Mmm... Alfredo Sauce... and a couple frugal holiday gifts.

Super-Simple Alfredo Sauce
(adapted from this recipe at allrecipes)
1/4c butter
1-8oz pkg cream cheese
1/2tsp garlic salt
2tsp minced garlic
1c h&h
1c milk
3oz parmesan & romano cheese shreds
1/4tsp freshly ground black pepper
1tsp dried parsley

Melt butter over medium heat, add cream cheese, stir until all's melted and combined. Add garlic salt, garlic, h&h, milk, pepper and parsley. Whisk. Add shredded cheese while continuing to whisk. When melted and slightly thickened, remove from heat and serve.

Changes I'd made to the original are cutting the butter in half, using minced garlic in place of powdered, substitute half of milk called for with half & half, used stronger flavored cheese so I could use less, at least doubled the pepper and used fresh coarsely ground.

We ate about 4 or 5 servings at lunch and there looks to be about the same amount left. So I'm guessing this serves about 8, depending on how saucy you like your meal.

I was very surprised to have been so satisfied with this served with beef meatballs and steamed chopped broccoli. For one thing, I am not a big broccoli fan. Second, I'd been mighty tempted to make some Dreamfield's pasta so I could enjoy it like I normally would. But I'm learning to like a new normal, I guess. Who knew I would look forward to the leftovers of this for lunches in the upcoming couple of days?!?

Has everyone else been "behaving"? I certainly have not. Just too darn many goodies. It's been an all-out pig fest for me since about Dec.19th. And, boy, have I paid for it. I've felt pretty yucky each day, and I finally jumped on the scale yesterday to see the damage. There was a 5-6 pound increase. But I began easing back into eating better yesterday. My sweet tooth has been assuaged with some dark chocolate covered dried berries that I'd received at Christmas in my stocking from J, which I try to just eat a small handful of. I've also cut back on the amount of diet soda I was getting into (trying to replace with carbonated coconut flavored water but don't like it), gave away some sugary treats I'd been gifted, froze some dark chocolate gifts that I can't bear to part with and have dug out the Atkins, South Beach, Protein Power and Belly-Fat Cure books that I have and placed them by my side of the bed to peruse through each night.

On a different note, here's the wool mice I made with the scraps from the coat I'd used to make mittens:

I stuffed them with catnip for fun, too. The boys like to bat them around.

I also made my nieces and nephews each a candy sleigh. I included a gift card on the sleigh. The sleighs were an idea I saw on another blog. But because these were for teens, I wanted to include the gift cards.

Jewel Roasted Vegetables

Late this morning I pulled two pork roasts out of the freezer. They both fit in my Dutch oven (have I told you how much I adore mine?) perfectly, side by side. I poured a bit of leftover coffee from this morning into the bottom (why not?), added a bunch of garlic cloves and a little s&p, popped them into the heated oven and let the magic happen. Of course, meat is all well and good. For a low-carber, it's really all I need, right? 

However, I am also a new gardener. I've got lots of carrots, beets, a little broccoli and some onions still going on out there. While I was just going to harvest some today and make pickled beets and clean carrots to keep in the fridge for snacking, a picture flashed in my head of a recipe from a cookbook I'd borrowed from the library at one time. It was a cookbook by Ellie Krieger and her beautiful photo of roasted veggies still could be recalled. The link to her recipe on Food Network's site can be brought up by clicking on her name below the recipe title. You'll see that my version is quite different from hers. It was mostly a matter of what I had on hand. I had made her recipe as she originally intended when I'd had her cookbook. It was fantastic... and I am not a brussels sprouts fan. Point being, it's flexible. Because this was fantastic, too. Use what you've got. Use what you want. It's all good.

Jewel Roasted Vegetables

(adapted from Ellie Krieger of Food Network)
6 large beets, boiled until tender and peeled
2 T bacon grease
6 medium carrots, cut into 1" pieces
1-1/2c broccoli florets
8 large garlic cloves

4 small onions, cut into wedges
1/2 teaspoon pink salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1tsp thyme

1 branch/sprig rosemary

Trim then boil beets for 1hr or until tender enough to pierce with fork or knife. Drain and immerse in cold water. When cool enough to handle, slip off skins. Cut into 1" chunks and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Peel and cut the carrots into 1-inch pieces, trim the broccoli and peel the garlic cloves and onion. Put the carrots, garlic cloves and onion wedges onto a large baking sheet (not the broccoli yet) and toss with 2T of melted bacon grease. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper. 

