Diabetic and Low Carb Recipes/Menu Plans

A word about my weekly dinner menu and recipes:  I am posting only the foods and recipes that fall under the realm of low carb and/or diabetic friendly.  I have to add other things to the meals for the rest of the family such as mashed potatoes, rice, pasta, etc. but I try to keep those things to a minimum so that the Four Princesses will try the vegetables and meats that I fix.  So far, this has worked out very well!  Also, unlike most homeschooling blogs that I know, this dinner menu is not about frugality.  It is quite expensive to feed a family in this way, but being diabetic is a very specific adventure, and I love to be able to share the recipes that help me to manage my blood sugar.

Weekly Dinner Menu: 1/1/2012:

Sunday: Hamburger patties, salad and deviled eggs

Monday: Crab n bacon bundles*, eggs scrambled with cheese and turkey

Tuesday: Hamburger steak, sausage stuffed mushrooms* mashed garlic turnips*

Wednesday: Those Chicken Things*, broccoli

Thursday: Skillet Stroganoff*, two cheese tuna stuffed mushrooms*

Friday:  Satay Without a Stick*, Obscenely Rich Shrimp*, buttered snow peas, rice


Crab and Bacon Bundles:
1 can (6 oz.) crab, drained
1 scallion, finely minced
1/2 pound bacon

1. Flake the crab, removing any bits of shell or cartilage, stir in the minced scallion, set aside.
2. Cut bacon strips in half, crosswise.  Place a rounded  1/2 tsp. of the crab mixture on the end of the bacon strip, and roll up, stretching the bacon slightly as you go.  Secure with a toothpick.
3. Broil about 8 inches from heat, turning once or twice, until the bacon is crisp, no more than 10 minutes.

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms:
1 pound medium mushrooms
1 pound bulk breakfast sausage, hot or sage
8oz. package of cream cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, remove stems from mushrooms and use a paring knife to make the hole in the mushroom a little larger.  Brown and drain the sausage, then stir in the cream cheese.  Spoon the mixture into each mushroom.  Bake for 20 minutes.

Mashed Garlic Turnips:
2 pounds turnips, peeled and cut into chunks
8 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
1 teaspoon salt or Vege-sal
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 tablespoons chopped, fresh chives

1. Place turnips and garlic in a saucepan with a tight fitting lid.  Add water to fill about halfway, cover and place over medium high heat.  Bring to a boil, turn down the burner, and simmer until quite soft (about 15 minutes).  Drain the turnips and garlic very well.  

2. Using a potato masher, mash the turnips and garlic together.  Stir in the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Those Chicken Things:
1 bunch scallions (about 10)
8oz. softened cream cheese
8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
16 to 24 slices bacon

1. Clean, trim and chop the scallions, including a generous portion of the green.  Mix the scallions into the cream cheese and set aside.

2. Butterfly the chicken breasts from the thinnest edge in toward the thickest.  This thickest edge will be in the middle of the breast once it is opened up.  Working one piece at a time, open the breast up and put it in a heavy zipper lock bag.  Seal the bag, and with a rolling pin, pound the chicken breast until it is 1/4 inch thick all over.  Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts.  

3.  Place an equal amount of cream cheese mixture on each breast.  Wrap the chicken meat around the cheese mixture so that it is completely enclosed.

4.  Wrap a strip of bacon around the ball of chicken, stretching it a bit to provide maximum overlap.  Wrap a second piece of bacon around the still exposed portion of the chicken.  Secure with a few toothpicks.  If you still have a lot of chicken exposed, wrap with more bacon.

5. Refrigerate several hours or over night.  

6. Cover bbq rack with a sheet of aluminum foil, and spray with nonstick spray.  Preheat grill to high.

7.  Place chicken on the covered rack, reduce heat to medium, and close the lid.  Turn about every 5 minutes, until all sides are nicely browned.  When the cheese starts to ooze out in a few places, they are done.  This should take 20 to 30 minutes.  Remove toothpicks and serve.

