Zuccoti

Zuccotti – A Low Carb Manicotti

Manicotti is crazy important in my house. It was one of those dishes that I revised before ever making and it was an instant hit. However, I hate making it. It is messy and time consuming.

I only made it for special occasions, especially my first born’s birthday. There are no parties for birthdays in our house. The kids get a present and they get to pick their homemade dinner and dessert. There have been times a party would have been cheaper and less work. For example, manicotti was most commonly served with oven fried chicken, chocolate on chocolate cake and homemade coffee ice cream.

There are no birthdays for a couple weeks but I’m missing my angel, so I broke out the notepad and pans. I hope you like it.

Serves 6. Per Serving
511 Calories and 16 g Carbohydrates

Ingredients
½ cup Salt (optional)
Large bowl of water (optional)
6 Zucchini
1 pound ground sausage (mild, medium or hot)
4.5 ounces sliced black olives
2 large eggs
1 cup Ricotta Cheese
Garlic, Basil, and black pepper to taste
1 ½ cups Marinara or sauce of your choice
2 cups Shredded Mozzarella

Cut ends off and peel zucchini down to white. Core zucchini. I found the best way to do this was the saw thingy that came out of one of those jack o lantern kits.

This next part is totally optional. Mix the salt and water together and brine the zucchini for half an hour. Let drain completely on towels while you prepare the rest.
Crumbled, brown and drain the sausage. Drain the olives.
Mix olives, sausage, ricotta, eggs and seasoning in a bowl.
Stuff zucchini with mixture.
Lay stuffed zucchini in a lightly sprayed 9 * 13 pan.
Distribute leftover mixture evenly along the tops of your stuffed zucchini.
Top with sauce and cheese.
Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes.
Serve.

We served ours with Salad and a low carb cheese bread that is just amazing.

Tofu Stirfry in Peanut Sauce

Tofu? Low carb? You betcha. Tofu has this amazing 3 protein:1 carb ratio. Indulge away vegetarians! Learn to love it my fellow perimenopausers! Soy is great for boosting low estrogen levels.

Years ago, when I moved in with my now husband, my stepdaughter was a vegetarian. Her parents had let her make this decision but did not really understand it, so she ate the meatless side dishes and then was allowed to have junk.

Um, no. Protein is still crazy important and you are a child.

One of the many vegetarian things I became extremely good at was tofu. So, at the end of this little recipe I’ll give a little instruction on how to make it a hit your first time out.

Serves 4
Calories 358
Carbs 23

Ingredients
28 ounces Extra firm tofu, drained and cubed (bake ahead if you wish)
24 ounces frozen stir-fry vegetables
A little oil for stir-frying (couple tablespoons)
For the peanut sauce:
1.5 Tablespoons Olive Oil (really any oil is fine here)
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
5-10 squirts of Stevia (I used 5), or equivalent sweetener of your choice
1 teaspoon Sriracha (or sweet chili sauce)
3 tablespoons peanut butter (crunchy or creamy)

Mix the sauce ingredients together and set aside.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add frozen vegetables carefully to hot oil. If you did NOT bake tofu ahead of time, add it now. Cook, stirring often until desired doneness. Reduce heat a little and add sauce (and tofu if you baked it ahead of time). Cook for another few minutes stirring gently often. You want the sauce to coat everything but not puddle or stick to the pan.
Serve.

Tofu: Prepare and bake.

Take your tofu, open, drain and wrap it in two kitchen towels. Place a plate on top and let the towels absorb the juice for a couple hours. Open and dice. You want inch sized chunks. Dust with yeast. Yep, yeast. Spray a cookie sheet lightly, and spread tofu pieces on it. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes until it chunks are golden. Use soon after baking.

A NEW START…

In May I had a terrible accident, I fell and injured my whole right side of my body.

I was just outside mowing my 5 acres, and the next thing I know I flew off the front porch and was laying in the front yard and could not move.

Sprained shoulder, Bruised hip bone, Sprained knee, Sprained Foot and ankle. I also busted my nose.

After my fun ride to the Emergency room, I came home in excoriating pain. I was unable to even get up and go to the bathroom, needless  to say I cried a lot. This was not me, this is not who I was. After about 2 weeks of bed rest I was able to move a little.

Day by Day I improved, its been almost 4 months now and I’m finally able to drive again, braking with my left foot. Doctor said it will still be  4 more months for a full recovery, even then I may still have to have some sort of knee support or a bit.

