Low Carb Sausage Tetrazzini - Gluten Free

It's been too long. I owe you a recipe.

I was snowed in today and while I had no aspirations for cooking dinner earlier in the day, I stumbled on Maria Mind Body's Turkey Tetrazzini recipe and my mental wheels got to turning. This recipe is different from hers in a lot of ways, I went with what I had on hand what sounded good to me. In the end, to what tasted good. Heck yes I'll share it with you here!

Low Carb Sausage Tetrazzini

What you'll need:

1 package (1lb) kelp noodles
1 lb ground pork
2 medium red peppers julienned
1 large onion julienned
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 c chicken broth
6 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 egg beaten
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 cups freshly shredded pepper jack cheese

What you'll do:

 Grease 9 x 13 pan with butter or bacon grease.  Preheat oven to 350

1) Rinse Kelp Noodles under running water for a few minutes, then pat them dry.
2) In a medium large pan brown the pork then toss in onions ands peppers.
3) Whisk together black pepper, garlic powder, salt & xanthan gum in chicken broth. Once spices are blended, pour mix over pork and vegetables. Cook until the vegetables are al dante, depending on location  you may want to put a lid over them and let them simmer stirring occasionally.
4) Once veggies are al dante, in this order add heavy cream, Parmesan cheese, cream cheese, beaten egg and shredded cheese to the pork and veggies. Stir constantly until all cheese is creamed. Take off heat and set aside.
5) Place kelp noodles in casserole dish, then cover evenly with cheesy pork and vegetable mix.
6) Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

Let sit 10 minutes before serving.

Served with Maria Mind Body's Protein Bread topped with garlic powder, butter and oregano.

And... for your viewing pleasure... chronological photos of the hot mess! :) Yes. Enjoy!

Thank you Subway...

... for removing Azodiacarbonamide from their bread… this chemical, though approved by the USDA & the FDA (1) is banned in other countries...

Are you shocked? Yes? No? Me? 

Not so much... 

The further I dive down this rabbit hole of nutrition and finding what works best for me, my body and my family I'm realizing a person needs to check the labels & do their own digging. You just can't trust Big Brother fully okay? Just making sure in case no one told you ;). Granted, life would be awesome if we could be that carefree about it, but who wants to live a lie and in the process age without grace as what "food" they were feeding themselves brings about obesity, toxicity, infertility, etc.or in some cases, their ultimate doom. 

Yes, I went there. Dramatic no? ;) 

I don't want that, so I bother to spend the time and work to be adamant about caring and educating myself. 

When I see an ingredient in anything I put in or on my body that I don't recognize I google it. My trusted source (so far ;)) has been wikipedia. 

Just this week, looking at a supplement ingredient list I saw Sodium Dioxide & Calcium Searatate... they sounded funky but since at the cellular level our bodies are a conglomerate of amino acids and other fun scientific words, I'm going to find out if these two ingredients are harmful or beneficial for my body. Wikipedia didn't have any red flags for either. Nice. Later down the list I found Titanium Dioxide as a supplement ingredient and lo and behold; 

"Titanium dioxide dust, when inhaled, has been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as an IARC Group 2B carcinogen, meaning it is possibly carcinogenic to humans.^[55]" (2)

Interpret that how you will. I don't want that stuff near my body if I can help it, though yes, this ingredient is not only in supplements, it's in sunscreens, cosmetics, chewing gum, etc. 

 "The United States and Canada permit the use of azodicarbonamide at levels up to 45 ppm.^[6][7] In Australia, the UK , and Europe the use of azodicarbonamide as a food additive is banned^[8]. In Singapore, use is punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a fine of $450,000." (3)

This is some crazy stuff huh? All the more reason to be informed and do the research yourself. 

Here's to your health my friends! Till next time! ;) 

Sources:
1 - http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/02/05/subway-fast-food-chemicals-in-food/5236537/

2 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanium_dioxide

3 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azodicarbonamide

Chicory Root is the understudy for Decaf Coffee?

No more! This is role reversal right here! :) This is happening!!

 

I recently made a purchase from Nuts.com and amongst the fun and exciting bags I received was one bag of chicory!

