Tag Archives: low carb

Chicken Sausage Mushroom Casserole

February 21, 2017Chicken, Sausage, Tasty Tuesday, Veggiescasserole, cheese, keto, low carbLife of Joy

The combination of chicken, turkey sausage, mushroom, cauliflower and cheeses is like chicken and dressing without those carbs.

This is yet another wonderful recipe from Linda’s Low Carb Menus and Recipes. I don’t know why I don’t make this more often. We really like it and it is tasty. It tastes almost like chicken and dressing, at least when I make it with turkey sausage; I don’t think I’ve ever made it with pork sausage.

It is another of the recipes that I found when I did the hCg diet and was on phase 3. However when I was watching calories, I tried making it with less cheese and it just wasn’t creamy enough. But when you include all sixteen ounces of cheese and your cauliflower is nicely cooked, it is just delicious!

So let’s get to it.

Dice the celery and onion. I do it finely, because we do not like chunky crunchy veggies in our casseroles.

I start by sautéing them in a little coconut oil; I use refined coconut oil so there is no coconut flavor. Tiffany went a little overboard on the onion this day. It was still delicious.

Add in the diced mushrooms. We don’t use the entire package, only about four ounces worth because Sean does not care for them. This is also why they are diced into small pieces rather than simply sliced.

I like to lightly salt these because salt helps them release water and thus, speeds the cooking process.

When these veggies are well on their way to losing their crunch, I add the sausage to brown.

While that is browning, I steam my cauliflower, unless of course, I have forgotten about it and need it quickly. In which case, I steam it in the microwave. Then give it a course chop. It’s already cooked and has lost it crunch so I don’t have to chop this too finely.

After the sausage is browned, add in the softened cream cheese and blend it in well. Add in the cooked chicken, cheddar, salt, and pepper. Spread into a greased 9×13 baking dish.

Bake at 350º for about 40 minutes, until the top is nicely browned. We accidentally left ours in a little longer this time. (I have no idea why this picture has a green hue.)

This is a hearty dish and there will be leftovers, even when I serve it to four hungry adults with no side dishes.

Chicken Sausage Mushroom Casserole

Ingredients

3-4 cups cooked chicken, chopped (1-1½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breast or the meat from a small-3½ pound-rotisserie chicken)
1 pound sausage
1 stalk celery, diced
1 tablespoon onion, diced
¼-½ pound mushrooms, diced
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
16 ounces cauliflower, steamed
8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
salt
pepper

Instructions

Sauté onions, celery, and mushrooms, lightly salted
Add sausage and brown.
Stir in softened cream cheese, until well blended
Add coarsely chopped cooked cauliflower and the rest of the ingredients.
Spread into a greased 9x13 baking dish.
Bake at 350º about 40 minutes until the cheese is completely melted and top slightly browned.

https://lifeofjoy.me/chicken-sausage-mushroom-casserole/

I hope you enjoy this.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Meaty Casserole

February 14, 2017Ground Meat, Main Dishes, Sausage, Tasty Tuesdaycheese, keto, low carbLife of Joy

Very meaty bowls of deliciousness with lots of cheese!

This is a recipe I found years ago, shortly after I’d started my first low-carb diet. I copied it out of a book from the library but have been tempted to call it pizza bowls because it has all the things I love on pizza. It’s just that it doesn’t have enough sauce to really be a pizza bowl and of course, there’s nothing replacing the dough/crust. In the end, I opted to just leave it as meaty casserole.

So this is pretty simple and doesn’t take very long to accomplish either. It is made in individual serving bowls, so can be made to order. Thus, the kids and I use ground beef and Michael gets ground turkey.

So begin by browning the ground meat.

Season it with salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder.

(This pan already had some grease from cooking some bacon or steakumms on it earlier. I didn’t bother to get rid of it but probably should’ve since my meat is a fatty one. )

Add diced tomatoes, which I choose to puree with a stick blender.

(I add a tiny bit of baking soda so that there is less chance of heartburn later.)

Meanwhile, make sixteen meatballs out of the Sweet Italian Sausage links. I don’t know how large the links are generally but these are rather large. I ended up only using one and a half.