I apologize to the folks that were following me, Its been hard not to be able to cook and try new recipes. Hug Hugs too you guys.

YES, if your wondering if I gained weight the answer is YES. My family did the best they could, but the easy access food was the best. I’m getting back on track thank goodness, my sugar levels have been high and I’m extremely tired all the time. I think this has led to a lot of the depression I’ve been going through. But Its getting better. 🙂

I still get a lot of swelling in my foot and leg if I do too much, and I will be wearing a knee brace for a while  …BUT, IM BACK!

                                   NEW RECIPE COMING SOON

Believe in YOURSELF!

 

I’ve always believed in KARMA, whatever you do comes back to you, e.g. if you do something good, something good will happen to you, and vice versa.

So Success, what is MY definition, well I believe , accomplishment of an aim or purpose. Did I succeed at Success, well you decide.

When I was a child, I thought there was MORE. That life held so many option for me  it was just a matter of getting to them. As I got older, LIFE got to me first.

I dropped out of High School and was married at 18, and a baby on the way by 21. Still through all this in my head were the Dreams of Making a Difference. By that I just wanted to make my MARK do something special, help someone,Find something no one else has yet to discover.

I collected travel books from the Travel company down the road, thought maybe I could Travel to Egypt, take some unbelievable photos and through them ,make someone smile at the photo and encourage them to find their adventure. 

The need for wanting to help and touch a life and encourage was a need I had, but I was not very educated, a housewife and mother. 

When I reached my 30’s (36 to be exact) I had a second child. I decided It was time I try to find something to fulfill the urge to make a difference. I went back to school received my GED and Started College, my career was to be a EMT/Paramedic. This was my chance to make a mark and to ease the feeling of a life without purpose.

I completed School, but before I could take my final Testing I was having to go through a very difficult life change, Divorce. I decided the best thing for myself and my children was to get a Job and work towards my state testing while I get life straight again. Not hard to guess what happened, I never made it to my Testing. Finding time to raise my two kids, study, work and do Clinical s was impossible. 

I remarried at 40 and had another child, my beautiful baby girl. My new husband was very supportive and together we decided to open our own business, a pet shoppe. Our business did well and I touched so many lives with that career, I was very happy. Unfortunately we had to close our doors. Since then, I’ve been trying desperately to find my niche again. And I hope I did ♥

So did I Succeed in Success, I think so. But I still would love to do more 🙂

I’m hoping that through this Website (blog) I will be able to help someone, good people, to find good Health and a Better life. If not for several maybe just one.

If you’ve stopped by to read or take a look, I thank you. Take Care!

                      

Chicken Fajitas

 

 

This dish is good for Lunch, Dinner or even a Crowd. I’m going to guide you through a simple Dinner for Two  today.

Ingredients

2 Thin Chicken Breast

2 table spoons fajita seasoning

1 cup beef broth or water

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1/2 cup red pepper                                                              

1/2 cup yellow pepper

1/2 cup green pepper                  

 Fajita Shell

1 cup Pepper Jack

1 Egg

Parchment Paper

 

Lets Cook!!

First lets go ahead and get our oven preheated to 400 degree.

Then we are going to grap our pan and put our Olive Oil in there. Heat Medium High.

Wash your Chicken, pat dry and cut into thin slices.

                                   

Place Chicken Sliced into Fry Pan and Heat until Chicken is light Browned, your not trying to fully cook just yet. Get all your Vegi’s ready, and add to Chicken.

                               

Add Fajita Seasoning and Broth or Water.

                               

Cook on Med low to a strong Simmer, keep turning and blending as your cooking, your going to love this so keep up the good work! Now lets get that Shell started, If you want an Crispy Fajita shell omit the Egg, But if you want a Texted Faux shell do it this way. Grap your Cup of PaperJack and place in small mixing bowl.

                           

Next add Egg or Omit if you want a Crispy Shell. Next mix well, and place on small cookie sheet lined in Parchment paper.

                         

Take your fork and spred cheesy mixture on sheet like so, into a round-ish shape.

                         

                         

Now if you did OMIT the Egg, just sprinkle a thin layer of PepperJack.  Now lets stick our shell in the preheated 400 degree oven, and check our Chicken.

