomato
1 mini pepper
1 small to medium zucchini, shredded
1 large mushroom, diced or sliced
2 eggs, beaten
2 wedges of Light Laughing Cow Cheese
1 Joseph's Lavash cut in half
salt and pepper, as desired
Nutritional yeast, as desired (optional)

Instructions

Brown the sausage and add the vegetables and cook to desired doneness.
Season with salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast (optional)
Add beaten eggs and stir as they cook.
Add the cheese wedges and blend with cooked sausage, veggies, and eggs.
Place half the filling in a lavash half, roll up, and eat.
(If you put the filling in the lavash over the length of the lavash, you may need to cut it in half to eat it properly. 😉 )

https://lifeofjoy.me/sausage-veggie-breakfast-burrito/

I hope you enjoy this yummy breakfast with hidden veggies.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Pizza Salad

November 7, 2017Salad, Tasty TuesdayTHM-SLife of Joy

The flavors you love on a pizza over a bed of lettuce.

Well, we had a bit of a heat wave before the cooler temperatures are here, to stay I hope, and we had Pizza Salad.

Pizza Salad is super simple. You put whatever toppings you like on a pizza on top of a salad! Yep, I know, not really much of a recipe but it was good.

I took some chicken sausage links, removed the casings, and pinched it off into smaller pieces and browned them.

I also sautéed some onions and mushrooms because I love those on both pizza and a salad.

Make your base salad as plain or as jazzed up as you like. We just had some lettuce, a few sliced radishes, some diced yellow pepper, a little shredded carrot, and CHEESE the other night. I had some really good mozzarella from Aldi that we added to this with a little shredded cheddar. The mozzarella was really good and creamy.

I cut up a roma tomato because I had one that needed to be used. I put it in a side dish because not everyone likes tomato.

The first time I made this, we used some Parmesan cheese instead of the other cheeses. We also add pepperoni, either turkey or regular.

Oh! Tiffany likes sun-dried tomatoes, so we have those available too. Seriously, this is all about whatever flavors you like on your pizza. We love meaty pizzas, so we even add bacon bits sometimes. Ham is not out of the question either.

Some times I cut the pepperoni into quarters and sprinkle throughout the salad.

I served it with a homemade catalina that used tomato paste in it. I cannot remember which one now but I think it was a mix of these two here (eliminated the honey) and here (and I used an on-plan sweetener, not splenda).

Each person’s plate of salad looks a bit different. To each his own.

It is almost silly to add a recipe but here goes anyway.

Pizza Salad

Ingredients

Lettuce or bagged salad (we like green leaf or butter leaf lettuce in a bag)
pizza toppings of choice:
pepperoni
sausage
bacon bits
ham
onion
bell pepper
mushrooms
tomatoes
sun dried tomatoes
cheese
shredded carrot
sliced radishes
dressing of choice, we use homemade Catalina or just plain olive oil

Instructions

Cook the sausage.
Assemble the lettuce and any toppings liked by all diners.
Place optional items in side bowls to allow each individual to have the amounts of each thing they desire.

https://lifeofjoy.me/pizza-salad/

I hope you enjoy this.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Eggs and Hash

October 24, 2017Breakfasts, Tasty Tuesdayeggs, THM-SLife of Joy

Low-Carb veggies for breakfast! Simple, quick, and filling breakfast of eggs and zucchini.

This recipe is hardly a recipe at all but if you eat eggs several mornings every week, it can get boring to have them the same way every day. This is one way to have them and if you like a runny yolk, you can have your lovely over-easy eggs on top and let that yolk run onto the hash. Mmmm mmmm!

Now, I failed to take pictures of cutting the zucchini but it is really easy. I cut a small/medium zucchini into 4 slices down the length of the zucchini. Then cut eat slab into about 4 strips. Then cut those strips into small little cubes.

Put it in a skillet with a bit of coconut oil.Season as desired. I only used a bit of salt and a tiny bit of pepper.

Cook until desired doneness.

There is a lot here because I did enough for Tiffany and I, so that was 4 zucchini.

Cook your eggs. If you are only cooking for yourself, move the zucchini to on side of the pan and cook two eggs on the other side, however you like them best.

I like my eggs over medium and Tiffany likes hers scrambled and well done.

