Anyone’s New Year’s resolution involve dieting? I know at our house it does. Yes, now that the holidays have been put away it’s time to get back to normal eating and perhaps back to a diet.
To my husband that means eating low-carb and even Keto. Whenever he went on one of his strict no carb diets I always ended up making 2 different dinners, no or low carb for him and normal for the grandkids. Well not this year! I decided that low-carb or Keto friendly doesn’t mean that those not on diets can’t enjoy the same foods. Seriously! So I embarked on a journey to find dishes that would meet my husband’s needs and be tasty enough for the whole family! I’ll be sharing recipes as I go!
My first keto friendly dish enjoyed by everyone in the house are these Zucchini Pizza Boats. They are absolutely delicious, even for those who don’t particularly care for zucchini. (That would be the grandson who refused to eat anything “green”! But he loves these Pizza Boats!)
This is such as easy recipe to make and it is seriously yummy! It’s a great way to get the kids to eat their veggies!
They’re a meal on their own, but feel free to serve them with Garlic Bread if you feel the need for carbs. I serve them with a nice crisp salad of mixed greens with Italian dressing. Very nutritious!
The recipe calls for Marinara Sauce, you can use store bought, your favorite homemade sauce, or try some of my yummy homemade Marinara Sauce.
Zucchini Pizza Boats
Ingredients:
3 Large Zucchini
1 Tbs. Olive OIl
1 Lb. Ground Beef
1 Tbs. Garlic Powder
1 Tbs. Italian Seasoning
2 Cups Marinara Sauce
1 Cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Jack Cheese
1 Cup Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
Cooking spray
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350.
Spray 9×13 pan with cooking spray and set aside.
Heat oil in frying pan.
Place ground beef in pan and add garlic powder and Italian seasoning.
Cook until meat is crumbly.
Add marinara sauce and simmer until most of the liquid evaporates, about 10-15 minutes.
Combine 3 cheeses and stir in half of cheese mixture into beef mixture. Set aside.
Cut off zucchini stems and cut each zucchini in half lengthwise.
Using a melon baller scoop out insides of zucchini, save the insides for later uses.
Place Zucchini boats on to baking pan.
Spoon meat mixture into each boat making sure each boat is filled to the brim.
Sprinkle remaining cheese over each boat.
Bake in oven for about 30 minutes or until cheese has melted and started to turn brown.
Pre-heat oven to 350.
Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray and set aside.
Heat oil in frying pan.
Place ground beef in pan and add garlic powder and Italian seasoning.
Cook until meat is crumbly.
Add marinara sauce and simmer until most of the liquid evaporates, about 10-15 minutes.
Combine 3 cheeses and stir in half of cheese mixture into beef mixture. Set aside.
Cut off zucchini stems and cut each zucchini in half lengthwise.
Using a melon baller scoop out insides of zucchini, save the insides for later uses.
Place Zucchini boats on to baking pan.
Spoon meat mixture into each boat making sure each boat is filled to the brim.
Sprinkle remaining cheese over each boat.
Bake in oven for about 30 minutes or until cheese has melted and started to turn brown.
Serve hot with salad or garlic bread.
Lettuce leaves, tomato slices, red onion slices, ketchup and mustard, for serving
Directions
1. Prepare a grill for medium heat. Divide the ground beef into 6 even pieces and shape each into a 1-inch-thick patty. Press in the center of each patty so it is slightly thinner than the edges. Sprinkle generously on both sides with salt and pepper. Lightly oil the grill grates.
2. Grill the burgers, flipping once, until well browned and medium rare, 6 to 7 minutes per side, topping with a slice of cheese in the last few minutes of grilling. Lightly brush the buns with oil and grill until lightly toasted. Put the burgers on the bottom buns and top with the lettuce, tomato, onions and top buns. Serve with ketchup and mustard on the side.
Some of the cooks at the restaurant where I work were talking about stuffed pepper soup. We decided to stir up similar ingredients for a stuffed pepper soup recipe. Customer response was overwhelming!
Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
6 cups water
1 can (28 ounces) tomato sauce
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cups chopped green peppers
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
1 teaspoon pepper
2 cups cooked long grain rice
Chopped fresh parsley, optional
Directions:
In a Dutch oven over medium heat, cook and stir beef until no longer pink; drain. Stir in next 8 ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until peppers are tender, about 30 minutes.
Add cooked rice; simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes longer. If desired, sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley.
