a sunny day - yeah!! and something good to eat, too

Good afternoon! What a beautiful afternoon! It’s finally sunny here – yeah! But tomorrow it’s supposed to be cloudy again and then rain for the end of the week, this weekend & early next week. I’m going to be optimistic and hope that the weather forecast is wrong.
Yesterday was a really busy day for me. I ended up working late so my wonderful husband offered to cook supper. When I finally made it home, he was in the kitchen, just finishing our supper - crispy fried tilapia. This is one of his favorite things to cook. For a side dish, we each had a big salad, made with prepackaged salad mix & assorted toppings, including cheese. We use a lot of the prepackaged lettuce mixes – lettuce & spinach are both low in net carbs and you can create a salad in a matter of minutes. We each prefer different types of salads, so for most meals, we assemble various toppings, including different types of dressings & different types of cheeses.
Here’s an idea I’d like to share – sometimes breakfast is a challenge for me. I’m usually in a hurry in the morning, fixing my coffee & trying to get out of the house quickly in order to get to work. When we have cooler months, I tend to prefer eggs or hot milled flax seed cereal. But I like to mix things up, so my latest breakfast idea is a couple of spoonfuls of peanut butter & a couple of slices of white Vermont cheddar cheese. I absolutely love peanut butter & cheese – which is why I love this combination so much. I also take cheese for a snack to work.
Well, it’s time for me to go! I hope you have a nice afternoon & a wonderful evening. Take care & I’ll catch back up with you tomorrow!

another rainy day & another pretty quick meal idea

Good afternoon! I hope you had a great weekend. On Saturday, I took my daughter, Lori, shopping for prom accessories – shoes, jewelry and makeup. We also had a practice run at the beauty shop so that she knew exactly how she wanted to get her hair fixed. On Saturday night, I went to watch my husband play at a concert. By Sunday I was so worn out from shopping & cleaning house, that I spent the afternoon on the couch, reading & napping. Our weather has been so rainy & gloomy that I really didn’t have the desire to do anything else. And it’s still raining & very gloomy… I need sunshine!
So yesterday I had to break down and go to the grocery store. I really don’t like to go to the grocery store on Monday after I get off work, but if I wanted to cook anything in my low carb kitchen, I figured I better get to the store. Sometimes when I’m not really in the mood to go to the store, I just grab the essentials and figure out what I’m going to do with them later. So my entrees for this week consist of rib eye steaks, pork chops, chicken and fish. I also picked up lots of eggs & cheese.
After going to the grocery store, I wanted to come up with a nice meal. I also needed something quick because my daughter & husband had waltz practice for prom – so I had a limited amount of time to get everything ready. I decided to fix steaks and a salad. The rib eye steaks were on a special – 6 prepackaged steaks for less than $10. Too good of a buy for me to pass up. They were very easy to fix, too. First of all, they were frozen, so I put them in cold water for 30 minutes. While they were thawing, I boiled 4 eggs for our salad. When the steaks were thawed, I added a little oil to 2 skillets, seasoned each steak with a little salt, pepper & garlic powder, and divided the steaks between the 2 skillets.
As the steaks were cooking, I prepared a simple salad with balsamic vinegar & olive oil dressing. When the eggs were hard cooked, I peeled and sliced them. Then I placed them in the freezer for a few minutes in order to cool them quickly. By the time the steaks were ready, the salad was ready, too. Each of us had a large serving of salad and a steak. Another yummy & quick meal without too much fuss or prep work.
Well, it’s time for me to go. I’ll be back tomorrow with another recipe or two, maybe even three… have a good evening and take care!

