Hot Spinach and Bacon Cheese Dip

This is so super easy, and can be prepared and ready to eat in about an hour.

Hot Spinach and Bacon Cheese Dip


1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
16 oz frozen chopped spinach
24 oz cream cheese, softened
1 medium onion, finely chopped
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese 
1½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

½ cup mayo


Preheat oven to 400°.


I cut the bacon into ¼ inch strips before cooking, so I don't have to crumble it later. If you are able to freeze the bacon for 15-20 minutes before, it makes it easier to cut. Or you could use kitchen sheers like I did! Turn the hear on medium and you can start getting everything else ready. Cook until crispy and drain on a paper towel.

Place spinach in a colander and run warm water over it until it's no longer frozen. Squeeze the spinach with your hands, then place it inside some paper towels and wring out as much water as possible.

If you don't have time to soften the cream cheese, place it in a microwave safe bowl, and heat for about 30 seconds. Place cream cheese in a mixer bowl. Mix the cream cheese until creamy. Add all other ingredients and mix till combined.

Spray a 13"X9" casserole (glass or ceramic) with non-stick spray. Place all of the cheese mixture in the casserole and spread it out evenly. Bake for 30-40 minutes. About halfway through the cooking time, mix with a spoon and return to the oven. It will be bubbly and start to brown along the edges.

Serve with taco chips or crackers. To keep it low-carb, serve with pepperoni chips or Parmesan crisps.

Total carb count was 72 carbs, and this easily feeds 12-15 people. Which makes it between 4-6 carbs per serving. Crackers will increase the count, but pepperoni chips are 0 carbs.

Pepperoni chips:

Place sliced pepperoni in a single layer between a few layers of paper towels. There will be a lot of grease! Place on a microwave safe plate and microwave for 60 seconds, checking after 45 seconds to make sure they are cooking evenly. Let them drain on the paper towels then store in the fridge in a plastic baggie. They will become stiff like a cracker and can be used to dip! 

I cook all of my pepperoni for at least 30 seconds now because I can't stand all of the grease it leaves behind on pizza, in sandwiches, etc.

School Lunch Updates

 Going into the oven - Apple Crisp: real apples topped with an Oatmeal topping and baked for an hour.

 4 trays at once - lots of kids to feed!

 Taco salad (lettuce, taco beef, tomatoes, shredded cheese, tossed with dressing) and served with black olives, sour cream, corn, and apple crisp.

 Chicken nuggets (alternate lunch) served with baked chips, carrots with ranch dip, and a fresh baked cupcake with chocolate icing.

 Honey-wheat wrap with turkey breast (we slice out own) cheese, lettuce and tomato,  served with baked chips, carrots with ranch dip, and a fresh baked cupcake with chocolate icing.

We make out own desserts to ensure there are no tree nuts. These are strawberry-oatmeal bars going into the oven.

Low-carb redo - Oven Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Parmesan Cauliflower and Balsamic Mushrooms

This is a low carb re-do of the something I made for the 4^th of July picnic. Mainly, I replaced the brown sugar with SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend and the regular ketchup with Heinz® Reduced Sugar Ketchup. I changed some of the spice quantities because of preference, and you can add or delete any as you choose. The brown sugar helps with the caramelization, so try not to omit that one! About 14 carbs for the entire meal. The cauliflower is from a pasta dish and I fell in love with it. The mushrooms are a new endeavor.

Oven Roasted Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:

1 Pork tenderloin, about 1½ lbs – 0 carbs

1 tsp smoked paprika – 1.3 carbs

½ tsp ground pepper – .5 carbs

2 tsp SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend – 8 carbs

1 tsp cumin – 1 carbs

1 tsp dry mustard – .4 carbs

1 tsp onion powder – 1.9 carbs

1 tsp garlic powder – 1.6 carbs

Olive oil – 0 carbs

Total carbs – 14.7 

Serves 4 

Carbs per serving – 3.675

Directions:

Start this part the day before or morning of (needs at least 6 hours): Rinse, then pat dry tenderloin. In a small bowl, combine the next 7 ingredients (dry spices) and mix well. I used a small, baby whisk to blend it.

Brush tenderloin with olive oil then cover it with the spice blend. I used a large rectangle plastic container to roll the tenderloin in the spice mix to get covered evenly.
Cut a piece of plastic wrap twice as long as the tenderloin. Place tenderloin in the center and cover with any remaining spice mix. Wrap tightly, folding in the ends. Place in the fridge overnight.

Take the tenderloin out of the fridge about 30-45 minutes before you are ready to cook.

Preheat oven to 400°. 

Place a heat-resistant skillet (cast iron – I used a cast iron grill pan – that’s where the grill marks come from) over medium-high heat. 

When it gets hot, add a small amount of olive oil. Place tenderloin in the pan – it should sizzle. As soon as it is browned on one side, turn ¼ turn, until all sides have been browned. 

Remove from heat and turn it over once again and place in the oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, turn completely over and cook another 10 minutes. 

Check for 160° internal temperature – return to oven until 160° is reached. Remove tenderloin to a cutting board and cover with large lid or piece of foil to keep warm. Let it rest for at least 10 minutes. 

Slice in ¼” slices and serve with 1 T of the following sauce (but this is great as is, the sauce just makes it a little better. 

By letting the meat come to room temperature before pan-frying and letting it rest before slicing, it is very moist and juicy! Click here and here for an explanation of the room temperature reasoning. And here is why you give it a rest.

