Homemade low carb bread + Pizza Soup + Flourless Raspberry Brownies = YUMMO!!!!!

Brock's favorite food is pizza...which isn't low carb. Now I have made a low carb pizza crust using carbquick but I thought I'd try making a pizza soup. I saw a recipe for pizza soup but I thought it needed more added too it. We love a lot of meat on our pizza and Brock isn't a fan of veggies on pizza. So I thought I'd make up my own pizza soup recipe. You can change the ingredients to whatever you chose. You can add veggies or even pasta (macaroni or corkscrew). I would suggest that if you choose to add onions or green peppers (or other veggies), to saute them first in a little bit of butter or oil before throwing everything into the pot to cook.

Pizza Soup

Ingredients:

2 cups of pre-made spaghetti sauce (I used Ragu Meat flavored)

5 cups of chicken broth

1 large can of green chili's (7 ounce can)

The rest of the ingredients weren't measured just added according to what you like:

Shredded Cooked Chicken (about 3/4 of a cup to a cup)

Bacon Crumbles (I used 5 slices)

Diced Pepperoni (I cut up 20 pepperoni's in bite size pieces)

Fresh Spinach Chopped (about 2 cups)

Several dashes of Oregano, Parsly, Onion Powder, and Garlic Powder

Couple shakes of hot sauce and red pepper flakes (you can omit if you don't like spicy food)

Salt and Pepper (to taste if you want to)

Shredded Cheese for garnish (I used freshly shredded Mozzarella...but you can use whatever you like)

Directions:

Put all ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. It might take longer if you are using more veggies or pasta. Just cook until it is warm and all veggies or pasta is cooked.

Once you have served the soup sprinkle with cheese! Enjoy!

I served mine with a pressed sandwich on homemade low carb bread. It is super easy to make. I got the recipe from lowcarbdiets.about.com. Of course I added some ingredients to make it more my own and to add a little more flavor to it.

Low Carb Focaccia Style Bread

(adapted from lowcarbdiets.about.com)

Ingredients:

2 cups of flax seed meal

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 tablespoons of splenda

1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning

1 tablespoon of Rosemary seasoning

5 eggs (beaten)

1/2 cup of water

1/3 cup of oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. 

Mix all your dry ingredients (first 7) together in a bowl. Combine them well. In a separate bowl combine 5 eggs, water and oil. Mix well. Once all wet ingredients are combined stir them into the dry ingredients. Once everything is mixed together pour on your prepared cookie sheet. It won't fill the cookie sheet. Try to make a nice even rectangle by smoothing it out with a spatula. Bake for 20 minutes. NO LONGER!!!! It will burn and taste gross! Once it is finish remove parchment paper to a cooling rack and let cool. When it is cool cut into pieces for sandwiches.  (I used meat and cheese from the deli for our sandwiches. Swiss cheese, turkey, ham, and spicy chicken!) Store the leftover bread in the refrigerator or freezer.

On to dessert! I love chocolate and I know that living a low carb life style doesn't allow for many baked goods. I came across this recipe somewhere a little over a year ago. I can't remember where I got it but it is a keeper in my house! Flourless brownies!!!! This is perfect for the low carb people and the gluten free people! I made these the other day and took them to school and no one believed they were healthy and good for you! I have had several people ask for the recipe so here it is....

Flourless Brownies

Indgredients:
1 cup Splenda

1/2 cup Almond Meal
1/4 cup Splenda Brown Sugar
2 Sticks of Unsalted Butter
3 Egg Whites
1 Large Egg
1 cup Cocoa Powder (unsweetened)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300. Spray a 9x9 inch pan with non stick spray.  

In a bowl melt both sticks of butter. With a hand mixer beat the butter and sugars together. Add in the egg and 3 egg whites and mix well. 

In a separate bowl combine almond meal and cocoa powder. 

With a spoon add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. If you use the hand mixer it will blow the cocoa powder everywhere...trust me...it happened!

When all ingredients are mixed together pour into prepared pan and cook for 25 to 30 minutes. 

For Raspberry brownies (shown in the pictures)....I added 1/4 cup of chopped pecans to the batter before I poured it in the pan. Once it is in the pan I took 1/3 cup of sugar free raspberry jam and used a butter knife to swirl it into the top of the brownie batter before it bakes. When I pulled them out of the oven I melted sugar free chocolate chips and drizzled it on top. Your options with this plan brownie batter is endless. You can add any flavor sugar free jam or nut to it. If you wanted you could chop up some sugar free candy bars and mix it into the batter. So many different variations! Delicious! I made ice cream brownie sundays out of our brownies. Using low carb ice cream and sugar free Hershey's syrup. YUMMO!!!!!!!