birthdays, cravings for sweets & chicken with bacon & ranch

Good afternoon! Hope you’re doing well. I didn’t get a chance to blog yesterday. We had a busy day and then we went to my brother-in-law’s house to celebrate my niece, Brayden’s 7th birthday. She is so darn cute. My son Bradley spied her practicing with her presents – she would hold up a present and say “thank you so much”, then she’d put that present down & pick up another & practice saying “thank you” again. Brayden also met each female, whether they were old or young, at the door with a beaded necklace for them to wear during her party. When it came time for her to open presents, she was so excited and her thank-you practicing really paid off – she would thank everyone so nicely for their gift – even if she didn’t quite know what it was!
And yes, I will admit, I had a piece of birthday cake. It was about 3 or 4 bites of cake. I used to eat 2 pieces of cake but now just a sliver goes a long way. I haven’t had a piece of cake this year, I’m sure. Last year, I might have had a couple of pieces but I’m not sure – maybe I didn’t have any. That’s truly living a low carb lifestyle! But I don’t miss it, either. If I’m craving a dessert or a sweet, I’ll make one of the low carb dessert recipes I’ve posted or I’ll have a piece of low carb chocolate.
Okay, time to get back to recipes. My latest low carb concoction that I came up with, in my low carb kitchen, was inspired by an advertisement I saw for a chicken, bacon, ranch sandwich at a local fast food restaurant. My little twist was to add cheese because I love cheese and as you have probably noticed, I tend to use it a lot! I just cooked the chicken in a skillet, then added bacon & a little olive oil. When it was finished I added ranch dressing & cheese. Here’s the recipe if you’d like to give it a try.
Well, it’s time for me to go. Gotta run – hope you have a nice evening. Take care & see you tomorrow!

busy as a bee, prom, tuxedos & menu planning

Good afternoon! Hope you’re doing well! Busy as a bee – that’s how I feel. Sometimes we just have so much to do… I guess that's because we’re getting ready for prom, graduation, graduation parties and college stuff. Speaking of prom, we met my daughter’s date for the prom last night and helped him pick out a tuxedo & accessories. He seems like a really nice guy!
When we finished taking care of the tuxedo, everyone was hungry and we only had about 45 minutes until waltz practice for the prom. I was really glad that I was able to whip up something in a hurry in my low carb kitchen! On Sunday, I made a bacon wrapped pork loin. When I picked out the pork loin, I made sure to get one that would be large enough for 2 meals. For supper last night, I decided to slice the remaining pork loin into about ½ to ¾ inch slices. Then I browned the meat until it was a deep golden brown in melted butter in a skillet. While the pork was cooking, I opened 2 cans of green beans, drained the liquid and cooked them on the stove with butter & pepper. The meal turned out really good and everyone had seconds, except me.
So tonight, I need to come up with a plan to make something that will work for a meal tonight & tomorrow. I’m thinking some kind of chicken but I’m not really sure. My husband will be in a hurry tonight, tomorrow & Thursday for band practice. Tomorrow we have my niece’s birthday get together & my daughter has church youth group. I think possibly on Friday, we might be able to enjoy a quiet evening at home without everyone having some place to be in a hurry.
Whew! The weekend – I can hardly wait. Although, at this time, we don’t have a very good weather forecast for later in the week and the weekend but as we know, that’s always subject to change. Well, it’s time for me to go. Have a great evening and I’ll catch back up with you tomorrow. Take care!

roadtrip snacks & bacon wrapped pork loin

What an awesome weekend! My husband & I took my daughter, Lori, to NKU to accept her scholarship and register for fall classes. I can’t believe our baby will be leaving home in August. I am going to miss her so very much! But I really like the school and the program she is getting into. We left late Friday afternoon – we were supposed to leave as soon as Lori came home from school, but we wanted to look at her yearbook first. She has been on the yearbook staff each year since she has been in high school & this year she was honored to be chosen as the editor. Her work is only just amazing! From the scheme to the layout & design – I don’t think it could be any better!
We stopped on our way out of town to pick up some low carb treats – diet drinks, water, peanuts, cheddar cheese sticks and string cheese. Oh, and of course, chocolate. Low carb chocolate treats! We had plain milk chocolate bars, caramel pecan clusters & chocolate covered toffee.
Then we munched on low carb snacks, while driving in the pouring rain for 3 & ½ hours. By the time we ended up in Cincinnati, the rain had stopped. We stayed in the middle of downtown & watched as the kids dressed for prom walked by. They looked so cute. We ended up getting a bite to eat at the hotel and then retired for the night.
The next morning we had to be at the college early, so we stopped at a Subway for a quick breakfast – bacon, eggs & cheese. Lunch was served at the college in an Italian restaurant. When I found out they were having an Italian lunch, I thought that we’d be having pasta. I was pleasantly surprised when I realized we’d have a nice low carb selection – chicken breast, steamed veggies & salads. It was a really good lunch.
Yesterday, I was glad to be back in my low carb kitchen! For lunch we had what I call a bacon and egg skillet – chopped bacon, fried with eggs and cream cheese – yummy! About mid afternoon, while we were working in the yard, I cooked a bacon wrapped pork loin. I only spent a few minutes in the kitchen, prepping and browning the pork loin – then into the oven it went so that when we were ready for supper, it was ready, too. We also had slices of Vermont sharp white cheddar cheese. A nice, simple, low carb meal without a lot of fuss. Actually, I think we were too tired to eat anything else after spending so much time working in the yard and cleaning house!
Well, it’s time for me to go. I hope you had a nice weekend & a good Monday, too. See you tomorrow! Take care!

