I developed this super delicious, rich and creamy soup that we eat at least once a week. I also leave out the chicken and use it in recipes in place of canned cream of mushroom or cream of celery soups which I don't like to use because they contain MSG.

Cream of Chicken and Mushroom Soup

8 ounces of mushrooms, chopped

2 stalks of celery, chopped

4 TBL butter

1 cup chicken broth (I use 1 cup of water and 1 tsp Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base )

1 & 1/2 cups cream

1 can of chicken breast (12.5 oz), drained

1/2 tsp poultry seasoning

1/2 tsp celery salt

1 tsp onion powder

salt and pepper to taste

In a medium-sized saucepan, sauté the celery and mushrooms in the butter until soft. Add the poultry seasoning, celery salt, and onion powder. Add the broth and the cream. As soon as it comes to a boil, reduce the heat and cook until the soup is reduced and thickened a bit. Add the drained chicken and heat through. Season to taste before serving.

This makes about 4 servings 

These biscuits are seriously delicious! They are so good that I make a double batch for just the two of us. I store the leftover ones in the refrigerator. They reheat up very nicely in the toaster. We love them with eggs for breakfast or as a bun for a sandwich.

They have a lot of cheese in them, for the double batch I use one cup of sharp cheddar and a half a cup of gouda or parmesan. Because they have a lot of cheese in them, the biscuits get a bit thin. This is why they fit in my toaster.

These delicious, cheesy, garlicky biscuits are so good and have such a great texture that even your non grain-free, low-carb family and friends will love them! Click here for the recipe. 

July and August have been so busy with visiting family and fun. I thought that I would do a quick post on my favorite way to make fried chicken. I love it so much that I have a hard time wanting to prepare chicken any other way.

This is more of a method than a recipe. I use about 2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs. Almond flour, Herbes De Provence or poultry seasoning,  season salt and a generous 1/4 of coconut oil for frying the chicken.

In a large bowl I sprinkle the almond flour on the chicken. I use only the amount of almond flour that is needed to coat the chicken as almond flour is not cheap like regular flour. I place the coated thighs on a large plate or cookie sheet and sprinkle both sides generously with Herbes De Provence and season salt. Herbes De Provence is a blend of thyme, marjoram, rosemary, basil, fennel, sage and lavender. Poultry seasoning works well also. 

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add a generous 1/4 of a cup of coconut oil. Carefully place your seasoned chicken thighs in the hot oil. Cover the pan, cook for 10 minutes. Turn the chicken and cook for 10 more minutes or until done. I do this in two batches as my pan is not large enough to cook all of the chicken at once. If you are using chicken with the bone still in it will take longer to cook. Check that your chicken is cooked thoroughly before serving. I make 2 pounds for the two of us because I love it cold the next day.

This recipe was inspired by my sister Catherine. I love making a German Pancake because the cook gets to eat breakfast with everyone instead of flipping pancakes in the kitchen. I had not heard of a German Pancake until my sister made one while we were visiting. It is baked in the oven in a 9x13 pan and puffs up while cooking, especially on the edges. I modified her recipe to make it low-carb. I think that this recipe is one that your non low-carb, grain-free family and friends will like. Let me know if that is true. We top this with my easy, stevia-sweetened berry jam (click here) that I have just made so it is not gelled up yet. You can also gently warm the jam so that the gelatin liquefies.

Low-Carb  German Pancake

6 eggs

1/8 tsp stevia (I use Bolivian stevia. This is equivalent to ¼ cup of sugar sweetness)

1/8 tsp salt (I use Real Salt)

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp vanilla

¼ cup coconut flour

¼ cup cream

¾ cup unsweetened almond milk (I use vanilla)

¼ cup coconut oil- you do not add this to the batter, you melt it in the pan.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. When the oven is hot, put your empty 9x13 baking dish in it while you are making the batter. When the dish is hot, put your ¼ cup of coconut oil into the hot dish to melt.

In a medium-sized bowl, beat the eggs with the stevia, salt, cinnamon, vanilla and coconut flour. Add the cream and almond milk, and mix until smooth. (if you are dairy-free substitute the ¼ cup of cream for ¼ cup more of almond milk.)

