LC Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

Ever since I saw an episode of Barefoot Contessa in which Ina Garten makes these luscious looking peanut butter and jelly bars, I've been wanting to give it a try. However, the price for jellies here in the Philippines is ludicrous! And since I didn't grow up on PB&J sandwiches, I didn't really know what jelly flavor goes well with peanut butter.

I remember asking my husband this question and he suggested grape jelly. He said it makes the best peanut butter and jelly sandwich. We were able to find Smucker's concord grape jelly but I still wasn't able to make the recipe. Then I decided to go low carb. It seemed as if all hope was lost.

Until my awesome mother-in-law sent sugar free Smucker's concord grape jelly (in addition to all sorts of low carb goodies) and I just knew I had to try to convert this recipe to low carb.

Using the cookie recipe I made a few weeks before, I managed to recreate my own low carb PB&J bars. Hubby prefers jelly to be spread on top of the cookie after baking but I find that the jelly when baked with the cookie made it chewier. So it's up to you, really, however you prefer it. I didn't make the cookie batter too sweet because I expected the jelly to make up for it. For me the sweetness was just right.



Low Carb Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

Ingredients
2 cups peanuts, finely ground (you can roast this beforehand but I used raw)
2 eggs
1/4 cup unsweetened peanut butter
3/4 cup Splenda, granulated or whatever sweetener you prefer
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar free jelly

1. Mix the first six ingredients until well blended. Grease pan with butter. I used an 8"x8" pan.
2. Pour the cookie dough into the pan and press it down until evenly distributed.
3. Stir the jelly until spreadable and no longer gelatinous. Pour on top of peanut dough and spread evenly.
4. Bake at 350 degrees until the jelly bubbles up and the sides pull away. I would suggest baking it longer than that as the sides with its crispiness were my favorites. If you prefer chewier cookies, you can take it out as soon as the sides are brown.
5. Let cool and slice into squares. I sliced this into 16 squares but you can definitely make it smaller if you want.

No Bake ChocoNut Cheesecake

My hubby says this is the best cheesecake I've ever made. No pressure. It's not really my recipe as I just followed the no bake cheesecake on the Knox box. But I think the crust made this cheesecake even better.

No Bake Choconut Cheesecake

Ingredients
For Crust
1 1/2 cups of peanuts, if using raw roast first
1/2 cup Splenda, granulated
1/4 cup butter
2 oz dark chocolate
1 T butter

Directions
1. Grind peanuts until fine. Mix Splenda and butter. Pour onto prepared pie pan and gently push the crust mixture and until the bottom of the pan is covered. Place pan in freezer.
2. Chop dark chocolate and then put in microwave safe bowl with 1 T butter. Heat for 30 seconds, pausing every 10 seconds to swirl.
3. Take crust out of freezer. Pour the melted chocolate onto crust. Using a rubber spatula, spread the melted chocolate until the entire crust is covered thinly. Put back in freezer or fridge.

For Cheesecake Filling
2 8oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 cup Splenda, granulated
1 package Knox gelatin
1 cup boiling water

Directions
1. Beat cream cheese with vanilla until there are no lumps and cream cheese is smooth.
2. Mix Splenda and gelatin in a bowl and then add boiling water. Stir to dissolve gelatin.
3. While beating the cream cheese and vanilla, pour the gelatin mixture gradually. Mix for a few seconds.
4. Take crust out of the fridge and pour the filling in. Let set in fridge for at least 2 hours.

Since I had some sugar free toffee squares, I chopped them up and just sprinkled over the crust before pouring the filling. Although it gave a nice crunch, the cheesecake doesn't really need it since the crust is so good.

As you can probably tell this is not for an every day treat. Make it for a special occasion and invite people so you don't eat the whole thing by yourself.

Let's Eat Out Tonight!

