Stuffed Strawberries

I saw something similar to these on Pinterest but of course they were no where near low carb so I had to tweak them. I made them for Samantha’s shower last weekend and they were a big hit. When Caleb came to visit today I asked him to help me make more and of course he was more than willing. He loves to cook. It is one of the great bonding things that we do. That, and fishing in the creek with pretend fishing poles made from sticks and watching for alligators. Thank goodness I have never seen an alligator in WV.

I digress. Back to the recipe. Caleb loves to eat the cream cheese filling by itself. I should have washed his face but we were to busy enjoying the day to be picky about washing a face.

He sure is getting big on me. He is napping right now while I get a few things done and then we have to plant lettuce and spinach and bake cookies for the Easter Bunny tonight.  We already mixed the dough earlier this morning.  They are just waiting to be baked when he gets up. We have some arts and crafts to do this afternoon too.  Saturdays are always wonderful around here.

Stuffed Strawberries

• 2 quarts of fresh strawberries
• 12 ounce container of Philadelphia whipped cream cheese
• 1/2 cup Splenda granules
• 1/2 cup ground Almond meal with 2 teaspoons Splenda added

Hull and remove center of clean strawberries.

In a mixing bowl mix cream cheese and Splenda until creamy. Stuff centers of each strawberry and then dip into Almond meal mixture. Set on plate and chill. Serve as is.

I can’t give exact amount of carbs since size of strawberries vary so greatly.

Strawberries (not stuffed)- 1 net carb per medium strawberry

Cream Cheese- 2 Tablespoons are 2 carbs. You can get approximately 1 teaspoon of mixture stuffed into each strawberry.

Almond Meal- 12 carbs for the entire 1/2 cup. I counted 46 strawberries for the entire recipe.  Again this depends on the size of strawberries that you purchase.

So roughly 2-3 carbs per strawberry depending on size.

Snack Suggestion #17

Today’s snack idea also comes with a recipe. It is Low Carb Turkey Bacon Roll Ups from the Food Network. The picture is courtesy of their site as well.

I figured these to come to 2 carbs each depending on the brand of turkey slices from the deli that you purchase.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

For our Christmas dinner my children requested a Mexican themed dinner so we had a very colorful meal full of flavor and we were all very happy.

One new recipe that we made was Buffalo Chicken Dip. I found the recipe over at Heart of a Country Home.  I made it exactly as Jill has it on her site so I am not putting the recipe over here. She has many amazing low carb recipes over there so check her out.

I served the dip with fresh broccoli, cucumbers, cauliflower and carrots for dipping. The non-Diabetics also had tortilla chips to use for dipping. I believe my son ate his weight in this dip.

Thanks Jill!

Taco Meatballs

Both Mike and I loved these. I had never used Habanero Cheese before and was pleasantly surprised. It had a nice spicy bite to it. I will be making these often.

Taco Meatballs

• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup taco seasoning mix (or 2 envelopes)
• 1 cup water
• 2 cups Habanero Cheese, shredded
• 2 pounds ground beef

Mix all ingredients and shape into 1-inch meatballs.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Serve with salsa or taco sauce. Yield 6 dozen. 6 per serving.

Nutritional Information per serving of 6 meatballs:  323 calories, 6.78 carbohydrates (0.58 fiber, 0.28 sugar)

Net carbs- 6.02

BBQ Meatballs

This is a very good appetizer but we didn’t eat them as appetizers. We ate them as a meal and we both loved them. I know that you will too.

BBQ Meatballs

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 1/3 cup 1 carb Heinz Ketchup
• 3 Tablespoons, seasoned dry bread crumbs
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 Tablespoons dried minced onion
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup Sugar Twin Brown Sugar Replacement
• 1 can (6-ounce) can tomato paste
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Franks Hot Pepper Sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine ground beef, 1/3 cup ketchup, bread crumbs, egg, onion, garlic powder and black pepper. Mix thoroughly and shape into 1 inch balls. Place on jellyroll pan and bake for 40-45 minutes or until meatballs are cooked and centers are no longer pink.

Once meatballs are done remove from pan and place in dish.

Mix remaining ingredients on stove and simmer for ten minutes stirring often. Pour over cooked meatballs and serve.  Makes 4 dozen meatballs. 5 Meatballs per serving

Nutritional information-  332 calories, 4.5 carbohydrates (Fiber- 0.2 grams, sugar 1.8 grams)

Net Carbs- 2.5

 

 

Dill Dip

For work I have been taking a dish of fresh vegetables and fresh dip for a mid-afternoon snack. I have been trying different ones. For a store bought dip I love the Marzetti Ranch Dip that comes in a tub. It is very good. For a homemade recipe I love this one.

Dip Dip

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons dried parsley
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons grated onion
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons dried dill weed
• 1 Tablespoon celery salt

Mix all ingredients together and put in refrigerator. Allow to sit overnight for flavors to blend well. Serve cold with fresh vegetables.

Nutritional Information- Calories- 131, Carbs- 1.5 (Fiber- .1 grams)

Vegetables are extra carbs. Add them accordingly. For me I take baby carrots, sliced cucumbers, fresh broccoli and mushrooms.