I think I’ll make twice as many but half as big, next time, since it is difficult to cut them when eating them. Smaller would definitely be better. Who knows, maybe there are only supposed to be four that size.

Next add additional ‘toppings’. I add canned mushrooms and diced green pepper to Michael’s and mine. Sean and Tiffany do not care for those items. Next comes pepperoni, which I cut into quarters, so it’s more bite-sized.

Top with the ground meat, after the tomatoes have thickened. (About 5-8 minutes)

I like to put some pepperoni before and some after the ground meat.

Then top with cheese.

I like to put them all on a rimmed baking sheet so that it is easier to move them.

Bake at 400º for 15-20 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.

It’s supposed to have the shredded parmesan cheese added before baking but I always forget until just about the time I go to put it in the oven and then I’m in too big of a hurry, and decide to just wait until later.

Meaty Casserole

Ingredients

1/2 pound ground meat
1 can diced tomatoes
4 ounce can sliced mushrooms, drained
1 teaspoon oregano or Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon crushed garlic or a sprinkling of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion salt or a bit less onion powder
salt and pepper, to taste
6 ounces pepperoni slices
2 links Italian sausage
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
2 cups shredded cheese of choice
4 tablespoons parmesan cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400º.
Brown ground beef over medium heat, drain, if desired. 😉
Add tomatoes, which I purée first.
Add 1/8 teaspoon or less of baking soda along with the other spices, salt and pepper.
Cook until sauce thickens, about 5-8 minutes.
Remove casing from Italian sausage and form into 16 small balls.
Divide sausage, pepperoni, green pepper, and mushrooms between individual dishes.
Add beef mixture to each.
Top with 1/2 cup shredded cheese and 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese.
Bake 15-20 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.

https://lifeofjoy.me/meaty-casserole/

I hope you enjoy these. We have.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

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Chicken and Garlic Cream Sauce

February 7, 2017Chicken, Main Dishes, Tasty Tuesdaycreamy, keto, low carbLife of Joy

This is a satisfying creamy, easy to make entrée. It is good served over raw spinach or with broccoli.

I got this one from a menu-planning service YEARS ago. I think it was the first one of its kind-actually, I think she invented the whole concept. At any rate, I had been given a small gift from my aunt for Christmas and had been wanting to try out this service. As it turned out, they were having a special that week, so I paid for something like a six-month subscription and got three months free. It was a great help to me since I was on the Atkins diet at the time. Oh! she had two versions: regular and low-carb. As you can probably surmise by now, I got the low-carb one.

The original recipe, and the one we tried first, used pork chops, so feel free to substitute the meat. However, I was going through my recipes for something different to eat and happened upon this one. I realized that I could substitute chicken for the pork, and we could enjoy this recipe once again, since Michael couldn’t eat pork because of a reaction he gets when doing so.

I like to buy chicken breasts on sale and they are usually family packages. Well the breasts in those packages are nearly a pound each, so I try to find packages that have five breasts and weigh as close to five pounds as possible. In this way I can freeze each individual breast in a freezer bag and thaw one for dinner, since about one pound of meat is appropriate for a family of four. Unfortunately my family was extra hungry tonight and I should have had an extra half pound of meat. (It’s okay thought; they ate dessert.)

A one pound breast is rather large. So I cut it in half horizontally and vertically, creating four smaller pieces weighing about a quarter pound each. Salt and pepper each piece.

Melt some butter, olive or coconut oil in a skillet and sauté the chicken a few minutes on each side.

Remove from pan and keep warm.

Add the butter to the pan and melt, over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for a minute or so. Be careful not to burn it or you’ll need to start over.

Add the cream cheese and milk, stirring until it is thick, scraping any brown bits from the cooked meat into the creamy sauce.

Serve on a bed of raw spinach. The meat and sauce will perfectly wilt the spinach.

When I serve broccoli with this meal, I double the sauce because we like to add it to the broccoli.

In order for the spinach to wilt properly, it has to be under the hot food, chicken and/or sauce.

