This is another recipe that I made twice over the holiday season. I mainly made it twice because I kind of screwed it up the first time. I forgot the olives, so I had to put them on top right before I baked it. I also forgot the olives in the narrative AND in the recipe when I typed it up here, so I clearly have a mental block around these olives. Honestly, my mistake wasn’t all that big of a deal. I just wanted to make it again because it was good, and to get better pictures, which were kind of a fail, but whatever. It still tastes good.
You are all familiar with shepherd’s pie, I assume. Ground lamb or beef mixed with veggies and gravy and topped with mashed potatoes and baked. A whole bunch of goodness, most of which you sadly can’t have on keto. I thought about adapting a regular shepherd’s pie recipe, and I might do that eventually, but it occurred to me that I could have a lot more fun with it if I gave it a bit of a Tex-Mex twist. That’s why I call it cowboy pie instead of shepherd’s pie, because there’s a lot more cowboys than shepherds in Texas.
You’ll want to start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, then heating a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Once the skillet is hot, add a pound and a half of 85% lean ground beef. Sprinkle the beef with two tablespoons of chili powder, a tablespoon of cumin, a tablespoon of oregano, two teaspoons of salt, a teaspoon each of garlic powder and onion powder, and as much black pepper as you’d like. Brown the beef, stirring to break it up and mix up the spices.
Once the beef is browned, add a can of Ro-Tel diced tomatoes with green chiles, and a cup of your salsa of choice. I like mine hot, so that’s what I use, but if you prefer a milder level of spice, feel free to use something else. I prefer the smoother salsas for this one rather than the chunkier ones, because the diced tomatoes give it plenty of chunk already. Throw in a drained four-ounce can of black olives, then turn the heat down to medium-low and let it simmer while you prepare the topping.
Cook a 16-ounce package of cauliflower florets according to the package directions, then drain them and put them into a food processor with 2 tablespoons of butter, 1/4 cup of heavy cream, a tablespoon of ranch dressing mix–the dry powder, not the dressing itself–and 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese. Mix that up until it’s smooth. You’ll probably need to scrape down the sides at least once.
By the time you’re done with that, the extra liquid will have simmered off of your beef, and you’ll be ready to assemble it. Pour the beef into a 9×13 baking dish and top it carefully with the mashed cauliflower. I like to dollop it evenly over the top and then spread it out with a rubber spoonula. I use this exact one because it’s nice and flexible and helps get more of the mashed cauliflower out of my food processor.
Right before spreading it to cover the top.
Once the mashed cauliflower is covering the top of the beef, sprinkle it with 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese, and put it in the oven for 20-30 minutes, until it melts. This makes six servings, and it’s super filling despite not being all that many calories.
See what I mean about the extra pictures being kind of a fail?
Over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef with the chili powder, cumin, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper, stirring to break up the meat into crumbles.
When the beef is browned, add the diced tomatoes, salsa, and olives, and turn down the heat to medium-low. Simmer the filling while you make the topping. Both should finish at about the same time.
For the Mashed Cauliflower Topping
Cook the cauliflower according to package directions. Drain it and put it in a food processor with the butter, cream, ranch powder, and parmesan cheese. Process it until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. Add salt and white pepper to taste.
Assembly and Baking
Pour the beef mixture into a 9×13 casserole dish and spread it evenly. Using a rubber spoonula, scrape the mashed cauliflower mixture out of the food processor and gently spread it over the filling. Sprinkle the casserole with the cheddar cheese and bake it at 350 for 20-30 minutes, until the cheese is melted but before it begins to brown. Slice into six equal squares to serve.
Macros per serving: 419 calories, 8 grams net carbs, 24 grams protein, 31 grams fat.
Keyword keto, low carb, make ahead, meal prep, Mexican
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Any embedded link to a product earns me a portion of the purchase price if you click and buy it.
I can’t remember the first time I had picadillo, but it was instant love. Spiced beef mixed with capers and olives, raisins and potatoes. Well, I can’t have those last two anymore, but the good news is that it’s actually even better without them. I’m not big on sweet and savory, even though it actually works for this particular dish. And the potatoes are mainly just unnecessary carbs. So instead I’m just eating savory and salty, and it works out well. This is also a great recipe for meal prep, because it’s quick and to make and both freezes and reheats well.