festivals and leftovers...

Good afternoon! What a week… I am so ready for the weekend – how about you? So far, we’re still having beautiful weather and I’m so glad. We’re leaving this afternoon to take my daughter to Northern Kentucky University for a visit. Tomorrow she will attend a welcoming reception with the honors fellows, be honored with a scholarship and register for classes. I am so proud of her! When we’re finished tomorrow, we’ll hurry back home so that we can go to our annual Tri-Fest. Lots of fun, food, music, games, rides, etc. One of my favorite parts of the festival is seeing lots of friends and checking out the entertainment.
I also get a little break from my low carb kitchen. Instead of cooking, we’ll be finding lots of low carb foods to enjoy. I’m sure my husband will get his favorite – polish sausage with a few peppers & onions topped with mustard and hold the bun. Not exactly my favorite! I like the grilled pork chops or the grilled ribeye sandwiches, minus the bun, of course. And the big, juicy burgers – don’t forget to hold the bun. It seems to me they have some kind of fried cheese or jalapenos stuffed with cheese – again, not too bad for the carb count. But there’s lots of other items, too. Like chicken and tenderloins. Okay, I just realized I haven’t had lunch yet! All this talk about food is making me hungry!
One more thing I wanted to talk about today is leftovers. Don’t forget to use your leftovers this week for a quick meal in a hurry. We’ve had leftovers several times this week. One thing we like to do is have a big salad and pull all of the leftovers out of the refrigerator. Then we decide who wants what, warm them up, if needed, and we’ve got a nice, quick meal in a matter of minutes. I’m just saying, again, don’t forget to use your leftovers!
Well it’s time for me to go. I hope you have a great evening and a wonderful weekend! Take care!

festivals and leftovers...

Good afternoon! What a week… I am so ready for the weekend – how about you? So far, we’re still having beautiful weather and I’m so glad. We’re leaving this afternoon to take my daughter to Northern Kentucky University for a visit. Tomorrow she will attend a welcoming reception with the honors fellows, be honored with a scholarship and register for classes. I am so proud of her! When we’re finished tomorrow, we’ll hurry back home so that we can go to our annual Tri-Fest. Lots of fun, food, music, games, rides, etc. One of my favorite parts of the festival is seeing lots of friends and checking out the entertainment.
I also get a little break from my low carb kitchen. Instead of cooking, we’ll be finding lots of low carb foods to enjoy. I’m sure my husband will get his favorite – polish sausage with a few peppers & onions topped with mustard and hold the bun. Not exactly my favorite! I like the grilled pork chops or the grilled ribeye sandwiches, minus the bun, of course. And the big, juicy burgers – don’t forget to hold the bun. It seems to me they have some kind of fried cheese or jalapenos stuffed with cheese – again, not too bad for the carb count. But there’s lots of other items, too. Like chicken and tenderloins. Okay, I just realized I haven’t had lunch yet! All this talk about food is making me hungry!
One more thing I wanted to talk about today is leftovers. Don’t forget to use your leftovers this week for a quick meal in a hurry. We’ve had leftovers several times this week. One thing we like to do is have a big salad and pull out the leftovers out of the refrigerator. Then we decide who wants what, warm them up, if needed, and we’ve got a nice, quick meal in a matter of minutes. I’m just saying, again, don’t forget to use your leftovers!
Well it’s time for me to go. I hope you have a great evening and a wonderful weekend! Take care!