Chicken and Garlic Cream Sauce

Ingredients

1 pound boneless, skinless meat
1 tablespoon olive or coconut oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 ounces cream cheese
1/3 cup milk
Raw Spinach

Instructions

In a skillet, heat oil (or substitute butter) over medium high heat.
If using chicken breast, cut it into four cutlets.
Brown the meat on both sides.
Remove from pan and keep warm.
Melt butter over medium heat.
Add garlic and sauté for a minute or so, careful not to let it burn.
Add cream cheese and milk.stirring until thick, incorporating the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, left from cooking the meat.
Serve on raw spinach.

https://lifeofjoy.me/chicken-and-garlic-cream-sauce/

I hope you enjoy this recipe.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

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Ground Meat and Green Bean Casserole

January 31, 2017Ground Meat, Main Dishes, Tasty Tuesdaycheese, keto, low carbLife of Joy

This is a cheesey, low-carb, complete meal in one pan, and is quick to throw together but should have some time to bake.

This week’s recipe is so quick and easy that I forget that it needs to go into the oven and bake for 40 minutes. Yes! 40 minutes. However, when I forget that one little thing and need it to be done sooner, I just finish it off on the stove, which is what I did when I made it the other day and took pictures to share with you today.

Brown your ground meat with the diced onions, celery, and mushrooms. Once again I used ground turkey instead of ground beef. Since I’m on keto diet, I add a little coconut oil to up my fat content a little.

Now, I made the mistake of just dumping in the drained canned mushrooms. I knew better when immediately after doing it but it was too late. My kids, even though they are grown, do not like big pieces of sliced mushrooms-I should have diced them too.

If you are following a low-fat diet, then drain your meat. If not, drain off whatever is excessive to you. As I mentioned already, I added a bit of coconut oil to mine since I’m following a keto diet.

Add in the remaining ingredients and combine.

It is at this point that you put it in the oven to bake until it’s nice and bubbly. SO, if you put it in a 2-2.5 quart greased casserole dish, it will take about 40 minutes. WHEN I remember to allow enough time to bake it, I prep it in my cast iron skillet and just put the skillet into the oven. My skillet has more surface area than my 2.5 quart casserole dish, so it takes a little less time for it to bake and get all bubbly.

However, as I mentioned earlier, when I forget to allow enough time to bake it, I simply lower the heat on my burner, put a lid on the skillet, and cook until it is bubbly.

Serve!

Those nice browned bits are because I cooked it on the stovetop and it got a bit stuck but oh so yummy.

Ground Meat and Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients

1 pound ground meat
2 14-ounce cans French cut green beans, well-drained
4 ounce can mushrooms, diced
1 small onion, diced (about 2.5 ounces)
2 stalks of celery, diced
1/4 cup mayonnaise
8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

Brown the meat with the onion, celery, and mushrooms. (Drain the fat if desired.)
Combine all ingredients.
Transfer to a 2-2.5 quart greased casserole dish, if not using an oven safe skillet.
Bake uncovered at 350º for 40 minutes or until hot and bubbly and the cheese is melted.
Original recipe said it serves 6. This serves the 4 of us adults with a little left over.

https://lifeofjoy.me/ground-meat-and-green-bean-casserole/

I got this recipe from the awesome website www.genaw.com when I was on phase 3 of the hCg diet.

I hope you like this one.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Cheeseburger Soup

January 24, 2017Ground Meat, Main Dishes, Soup, Tasty Tuesday, Veggiesketo, low carbLife of Joy

This creamy ground meat soup is easily customized to your diet, be it low fat or high fat, with just a few tweaks. It is a low carb soup, full of flavor.

I found this soup over three years ago, somewhere online. I must’ve been on a low carb diet at the time because this one was both low fat and low carb. Now, this doesn’t exactly fit my current diet but it is close enough to adjust with just a few easy changes. The low carb works but the low fat does not, as keto is a high fat diet because you are in a state that your body is burning fat.

The recipe calls for ground turkey and this is what I used. However ground turkey is a low fat meat. Consequently, I added a couple of tablespoons of coconut oil as I was browning it. As it browns, add salt, pepper, and onion powder.

