Deep dish cookie pie

This is adapted from a recipe that was floating around the internet; I was skeptical, but Christina made it and said it was good, so I thought I'd give it a shot. The original recipe uses garbanzo or white beans, but low carbers can substitute canned white soybeans (yes, I generally avoid unfermented soy products...more details in my soybean brownies post). The ones I found were only 1 net carb per serving (13g carbs, 12g of them fiber). I used almond flour instead of oats, added some egg, subbed stevia for sugar, and so on and so forth...lots of changes! When it was still hot it was kind of bean-y tasting, but after chilling it overnight in the fridge the bean flavor disappeared. It stayed very moist and rich tasting, and I don't think anyone would guess what is in it.

DEEP DISH COOKIE PIE
Makes 8 large servings

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cans white soybeans or regular white beans
• 1 cup almond flour
• 3 Tbs melted butter (I use Kerrygold)
• 1 egg + 1 egg white (or 1 egg + 2 Tbs liquid egg white)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Sweetener equivalent of 1.5 cups sugar (palm sugar or date sugar would be delicious; use stevia or Splenda for low-carb/low-calorie)
• 1 large dark chocolate bar, chopped into chunks the size of chocolate chips (I used a bar of Ghirardelli Midnight Reverie 86% cacao)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Puree all ingredients except for the chocolate thoroughly until COMPLETELY smooth. I used a Ninja blender but a food processor would work too.
3. Stir in the chips and spread into a greased 10" springform pan.
4. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.
5. Chill in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight before serving.

Slow-cooker kimchi chicken, cauliflower fried "rice"

Yeah, kind of a weird photo...it's the leftovers in my husband's massive lunchbox (6-Pack Bag) which I reviewed here on a friend's blog

Here's a twofer: a recipe for slow-cooker kimchi chicken, and a recipe for fried cauliflower "rice". I'll start with the chicken. I am loving my new crock pot cookbook so I [closely] adapted a recipe for kimchi chicken. The prep was super easy and I love me some fermented cabbage so I instantly knew I had to make it. The cookbook thickens the sauce with tapioca, but I hate starch-thickened sauces like that. They tend to get gloppy and artifically glossy-looking, so I just cut back on the liquid and nixed the tapioca. I also cut back on the sugar and used boneless chicken thighs instead of bone-in. Very tasty, so long as you love kimchi.

SLOW COOKER KIMCHI CHICKEN
Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 4 scallions, green and white parts seperated, sliced
• 6 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• 1 Tbs soy sauce or coconut aminos
• 2 tsp palm sugar or other sweetener of choice (can probably omit this if need be)
• 1 Tbs dark sesame oil
• 1 tsp minced or grated fresh ginger or 1/4 tsp high-quality ground ginger
• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
• About 2 cups cabbage kimchi, drained

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine all ingredients except for the scallion greens, chicken, and kimchi in the slow cooker.
2. Nestle the chicken thighs in the sauce, spooning some over the top.
3. Cover and cook for 4 to 6 hours on low (preferably closer to 4 hours)
4. When ready to serve, turn heat to high, add the kimchi, and cook for about 20 more minutes. Serve sprinkled with the scallion greens.

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I served this with cauliflower "fried rice". There are lots of recipes for this, though I used some of the guidelines from Steamy Kitchen. Specifically, I added fish sauce and Chinese sausage (lap cheong); the suggestions for cooking the rice didn't apply because I was using cauliflower. If you don't have Chinese sausage you could substitute roast pork, ham, bacon, or just leave out the meat component and add a little extra oil. I chose bean sprouts, snow peas, and shittake mushrooms as my vegetables, though you could probably use anything you'd like. Most recipes I've seen suggest a mix of frozen carrots, corn, and peas but I wanted to select items that are less starchy. I've seen recipes which use broccoli but I wanted more contrast with the cauliflower base.

Make sure to have everything prepped, measured, and ready to go when making this.

