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LCHF "Pasta"
So, as you know, eating LCHF means no pasta.  Well, this dish allows you to feel like you're eating pasta but without the carb!  I found this particular pasta recipe Expressen's Allt om LCHF (Maj 7-11 2012).  It's on page 36 and part of the recipe LCHF-pasta med pesto och kycklingspett (LCHF Pasta with pesto and chicken skewers).  The original recipe is in Swedish but I'll post it on here translated into English.

My husband thought it was a good replacement for pasta.  It is admittedly a bit fiddlesome, so I reckon you wouldn't make it every day, however on those days when you're really missing spaghetti bolognese, it can be worth the effort rather than giving in to the carb monster.  Things I would probably do differently and worth mentioning.  The next time I will bake it in two batches, allowing me to roll out the pasta thinner.  I felt like I was running out of room on my baking tray so the pasta was a bit thicker than I would have liked it.  A thinner sheet will probably make it even feel more "pasta-y".  I was afraid that it would taste like very thin shredded scrambled eggs, but whilst it kinda looked like it, it had a bit more of a tug, which I reckon is the fiberhusk and cream cheese working.  The following recipe is only for the pasta, but for those interested in what I used for making the sauce it was 1 medium sized onion, diced, 1 bottle of organic pasta sauce (5g carb/100g), 1kg of minced beef, a bit of whipping cream and some spices.  I used a pizza slicer to cut the pasta, makes it alot easier than scissors!

LCHF "Pasta"
4 portions

4 eggs (I used large ones)
125g Philadelphia Cream Cheese (not low fat)
1/2 dl fiberhusk (Psyllium husk fibre)
1 pinch of salt

1) Set the oven to 150 C.  Beat the eggs until fluffy (I used a hand mixer).  Blend in the cream cheese, fiber husk and salt so that it becomes a smooth batter.  (I also added some chopped chives.  I reckon you can add any number of flavour enhancers like garlic, ground pepper, just up to you to try!)  Let sit for a couple of minutes and then mix one more time.  (The fiberhusk will make it pretty thick after it's sat a few min, so don't wait too long!)

2) Spread the batter out onto some baking paper (pre-oil it so the pasta doesn't stick).  Place on top an oiled piece of baking paper. With a rolling pin, carefully roll out the batter so that it's as thinn as possible.  If you get the batter to spread on the whole area it will be thin enough. (In my experience it wasn't, hence my comment above that I'll probably doing it in two batches next time).

3) Bake in the middle of the oven for about 10 minutes.  Take off the top paper and then cut the "pasta" into thin slices. 

4) Top with your favourite LCHF sauce and enjoy!


 
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I've made many types of meatloafs in my life, never with the same ingredients, just using up what I have in the fridge and hoping that it tastes good.  That said, there are some ingredients that I've always had in my meatloafs: ketchup, mustard, sweet chilli sauce and breadcrumbs.  Now, none of those are carb friendly and I was presented with a challenge on how to create a tasty meatloaf without any of my go-to ingredients.  The following recipe is what I came up with today.  Now, many people have their own meatloaf recipes, and these recipes are often handed down through generations, so I can understand if you're hesitant to change what's likely a winning recipe.  That said, if you too are looking for a recipe for meatloaf either because you're new to cooking, or you're trying to find a sugar-free alternative, then this may be for you.  What's kind of different with this recipe is that it uses more eggs than the classic variant.  This meatloaf uses 5 eggs, 2 raw and 3 boiled.  The boiled eggs are inserted whole in the middle, so that when you cut it up, you can see the egg.  That idea is inspired by my Filipino background, where we have a steamed meatloaf dish called embutido which also uses whole eggs.  This meatloaf also has two kinds of cheeses, cottage and cheddar.  These cheeses are interchangeable with other cheeses according to your tastes.  For a cottage cheese replacement I would probably use 200g feta cheese, and then use a milder second cheese, like let's say gouda or mozzarella.  You can serve the meatloaf with some of the fake potatoes au gratin (recipe found in yesterday's blog) or perhaps some cauliflower mash or cauliflower rice (recipe to come!).

I would say that the taste of this meatloaf is fairly neutral.  That's not to say that it's not flavoursome nor is it bland.  My husband wanted me to make a simple meatloaf that didn't have any fancy ingredients in it, so there aren't any sundried tomatoes, or olives or seeds, or too much garlic etc.  It's a good family dish or buffet dish that can be jazzed up with a stronger tasting sauce.  Perhaps serve it with a choice of sauces such as a hot bernaise, café de paris, chilli aioli or even tzatziki.

