Tag Archives: keto

Meatballs with Easy Cheesy Sauce

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Meatballs

Sometimes I just really get an idea in my head for dinner but I am still at work. Conveniently my husband works a lot later than me, so I can often get him to do some dinner prep for me. Today Gen took out the pork and beef to defrost and they were perfectly ready by the time I got home. Meatballs were on the menu and my goodness I am thrilled with them! I whipped up some cheese sauce, kind of like an alfredo, to top them off and I was in an amazing cheesy dream place come dinner.

On a complete random and mostly unrelated note, I was walking home along Granville when I was a sign advertising “1/2 Pd Wings.” Most creative expression  of pound that I’ve ever seen.

Meatballs

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1/2 large onion, roughly chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 lb minced beef
  • 1 lb minced pork
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp oregano
  • 1/4 tsp ground sage
  • 1/2 cup parmesan, grated
  • 2 eggs

DIRECTIONS

  1. Heat oven to 375°F, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
  2. In a medium skillet over high heat melt butter and sauté onion for 5 minutes, until just translucent.
  3. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more, until fragrant.
  4. In a large bowl mash together the two minced meats. Add the sautéed onions and garlic, cheese, eggs, salt, pepper, and spices.
  5. Mix well to combine, it will be gooey.
  6. Roll golfball-sized meatballs and line up on the prepared cookie sheet.
  7. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until browned and cooked through.

Easy Cheesy Sauce

INGREDIENTS

  • 8 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 3/4 cup whipping cream
  • 1/2 cup parmesan, grated
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp garlic, minced
  • 1/2-3/4 cup of water as needed

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a medium saucepan, heat the cream cheese over medium-low, stirring until melted and smooth.
  2. Gradually stir in the whipping cream until smooth.
  3. Add the parmesan and seasonings. It will be very thick at this point.
  4. Cook over low heat until smooth and creamy, adding water until you’ve reached your desired consistency.
  5. Serve over meatballs!
All-in-one ready to mash into glorious meatballs!

All-in-one ready to mash into glorious meatballs!

I pan-fried one as a tester. Works as well as baking, but browner.

I pan-fried one as a tester. Works as well as baking, but browner.

Creamy cheese sauce.

Creamy cheese sauce.

Delicious baked meatballs!

Delicious baked meatballs!

Grilled Squid and Baby Octopus on Purple Cabbage Salad with Lemon

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GrilledSquidandBabyOctopus

Gen likes to buy new and exciting ingredients and then leave me to figure out what to do with them. Unlike the mussel situation of a month ago (delicious mussel situation, don’t get me wrong), Gen did not buy an incredible amount of squid and octopus, so I wasn’t pressured to cook an insane amount all in one shot. We invited our wonderful friends over for food and some gaming and I went to work marinating, chopping (including my finger again, sigh), and grilling. The wild thing is, seafood is super easy to prepare, no need to be intimidated by these ‘exotic’ creatures, a little marinade and some heat go a long way. I used two different marinades and I loved the combination, the squid was slightly spicy (sorry Tobias!) and the octopus was just touched with a little citrus. I whipped up a lemon-olive oil dressing that I used to top the salads to tie the flavours together and give the cabbage a little brightness. You can easily serve the seafood on top of rice or pasta, but I’ve included my salad recipe below, once again it is all about cabbage and full of colour!

Citrus Baby Octopus

From Mark’s Daily Apple

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 pounds baby octopus (Go to Mark’s Daily Apple for instructions on how to prepare your octopus, if you have more than legs)
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • juice of 1 large lemon
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 10 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper. Pour into a large ziploc bag and set aside.
  2. In a medium pot over high heat, bring 5 cups of water to a boil. Turn the heat off and dump the octopuses into the pot.
  3. Let the octopus sit in the pot for 1 minute and then drain immediately. Rinse well with cold water.
  4. Add the octopus to the marinade bag, tossing to coat. Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
  5. Turn your grill to high (we have a countertop grill, only one setting, HIGH).
  6. Grill for about 6 minutes, turning halfway. Remove from heat and serve warm over salad, or allow to cool to serve.