Skillet Stroganoff:
1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, crushed
4oz. can of mushrooms, drained
1 tsp. liquid beef broth concentrate
1 tablespoons worcesterhire sauce
1 tsp. paprika
3/4 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Brown and crumble the ground beef in a heavy skillet over med. heat.  Add the onion and garlic as soon as there is a little grease on the bottom of the pan, and cook until beef is no longer pink.

2.  Drain excess grease.  Add mushrooms, broth concentrate, worcestershire, and paprika.  Stir in the sour cream, then add salt and pepper to taste.  Heat through, but don't let it boil.  

Two-Cheese Tuna Stuffed Mushrooms:
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms
1 can tuna
1/2 cup shredded smoked Gouda
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 scallion, finely minced

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Wipe the mushrooms clean with a damp cloth and remove their stems.
3.  Combine the tuna, cheeses, mayonnaise, and minced scallion.  Mix well.
4.  Spoon the mixture into the mushroom caps and arrange them in a shallow roasting pan.  Add just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan.  Bake for 15 minutes and serve hot.

Hot Wings:
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. curry powder
2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. dried thyme
2 pounds chicken wings, cut into drummettes

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2.  Combine spices well in a bowl.
3.  Arrange the wings in a shallow baking pan, and sprinkle the mixture evenly over them, turning to coat both sides.
4. Roast for 45 to 50 minutes, or until crisp.  Serve with ranch or blue cheese dressing and celery sticks, if desired.

Turnips Au Gratin:
2 pounds turnips, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup half n half
3 cups sharp cheddar cheese
2 tsp. prepared horseradish
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 med. onion, sliced
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Steam the turnips until just tender.
3. While turnips are cooking, combine the cream and half n half in a saucepan over very low heat.  Bring to a simmer.
4.  When the cream is up to temperature, whisk in 2 and 2/3 cups of cheese, a couple of tablespoons at the time.  When all cheese is melted into the sauce, whisk in the horseradish and nutmeg.  Turn off the burner.
5.  Spray an 8x8 inch glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.  Put about 1/3 of the turnips in the dish, and scatter half of the sliced onion over it.  Add another layer of turnips, half of the onions, and the final third of the turnips on top.  Pour cheese sauce over the whole thing and scatter the last 1/3 cup of cheese over the top.  Bake for 3
0 to 40 minutes, or until golden.               

Satay Without a Stick:
1 tablespoon oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp. curry powder
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast

1. Put a heavy skillet over med. heat.  Add oil, garlic and curry powder.  Stir for a few seconds to flavor the oil.
2. Add the chicken breasts and saute' for about 7 minutes on each side, or until done through.

Obscenely Rich Shrimp:
  20 oz. of frozen, chopped spinach
3 tablespoons butter
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
1 small onion, diced
14 oz. frozen, cooked, shelled shrimp
2 tsp. liquid beef bouillon concentrate
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup sour cream
 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cook the spinach.
3.  Saute' mushrooms and onions in heavy skillet over med. heat.  When they start to become limp, add frozen shrimp to the skillet.
4. When shrimp is thawed and onions are quite limp and translucent, scoop out the veggies and shrimp with a slotted spoon, and put them aside in a bowl.  Turn up the burner to med.-high.  Add the beef bullion concentrate and boil the liquid until it is reduced to about one third of its original volume.
5. Turn the burner back down to low, stir in the heavy cream, sour cream, and Parmesan cheese and just heat through (do not boil).  Sir the shrimp and vegetables back into the sauce.
6. Drain spinach well.
7.  Spray a 10 cup casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray and spread half of the spinach in the bottom of it.  Put half of the shrimp mixture over that.  Continue the layers.  
8.  Top with coconut and bake for 1 1/2 hours.

Buttered Snow Peas:
4 tablespoons butter
12 oz. fresh snow peas

1.  Melt butter in a heavy skillet over med-high heat.
2.  Add the snow peas and saute' until just tender-crisp.  

Low Carb Hot Cocoa Recipe


Looking for a recipe for low carb hot cocoa? Hot chocolate is perfect for chasing away the chills, and this one is sugar-free!

Ingredients:
2/3 cup water
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 packets Splenda
1 Tbsp cocoa
1/8 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients then microwave for 2 minutes or until hot. Enjoy!

Servings: 1
Carbs per serving: 2g 

 

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