Tag: comfort food

KETO No-Peek Chicken and “Rice” Casserole (Recipe)

I recently converted another one of my favorite comfort food recipes to a Keto-friendly version! There are more than a few different recipes for No-Peek Chicken and Rice in the oven, that have been floating around social media (and our Grandmother’s recipe books) for quite some time. Most of these call for rice and cans of cream of something soups. I do have to admit that I used to love a good chicken casserole, but any of these options would be a No-Go on Keto.

I knew I would make this recipe with some version of cauliflower rice. I also decided to pulse some broccoli in my food processor as well, to add color (mimicking the wild rice) and another depth of flavor.

Being totally honest, this recipe does require just a little more work than the carb-laden versions – we’re not going to be dumping cans of anything into a pan, here. But we are going to seriously shave off some carbs. One serving of my recipe has only 6 grams Carbohydrates, TOTAL, whereas one of the recipes I found online using wild rice had almost 70 grams of carbs per serving! Keto or not, that just doesn’t sound like a good idea to me anymore, for myself or my family members. And while this one does require a little more prep, it’s definitely not a hard recipe to make and it is totally worth it. I wouldn’t have made it myself, otherwise. I did decide to sear my chicken in my cast iron pan before adding it to the casserole, but I really believe this step was completely necessary, for juicy, flavorful chicken. For this reason, I’m going to call this one a weekend meal.

I chose to use chicken thighs for this recipe because of the higher fat content. However, any cut of chicken you prefer will work, but may require more cooking time.

Another little note before I get into the recipe: I am not including in-depth instructions on how to make cauliflower rice or broccoli rice. That’s been done, many times and you may also choose to just purchase ready-made cauliflower and broccoli rice in the freezer section of your grocery store. If you would like to make your own, the short of it is, you’re basically going to run some roughly chopped cauliflower through your food processor, with the shred blade on. If you don’t have a food processor, you can get one by clicking here: Hamilton Beach Food Processor & Vegetable Chopper

Of course, you can also just grate your vegetables by hand with any grater. This method does require the most work. It’s important to understand that these types of rice are nothing more than finely chopped vegetables. You do want to chop or shred your “rice” a little more coarsely for this recipe, so that they will hold up during the cooking time and not turn to mush. I also squeeze as much liquid as I can out of mine, using a paper towel, before incorporating it into recipes. My ingredient amounts below are listed in grams because it takes the guesswork out of the Carb content. I really believe in using a food scale on the Ketogenic diet to get your measurements exact. If you don’t have a food scale, you can get a good one here: Digital Food Scale Digital Weight, Grams and Ounces by Greater Goods

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. However, I would never link a product here that I did not like or use.)

KETO No-Peek Chicken and “Rice” Casserole

Servings: 8

Ingredients

8 Chicken Thighs, I use bone-in, skin-ON
350 g Cauliflower, Riced
350 g Broccoli florets, Riced
2 slices Bacon, chopped
25 g Onion, finely chopped
¾ cup Mushrooms, sliced
1 cup Chicken Broth
2 tsp Minced Garlic, you know I like Spice World, ORGANIC GARLIC
2 tbsp Salted Butter
1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
½ cup Shredded Cheddar cheese
Seasoned Salt
Salt and Pepper

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a casserole dish with butter or spray with Olive Oil cooking spray. Mix both types of veggie rice together, season with salt and pepper and add to the greased casserole dish. In a cast iron skillet, or your favorite pan, cook the bacon until crispy and then remove with a slotted spoon. Set bacon aside. Season chicken breasts with the Seasoned salt and pepper, then place as many as you can, in the pan, without overcrowding. Cook the chicken in the bacon fat for 3-4 minutes per side, or until browned. Remove chicken and set aside. Pour off most of the grease that is in the pan at this point. Add the 2 tbsp of butter to the pan, turn heat to low-medium. Add the onions and mushrooms to the pan and cook until the onions are just beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic to the pan, still on low-medium. Cook for 1 minute. De-glaze the pan by adding the chicken broth and scraping any bits from the bottom. Add in the heavy whipping cream, stir. Cook for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat, add in the cheese and stir to melt and combine. Pour half of this sauce over the veggie rice, and stir a little to coat the “rice.” Arrange the chicken thighs over the rice and pour the rest of the sauce over the whole dish. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour. Remember, NO Peeking! (Or at least not before it has cooked at least 45 minutes) Sprinkle the cooked bacon pieces over the chicken, just before serving.

