Tag: Recipes

Low Carb Philly Cheesesteak
Clean Living · Recipes

Low Carb Philly Cheesesteak

Sarah

This easy, low-carb/high-protein dinner doesn’t need anything else, but I did heat up flour tortillas for the boys. Kirk and I ate it sans, though if you had butter lettuce on hand, you could do wraps with it. I was lettuce-free, so we got by.

Some will argue with me over the high vegetable content in this recipe, but I stand firm on this: vegetables are NOT evil and are good for the body. They are also fiber-rich, which is beneficial if you eat a lot of meat. It’s the same that I am OK with berries and fruit. We need not to fear carbs and sugar that are in whole ingredients; it is the added ones that must concern us. It’s easy to overeat baked goods, but you will tap out on vegetables quickly as your stomach fills up, waiting to digest. All that pesky fiber. Lol…..

Low Carb Philly Cheesesteak

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1 large green bell pepper
  • 1 large red bell pepper
  • 1 large sweet onion
  • 1 pound flank steak
  • 1 tsp dried oregano leaves, crushed
  • Fine sea salt (a good pinch)
  • 4-5 slices provolone cheese

Directions:

Partially freeze the meat to make it easy to slice. Slice it thinly into bite-size pieces.

Meanwhile, slice up the peppers and onions.

Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high. Add in half the oil, and saute the peppers and onions with the oregano and salt, tossing often, for about 10 minutes.

Remove from the pan and set aside in a bowl.

Add the remaining oil and stir-fry the meat for about 5 minutes, keeping it moving.

Return the pepper mixture and toss to combine.

Place the cheese slices on top and cover with a lid. Turn off the burner and let it sit for a couple of minutes to melt.

Serves 3 to 5, depending on appetite and if you use wraps.

Nutritional Stats (Based on 4 servings):

370 Calories – 20 grams Fat – 63 grams Protein – 6 grams Carbs – 1.75 grams Fiber

~Sarah

High Protein Meat Bread
Clean Living · Recipes

High Protein Meat Bread

Sarah

We are an ingredient household and also trying to consume the whole-foods way of life. That means there aren’t usually snacks lying around the kitchen or quick lunches. Trying to find a high-protein way of having a fast lunch isn’t easy. I love bread when I bake it. I am not eating keto bread, which is usually a slurry of gums, binders, and often cheap seed oils.

So, meat bread? Yes. It isn’t meatloaf. It is sliceable and has the texture of bread. It is well worth trying!

I found it so delicious. Finally, a snack or lunch that will fill my stomach but not keep me from my low-carb desires. And it is whole ingredients.

If you don’t have a high-speed blender, use a food processor.

I recommend using a disposable pan to bake it, as you can flex the sides for easy removal.

High Protein Meat Bread

Ingredients:

  • 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 pound ground turkey or chicken breast
  • 5 large eggs
  • ½ cup parmesan cheese
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp granulated onion
  • ½ tsp fine sea salt
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375°. Lightly oil an 8″x 4″ disposable loaf pan with olive oil and set it on a baking sheet.

Heat the olive oil in a saute pan. Add the turkey or chicken breast, and cook until done, breaking up and stirring often.

Set aside to cool a bit.

Crack the eggs in a bowl, add the onion and salt, then the parmesan cheese.

Add the cooked meat to a high-speed blender (or food processor), and using the tamper (if your blender has one, or stop and scrape the container), break up the meat a bit on low. Add the egg mixture and turn it up, processing until smooth.

Add in the cheese and stir in with a spatula.

Scrape into the pan and smooth out.

Bake for 45 minutes, until golden on top. Insert a thin butter knife to check if it is done (it should come out dry). Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Flex the sides of the pan and use a thin spatula to work loose. Turn out onto a cooling rack.

Enjoy warm, and promptly store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Makes 8 slices.

Rough nutritional stats (can depend on what you use as ingredients) Based on one serving:

212 Calories /  1.25 grams Carbs / 20 Grams Protein / 14 Grams Fat / 268 mg Sodium / 0.5 Gram Sugar (from Mozzarella cheese)

Before baking.

~Sarah

High Protein Meals: Ginger Garlic Steak
Recipes

High Protein Meals: Ginger Garlic Steak

Sarah

While my steak dinner contained a small amount of carbs (½ cups of rice), this dish is an excellent high-protein dinner.

Have you never heard of the Shabu Shabu cut of meat? It is often sold at Costo, where it is an incredibly thin sliced steak – and is either top round or loin New York (it can be ribeye as well). It is wafer thin, in a cut you cannot get at home without a commercial meat slicer. It is used in hot pot and similar recipes, where the meat is quickly cooked in boiling broth. This same cut is also great in dishes like this and Philly cheesesteak.

This is a flexible recipe ingredient-wise. When it comes to ginger, do you need to measure it? Use your heart and nose. It’s good for you.