smothered chicken strips & smoked fish spread

Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day… another lovely day here in the Ohio River valley. They’re also forecasting record-breaking heat. Don’t get me wrong, I’m definitely not complaining. I’m ready for warm weather and all the fun that comes along with it. How about you?
With all the fun and extra activities that seem to come hand in hand with warmer weather, I’d like to take a minute to talk about leftovers – again! I know some people say they won’t even touch leftovers but there are so many ways they can be used. If you have the time to cook, why not double the recipe to use later in the week?
Last night, in my low carb kitchen, I made smothered chicken strips. This recipe uses fried chicken strips. If I would have thought about it earlier in the week, I would have made a double batch of fried chicken strips so that we could have had 2 meals. Unfortunately I didn’t think about that & I didn’t have time to make a double batch last night. Basically, it’s chicken strips topped with mushrooms sautéed in butter & smothered with your favorite cheese. The hospital I used to work in served this dish about once a month & we enjoyed it so much, that I was inspired to create my own version. My family loved it!
I was also inspired to create another recipe - smoked fish spread - from an appetizer that’s served at our favorite seafood restaurant in Florida. We have been going to this little restaurant for over 25 years. It’s such a cute little place – at Ponce Inlet, just south of Daytona Beach. It has a great view of the water. We went there on spring break and got to watch the funniest little ducks that would dive underwater and not come back up for what seemed like a very long time. Anyway, we love this restaurant and we always have the smoked fish spread while we watch the inlet for wildlife & enjoy each other's company. Good times!!
Well, it’s time for me to go. I hope you enjoy the rest of the day! Have a great evening and I’ll see you back here tomorrow! Take care.

herb baked salmon & salads

Good afternoon! Hope all is well with you this afternoon! It’s another beautiful day here in the Ohio River valley – sunny, warm, spring flowers sprouting everywhere. I hope you're enjoying beautiful spring weather, too.
Last night, we ended up having a late dinner due to my daughter and husband attending waltz practice at school. Our high school prom starts out with students waltzing with their parents, while their families are allowed to watch. It’s a pretty cool tradition. In addition to getting to see all of the kids in the prom attire, we get to see all of the decorations and everything setup for the prom. We also take lots of pictures & we bring home a lot of memories, too. Anyway, in order to waltz, you have to attend practice twice a week for 3 weeks. I think my husband is having a little bit of a problem with last night’s lesson, so I’m guessing they’ll be doing a little practicing tonite.
Okay, let’s get down to my newest recipes. While my husband & daughter were gone to practice last night, the first recipe I whipped up in my low carb kitchen was herb baked salmon. This recipe takes about 5 minutes of prep work, 1 hour or so to marinate & 35 to 45 minutes to bake. It was absolutely delicious! I left the skin on the bottom of the salmon until after baking – the fish was so tender the skin peeled off very easily. By the next time I make this recipe, maybe I will be able to cook the fish on my new grill.
Along with our salmon, we had a nice fresh spinach salad topped with feta cheese & balsamic vinegar & olive oil. The two new recipes went very well together and made an excellent meal. My husband & daughter both had dessert, too – low carb frozen fudgsicle – yummy! Only 3 net carbs.
Since my daughter is not a big fan of fish, even though she did try the salmon, I made something special for her. A fried chicken salad made with my fried chicken parmesan recipe. I only cooked one chicken breast using less olive oil & parmesan cheese than what the recipe calls for & I also cut it into large bite size pieces. The chicken cooked quicker than it would have if cut into strips and it was easier to eat in a salad. I don’t know about you but I don’t really care to have to cut my salad into bite size pieces in order to eat it. I placed the chicken on a bed of fresh spinach leaves topped with feta & ranch dressing. She loved it!
I’m not sure what I’ll be making tonight but I hope my family likes whatever I decide to whip up as much as they like what we had last night. I just love when we’re sitting down to eat and I hear the nice compliments and the oooo’s and ahhh’s. Hopefully, my oldest son, Matt will be joining us tonight for dinner. Well, it's time for me to go. I hope you have a nice evening! See you tomorrow! Take care!

