Mmmmmm - Chicken

It's been a while since I've posted here - I guess I've been off my blogging 'Oats', but I've had some pretty good feedback from this recipe, so I thought that I'd post it here.
Chicken Nibbles have to be one of my 'Junk Foods' - the type where you sit watching some good movie or tv program & trying to suck chickeny goodness from your (my) fingers.



Spicy Chicken Nibbles

(PS: I hate writing recipes because I hardly ever measure ingredients when I make things)

1 large T unsalted peanut butter
A slosh (about 1/8 cup) Sherry & about the same of Soy sauce
A decent pinch of Parsley (It's green so it's a vegetable!) - I use dried.
A dash of Garlic salt according to your taste.
A squirt of Gourmet Garden Chilli Paste (about a T)
A Splash of Apple Cider Vinegar (about 1/16 cup)
1 tray of Chicken nibbles (I use about 700g)

Mix first 6 ingredients together & pour over nibbles. Stir & leave to marinate 30mins or so. Bake in a 180 degree oven for 1 hour - stirring to baste chicken every 20mins or so. Any dreggs in the bottom of the pan can be drained of excess fat & used as a sauce/dip - pour into a pot with some cream & simmer to reduce until thick again.

These are 'gently' spicy. There's no reason though, that you couldn't spice it up further with some finely diced fresh chilli.
Without the sauce, these make great picnic food!

Until next time.....

Pizza Update!

Sorry, no pics with this post folks. I just wanted to make an update on the pizza 'thing'. I'm actually all pizza'd out now (had to happen sooner or later!).

In my last post, I gave a recipe for a Pizza Quiche base. It was pretty good but I wasn't quite happy with it as it didn't seem to have the 'right' texture to it. In other words it didn't 'chew' right!
I made it again about a week ago and it came out great. I just greased the base of my pan well then chucked the cheeses straight in the bottom then gently poured the eggy mixture over the top of that. What happens is the cheese sticks onto the greased base a bit & stays there when the egg goes in, then when it cooks, it stays at the bottom & creates a 'base'. Once it's cooked, the cheese gives it quite a nice 'chew'.
I guess I still have to do the cauliflower base - just to say that I've tried it. meh.

Pizza Experimentation.......

There are supposed to be some good low carb pizza base alternatives out there, so I'm now setting out to try them. Normally, I would just have Meatza, but I'm curious as to wether I can find a good alternative that still retains some of the characteristics of a base made with a 'proper' bread dough base (namely 'chew').

The Saturday before last I tried the recipe from eat the cookie but halved the recipe to make a base of around 18cm in diameter. 1.5 eggs wasn't really possible, so I only went with 1 egg.

Sorry for the bad pic!



There were a couple of things that might put me off using it again.....
1. A pizza the should taste vaugely like an Italian Job, tasted hugely of coconut - but what did I expect!!!!!
2. It was a bit crumbly, but then, maybe if I had used an extra egg (or even 1/2) it might have been better.
3. The Pizza sauce I used, seemed to soak into the base so it was hard to taste.

Last Saturday night I tried a different recipe - this time from an actual recipe book titled The Low-Carb Gourmet by Karen Barnaby. The recipe is called Pizza Quiche.

Here's the recipe for just the base - I'm sure you can work out your own toppings! The recipe below is not quite as it is in the book as I've never seen one of the cheeses that the book mentions.

115g Cream Cheese
4 Large Eggs
80ml Whipping Cream
130g Parmesan
1/2tsp Garlic
1/2tsp Oregano
115g Mozzarella

Preheat Oven to 180C, Grease a 32.5x22.5cm shallow baking dish.
In a food processor, blend together the cream cheese & eggs until smooth. Add the cream, 30g parmesan, garlic & oregano, Blend until smooth.
Scatter 100g Parmesan & ½ the mozzarella in the baking dish. Pour the egg mixture over the cheese & bake for 30 minutes. Add desired toppings & bake as normal.

I only made 1/2 this recipe in a 19?cm Springform tin.



Would I make it again? well, I'd like to experiment further with this one.
1. I suspect that the baking paper lining the bottom of the tin stopped the base from getting a nice chewy layer of cheese on the bottom so would like to do it directly in the base of some other dish.
2. Still needs some 'chew'. Maybe some ground almonds?

I really am skirting around the cauliflower pizza base - one day I might get there. I've had issues with cauliflower for years. As a child, it used to make me gag - no matter how it was cooked. In the end, my mother stopped putting it on my plate & gave me extra peas in fear that the gag would evolve...... & now I can only bear to eat it in Chinese stirfry & as Cauliflower Rice - with butter, pepper & chicken stock. Cauliflower pizza base will be the final cauliflower 'frontier'.