 

Grilled Spicy Squid

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 lb squid tubes, fresh or frozen (mine were clean and frozen from Superstore, if you can only find full squid there are many sites out there with cleaning tips)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp coarse salt
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 red chili pepper flakes
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic, minced

DIRECTIONS

  1. Rinse your squid tubes, slice down one side to open, and lay out on a clean dish towel or layered paper towels, pat until quite dry.
  2. Cut the squid into 1/2 inch strips and toss in a large bowl.
  3. In a small bowl, stir together the spices.
  4. Drizzle the olive oil over the squid and toss to coat.
  5. Sprinkle the spices over the oiled squid and toss until every piece is spiced. Cover and allow to sit in the fridge until you are ready to grill.
  6. Turn the grill on high, lay pieces of squid on the grill and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes per side. Some of your pieces may curl up while cooking, that’s alright!
  7. Serve over salad!

 

Lemon Dressing to serve over seafood

INGREDIENTS

  • juice of one lemon
  • 1/2 cup of olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/4 tsp fresh rosemary, minced (*optional)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl, drizzle over seafood, salad, anything!

 

Cabbage Salad

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/2 head of purple cabbage, thinly sliced
  • 3 stalks of celery, thinly sliced
  • 1 red pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1/2lb green beans, quartered

DIRECTIONS

  1. Toss together all ingredients in a large bowl, drizzle with preferred dressing and enjoy a crunchy, awesome salad!
Beautiful little octopus legs.

Beautiful little octopus legs.

Bright, fresh ingredients.

Bright, fresh ingredients.

Sliced squid tubes.

Sliced squid tubes.

Par boiled and ready to be grilled.

Par boiled and ready to be grilled.

Squid strips.

Squid strips.

Grilling away, my tester batch.

Grilling away, my tester batch.

Cabbage Roll Casserole (I know, I know, another cabbage post!)

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Cabbagerollcasserole

Sorry guys, I am in a cabbagey place lately and this is just another cabbage-loving creation. I can promise you something super sweet and amazing for Wednesday (it is the Food Blogger Cookie post), so if you are hating on the cabbage, wait until then for a switch up. BUT, if you are down with awesome cabbage-loving dishes, scroll on down and get all up in this recipe. Kel and I are something like 25% Ukrainian and have always taken pride in cooking up great Ukrainian dishes (like Kel’s Chicken Paprikash), in particular we try to get together once a year to make up a huge batch of perogies and cabbage rolls to split (look forward to this post after Christmas). But, when this supplies runs out, immediately after Christmas, they are too good to keep, I have to come up with quick alternatives that offer the same flavours. This one-pot wonder is easy and delicious and makes a batch big enough for a family, or great for many lunches.

Cabbage Roll Casserole

INGREDIENTS

  • 3 lbs ground beef
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil (or olive)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1/2 tsp thyme
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1/4 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes *optional
  • 1 tsp garlic, minced
  • 1/2 head of cabbage, roughly chopped (about 4 cups raw)
  • 1/2 cup strained tomatoes (I used Pomi, it is essentially nothing-added tomato sauce, feel free to substitute your own brand, or 2 minced tomatoes)
  • 3 tbsp cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup cheddar, shredded

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a large pot over medium-high heat, melt the coconut oil and brown your ground beef. Break up the meat as it cooks to get an even crumble.
  2. Add the spices to the meat and stir well to evenly distribute.
  3. Create a well in the centre of your pot (move the meat to the sides) and add your garlic. Allow to cook for 5 minutes over medium heat, until fragrant.
  4. Add the cabbage and tomato to the pot and stir well to combine. Dollop the cream cheese on top of the mixture, cover with a lid and cook everything for 15 minutes, until the cabbage is tender.
  5. Stir the, now softened, cream cheese into the meat and cabbage mixture, taste and adjust spices if needed.
  6. Sprinkle the mixture with the cheddar cheese and allow to melt before serving.
  7. Serve alone or over rice. Top with a dollop of sour cream of creme fraiche.
Ah cabbage, my current love.