One thing that scared me about doing low carb was eating out. My hubby and I love going out for dinner (and lunch and snacks and basically anytime we don't feel like cooking)and this scenario gave me the heebie-jeebies:

Waiter: So what will it be?
Me: (Peruses the menu) Hmmm... Are the chicken wings battered before deep frying?
Waiter: (Looks bewildered) What do you mean... battered?
Me: Dipped in some flour-egg thingy before frying.
Waiter: (Scratches head) I think so...
Me: (Sighs) Alright... Does the chopsuey sauce have cornstarch in it?
Waiter: (Looks even more bewildered) Yeeesss...
Me: (Sighs again) Can I get the Texas Rib that has NOT been marinated?
Waiter: (Gets a little angry now) They're ALL marinated...
Me: (Resigns) I want something that has NO starch, NO sugar and LOW CARB!
Hubby: (Imitates the great Marjorie Dawes) How about dust? Anybody? No? Dust. Anybody? No? Dust. Anybody? No? Dust. Anybody? No? (Watch here)

But after venturing out into the world of high low carb eating a few times, I now have peace of mind. It is easy to make safe, delicious choices. I'm lucky to live in the seafood capital of the country because there IS always something that I can eat that's not dripping in sauce or drowned in gravy.

My favorite restaurant for low carb eating is Coco Veranda, a bar and grill restaurant right on the beach. The view is great and service is excellent. Here's what I ordered at a recent visit there (forgive the pics, taken with iPhone)



Steak (skip the side dishes or give it to hubby)


Lechon Kawali (Deep Fried Pork)


Shrimp Kinilaw (Ceviche)


Boneless Bangus (Milkfish) stuffed with onions and tomato, wrapped in cabbage and cooked in coconut milk

So don't be afraid to eat out. There's something quite liberating about finding a restaurant that caters to your LC WOE. Just remember to ask the right questions, don't be embarrassed or feel like you're being a pain in the you-know-what. This is your WOE. You have every right to know what's in the food you're going to put in your mouth. Most of all, you're paying, so you better get what you want.

Happy (LC) eating!

What do you think about the new layout? Is it too obvious that I love pink?

Burger Love Affair

If there's one thing I crave a lot since going low carb, it's burgers. I find myself just constantly thinking and drooling over burgers.

Luckily, my hubby makes the most awesome burgers. All he does is make patties out of pure ground beef (half a cup per patty) and then fry in a pan with no oil (the beef is pretty fatty) with a sprinkling of salt.

Trust me. This is so good and so simple. So he makes six to eight patties at a time with 1 lb of ground beef and we keep them in the fridge. Then when I want to have one I reheat it with some butter and top it with a whole lotta stuff.


Bacon Mushroom Melt
With sautéed onions and mushrooms, bacon and cheese


DOUBLE Bacon Cheeseburger
Two patties with bacon and cheese


BLT + OC
Bacon, lettuce, tomato, onion and cheese


Pizza Burger
Tomato paste, Italian seasoning, tomato, onion, olives and cheddar cheese

Sugar Free 3-in-1 Coffee Review

There is no better way to start your day than with a nice cup of freshly brewed coffee. But if you live in the Philippines buying, nay, finding ground coffee can be quite a task, not to mention too pricey. As for me, we get ground coffee shipped from the US thanks to my sweet mother-in-law.

When I started working I tried bringing my own brewed coffee but prepping it before going to work became a little too tedious for lil ole lazy me. So when my hubby found sugar-free 3-in-1 coffee for me, I was elated. I can just take two to three packs with me to work and all I have to do is add hot water! It's not as good as brewed coffee but it's fast and convenient.That's good enough for me. The initial box of 10 ran out in three days and I went to buy some more. To my pleasant surprise, I found different brands offering sugar-free 3-in-1 coffee! When you're doing low carb here in the Philippines the one thing you rarely have is a choice. So to find four sugar-free coffee brands was exciting enough to be the highlight of my week (not a particularly exciting week, huh?). For the sake of all my readers (heehee) I made the sacrifice of trying out four different brands and here are my thoughts:


Great Taste 3-in-1 Sugar Free Coffee
Price: 39.35 per 10 packets = PhP 3.93 per sachet
Carb Count: 3g
Rating: **


Review: The aroma was really wonderful but I was disappointed when I had my first sip. It tasted like sugary water. I could not taste the coffee at all. For a 2-cup serving, I used 3 sachets and it got sweeter and sweeter but the coffee flavor did not deepen at all. I will not buy this brand again.



