Best Grain-Free Bagels - Low Carb, Gluten Free & Delicious

Tonight I am finally sharing my bagel recipe. I began working on it last summer...1 year ago (June 2017). I have been tweaking it and have made at least half a dozen different recipes, tweaking each one. I didn't just want it to taste good, because honestly, all the versions I made actually tasted good.

I kept tweaking it, not only for texture but just as important for me was to make a recipe that wouldn't be so frustrating to make for the average person that wasn't a "baker" or who maybe wasn't used to handling regular dough. In the first 4 versions I made, I rolled the dough into ropes with my hands and formed each bagel. I found it to be messy because this dough doesn't have the same elasticity that dough made with wheat and yeast has. I feared it would make some of you break out all of your bad words (not that I know anything about that) both at me and at the dough. And you certainly wouldn't be excited to make them again. With each of my 6+ versions, I not only tweaked the ingredients but used different pans to see how they baked. Also, when you look at the recipe...just so you know, the teaspoon of apple cider vinegar that is added can not be tasted at all. It is there to react with the baking soda to help lighten the dough. You can make plain bagels, or top with grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese for cheesy bagels or my favorite, add sesame seeds. You could make "everything bagels" or even poppy seed.

One more thing. I have made this recipe 3 times, to use different pans/methods to bake. I made them on a parchment lined baking sheet and they are good but they spread more and are thinner (but just as delicious). I made them in my deeper USA Pan 6-well mini-cake pan and they are good but it contains them so much that they are thicker, and closer to hamburger buns. My favorite result was using my Chicago Metallic Professional 6-well muffin top pan. The reason I preferred this pan was it has the shallow wells that help contain the spread, but since it doesn't have deeper wells, it allows them to spread a bit and brown and it produced a not too thick/not too thin bagel that could be sliced in half more easily. These bagels are not the 1-1/2" to 2" thick bagels of your wheat eating days. But you will find them very satisfying and delicious. I hope you give them a try and let me know what you think. Check out the recipe and photos below. Enjoy!

Grain-Free Bagels

INGREDIENTS:

10 ounces (2-1/2 cups) shredded mozzarella

3 ounces brick style cream cheese

1 cup almond flour

1/4 cup PLUS 2 Tablespoons (6 Tablespoons) ground golden flax seeds

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

2 Tablespoons sesame seeds or 2 Tablespoons shredded Parmesan or Asiago cheese, optional

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly spray a 6-cup nonstick muffin top pan with olive oil. Alternatively you can line a large baking sheet with parchment paper (bagels will spread out more and be thinner). 

Place mozzarella and cream cheese in a medium bowl. Heat cheese in microwave on high for 45 seconds; stir and heat an additional 45 seconds or until a hot melted mass of cheese is formed; blend well, folding with a rubber spatula. 

While cheese is melting in microwave, in a separate medium bowl, combine almond flour, ground flax, salt, baking powder and baking soda; whisk until blended. In a separate small bowl, beat egg and vinegar together; set aside. Add flour mixture to bowl of hot melted cheese (make sure cheese is hot before adding flour mixture; return to microwave for 10 to 15 seconds or till hot). Working quickly, fold dry mixture into melted cheese using a rubber spatula until dough begins to come together and cheese and dry ingredients are combined; add egg/vinegar mixture and continue folding into dough until combined. The texture of the dough will begin to become light and airy. Continue folding mixture until thoroughly combined. 

Divide into 6 even pieces (I cut it into wedges in the bowl with a knife). Very lightly oil or wet hands to prevent dough from sticking. Scoop each section of dough with a spoon; using your hands, form dough into a large meatball shape, then pat to flatten into a burger shape approximately 1-inch thick in the palm of your hand (if desired lightly press dough patty into a shallow bowl lined with sesame seeds). Using your index finger of your other hand, poke a hole in the center of the dough patty, wiggling finger in a circular motion until a smooth hole forms in the center. Place in muffin top well and repeat until all six are formed. (If using a parchment lined baking sheet, space bagels about 2 inches apart; sprinkle with sesame seeds or grated cheese, if desired). 

Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven to reopen bagel holes by using the tip  of a handle from a wooden spoon, dipped in olive oil, using a circular motion to reopen the holes. Reduce oven temp to 375 degrees and return bagels to oven and bake for an additional 5 to 6 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool in pan 5 minutes; carefully remove to a wire cooling rack to cool. Use a sharp serrated knife to slice in half; spread with butter or cream cheese as desired.