  Yummy, looks great. Cover and remove from heat. Shell should be ready in 10 min or less. Once shell looks done remove fro oven, slide parchment paper off pan, CAREFUL dont burn yourself!!

 

Once you have shell off Pan and on a flat surface, lets add our Chicken.

                                        

Now you may have a better way to do this, this is jut my way, have fun with it! Your going to lift Parchment Paper and fold over the Fajita.

                                     

Oh my Goodness my arm looks huge, I really need a better camera, ok back to the recipe 🙂

Press down on Parchment Paper for a few seconds and lift paper.

  TaaDaa! Slide it onto your plate and Top with Salsa or whatever Low Carb yummy you like.

I just want to tell you guys, this has been such a pleasure having this site and sharing my dishes with you, Im not a professional and you can tell, Im defently not a Photographer. I apreciate all the “Likes”, they mean the world to me. 

Happy Eating, Take Care and Stay Well!    

 

 

Jicama Hash Browns

 

What? How do you say it…Ji-ca-ma  \ˈhē-kə-mə\ Pronounce Jicama

Ok then What is it?  large, edible, tuberous root of a tropical American plant of the legume family, crisp sweet flesh, eaten as a vegetable either raw or boiled. Also know as a Mexican Turnip.

Well this is my first approach to this Vegetable, enjoy 🙂

For all my Atkins Induction Friends this is  Induction friendly. 1\2 cup 2.6 carbs raw

The Recipe 

 

This recipe was so easy and a wonderful for replacement for white potatoes.

Ingredients

1 Jicama medium size or half large 

2 slices of bacon chopped

2/3 cup onion

2/3 cup celery

1 tablespoons chopped Rosemary

1 teaspoon chopped parsley

3 cloves garlic minced well

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

Salt and Pepper 

Okee Dokee Lets Begin!

Peel your Jicama, its alittle tough I use a vegi. peeler and some muscle.These guys can have some tough skin. Next Cube your Jicama. You should have about 2 Cups.

                      

Now Taste it! You need to know this Wonderful flavor and fresh crunch of he Jicama 🙂

Next, lets get our Bacon chopped and in the Pan, cook medium high until AMOST done.

 

while Bacon is cooking lets finish chopping our ingredients Parsley and Rosemary.

                                       

Had to borrow that pic from internet forgot to take Parsley pic..oops.

Lets go ahead and start building, Add Onion,celery and garlic, finish cooking bacon with these ingredients added.

 

Saute until onions are somewhat cooked then lets add our Jicama.

Add remaining ingredients Parsley,Rosemary and salt and pepper. Incorporate well and add Butter and Olive Oil, incorporate that well, then reduce heat to a Simmer and cover for 20 to min. 

                                    

 

 

Uncover and cook another 10 to 15 minutes taking a spatula and turning every now and then. 

Ok, lets Plate and Eat!

 

I actualy had this with Cornish hen the other night, Ill post that recipe next in main dishes. Hope you guys enjoy this. Take Care Hugs!

 

Lemon Pepper Grilled Cornish Hen With Jicama Hash and fresh Cut green beans.

 

Low Carb Cheesy Stuffed Spinach Mushroom Caps

                    These Mushroom caps are so delicious. This is one of my                                                                         Family favorites. I make this alot!

Ingredients 

1 dozen good size portabella mushroom caps, 

1 cup  spinach chopped 

1 cup Pepper Jack cheese chopped small or shredded

1/2 cup colby chopped small or shredded

3 to 4 tablespoons of butter, melted

salt and pepper to taste

LETS COOK!

PreHeat to 350

Lets Grap our mushrooms and core them out, not too sure of the proper terminology  lets just say core. I use small spoon and its handle, no worries if it breaks the ‘Shroom a bit.

                                         

In mixing bowl add your Spinach

Next lets get all our yummy cheeses ready.

 Here you can see both types of cheeses combined, I chopped together. I had slices left over from our sandwiches that needed to be used, you can use the slices or the chunks. This recipe is really very forgiving. Thats the way I love to cook, easy peasy!

Now lets toss our yummy cheeses in to our mixing bowl with our chopped Spinach.

 Hand mix well.

Get your Pan ready, lets put 2 tablespoons of olive oil in our pan and spread even on bottom only.

Lets Get Stuffing!!

Grap a Mushroom cap and cup it in your palm of your hand,with your other hand just reach in and stuff. So much fun to play with our food.