Sauce: 

 ½ cup of water – 0 carbs

¾ cup apple cider vinegar – 0 carbs

1½ T SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend – 9 carbs

2 T Heinz® Reduced Sugar Ketchup – 2 carbs

½ tsp red pepper flakes – .25 carbs

1 tsp sea salt – 0 carbs

Total carbs – 11.25 

Serves 12 

Carbs per serving – 1

Combine everything in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, stirring often, until sauce thickens. This makes more sauce than you need, but you can use it on other meats or veggies. Refrigerate to store.

Roasted Parmesan Cauliflower

Ingredients:

½ half head Cauliflower, separated into bite-sized florets – 15 carbs

3 T finely grated Parmesan cheese – .6 carbs

Olive oil – 0 carbs

Total carbs – 15.6 

Serves 4 

Carbs per serving – 3.9

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°.
Drizzle cauliflower with olive oil, toss to coat. Toss with Parmesan cheese and place on a foil or parchment covered cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until they start to brown. I was able to get these in the oven with the tenderloin.

Balsamic Mushrooms

Ingredients:

3 T butter, separated – 0 carbs

½ lb baby bella mushrooms, sliced thick (about 1/4" thick) – 5.4 carbs

2 tsp minced garlic – 2 carbs

2 tsp SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend – 8 carbs

2 T Balsamic vinegar – 5.4 carbs

Salt and pepper to taste

Total carbs – 20.8 

Serves 4 

Carbs per serving – 5.2

Directions:

Place 1 T butter in a non-stick skillet on medium-high heat. Once it’s melted, add the mushrooms and mix them with the butter. Make sure all mushrooms are flat on the bottom. 

After a few minutes and when mushrooms are browned, turn them over to brown the other side. Turn heat to medium. 

Add the other 2 T of butter and the garlic and sauté for a minute or until you can smell the garlic. Add SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend and vinegar and cook, stirring often until sauce reduces. Taste sauce and add salt and pepper to taste.

Seasoned and wrapped in plastic wrap and ready to go in the fridge overnight.

Grilled on top of the stove, then baked in the oven in the same pan.

It must reach 160°.

Let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing!

Baby Bella mushrooms, bought at Walmart, made in USA (Florida)! They actually had hydroponic butter lettuce - which I will try when I make perfect my low-carb lettuce wraps. A lot of their canned goods come from China, but they have been carrying more and more local and organic produce lately and you can't beat the price!

 

Baby bellas going into the butter. Toss, then brown on each side.

Nice and brown - on both sides.

 

Cauliflower is tossed in olive oil, then Parmesan cheese and roasted in the oven.

The finished product!

Low Carb Portobello stuffed with crab

Low Carb Portobello stuffed with Crab

This is something I haven't made for a long time. I used to do it very basic, mushrooms, balsamic tomatoes, crab meat (not seasoned), and cheese. They used to serve something like this at the Huttleston House in Fairhaven, MA and I tried to recreate it. I remember theirs being very basic, so I thought I nailed the "copycat" with my basic recipe. 

This one is so much better for 2 reasons - first, the taste is much better, and second, the crab mixture sticks together and doesn't fall off the mushroom like when I just put it on right out of the can. This recipe takes canned crab to a new level.

Ingredients:

2 large Portobello mushrooms – about 4” in diameter – 2 carbs

1 plum or Roma tomato – 3 carbs

1-2 tsp balsamic vinegar – 1.5 carbs

1 small shallot – 1.5 carbs

1 tsp olive oil – 0 carbs

1 6-ounce can crab meat, any type – your preference – 0 carbs

2 tsp mayonnaise – 0 carbs

Dab of Dijon mustard – .1 carbs

Celery salt – 2-3 shakes – 0 carbs

¼ tsp Worcestershire sauce – .025 carbs

2 slices provolone cheese, 1 oz. each – 1.2 carbs

Total carbs – 10 

Serves 2 

Carbs per serving – 5

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°.

Rinse mushrooms. If they have a stem, use a teaspoon to remove it and reserve. Spray a glass baking dish with PAM. Place mushrooms in dish stem side up. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn mushrooms stem side down and bake for another 5-10 minutes, until most of the moisture is gone.

While mushrooms are baking, slice tomato into 8 slices. Place on a plate or shallow bowl and drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Set aside until needed.

Dice the shallot and the mushroom stems. If you don’t have stems – don’t worry about it. I just didn’t want to throw them away. Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil. As soon as it’s hot, add shallots and mushroom stems. As soon as they start to brown, remove them to drain on a paper towel. This takes just 1-2 minutes if your pan is hot.

Mix crab (drained), mayo, mustard, celery salt, Worcestershire sauce, and shallot/mushroom mixture. It should be moist and stick together. Add a little more mayo if it doesn’t.

When mushrooms are done, turn the oven down to 400°. Turn the mushrooms stem side up and place 4 slices of tomato on each cap, then half of the crab on each, and top each with a slice of provolone cheese.

Place back in the oven for 5 minutes. Then turn on broiler and remove them from the oven once the cheese starts to brown. Enjoy!

 Everything you will need.

 Place mushrooms in a glass baking dish sprayed with PAM.

 Drizzle tomatoes with balsamic vinegar.

 Saute shallots and diced mushroom stems in a teaspoon of olive oil. Then drain on a paper towel.

 Mix crab, mayo, mustard, celery salt, Worcestershire, shallots and mushrooms.

 Top each cap with tomatoes.

 Then top with crab mixture.

 Top with provolone.

 The final product, served with cucumber slices

.

 This is the nutrition info for the mushrooms I used - 4 carbs minus 3 fiber = 1 carb each.