Friday, April 24, 2020

Spicy Green Chile Sauce, Low Carb and Keto Friendly!!

Mexican foods have always been my downfall. Tacos, enchiladas, chile rellenos, burritos, nachos or just tortilla chips. That crunchy corn goodness. Thick and creamy green chile sauce! Oh! My!!!

But we all know that low carb and corn is not a good fit. Corn is gluten free but still has too many carbs per serving to handle for weight loss. Maybe in the future. Still looking for a good substitute too!

Another food that was on a regular rotation was Green Chile sauce. I would make a flour based green chile sauce that I miss. I tried psyllium husk, xanthan gum and keto flours with horrid results. Xanthan gum is slimy no matter what I do! I have used it in baking with great results though. So not going to waste!

Last night I made mashed cauliflower, which is creamy, thick, super easy and so good! I thought, will creamed cauliflower thicken my green chile? Yep, it does!! Jon had seconds, which is such a compliment from a pickier eater!

So here is my recipe for a Low Carb Green Chile Sauce. Please read the recipe through before starting. Your peppers need roasting and you will need to prepare the cauliflower mash for thickening.

Carb-Less Green Chile Sauce

46 grams roasted poblano peppers, seeds and stem removed*
76 grams jalapeno peppers, seeds and stems removed
61 grams onion
Dice the peppers and onions. In a large skillet or saucepan, saute in oil until onions start to turn clear.

Then add to your skillet:
3/4 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp cumin
Salt & pepper to taste
Saute to heat your seasonings 1 minute.

Then add to the skillet:
1 cup Great Value fire roasted diced tomatoes Tex Mex/Salsa Style
1 cup Great Value chicken broth or favorite bone broth
Stir to combine and mix well.

Once bubbling, add to your skillet:
1/2 cup cauliflower mash**
1 tsp better than bouillon chicken flavor
Stir and bring up heat. If too runny, it can be reduced by letting it cook uncovered or you can add more cauliflower mash. Carefully taste the sauce. Adjust the seasonings if needed. If too much salt, add more tomato or cauliflower.

Serve hot over your favorite mexican dish with your favorite toppings!

Note: You are welcome to use all poblano peppers or a combination of peppers. My favorites are poblano, hatch new mexico (when in season) and jalapeños.

* I use my air fryer to roast my poblano peppers. Wash your peppers (as any produce) , dry them and place in your air fryer basket. No oil needed. Air fry at 390°F for 12 to 15 minutes or until skin is blistered. Transfer peppers to a heat safe dish and cover with plastic wrap or a plate. This steams the peppers for easy skin removal. Once cool enough to touch. Cut or pull out stems. Slice down the side of the pepper and lightly scrape out seeds. Turn over and peel off the skin. I roast peppers every two weeks and freeze them. Then I pull out what I need and cut into bite size pieces. I use these in omelets or just for a taco topping. So good!

**For cauliflower mash I use a 12 ounce steamable bag of Great Value frozen cauliflower florets. Microwave as directed on bag. Let sit for 2 to 3 minutes. Dump bag contents into a blender/processor. Add 1/4 cup chicken broth and blend. I add up to another 1/4 cup of broth if needed to make it creamy. It's now ready to use as a thickener in sauces and soups.


Shown here is this green chile sauce over my shredded pork taco. The taco shell is a psyllium husk/almond flour tortilla. While it holds together nicely,  it's a little thick, more like bread. I'll share once I prefect the recipe. Stay safe y'all!!

Saturday, April 18, 2020

Keto Cinnamon Rolls....without cheese!!

Fathead dough.......I have a fondness for fathead dough pizza, wrapped hot dogs and empanadas. But when it comes to cinnamon rolls I'm not a fan. I don't want cheese in my pastry dough. Well, a huge thank you to Matt and Megha with ketoConnect.net for a cinnamon roll recipe that is not fathead dough! Y'all it's so good too. The best cinnamon rolls ever! They are soft, doughy, bready, gooey and oh so delicious! Even my non-keto family loves them. The frosting I'll be using on all my cupcakes and cakes too! It's that tasty!

I made two changes to adapt to my taste. I reduced the cinnamon and used only 4 teaspoons in the filling. For the frosting I used Now Foods Better Stevia English Toffee and omitted the vanilla.

I hope you hop over to the ketoConnect website and will give this recipe a try. Stay safe y'all!


Chocolate Chip Cookies, the Carb-less way!

 Nothing better than a chocolate chip cookie. Crispy on the outside, chewy in the middle. I found this recipe that uses almond flour but rea...