A keto shepherd’s pie with a Tex-Mex twist, this Cowboy Pie uses a buttery and creamy parmesan ranch mashed cauliflower topping and a spicy salsa filling.
First off, I apologize for the picture. The corner of my kitchen counter was the only place where I could get a shot of this cup of hot chocolate without lights reflecting on the surface. It drives me crazy to see that wood floor on the bottom corner, but my photo editing skills are non-existent, so I can’t fix it. If any of you want to help me out by covering that part up with the countertop color, I’d be eternally grateful.
It’s the time of year for hot cocoa. Traditionally, I make it on the night that we put up the Christmas tree. This year, the tree is going to take a couple of nights, so I guess we’ll just have to have cocoa more than once. Oh, no. Whatever shall we do?
Making cocoa keto is harder than it sounds. Sure, the basics are pretty easy–cocoa powder and some sweetener. But what to do with the rest of it? Milk is too high in carbs. Heavy cream has a ton of calories and I’m pretty sure nobody wants to drink an entire mug of it. And I’m not sure about you, but my personal opinion on almond milk is that it’s watery and gross. I went searching for alternatives the other day, and stumbled across macadamia milk. It’s unsweetened, high in calcium and B12, and has zero net carbs at only 50 calories per cup. The texture is thick, like whole milk. I’ve used it in sauces before, but cocoa is the perfect application for it.
The recipe itself is simple. Pour the whole carton of macadamia nut milk into a small, deep pot over medium-low heat. Add 1/3 cup of cocoa powder and 2/3 cup of confectioner’s Swerve. You definitely want the powdered variety here rather than the granular, because it dissolves much easier. Whisk it vigorously as it heats up, as the cocoa powder can tend to clump up. Heat it until it steams but isn’t boiling. Remove it from the heat and pour it into coffee mugs to serve. If you want, you can pour 1/4 teaspoon of a flavored extract into each cup to make a different flavor. I used peppermint extract, but I think hazelnut, almond, or even banana would be awesome with it. You could also throw a shot or two of espresso or a tablespoon of espresso powder in it to make a mocha! The peppermint mocha from Starbucks is my jam, and I won’t miss it at all this year.
Dairy-Free Keto Hot Cocoa
Sip this delicious and healthy hot chocolate and enjoy the holiday season!
Put the macadamia milk into a deep pot over medium-low heat. Whisk in the cocoa powder and sweetener until the clumps of cocoa have dissolved. Heat until steaming but not simmering, then pour into 3 large or 4 small mugs. If desired, add 1/4 teaspoon of flavored extract of your choice to each mug.
Macros per serving (if serving 4): 77 calories, 1 gram net carbs, 2 grams protein, 6 grams fat.
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It’s fall, going into winter, and that means it’s Pumpkin Spice Latte season at Starbucks. Unfortunately, they haven’t developed a skinny pumpkin spice syrup, or if they have, it’s not in my area at all. Maybe I’ll try to make a simple syrup that tastes like the PSL, or perhaps the gingerbread latte, which is my personal favorite. But until then, I thought that maybe making a muffin with the flavor of the pumpkin spice latte would be a good idea. And it turns out that it’s a great breakfast, especially with a cup of black coffee. In fact, it would probably make a great cupcake with a nice buttercream frosting, but I didn’t bother trying that one this time.
To make this one, you’re going to need a couple of ingredients that you might have trouble finding in your average grocery store, although mine somehow had both. You’ll need pumpkin pie spice extract and espresso powder. A little bit of the latter is great in brownies or chocolate cake, because it’ll deepen the flavor of anything with chocolate in it. I also recommend getting some silicone muffin liners. I love silicone bakeware, because it’s very rare that anything sticks in them.
A little coconut oil on the inside and they peeled right off.
Start with two mixing bowls. You’ll want one for wet ingredients and one for dry ingredients. The wet ingredients will go into one bowl, and then you’ll add the dry ingredients to it, so you’ll want your bowl for wet ingredients to be slightly larger. It’s also helpful if it’s microwave safe, as you’ll need to melt butter in it. Melt 1 full stick of butter (8 tablespoons) in the bowl, then add 1/2 cup of whole milk Greek yogurt, 3 eggs, and 4 tablespoons of espresso powder. I really like the flavor of coffee, but if you prefer your pumpkin spice latte to taste less like latte and more like pumpkin spice, feel free to only use two tablespoons. Finally, add a teaspoon of your pumpkin pie extract. Blend those together with a <a href=”https://amzn.to/2KSM35r”>hand mixer</a> until smooth.
In your second mixing bowl, toss together 2 cups of almond flour, 1.5 teaspoons of baking powder, 1.5 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice, and 7 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon of granulated Swerve. I threw in a little extra sweetener to counteract the bitterness of the espresso powder. Make sure that the ingredients are all dispersed evenly, then add about 1/4 of the bowl of dry to the bowl of wet and use your hand mixer to mix it together. Repeat with the remaining 3/4 of the ingredients, 1/4 at a time, until it’s just blended. Don’t beat it too much or your muffins will be super rubbery. They already turn out with a dense and fudgy texture to begin with.