                        STUFF….

Place Stuffed ‘Shrooms in our Pan. You may have to sqeeeeeze!

Wow looks GREAT already, lets melt some butter..

 Pour over ‘Shrooms evenly.

Salt and Pepper lightly!

Place in oven for about 20 to 25 min.

When cheese looks melted and bubbly its time to remove from oven.

  Sooooo Good!!

This is a great side dish for most any meals, when i made these a couple nights ago i served them with Grilled lemon pepper wing and Zucchini straws. I will show you how to do the Deep Fried Zucchini straws as well.

I really hope you guys enjoy, feel free to tweek any of my creations I show you, I’m just trying to keep your Low Carb Lifestyle as easy as possible. Heres to Better Health, Smile!

Its Possible

Stepping out of my old way of eating and stepping into a new way of eating, is a difficult thing. Well that’s what the majority of us think.
But lets walk this way for just a bit .

Let me help you , for example a typical lunch: I would grab a sandwich some chips and maybe something to satisfy that sweet need after. Wow, realizing  now the carbs and sugar in such a simple lunch is amazing. The bread and the chips alone would have kept me on the track to become a full Diabetic and unhealthy.

Another example that most of us do and I was no exception. Going through the drive through at fast food restaurants. Its understandable when your a busy mom or dad, but just a cheeseburger, diet coke and small fries is nothing BUT Carbs. Your protein source would be the Hamburger patty.

I started off my Diet that I’m on now with simple food swaps, take for example pizza, I Love Pizza, all day  every day. I started doing some research on how I can loose weight and have my pie too. Found a simple crust made of cheese, added homemade pizza sauce(low sugar) and most any topping I wanted, yummm! Yes I figured away I could not sacrifice the things I love and still be healthy. (Side note make sauce ahead and refrigerate keeps really well for a week or freeze).

For Snack what  I did was I made Zucchini chips. Very simple and you don’t need a dehydration machine your oven works fine for that, and you can season with anything you like. I’ll post recipe at bottom. I will also post the foods that I believe to have made my weight loss stall, those I will post under a new category on the webpage.

By week 3 all cravings had stopped and I noticed the weight going down and my energy picking up. Food was easier than I thought, and I was FULL. Hard to say that when your Dieting.

Dinner super easy, let me share one of tips for cooking a protein, quick! Salmon,Chicken breast, Pork chops all love this method. It takes 10 to 15 min. pan fry method. Take fresh rosemary and thyme chop really good,heat a skillet with extra virgin olive oil on med high,salt and pepper your protein,when the skillet  gets somewhat hot, lay your meat in and coat with fresh herbs. Let protein cook on med high until almost half way up and then flip.
Easy Peasy, you and your family have a great protein that can be the star of the dinner table and it to less time than driving to the place with the Shiny Yellow Arches.

Week 4-5-6 I found myself challenging my taste and exploring different recipes. It’s actually FUN, I’ve kinda made a food challenge out of it.  I don’t cheat on my plan because I would only be cheating myself, and always remember if there is something you really love or crave,  there’s alway a swap for it.

 

Week 7  I find I’ve settled in more, I’m getting a fantastic list of foods and recipes together myself and my family enjoy. I’m also learning, about spices and different foods I would have never thought to eat.

Well today, I’m pleased to say going into week 11, I have surpassed my expectation on weight loss with this plan. Ive lost a total of 23 lbs. and I love my new lifestyle changes. 

My Body seems to be going through a Calming factor, I’m feeling good, accomplishing a lot more in my day. With 12 weeks as my goal approaching in the near future to give this way of eating and living a chance to prove itself, I have to say all is accomplished. I will continue with no set boundaries and enjoy the exploration of new foods and recipes. 

Diets don’t have to make you crazy or bitchy. They can be life changing I know mine has.
Wishing everyone success and Good Health!

 

 

ZUCCHINI CHIPS

1 or 2 zucchini
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt (I like sea salt)
—
Pre heat oven to 225
1 or 2 zucchini sliced thin (like a chip)
Place on paper towels and then towels on top press lightly to get out some of the moisture
Lay on a sheet pan covered in parchment paper (important)
Place oil on chips with a cooking brush and then sprinkle with salt (less is more trust me!)
Bake 225 for about 2 hours.

Thank you to internet google for clipart.