Maxwell House 3-in1 Sugar Free Coffee
Price: 53.75/10 = PhP 5.37 per sachet
Carb Count: 3g
Rating: ***

Review: This wasn't too sweet but the coffee flavor wasn't deep enough either. It was quite bland when I used 1 sachet for a 1-cup serving. But when I added another sachet, the flavor got better. However, I don't wanna add extra carbs just to get my coffee fix. I will probably buy this if my favorite brand runs out but otherwise, I will skip it. Out of all the brands I tried, I was most disappointed with this one just because it is an imported brand.


San Mig 3-in-1 Sugar Free Coffee (Original)
Price: 30.35/6 = Php 5 per sachet
Carb Count: 5g
Rating: **

Review: San Mig offers three different variations: Original, Mild and Strong. I only found the Original one. This was too sweet for me, although the coffee flavor was definitely there. It makes me want to try the Strong flavor, just to see if the coffee flavor will be intensified. The fact that it is too sweet (I discovered that I have recently developed low tolerance for sweeteners) will stop me from buying this particular variation. 5g of carb in one serving is too much for coffee.


Nescafe 3-in-1-Sugar Free Coffee (Original)
Price: 53.60/10 = PhP 5.36 per sachet
Carb Count: 3g
Rating: ****

Review: My tastebuds vote for this brand as the best one. It is not too sweet and the coffee flavor is definitely there. It is deep and rich and the aroma is oh-so-good. The nice balance of bitter (coffee) and sweet (sweetener) really suited my tastes. I like this better than other instant coffee mixes, sugar free or not. I will definitely buy this brand over and over as long as Gaisano Mall doesn't run out.


I hope this review helps you out when you make your choice. Happy coffee drinking!

"I-Can't-Believe-This-Isn't-Cheating" Cream Cheese Balls

You might think I'm exagerrating but I'm not. Whenever one of these cream cheese balls touch my lips, my brain sends out an alarm: CHEATING! CHEATING! CHEATING! But I, of course, know that the nerve endings in my brain are just spazzing out from the deliciousness that my tongue is experiencing.

I first met these balls whilst reading a thread on LCF about what to do with 18 blocks of cream cheese. Since my hubby hoardes Philly cream cheese blocks like it's going out of style (but seriously, we don't find them so easily in our neck of the woods so hoarding is a great idea, moreso because of this recipe). “didi” posted,“Keto Balls! They can live in the freezer.” Followed by the link to the recipe.

Now... Keto balls sounded... vile, like something you'd find living in the socks you wore to the gym once and forgot to throw into the washer because it managed to crawl BY ITSELF under the bed only to be found when you were looking for your flip flops. It sounded nasty and gross. But since I like living on the edge, I clicked the link. And boy was I happy to be the adventurous clicker that I am. Because this recipe is anything but vile or nasty or gross. It is divine and easy and oh-so-good you'd forget, your brain will actually forget, that it's LEGAL.

You may find the original recipe here. The one below is a double batch and with a minor tweak.


See the lovely flecks of green from the pistachios?

Ingredients

Cream cheese, 2 (8 oz) blocks
Unsalted butter, 2 sticks or 1 cup
Splenda, 1 cup
Nuts of your choice (I used ½ cup of pistachios)

1.Make sure the cream cheese and butter are at room temperature. This will make it easier to mix. With an electric mixer, blend the cream cheese and butter well. Add the Splenda and mix some more.
2.For the nuts, I chose to incorporate them into the mixture rather than cover the balls. I only had ½ cup of pistachios that I crumbled and crushed into smaller bits, not powdery though. I gently folded the nuts into the mixture.
3.Refrigerate for at least an hour.
4.Scoop the mixture onto a cookie sheet lined with cling wrap or parchment paper. I used my small ice cream scooper which can hold 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon. Then I stuck toothpicks into the little balls before putting the cookie sheet into the freezer. You can certainly roll after scooping, but I didn't want to deal with the mess. I made about 30 balls with this batch.
5.After freezing, transfer the cream cheese balls into a covered container and keep in the freezer.

Just a couple of notes: I have recently gotten sensitive to sweeteners and the 1 cup of Splenda used here is too sweet for me. Next time I will use less Splenda, maybe start with half a cup and take it from there. Second, make sure you use UNsalted butter so that the flavor of the cream cheese remains the star of the show. Third, with the nuts this is obviously NOT for Induction but you can just omit the nuts and I bet it will still taste good and you'd feel like you're cheating. Lastly, didi is right. These will live in the freezer... but not for too long. I have to constantly remind myself that I can only have one ball a day. So thanks to didi for linking this and to MandyM for posting the recipe on LCF.