 
Enjoy these yummy low carb healthy treats! More to come....on the menu tonight Peanut Chicken served with Cauliflower rice! :)

Chau!

A snow day treat

Again it is another snow day. Looks like I will be in school till mid June! Blah! These days are wonderful because I can spend the day in the kitchen and getting the house cleaned but in turn when it is hot outside and I want to be swimming or planning a vacation I will still be in school. Oh well.

Our patio...at noon...and it is still snowing!!!!

I wanted to make a snack this afternoon that Brock, his brother Blake, Whitney (gf), and I could enjoy tonight while we play games or watch movies. So I made cinnamon sugar pecans. These are super easy and amazingly delicious!!!  If you don't like pecans you can make these with whole almonds. I made pecans and almonds at Christmas time and they only lasted a few hours. The best part about these are they make your house smell like the roasted nut shop at the mall. It is delightful!

What you will need is:  a bag of nuts (I used pecans), 1 cup of splenda, 1/2 cup of splenda brown sugar, 1/4 cup of cinnamon, 1 egg white, and a splash of water.

 

 

Preheat your oven to 200. Line your cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a bowl mix the egg white and a little bit of water together till it is kinda frothy. 

In another bowl combine sugars and cinnamon mix really well. Making sure that there aren't clumps of brown sugar. Drop in some pecans or whatever kind of nut you are using into the egg mixture. Coat well. I used my hands to make sure they were all moisten with the mix. Transfer the nuts to the bowl with sugars and cinnamon. Toss with a slotted spoon. Make sure they are covered with the sugar mixture also. Then scoop them out with the slotted spoon and place on prepared cookie sheet. Repeat until all nuts are covered with sugar mixture and are on the cookie sheet ready for the oven. 

Pecans in egg mixture

Pecans in sugar mixture.

About to go on the cookie sheet

Ready to bake!

Once you have all your nuts on the cookie sheet, bake for 30 minutes. Be careful not to burn the nuts. The nuts should be crunchy with a chewy outside. YUMMO!!!!!

Right out of the oven

DELICIOUS!!!

Plans for tonight include dinner pizza soup and pressed sandwiches on homemade rosemary focaccia style bread (low carb). Then some games or movies while we munch on the cinnamon sugar pecans!

Stay warm on this freezing day! I will post our dinner recipes tomorrow since school has already been canceled!!! :)

Chau!

Breakfast time

I love eggs for breakfast but lets be honest I do good to get up and ready and out the door by 7 without having to cook eggs or a healthy breakfast. Even though eggs only take a few minutes I decided to make things easier on me and Brock. I decided to make little breakfast muffins. I used a muffin tin and instead of using paper liners I just a slice of deli ham. Next layered in the jalepenos, bacon crumbles, egg mixture, and cheese. The results....delicious easy grab and go breakfast. I pack 2 eggs in a baggie and heat them up right before I walk out the door. It a warm, yummy, healthy breakfast on the go!!!

Breakfast Muffins

Ingredients:
non stick spray
12 slices of Deli Ham
4 to 5 pieces of cooked bacon (crumbled)
1 jalapeno diced into small pieces
8 eggs
a slash of milk or heavy whipping cream
a few shakes of hot sauce
1/2 cup of shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350 and spray muffin pan with non-stick spray.

Line a muffin pan with ham slices. 

Sprinkle jalapenos and bacon in the bottom of each cup.

In a bowl mix eggs, milk or cream, and hot sauce in a bowl. 

Spoon mix into each ham cup in the muffin tin. Sprinkle cheese on top. 

 Bake for 15 minutes. Let them cool for a minute in the pan before you take them out. Eat and enjoy!!!!

Chau!!!

Thursday night....

Thursdays nights for me are bittersweet. The sweet part is that all my favorite shows come on...The Office, Grey's Anatomy, American Idol, and Jersey Shore! (I know, it is trash...but it is so addictive!!!!)  The bitter part is I don't get to see Brock at all on Thursdays.  I go to work before he gets up and once he goes to work he has radio stuff, church worship practice, and then he deejays a karaoke night at a fun new pub here in town.