nice weather & fast food

Good afternoon! What a beautiful spring day! It’s so nice – warm & sunny – and no rain forcasted for a good while. I can’t wait to spend some time this evening sitting outside! Hope you had a great weekend and a good Monday, too!
Since the weather is getting warmer and most of us tend to be pretty busy as the weather warms, I wanted to share with you some things I do for a quick meal. Like yesterday… as I was leaving church, my husband asked me to stop & pick up bacon & eggs for lunch. (We drive separately because he plays music for most of our services & by the time he comes home from the third service, I have normally lunch ready.) We planned on working in the yard all afternoon so I decided it would be nice just to stop on my way home and pick up a quick lunch. Normally when I do this on Sunday, I stop at a restaurant that mainly serves a buffet. I normally fill 3 to-go containers with a variety of low carb items like eggs, bacon, sausage links, sausage patties, cheese and omelets. I usually throw in a few strawberries and some melon, too.
I guess everyone had the same idea yesterday because they didn’t have much of a selection left of breakfast type items. Maybe it’s because they’re running a special – if you bring in your Sunday church bulletin, they’ll give you 10% off of your meal plus they keep a count of all of the church bulletins. Whichever church has the most bulletins at the end of the month – they’ll send the pastor/minister/priest 2 free meal tickets. Anyway, due to the limited selection, I ended up with chopped steak patties, steak, fish on a bed of spinach, smoked sausage, Mongolian beef & broccoli, baked chicken & a few other items including strawberries.
The nice thing I have found about doing this is that we have enough food for 2 meals for the 4 of us in our family. In fact, I don’t think all of the food was eaten yesterday. Another nice thing about getting food to-go from a buffet is that I think it is easier to make sure you stick to your low carb items. Yes, you may choose a few items that might have a few more carbs than usual, like the Mongolian beef & broccoli that I picked up yesterday, but you are not tempted by rolls brought to your table or by dessert, when you’re watching other people pile desserts on a plate. We also tend to eat a whole lot less if we simply bring the food home.
Here are a couple of additional ideas for food to-go – our local Cracker Barrel has a lot of different low carb meals, including at least 4 different low carb breakfast meals. You can check out their menu on-line, call & place your order and it will be ready when you get there. We also have a nice little diner that makes a great western style omelet – loaded with several meats, a little bit of onion & green pepper and stuffed with cheese. Another idea – most places that serve chicken have a roasted or baked chicken. They usually have a chicken meal with 2 sides & a roll. We ask for a double serving of green beans and hold the rolls. Last but not least – have a favorite fast food burger restaurant? How about ordering a couple of breakfast sandwiches and removing the biscuit? Or ordering your favorite burger and removing the bun or replacing the bun with low carb bread?
There are so many low carb items available - you just have to think about your options. After awhile this all becomes a habit. Sometimes people will tell me it is so hard to eat low carb but I totally disagree with that. It just requires a little thought. And I can eat at most restaurants and be able to easily find something low carb to eat on their menu.
I hope I’ve given you some “food for thought”. Have a good afternoon & evening! Take care!

yard work & quick recipes using leftovers

Good Sunday morning! What a beautiful day - sunny with a high of 76 degrees. We did a lot of yard work in our front yard yesterday & today we'll be working in our back yard - it's great to be outside when the weather is so nice. Although I worked so hard yesterday that I can hardly move today, but that's okay too. It feels good to have a nice workout.
Yesterday, I whipped up something really good for my husband for lunch, in my low carb kitchen. As I have said before, I like cooking a little extra so that there are leftovers to use later in the week. Using my leftovers from the very tender steaks recipe that I made earlier in the week, I made bleu cheese steak wraps. The wraps are assembled quickly using all premade ingredients. I'll soon be adding a category on the web page for wraps, since I have so many recipes to share.
And for supper, we had leftovers again. We had baked country style boneless [pork] ribs - I sliced the ribs into thin pieces and served them cold with Chinese hot chili sauce. This sauce contains only 1 net carb per teaspoon. I can't imagine that you would want to use more than 1 teaspoon per serving because this stuff is really hot. But the flavor is delicious. Be sure to serve the sauce on the side, if you try it! We also had freshly shredded cabbage topped with sweet mayo dressing. This was the perfect easy supper to enjoy after working so hard in the yard all day.
Well it's time for me to get busy ~ laundry, church, lunch & then yard work. I hope you have a great day!! I'll see you tomorrow. Take care!