Summery Vegetable Salad

Pretend you're me and it's a rainy Sunday afternoon so you left the confines of your bedroom for the first time since you woke up to rustle up a meal. You open the refrigerator door, one hand on your cocked hip, give the contents a once over then close the refrigerator door. You do this two more times before letting out a big dramatic sigh that implied, “Okay, I give up! The contents of the fridge won't magically change every time I open it, so I'll just make a summer vegetable salad (even though it's raining)!” So you gather all the ingredients and proceed to make the following salad.

Ingredients

Vegetables**
Broccoli
Sweet bell peppers
Cucumber
Onion (optional)

Meat**
Chicken breasts, cooked
Bacon strips, fried til crispy

Dressing
Mayo, 3 to 5 tablespoons
Lemon juice from one lemon
Splenda, 1 packet
Salt and black pepper

**Basically anything in your fridge that you need to use up before it gets too squishy**

1.Prep the veggies. Since you're me, you steamed the broccoli until they were a little soft, but not too soft, crisp tender is the term you're looking for. Slice the bell peppers and cucumber into thin rings. See the remaining half of the onion you used to make something you forgot about a couple of days ago? Dice it up.
2.Prep the meat. Roughly chop the left over chicken breasts that your hubby fried for dinner two nights ago. Crumble up some of that bacon, too.
3.Make the dressing. Add all the ingredients you THINK make up a decent dressing and mix them all up, making sure you dip your pinky in a few times to gauge the taste. Add salt and pepper if you must.
4.Toss the salad. Put everything in a big bowl and armed with two plastic ladles, toss the vegetables, meat and dressing until everything is lightly coated with the dressing. Refrigerate until serving.
5.Serve to sick hubby.
6.Accept compliments.

Now stop pretending to be me and you make this salad.

Low Carb Philly Cheese Steak Pizza

There are a lot of things I missed when I started doing low carb. But then I started reading an amazing blog by an equally amazing woman. There I found recipes upon recipes of the things I thought I could never have again. One of them was pizza. I was so glad that pizza hadn't gotten on that bus and left me standing by the highway in a swirl of dust. Cleochatra's Cauliflower Pizza Crust looks just like the real thing. She even turned them into bread sticks! Bread sticks!!!

So when my hubby insisted to have pizza for the nth time, we decided to look for cauliflower. Alas, the poor quality produce that Gaisano Mall's grocery provided left us empty handed. Weeks passed with still no cauliflower and I thought pizza had really gotten on that bus.

Then another recipe made our pizza dream come true. The recipe can be found in a thread at LowCarbFriends.com and was thought up by NancyElle.




We used 2 cups mozarella cheese and 1 cup cheddar cheese. We had trouble flipping the pizza because it stuck to the tin foil. Next time we'll just bake it on the cookie sheet, no more foil.

For the toppings, hubby made cheese steak by cooking sliced beef tenderloin, onions and sliced bell peppers until everything was cooked. He seasoned with salt and garlic powder.

After the crust baked, I spread cream cheese on top and then distributed the cheese steak topping evenly over it. Shredded mozarella was sprinkled on top and we turned on the broiler and left the pizza under it until the cheese melted.

This was really as amazing as we imagined it to be. Depending on how you slice it, you can get up to 12 servings. I used a cookie sheet so the pizza was rectangular. This is quite filling too.

And before I go to sleep tonight, I will open our refrigerator door and peek inside just to check if the pizza is there. Just to be sure it's not going anywhere near that bus.

Next in line... bread sticks!!!

Peruvian Style Beef Steak

What do you do when you text your beloved husband what he wants to do for dinner and he replies, "It's up to you, honey!"? I type the only thing I can think of that's not frozen into Google and look for a recipe. So I typed beef tenderloin and got lots of results. I settled on a version of Peruvian beef steak but of course, I did it my way. I added bacon because well bacon makes everything better!

This was really interesting because it reminded me of the Tagalog Bistek, which I love. The vinegar replaces the kalamansi juice and makes it a tad sweet. I didn't mind the sweetness factor; it was just unexpected. This would be great with cauliflower rice but I just had it by itself. I only had four pieces but it's quite filling.