Place the pan of carrots/garlic/onion into the oven and cook everything for1hr, stirring once or twice. 

Stir the thyme and rosemary into the carrot mixture, add the broccoli and beets to the baking sheet. Let continue to cook for another 15 minutes or until broccoli is tender and it is heated throughout. Remove from oven, taste and add additional seasoning if desired.

Now, for an admission of guilt. I ate way too much at supper. It just simply tasted too good. (Oh, did I mention the mashed potatoes?) Although I felt uncomfortable as all heck for hours after eating... I still splurged on a Salted Caramel Pumpkin Spice concrete mixer at Culvers later. Why, oh why can't I remember how an overdose of sugar makes me feel?!? Yuck. I'm blaming this evening's loss of control on DMS (during). But I feel so horrible that it should keep me on the straight and narrow... for awhile anyway.

Catching up to... how many days has it been already?!? 118

I've made a couple of things that have turned out pretty good recently.  The chicken in the photo below was not one of them though.  (I think that that was due to the cheapo Italian dressing that I used in the marinade.  I'll keep working on that one.)  I'm talking about that little yummy-gooey pile just beyond the chicken.

Cauliflower & Broccoli Gratin
(from Cooking Club magazine, Winter 2012 issue)
5c cauliflower florets (about 2 lb)
5c broccoli florets (about 1 3/4 lb)
2c whole milk
1/4c plus 1Tbsp butter, divided
1/3c flour
2tsp dry mustard
3/4tsp salt
1/4tsp black pepper
dash cayenne pepper
1/2c Panko crumbs
2c shredded Gruyere, Comte or Manchego cheese, divided

Heat oven to 425.  Spray 13x9 pan with oil.  Cook cauliflower in boiling water for 3mns, broccoli for 2mns.  Place in ice water to stop cooking.  Pat dry and place in prepared baking pan.  Microwave milk for 2-3mns or until steaming hot but not boiling.  Melt 1/4c butter in saucepan over medium heat.  Whisk in flour until smooth, cook for 30 seconds, whisking constantly.  Remove from heat and gradually whisk in hot milk.  Return pan to medium heat, bring to boil while whisking.  Reduce heat to low and simmer 5mns or until thick.  Remove from heat, add mustard, s&p and cayenne.  Microwave remaining Tbsp of butter in small dish until melted, add panko and toss to coat.  Sprinkle cauliflower and broccoli with 1c of cheese, top with the sauce, then the last 1c of cheese.  Sprinkle Panko mixture over all.  Bake 30-40mns or until golden brown and bubbly.  Makes 8 servings, as directed, at 21.5g carbs each.

*I used a frozen mix of broccoli & cauliflower of about half the amount called for.  I baked mine in an 8x8 square pan, omitted the salt, used heavy whipping cream & water in place of the milk, and substituted only mozzarella  and a little sprinkle of provolone for the cheese.  This was absolutely divine... and I'm not much of a broccoli or cauliflower eater.  Trust me, this is marvelous. 

Day 39 & 40 BFC

Saturday, Oct.15
Breakfast> scrambled egg w/ham (s/c=0/0)
Lunch> bunless Hardee's Thickburger (s/c=5/0)
Snacks> SoBe Lifewater (s/c=0/1)
Supper> 2 weiners, 1/2c beanless chili, brocco-salad, cottage cheese (s/c=9/2)
Total s/c for today - 14/3


















Friday, Oct.14
Breakfast, Lunch and Supper... EPIC FAIL

I began the day with the knowledge that today was going to be a "cheat" day.  Yeah, I had my ice cream bars (you read that right, plural) and Brach's mandarin orange jelly fruit slices.  I also made a cup of coffee with regular creamer.  That, however, I ended up giving to my husband and making a new cup with real cream and stevia/xylitol.  Apparently I have gotten used to my coffee this way.  Thank goodness for that!  I also gave up the rest of my Brach's mandarin orange slices, as well.  Oh, but don't let me forget about the bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios with a bunch of raspberries and milk.  It was good, but by the time I was done I was saying that it was really too sweet and not as satisfying as I'd expected.  Right now the aroma of roasting carrots with onions and garlic is permeating the air.  Soon I'll be adding the last of the beets from the garden and a few sprigs of rosemary.  I can hardly wait for supper for these little jewels...