A touch of luxury

Today was my last day of my egg extravaganza. Well, I'm taking a week off. 42 eggs in one week!
I decided to fancy it up a bit today & had some veg with my eggs. Parsley is a veg. Isn't it?

Breakfast



Now, lunch was about protein on protein - that pink stuff is salmon. I don't know why I've been scared to try it before 'cause it was quite nice.



Thursday nights are 'swimming' nights. DH & I take the kids up to the local pools for a swim. By the time we get back, it's just about bedtime for my ds, so dinner for DH and the kids is takeout whilst I get to chuck something together for myself.
Tonight's effort has some 'veg' in it too - can you see the green stuff? Parsely & Oregano! It's sort of a take on Dana Carpender's Heroin Chicken wings. On one hand I want more but on the other.....I'm full! (there were 16 pieces on my plate).



I'm off to donate blood in the morning. I'm hoping that they do a better job than they did last time. The fist sized bruise on my arm took 2.5 weeks to completely dissappear. I will be telling them about it tomorrow that's for sure!

* Waves Furiously*

I'm hopeless at this blogging caper!
It could be just as well, because it's been feeling like I've been eating the same things over and over again. Well, if you thought that previously, you should see what I'm having now!

For the last week, I've been having the same thing every day for breakfast & lunch - that is having scrambled eggs for breakfast & lunch! not dinner though - that would probably just be going a 'little' overboard. Oh, wait, I did have an omlette at the weekend - it had the same ingredients as some of my scrambled eggs! So here goes....

Breakfast
Just to prove how hopeless at blogging I am, I forgot to take a pic until I was 1/2 way through!



Lunch was more of the same - with a side of Ham.



Dinner: Left over roast pork from last night's dinner, cauli rice & brocoli. Not a good photo but there was steam poiuring off my plate!



I'm down to 72.5kg now - only 2.5kg off my original target weight of 70kg. When I was about 78kg I took a long hard look at myself & decided that 70kg probably wasn't going to put me where I wanted to be & that I was just going to see where I ended up. Not long after that the battery in my scale decided to start going flat - each time I turned them on, they would flash 66.3kg - so I took that as a sign. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of 'those' type of people (at least I think I'm not!), but it seemed like a good target. 70kg would have meant that I was only just on the cusp of a 'healthy weight' / 'overweight', being 66kg, means that my weight will be healthy - at least by BMI standards (which, truthfully, I don't hold as gospel).

Don't leave the camera on the table!

- You get your photo taken!



I digress, breakfast was the usual 3 fried eggs (in butter of course)



After my morning walk I felt like something sweet with my coffee, so I broke a bar of Atkins 'Milk Chocolate' in half and nibbled at that. The other half remains in the pantry for another day. The last time I had a whole bar & had some stunning stomach cramps for the remainder of the day - not going there again in a hurry.



Here's lunch. It would have looked more like a salad had the spinach I bought yesterday not been less than than prime. Still, it tasted alright when eaten with my fingers (and the poor kids get told off for eating their dinner with their fingers!).



& dinner: pretty self explanatory I would have thought. Oh, those 2 curvy things are the pork rind/fat off 2 other chops because 'they' don't like fat. 'Waste not want not' I say.



Now I've just wolfed down a bowl of berries too, so I'd better slap a pic of those in too I guess!

Long Time No See!

I figure that it's time for another update in the food department - not that food now looks any different from last month. Food is still food right!

Breakfast is pretty much always 3 eggs. Sometimes I have bacon too, but I find that with going for a walk in the mornings, the bacon doesn't sit too well in my tum.



Lunch - today I felt like something a bit different. Not exactly sushi, but it tasted pretty good anyway.



Dinner - whew, what a plateful! Normally, I don't have that much on my plate - I could have quite happily left the cauli off the menu tonight (or the beans), but seeing as I cooked it, I thought I had better eat it.



I'm still feeling peckish too....

S is for Starving!

If I thought that I has hungry for food after my walk yesterday, then I was famished today! As per yesterday & the day before, I didn't eat until I returned from my walk. I actually think that I feel better walking on an empty stomach - I don't feel like I'm weighted down. Today I had barely got in the door & I was heaving pans around so I could have some brekkie.



Even after that, when I felt that I should have been full, I wasn't! There were mild hungry pangs going on until 1pm when I succumbed & had a couple more eggs & a cheese sandwhich.



I don't know what Im doing differently because by 5.30pm, I was really looking forward to dinner. It's just as well that I usually eat my meal with the kids because I was wanting it tonight. Nothing flash though!