Peruvian Style Beef Steak
*Adapted from this recipe. Serves 4-6.

600 grams beef tenderloin, sliced into serving pieces

3/4 c white vinegar

3 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 stick butter, more as needed

1 onion, sliced thinly

2 small tomatoes, seeded and sliced thinly

3 strips bacon

1/4 t cayenne pepper, optional

salt and pepper



1. Mix soy sauce and vinegar in a bowl. Marinate the beef pieces for at least an hour.

2. Cook bacon until slightly crispy. Remove from pan, cut into 1/2 inch strips and set aside.

3. Add a little bit of butter into the pan. Fry the beef pieces until browned and cooked. Reserve the marinade. Set aside the beef pieces.

4. Add more butter as needed into the pan, saute the onions until translucent. Add the tomatoes. When the tomatoes are soft, add the bacon strips. Saute until bacon is heated through. Add the beef pieces.

5. Once the beef is heated through, pour the marinade into the pan. Season with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper, if using. Let it reduce uncovered.

6. Serve.

NOT IHOP's Pancake Cheesecake Stacker

I know it doesn't look as good as this but it's really, really, really good.

I made a cheesecake mousse which is very easy and put that between two of SFS's Pancakes! Delicious! Awesome! If you're past Induction you can even add strawberries and it will look just like the real thing.

I didn't make a real cheesecake because I thought it would add to the carb count. But please bear in mind this is so decadent and so rich that you should only have it during special days. Unless you have the self-control not to eat more than 1 "stacker".

Besides if I baked a cheesecake it would've taken longer and I was DYING to make this. Also, if the filling was an actual cheesecake then I wouldn't have gotten this adorable picture.



This is the closest I will get to an IHOP. *sigh*

Cheesecake Mousse

*The recipe I found asked for 4 oz cream cheese but I needed more cream cheese-y taste so I used an entire 8 oz. block. This makes a LOT. You have been warned.

8 oz cream cheese at room temperature, DO NOT SOFTEN IN MICROWAVE
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 T Splenda, granulated
2 t vanilla extract

Whip all ingredients until stiff. I don't know if it was our hot weather here or the fact that I doubled the cream cheese amount and left the cream the same but it never got stiff, just semi soft. It kept its shape and that's good enough for me.

Put mousse in well-sealed bag and keep in the fridge until ready to use.

SugarFreeSheila's Amazing Induction Friendly Pancakes

Chicken Wings

Not too long ago there was a thread on LowCarbFriends that introduced me to the awesomeness that is chicken wings. Unable to control my craving for something I have never made before, I urged my hubby to buy some chicken wings so we can make our own.

Now my hubby loves BBQ sauce but unfortunately for me I wasn't able to find a low carb recipe (I have found one since then that I'm going to try next time)so he made his own high carb BBQ and I just mixed a tablespoon of Emeril's Creole Seasoning mix and some Splenda into soy sauce and dipped the deep fried chicken wings right after they got out of the fryer. My chicken wings did not look as good as his but they tasted great (his tasted awesome but they're PURE EVIL!) and I will gladly make them again. YUM!

Pancakes For Breakfast? Yes, Please!

You're probably wondering how I can go through 12 mini pancakes in a few days... let me show you the ways...



Pancakes with a tablespoon of heavy cream, sprinkling of Splenda and cinnamon. Tastes like dessert and there's fewer things better than dessert for breakfast. That's my motto, by the way.




Pancake sandwich with lesser carbs! I put ham and cheese slices between two pancakes. Sweet and salty is an awesome combination!




Bacon and pancakes. You don't have to say goodbye to a classic combo just because you're on low carb.




How about a cauliflower and broccoli omelet with sour cream to add to your bacon and pancakes? You get your protein AND your good carbs in one sitting. This meal was so good and so filling I actually forgot about lunch.




But you know what? SugarFreeSheila's pancakes are so awesome without too much stuff on them. So I like to just put a teaspoon of butter and a sprinkling of cinnamon and I am happy... so happy...

Chicken Curry - Second Time Around

Curry is one of my favorite chicken dishes growing up. I'm not a big fan of chicken, given a choice between chicken and pork, I would choose the latter in a heart beat. But chicken curry is different. It's so comforting with its thick and flavorful sauce and not to mention the delicious aroma. A whiff of it brings me back to my childhood when our nanny would cook it for Saturday lunch.