country style ribs, barbeque sauce & hot dogs

Good afternoon! If you live in my area - hasn't today been a gorgeous spring day? If you don't live in my area - I hope you've had nice weather, too! Isn't it strange - during the fall & winter it seems we tend to anticipate and look forward to cooler weather & sometimes even snow. But as soon as spring turns the corner, we tend to get so excited about sunny, warmer days... well at least that's how I am.
Speaking of warmer days, I'm going to have to get a new grill & I'm really looking forward to it! But you don't have to have a grill to cook up something that you might traditionally grill. Last night I made baked country style boneless [pork] ribs. These ribs are cooked in the oven and although I cooked them for almost 2 hours, it only took about 10 minutes to prep, preheat the oven and begin cooking. You could also grill the ribs.
I've been doing some research on making a low carb barbeque sauce and after reading so many different types of recipes and suggestions - I decided to try a sauce based on what my mother used to make. She used ketchup, mustard & worchestershire sauce. I decided to use liquid smoke in place of the worchestershire sauce because it has, in my opinion, too many carbs - 1 per teaspoon. Whereas liquid smoke has 0 per teaspoon. I also added some additional spices - here's the link to the mild barbeque sauce, if you'd like to give it a try.
Speaking of grilling, I think for supper this evening were gonna have something else you might like to grill but you can also cook them quickly on the stove. Cheese hot dogs, need I say more? The brand I buy contains less than 1 net carb per dog - not too bad. You can also fry them in a skillet with a bit of olive oil or butter - slice them first, straight down the middle - then fry on the cut side first. We like to put our hot dogs on a plate and top with lots of low carb toppings, including reduced sugar ketchup, mustard, mayonaisse, onion, cheese and whatever else you might be in the mood for.
Last but not least - if you're having a late night craving for something crunchy and salty - how about trying one of my son, Bradley's, favorite low carb snacks? Pork rinds dipped in low carb peanut butter. I've been buying natural peanut butter that contains only 4 net carbs per tablespoon. Usually the natural peanut butter is a little runny - so it's perfect for dipping. Here's a couple of the brands I purchase.

It's funny, when Bradley has friends over he'll get some out to snack on. Then he'll ask if they want some & "make" them try it. So far, they've all really liked his snack.
Well I hope you have a wonderful evening. It's time for me to head to my low carb kitchen & then have a little family time. See you tomorrow. Take care!!

fried pickles, shrimp salad & wraps

Good afternoon! How are you doing today? I hope well! I’m ready for some more warm spring weather. We had storms last night and today it’s been pretty cloudy this morning. The sun has been peaking out a bit this afternoon but the wind is pretty brisk – it’s much cooler. Tomorrow we’re in for a very sunny, much warmer day. Yeah! And our weekend forecast is even better – it looks like we’ll be working in the yard!
I can’t wait to tell you about what I whipped up in my low carb kitchen last night. My first recipe is fried dill pickles. Many of our local restaurants serve this yummy appetizer. Anytime we have any kind of outdoor activities with food booths, at least a couple of booths feature fried dill pickles. I decided a few weeks ago to come up with my own low carb version. I frequently use grated parmesan cheese in place of breading for frying fish & chicken. So, I decided I should be able to use parmesan cheese as a breading. It worked out just great! I’m going to start trying it with other fried appetizers and vegetables, too. I’ll add the recipes as soon as I try them out. One tip – be sure to use the kind of grated parmesan that comes in a jar – I don’t think freshly grated parmesan would work or would work as well.
My next recipe is dilled shrimp salad. I love seafood salad but most of the time, imitation crab meat is used and most of it, that I have seen, is fairly high in net carbs. So I decided to substitute the imitation crab meat with shrimp. For an extra fresh kick of flavor – I added dried dill weed. I think the result is better than regular seafood salad.
You can serve this salad by itself, on a bed of lettuce, or on a low carb sandwich. How did I serve it? I made dilled shrimp salad wraps. I highly recommend giving them a try. I frequently use low carb tortillas for wraps – I like them a lot better than some of the low carb wrap products that are in our local grocery store. Some of the wraps tend to be pretty grainy or have a slightly weird taste. So I buy low carb tortillas that have almost the exact same texture as flour tortillas.
What will I whip up next? Who knows? Not even me! It depends on what we’re in the mood for tonight but I guarantee it will be something delicious! I can’t wait to get back in the kitchen tonight! I hope you have a good evening! Take care!