Test Kitchen Tips
Dark brown sugar contains more molasses than light or golden brown sugar. The types are generally interchangeable in recipes. But if you prefer a bolder flavor, choose dark brown sugar.
Green peppers are unripened versions of red, yellow or orange peppers. They are less expensive because they’re quicker to get to market. Use colored peppers in recipes for more sweetness.
Now that Halloween is behind us it’s time to think about the holidays ahead. I always feel that Halloween kicks off the holiday season, it does it my house. Once trick or treating is done and the Halloween decor has been put away I turn my attention to planning our Thanksgiving dinner and getting ready for Christmas. It’s a very busy time for me!
I think the weeks leading up to the holidays are busy for everyone, we need to shop, cook, bake, clean, decorate, and more along with all the daily work that we do. One this is certain holiday planning or not we still have to eat. Cooking and planning daily meals can be challenging during this season. I know many times we end up grabbing fast food on the way home or ordering in pizza just to have something to eat for dinner, but I really hate doing this. I get tired of eating out and I really do like my home cooking! So to make my life a bit easier I like to stock my freezer with pre-made dishes that we can pop in the oven on the days I don’t have time to cook.
One of the easiest things to work with are meatballs. I know, you can buy pre-made frozen meatballs at the grocery store, but my family hates them! I don’t like the spongy consistency, I find them very unappetizing. They don’t taste too good either. So I spend about 30 minutes one day and make my own meatballs which I freeze in ziplock freezer bags. They just need re-heating when I need them. Meatballs are great because they are very versatile; you can turn them into different dishes by adding just a few ingredients. I like to make meatball subs, Swedish meatballs, teriyaki meatballs, meatball soup, and of course spaghetti and meatballs. My grandkids love them with mac n’ cheese!
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pound ground beef – don’t use the one that’s too lean, you need a bit of fat to hold it together and also give it a good flavor. I use ground sirloin or sometimes ground chuck which is a bit fattier.
1 egg
1 tbls. minced garlic
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tbls. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. fine sea salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 cup Italian style breadcrumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese – use the fresh cheese not the one in the green cardboard shaker
Directions:
1. Place meat and spices in a mixing bowl.
2. Mix it all together using your hands. Make sure the spices are distributed through out the meat, but don’t over mix as it will get spongy.
3. Mix in cheese and bread crumbs.
4. Shape into ball. You can make any size ball you want, but don’t make them too big, they won’t cook in the middle. Try to make balls the same size so they cook evenly.
5. Place balls on a parchment covered baking sheet and bake in 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.
6. Remove from from oven and cool before place in ziplock freezer bags to freeze.
1 1/2poundground beefdon't use the one that's too lean, you need a bit of fat to hold it together and also give it a good flavor. I use ground sirloin or sometimes ground chuck which is a bit fattier.
Mix it all together using your hands. Make sure the spices are distributed through out the meat, but don't over mix as it will get spongy.
Mix in cheese and bread crumbs.
Shape into ball. You can make any size ball you want, but don't make them too big, they won't cook in the middle. Try to make balls the same size so they cook evenly.
Place balls on a parchment covered baking sheet and bake in 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.
Remove from from oven and cool before place in ziplock freezer bags to freeze.
My husband likes stuffed peppers, but my original recipe made too many servings. I cut it down to accommodate just the two of us. It helps to use a small casserole dish so the peppers won’t tip over while they bake. For color,This recipe is easy enough for family yet fancy enough for company.
Trying new recipes is one of my favorite hobbies. It’s also the most gratifying. What could beat the smiles and compliments of the ones you love?I serve steamed carrots to round out the meal perfectly.
2 medium green peppers 1/2 pound ground beef 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce, divided 1/4 cup uncooked instant rice 3 tablespoons shredded cheddar cheese, divided 1 tablespoon chopped onion 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1 large egg, beaten
Directions
1. Cut tops off peppers and discard; remove seeds. Blanch peppers in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water; set aside. 2. In a bowl, combine beef, 1/4 cup tomato sauce, rice, 2 tablespoons cheese, onion, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and egg; mix well. Stuff the peppers; place in an ungreased 1-1/2-qt. baking dish. Pour the remaining tomato sauce over peppers. Cover and bake at 350° for 45-60 minutes or until meat is no longer pink and peppers are tender. 3. Sprinkle with remaining cheese; return to the oven for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Some of the cooks at the restaurant where I work were talking about 