I hope you enjoy this recipe and your family loves it as much as mine!


This recipe is approximately 524 calories per serving, 6.2g carbs, 41g fat, and 29.6g protein. 

**The nutritional facts mentioned in this article are approximate, and were based on the most accurate information I could find online and may vary. Always double-check your own ingredients.

KETO “Fried” Chicken (Recipe)

Happy Monday! I’m not going to force you to read or scroll through a long post before you get to the recipe (this time), but doesn’t that chicken look GREAT? I’m here to tell you, that it absolutely was! I’m sure you already know that breading chicken with crushed pork skins is definitely not a new idea. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if it sounded so great, but once I found myself thinking about “regular” fried chicken, I knew I had to give it a try. I’m not much of a recipe follower, and there are so many different ways to cook this. For me, cooking chicken in coconut oil on my electric griddle is the easiest way to go for guaranteed delicious, juicy chicken. So why not just do that with this?

I also really love boneless, skinless chicken. But on the ketogenic diet, we know it would be better if I preferred bone-in chicken with the skin on, so I would be getting in those healthy fats. Using the coconut oil to “fry” my chicken allows me to continue using the same chicken that I’ve always loved AND stick to my macros, while also adding that faint-but-delicious coconut flavor. Rolling the chicken around in crushed Pork Skins is just the icing on the Keto CAKE. (That cake is made with almond flour, I’m sure).

I said I wouldn’t jabber too much on this one, so let’s get to the recipe.

KETO “Fried” Chicken

Servings: 4

Ingredients

2 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
1-1/2 oz Pork Skins
2 Eggs, beaten
Lawry’s Seasoned Salt and Black Pepper, to taste
2 tbsp Coconut Oil

Instructions

Pre-heat an electric griddle or frying pan to 325-350 degrees. With your knife, begin by removing the tenders from the chicken breasts. Save these for another recipe. Slice the chicken breasts in half, making cutlets. Season the chicken cutlets with the seasoned salt and black pepper. Crush the pork skins to use as “breader.” There are many ways to do this, the easiest way I’ve found is to just crush them in the bag. (Make sure to let some air out first.) Transfer the crushed skins to a dish. Heat 1 tbsp of the coconut oil on your electric griddle. As soon as the griddle is sizzling, begin prepping the chicken. Start by dipping the seasoned chicken breast into the beaten egg, then laying the cutlet in the pork skins, turning once to coat both sides. Place on the hot, oiled griddle. Do this until all of the chicken cutlets are on the griddle. Cook 5-7 minutes, then flip. Add the other tbsp of coconut oil to the griddle, and cook this side another 5-7 minutes, or longer, depending on the size of your chicken breasts. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate, or a rack, and let cool slightly before serving. Enjoy!

This recipe is approximately 256 calories per serving, <1g carbs, 14.9g fat, and 30.7g protein. 

**The nutritional facts mentioned in this article are approximate, and were based on the most accurate information I could find online and may vary. Always double-check your own ingredients.

Keto Cheese-Stuffed Meatloaf with BACON (Recipe)

Today I’m going to share a recipe that some friends have asked for. But before I jump into the prep and ingredients, let me tell you a little about how this recipe came to be. Meatloaf has been one of my favorite foods as long as I can remember. To me, it’s the ultimate comfort food because I can associate so many happy memories with it. I grew up eating my Nana’s meatloaf, (my sweet Nana passed in 2010) and her recipe was unlike any other I would try as an adult for one reason – She did not top it with a sauce or ketchup mixture, at all. She only mixed in tomato JUICE for the flavor and let the meatloaf stand alone, as delicious as it was without any glaze needed. Her recipe was basically fatty hamburger, green peppers and onions, a handful of crushed cornflakes, all mixed together with a liberal amount of tomato juice and formed by hand into a loaf. She didn’t even use a typical loaf pan or a meatloaf pan. She baked hers in it’s own cooking juices (yummy fats for us KETO folks) in a casserole dish. This recipe of hers is so good, and so nostalgic for me, that I’ve lived my whole life not wanting any other kind, especially not a ketchup-y one. For that reason, I never ordered meatloaf in restaurants. I just made her version, at home.