 

*SEE*

 

...and if you look over in the upper right hand corner

you'll see it's brewing...

Yep, right here!☺

 



I've heard that there is a lot of processing that goes into making decaf coffee and I wanted to see if I could bypass that altogether. Enter Chicory! Maria of MariaMindBodyHealth shares a bunch of ways chicory root is good for you. But would it taste good? You know, I must try this first hand for myself! :)

 

And so... I did!

 

The smell of this lovely stuff reminds me of caramel! It has a sweetness all its own, I was on autopilot adding the same amount of truvia as I do to my usual coffee, but in this instance I really didn't need so much. I also managed to make it strong though I followed the instructions...

just strong for our taste I suppose ;).

If you'd like to have a more flavorful decaffeinated experience then I definitely recommend chicory root! And get your whole family to try it? Why not? With the health benefits this root is laden with, it's definitely worth passing on! ☺ 

 

At any rate, I was very excited to share this with you, as if you were here and ooed and ahhed at the fun Nuts.com packaging and the fun items I got with me. Oh! Here's an exhaustive list of what is pictured above:

 

1 - 5lb bag of almond flour <---I am super pumped about this! I use it for all the things! XD

2 - 1lb bags of peanut flour

1 - 1lb bag of Ceylon Cinnamon sticks <--- more on this later... coming to a blog post near you.

1 - 1lb bag of Chicory (yay! :D)

 

 

...and wouldn't you know it?! The Nuts.com folks were kind enough to send a complimentary bag of chia seeds with the whole lot! :) That made me smile! :)

 

Okay okay, now to wind down and try to get some sleep. I hope you are enjoying your January so far! Thank you for stopping by and reading about my foodie adventures as they unfold! More recipes to come too! ;)

 

Best, Dawn

Homemade Bone Broth - Helpful Links

We saw about 5 inches of snow here in Northern Virginia today. I was thankful I had my bone broth ready to go!  This was my first attempt at bone broth and while I'd say it flopped ( ie. didn't gel, flavor was bland ) I added a bit of my own gelatin to make sure I had that in there ;) and some Himalayan salt as it was in need of it! :D Lessons were learned and I know it will be better next time, so it's all good!

Back to the drawing board, I perused the internets and found some knowledgable resources for the next time I make chicken bone broth. And because this blog serves to share my culinary creations and the information I find along the way I hope you find these entries helpful too! Enjoy!

Chicken Bone Broth Recipe from Oh Lardy!

10 Reasons I Drink Bone Broth from Kitchen Stewardship

5 Reasons Why Your Stock Won't Gel from The Healthy Home Economist

Chicken Cilantro & Bacon Soup for your Crock Pot - Low Carb & Paleo Friendly

The flu hit our house this year. It got me first and while I'm definitely on the mend and can see the light at the end of the tunnel I'm not taking that for granted! I'm nursing the soups! ;) Now that I have a bit more energy I'm making a soup for the family. My dear husband, I'm sorry to report is ill but with a cold rather than the flu! Luckily he's much more mobile than I was while ill as well. Until we're back to our work routines and normal energy level I think it will be soups and broth for us! :) Which means... its time to share another soup recipe! Ha! January is shaping up to be full of soup recipes! :D I hope you like them all! ^-^

Chicken Cilantro & Bacon Soup
Pin it for later HERE.

What You Need:

2 Chicken Breasts Shredded
6 Tablespoons Chopped Cilantro
6 Cups Chicken Stock
4 Tablespoons Bacon grease, divided
6 Bacon strips cooked and crumbled
3/4 Cup chopped Onion
2 Scallions chopped
1 Tablespoon Cumin
1 Teaspoon Sea Salt
1 Teaspoon Minced Garlic
1/4 Teaspoon Pepper

Optional: Avocado

What To Do:

1) In a large skillet over medium-high, heat 1 Tablespoon of the bacon grease. Add chicken to skillet and cook until there is no pink in the center. Transfer chicken to a glass plate and shred with a fork.

2) Add shredded chicken to crock pot with all other ingredients (exception of avocado ;)).

3) Set crock pot to Keep Warm for 8 hours or Low for 4 hours.

4) Serve warm with a topping of avocado.

Enjoy!