Firecracker Chili

This picture shows me in 2011 receiving First Prize in the Gold Skye Ranch Chili Cookoff for this recipe, formerly called Spicy Merlot Chili. Now renamed Firecracker Chili.

It was August in Oklahoma, and was hotter than firecrackers that day. The chili is pretty hot too.





Recipe:

3 lb. ground beef, browned
1 pound smoked sausage, diced
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 green pepper, diced
1 small can green chili’s or jalapeños
2 packets hot chili seasoning
1 small jar medium picante sauce
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 large can chili beans
1/2 jar spaghetti sauce
1 cup Merlot wine (grape juice if trying to avoid alcohol)
1 tsp salt
1 can whole kernel corn

The idea of this recipe is that it should be a combination of hot and sweet. If you want it sweeter, add Stevia powder to taste. You could just add more grape juice, but that might make it too liquid, hence the Stevia, which will sweeten and also soak up some liquid.

Combine all ingredients in crock pot on high. Cook for 2 hours, stirring occasionally and adjusting seasoning to taste. 

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La Batata Chorizo Tallarin

La Batata Chorizo Tallarin

Recipe: 

1 lb roll Chorizo

1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped

2 small or one large zucchini, chopped

3 green onions, chopped

1 package Asian noodles

1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar

Salt and pepper to taste

Steam sweet potatoes for 15 minutes. While they are cooking, fry Chorizo with green onions. Cook Asian noodles in boiling water. 

After 15 minutes, add zucchini to steamer and cook both sweet potato and zucchini for five minutes. 

Dump noodles and chorizo in large bowl. Add vegetables. Toss together. Salt and pepper to taste and top with shredded cheese.

(Hint: my husband likes this tossed with some added Frank’s Hot Sweet Chili Sauce. Add if you like).

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Our Little Onion Experiment

Remember this little onion we started sprouting on my kitchen cabinet? 

After two weeks, this little sprout is now ready for planting. 

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Crustless Quiche

This recipe is low-carb, vegetarian, keto, and delicious. The basic recipe can be spiced up with all kinds of things once you’ve got it down.

Ingredients:


3 eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup mayonnaise
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup chopped spinach, broccoli, kale
, or peas
1/2 tsp garlic powder



Bake at 375 for 45 minutes. Remove from oven, turn oven off, sprinkle remaining 1 cup of cheese on top, put back in warm oven to melt. Cool 30 minutes before serving.

If making a dessert quiche, leave out the vegetables and garlic powder. Add 1/4 cup stevia and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. After baking, remove from oven and cool. Cut and plate. Top each piece with Walden Farms Zero Carb Strawberry Spread or syrup. Makes a great topping.

To make it a little spicy, add chipotle mayonnaise instead of plain.


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Can you eat beans on a low carb diet?

There are a number of reasons why you might want to eat beans. They are a cheap source of protein, are fairly high in fiber, and have varied and delicious flavors. There are also some good reasons not to eat them. They are quite high in lectins, a substance which causes a lot of inflammation in the body, and are the reason why beans cause so many digestive upsets. Also because of the perception that they are high in carbohydrates.




Which of these beans, if any, can be eaten on a low carbohydrate diet?

In order lowest to highest net carbs per half cup, this is how they rank:

Mung brand - 0.34 grams
Green beans - 0.12 grams
Yellow snap beans - 0.6 grams
Black beans -  3.27 grams
Red kidney beans - 3.56 grams
Fava beans - 6.48 grams
Lima beans - 7.5 grams
Pinto beans - 7.3 grams
Calico or red beans - 9.1 grams
Navy beans - 13.39 grams
Great Northern beans - 14.75 grams
White beans - 16.14 grams
Garbanzo beans (chickpeas) - 16.54 grams

It would appear that Navy beans, Great Northerns, White beans and Garbanzo beans have as many carbs as one slice of bread. So if you don’t bread on your diet, you should probably avoid those four varieties as well. It looks like Green beans, Black beans, and red kidney beans might have acceptable levels for a low carb diet, as long as they are kept to 1/2 cup or less. The beans in the middle of the list might be acceptable if kept to a quarter cup or less, perhaps just enough to toss them into a salad.

But definitely, I would not try to eat these as a protein substitute because the small amounts allowed on a low carb diet would provide insufficient daily protein.

If you are trying to reduce the amount of inflammatory foods you are eating, beans should probably be avoided altogether.

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Easy Hearty Weeknight Dinner - Crockpot Chicken Corn Chowder

For an easy, hearty weeknight dinner, you can’t go wrong 

with Chicken Corn Chowder. 

Recipe:

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 cups water

2 cans whole kernel corn, drained

3 green onions

1 8 oz block cream cheese

3/4 of a cup uncooked elbow macaroni

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp tumeric

Place whole chicken breasts and water in crock pot. Cover and cook on high three hours. Remove chicken to a plate and shred chicken. Remove about 1 cup of water from crock pot. Return chicken to pot. Chop green peppers and add. Cut cream cheese into small cubes and add. Drain whole kernel corn and add. Stir in seasonings. Add elbow macaroni and stir in, making sure all macaroni is submerged. Cover and cook for one hour. 

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Growing Onions on Your Kitchen Cabinet

You will never need to buy onions again if you grow them in your own kitchen. 

Start with what’s left of a green onion after you snipped off the tops to cook with. Insert some toothpicks. 





Add a little water to a shallow cup or dish.

Place the onion in the dish, making sure the bottom is submerged in the water. Now we will wait to see how many days it will take to sprout and grow. Check back soon to see what happens. 

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