It's Not Easy

I know I have not posted in several days but I do have a good excuse.  I was in Toronto last week and tried to fly home to New York on Thursday night. At the Toronto airport, they FORCED me to check my laptop and then American Airlines LOST it.  When I got to LaGuardia, they could not find it. And, now here it is, Monday morning, almost four full days later, and they still can't find it. I am a wreck. I am still able to work using my home computer but all of my work documents are on my work laptop.  I am very worried -- needless to say.I still stayed on the low carb diet and did not cheat at all.  Here is a recipe for a delicious snack.Chicken Tenders:Take a package of chicken tenders -- boneless, skinless breast meat or just cut chicken breasts into strips.  Melt some butter and immerse the chicken in the butter.  Roll the chicken strips in finely grated Romano cheese (you can use Parmesan too but it needs to be finely grated/powdered).  I put lots of herbs and cracked black pepper in the cheese to give it alot of flavor.  Saute the coated chicken strips in butter in a large saute pan -- about 2-3 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Serve with low carb dipping sauces.  I like to mix a small amount of low carb honey mustard with mayo.  I also like to mix sour cream with fresh lime juice, cilantro and cracked black pepper.  This tastes like really good bar food. Tony and I ate these as we watched the Patriots get whipped by the Baltimore Ravens yesterday afternoon.  At least the food was good!

One Day At A Time

Yesterday was a good day. For breakfast, I had scrambled eggs, bacon and coffee. Lunch was salad nicoise. For dinner, I had roast chicken and a cosmopolitan (easy on the cranberry juice). I had dinner out with two fabulous colleagues at a high-end steakhouse in Toronto (I'm not a big steak eater). They ordered a bunch of sides for the table: potatoes, popovers, maple-glazed carrots. I did not eat any of those but I wanted to!

Anyway, here is a recipe for Chicken Puttanesca. Enjoy and have a great day!

Chicken Puttanesca
Prep time: 10 minutes; Cooking time 8 minutes
Cut 4 six oz. chicken cutlets into ½ pieces and toss with ½ teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper. Chop 6 olive-oil packed anchovies. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of anchovy oil over medium heat. Saute chicken and anchovies until the chicken turns white – should take about three minutes. Add 1 tablespoon of minced garlic; 1 15 oz can of crushed tomatoes, ½ cup of chopped and pitted black kalamata olive; 3 tablespoons of capers and ¼ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes. Cook until sauce thickens and chicken is cooked through – about give minutes. Garnish with chopped parsley if desired.

Low Carb Lasagne

Greetings from Toronto -- where I am visiting for business. I love this city. Given the cold weather, there is nothing like delicious comfort food to make us all feel better. My husband and I love this dish below -- it is essentially lasagne without the noodles. I know it sounds gross but it is quite good and really easy to make. It is a good dish to have when you are craving Italian food or something that will really fill you up on a cold day.

Low Carb Lasagna
Ingredients:
30 oz ricotta; 1 package of shredded mozzarella cheese, 1 cup of parmesan cheese; 3 eggs; 2 ½ pounds of ground beef; salt and pepper; garlic powder; 15 oz can of sugar-free tomato sauce (Hunts is a good option); Italian spices (oregano, basil, fennel , to taste).
Mix the ricotta and 3 eggs in a bowl. Put aside. Brown ground beef. Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, tomato sauce and Italian spices to taste. Let simmer. Lightly grease large pan with butter. Layer ground beef mixture on the bottom. Add a layer of mozzarella. Add layer of ricotta. Top entire pan with parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes.

Keep On Keeping On

I was a bad dog yesterday because I did not blog -- but I stayed on the low carb plan. I was traveling from San Francisco to Toronto for work and by the time I got to Canada, I was too tired to blog. I did eat cleanly though:

Breakfast was a mushroom and cheese omlette with coffee.
I had a diet coke on the plane.
Dinner was a cheeseburger with no bun and a side salad. Glass of wine too.

I will post some recipes tonight. Have a great day!

Making It Happen

I officially started my Low Carb diet yesterday -- on Monday, January 4th. This is what I ate:

Mushroom and cheese omelet and coffee with cream and splenda for breakfast
Skipped lunch
Diet coke
For dinner, I had a cobb salad and a glass of wine

I was in San Francisco for work and now I am off to Toronto for the next couple of days. I will post some recipes when I get to Toronto this evening.

Low Carb Kung Pao Chicken

If you are like me, every now and then you get a craving for really good Chinese food. I'm not talking about gross greasy egg rolls or slimy chow mein -- I am talking about the really flavorful Chinese cooking that you might find at small authentic Chinese restaurants. One of my favorite dishes is the spicy Kung Pao Chicken, which is impossibly high in calories and carbs.

I came across this recipe for low calorie/low carb Kung Pao. I hope you enjoy it.

Grilled Chicken With Kung Pao Sauce (serves 4-6)

Ingredients:
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts patted dry
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of black or red rice vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of water, divided
1 packed of splenda
1/4 cup of oyster sauce
1/4 teaspoon of sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon of cornstarch
1/4 cup of peanuts, chopped
1/4 cup of scallions, slivered

Grill chicken over medium heat for about seven minutes on one side and 3 minutes on the other, or until cooked through. (You can also saute this if you prefer).
In a medium saucepan, mix soy sauce, vinegar, 1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon of water, splenda, oyster sauce and oil. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and remaining water; drizzle the mixture into the sauce.
Return sauce to a boil and simmer for about one minute or until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and set aside.
Coat the chicken with the sauce. Garnish with peanuts and scallions. Serve immediately with broccoli.

Slow Cooker Power

As part of my New Year's resolution to lose weight and stick to a healthier, lower-carb regime, I purchased a slow cooker and a great cookbook "200 Low Carb Slow Cooker Recipes" by the great Dana Carpender today. I purchased both on Amazon. Once I get rolling with the slow cooker, I will post some recipes that work.

In the meantime, here is an old standby recipe I used to use -- it is a delicious and easy side dish that goes well with steak, chicken, pork and seafood.

Pesto Baked Tomatoes:

Cut two large Roma tomatoes in half and scoop out the insides. Lightly coat the tomato shells with olive oil, a touch of Balsamic vinegar, sea salt and cracked pepper. Fill the tomato shells with a good-quality Pesto (you can find great jars of Pesto in most supermarkets) and top with either Romano or Parmesan cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20-30 minutes. (the time depends upon how well you like your tomatoes roasted). I often toast some pine nuts and sprinkle those on top.