Even that hasn't completely done it for me, so once I leave my post, i'll be going for a bowl of berries.

I'm very happy to say that my new jeans didn't shrink in the wash - and I didn't grow either. It feels absolutely great to be wearing sz12 jeans! I despaired of ever being this size - not when I was a sz22 (and nearly sz24!) that's for sure.

E is for Empty

Seeing as I managed to go for a 7km walk yesterday before I had anything to eat, I decided to try it again this morning. Well, I got about 1km from home (my dd's school to be precise) and I was hungry! My belly didn't start to maon in earnest until I had just past the same bakery that I mentioned yesterday (wind must have been blowing in the opposite direction). By the time I got home, I was really looking forward to some breakfast.

3 eggs & 2 slices of bacon at around 10:20am



I was kind of curious to see how far I could actually go on that meal, so decided not to eat until I was hungry. At around 3pm I was feeling a little peckish and was eyeing up some nuts. I obviously wasn't hungry enough though as I left them alone (small miracle). By 5pm, the rumbly belly had set in, but I didn't eat until 5:45pm

It looks attrocious, but it's hard to take good photo's of lamb neck chops! I made a blue cheese gravy with some of the stock/cooking juice that was left in the pot. Kind of full after that effort!



I bought some size 12 jeans yesterday! I have had trouble finding jeans that fit me in the past. If they fitted around my legs, they didn't fit around my waist (usually with a great pocket at the back were I could store all manner of things (due to the shape of my back I guess). So yesterday I go into a store to try on some sz12 jeans - more for a laugh because I didn't beleive that they would actually fit - but what do you know! so I bought 2 pair (major splurge). Now I only hope that they haven't shrunk in the wash.....

Laziness - the proof's in the pudding!

Yay, both my kids are back at school! ok, so kindy for one & school for the other, but I'm sure you knew what I meant.

I decided to give breakfast a miss this morning & see how I managed a walk on nothing but a cup of tea & some water. My belly rumbled a few times when I walked past a bakery, but I managed to get home without diving in there for sustenance.
I then managed to get showered & the dishes done before my stomach got the better of me. I should warn you, that all today's pics are actually ones that have been taken on other days & posted then & I'm using them again now - just because I can't be stuffed going through the process of mucking around with images tonight - sorry.

This was my breakfast - at 10:45 this morning



Lunch was the same as yesterday - blue cheese & avocado ham rolls. I figured that seeing as I had some fresh ham in the fridge, it was better eaten than going old and yuck.



....and dinner



In a few minutes, I'm going to have some berries, then it might be time for a cuppa & then lights out - there's not much worth watching on tv tonight.



No chocolate tonight though, I forgot that - along with a few other things with the shopping yesterday.

19/4/2010

As promised, my day started out with a nice plate of Fish Porridge. One egg does not make a breakfast & I couldn't think of any alternatives.



After scouting the supermarket & trying to fill the trolley (I forgot to make a list), I decided to have a salad for lunch. Once I got home, I realised that there were only 'manky' cherry tomatoes in the fridge & I didn't want those in my salad.... so I didn't have salad. Yup, I cut off my nose to spite my face too. So I put some components of my proposed salad together & I wound up with blue cheese & avocado ham rolls. Very nice. Might have those again tomorrow too!



Whaddaya know, there's green's on my plate tonight! I must be sick! Has there been a green on my plate in the last week? I'm actually struggling to recall exactly when the last time was that I had something green on my plate!.
Some cauli hash spiked with chilli, sauteed spinach with a little garlic and of course - a steak.



Followed by some dessert...

EggFest

Ohlala, have I eaten eggs today - 7 eggs could be somewhat of a record for me.

I neglected to think before eating this morning, but my breakfast of 2 eggs and 3 slices of bacon was very yum - thankyou very much.

I did however, take a photo of what I think perfect bacon should look like - at least in my opinion anyway. I mean, how can that lovely layer of fat be bad for you? Remember people, fat is a nutritional supplement afterall!



More eggs for lunch - there was fat still in the pan from breakfast, so I used that too cook these babies in.



Oh and by the way; more eggs for dinner! I did have steak & mushrooms too though.



That only leaves me one egg for the morning, so I might go with fish porridge instead.
I wasn't hungry after dinner, but still felt like I needed something sweetish so out came a square of Lindt 85% to accompany my cup of tea.



It's a good thing that it's shopping day tomorrow - I'm not only low on eggs, I'm getting low on chocolate & decent meat too.

What Came First?

The Chicken or The Egg?
'cause I had both!

