Raspberry Shortcake Gems

One of the ultimate summer desserts that uses the freshest and finest of the season, Raspberry Shortcake Gems will more than satisfy your desire for something sweet without going too overboard. Though this recipe is made with raspberries, if they are not available you can feel free to substitute strawberries, blackberries or even blueberries. The choice is yours as long as you find the freshest fruit available. As a garnish for these little gems I have added a raspberry sauce called coulis (cool-ee), which is nothing more than a fancy French name for the lightly sweetened, cooked and pureed fruit. It is the perfect compliment to this delicious gem of a dessert. I hope you enjoy.

Raspberry Shortcake Gems

Ingredients:

Shortcake:

3/4 cup almond flour

2/3 cup coconut flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup Splenda

3/4 cup + 1 Tbsp. heavy cream

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces

butter spray or vegetable spray

Raspberry Coulis:

1 cup raspberries

1 Tbsp. Splenda

1/3 cup water

Whipped Cream:

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 Tbsp. Splenda

Garnish:

24 raspberries

Preheat oven to 375'

Blend the almond and coconut flours with the baking powder, salt and Splenda with a whisk until thoroughly combined. Stir in the cream. Cut the butter in with a fork or your fingers until it is evenly distributed in the mixture. You will still see small bits of the butter but not large chunks. Make sure the butter is very cold to start. Divide evenly into a 24 count mini muffin pan, about 1 teaspoon of mixture in each, that has been liberally coated with butter spray. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes until golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan for about 15 minutes and then carefully remove to rack to finish cooling. These are delicate cakes and need to be handled carefully.

To prepare the coulis mix the raspberries, Splenda and water in a small sauce pan. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat and cook for about 5 to 8 minutes.  Carefully pour into a blender with the small plastic insert removed and the hole covered with a clean towel and pulse until mixture is pureed. To remove seeds strain mixture through a fine sieve into a small container and chill.

To prepare the whipped cream beat the heavy cream with the Splenda until soft peaks form. This can be done by hand or with an electric mixer. Your mixer and bowl must be very clean and you can chill your beaters and bowl to make whipping easier. Refrigerate whipped cream until ready for use. If desired a whipped cream substitute may be used.

To assemble Raspberry Shortcake Gems carefully slice a shortcake in half and place about 1/2 teaspoon of whipped cream on the bottom half. Cover with the lid and dab with an additional 1/2 teaspoon of whipped cream. Garnish top with a whole raspberry and drizzle with raspberry coulis.

Nutrition Facts

24 Servings

Amount Per Serving
Calories 90.3
Total Fat 7.9 g
Saturated Fat 4.0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.2 g
Monounsaturated Fat 1.7 g
Cholesterol 19.6 mg
Sodium 69.1 mg
Potassium 19.3 mg
Total Carbohydrate 4.9 g
Dietary Fiber 2.2 g
Sugars 0.1 g
Protein 1.5 g

Drunken Beef Fajitas

Fajitas, the classic Tex-Mex dish made of seasoned, thinly sliced beef garnished with tender onions and green bell peppers and wrapped in a flour tortilla. My special fajita recipe is different and I think makes the beef so extra tender and flavorful from the marinade of lime juice, tequila and spices. I bet you've never had a fajita like this one and I bet you and your family will love it. A great dish for the holiday weekend or for anytime you grill this summer and another perfect dish to serve your holiday guests. I hope you enjoy.

Drunken Beef Fajitas

Ingredients:

1/2 cup fresh lime juice, about 3 limes

1 Tbsp. lime zest

1/4 cup tequila, your favorite white or gold

1 1/2 tsp. Mexican oregano, or whatever is available

1 Tbsp. cumin seeds, toasted and smashed

1 Tbsp. coriander seeds, toasted and smashed

1 to2 dried chilies such as chile de arbol, toasted or 1 jalapeno, diced

3 cloves garlic, smashed

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, stems and leaves, lightly crushed

16 ounces skirt steak, or substitute flank steak if preferred

8 Tbsp. Ancho Red Chile Barbecue Sauce (recipe below)

1 cup onions, sliced

1 cup green bell pepper, sliced

1 Tbsp. canola oil

4 - low carb flour tortillas, optional (you can use lettuce wraps also)

To toast the seeds and chilies place them in a small pan with no oil over medium high heat for about 30 seconds to a minute or so until you can smell the aromatic scent. Shake pan often so they do not burn. Quickly remove and cool. Smash the seeds with the back of a heavy pan or mallet until course in texture and break apart the chile. If using a jalapeno just add it uncooked and diced to marinade.

Mix the marinade ingredients in a zip top bag and marinate steak at least 2 hours to overnight in the refrigerator. The longer you marinate the beef the stronger the flavors will be.

Remove beef and discard the liquids. Pat the beef dry with paper towel and let air dry a few minutes. Grill or broil the steak for 3 to 6 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the steak, lightly basting with the Ancho Red Chile Barbecue Sauce on each side. Let rest for about 10 minutes loosely covered with aluminum foil, before slicing. Slice the steak against the grain for maximum tenderness.

While the steak is resting saute the onions and green bell peppers in the canola oil in a large saute pan on high heat until tender and caramelized.

Assemble fajitas in low carb tortilla or lettuce wrap if desired and garnish with vegetables and serve additional Ancho Red Chile Barbecue Sauce if preferred.