Pour your batter into the hot pan that has the coconut oil melted in it. 

Bake on the center rack for 25 to 30 minutes until puffed up and golden brown.
 
I make the entire recipe for just the two of us. My husband, Mark, is a pancake monster and can eat half of the pancake on his own, and still remains thin! I like to save the flatter middle to cut into “bread” shapes to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch; it is so good!! Store any uneaten pancake in the refrigerator. It heats up nicely in the toaster.

 This jam is a staple in our refrigerator and so easy to make. We use it on
our pancakes or waffles for breakfast and in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch. Yummy! Berries are a good fruit to eat. They are lower in carbs than a lot of other fruits, high in fiber and full of antioxidants. I use the frozen “Nature’s Three Berries” from Costco. It is a raspberry, blueberry, and blackberry blend. Each cup of berries has 17 grams of carbs and 3 grams of fiber.

Easy, stevia-sweetened berry jam

6 cups of berries (frozen or fresh)

1 TBL good, unflavored gelatin (Bernard Jensen’s or Great Lakes)

¼ tsp stevia (I use Bolivian stevia. This is equivalent to ½ cup of sugar sweetness)

Place 6 cups of frozen or fresh berries with ¼ cup of water in a medium-sized pan on medium-low heat. Stirring
occasionally bring the berries to a low boil. Time the boiling berries for 3 minutes.

While the berries are boiling, place ¼ cup of water in a small bowl. Sprinkle 1 TBL of gelatin into the water. Allow to sit for at least 1 minute.

When the berries have finished boiling, remove the pan from the heat. Add ¼ tsp of stevia - my stevia is strong so you may need to add more.  Taste and adjust to your desired sweetness level. Add the softened gelatin to the berries and stir well. Cool for about 10 minutes and pour into 2 pint jars. Keep refrigerated.

Note: This recipe will keep in the refrigerator for about two weeks. With no sugar as a preservative it will mold as any fresh fruit does. The two of us have never had a problem with not eating this fast enough. This does not freeze well...I tried it. The gelatin broke down, but it was still delicious, berry syrup! 

 The longer we travel on this low-carb journey, the stricter we have become. For us, eating high fat, moderate protein, and low carb is a lifestyle, not a diet; we are both at a healthy weight. We eat this way because doing so has drastically improved our health. At the beginning we just used low-carb bread for toast to enjoy with our eggs and bacon or sausage (nitrate, nitrite free). As we learned more about our modern wheat from Dr. William Davis, the author of "Wheat Belly", we decided it would be healthier for us to be grain free. This episode of Dr. Oz with Dr. Davis is very interesting. Dr. Oz was amazed when his staff ate a piece of whole grain bread, their blood sugar level was higher, than when they ate a candy bar! 
http://www.doctoroz.com/episode/are-you-addicted-wheat
 
Our answer to what do we dip in our easy over eggs is “Maria’s everything bagel”. Maria’s Nutritious and Delicious Journal is one of my favorite blogs. Click below for the bagel recipe. 
http://mariahealth.blogspot.com/search?q=everything+bagels

 This recipe makes six savory bagels made with eggs, coconut flour, and whey protein. It uses a donut pan. I got mine at Bed Bath and Beyond - with my 20% off coupon, it cost only $8.

When I showed my mom how to make these, she did not have all of the herbs that Maria recommended so we just added whatever sounded good like rosemary, basil, oregano, etc. and they were great. I recommend you make these bagels your own. I use Herbes De Provence in my spice blend and Sharp Cheddar or Pecorino Romano for my cheese. I think it is the cheese that gives these bagels such a nice texture. Try making a savory sandwich on this bagel, yummy!

This recipe also answers the question: what is for lunch? I used it to make mini pigs in a blanket. I used two silicone mini-muffin pans that I got at Joanne’s with my 50% off coupon, so they cost $5.50 a piece.  One
recipe made 20. I filled the 20 mini-muffin cavities to the top, cut the hot dogs (nitrate, nitrite free) into four pieces and stuck each hot dog piece into the middle of the batter. I baked them at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes.  The silicone pans are so nice, after cooling for five minutes my pigs popped right out!