A breakfast of the left over chicken from lunch yesterday + 2 eggs.



Lunch was a mushroom & cheese omlette. I had some parmesan floating around in the fridge so I tossed that in with the egg mixture, then added some grated mild cheddar & some mushrooms that I had pre-cooked.



At about 4pm, I decided that I needed to munch on something while I had my cup of tea.



We had dinner at the MIL's tonight, so there is no pic. I decided that taking photo's of food in my own home was ok, but doing so in another person's home probably wasn't. I had probably about 1/2 a cup of broccoli, a good serve of panfried mushrooms and some steak.

I'm thinking that I might have a bowl of mixed berries a bit later, maybe with a splash of cream.... oh, and maybe a square of Lindt 85% chocolate too. I'm not sure if a photo of that will get posted, but just so you know, the bowl is about 1/3 cup size and the berries are a mixture of blueberry, raspberry,blackberry & boysenberry.

I'm Back!

Not that I've actually been anywhere, I've just been distracted & today has been the first in a while where I've remembered to take pics of ALL my meals.

Breakfast - 3 fried eggs. Nice. Quick. Easy.



Lunch was a bit of a cheats job. 1/2 a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket. There is actually a small piece left over so I'll probably have that with my eggs in the morning.



Dinner & my eyes were bigger than my belly. 2 pork chops with mushroom sauce & a side of pumpkin. I ate the meat first (naturally!) then had some of the pumpkin but could not finish it all.

10/4/2010 - Lazy Day

It's not often that I stay in bed until 9am then spend nearly the next hour getting ready.
Breakfast was equally as lazy. The left over scraps of chicken from lunch the day before + a cheese sandwhich.



For lunch, I had a whole plate of.....well.... thin air.

Dinner - cauli & broccoli hash with a piece of sirloin.

9/4/2010

Ahhh, the joys of 2 adults sharing a PC - I am day late again. Not that it really matters really.

Breakfast was 3eggs with cheese grilled on top.



For lunch I bought 1/2 a rotisserie chicken. DD and I had some each for lunch but there was too much for me to eat so I put it away for another meal.

Dinner - I tried to put some effort into this seeing as I hadn't really put much effort into anything else.

One Day At a Time........8/4/2010

Not feeling like eating much at the moment. Actually, I don't feel like doing much either. I think it's one of the side effects of the medication that my lovely Dr has put me on while I come to grips with myself. I don't want to be on this medication, but I don't want to be a head-case either so hopefully it's a means to an end - although looking historically at myself, I doubt it.

It's getting towards the end of the week & the pantry is starting to look a little bare. It was fish porridge for breakfast again. I had to laugh. DH was getting the kids dinner & turned the microwave on - an promptly off again complaining 'smells like fish' - oops, the microwave hadn't been used between my breakfast & late afternoon.



Lunch - Scrambled eggs as I couldn't think of anything else. I probably should have just skipped lunch. Those eggs did NOTHING for me. I forced myself to eat them but probably shouldn't have. It could of course just been that I was worried about my dental appointment later in the arvo.



Poor DH had to eat toast until I could be bothered with dinner. He could have made something himself of course.Scrambled eggs on toast for him, a scotch fillet & cheese sandwhich for me. Not a vege in sight.



Bunny is no longer anything but a memory. What does feel good though is that for once, DH finished his before I finished mine, usually it's around the other way - by weeks!

I had another couple of thoughts about Conventional Low Carb. My parents are quite religious people & as a consequence as a child I was taken to many of their various meetings & so forth. I can distinctly recall a 'grace' that used to be sung at the dinner table 'meat for our health Lord we enjoy'......yup yup & yup. & the other though I had was 'fat is a 'nutritional supplement' best taken naturally' (it wouldn't taste as good in pill form!).

Later.

Nothing to write home about

I was reading over at Marks Daily Apple yesterday about the seasonality of birds & therefore their eggs & it seems that giving up my eggs now and then could be a good thing. It would seem that sustained consumption over a prolonged period of time may put a person at risk of developing sensitivity - more so to the white than the yolk. As much as a bleat & moan about not eating eggs for a while, I know I can go back to them, which might not be the case if I were to develop a sensitivity towards them.

Breakfast was some diced bacon & mushrooms cooked with some spinach which I then threw some cheese over & grilled.



Lunch was even less exciting. A chicken breast & a dollop of mayo! I'm not getting very inventive here am I?



Dinner does not get any better I'm sorry to say.



I don't have a progress shot of the bunny tonight, but it's safe to say that he's half the height that he was last night & likely to be gone tomorrow.