Gooey Ham and Cheese

My mother used to make this spread, and used it to fill finger rolls--little rolls like half-size hot dog buns, with some kind of seeds sprinkled on top. She called them Gooey Buns, and made them for teas, luncheons, showers, and by the dozens for church youth group activities. I have adapted them for the low carb life style.

1 can Spam, grated
1 lb. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup or more salad olives with pimentos, grated
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
ground pepper to taste
1 stick butter
1 pkg. pork rinds, plain or flavored (I like the barbecue flavor)

Melt the butter and add the seasonings.
Grate the cheese, Spam, and olives, or use your food processor. The result should be rough, not a smooth paste, so don't overprocess.
Combine with the seasoned butter and mix well.
Cover a plate with a layer of pork rinds and then a layer of the mixture.
Broil until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Serve hot.

Another way to use this mixture is in an omelet--yum!

If your kids are not low carbing, fill some hot dog buns with the mixture and bake in a hot oven until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

CREAM CHEESE BUTTER-NUT BARS

2 1/2 CUPS ALMOND FLOUR 42.5 GMS
4 OZ. CREAM CHEESE 4 GM.
1/2 CUP BUTTER 0 CARBS
FLAVORING AS DESIRED
3 HEAPING TSP. SPLENDA

MELT BUTTER AND CREAM CHEESE.
ADD SUGAR TWIN AND FLAVOR AS DESIRED
ADD NUT FLOUR AND STIR.
PLACE IN SMALL, SHALLOW GREASED PAN, PAT TO DESIRED DEPTH.
CHILL AND CUT INTO DESIRED PIECES.
FREEZE IN BAGGIE.
CARB GMS.=50 10 BARS = 5 GMS 20 PIECES = 2.5 GMS.
I USED THE RASBERRY TEA FLAVOR CRYSTAL LIGHT ( LESS THAN 1 TSP.)
A NICE NUTTY SNACK BAR.

Cinnamon Cheese Danish Atkins Rolls

Pastry portion:
3 eggs, separated (reserve 1/2 yolk for the filling)
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Heat stable artificial sweetener equivalent to 1/4 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons ricotta cheese

Separate eggs, reserve approximately 1/2 a yolk for the filling, and then whip the whites until very stiff with the cream of tartar.
Mix the remaining yolks, cinnamon, ricotta cheese, and sweetener until smooth.
Fold yolk mixture into beaten whites and portion into 6 mounds onto a buttered cookie sheet.
After mounding onto the cookie sheet, make an indentation in the top of each roll to hold the filling.

Filling:

4 ounces of cream cheese
1/2 egg yolk (reserved from pastry portion)
1/4 cup Splenda (or equivalent heat stable artificial sweetener)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Microwave cream cheese until soft enough to stir into a smooth pasty consistency (15 seconds perhaps?).
Add the remaining ingredients to the cream cheese and stir until smooth.
Fill each Atkins Roll on the cookie sheet with the filling.
Bake for 40 minutes in a 300 degree oven. (yours make take a bit longer.)
Bake until golden. These are absolutely delicious!
For the total recipe, I come up with a carb count of about 20.5, or about 3.5 per roll.

High fiber bread

2 SCOOPS PROTEIN POWDER
2 T GROUND FLAX SEED
1 t. baking powder
2 T GRATED PARMESAN
2 T OIL
2 T CREAM
1 EGG
SOME WATER TO THIN IF NEEDED
2 T SPLENDA...OPTIONAL

MIX BUT NOT TOO MUCH.
Now....for the hard part. YOU NEED A SNACKSTER TO COOK IT! You know...one of those hot sandwich makers.
Now...what is really good is to put a small sausage in them, some cheese, and dip in hot spagetti sauce in bottom then add extras and pour on rest. They sure are a great bread sub and about 0 carbs. I think we could make these desserty too, with a dab of fruit mixed with Splenda as the filling, or some of that Smucker's sugar free jam.
You probably could get a snackster from a thrift store. You might want to double that recipe.
You could just fry this in a hot buttered skillet, I think, if you don't have a sandwich maker.