*Note: If blended dough is too soft to handle, allow to cool for a minute or two to firm up a bit before shaping into bagels. If bagels begin to brown unevenly, rotate pan half way through for more even browning.

           

Sunday's Spanakopita Omelet - Spinach, Feta, Onions & Dill

We awoke to a sunny and very humid morning. The sun was a complete surprise and probably won't last long because there's actually no sun whatsoever in our forecast until next Saturday! The humidity with all the rain we've had over the past 2 weeks makes being outside quite miserable. I decided to start our Sunday morning with a good breakfast. Since I had a bunch of fresh spinach in the fridge and 2 large containers of President's Feta Cheese (it's on sale at Costco right now by the way), as well as some fresh dill, I went with spinach and feta omelets for breakfast. I made two omelets, one for me and one for hubby. I lightly wilted and sautéed about 8 ounces of fresh spinach in 1 tablespoon of olive oil, then moved it out of the skillet to a large cutting board. I added a bit more olive oil and sautéed 2 sliced green onions and about 1/4 cup of diced Vidalia onion until translucent and slightly caramelized. I moved that out of the skillet and wiped it clean.  I placed the sautéed spinach on a large cutting board and blotted the excess liquid out by pressing it with several paper towels, then I coarsely chopped the spinach. I chopped a few springs of fresh dill and set it aside.

I picked up a dozen Vital Farms pasture raised eggs this week and decided to give them a try this morning. They were beautiful large brown eggs with the deepest golden yolks that I've seen. I would definitely buy these eggs again. We each had a 2-egg omelet that I prepared one at a time. I added a pat of butter to the hot nonstick skillet and poured 2 beaten eggs (beaten with 1 teaspoon of water) into the sizzling butter and rolled the pan around to evenly spread the eggs in the bottom of the pan. I cooked it over medium heat until done, then scattered half of the cooked spinach and 2 to 3 tablespoons of crumbled feta cheese, half of the chopped dill, a few grinds of black pepper, and folded it over in the skillet before sliding it onto our plates. I added the cooked onions to my omelet only since hubby isn't a huge fan. I served his omelet with turkey bacon and mine with 2 Applegate chicken sausages. It was delicious and should hold us until dinner. I snapped a few photos below. Enjoy!

        

Simple Cheese Toast - Using My Cheese Head Pizza Crust & New Costco Find

Happy Friday before Memorial Day! Hubby and I took off to make our weekend longer and had hoped to spend it in a little cabin in the mountains but the weather here has been awful the last 2 weeks with lots of rain all last week, this week and its predicted to continue throughout the end of NEXT week. So, we decided rather than be cooped up in cabin for the long weekend that we'd take the opportunity to hang out at home and relax, watch movies, work on a few inside projects and just take it easy. Before I tell you about this morning's brunch, I wanted to share a new Costco find with you that I found in April...Costco now sells their own superfine blanched almond flour under their Kirkland brand. It's quite reasonably priced too! It was $11.79 for a 3-lb bag at my store. I snapped a photo of it below.

We slept in this morning and I made us a "weekend breakfast" to serve as our brunch. It was pretty simple, scrambled eggs with sharp cheddar and oven baked turkey bacon. I also mixed some plain Fage yogurt with my sugar free cranberry sauce mixed with some wild frozen blueberries to serve on the side. Hubby usually likes to eat a toasted asiago bagel with his breakfast (he's not wheat free) so I told him I'd make us "cheese toast" instead (using my Cheese Head Pizza Crust). I whipped up a quick batch of my pizza dough which literally takes just minutes (I did not add any seasoning to the dough); I spread it out on a rectangular baking sheet, baked it for about 12-15 mins and then grated spicy Three Alarm Cheese over the top of the hot crust, popped it back into the oven and ran it under the broiler for about 3 minutes to get hot and bubbly, then let it cool for a bit and  cut it into "toast squares".  You could swap the spicy cheese out for whatever cheese that you prefer or simply use the crust as is like plain toast. It works great. I snapped a few photos below. You can find the recipe for my crust here: Cheese Head Pizza Crust. Enjoy!