CAULIFLOWER FRIED "RICE" WITH CHINESE SAUSAGE
Serves about 6 as a side dish

INGREDIENTS

• 1 small head cauliflower, washed, thoroughly dried, and run through the shredding disk of a food processor
• 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger or 1/4 tsp high quality ground ginger
• 1 tsp Shao Xing rice wine or sherry
• 1/4 tsp dark sesame oil
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 2 shittake mushrooms, caps only, thinly sliced
• 1/4-1/2 cup bean sprouts, washed and dried (I used 1/4 cup but may use 1/2 cup next time)
• 1/4-1/2 cup snow peas, ends snapped and cut on the diagonal into bite-sized pieces (same as above; I used 1/4 cup but may use 1/2 cup next time)
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• 2 tsp soy sauce, coconut aminos, or more fish sauce
• 1/2 cup diced Chinese sausage (this was two links for me)

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine the ginger, wine or sherry, sesame oil, soy sauce, and fish sauce in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. Heat a wok or very large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the sausage and turn the heat down to medium-low. Cook for about 5 minutes or until fat is rendered from the sausage. Remove sausage with a slotted spoon. Turn heat to medium-high, add eggs, and scramble until cooked. Set the eggs aside.
3. Wipe out the skillet and add a bit of extra oil. Saute the mushrooms over medium-high until just softened, then add the scallions, snow peas, and bean sprouts. Stir-fry for a minute or until just starting to soften. Add the cauliflower "rice" and stir to combine thoroughly. Mix in the fish sauce mixture, then turn heat to low and cover. Cook until soft but not mushy, tasting frequently to be sure not to overcook.
4. Stir in the sausage and eggs and serve hot.

Roasted red pepper lasagna with chicken, goat cheese, and feta

There are a number of recipes out there for lasagna without noodles. I've done it before on the blog using sliced zucchini instead. This time, I got an idea from a recipe from Closet Cooking. He made a [regular noodle-y] lasagna with chicken, roasted red peppers, feta, and goat cheese. I decided to use flat pieces of roasted red peppers in place of the noodles, though I only did one layer of this as I thought two layers would be overpowering. I streamlined his recipe in other ways as well. Instead of making a bechamel sauce with flour and milk, I just combined feta crumbles and goat cheese crumbles and used that as a layer. I also used marinara sauce; mine was homemade (recipe forthcoming!) but you could certainly purchase a jar of your favorite brand. I finished it with crushed red peppers and some fresh basil. This was so easy and very tasty; I will definitely be making this one again.

ROASTED RED PEPPER LASAGNA WITH CHICKEN, GOAT CHEESE, AND FETA
Serves 3-6

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups chopped or shredded cooked chicken meat. I cooked a whole small chicken in the crock pot and used the meat from that. A storebought rotisserie chicken would also work well for this.
• 1/2-1 cup marinara sauce, preferably fire-roasted (strict low-carbers use 1/2 or 3/4 cup, otherwise the full cup has better flavor and texture)
• 3-4 oz (weight) crumbled feta cheese
• 3-4 oz (weight) crumbled soft goat cheese
• 1 16 oz jar roasted red peppers (whole or halves, not strips; I used Mezzetta brand)
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• Fresh basil, chopped or shredded

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly grease an 8x8 square pan with olive oil.
2. Combine the chicken with the tomato sauce. Add salt if desired; most storebought tomato sauce is already very salty so you may not need it.
3. In a seperate bowl, combine the feta and goat cheese crumbles.
4. Layer half the chicken mixture in the pan. Sprinkle evenly with half of the cheese, then top with a layer of roasted red peppers, the slices flush or slightly overlapping. Top with the other half of the chicken (you will probably need to use your hands for this), then top with the remaining cheese.
5. Bake for about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. If you'd like, you can run it under the broiler for a couple minutes to brown the cheese.
6. Top with crushed red pepper and fresh basil. Cut into squares and serve.

Parmesan crusted turnips

I saw this recipe for roasted potatoes on Pinterest and immediately wanted to try it with a different root vegetable. Turnips are much lower in both calories and carbohydrates (see a comparison here) so I figured I'd give it a shot. This was so easy to make and very tasty. I will definitely be making this one again.