Pizza Bites

In the past I have not been a huge fan of things made using flaxmeal. I eat it and know that I am eating healthy but it isn’t something that I look forward to eating. I just do so to be healthy. That is until I tried this recipe.

Mike and I both loved these. I can see me making these on a regular basis. As a matter of fact I am eating these while I am typing this. These are sooooooooooo good. I wish that I could share these with you through the computer.

I found the recipe over at Maria’s Nutritional Consulting. I didn’t change her recipe at all so you need to go to her site to get it. I can’t wait to make these for Caleb next weekend. Don’t these look wonderful?

Bacon Wrapped Cocktail Sausages

Now I know most of you have probably had these before and are shaking your head at your monitor now. However, I had never had these and I loved them. My son called me to tell me that he was bringing this recipe to our home for Christmas dinner. He told me that you wrap bacon around cocktail sausagesand then roll in brown sugar and bake. I asked him if he would make me some using Sugar Twin Brown Sugar Replacement and he agreed.

He, Kristin and Caleb arrived carrying two bowls of these. One was diet and the other was with real brown sugar. Everyone but me and Mike tried both and everyone agreed that the diet ones were better. I loved these so much that over the weekend I made some for myself for here. 

Stephen was so sweet. He told me that he had already done the math and for every 5 sausages that I ate it was only 2 carbs.  When I bought my sausages at Aldi’s I was able to figure that I could have 7 of that brand for 2 carbs. For that reason I am not giving the nutritional information for this one. It all depends on the brand of cocktail sausages that you purchase.

Sugar Twin® Granulated Brown
is a wonderful product. I use it in BBQ sauces quite often. The only problem that I have is finding it locally. Only one store sells it in my area and it is 45 minutes from my home. They also only carry it during the holidays so I have to get it and stock up. When I really need it I do purchase it from Amazon as well.

Bacon Wrapped Cocktail Sausages

• 1 pound sliced bacon
• 14 ounce package cocktail sausages
• 1/2 cup Sugar Twin Brown Sugar Replacement

This works better if the bacon is cold so work wrapping the first half while leaving the bacon in the fridge until ready to wrap the second half of the sausages.

Cut bacon so it is long enough to circle and overlap the sausages. Secure together with toothpicks. Dip in brown sugar and place on baking sheet. (I lined mine with foil for easier cleanup). Bake in preheated 325 degree oven for 40 minutes. Remove from pan to serving dish or place in crockpot to keep warm for the party.

Turkey Quesadillas

I was so excited with this one. I loved it. Mike wouldn’t eat them because they had too many vegetables in them but he did pat me on the head and said he was happy that I was so happy. Gotta love a supportive man!!

I used more of the roasted red peppers that I had bought at Dollar Tree. I only have 7 more jars in my pantry. Whatever will I do if I run out? I love this recipe and can’t wait to make it for my son Stephen. He loves to cook and he will enjoy this one.  These can be served as a meal or cut into small sections to serve as an appetizer.

Look how fresh this recipe looks!

Turkey Quesadillas

• 1/2 cup chopped cooked turkey
• 1/4 cup salsa (bought at Dollar General- 3 carbs total)
• 1/4 cup roasted red peppers (5 carbs total)
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (1 carb total)
• 2 low carb tortillas (10 carb total)

Have all of your items chopped and prepared before hand to make this quickly in the pan.

Heat a large pan. Brush one side of the tortilla with water and place water side down in the pan. Working quickly top in the following order: half of cheese, salsa, peppers, turkey, cilantro, other half of cheddar cheese. Brush remaining tortilla and place on top with the water side up.

Place lid on the pan and allow quesadilla to heat for approximately 3-4 minutes. Remove lid and using a very large turner flip the quesadilla in the pan. Place lid back on the pan and allow to heat for approximately 3 minutes.

Remove from pan and using a pizza cutter cut into 4 servings of 4.75 carbs each. Two will be filling to have as a meal with a small side salad. Since I am able to eat 20 carbs for lunch I ate the entire thing for 19 carbs total. When I tested my glucose 2 hours later my levels were only 103. This is a keeper for me.

Crab Rangoon Dip

Last Saturday we had family game night at our house. Following a low carb meal we played Uno for several hours and had a wonderful time. Samantha made a wonderful Crab Rangoon Dip for the snacks while we played and everyone loved this.

I had found the recipe a couple of weeks ago and then couldn’t find where it was on the web. I was frantic and emailed Tracy from Unbreaded and she was able to lead me in the right direction.

The recipe was found on The World According to Eggface.

We served it cold with a vegetable tray to use to scoop the Crab Rangoon Dip. I decorated the eggs with spiders on them just like was shown on The Rogue Cookie’s blog.

Crab Rangoon Dip

4 oz. Cream Cheese (or Neufchatel cheese), softened
1 (6 oz.) can of Crab Meat, drained
1 1/2 teaspoons Soy Sauce
1 Green Onion, diced
2 Shallots, chopped
1 clove Garlic, minced
a few twists of Black Pepper
dash of Kosher Salt

Saute shallots and green onion till golden. If you can’t find shallots 1/4 of a red onion would work but I like shallots for this. Add garlic cook 1 minute more. Set aside to cool. Mix cream cheese, crab, soy sauce and seasonings together. Add cooled veggies. Mix till well combined. You can eat this cold or hot.