I get this bacon from Costco

        

Happy St. Patrick's Day Breakfast - Corned Beef & Sprouts Hash

Happy St. Patrick's Day! This morning we awoke to a cool and dreary morning. It rained overnight and it's supposed to rain more later this afternoon. That didn't stop me from making a bright and sunny breakfast though! Last night I made a simple dinner of grilled boneless chicken thighs and I roasted a tray of sliced fresh Brussels sprouts and some grape sized red skinned potatoes for hubby. I had a bowl full of leftover roasted sprouts that I decided to use for breakfast this morning. I also had about 1/4 pound left of thinly sliced Boars Head Corned Beef that I used earlier in the week to make my Reuben Roll-ups. I cut the leftover corned beef into thin strips, added 1 teaspoon of olive oil to a nonstick skillet and browned it. When it was browned and had begun curling up (much like bacon), I added my leftover roasted sprouts and tossed them around until everything was heated. While my sprouts and corned beef were getting cozy in the pan, I fried eggs in a separate skillet with a bit of Kerrygold butter. I plated my Corned Beef & Sprouts Hash and topped it with a fried egg and a generous grind of black pepper. For my hubby, I tossed in the few tiny red potatoes that I halved into the skillet with the remaining sprouts and corned beef and served his "potato-sprouts-corned beef hash" alongside his eggs. Everybody was happy...including Spike who had his own fried egg and a few little bites of corned beef. I must say that even though I am not a big corned beef fan, slicing it into strips and browning it was absolutely delicious and I will actually use it in the future to toss in with other roasted veggies for flavor. Try it sometime...it transforms into a milder bacon when prepared that way. It was the perfect breakfast for St. Patty's Day. Check it out below. Enjoy!

     

Greek Style Spinach-Feta Pie - How To Get Your Green on for St. Patty's Day Tomorrow

I know this may sound a bit silly, but this evening I made my Greek Style Spinach-Feta Pie to work some more green into our menu for St. Patty's Day tomorrow. I know it's a bit silly to be going Greek to celebrate an Irish holiday...but food never discriminates!  LOL Plus, I really miss this dish. I have a number of different variations of this pie, but my favorite is made with my buttery almond crust. To save time, my crustless version is also good. It's also good if you have leftover bacon to add as well, just be careful about adding too much because feta is a saltier cheese. I used the remainder of the pound of Olivia's Organic Baby Spinach that I had leftover from the chicken soup I made earlier in the week. Since I had so much spinach to use, I added a couple of extra eggs to my pie this evening (I usually put 5 eggs in the filling but this evening I used 7). With all the spinach, I could have added a couple of more eggs and been good, but since it's just hubby and I, I didn't want to make too much. I used green onions instead of regular onions so this was a super green pie with over 3/4 pound of chopped spinach, dill, and the green onions. There won't be any pinching going on in my house for sure! So, if you are one of those non-corned beef people, then this pie might be the perfect dish to make to cover you in the green department for Saint Patrick's Day tomorrow.

Check out tonight's Spinach-Feta Pie below. You can find the recipe with more photos here:  Greek Style Spinach-Feta Pie. Enjoy!

 

        

Thanksgiving Recipes: 12 Breakfast Ideas, 12 Side Dish Ideas, and 16 Dessert Ideas

Well, it's that time of year again for sharing my Thanksgiving recipes. I'm a bit late this year because things have been a little crazy around here. This will be my 6th low carb, wheat free Thanksgiving. It's hard to believe. It just seems so "normal" now that I don't stress about it or worry about what to make since I've recreated so many of my favorite recipes over these last 6 years. I still make a few things for the family that I don't eat but I really don't mind at all because I have plenty of dishes to choose from. If this is your first wheat free Thanksgiving, you might feel like you will never be able to eat your old favorites again...trust me, you will. There are so many options and choices available and so many wheat free recipe conversions of your old favorites. I'm sharing some of my favorites that I have made and enjoyed over these past 6 years.

I've attached 3 different collages of recipes below; 12 Thanksgiving Breakfast Ideas, 12 Thanksgiving Side Dish Ideas, and 16 Thanksgiving Dessert Ideas. To get to the page where you can have access to the recipes via links under each individual enlarged photo...simply click on the 3 headings over each collage below. That will take you to the blog page where you can scroll through enlarged photos of each dish with a link in the caption underneath each photo to that particular recipe. Certainly you should be able to find something you'd like to try or something you worried you would never be able to enjoy again. I hope you find some new favorites to put on your Thanksgiving table this year. These recipes also work for Christmas dinner, too. From my table to yours....Enjoy!