celebrating our anniversary with family & the letter S

Good afternoon, hope you’re doing well & having a great day. If you read my blog yesterday, you might remember that my husband and I were celebrating our 31st wedding anniversary. He had asked if I wanted to go out for dinner. After thinking about it, I decided I really just wanted to cook and celebrate at home with my husband and kids. After being gone for spring break & not seeing my son, Bradley, for over 2 weeks, I just couldn’t wait to get back in the kitchen! I have all kinds of new recipes that I can’t wait to try!
So, since we were eating at home, I wanted to make sure I came up with a very nice, restaurant quality meal. Here’s what I decided on whipping up in my low carb kitchen - a simple fresh spinach salad, shrimp with cocktail sauce, tender broiled steak and, for dessert – fresh strawberries with a whipped cream sauce. The meal was delicious !
One of my husband’s favorite things to eat is steak, so that’s why I decided on as a main course. Although, I must admit I didn’t think I had ever made a very tender steak – so I did a little research on how to cook a tender steak. I found the funniest web site that had an acticle called something like “cooking a hunk-of-cheap meat into a great steak” or something similar! It even had pictures. I won’t go into all of the details, but the idea was to completely cover the steak with salt and let it sit for 15 minutes to 1 hour prior to cooking. You then wash the steak well & pat dry before cooking. I had my doubts, but I gave it a try…
While the steak was ‘marinating in salt’, I prepared our salad ingredients, shrimp & strawberry dessert. I wanted to make a large salad but since my family is little picky in regards to toppings & dressings – we just each made our own salad. Ingredients included fresh spinach leaves, olives, feta cheese, montery jack cheese, mushrooms and ranch or chunky bleu cheese dressing. I bought one of those nifty little frozen shrimp ring packages from the grocery store – so all I had to do was slightly thaw the shrimp, throw away the cocktail sauce and make my shrimp cocktail sauce recipe since the packaged stuff is loaded with carbs!
While the shrimp thawed, I worked on my dessert – first I placed a cup of heavy whipping cream in the freezer to get it really cold. Next, I washed and sliced my strawberries into halves. After cleaning the strawberries, I prepared my whipping cream sauce in a small mixing bowl . My whipping cream didn’t develop “heavy peaks” but that was okay with me, I just wanted a cream sauce. If you want to try the recipe and you’d like the “heavy peak” consistency, I would suggest trying to add a little cream of tartar. That should help somewhat.
Our meal turned out really nice. The steaks were absolutely the best I have ever made and they were very, very tender. Since the salads were made to our individual preferences – they were great, too. The cocktail sauce was just right – my daughter even liked it! And the strawberry dessert was very good – although we were so full from our meal we waited until later in the evening to enjoy it. Best of all, it was great just being able to spend some time together with our family!
Speaking of spending time with family – I was just about heart broken last night when I signed my daughter’s housing application for college, next year. I admit I shed a few tears and my daughter asked why I was upset – I told her it was because I was signing papers for her to live somewhere other than with me and that really made me sad! Well, I can’t wait to spend another evening with my family tonight! I have a couple of new recipes to try out on them. I hope you have a great evening, too! See you tomorrow!
PS - funny thing, after typing my blog, I realized all of our meal last evening consisted of foods that started with the letter S!