PARMESAN CRUSTED ROASTED TURNIPS
Serves about 4 as a side

INGREDIENTS

• About 2 lbs turnips, peeled and cut into uniform-sized chunks
• 2 Tbs olive oil (or other fat of choice)
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp pimienton (Spanish smoked paprika) or regular sweet paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• Salt and pepper (I used Penzeys 4/S as the salt)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper. Use parchment paper, NOT foil, as melted cheese tends to stick to foil.
2. Combine the cheese, paprika, garlic, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
3. In a large bowl, toss the turnips with the olive oil. Dump the cheese mixture over the turnips chunks and toss to coat well.
4. Spread the turnip chunks on the baking sheet and roast for about 30 minutes. Flip them over and roast 5 minutes more. Serve immediately.

Kimchi bokkeumbap

Cauliflower "rice" is one of my favorite low-carb/grain-free innovations. Not only does it cut out the rice, but it replaces it with tons of veggies; whether or not you are avoiding rice, everyone can appreciate a way to get more vegetables onto their plate. I've done it a few times on this here blog (coconut-cilantro cauli-rice, Mexican cauli-rice, even plain with Massaman curry) but I've been itching to try a variation of fried rice. Originally I was going to make something reminiscent of Chinese takeout, but I had a hankering for kimchi and decided to give this a shot.

I'm no expert on Korean food, but I love the flavors. From what I understand, kimchi bokkeumbap (kimchi fried rice) is a way to use up your ingredients when you have leftover rice and leftover kimchi. I imagine that is common in Korean households. A fried egg is often served on top but I scrambled my eggs instead. You could probably tweak this recipe as much as you'd like. I really want to try it with bean sprouts or enoki mushrooms to vary the texture.

KIMCHI FRIED CAULI-RICE
Serves 2-4

INGREDIENTS

• 1 smallish head cauliflower
• 1 cup cabbage kimchi, chopped
• 2-4 scallions, sliced (my scallions were quite small so I used 4, use 2 if yours are larger)
• 1/4 cup mushrooms, roughly chopped (I used criminis)
• 1/4 tsp Korean red pepper powder (or regular chili powder)
• 1 tsp dark sesame oil
• Splash of soy sauce (or tamari, or fish sauce, or coconut aminos)
• 1 eggs, beaten (use 2 if you want this to be more substantial, or if you really like eggs)
• Fat of choice for sauteeing (I used coconut oil)

DIRECTIONS

1. Break the cauliflower into florets. Wash and dry very well. Run it through the shredding disk of a food processor and set aside. This can be done ahead of time.
2. Heat some oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, kimchi, and scallions. Saute until the mushrooms are softened and some of the kimchi liquid has evaporated. Stir in the red pepper powder or chili powder.
3. Add the riced cauliflower with a splash of soy sauce (or specified alternative). Saute while mixing well. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until cauliflower is softened to desired consistency. Check every minute or so and do NOT overcook.
4. Drizzle the sesame oil over the cauliflower mixture and remove from the skillet. Wipe out the pan, then add more oil. Pour the beaten egg into the skillet and let it cook until slightly browned. Flip and cook the other side until done. Roll up the resulting egg pancake and slice, then mix it with the rest of the "rice". Serve.

Kalua pig in the slow cooker

The little pile on the left is the smoked salt grains

Slow cooker Kalua pig has quite a bit of notoriety among slow-cooker recipes. It's so simple yet so tasty: just get a huge pork roast, rub it with liquid smoke and [preferably Hawaiian sea] salt, and cook for a long time until meltingly tender. I've made it several times and it's always a hit. But what if someone doesn't want to use liquid smoke? A lot of people find the taste to be overpowering or artificial. Others are just skeeved out by the concept. So I decided to try it using a smoked salt. There is a local spice shop that stocks a ton of specialty salts, so I figured I'd stop by and try some out.