As an adult, I have only cooked it once before with the help of a seasoning packet. It was disappointing to say the least. It didn't pack the same punch and was just lacking in flavor overall. When I started LC-ing, I avoided dishes with sauce simply because they would make me wish for rice, my white enemy.

What about cauliflower rice, you say? Well when I made it before it was so time consuming (I don't own a food processor) and it wasn't that good to make me want to try it again.

So when I had a craving for curry I knew I had to do it right. Not just the curry itself but the cauliflower rice too. Let's just say this is my second chance on both dishes.

I'm so glad I didn't give up. This was so delicious and so filling.

Chicken Curry
*Adapted from Simply Recipe's Chicken Curry in a Hurry



1 pound chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
3 T curry powder plus more to taste
2 T olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
3 cloves garlic, minced
100 g red bell pepper, sliced in thin strips
300 g string beans, cut 1 1/2" in length
1 C heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
1 T chili powder (optional)

Procedure

1. Rinse the chicken breasts in running water and pat dry. Lay them flat on a chopping board and sprinkle with half the amount of curry powder on both sides of each chicken breast. Gently rub the powder over the chicken. Let sit for a few minutes.



2. Heat olive oil in pan and saute garlic and onions. Season with salt and pepper.



3. Set the onions and garlic to one side of the pan. Fry the chicken. Cook at least 3 minutes on each side, make sure that the meat is cooked. Remove the chicken from the pan once cooked.



4. Add the remaining vegetables in to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. I sprinkled some curry powder in as well. Cook the vegetables until crisp tender.

5. Put the chicken back into the pan. Add heavy cream and remaining curry powder. If you want it to be spicier, add more curry powder and even chili powder. If the heavy cream is too thick, add a quarter cup of water.

6. Stir until everything is coated in sauce. Salt and pepper to taste.

7. Serve on top of cauliflower rice.



Here's a great video on how to make cauliflower rice.

SugarFreeSheila's Amazing Induction Friendly Pancakes

I stumbled upon SugarFreeSheila.com while I was reading Cleo's wonderful blog, The Lighter Side of Low-Carb and I spent five hours straight just reading all about her experience with Atkins, her FAQs, looking at before and after pictures and of course drooling over recipes.

One of the recipes that caught my eye, not only because of the simple ingredients and easy steps but on top of that had the magic words: INDUCTION FRIENDLY. You know how in cartoons when someone has a great idea, a light bulb goes off? Well that light bulb went on for me and it didn't turn it itself off until I made the recipe.

It tasted good the first time I made it but it was too big and I had a difficult time flipping it. I admit I'm a little flipping-challenged. That's how I thought of using egg rings. The pancakes would be smaller thus easy to flip! Genius, right? Not really but if you say so, I'll run with it.

The second time I made the pancakes, they looked as good as they tasted. I made sure I let them "burn" a little to give them that browned look that pancakes have. When I posted pictures on the LCF forum, people wanted to know how I made Sheila's pancakes and now I'm going to share it with step-by-step pictures.

SugarFreeSheila's Delicious Low-Carb Pancakes
*I have scaled the recipe up because it's easier for me to just make a big batch each week. The recipe with the original serving size of 1 can be found here.



1 (8 oz) block of cream cheese
5 eggs
1 T Splenda
1 t Vanilla Extract
Vegetable oil for frying



"Special" equipment I use
2 cup measuring cup
4 egg rings



Plop the cream cheese inside the measuring cup. Don't be messy like me. Microwave it at high for about a minute. I would do it for 2 minutes and have pieces of burnt cream cheese which are AWESOME! But if you're not as adventurous as I am then 1 minute is fine. Prepare yourself for the wonderful smells that will fill up your kitchen and make your tummy growl and say, "Hurry with breakfast already!"



Stir the cream cheese until it is softened and well-blended. Add Splenda and vanilla extract. Stir some more.



Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. You might think that it will be too much for your two-cup measuring cup, you may use a bowl or a bigger measuring cup. I like using a measuring cup because it has a handle and makes cooking the pancakes easier.



This is my set up. I have the pan in the middle, egg rings and bowl with oil to the right and spatulas on the left. When I cook something, anything, the kitchen turns into a war zone so it helps me if I'm organized.