Tonight however was different. I got off work and went to work out then headed to my second job at a tanning salon till 7. I got a phone call after work from Brock. He got done with worship practice early and invited me to meet him at one of my favorite little place to have dinner. So instead of going home to have leftovers and picking through the pantry I got to have a southwest grilled chicken breast covered monterey jack cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and red pepper mayo with a side of steamed veggies!!!! YUMMO!!!! It is delicious!!!!!  After dinner I headed home to get in my pj's and watch my shows.

I don't know how most people are but I love to have a bite of something sweet after dinner. So after a few shows I ventured to the kitchen to find something sweet. I have been having a huge cinnamon craving lately so that is what I was looking for...something sweet and cinnamini.

So this is what I decided on...well lets call it a cinnamon roll up...they are probably one of my favorite things.

You will need a tortilla, brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon, and butter. I don't know how much of each just to taste. :)

I buttered a low-carb tortilla....

...then I sprinkled it with a little of Splenda Brown Sugar, regular Splenda Sugar, and lots of CINNAMON!!!!!!!!

Rolled it up....

...and stuck it on the George Foreman grill.....

...till the tortilla shell is brown and toasted (about 4 minutes)...

Eat and enjoy while it is warm and gooey on the inside! It is a delicious under 90 calorie snack!!!! PERFECT and DELICIOUS!!!!!

You don't have to use the splenda sugars but it cuts way down on carbs, calories, fat, etc! You could also add nuts...almonds, pecans, or walnuts. You could even change out the sugar and do peanut butter with banana slices or even fruit. The possibilities are endless....

On a side note....Will Ferrell is suppose to be on 4 episodes of The Office!!!! WOO HOO!!!!! Can't wait for those episodes! I will probably be fixing more quick goodies in the near future! :)

Chau for now!

School tomorrow...

Well my 4 day weekend is coming to an end. On one hand I am sad and wish that I could just go about my day tomorrow leisurely...sleep till 8:30 or 9, head to the gym, come home get cleaned up, make lunch for Brock before he heads off to work....instead I will be getting up at 5:45 headed to work at 7 then hit the gym and home by 5:30 to start cooking dinner so we can eat by 6:30/7, clean up the kitchen, grade some papers, then off to bed by 10. I can't wait for summer! I think I am more ready then my students to be out of school!!!
So last week my friend Mandy started a girls night fb page for all us girls. It is an easy place to go and chat with each other and plan our girl nights!!! We haven't had a girls night in ages. Well Friday night 6 of us ventured out on the dangerously icy roads....they weren't that bad at all....to have a girls night. Dinner at Market Place then coffee at Arsagas. I was going through all my favorite cooking blogs and found a recipe that I had to make to take to our get together. I had all the ingredients already so I decided to make a Popcorn Cake. I had never heard of this until searching through the blog Cookies and Cups.
It is super simple and absolutely delicious!!!! It is the best mixture of sweet and salty. Which is something every girl likes!!! So here goes the recipe and pictures. Now I only had christmas M&M's so it looks very chrsitmasy. Which actually lead us to discussing the different holidays you could make this snack for. I will be making this for my students with the Valentines day M&M's and putting them in muffin tins. I will for sure post some pictures of that when I make them. :)
Ok...enough rambling here is the recipe:

Popcorn Cake
(recipe by Cookies and Cups)

Ingredients:
2 bags of popcorn
2 cups of M&M's
1 1/2 cups of pretzel sticks (broken in half)
1 stick of butter
16 oz bag of mini marshmallows (8 cups)

Directions:
Spray a bunt pan (or whatever dish you want to use) with non stick spray. Set aside.
Pop the popcorn according to the package. Make sure you pick out any un-popped kernels. Empty the popcorn in a large bowl. Pour in the M&M's and pretzel sticks. Melt your stick of butter in a sauce pan. Once the butter is melted add in the marshmallows. Stir till all marshmallows are melted. When they are melted pour on top of the popcorn mixture. Stir until well combined. Once the mixture looks like rice krispy treats put the mixture into your prepared dish. Cover with foil and let it set for about an hour. Eat and enjoy.
 

My popcorn cake didn't last long! Between the girls and Brock (and a few of his friends) it was gone before morning!!!!

Chau!!!
Kim

Dinner on a snow day

 So I have been out of school for Thursday and Friday which means I have been cooking and baking non-stop! Since the weather has been cold I have made 2 different kinds of soups. Brock and I had soup on Thursday night then I made soup tonight for my friend Mandy who came over to hang out while her hubby was having guys night and Brock was working.
Brock and I love spicy food! I can't get it hot enough for Brock. He is always adding more spice to everything I make except for my new Spicy Chicken soup I made on Thursday. It was perfect! No extras needed! One thing about this soup is that it is so so so so so easy to make. If you have 30 minutes you can have a warm bowl of spicy soup and a jalapeno grilled cheese sandwich.
So here it is...my first recipe post. I have pictures too....but I'm going to have to figure out how to get them on here...lol.  I'll start with the recipes first.