If you are doing a low fat diet, drain off any fat.

Add chicken broth, basil, and veggies. When I made this the other day, I was out of fresh broccoli so I used a bag of frozen broccoli, cauliflower, carrot medley.

Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes, until the veggies are tender or how you prefer them. (We do not like our cooked veggies crunchy.)

We also do not like big chunks of vegetables, so I break them up a bit.

Now add heavy cream, half and half, or fat-free half and half depending on the level of fat you need in your diet. Also add in the shredded cheese at this time.

Remove the pot from the heat and stir until the cheese is melted. DO NOT return it to heat or the cheese will probably separate and not be as creamy; it will still be edible but clumpy and maybe a little rubbery.

Serve as soon as the cheese is melted.

Cheeseburger Soup

Ingredients

1 pound ground meat
2 teaspoons onion powder
salt and pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon basil
3 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups each broccoli and cauliflower OR a small bag broccoli, cauliflower, carrot medley
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, half and half, OR fat-free half and half
8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

Brown the ground meat, season with salt, pepper, and onion powder. (If you need it low fat, remove the drippings but if you use ground turkey and you need the fat, add a couple of tablespoons of coconut oil.)
Add chicken broth, basil, and veggies.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to a simmer and cook covered for about 20 minutes, until vegetables are desired tenderness.
Add cream and cheese. Remove from heat immediately.
Stir until cheese is melted.
Serve!

https://lifeofjoy.me/cheeseburger-soup/

I hope you understand the different options on how to make this according to your dietary needs and it wasn’t confusing. Enjoy!

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Egg Roll in a Bowl

January 10, 2017Ground Meat, Main Dishes, Tasty Tuesdayketo, low carbLife of Joy

This is a lot like the filling I put in my Egg Rolls with ground meat instead of chicken breast. Since it is not in a wrapper, it is low carb.

I got this recipe from peaceloveandlowcarb.com recently and I loved it. We’ve made it a few times already and I still really like it. It is also really easy to make. Much easier to make than egg rolls, too.

Start by heating sesame oil in a large skillet.

Add the minced garlic, diced onion, and white part of the green onions, sliced and sauté until onions are translucent.

Add the ground meat (it can be any meat you like: chicken, turkey, beef, pork, whatever), ground ginger, salt, pepper, and sriracha.

Cook meat through. Then add the sliced cabbage (or package of coleslaw). I add one shredded medium carrot to my sliced cabbage because that is what is in a package of coleslaw veggies. You don’t have to if you don’t want to, it’ll be less carbs without it.Add the Tamari sauce or soy sauce, and rice wine vinegar. I don’t have rice wine vinegar so I use the seasoned rice vinegar I do have.

When the cabbage is wilted, it is ready to serve.

As you can see, the cabbage melds right in with the meat. At first it looks overpowering but it really shrinks up.

Serve with sliced green onion tops and toasted sesame seeds.

I served it with tortilla chips and pork rinds last night. I meant to add some shrimp to it and forgot all about it. I bet it would really be good though. There’s always next time.

Egg Roll in a Bowl

Ingredients

2 tablespoons sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup diced onion
5 green onions, sliced
1 pound ground meat
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon sriracha
14 ounces sliced cabbage with grated carrot or coleslaw package
3 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar or vinegar of your choice
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

Heat sesame oil in large skillet.
Add diced onion, minced garlic, and sliced green onion (white part)
Sauté until onion is translucent
Add ground meat, ground ginger, salt, pepper, and sriracha.
When meat is cooked through, add cabbage (with the carrot), tamari or soy sauce, and vinegar.
Sauté until the cabbage is wilted.
Serve with toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onion (green part).

https://lifeofjoy.me/egg-roll-in-a-bowl/

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Chicken Lasagna Florentine

November 22, 2016Chicken, Main Dishes, Tasty Tuesdaycheese, gluten-free, keto, low carbLife of Joy

A creamy, cheesy, chicken dish with spinach. You could serve this over pasta of some kind or zoodles, if you desire but we just eat it the way it is. Good served with broccoli, to share some of that yummy sauce.