No, that is not a pancake! It is how Tiffany likes her scrambled eggs cooked.

Place on top of cooked zucchini.

Add some nutritional yeast for a nice cheesy taste and lots of vitamins. (It took me a eating the nutritional yeast a few times before I warmed up to it and tasted it as cheesy, so give it a few tries.)

This one is so simple I hesitate to write up the recipe but here goes.

Eggs and Hash

Ingredients

2 zucchini, diced
coconut oil
2 eggs
salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast (optional)

Instructions

Put a little coconut oil in your pan or spray it with oil instead.
Add zucchini.
Season as desired, I used some salt and a bit of pepper.
Cook, cook, cook, until desired tenderness/brownness
Move the zucchini to the side and cook 2 eggs on the other side of the pan, as desired.
Place zucchini hash on plate and top with cooked eggs.
Sprinkle with nutritional yeast for a nice cheesy taste, with lots of vitamins.

https://lifeofjoy.me/eggs-and-hash/

I hope this recipe gets you out of your egg rut.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

PS. I got this recipe from Trim Healthy Mama, just gotta give credit where credit is due.

Mozzarella Stuffed Pesto Meatballs

August 29, 2017Ground Meat, Main Dishes, Tasty Tuesdayketo, low carb, THM-SLife of Joy

Whether you use homemade pesto or store-bought, this is an easy meatball meal that is a nice difference. Add the cheesy surprise and they are a hit.

I found this recipe on the I Breathe I’m Hungry website when we began our keto (low carb, high fat, moderate protein) diet about a year ago. She has so many varieties of meatballs that you could fix a different recipe every night for a month and still have a couple week’s worth yet to try. These have a piece of mozzarella cheese stuffed inside them.

They are simple to make and could probably even be baked in the oven if you wanted to. If you haven’t done so already, go ahead and get your easy pesto made.

Now let’s get started. I’m using ground turkey but you could use whatever ground meat you desire.

Combine the ground meat,

Add almond flour (if you’re a carb eater, you could use some breadcrumbs instead), egg, salt, pepper, and pesto in a bowl.

Combine it well and level it out. I like to make some kind of marks so I get relatively evenly sized meatballs. I think the original recipe makes this into only 10 meatballs but since there are four of us, I make an even 12. So first I divide it in half each direction so each section is about 1/4 the mixture.

Then each section is roughly divided into 3 sections.

Take one section (1/12 of the mixture) and flatten it out in your hand and place a piece of the cheese in the middle.Begin wrapping the meat around the cheese cube.

Close it up and make it round.

Heat oil in a skillet and fry the meatballs (about 4 minutes per side or until browned and cooked through).

I waited a little too long to turn them so they are more like ‘cakes’ than ‘balls’.

Serve with pesto. We served these with zoodles.

Mozzarella Stuffed Pesto Meatballs

Ingredients

1 pound ground meat
1/4 cup almond flour
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 Tablespoons pesto + more for serving
2 ounces fresh mozzarella (cut into 12 pieces)
2 Tablespoons or more for frying

Instructions

Combine ground meat, almond flour, egg, salt, pepper, and pesto in a bowl.
Divide meat into about 12 meatballs and form meat ball around a piece of cheese.
Fry in heated oil, about 4 minutes per side, until browned and cooked through.
Serve hot with added pesto.
We served on zoodles (strands of zucchini sauted in butter).

https://lifeofjoy.me/mozzarella-stuffed-pesto-meatballs/

I hope you enjoy this recipe.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Life Of Joy

A Place of Encouragement

Tag Archives: THM-S

Philly Cheese Chicken Skillet

Creamy, cheesy chicken cooked with onions, mushrooms, and bell peppers.

IP Creamy Pork (Chicken)

Mostess Bundt Cake

Think Hostess cream filled cupcakes but bigger.

Sausage Veggie Breakfast Burrito

Nice mix of veggies, sausage, and egg without any one ingredient being overbearing.

Pizza Salad

The flavors you love on a pizza over a bed of lettuce.

Eggs and Hash

Low-Carb veggies for breakfast! Simple, quick, and filling breakfast of eggs and zucchini.

Mozzarella Stuffed Pesto Meatballs

Whether you use homemade pesto or store-bought, this is an easy meatball meal that is a nice difference. Add the cheesy surprise and they are a hit.