I’m sure a lot of you have seen and used one of the recipes for 90-second bread that have been floating around Pinterest. The basic idea is that you whisk together some simple ingredients and put it in the microwave for a minute and a half, and voila, you have bread! It’s not the easiest bread to work with, but it definitely works in a pinch. One of its best applications is a grilled sandwich, like a grilled cheese or a panini, because the outside will crisp up nicely and it tastes a bit less eggy afterwards.
Enter the idea I had. What if I could add one simple ingredient and get something that resembles rye bread? Most of the flavor of a good seeded rye comes from the caraway seeds rather than the rye flour itself. And that one little addition opens up so many other potential combinations. I’m definitely going to have to try a reuben or a nice pastrami sandwich. But for now, I’m going with one of my favorite old-school diner favorites, the patty melt.
Start off by using your favorite 90-second bread recipe. I used the one from Wholesome Yum but if you have one you like better, that’s fine. Mix together the ingredients in a flat-bottomed container that is approximately the size of a slice of bread. Just remember to add a half teaspoon of caraway seeds to it before you microwave it, mixing them in thoroughly. Microwave it for 90 seconds, then set it aside to cool.
Fry up 2-3 ounces of mushrooms over medium heat in a teaspoon of butter until they brown and release most of their liquid. Set those aside in a small bowl. While the mushrooms are cooking, first slice up 1/4 of a large onion French style into long strips. Make a patty out of 1/3 pound of 85/15 or 80/20 ground beef, pressing it to be as thin as you can get it. Salt and pepper both sides, then put it into the pan where the mushrooms were, using medium-high heat. Place the onions into the pan around the beef patty. Since I had a pound of ground beef to use, I made 3 of these when I did this recipe. One for me, one for my non-keto husband, and one for leftovers.
Right before the flip.
By the time that the burgers are ready to be turned, they should be releasing enough fat to help cook the onions. You’ll want them to be nice and caramelized, and the burgers to be cooked all the way through. Normally I like my burgers cooked medium-rare, but not so much with the patty melt. Eventually, when it’s finished, it’ll look something like this.
When the burgers and onions are cooked all the way through, assemble the sandwich. Carefully slice your bread lengthwise down the middle to make two slices. Place the patty on one side with half a slice of Swiss cheese under it, and a slice of Swiss cheese and the onions and mushrooms on the other. Put the sandwich together, being careful not to let any of the fillings spill out.
Melt a tablespoon of butter in the skillet over medium-low heat and fry for 2-3 minutes per side, until the cheese begins to melt. The fillings will try to escape again when you turn it, fair warning. The half slice of Swiss cheese under the patty should help a little, but it won’t be perfect. If you’re having trouble getting the cheese to melt, put a lid over the pan for 30 seconds or so.
While the sandwich is browning, mix together a tablespoon of mayonnaise with a teaspoon of sugar-free ketchup. I use the G. Hughes variety, but there are several other good ones out there if you can’t find that one. They also make a good sugar-free barbecue sauce as well. Add a half teaspoon of dill pickle relish, and you’ve made Thousand Island dressing. Use that for a dipping sauce. My zucchini chips would be a great side dish for this if the sandwich isn’t enough for you.
Prepare your preferred version of 90-second bread, making sure to add the caraway seeds before putting it in the microwave. Set aside to cool.
Slice and wash your mushrooms if they aren't already. Melt a teaspoon of butter in a nonstick skillet over medium heat and cook the mushrooms until they're brown and have released their liquid. Put them in a small bowl and set aside.
While the mushrooms are cooking, slice your onion French style (see images above if you don't know what that looks like) and make your burger patty, pressing it as flat as possible. Salt and pepper your patty and put it in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the onions around the burger patty. Cook the burgers for about 6 minutes per side, until cooked through. Stir the onions while the burger is cooking so they don't char.
Slice your bread lengthwise into two even halves. Put a half-slice of cheese on one slice, then top it with a burger patty. Place a whole slice of cheese on the other half and top with the onions and mushrooms. Melt a half tablespoon of butter in the skillet over medium-low heat and grill the sandwich for about 3 minutes per side, turning carefully, until the bread is golden brown and the cheese has melted.
Mix together the mayonnaise, ketchup, and dill pickle relish in a small ramekin. Cut the burger in half on the diagonal to serve and use the dressing as a dipping sauce.
Macros for this recipe are as follows: 864 calories, 7 grams net carbs, 41 grams protein, 77 grams fat.