The egg rings get a short bath in the oil and then placed on the pan like so. Turn on the stove, medium-high is fine. I make sure that the pan is hot before I pour the batter in.



I apologize for not including my ice cream scooper in the "special" equipment list. It really is handy. I use it for cupcakes, cheesecake muffins, cookies, etc. So anyway pour one scoop's worth of batter into the egg rings and let it cook until the sides are dry. It also helps to wiggle the egg rings gently one by one to make sure nothing is sticking to it.



Remove the egg rings. If there is a sticking issue, just use a spatula to gently nudge the sticking part until it lets go of the egg ring. Flip each pancake. Marvel at the nice browned side. Did I mention the really wonderful smells filling your kitchen? Well this time it's filling the entire house. It made my DH run downstairs to find out where they were coming from.

Once you feel like the pancakes are browned on the other side, remove them from the pan. Add more oil, if needed, for the next batch. I always dip the egg rings before each batch. With this batch I make 12 mini pancakes. The number depends on the size of the egg rings you will use.

There you go! A beautiful stack of pancakes, delicious, low-carb and drumroll please... INDUCTION FRIENDLY!



Enjoy!

Deep Fried Bacon-Wrapped Scallops

Deep fried.

Bacon-wrapped.

Scallops.

Need I say more except for the recipe? Well here it is:

Scallops
Bacon strips
Oil, enough to fill a pot halfway


1. Wash scallops very well. Pat dry.

2. Cut bacon strip in half and wrap each half around 1 to 2 pieces of scallops.

3. Secure with toothpicks.




4. Heat oil up to 350 degrees. Fry the scallops until bacon is crisp.

5. Remove toothpicks. Enjoy.

The Ugliest Cheesecake Ever

Wrinkles give these cheesecakes personality



For the longest time I have avoided making cheesecake. Don't get me wrong, I love it. So much. That's why I didn't wanna mess it up. That and the fact that an 8 oz block of cream cheese costs well over PhP 100 (that's just a local brand, not even Philadelphia!). So the thought of fudging it up and wasting money at the same time was enough to make me step away from all the delicious cheesecake recipes online.

Recently, I stumbled upon a recipe that really tempted me. It didn't have a lot of ingredients and instead of using a springform pan (which I've never seen in real life) made use of a muffin pan. I figured making cheesecake muffins would be a far lesser task. The recipe was a success. I made it a few more times, dressing it up with strawberries and whipped cream, eating it plain. It was just that good.


This is NOT low carb

When I decided to go low carb, I looked at that recipe and just by simply removing the crust turned it into something I could enjoy - albeit in small portions - and still stay on plan. Even better news is it's allowed on Induction! Magic words, right?

Now you can definitely make this prettier but unless you want other people to steal it, DON'T. Who cares about those wrinkles anyway? Or the fact that sometimes the middle part sinks? It might not be pretty but damnit it's good! AND LEGAL! Again, the magic word!

The Ugliest Cheesecake Ever
*Adapted from various cheesecake recipes and inspired by Chocolate Kiss' Sour Cream Cheesecake
serves 12

Ingredients
16 oz cream cheese
1 C Splenda (NOT sugar blend but granular)
2 t vanilla
4 T lemon juice
3 T sour cream
2 eggs


Forgot to take a pic with the cream cheese. Sorry!


1. Preheat oven at 325. Prepare 12 cup muffin pan.

2. With a mixer, beat the cream cheese until there are no more lumps. Slowly add the Splenda, incorporating both ingredients well.


Beat the cr*p out of that cheese!

3. Add vanilla, lemon juice and sour cream. Blend but make sure not to over mix.

4. Add eggs one at a time, gently mixing after each one.

5. Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups. I used an ice cream scooper to divide them equally.


Invest on an icecream scooper. It's convenient and not that messy to use.


6. Bake at 325 for 12 to 15 minutes depending on your oven. Check at 12 minutes and the tops should be set but not hard. I actually like to underbake this because the center has that ooey gooey cream cheesy filling that I love.

7. Let cool for at least 30 minutes. Put in the fridge for at least 2 hours. This is best eaten cold.

Carb count 3.7 per serving

Notes
If you want to make prettier cheesecakes, check this out.
If you're past Induction (woohoo!) you may add fresh strawberries on top or even do a nut crust.