MARSHMALLOWS

3 ENVELOPES UNFLAVORED GELATIN
1/4 C COLD WATER
3/4 C BOILING WATER
3 TBSP SUGAR SUBSTITUTE (I USE SPLENDA)
1 TSP VANILLA EXTRACT
3 EGG WHITES

SPRINKLE GELATIN OVER COLD WATER IN MIXING BOWL; SET ASIDE 5 MINUTES TO SOFTEN.
ADD TO BOILING WATER IN SAUCEPAN, COOK AND STIR UNTIL GELATIN IS DISSOLVED. REMOVE FROM HEAT.
COOL TO CONSISTENCY OF THICK SYRUP.
ADD SUGAR REPLACEMENT AND WHITE VANILLA, STIRRING TO BLEND.
BEAT EGG WHITES INTO SOFT PEAKS.
VERY SLOWLY, TRICKLE A SMALL STREAM OF GELATIN MIXTURE INTO EGG WHITES, BEATING UNTILL ALL GELATIN MIXTURE IS BLENDED.
CONTINUE BEATING UNTIL LIGHT AND FLUFFY.
POUR INTO PREPARED PAN AND CUT WHEN SET.

Holiday Beef Log/Stick

5 lbs Ground Chuck (or ground beef, if you prefer)
3 tbsp salt (I use Morton's Tender Quick)
2 1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 1/2 tsp black pepper (I used coarse ground)
2 1/2 tbsp hickory-flavored sauce

-Mix all ingredients in a lg bowl with tight fitting lid and refrigerate -
Stir once a day for 3days -
On 4th day mix and roll into 5 logs not over 2 inches in diameter (I can usually get 6 logs ) -
Bake in lg roaster pan with rack in bottom of pan (to avoid sticking and keep logs out of fat) -
Bake @ 200* for 4 hrs. -
Turn logs over on rack and bake 4hrs more -
Cool, then individually wrap for gifts, or to freeze.
In freezer, will keep up to 3 months,\
Thaw in refrigerator, then slice/serve with favorite cheeses, dips, crackers (wasa crackers for us Low-Carbers :), salads, pizza, or any other creations you decide upon.
Not your usual Hickory Farms Beef Stick...But pretty dog gone close and at a fraction of the cost! ENJOY!!! and Happy Holidays!!

Quick Salmon Dip

1 pound salmon (14 or 16 oz size)
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
16 ounces sour cream (2 cups)
smoke flavoring according to taste
sprinkle in some chives if you have them (optional)

Blend all of the above stuff with some type of a blender (I use a hand held one).
Chill.
Serve with raw vegetables or other low carb items.

Monterey Cheese Crisps

1 pound Monterey jack cheese (I like one with hot peppers)
cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Cut cheese into 1/4 inch slices.
Place slices 3 inches apart on a non stick baking sheet.
Sprinkle with cayenne and garlic to taste.
Bake at 400 for 10 minutes, until golden brown (THESE WILL SPREAD.)
Watch closely.
Remove from pan and cool on paper towels.
Stores well in airtight container.

Cucumber Chips

Our neighbor gave us some cucumbers from her garden. I'm not a big fan of store-bought cucumbers, since they often have a rather bitter taste. But fresh from the garden, they have an entirely different taste, crisp, and sort of sweet.
I wash them, peel them, and slice into thin "chips" which work well with any kind of low carb dip, or for adding to salads.

Another way to use cucumbers: "instant" pickles. Bring half a cup of apple cider vinegar and a cup of water to a boil. Add half a cup of Splenda (the bulk powder). Pour over the cucumber slices and refrigerate until cold. Crispy, sweet/sour, cold--a great hot-weather snack.

Low Carb Snacking with Pork Rinds

One of the things many people miss when low carbing is crunchy snacks, such as popcorn or chips. Pork skins are crispy, and due to their rather bland taste, don't compete with any other flavors you care to add to them.
Some examples:

1. Pork rinds with salsa--Pace is our favorite.

2. Pork rinds with sour cream based dip, such as ranch flavor.

3. Flavored pork rinds--
These take a little more effort. Spread the pork rinds on a baking sheet. Spray with a little butter flavored cooking spray. Sprinkle with powdered cheddar cheese flavor (like you would sprinkle on popcorn), or mix Splenda and cinnamon to sprinkle over the rinds. Bake in the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes. Store in an air tight container.

Pork rinds have many uses in low carb coooking, and I will post about some of those soon.