You can make the hoisin sauce easy enough (and no, it shouldn’t have peanut butter in it if you see recipes for that…sigh). Read labels carefully, and look for US-made ingredients and a short list of ingredients. Yes, it is processed but can be relatively OK for a few brands. Hoison is heavy on soy sauce and not overly sweet (whereas teriyaki sauce is very sugary, making it a far better choice when eating higher protein). It is Cantonese Chinese.

Leftover steak? Add it to a skillet with a knob of butter, saute it up, and then add in eggs for a delicious scrambled egg breakfast the following day.

Ginger Garlic Steak

Ingredients:

  • 2-ish pounds of Shabu Shabu steak
  • A big chunk of fresh ginger
  • 1 bulb garlic (or as much as you like)
  • Avocado oil
  • Hoison sauce
  • Sesame seeds

Directions:

Peel the ginger and use a microplane to grate it. Peel and finely dice the garlic. Mix the two.

Separate the steak slices in a large bowl and gently massage the ginger mixture into them, setting them aside. You can do this up to 24 hours in advance and chill until ready.

Heat a large cast iron skillet or wok over high heat. Add enough avocado oil to cover the bottom of the pan.

Add in the steak, let sit for a couple of minutes to start getting a good char on the bottom, then start working it, stir-frying the meat till it is done. You want the meat cooked with a nice sear on it.

Turn the heat down to medium, and add ¼ cup of hoisin sauce, stirring it in. Taste and add more if desired.

Take off the heat and serve.

Served with steamed broccoli on the side. If rice is desired, ½ cup per person. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top for a nice crunch.

Serves 6.

~Sarah

Bread Machine Buttery Rolls
Recipes

Bread Machine Buttery Rolls

Sarah

The boys have a couple more days of school before winter break, so I made rolls for lunch today. These are buttery and full of flavor. They’d be great for slider-sized rolls and also perfect for a holiday dinner.

Bread Machine Buttery Rolls

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup milk
  • ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
  • 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1½ tsp fine sea salt
  • 480 grams of all-purpose flour + more as needed
  • 2¼ tsp active dry yeast (1 packet)

Directions:

Place eggs on the counter, slice the butter, and let soften at room temperature.

Add the ingredients in order, ending with the yeast on the flour.

Set for dough (our machine takes 1 hour 50 minutes).

5 minutes before, set a heating pad too high. Lightly butter a 9×13 pan and set it on the heating pad.

Take the dough out and set it on a lightly floured work surface. Pat it out into a rectangle (about the size of the pan). Cut it into 15 sections. Form each piece into a ball and place it in the pan.

Lightly spray plastic wrap with avocado or olive oil and cover tightly.

Let rise for 45 minutes.

With 5 minutes left, preheat oven to 350°.

Uncover and bake for 15 to 18 minutes or till golden on top. Let cool on a wire rack.

Makes 16 rolls.

Notes:

We use a Zojirushi bread machine, which has a 15-minute preheat cycle. If you use another brand of machine, preheat your milk as directed (at 110° or so) and possibly melt/cool the butter for best results.

~Sarah

Bread Machine Rolls
Recipes

Bread Machine Rolls

Sarah

I am finding that the boys like rolls more than loaves of bread. Rolls freeze and thaw fast, so they’re a great way to have bread on hand for their school lunches, and anytime they want a carb treat.

They are also easy to make with a bread machine. You just add the ingredients, check on the dough in the first kneading cycle, and then form the rolls. Hands-on time is less than 15 minutes.

And children think you are a god because….warm rolls and butter are both peasant and royalty food. All at once.

Bread Machine Rolls

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup water
  • 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, sliced
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt
  • 3 Tbsp granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup dry milk powder
  • 390 grams of all-purpose flour*
  • 2¼ tsp or 1 packet dry active yeast

Also:

  • 1 large egg white
  • 2 Tbsp cool water

 Directions:

Add to a Zojirushi bread machine in the order listed, starting with water and ending with flour. Sprinkle the yeast on top, ensuring it doesn’t touch the liquid. Set the machine for the “Dough” setting. It will take 1 hour and 50 minutes in this machine.

If using other brands, follow the directions as called for and the temperature of water needed. If using a different brand of machine, melt the butter first.

See the notes section below and watch if the dough needs more flour during the first kneading cycle.

Set the dough on a lightly floured work area and divide it into 12 sections.

Roll each section gently into a ball.

Set the rolls on a large baking sheet that was lightly oiled. Cover the rolls with plastic wrap lightly misted with oil.

Let rise for 40 minutes. (In cool temperatures, use a heating pad set to medium under the tray.)

Preheat the oven to 350° for the final 10 minutes of rising time.

Whisk the egg white and water, and brush over the rolls.

Bake for about 15 minutes and check. The rolls will be lightly brown on top.

Transfer to a cooling rack.

Store in a plastic bag to keep it fresh once cooled.

Makes 12 rolls.

Notes:

*The flour you need depends on the type of flour used and the humidity. The brand can even play into it. This is why I weigh out rather than scoop flour.

Start with 390 grams and add more if needed during the kneading cycle. You want the dough not to be wet or sticky but tacky when pressing a finger against it.

~Sarah