My office needs very little excuse to have a potluck, and everyone sort of has a specialty. Mine is meatballs. I bring a different type almost every time. For the office Christmas party it was Italian meatballs with Rao’s because I was super busy and couldn’t come up with a recipe. I’ve done my Spanish meatballs before, to great success. Buffalo chicken was a hit, and one I’ll likely post here eventually. But my recent favorite, which I made for our Valentine’s Day potluck we’re having as a wedding shower for a co-worker who is getting married next month, are these Thai curry chicken meatballs.
This recipe makes enough for a crowd and isn’t easily halved, so it’s perfect for a party or for meal prep. They’d be great over some cauliflower rice. And while it has a lot of ingredients, they’re all really easy to find, and it involves very little actual cooking. If you can dump stuff into a bowl, stir, and preheat an oven, you’re most of the way there. So don’t get intimidated. It’s easier than it looks, I promise!
To make the meatballs, preheat your oven to 400 degrees, then grab a large mixing bowl. Into that, throw three pounds of ground chicken breast, two tablespoons of chili garlic sauce, a beaten egg, a tablespoon of fish sauce, a teaspoon of salt, a teaspoon of garlic powder, a teaspoon of dried ginger root, and the zest of one lime. Make sure you keep the rest of the lime because you’ll need it later. This mixture will be really wet, but I’ve found that it depends on the brand of chicken breast as to just how wet it gets and how much binder is needed to make it the right texture for meatballs. So start with 1/3 cup of almond flour, and add more by tablespoonfuls until it’s able to hold its own shape. I ended up with 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons. Mix all that together, then use a small cookie scoop to measure out the meatballs onto two foil-lined cookie sheets. It should make about 40-50 meatballs, depending on how large you make them. The mixture will be sticky, so I shape the balls by spraying my hands with avocado oil cooking spray and almost tossing the meatballs back and forth between my hands until they’re round, rather than rubbing them between my palms. Once they’re all shaped, bake them for 25-30 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through the baking time.
While the meatballs are baking, it’s a perfect time to make the sauce. Use a large Dutch oven or saucepot, as you’ll be adding all the cooked meatballs back into it at the end. To that pot, add two cans of full-fat coconut milk, two tablespoons of <a href=”https://amzn.to/37xl4ox”>red curry paste</a>, the juice of that lime from earlier, a tablespoon of fish sauce, a tablespoon of chili garlic sauce, 1-2 tablespoons of <a href=”https://amzn.to/3bB6wY1″>sriracha</a> depending on your desired heat level (I used 2), a tablespoon of <a href=”https://amzn.to/31RBC9t”>Swerve Brown</a> or a similar brown sugar substitute, and a teaspoon of dried ginger. Whisk all that together over medium heat until it bubbles, then turn it down to a a simmer and wait for the meatballs to finish. Once the meatballs are cooked, toss them into the pot with the sauce and let it continue to simmer for 5-10 minutes. Turn off the heat and add about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro leaves, then either serve them or store them in the fridge overnight and reheat in a crock pot for your potluck!
1tbspSwerve Brownor similar brown sugar substitute
1tbspfish sauce
1tspground ginger
juice of one lime
1small bunchminced cilantro leavesabout 1/3 cup
Instructions
For the Meatballs
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with aluminum foil and spray them with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients except for the almond flour. Add 1/3 cup of the almond flour, and continue adding more until it's your desired texture. Aim for sticky but mostly holding its own shape.
Scoop the mixture onto the cookie trays using a small cookie scoop. Spray your hands with cooking spray and gently toss each meatball back and forth between your hands until they're round. Put them back on the cookie sheets then bake them for 25-30 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through the cooking time.
For the Sauce
While the meatballs are cooking, stir together all sauce ingredients except for the cilantro in a Dutch oven or stockpot large enough to hold the finished meatballs. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then turn the heat down to low and continue to simmer until the meatballs are done, stirring occasionally.
When the meatballs are finished, add them to the pot and simmer for another 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the cilantro. Serve immediately, or store in the refrigerator and reheat in a slow cooker or microwave.
Macros per serving (4-5 meatballs, depending on size): 349 calories, 4 grams net carbs, 35 grams protein, 22 grams fat.
Keyword chicken, keto, lchf, low carb, make ahead, meatballs, Thai
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This recipe is straight up childhood comfort food for me. When I was younger, my stepfather used to make Eggs O’Brien on Christmas morning. It was easy–just a bag of frozen O’Brien-style hash browns cooked up with chunks of breakfast sausage links, with eggs scrambled into it when it was done.
To make this one keto, the main issue is coming up with a substitute for the potatoes. I’ve used daikon radish before in a similar recipe, but I wasn’t sure if it would hit the flavor profile I needed. Enter celery root, also known as celeriac. It comes in a big ugly bulb about the size of a shot put, and the taste is somewhere between celery and potato. It won’t crisp up like a potato will, but that’s fine, because in this particular application it’s supposed to be a bit softer.
Slice the ends off of your celeriac bulb and peel it. It can be bumpy, especially around the edges, so use a really good vegetable peeler. This OXO one is my personal favorite. You’ll also want a very sharp chef’s knife, because the celery root is really hard to cut through. Back in the days of the original Good Eats, Alton Brown recommended the Shun chef’s knives, and I still have several that date back to about 2004. I take care of them, and while I’ve had to have them sharpened a few times, they’ve taken care of me too. Don’t balk at the price, because if you’re in the kitchen as much as I am, a good knife is worth its weight in gold. Use that good knife to cut the celeriac into small cubes, like you’re making home fries. You should end up with 3-4 cups of cubes when all is said and done. Throw those into a pot with 4 cups of chicken broth, and boil them for 8 minutes. Drain them thoroughly and set them aside.
