LOW-CARB LOADED CAULIFLOWER

Ingredients:
1 Head Cauliflower
4 oz. Cream Cheese
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
4 T Butter
1/2 C Half & Half or Heavy Whipping Cream
1 C Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Bacon Bits, to taste
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Directions:
Cut cauliflower from stem and rough chop (pieces can be large). Cook in large pot of boiling water until soft. Drain and return to pot (I keep my pot on the stove eye that is turned off, but still gets the heat). Mash the cauliflower with a potato masher until fine. Add remaining ingredients and stir.

Option: You can place into a baking dish, add cheese and bake in a 350° oven until cheese is bubbly for a "twice baked" cauliflower dish.

Recipe Notes:
I have seen variations of this recipe on the internet and have tweaked to make my own. Every time I serve this dish, everyone is surprised to learn I used cauliflower instead of potatoes! Great low-carb dish!

LOW CARB PEANUT BUTTER PIE

Ingredients:

Crust 
1 Cup Crushed Pecans
4 T Butter, melted

Mix together and pour into pie plate. Put in freezer while making chocolate layer.

Chocolate Layer
2 T Butter
1 Sq. Unsweetened Chocolate
2 T Heavy Cream
1 tsp Vanilla
1/3 C Splenda

Melt butter and chocolate in microwave on low setting for approximately 2 minutes. Mix in cream and vanilla. Add Splenda. Pour over frozen pie crust and place back in freezer.

Peanut Butter Layer
5 T Simply Jif Peanut Butter (or store brand low carb peanut butter - I use Kroger brand)
4 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
1/3 C Splenda

Mix together with blender and spread over chocolate layer. Place back in freezer.

Chocolate Whipped Topping
1 C Cool Whip
1 tsp Vanilla
1 T Cocoa

Mix together and spread on top of pie. Refrigerate.


Cut pie into 12ths for a net carb count of 5.3 carbs per serving.

Recipe Notes:
This pie was made by Kelley Myers and brought to an office luncheon and was a big hit to us LC'ers. The pie is very rich so 1/12 of a pie is more than you think. Very delicious!

CRYSTEL'S BLACK BEAN & CORN SALSA

Ingredients:
1 Can White Shoe Peg Corn
1 Can Black Beans
1 Bundle Green Onions, chopped (only chop the TOPS of onions to put in salsa)
1 Package Feta Cheese, crumbled

Directions:
Drain and rinse corn and beans. Combine with chopped onions.

Dressing Ingredients:
1/3 C Red Wine Vinegar
1/3 C Sugar
1/3 C Olive Oil

Directions:
Stir together dressing ingredients and combine with above. Stir in Feta cheese. Marinate overnight for best flavor. Serve with Frita Scoops or Tortilla Scoops. 

Recipe Notes:
This recipe is an office favorite that Crystel Buchanan always made for various gatherings. Crystel passed away in April 2010 and is greatly missed. She was quite a character!

LEFTOVER THANKSGIVING TURKEY CABBAGE SOUP

Ingredients:
Onion, chopped fine
Celery, chopped fine 
Green Pepper, chopped fine
2 T Minced Garlic
Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey, shredded
1/2 Head Cabbage, chopped
2 Carrots, sliced
3 14.5 oz. Cans Diced Tomatoes, undrained
2 Cans Chicken Broth
1 Can Water (use tomato cans to rinse out flavors)
1 T Brown Sugar
1 tsp. Oregano
1 tsp. Thyme
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Directions:
Saute first four ingredients in olive oil in Dutch oven until tender. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer approximately 30 minutes until cabbage and carrots are tender.

Recipe Notes:

This is a recipe I made up using leftover Thanksgiving turkey and leftover trinity (onion, celery, green pepper) so the amounts of those are unknown - just add to your taste. Very tasty and very low fat - should be a WW happy recipe!

MARINATED CHERRY TOMATOES

Ingredients:
4 C Cherry Tomatoes, halved

Dressing Ingredients:
1/4 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 T Apple Cider Vinegar
1-1/2 tsp Splenda (or sugar if you prefer)
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried parsley

Directions:
In a small bowl, combine all dressing ingredients and whisk together. Pour over tomatoes and chill for several hours (preferably overnight) before serving. Mix well prior to serving.

Recipe Notes:

This recipe was created out of necessity because of the abundance of tomatoes we produced this year! Very tasty!

CROCK POT MAC & CHEESE

Ingredients:
8 oz. Elbow Macaroni, cooked and drained
12 oz. Can Evaporated Milk
1 1/2 C Whole Milk
2 Lg. Eggs, beaten
1/4 C Butter, melted
1 tsp Salt
Dash Pepper
5 C Grated Cheddar Cheese
Dash Paprika

Directions:
In large crock pot sprayed with cooking spray, mix the macaroni, milk, eggs, butter, salt, pepper and all but 1/2 C of the grated cheese. Sprinkle the reserved cheese on top and sprinkle with Paprika. Cook on low for 3 hours, 15 minutes. Turn off the crock pot, stir the mixture, and serve.

*Note: Depending on your crock pot, could be done in as little as 2 hours. You may need to adjust cooking time to suit your crock pot.

Recipe Notes:

Recipe shared by Mommy's Kitchen blog (http://www.mommyskitchen.net/2011/03/trishas-crockpot-macaroni-cheese.html) and is a recipe by Trisha Yearwood. I highly recommend both of Trisha's cookbooks! I made this several times around the holidays and it is well loved!

YUMMY BANANA BREAD

Ingredients:
2-3 Ripe Bananas, roughly mashed
4 T Butter, softened
1/4 C Applesauce
1/2 C Pumpkin
2 Eggs
2 T Milk
1/4 C Brown Sugar
1-3/4 C Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
3/4 C White Chocolate Chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. In large bowl, combine bananas, butter, applesauce, pumpkin, eggs, milk and brown sugar with hand mixer. In a separate bowl, shift dry ingredients then add to banana mixture and stir gently with spoon. After combined, add white chocolate chips. 

Spray loaf pan with cooking spray and pour in batter. Bake until center tests done, or about 1 hour.

Recipe Notes:

This recipe originally came from Brown Thumb Mama on Tasty Kitchen (http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/breads/chocolate-chip-brown-sugar-banana-bread/). My variations are included in the recipe above. This bread is well-loved in our home, especially by Cameron!