Well, Tiffany and I dropped the ball yesterday. I was working on my dad’s final dessert completing his Christmas present from last year, so Tiffany began working on dinner, which was this recipe. Well, since I was dealing with a bad recipe, I didn’t remind her to take pictures. Then when I finished what I was doing and helped prep the ingredients she needed, I was so frustrated with my recipe flop that I didn’t even think about the pictures again.

So, she finished layering the ingredients and put it in the oven and that is when I remembered. Crazy! Consequently I tried to figure out something else I could share but I just couldn’t come up with anything else. Thus I’m sharing this recipe without procedural pictures. Sorry guys!

First you cut up the chicken into bite-size pieces and cook in a skillet with a little bit of oil.

Next prepare the alfredo sauce. Melt one tablespoon of butter in a pot and add a clove of garlic, minced, cooking for about 30 seconds or so.

Then add one and a half cups of heavy cream and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Then add 1/4 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese and 2 ounces of cream cheese.

Combine well. Simmer the sauce on low for about 10-15 minutes. This is important because the sauce will thicken during this time.

Meanwhile, prep remaining ingredients (I don’t have all of the spinach pictured here.)

Preheat the oven to 350º.

Add the chicken to the sauce.

Now it’s time to layer it into a 9×9 or similar pan. (Pictures show an 8×11 pan.)

Chicken sauce,

spinach, which we like to give a rough chop,

mozzarella

And repeat chicken sauce, spinach, mozzarella, parmesan.

Bake for about 20 minutes, uncovered. Can broil for a few minutes to brown the top a bit at the end.

Let it stand for about 10 minutes, if you can, and the cheese will stiffen up a bit and make it easier to serve and look less like soup. As you can tell in this picture, we didn’t wait.

Chicken Lasagna Florentine

Ingredients

2 pounds chicken breast
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 ounces cream cheese
2 cups mozzarella, shredded
2 cups spinach, I slice mine into ribbons
1/4 cup Parmesan, shredded

Instructions

Cut the chicken breast into bite-size pieces and brown in olive oil. Season with salt and pepper as desired.
Melt butter in pot and saute garlic for about 30 seconds.
Add heavy whipping cream and simmer 5 minutes.
Add cream cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, Whisk to combine.
Simmer 10-15 minutes on low to allow the sauce to thicken up a bit.
Preheat oven to 350º
Add chicken to sauce.
Layer ingredients into 9x9 pan:
chicken sauce, spinach, mozzarella
chicken sauce, spinach, mozzarella, Parmesan
Bake about 20 minutes.
(Can broil for a few minutes at the end to brown the top a bit.)
Let sit for a few minutes when it is finished to allow the cheese to set just a bit and make it easier to serve. 😉

https://lifeofjoy.me/chicken-lasagna-florentine/

Good served with even more spinach underneath individual servings or with a side of broccoli.

(Updated 1/30/17: Added pictures for each step and changed featured image.)

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

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Tag Archives: low carb

Chicken Sausage Mushroom Casserole

The combination of chicken, turkey sausage, mushroom, cauliflower and cheeses is like chicken and dressing without those carbs.

Meaty Casserole

Very meaty bowls of deliciousness with lots of cheese!

Chicken and Garlic Cream Sauce

This is a satisfying creamy, easy to make entrée. It is good served over raw spinach or with broccoli.

Ground Meat and Green Bean Casserole

This is a cheesey, low-carb, complete meal in one pan, and is quick to throw together but should have some time to bake.

Cheeseburger Soup

This creamy ground meat soup is easily customized to your diet, be it low fat or high fat, with just a few tweaks. It is a low carb soup, full of flavor.

Egg Roll in a Bowl

This is a lot like the filling I put in my Egg Rolls with ground meat instead of chicken breast. Since it is not in a wrapper, it is low carb.

Chicken Lasagna Florentine

A creamy, cheesy, chicken dish with spinach. You could serve this over pasta of some kind or zoodles, if you desire but we just eat it the way it is. Good served with broccoli, to share some of that yummy sauce.