Low-Carb Dinner Idea - Pizza Frittata

Reducing carbohydrate intake is crucial to healthiness, well-being and weight management. In this series I share some of my ideas for low-carb dinners.

Pizza Frittata

Extra Light Olive Oil to taste
1 Green Pepper Chopped
10 Eggs
2 Plum Tomatoes Thinly Sliced into Rounds
Shredded Mozzarella
Uncured Pepperoni (I used Applegate)

You'll need a Cast Iron Skillet or another type of oven-proof skillet for this.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Heat up your cast iron skillet and add a little extra light olive oil. Sautee your chopped peppers until they start to become soft.

While those are cooking, crack your eggs into a bowl and whisk them only until the yolks and whites have blended together. Add them to the cooked peppers and stir only one to mix everything together. Cook on medium heat until most of the egg has set. Add the sliced tomatoes on top.

Move the skillet into the oven and cook until the top is set. Each oven is different but this was 5 minutes for mine.

Add the cheese and pepperoni to taste. Turn the oven to a low broil and add the skillet to the middle rack. Cook until the cheese is melted and starting to brown at the edges. This was about 5 minutes for me. Keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn!

Let cool for a few minutes before slicing. It's a little difficult to eat because the egg base is soft. Unless it's been completely cooled, you can't really eat it with your hands. Fork and knife are the way to go. Enjoy!

Chicken & Leek Pot Pie

Oh hey there! It's been a while. I have been focused lately on exercise and healthy cooking. And much of what I have made or eaten hasn't really been blog-worthy. I plan to change that and update here more. Another issue I have been having is food photography. Our kitchen is dark and we have no windows there. We had to get rid of our kitchen table too so we have been eating off of a rickety old coffee table. Not the best circumstances for good food photography. I hope to be able to pick up this blog back to it's old glory when we move out into a new home with a better kitchen. Until then, expect some posts here or there.

Now this Chicken & Leek Pot Pie is the best chicken pot pie I have EVER MADE! Leeks are much tastier in this pie than onions. I don't add herbs or celery but feel free to add them in if you want. This is simple and delicious.

Chicken & Leek Pot Pie

Ingredients:

Extra Light Olive Oil
1.25 lbs of Chicken Tenderloins, cut into 1-inch chunks
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1-1/2 lbs of baby tricolor potatoes, halved or cut into thirds depending on size
2 leeks halved, sliced and rinsed
salt and pepper to taste
3 tbsps of flour
2 cups of Chicken Broth
Pie crust dough
egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp of water)

Makes 6 servings

Preheat oven to 385 degrees

Heat a couple tablespoons of oil in a dutch oven or a wide bottomed pot. Once the oil starts to sizzle, brown the chicken. I brown the chicken in two batches. Take the chicken out and set aside.

Add another drizzle of oil and add the potatoes and carrots. Cook for about 5 minutes.

Then add the flour, leeks and chicken. Stir so the flour covers all the ingredients Slowly pour in the chicken broth. Stir well.

Cover and bring to a boil. Uncover and cook for 10 minutes. Shut off heat and cool for 10 minutes.

You basically want to do all the cooking of the filling on the stove top. The baking time is really for the crust.

Add the filling to a baking pan. I use a 9-1/2 inch oval one.

Cover with your pie dough, stretch and cut off extra bits.

Cut a few diagonal slits along the top. Brush the top with the egg wash. Bake for 20 minutes in your preheated oven.

I forgot to add the egg wash to this one in the photo above. Oops! Otherwise the crust would have been a lot glossier and not as dry.  It was still good though.

The filling is a bit light on the chicken but I like it that way. You can always reduce the amount of potatoes and add some more chicken if you want. Fresh herbs would be nice too but since they are expensive and don't keep well in our fridge I skipped them.  

It's important to let the pie cool for 20 minutes. Or 10 minutes in front of a fan! Cooling time is crucial so you can serve the pie without it completely falling apart. Enjoy!

Easy Dinner ~ Sausage Pepper Pasta

When I get home from a long day at work, sometimes the last thing I want to do is cook. So I depend on quick and easy dinner recipes that will help me put dinner on the table within 30 minutes. This one is super easy and very satisfying. If you are not a big fan of peppers, this is a much more palatable way to eat them.

Sausage Pepper Pasta

Ingredients:

4 links of Chicken Sausage, sliced (I used an Italian flavored one that had cheese)
1 Green Pepper
1 Yellow Pepper
1 Red Pepper
1/2 box of Farfalle pasta
Seasoning
extra light olive oil

Makes 4 servings

*Note - You do NOT need a whole box of Farfalle pasta so don't be tempted to empty the whole box. For seasoning you can use thyme, garlic powder, oregano, red pepper flakes or whatever seasoning you'd like that would work with the sausage and peppers.

Start a pot of water and get it boiling. Add the farfalle pasta and cook to package direction or until al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, add some extra light olive oil to a large saute pan  and turn the head up to medium-high. While it's heating, chop up your green, yellow or red pepper. I cut them into chunks or thick strips. Once the oil starts to sizzle, add your peppers and cook until they start to brown/blacken. A couple minutes into cooking the peppers add your seasoning. Do not add salt because it will drain the peppers of their natural liquid.

Remove the peppers from the pan, add a drizzle more of olive oil and saute the chicken sausage. Once the sausage is browned, add back the peppers and drain the pasta and add that too. Stir thorough and serve.

Top with some grated parmesan or chopped parsley. Enjoy!

Make this without the pasta for a low-carb meal. Just add an orange pepper and have some steamed veggies on the side.