Nutrition Facts

4 Servings of 3 Ounces Beef, 1/2 Cup Onions and Peppers and 2 Tablespoons Ancho Red Chile Barbecue Sauce *Does not include optional low carb tortilla or lettuce wrap.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 300.9
Total Fat 13.8 g
Saturated Fat 3.4 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.4 g
Monounsaturated Fat 2.7 g
Cholesterol 50.0 mg
Sodium 81.9 mg
Potassium 319.4 mg
Total Carbohydrate 14.7 g
Dietary Fiber 3.6 g
Sugars 3.1 g
Protein 25.3 g

Ancho Chile Red Barbecue Sauce

Another delicious barbecue sauce, low in carbohydrates and simple to prepare, that you can add to your repertoire for your summer grilling that everyone will absolutely love. This barbecue sauce is mildly sweet from the ancho chilies and is balanced with the mild warmth and earthy flavor of cumin with a thick and luxurious texture. Great for all kinds of barbecue from chicken to pork or as a dipping sauce this sauce was created to compliment for my Drunken Fajita recipe. I hope you enjoy.

Ancho Chile Red Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients:

2 ancho chilies, about 1 1/4 ounces

2 cups water

1/4 cup onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 - 8 ounce can no salt added tomato sauce

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1 Tbsp. ancho chili powder (or whatever you have on hand)

2 tsp coriander

2 Tbsp. cumin

1 tsp. dried oregano (Mexican if you have but any will do)

1 Tbsp. paprika

2 tsp. molasses

1/4 cup Splenda

vegetable spray

Place the ancho chile peppers and water in a sauce pan and bring to a boil on high heat. Reduce heat and simmer covered until the chilies are tender, about 20 to 30 minutes. Remove the chilies, reserving the cooking liquid, and cool. When the chilies are cool enough to handle remove the stem and seed by cutting chile open and scraping with the back of a knife. Discard the seeds and stems and rough chop the chilies.

Lightly coat another sauce pan with vegetable spray and place on medium heat. Saute the onions and garlic until translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients including the ancho chilies and 1 1/2 cups of the reserved cooking liquid. Stir well and bring to simmer. Allow to simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 15 to 20 minutes until sauce thickens.

Puree the barbecue sauce in blender carefully. When working with hot liquids in a blender it is best to not fill more than half way with liquids and to remove the small insert in the cap and cover the lid with a clean dish towel before turning on. Begin by pulsing on low and then work up to high speed and continue until the texture is a fine puree.

Pour the sauce back into a sauce pan and bring to simmer again and continue to simmer for about 15 minutes. Sauce can be served warm or room temperature.

Nutrition Facts

20 - 2 Tablespoon Servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories 15.7
Total Fat 0.4 g
Saturated Fat 0.0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.2 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.1 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 9.0 mg
Potassium 84.3 mg
Total Carbohydrate 3.6 g
Dietary Fiber 1.0 g
Sugars 1.0 g
Protein 0.7 g

Andouille Pork Burgers

Something different for the grill this holiday weekend that I thought you would all enjoy. I took the classic flavors of New Orleans, combined them and dressed them in a simple barbecue sauce. These burgers have a nice kick to them from the andouille sausage and are nice and juicy from the "holy trinity" of celery, green bell pepper and onion that was added into the mix. This recipe is just a little higher in fat and sodium than my usual recipes, though not terribly high, but if you are sensitive to either please just take note and proceed accordingly. I hope you enjoy.

Andouille Pork Burgers

Ingredients:

1/2 cup celery, finely diced

1/2 cup green bell peppers, finely diced

1/4 cup onion, finely diced

1 clove garlic, minced fine

6 ounces Andouille sausage (2 links)

8 ounces ground pork

1 egg, beaten

1 Tbsp. paprika

1/4 to 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (to taste)

1 - 8 ounce can no salt added tomato sauce

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

vegetable spray

Preheat a saute pan on medium high heat and coat with vegetable spray. Add the celery, green pepper, onion and garlic. Reduce heat to medium low and cook until the vegetables are soft and translucent, stirring occasionally, about 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Cut the andouille sausage into small, manageable pieces and then chop until almost finely ground. Place the ground andouille into a large bowl and add the ground pork, egg, paprika, cayenne pepper and cooled vegetables. Add one tablespoon of the tomato sauce to the mixture. Blend thoroughly with either clean hands or other utensil. The mix will be a bit soft but don't worry.  Form four burger patties and set aside on a plate.

Mix the rest of the tomato sauce and Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl. Lightly brush one side of the burgers with the sauce, using about one tablespoon per burger. Place burgers on grill, grill pan or saute pan on medium high heat and cook for about 5 to 6 minutes. Brush the top of the burgers with the sauce and carefully turn. Because the burger mix is a little soft do not touch the burgers once they hit the heat. Let them set up as the protein cooks and then carefully turn with a broad spatula. These burgers must be cooked completely since they are pork.

Nutrition Facts

4 Servings

Amount Per Serving
Calories 303.6
Total Fat 19.3 g
Saturated Fat 7.1 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.4 g
Monounsaturated Fat 5.8 g
Cholesterol 131.4 mg
Sodium 410.1 mg
Potassium 352.7 mg
Total Carbohydrate 8.2 g
Dietary Fiber 2.7 g
Sugars 3.6 g
Protein 25.2 g