LCHF Protein Rich Meatloaf
1 deep bread pan

Ingredients:
1kg ground beef
1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, pressed
2 eggs, raw
3 eggs, boiled'
1 dl créme fraiche
150 ml cottage cheese (or 200g feta for a stronger taste)
50g shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp fibre husk (psyllium husk)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp fresh chives (optional)

Directions:
1. Set the oven the oven to 225 degrees C.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the fibre husk, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper.
3. In a large bowl mix the ground beef, onion, raw eggs and cheddar cheese.
4. Add in the prepared spice mixture and the créme fraiche.  Mix well.  (I suggest using your hands!)
5. Prepare a deep bread loaf pan by lining it with foil.
6. Add half of the mixture to the pan.  Press firmly on to the meat so that it's fairly compact. 
7. Place the eggs into the pan (see picture below), pressing them down fairly firmly so that they stay in place.
8. Place the rest of the meat mixture on top, again, pressing down fairly firmly.  You may find that the meat may be a little higher than the edge of the pan.  Don't worry, it won't rise like bread does, more likely it will shrink somewhat depending on the fat content of your meat. 
9. Place meatloaf in the oven for 40-45 minutes.  Check meatloaf halfway through, if it seems overly brown on the top, place a bit of foil on top for the remainder of the cooking time.
10. Allow to cool slightly and then carefully drain the excess fat from the loaf pan.  Let rest for 20 minutes uncovered before serving.


 
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Now, I'm assuming this is gonna taste good because well, it's currently in the oven and it smells good!  The following recipe is was inspired by Annas Kyckling i Ugn (Anna's Chicken in the Oven) found in LCHF för Famlijen.  I've changed so much in the recipe though that it's a totally new recipe.  The originally recipe calls for mushrooms.  My husband really isn't fond of mushrooms, so I thought that I'd substitute mushrooms with something else.  I wanted to make a dish that had vegetables in it because I wasn't planning to do a salad tonight, so instead of mushrooms I put in broccoli, tomatoes and peppers.  My husband also isn't a big fan of creamy sauces, alfredo type sauces, (one wonders how we got together as I LOVE both mushroom and cream sauces!) and when I was preparing the recipe according to the original, I felt that it may not be to his liking, so I added some tomato paste. The last substitution is I used turkey bacon instead of regular bacon as I don't eat pork.  I also cut the the chicken breasts up into smaller pieces, just to ensure that it will cook through and it's easier to dish out that way, especially if you have more than four people and it's one of other dishes on the table.  So here you go everyone, my oven chicken!

UPDATE It did taste good.  I reckon the sauce was slightly more watery than I had pictured it to turn out.  Definitely more watery than the sauce I had put into the oven dish.  I believe that's because of the water content in the tomatoes and the broccoli and the chicken.  The chicken turned out very tender.  I hope my husband likes it, if not, I have my dinner for the next few days sorted!



Nomnomgal's Oven Chicken
4 Portions

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
1 packet of bacon (140g)  (I used about 75g of Turkey bacon because I had an opened pack already in the fridge)
3/4 of a head of broccoli (cut into florets and steamed)
10 cocktail tomatoes (5 cut into quarters and the other 5 into slices for garnish)
1/2 spanish red peper (diced)
5 dl (500ml) Créme Fraiche
Cumin
Paprika Powder
Cayenne Powder
Salt
Chilli Flakes
70g Tomato Paste (I got these 70g tomato paste cans from a middle easten store.  Perfectly sized for a meal like this)
2-3 dl (200-300 ml) shredded cheese

  1. Set the oven to 200 degrees C.
  2. Fry the bacon in a deep frying pan, save about a quarter and place it aside.
  3. Pour over the créme fraiche.  Add the tomato paste.  Finally add the spices listed according to your taste and allow it to bubble a little over low heat.
  4. Cover the bottom of an oven proof pan with the chicken pieces, broccoli, tomato quarters, and red pepper.
  5. Pour over the creamy tomato bacon sauce and top with the shredded cheese.
  6. Decorate with the remaining cocktail tomato slices and bacon bits.
  7. Bake in the oven for about 20-25 minutes.
  8. Serve with a side salad.