By quick and easy, I mean that this might be the shortest recipe post I’ve ever made. Start out with 2 pounds of ground beef. I used 93% lean because that was what was on sale, but normally I’d use 85%. My macros count 93% lean, so make sure you adjust for that if you use something different. Chop up a small onion (I ended up with about 2/3 cup) and half a green pepper. Throw all of this into a large Dutch oven or deep non-stick skillet, add two tablespoons of cumin, a tablespoon of oregano, a tablespoon of garlic, a teaspoon of salt, and several grinds of black pepper. Brown the beef over medium-high heat, breaking it up as it cooks. Once the beef is browned, add a can (about 1.75 cups) of tomato sauce and two tablespoons of capers. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for ten minutes or so, until the onions and pepper are soft, then add 12 halved jumbo pimiento-stuffed green olives. Serve it by itself or over cauliflower rice. See? Literally one paragraph of description. The recipe will almost be redundant.
Keto Cuban Picadillo
Salty and savory, this Cuban recipe is great for meal-prep.
Add the ground beef, peppers, onions, garlic, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper to a Dutch oven or deep non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Cook, stirring the beef to crumble it, until the beef is browned.
Add the tomato sauce and capers and simmer until the peppers and onions are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the olives and remove from heat. Serve alone or with cauliflower rice.
Macros per serving, using 93% lean beef: 286 calories, 7 net carbs, 32 grams protein, 13 grams fat.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Any embedded link to a product earns me a portion of the purchase price if you click and buy it.
The reuben is maybe my favorite sandwich on earth. Rye bread is one of those tastes I acquired as an adult, and I adore it now. Of course, there’s very little about rye that’s keto. But one of the strongest flavors in rye bread is the caraway seeds, and if you use those in a chaffle, it actually does a decent job of mimicking the flavor of rye bread. I made this recipe, including the chaffle itself, for my non-keto husband, and for the first time he said “You know, I might actually be able to do this keto thing.” Chaffles are a game-changer, ladies and gentlemen. He didn’t miss the bread, and he loves bread.
This one is super easy. The chaffle recipe is very similar to the one I used for my Beef on Chaffleweck recipe, just with more caraway seeds. So to make one sandwich, start with two slices of Swiss cheese.
You’ll shred one and put the other aside. Sprinkle 1/4 of the shredded Swiss on the Dash mini-waffle maker, then sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of caraway seeds. Add half a beaten egg, then top with another 1/4 of the cheese and another 1/4 teaspoon of caraway seeds. Close the Dash and cook for 3 minutes, then repeat so you have two rye chaffles.
While the chaffles are cooking, prepare the innards. I used to go to this great New York deli in my town (before the owner retired–insert sad face here) that made one of the best reubens I’ve ever had in my life. They’d slice the rye fresh for every sandwich, and it was piled so high with corned beef. There was no way they could grill it and have the beef warm, so they actually stacked the inside of the sandwich in a cylindrical container and microwaved it. Kind of brilliant, honestly. So that’s what I did here. For each sandwich, use 1/4 pound of thinly-sliced deli corned beef, 1/4 cup of drained sauerkraut, and a slice of Swiss cheese. I used a round Gladware container. Stack the ingredients in order and microwave them for 30-40 seconds, until the cheese is melted. The picture below is what the sandwich filling setup looks like before the cheese is put on.
Put a slice of Swiss on top and it’s ready to zap!
Of course, it’ll need Thousand Island dressing, too. For one sandwich, you’ll need to mix half a tablespoon of mustard, half a teaspoon of sugar-free ketchup, and as much dill pickle relish as you’d like–I use 1/4 tsp. Stir it all together and you’ve got your sandwich condiment. Slather that all over the inside of one chaffle. Invert the sandwich fillings onto that chaffle, so the Swiss cheese is on it, then put the bottom chaffle on, flip it over, and devour.
Tear up or finely chop one slice of the Swiss cheese, setting the other slice aside to put on the sandwich.
Preheat your Dash. When it's preheated, sprinkle the surface with 1/4 of the shredded Swiss and 1/4 teaspoon of the caraway seeds. Top with 1/2 of the beaten egg, then sprinkle another 1/4 of the Swiss and 1/4 teaspoon of the caraway seeds on top. Close the Dash and cook for about 3 minutes, until golden brown. Remove and repeat with the remaining Swiss, caraway seeds, and egg.
While the chaffles are cooking, stack the corned beef, sauerkraut, and remaining slice of Swiss in a round microwave-safe container. Microwave for 30-40 seconds, until the Swiss is just melted.
Mix together the mayonnaise, ketchup, and relish. Spread that on the inside of one chaffle. Invert the container with the fillings onto that chaffle Swiss side down, then place the second chaffle on the corned beef side. Turn it back to Swiss side up to eat.
Macros per serving: 524 calories, 3 grams net carbs, 46 grams protein, 35 grams fat.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Any embedded link to a product earns me a portion of the purchase price if you click and buy it.
Creamed chipped beef on toast (otherwise known as shit on a shingle) gets a keto upgrade with a chaffle base and a gluten-free and low-carb cream sauce.
Recent Comments