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I love fudge. I’m still chasing the dragon of that marshmallow cream chocolate fudge that I used to have back in the 1980s, before they changed the recipe. But I digress. Today I am here to tell you about one of the better desserts I’ve made recently. This is a microwave peanut butter fudge that takes about five minutes of prep time and tastes phenomenal. Most keto “fudge” recipes I’ve seen are coconut oil based. They melt easily and just don’t have the right texture. This one holds up just like conventional fudge. I love love love it.
The key is that it features confectioner’s Swerve sugar substitute. This holds up exactly the same as the powdered sugar you find in most regular fudge recipes, and tastes almost exactly the same. It has that cooling effect on the tongue that you get from erithrytol, but I’ve found that if you store the fudge in your refrigerator and eat it cold, you don’t notice it as much.
To make this, start out with 3/4 of a cup of peanut butter and a stick and a half of butter. Put them in the microwave for a minute on high, and then keep heating for 30 seconds at a time until they’re both a soft, melted texture and can be mixed together without clumping. Add a half teaspoon of imitation caramel flavoring and use a hand mixer to beat it all together until it’s smooth. You’ll want the kind that looks like vanilla extract, NOT the kind that you use for flavoring hard candies. Then add a whole bag (12 ounces) of confectioner’s Swerve, about 3-4 ounces at a time, and beat it until it’s uniform in texture. Spread the fudge into an 8×8 pan that’s lined with parchment paper, and sprinkle with pink Himalayan sea salt to taste. You’ll want more than you think you might. My salt is in a grinder, so I can’t really measure what I use, but I’d imagine that it was at least a half teaspoon.
Put the whole thing in the fridge for about two hours, then slice 5×5 to make 20 squares. Good luck eating just one!
In a microwave, melt the butter and peanut butter together for a minute. Stir, and then microwave in 30 second increments until the peanut butter is soft and can be easily blended.
Add the caramel flavoring, and using a hand mixer, blend the mixture until smooth.
Add the Swerve, 3 to 4 ounces at a time, blending thoroughly after each addition. Scrape down the sides if necessary. Blend until all the Swerve is evenly incorporated.
Spread the warm fudge into an 8×8 baking pan that's been lined with parchment paper, sprinkle with salt to taste, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before cutting into 20 evenly-sized pieces.
Macros for 1 piece: 124 calories, 1 gram net carbs, 2 grams protein, 11 grams fat.
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Yeah, yeah, I know. Technically alcohol isn’t keto. And technically we’re also grown-ass humans who enjoy having a drink from time to time. My family is Brazilian by origin, and I LOVE Brazilian food. I’ve had to give up feijoada since going keto, but I sure as hell am not giving up my delicious Brazilian hooch.
Cachaça is essentially the national alcohol of Brazil, and the caipirinha is the most popular drink made from it. It involves limes muddled with sugar at the bottom of a rocks glass, then ice is added, the cachaça is poured over, and the whole thing is stirred to distribute the lime juice. If you can’t find cachaça at your local liquor store, you can substitute white or gold rum (NOT spiced or flavored), but it won’t be as good. Both are derived from sugar cane, but cachaça tastes different and I’m not sure why.
To make two drinks, start out with one lime. Cut it into 8 chunks, and put 4 on the bottom of each rocks glass. Add a teaspoon of granular Swerve to each glass. Swerve is a naturally-derived sugar alcohol that can be used as a 1-to-1 substitute for sugar in any recipe, and it’s the best low-carb sugar substitute I’ve found so far. After you add the Swerve, use a cocktail muddler to mash it all together until the limes release their juices and the Swerve is dissolved. I only got a cocktail muddler recently. Before that, I’d use the handle of a clean (obviously, but I’m sure someone will read this and try it with something they just used to pound out chicken if I don’t say clean) meat tenderizer mallet handle.
Top the lime juice with ice and pour a large shot (2.5 ounces) of cachaça over the top. Stir, serve, and dream of Carnaval!
Caipirinha
The national drink of Brazil, without a glycemic load.
Cut a lime lengthwise, then crosswise, then cut each segment in half so you end up with 8 equal chunks of lime. Put 4 lime segments in the bottom of 2 rocks glasses.
Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of Swerve over the limes in each glass. Muddle the limes until they've released their juices and the Swerve is mostly dissolved.
Add ice to the top of the glasses, then pour 2.5 ounces of the cachaça over the ice in each glass and stir.
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