12 Thanksgiving Breakfast Ideas

12 Thanksgiving Side Dish Ideas

16 Thanksgiving Dessert Ideas

         

Pumpkin Pecan Coffee Cake - A Fall Favorite

It's throwback Thursday and I'm re-sharing a recipe for Pumpkin Pecan Coffee Cake that I created 2 years ago. It's most definitely a fall favorite of mine. This coffee cake makes a perfect addition to your Thanksgiving breakfast menu. It’s rich, moist and oh so pumpkiny!  Your house will smell amazing while it’s baking, filling it with the aromas of pumpkin and spice that will waft through your kitchen as its baking. I love this time of year. It's delicious for either breakfast or for dessert. I like adding a dollop of whipped cream or scoop of vanilla ice cream when enjoying it for dessert. The pecan topping has a touch of molasses mixed into the sweetener to create a brown sugar substitute and is combined with butter and pecans to make a delicious streusel-like topping. It is absolutely amazing with a cup of coffee. If you love pumpkin and you love coffee cake...this recipe will satisfy both. Try it, you won't be disappointed. I've included some photos and the recipe below. Enjoy!

Ready to pop in the oven

Fresh out of the oven

Pumpkin Pecan Coffee Cake

Ingredients:

For the pecan topping:

1/2 cup granular Swerve sweetener (or other granular sweetener)

1 teaspoon black strap molasses

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch sea salt

2 Tablespoons diced cold butter

1 cup chopped pecans, lightly toasted

For the batter:

2 cups Blanched Almond Flour

1/2 cup ground golden flax seeds

1/4 cup coconut flour, sifted

1 1/2 cups Swerve granular sweetener (or other granular sweetener)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Dash ground nutmeg

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 (15-ounce) can pure pumpkin

6 Tablespoons melted butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" baking pan.

To make the pecan topping, combine sweetener, molasses, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl; add diced butter and cut in using a pastry cutter/dough blender until mixture is coarse and crumbly (or the mixture can be pulsed until combined and crumbly in a small food processor). Stir in toasted pecans and set aside.

To make the batter, whisk almond flour, ground flax, coconut flour, sweetener, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl until combined.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs, vanilla, buttermilk, pumpkin and melted butter together until smooth. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix together, beating with a rubber spatula or hand mixer until a thick batter is formed. Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly with a spatula. Top with pecan topping and bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

*Note:  To toast pecans, spread in single layer on a baking sheet and bake in oven at 350 degree F for approximately 5 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently until lightly toasted.

       

Pizza for Breakfast - How to Use Leftover Pizza

Happy Saturday!  It's a beautiful sunny morning here. When I woke up this morning I thought about having a piece of last night's cold leftover Roasted Tomato & Shallot Pizza for breakfast. Instead, I decided to "breakfast-tize" it a bit! I placed a piece of pizza in a small nonstick skillet, covered it and heated it over low heat until it was warmed through and the crust was nice and toasty. In a separate skillet I fried an egg in a little butter. I used the pizza as my "toast" and topped it with the fried egg. It was so delicious together and the flavors were as if I was eating a delicious roasted tomato omelet over toast. I loved it and will save a piece to make again for breakfast tomorrow too! Next time you have leftover pizza, give it a try. I can't wait to make it again!  Now, off to put our furniture back out on our screened porch after Irma blew through earlier this week! Enjoy!

          

Saturday's Breakfast - Cheddar Eggs, Bacon and Hashed Brown Sprouts

Happy Saturday! This morning we awoke to a beautiful cool and breezy morning. It was in the mid-60s and simply gorgeous out. Hubby wanted to take me out to breakfast but I told him I'd rather make it at home before we start our day. I kept it simple, fresh and easy. We had scrambled eggs with lots of sharp cheddar cheese (I used Sargento's traditional cut sharp cheddar because it melts so nicely into the eggs). I made bacon, using Costco's pre-cooked bacon that simply needs to be heated in a skillet to crisp up. This is the first I've tried it and it's pretty good and certainly no where near as messy as cooking it raw. Only a small amount of fat cooks out as it heats. I cooked 8 strips and maybe only 1 tablespoon of drippings remained in the skillet. I moved out the bacon and added a few generous handfuls of fresh brussels sprouts that I sliced into 1/4-inch thick slices. I added a tablespoon of butter to the skillet with the bacon drippings and added the sprouts to a hot skillet and seasoned with salt and pepper. I let them brown before stirring and continued to cook them over medium high heat for about 5 to 7 minutes. Hubby and I both commented how delicious they were. I actually prefer them to hash brown potatoes. They'd be great with some diced Vidalia onions tossed in but I kept it simple and uncomplicated this morning. Our plate consisted of eggs, cheddar cheese, bacon, brussels sprouts and butter...that's it. So simple yet so delicious! Check out the photo below. I'm also including a copy of last night's easy dinner. We grilled burgers and placed them on top of a big fat slice of heirloom tomato topped with 3-pepper spicy cheese and topped them with Bubbie's pickles and a bit of ketchup and mustard. It was another simple and easy meal. Enjoy!