Ah cabbage, my current love.

Cheese to round it out!

Cheese to round it out!

Creamy Cauliflower & Cabbage Soup

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CreamyCauliflowerSoup

This soup is creamy, buttery, thick, and delicious. I have been on a weird cabbage kick lately and here we go. This soup is awesome and hearty and can be easily veganized by omitting the dairy (or switching for vegan versions), it will still be amazing. The recipe makes a lot so you will have meals for days, or for a group. I served this up with a sprinkle of cayenne and some sausage on the side. You will see I’ve suggested that the cabbage and cauliflower can be any size, the measurements can be adjusted for different amounts of veggies (it’s hard to hunt down a particular size of veggies).

Creamy Cauliflower & Cabbage Soup

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 head of cabbage (any size), roughly chopped
  • 1 head of cauliflower (any size), roughly chopped
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 5 cups of chicken broth (or more, to almost cover the veg)
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta
  • paprika or cayenne to sprinkle

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a very large pot melt the butter. Sauté the cabbage over medium-high heat until softened and somewhat translucent. 
  2. Add the cauliflower to the pot, sprinkle with pepper, salt, and cumin.
  3. Pour the both into the pot until you’ve just about covered the veggies.
  4. Bring to a boil. Then lower heat and allow the soup to simmer for an hour until everything is very tender.
  5. Using an immersion blender, blend up the soup until smooth.
  6. Add crumbled feta and cream to the smooth soup, and cook for another 10 minutes.
  7. Serve in a large bowl and sprinkle with either paprika or cayenne.
Ready to cook down.

Ready to cook down.

Pre-blending.

Pre-blending.

This cabbage looked lovely inside.

This cabbage looked lovely inside.

Cheesy Chicken Bacon Cabbage Casserole: it’s a mouthful and some

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CheeseChickenCasserole

This dish is an easy and hearty dinner creation. The cabbage is buttery and understated while the bacon and jalapeño punch up the flavour in an awesome way. I love the combo of cheesiness with bite and this dish is packed with both. Feel free to lessen the spice, half a pepper will do the job, but it is pretty glorious. Also feel free to punch of any of the flavours with a few more slices of bacon or a second pepper! This dish is flexible and a two-pot creation worthy of a weeknight dinner schedule. This easily serves 4 people with a side salad.

Cheesy Chicken Bacon Cabbage Casserole with ranch dressing

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 lbs chicken, cubed (three large breasts)
  • 4 slices bacon
  • 2 cups cabbage, chopped
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 jalapeño, minced
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 2 oz cream cheese
  • 1 cup cheddar (or mozzarella, or both), shredded
  • 3 tbsp creme fraiche (or sour cream)
  • 1 tbsp ranch dressing

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a large pot (dutch ovens are great), cook the bacon. I cook my bacon with a little bit of water to keep it from getting too crispy while I am preparing everything else. 
  2. Once the bacon is slightly crisped and cooked through, 5-8 minutes, chop up.
  3. Add the cubed chicken to the pot with the bacon and sauté over medium-high heat for 8 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.
  4. In another pan, melt the butter and sauté the cabbage over medium-high heat for 10 minutes until it starts to become translucent.
  5. Back in the large pot, add the jalapeño and sautéed cabbage, stir well.
  6. Stir in the salt and pepper, onion powder, and cream cheese, letting the cream cheese melt into the mixture.
  7. Spread the mixture evenly across the bottom of the pot and sprinkle with the shredded cheese. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 15 minutes.
  8. While the chicken mixture is cooking, stir together your creme fraiche and ranch dressing. Set aside.
  9. Serve up on a plate and drizzle with the ranch dressing.
These are the GIANT chicken breasts I picked up at the market. They were bone-in, but still remarkably huge.

These are the GIANT chicken breasts I picked up at the market. They were bone-in, but still remarkably huge. P.S. My hands are not tiny.

Sautéed cabbage added to the pot (jalapeño below).

Sautéed cabbage added to the pot (jalapeño below).

Topped with cheese and ready for it's 15 minutes.

Topped with cheese and ready for it’s 15 minutes.