spring days, fresh spinach & spicy deviled eggs

Good day! I hope you’ve had a great day so far! I think we have had the most perfect spring weather today – it’s very sunny, fairly warm for this time of year and the wind is pretty strong. Actually, our area is under a high wind advisory and a fire advisory for the day. Even with the advisories, it is absolutely wonderful outside today. Just don’t try to burn anything outdoors, if you are in our area! And you should be prepared for strong spring storms tomorrow. I hope it’s nice in your area today, too!
In my low carb kitchen, we’ve been whipping up a few new recipes. One of my new favorites is a recipe my husband developed cooked fresh spinach. It’s made with spinach, bacon, onion & garlic. I really think my husband could live on bacon alone. He also loves to cook with it, too. We’ve been using fresh spinach for most of our salads lately. One of the reasons I’ve been using it so much is because a 9 oz bag contains only 4 net carbs. Another reason – spinach is really, really good for you. And fresh spinach really doesn’t taste anything like the canned spinach my mother used to make – yuck! Sorry, Mom!! Spinach is also very versatile – in addition to salads, you can use it on a low carb sandwich, in low carb wraps or you could try this delectable recipe for creamed spinach, which I had previously blogged about. Still, it deserves mentioning again because it is absolutely wonderful!
So, do you still have leftover boiled eggs from Easter? Or are you looking for a spicy recipe for deviled eggs? Either way, I hope you’ll give this recipe for spicy deviled eggs a try – it’s made with my new horsey sauce recipe. You can make this recipe ahead of time for your spring & summer get togethers – barbecues, picnics, etc. As I said yesterday, I just love horseradish, although I used to not be a big fan of it. Isn’t it funny how your taste buds change? Anyway, I’ve been thinking of all kinds of different ways to spice things up! Stay tuned for some more spicy recipes to be posted later!
I hope you have a nice evening. I’m posting a little earlier than usual today because tonight I will be celebrating my 31st wedding anniversary with my husband. Happy anniversary, honey!

starfish, sand dollars & spring break

Good afternoon! Sorry for the long break from blogging. We just returned from our little spring break vacation on Saturday. Although I had the best intentions of blogging and adding recipes while on vacation, I just couldn’t tear myself away from all the pool time and beach time! Speaking of beach time, I was so excited to find a starfish & an almost-whole sand dollar. We had absolutely beautiful weather, although the ocean temperature was only estimated at about 69 degrees. But we braved the chilly water the last day we were there – we lasted for about 2 minutes!
Last night, our sons’ band returned from their tour and we were so glad to have everyone back at home again. I’m so proud of them. This was what they are considering to be their first successful tour – they were able to eat well, enjoy themselves and return with money in their pockets. Yeah!!
Well, on my little break from my low carb kitchen, I must admit I didn’t do any cooking all the while I was gone! Not cooking was pretty strange, considering how much I tend to cook now days. My breakfast consisted of a protein shake every morning because I had to get down to the pool quickly in order to reserve our poolside table & chairs. If you are ever in a hurry and need a quick breakfast or snack, I highly recommend protein shakes. You can find protein shake mixes or protein shakes at many grocery stores, including your local Walmart. Also, just a reminder, don’t forget to check the net carb count – some may be loaded with lots of carbs. I have a shaker type of container that I use in order to mix a shake thoroughly. I like to use a vanilla shake mix with coffee and ice – then shake (or stir well). You can also whip up all kinds of different varieties like chocolate cream shake, orange dream shake, & root beer shake.
While we were on vacation, our lunch usually consisted of a couple of slices of deli meat, some cheese, and sometimes a small piece of fruit. I like to roll slices of deli meat by themselves or roll a slice of deli meat around a slice of cheese. If you like horseradish, you might want to try serving slices of deli meat & cheese with my new horsey sauce recipe. You can also serve the horsey sauce on burgers, with steak, pork loin or anything else you’d like to add a little kick to. How about a spicey egg salad made with the horsey sauce? Actually, I could eat this sauce on just about anything!
Well, I hope you’ve had a good day and continue to have a good evening. I’m glad to be back sharing my recipes and little stories with you! See you tomorrow! Take care!