Spicy Chicken Soup
Ingredients:
2 cups of bit sized cooked chicken (I used Oscar Mayer deli fresh southwestern seasoned chicken breast)
1 can of Chicken Broth
1 3/4 cups of water
1/4 cup of green onions
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 tablespoon of diced jalapenos (i just used some from the one I cut up for the sandwiches)
1 teaspoon of butter
3/4 cup of frozen corn
1 cup of salsa (hot)
3 to 4 shakes of Chili powder
Sour cream and shredded cheese (optional)

Jalapeno Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Ingredients:
4 Slices of bread (2 sandwiches)
2/3 cup of shredded Colby-monterey jack cheese
1 large jalapeno diced (or used the diced ones from a jar)
1 tablespoon of butter (or non-stick spray)

Directions:
In your pot melt butter and add onions, jalapenos, and garlic. Simmer till fragrant (about 5 minutes). Add cut up chicken and sprinkle in the chili powder. Add in chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Add corn once soup is boiling and turn the stove down to medium heat. Let it simmer for 15 minutes and let it come to a boil again on medium heat stirring occasionally. While you are waiting on the soup to finish up go a head and start on the jalapeno grilled cheese sandwiches.

You can use any bread you want but Brock and I use low-carb bread. I like to use shredded colby-monterey jack cheese. I like the taste and it melts fairly quick. I just put a handful of shredded cheese (about 1/3 cup per sandwich) on one piece of bread. On top of that I pile on diced jalapenos (with or with out the seeds...depending on how hot you want it).  Like I said we like it hot so I just dice them and pile them on....lots of them! :)  Top with the 2nd piece of bread. I use my George Foreman grill as a sandwich press....it is fabulous and super easy! Butter the top and bottom of the grill. Put your sandwich on the grill and close the lid. It won't take long for them to get finished...maybe 3 to 5 minutes at the most. Keep a close eye on them because you don't want them to burn. I can fit two sandwiches on my grill at one time.  Once the sandwiches are finished I like to cut mine in 1/2 (from corner to corner) for easier dipping. :)
The soup should be finished so dish up and enjoy. I put a dollop of sour cream and a few sprinkles of cheese on top of the soup. It was spicy and warm. Just what we needed on a cold snowy night!
Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think! :)

Chau!
Kim

First Blog Ever!!!

So this is my first blog ever! I know, I know...I'm a little behind, but better late than never! I really don't know what to write about. I am sitting here in my pj's drinking coffee trying to come up with something today. I decided before we got married that I would start blogging after we got married and the craziness was over. Well the craziness isn't over yet but I thought I'd be productive on a snow day and start my blog. I guess I can fill you in on a little about me. I grew up overseas in Uruguay and the Dominican Republic. I moved to Northwest Arkansas after I finished college and started teaching.  I teach 3rd grade here in Arkansas at not only the best school ever but with the best people ever! I love my job and wouldn't trade it for anything...well except a little bakery on a corner somewhere but since I don't have that I teach! :)

I just got married to Brock. He is the funniest most amazing person I have ever met! Sorry ladies he is all mine! :) We met back in college in 2003 but never dated until 2008. We had both randomly moved to Arkansas for jobs after college and didn't know it. We saw each other at the mall and the rest was history. We dated about 2 1/2 years before we got married on 1.1.11. So far life as a Short is good!

I love to cook and bake! I cook dinner every night when we are going to be home together and even sometimes when I am by myself. I will post our favorite recipe and pictures as I cook them. If you have never tried eating low-carb it has really been the only thing that works for me. We enjoy and eat tons of fresh veggies, fruit, dairy, and meat! We love it!

I also like to work out. Now I am far from someone who is totally in shape and has a perfect body but I do enjoy spin class and have decided to take up running. That is thanks to my new friend Tricia, she is helping get ready for my first 5K in April. My goal in life is to be healthy and have fun! I know I feel better when I work out and eat good but I still love those bad for you foods....which is why I have decided to run. Like Tricia said....I run so I can eat fries and ice cream! :) Perfect motto! :)

Well I guess that is it! Stay tuned for more post and recipes.

Chau!