Low Carb Eggplant Parmesan

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I don't like eggplant.  Broccoli and squash can get old. I admit, this purple vegi looks interesting when you see it in the vegetable isle, but looks can be deceiving. I have tried several "mushy" eggplant recipes without success, until I had an epiphany.

"Eggplant Parmesan"!!!!...Aaahhhhhhhhhhhh (That is an epiphany sound, not the beginning of a sneeze)

Eggplant Parmesan happens to be one of my all time favorite Italian recipes and eggplant happens to be the one of the main ingredients.  I figured that this would be an easy recipe to modify into low carb as the only change would be to find a replacement for the breading.  I have used this breading several times, and each time I modify it with precision engineering measurements (aka just throw in different amounts of the main ingredients and experiment as you go).

Layers:
1 Large Eggplant
Shredded Cheese
Parmesan Cheese

Sauce:
1 Small White Onion
1 Small Green Bell Pepper
12oz Can Diced Tomatoes
4oz Can Tomato Sauce
2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
2 Links Italian Sausage
Italian Seasonings or Basil Pesto
Garlic
Salt

Low Carb Breading:
1/3 C Almond Meal
1/4 C Parmesan Cheese
1/8 C Ground Flax Meal
2 Tbsp Coconut Flour
Salt
Garlic Powder
Italian Seasoning
2 Eggs

Peel the eggplant. Using the thickest setting on your mandolin slice the eggplant into slices.  If you don't have a mandolin, go buy one, you won't regret it.  You can use a knife, but it is difficult to get thin slices, so be patient.  Beat the eggs in a bowl, and in a separate dish mix the dry ingredients for the breading. Dip the eggplant slices in the egg, lift and let drain a second, then coat with breading.  Shake off excess and place on a roasting rack in a cookie sheet. Bake 15-25 minutes @ 350F or until the breading browns and is fragrant like roasted almonds.

Meanwhile, cook the sausage links in a pan.  Remove and set aside to cool.  Dice the onion, bell pepper, & garlic and saute until softened.  Add the tomatoes, sauce, pesto/seasoning, and a pinch of salt.  Slice the sausage links and add them to the pan.  Simmer until eggplant is ready.

In a casserole dish place a layer of eggplant, top with a layer of sauce, sprinkle with shredded & Parmesan cheeses, then repeat until you are out.  Should make about a 1" thick casserole.  Place in the oven @ 350F and bake until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbly.

Low Carb Eggplant Parmesan Casserole

This recipe definitely satisfied my craving for eggplant parmesan. Surprisingly the breading tastes great, and doesn't get soggy when you bake it in the casserole.  I even had reheated leftovers and the breading held up much better than the regular carb loaded versions.

Zucchini Spinach Lasagna

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1 lb Ground Italian Sausage
1 lb Ground Turkey
1 Jar Marinara Sauce
Italian Seasoning
Minced Garlic
1 Diced Onion
2 Large Zucchini
2 Cups Shredded Cheese
1 Pkg Cream Cheese
1 Bunch Fresh Spinach (or 1 pkg Frozen Spinach)

I was initially inspired to make a low carb lasagna from some of the other blogs that have made some pretty good looking recipes. I found some delicious low carb lasagna recipes, but I still longed for a low carb replacement for the noodles that would provide the lasagna some body and a noodle like texture between the layers.

In a skillet saute the onions and garlic.  Add the sausage and turkey and brown.  Drain any excess grease and add the marinara sauce and Italian seasoning and reduce heat to a slow simmer.

Take the zucchini and slice them lengthwise as thin as you can, or approximately 1/16" thick.  I would highly recommend a mandolin slicer to get nice thin slices, but you can use a sharp knife as long as you have patience and a steady hand.  Don't fret about having perfect slices, as you can easily piece everything together in the dish.  Note, as seen from the photo below I did not have a mandolin slicer for the zucchini and I could probably use a bit more patience but it pieced together fine.

Spray a 9x13" casserole dish with pam.  Line the bottom of the dish with a layer of zucchini slices.

Then top the zucchini with a layer of the sauce, then some spinach, then some dollops of cream cheese as shown below.

Repeat zucchini, sauce, spinach, cream cheese until you run out or the casserole is full, whichever happens first.  The top layer should be a layer of zucchini slices topped with the shredded cheese.  Place in the oven @350degF for 30 to 45 minutes.  The lasagna should be bubbling and the cheese melted.

Note, this was the point in the experiment that I thought I had failed miserably because as I took it out of the oven I noticed that the zucchini slices had put off a significant amount of water.  I was afraid that all was lost and we would end up with a soupy mess.  This however was one of those mistakes that turned out to be good in the end.  I was able to easily drain all the excess water off of the casserole and I was left with a fairly stable lasagna.  I know, I know...you are not supposed to have to drain lasagna, but trust me, it's worth it.

Slice and serve.  Continue to drain any excess water as needed.  Even though the water is a bit of a pain, the taste of the lasagna was amazing.  The zucchini "noodles" added a good flavor and decent body to the lasagna.  A future experiment (maybe pre-cooking) is planned as an attempt to pull some of the water out of the zucchini prior to assembling the lasagna.