That being said, when I thought about making a Keto-friendly meatloaf, one pretty cool thing occurred to me. My Nana’s meatloaf was pretty “Keto” as it was, once you took away the cornflakes. (And maybe used a little less tomato juice.) So, I decided to do a little experiment to see if those cornflakes were even necessary at all and also do what I could to make this recipe as low-carb as possible. Another thing I decided to do was omit the onions. For one reason, the carbohydrate content of onions tends to be a little higher than other vegetables.  Also, now, don’t hate me here – but as delicious as I once thought they were – I seem to be losing my taste for them, or at the very least not missing them when I omit them from dishes.

However, since I did decide to skip a few of her original ingredients, I wanted to think of things I could add that would keep it Keto but lend some new flavors. A quick google search had me deciding pretty quick to, (DRUMROLL HERE) stuff my meatloaf with CHEESE and wrap the whole thing in BACON!

Quite a few of the recipes I found online recommended using BabyBel cheeses for this and luckily, I had some that I had purchased because I was able to get a great rebate from IBotta. If you don’t know what IBotta is, it’s a fantastic app that gives you a list of certain items you can purchase at your favorite grocery store and receive cash-back rewards through Venmo or PayPal. (You can also choose to receive gift cards to your favorite retailers and restaurants.) Let the grocery shopping you’re already doing, make you MONEY! I use it every time I shop! If you sign up through my referral code, you can get up to a $20 Welcome bonus. Sign up at https://ibotta.com/r/ovasbor  . If you’d prefer to just download the app from the AppStore or PlayStore, you can still use my referral code for the bonus, just copy and paste it in. My code is –

ovasbor

Keep in mind that this recipe is one you’ll really be able to adjust to your liking. Experiment with other vegetables mixed in or even other bases if you’d prefer not to use the tomato juice. If you’d like, you could probably even top it near the end of the cooking time with some no-sugar-added ketchup. That’s just not for me. (My Nana would cringe and we can’t have that.)

Keto Cheese-Stuffed Meatloaf


Servings: 4

Ingredients

16 oz ground beef (I use 73%)
¼ cup green bell pepper, finely diced
1 cup tomato juice (no sugar added)
Salt & Pepper
3 strips bacon, your favorite
3 Babybel cheeses

Instructions

Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees. Spray a clear, glass casserole dish with Olive oil cooking spray. Begin the prep by mixing the ground beef, peppers, tomato juice, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Once it was all combined well, I formed a loaf-shape and placed it in my glass casserole dish. Then, I made an indentation in the center, running the length of the meatloaf. (This is the valley for the CHEESE!) I sliced 3 Babybel cheeses in half and places those in the center indentation. (See the pics above) Once the cheese is in place, close the meatloaf up, re-forming your loaf shape and completely surrounding the cheese. Basically, just smoosh it all together, covering the cheese while taking care not to push the cheese through to the bottom of the pan. You want it to stay inside the meatloaf during the baking process! The good thing about using a clear, glass baking dish for this is you can peek under the bottom to make sure you didn’t do that. 😊 Last, but definitely not least, cut each of your three bacon strips in half and lay them over your meatloaf horizontally, slightly overlapping and going down the sides. Bake the meatloaf for 40 mins to an hour. The done-ness of your hamburger should be to your own liking. I prefer any ground beef to be pretty well done (a steak is a different story). Once mine is done, I remove it from the dish and place it on a platter for slicing. ENJOY!!!

If you’d like my super SIMPLE recipe for the roasted Radishes pictured as the side dish on my plate above, click here –
https://livingthejoneslife.com/2019/02/22/radishes-a-keto-replacement-for-potatoes-recipe/

This recipe (the meatloaf alone) is approximately 421 calories per serving, 2.9g carbs, 35.5g fat, and 22g protein.  

**The nutritional facts mentioned in this article are approximate, and were based on the most accurate information I could find online and may vary. Always double-check your own ingredients.