In a large enameled cast-iron skillet, heat 1/4 cup of avocado oil over medium-high heat. While that’s heating, chop 1/2 of an onion and 1 large green pepper. Pat any excess broth off of the celery root, then put it in the skillet. Cook for about five minutes, then stir and add the onion and pepper, along with two teaspoons of salt and black pepper to taste.
Heat a separate nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and fry up a package of breakfast sausage links. Mine had 10 links in it. While they’re browning, keep turning the celery root mixture occasionally so it browns evenly. Once the sausages are nicely browned, remove them from the skillet and cut each one into four pieces. Add it to the skillet with the celery root cubes.
Turn the heat down to medium on the nonstick skillet and add two tablespoons of butter. Beat a dozen eggs in a large bowl. Scramble the eggs in the butter. Once they’re done, the celery root should be as well. Mix the whole shebang together. I used this for meal prep breakfasts, but it would work great for your breakfast after opening presents under the tree, especially if Santa gives you a nice chef’s knife!
Eggs O’Brien
Scrambled eggs and sausage with keto celeriac O'Brien hash browns.
Trim the ends off of the celeriac bulb and peel. Using a sharp chef's knife, chop the bulb into small cubes.
In a small saucepot, bring the celeriac cubes and broth to a boil. Boil for 8 minutes, then drain thoroughly and set aside.
Heat the avocado oil in an enameled cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Pat the celeriac dry and add it to the skillet. While it fries, chop your onion and pepper, then add it to the skillet and stir it in with the salt and pepper. Continue stirring occasionally as you finish the rest of the recipe.
Heat a non-stick skillet over medium to medium-high heat, and cook your breakfast sausages until they're thoroughly browned. Remove them from the pan, cut each one into four pieces, then stir them into the skillet with the celery root.
Turn the non-stick skillet down to medium, then melt the butter in it. Beat the eggs, then scramble them in the butter. When they're finished, stir them into the celery root mixture, add more salt and pepper if needed, and serve.
Macros per serving: 409 calories, 7 grams net carbs, 18 grams protein, 33 grams fat.
Keyword breakfast, eggs, keto, lchf, low carb, make ahead, sausage
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Sometimes I get writer’s block when it comes to recipes. This past week it was for my breakfasts. I knew what I wanted to make for lunches, and dinners during the week were pretty easy, but breakfasts were a stumper. I wasn’t feeling like eating anything sweet, and I knew I didn’t want anything too difficult to make, so I was stumped. Then I saw that deli corned beef was on sale. I thought about doing something around the idea of corned beef hash, but I had this odd flash of brilliance and realized that I could make a reuben, only in frittata form. I even had some leftover shredded Swiss from…some random thing I made recently. I wasn’t entirely sure how it would work to combine sauerkraut and eggs, but as it turns out, it was surprisingly good!
Like you do with most frittatas, start by setting your oven to broil and moving a rack up to the top. Then melt two tablespoons of butter in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. While the butter melts, cut up 1/4 pound of thinly-sliced deli corned beef into 1″ squares. Peel the pieces apart as much as you can so they don’t stick together in the pan. Sprinkle the beef slices over the butter and spread them out in the pan, almost making a crust on the bottom. Fry that for about as long as it takes you to crack ten eggs into a medium bowl and beat them with a whisk. Pour the eggs over the beef in the pan, being careful to move the beef around if needed so that it’s evenly distributed throughout. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of caraway seeds and some black pepper evenly over the frittata and let it continue to cook until the sides and bottom are set and the top is mostly set. At that point, add 1/4 cup of drained and packed sauerkraut by evenly distributing it around the frittata.
The frittata after the caraway seeds were added.
Once the sauerkraut has been added, sprinkle one cup of shredded Swiss cheese over the top of the frittata. If your skillet has a plastic handle, wrap it in a few layers of aluminum foil, then stick the skillet in the oven on the top rack. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until the cheese is melted and starts to get some golden brown spots on it.
Before serving, mix together a tablespoon of mayonnaise and a tablespoon of sugar-free ketchup in a small bowl or ramekin, then drizzle it over the top of the entire frittata. If you’re making this ahead of time, you can choose to drizzle it over each piece after reheating it, or do what I did and drizzle the whole thing before serving. It reheated just fine and would work either way.
Reuben Frittata
All of the flavors of a reuben sandwich in a breakfast.
Set your oven to broil and move an oven rack to the top position.
Over medium heat, melt the butter in a non-stick skillet. While the butter melts, cut your corned beef into 1-inch squares. When the butter is melted and foamy, sprinkle the squares of corned beef evenly over the bottom of the skillet.
Allow the beef to cook while you beat the eggs in a large bowl. Pour the eggs over the beef in the skillet, and use a spatula to spread the beef around again if it clumped up.
Sprinkle the eggs with the caraway seeds and pepper, and continue to cook until the sides are set. Sprinkle the sauerkraut evenly over the eggs. Once the sides are set and the top is mostly set, turn off the heat and sprinkle the cheese over the eggs.
If the handle of your skillet is plastic, wrap it in a few layers of aluminum foil. Put the skillet into the oven on the top rack and broil until the cheese is melted and begins to get golden brown spots. Remove from the oven and place on a heat-safe surface.
Mix together the mayonnaise and ketchup and use a fork to drizzle it over the surface of the frittata. You can do this right after reheating if you're not planning to serve it right away.
Macros per serving: 268 calories, 1 gram net carbs, 19 grams protein, 21 grams fat.
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