Cheesy Spinach Artichoke Skillet

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As far as food is concerned, usually if it looks good, then it tastes good as well...Right?

I have to admit that this dish does not quite follow those guidelines and is more of an "ugly duckling" dish.  It tastes amazing (and meets low carb guidelines) but does not come out to be the most appealing dish.  I have learned a valuable lesson; It is not fair to judge dishes solely on looks.  Sometimes you have to be willing to accept them however they look and no matter what political party they choose....well that is, unless they don't taste good or become too liberal.  Then it is ok to judge away.

Warning, it may be fun to make up some interesting (aka gross) names to describe how this dish looks, but I would recommend keeping them to yourself.  My wife wasn't very thrilled and did not get the childish humor in something I was trying to serve her for dinner.  On the other hand, if you have say a 12 year old son, he would probably enjoy the humor.



Recipe:

1 Pkg Frozen Leaf Spinach

(This would definatly be better with fresh spinach, but I have decided that this is my
"I don't have anything left in the fridge and I don't feel like going to the store so what can I whip up in a hurry" meal.  I think most of my best creations fall under that exact same description.)

1 Can Petite Diced Tomatoes (you can sub RoTel for some spice!!)

1 lb Ground Turkey

1 8oz Jar Medium Artichokes

2oz Cream Cheese

2oz Sour Cream

1/3 Cup Shredded Mexican Blend Cheese

1 Small Onion

Garlic, Salt, Pepper

Shredded Parmasean Cheese

Put a little olive oil in a skillet on medium high heat.  Add chopped onion and saute until they start to brown.  Add ground turkey and brown (You can drain the meat at this point, but I say what for, it's turkey). Add spinach, tomatoes, artichokes and seasoning.  Cook until spinach is thawed.  Add cream cheese, sour cream, and shredded cheese.  Stir until all the cheese is melted.  Top with parmasean cheese to serve. 

Cheesy Spinach Artichoke Skillet



Fauxtater Sheperds Pie

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One of the staples of the low carb diet is faux mashed potatoes made from cauliflower, but I got tired of them pretty quickly and they never tasted that great by themselves.  I came up with this recipe as a way to enjoy them a bit more with a take on Sheperds pie.

1 lb ground turkey
1 small onion
1 pkg frozen spinach
1 pkg frozen broccolli
1 pkg frozen green beans
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 Tbsp Worchestire Sauce
Cauliflower Fauxtatoes (see recipe below)

Dice the onion and saute.  Add the turkey and brown.  Add the frozen vegetables and cook for a few minutes until defrosted.  Add the soup and worchestire sauce and mix.  Pour meat/veggie mixture in a 9x13 dish.  Spread the fauxtatoes on top.  Top with some shredded cheese and italian seasoning and place in the oven @350deg F for 20 to 25 minutes or until warmed all the way through.

Cauliflower Fauxtatoes
There are several recipes for these out there.  I modified them a bit to come up with this one.

1 head of cauliflower
1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp sour cream
2 Tbsp cream cheese

Steam or boil the cauliflower until soft.  Drain well.  Add ingredients to food processor and mix until smooth.  Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning to taste.

Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti

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A dish that begins and ends with the same word is fun to say and has to be good!!! Remember to say the name three times fast to the people you are serving it to just to see the confused looks they give you.

Don't get hung up on the fact that spaghetti squash does not compare to spaghetti noodles, because this dish is great.  Spaghetti squash adds a tasty flavor and texture to this low-carb version of spaghetti.

Noodles:
1 large spaghetti squash
that's it, nothing else.

First cut the spaghetti squash in half.  Spoon out the seeds and place the halves cut side down in a dish.  Add 1 Tbsp of water and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes @ 350F. Once they start to soften, take a fork and scrape the squash "noodles" out of each half.

I would highly recommend to cook your squash in advance and give yourself time for them to cool before forking.  I however was really hungry so I chose to heed my own advice and start forking right out of the oven.  Let's just say I had a few choice words for those d*#& hot squash.

The squash should still be slightly firm and a bit crispy at this point.  I have found that it is best to fork the meat out of the squash before it gets too soft.  If you prefer your spaghetti noodles without a crispy finish, then cover the dish with saran wrap and put the squash noodles in the microwave for 10 to 15 minutes or until desired tenderness.  Don't go too long or they might get a bit mushy and loose their noodle shape and texture.

For the sauce you can prepare any traditional spaghetti sauce or grab a jar of sauce in a pinch.  I included a quick recipe I like to make.  Note:  This is a very meaty recipe since we need more calories to come from protein.

Sauce:
1 lb ground turkey
1 lb Italian sausage
1 bell pepper chopped
1 onion chopped
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 6oz can tomato paste
1 12oz can diced tomatoes
Italian herbs
chopped garlic

Saute onions and bell pepper to desired tenderness.  Add garlic and cook for 1 min.  Add meat and brown.  Drain off any excess oil/fat.  Add sauces and herbs and cook over medium-low heat or until the noodles are ready.

Maybe tomorrow I will make Chicken Soup Chicken or Hamburger Steak Hamburgers.