Check out my crappy cell phone picture of the wall-o-salts (okay, rack-o-salts). I had no idea that there was such a variety. I went ahead and tried a few. The French grey sea salt was really interesting in that it still had an ocean-y sea salt taste, and I loved the melty/crunchy texture of the flake salts like the pretty pink Murray River and the fleur de sel. I really want to try making homemade finishing salts with these (sausage with beer mustard and caraway finishing salt, anyone?). But I digress -- I was there on a mission for smoked salt. She recommended the alderwood but I much preferred the flavor of the applewood so I bought that. And a bottle of sherry vinegar. And some expensive vanilla extract. I, uh, might have bought some other spices too...

I have a problem.

But! The net result is that I have a ridiculously easy and wonderfully delicious pork recipe for you. I also loved sprinkling the individual plated servings with a little bit of the smoked salt for some extra flavor and crunch. Definitely cannot do that with liquid smoke!

SLOW COOKED KALUA PIG
Serves 12

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pork roast, approximately 6 lbs (Boston butt or picnic shoulder, bone out or in, doesn't matter)
• 1.5-2 Tbs smoked sea salt such as Vspicery applewood smoked

DIRECTIONS

Pierce the pork roast several times with the tip of a knife. Rub it with the smoked salt. Place in the slow cooker with the fat cap or skin side up. Cook on low for a long time (9-12 hours) or until very tender. Shred and serve. I like to accompany it with cabbage braised in the pork juices.

Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore

On a recommendation from Nom Nom Paleo, I bought a copy of Slow Cooker Revolution. I bought it because:

1. I end up eventually buying everything recommended on that blog (Sous Vide machine, kitchen torch, bunch of speciality spices...oh dear)
2. I love America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Illustrated. I've had a membership to their site for years. If you're not familiar, they engineer recipes by obsessively testing and retesting each detail until they come out with something perfect. In the cookbook they explain the rationale behind each decision and why a given recipe works. I figure it will help me with developing slow cooker recipes in the future.
3. I'm obsessed with using my crock pot.
4. They had a Kindle edition!! I've been wanting to buy a Kindle cookbook for so long. Love that I can search it and add digital bookmarks. 

So there you have it. I ended up adapting their chicken cacciatore and was very pleased with the results. Usually I hate chicken from the crock pot but the texture and flavor were both great. They microwave the aromatics before dumping them in the crock pot. I did this, but I didn't feel it made a difference, so I probably won't bother in the future. I served it over spaghetti squash to soak up the yummy juices.

CHICKEN CACCIATORE
Serves about 4

INGREDIENTS

• 2 lbs skinless chicken thighs (I used boneless ones, bone-in would be fine. Do not use chicken breasts, the texture will be terrible in the crock pot.)
• 1 bag frozen mirepoix (carrots, celery, and onion) or trinity (bell pepper, celery, and onion). Publix and Kroger both sell these under their store brand. If they don't have it, a finely chopped large onion should be fine.
• 3 Tbs tomato paste
• 1 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 oz dried mushrooms, minced (I just pulsed these in my spice grinder until finely chopped. The original recipe used porcinis, but all I had on hand were shittakes so I used those and also added some truffle salt)
• 8 oz crimini mushrooms, sliced (I bought pre-sliced because I am lazy)
• 1 can diced tomatoes, well-drained
• 1/2 tsp (heaping) dried Italian herb mix (or just use a single dried herb, such as oregano, basil, or thyme)
• 1/3 cup dry red wine
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Fresh basil (probably optional), chopped or shredded

DIRECTIONS

1. Optional: combine the frozen mirepoix (thaw first) or onion, dried mushrooms, garlic, oil, tomato paste, and pepper flakes in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 5 minutes or until onion is softened.
2. Add the above ingredients along with the sliced mushrooms, wine, dried herbs, and diced tomatoes to the slow cooker. Stir to combine.
3. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper and nestle them into the sauce.
4. Cook for 4-6 hours on low (guidelines). Sprinkle with fresh basil and serve.