Use about two teaspoons of coconut oil or butter to grease 12 of your silicone muffin liners, then fill them about 2/3 full with batter. I put them directly onto a baking sheet. You can tap the sheet a few times on your countertop to allow the batter to settle a bit, then put them into a preheated 350-degree oven and bake for 22 to 25 minutes.
Ready to go into the oven!
Remove them from the oven and put them on a baking rack to cool. I stored them in a plastic bag on the counter for 5 days. You can reheat them for 10-20 seconds in the microwave in the morning on your way out the door. Enjoy your Starbucks pumpkin spice latte flavor without having to spend $4 and drink your daily allowance of carbs!
Keto Pumpkin Spice Latte Muffins
Everyone's favorite fall beverage is now your favorite keto breakfast!
In a medium microwave-safe mixing bowl, melt the butter. Add the yogurt, eggs, pumpkin pie spice extract, and espresso powder. Using a hand mixer, blend until smooth.
In another medium mixing bowl, toss together the almond flour, Swerve, baking powder, and pumpkin pie spice. Add 1/4 of this mixture to the wet ingredients and blend with the hand mixer until just barely smooth. Repeat with another 1/4, and continue repeating until the mixture is blended. Do not overblend–as soon as the dry ingredients are incorporated, stop mixing.
Grease 12 silicone muffin liners with butter or coconut oil. Fill each one 2/3 full with the batter. Place them on a cookie sheet and tap it on the counter a few times to settle the batter. Bake for 22-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a baking rack.
Macros per serving (1 muffin): 220 calories, 3 net carbs, 6 grams protein, 20 grams fat.
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Last week, we did an inventory of our freezers, because they were both getting full and a lot of the stuff had been in there for way too long. So after cleaning out a bunch of old stuff, I was able to make a list of things that we had in there that I needed to use. One of them was a tube of Italian sausage that I bought a while ago and then didn’t end up using, for whatever reason. So for my lunches this week, since the weather has sadly cooled off, I decided to use it to make soup.
This one is a stovetop soup rather than an Instant Pot or slow cooker soup, and it’s fairly quick to make, all things considered. Start with two medium green peppers and one medium onion. Cut the green peppers into strips and the onion into slivers. If the pepper strips are too long to fit on a soup spoon, cut them in half crosswise. You’ll end up with about a cup and a half of pepper strips and 3/4 of a cup of onion slivers.
3.5-inch knife for scale.
Throw those into a Dutch oven with a pound of loose Italian sausage over medium-high heat. No need to add any seasoning yet. You’ll want to season this closer to the end, once you add all the ingredients, otherwise you might end up with too much salt. There are a lot of salty ingredients in this soup. I ended up not having to add anything at all. Cook the veggies and sausage together until the sausage is browned.
The sausage is about halfway finished browning here.
Once the sausage is browned, add a 14.5-ounce can of diced tomatoes, undrained, and 3 cups of chicken broth, turn the heat down to medium, and let it simmer for about ten minutes, until the peppers and onions have softened.
The simmering soup before adding all the stuff that makes it creamy.
After those ten minutes have passed, add an entire 8-ounce package of cream cheese, cut into chunks. Whisk those in until they melt into the liquid, then pour in 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Finally, add 3 ounces of parmesan cheese, one ounce at a time, whisking until it melts before adding the next batch.
The finished pot of soup.
At this point, taste it for seasoning. As I mentioned earlier, mine didn’t need anything other than some black pepper, but you may want to add salt or garlic powder, depending on how flavorful your Italian sausage is. Once you’ve gotten it seasoned to your liking, turn the heat off and serve it, or put it into meal prep containers. I managed to time mine perfectly and used the 6th serving as my Sunday lunch, just in time for the early NFL games to kick off. My Bills may have lost, but at least the soup was good.
Creamy Italian Sausage and Pepper Soup
30 minutes from start to finish, this low carb Italian sausage soup is great for a fall Sunday.
Cut the green peppers into strips and the onion into slivers.
Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the sausage, peppers, and onions, and cook until the sausage is browned, breaking it into crumbles as it cooks.
Add the tomatoes and chicken broth, turn the heat down to medium, and simmer for 10 minutes, until the peppers and onions are soft.
Add the cream cheese cubes and whisk until they melt into the liquid. Pour in the heavy cream, then add the parmesan cheese, one ounce at a time, stirring until it's melted before adding the next batch.
Taste for seasoning, add salt and pepper if needed, then remove from the heat and serve.
Macros per serving: 503 calories, 5 grams net carbs, 25 grams protein, 44 grams fat.
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