Brownie, Chocolate Chip & Mini Fudge Ball Frozen Yogurt - A Low Carb Chocolate Lover's Fantasy

Last night I made a double batch of my Frozen Vanilla Greek Yogurt. I absolutely LOVE this frozen yogurt treat. It doesn't require an ice cream maker or any special pop molds, although if you have molds, you can easily fill them with this mixture to make Frozen Yogurt Pops. I actually have a nice Cuisinart ice cream/frozen yogurt maker and 2 different sets of pop molds...but I prefer this easy peasy version best. The only thing you need is a bowl and a rubber spatula (well, a measuring cup and spoon would be helpful too)!

I mix the frozen yogurt recipe together and then place it in a bowl in my freezer and stir it every 30 minutes or so until it begins firming up. I just set my timer and go about whatever I'm doing at home and use a rubber spatula (that I keep in the bowl in the freezer) to stir it around a bit until almost frozen. When it is the consistency of soft serve ice cream, I stir in whatever add-ins I'm using.

I made Brownie, Chocolate Chip & Mini Fudge Ball Frozen Yogurt with this batch of frozen yogurt. 

I diced up the last two Bulletproof Fudgy Brownies I had leftover. I stirred the brownie chunks into the yogurt along with a few tablespoons of dark chocolate chips (about an ounce or two of chopped dark chocolate bar) and the "piece de résistance"...miniature Chocolate Hazelnut Espresso Fudge Balls! Yes...you read it right...mini FUDGE BALLS!!! 

I used Kolat Hazelnut Espresso Almond Butter that I picked up at Sprouts last weekend...but the truth is you can use plain almond butter or peanut butter instead. I "chocolatized" and sweetened the nut butter and rolled it into little miniature "fudge balls". I can't tell you how delicious these little fudge balls were in the frozen yogurt. 

The yogurt was studded with chunks of fudgy hazelnut brownies, crunchy dark chocolate "chips" and dense, rich little balls of chocolate hazelnut espresso fudge. All I can say is...oooh LAH LAH...amazing fudge balls. Leftover chocolate chip cookies would also be great broken up in this simple frozen yogurt, too. The recipe for the simple frozen yogurt is here: Frozen Vanilla Greek Yogurt. The recipe for the fudgy brownies is here: Bulletproof Fudgy Brownies. You can find the easy recipe for Mini Chocolate Fudge Balls below. Enjoy!

The only ice cream maker required!

Roasted Macadamia Brussels Sprouts - Cooked on the Grill

Today was an extremely hot day here -- it was 93 degrees at 4:00 and the humidity was awful. It was one of those "dog days of summer" for sure. We had a very simple dinner this evening since it was so hot. Hubby picked up a rotisserie chicken on his way home from work and I made Roasted Macadamia Brussels Sprouts to go with it. To keep the house cool, I roasted the sprouts in my cast iron skillet on the grill outside rather than turn the oven on. 

I added a couple tablespoons of coconut oil to my cast iron skillet and placed it on the grill over medium heat. I added about 1/4 cup of diced onion to the skillet to start cooking while I halved and trimmed the sprouts. To hasten the cooking time for the sprouts, I placed them in a covered glass casserole with a couple tablespoons of water and very lightly steamed them for about 3 or 4 minutes. I transferred the lightly steamed sprouts to the cast iron skillet along with the onions. I covered the grill and stirred them about every 5 minutes or so for about 15 minutes until they were nice and caramelized. While the sprouts were cooking, I halved about 1/4 cup of roasted macadamia nuts and tossed them into the sprouts during the last 5 minutes of cooking so they would lightly roast as well. I seasoned the sprouts with some sea salt. I served the chicken on top of a bed of the Roasted Macadamia Brussels Sprouts. It was quick, easy and simple and the most important thing was it kept the house nice and cool! I snapped a few photos below. Enjoy!

Brussels sprouts roasted with onions and macadamia nuts in coconut oil

Moussaka Pizza - My Big Fat Greek Meatza Pizza

It was a hot and humid day here today. While driving home from work, thoughts of what to fix for dinner were running through my head. I knew that I had a bag of baby eggplants in the fridge that I picked up this weekend at Costco. I also had several packages of their organic ground beef. Initially, my Mini Stuffed Moussaka Boats came to mind. But, I was sort of in the mood for pizza, too. As the debate between moussaka and pizza went back and forth in my head...as I pulled into the driveway, I had the answer...BOTH! Yup...I would find a way to have moussaka AND pizza! LOL

I began my concoction (recipe) by thinly slicing a couple of the baby eggplants and lightly salting them on both sides and placing them between paper towels to wick out some of the moisture. After all, I didn't want soggy pizza. I let them sit for about 10 minutes or so, then lightly sprayed them with olive oil and grilled them for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side. 

I browned about one pound of ground beef and about 1/2 cup of finely diced onion in a little olive oil. I seasoned it liberally with sea salt and pepper and then added about 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, couple dashes of allspice and a couple tablespoons of torn fresh flat leaf parsley to give the meat mixture a "moussaka-like" flavor. Moussaka usually has some tomato added to the meat mixture but not enough to make a tomato sauce. It's simply there for flavor, not sauce. I decided to use organic oven roasted Roma tomatoes in oil that I buy at Costco. They are loaded with deep tomato flavor and they wouldn't make the meat saucy and wet. I added a few heaping tablespoons of them to the meat mixture. 

For the crust, I made a double batch of my Grain-Free Pizza Crust and spread it in a rectangular shape on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. 

I popped it in the oven to bake. While the pizza crust was baking, I mixed together my "grain-free bechamel sauce" that I use when I make my traditional moussaka. I made a half batch of the sauce.

To assemble my Moussaka Pizza, I topped the baked crust with about 8 to 10 ounces of shredded mozzarella cheese; then added the seasoned meat and tomato mixture; then topped it with the sliced grilled eggplant; and ended with teaspoon-sized dollops of my bechamel sauce (ricotta, Parmesan, egg, and dash of nutmeg). 

Before baking

I baked it until the bechamel sauce was light golden and cooked. I topped the cooked pizza with a few more chunks of the oven roasted tomatoes in oil and some freshly torn flat leaf parsley, along with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. 

It was absolutely delicious! It tasted just like moussaka but on a crisp pizza crust that you could pick up and eat with you hands. 

If you'd like to create this unique pizza, here is the recipe for my stuffed moussaka boats where you can get the recipe for the bechamel sauce (that I halved the recipe for on this pizza) as well as get an idea of the seasonings used in the meat filling: Mini Stuffed Moussaka Boats. My recipe for the pizza crust (that I doubled the recipe for on this pizza) is here: Grain-Free Pizza Crust. I snapped a few photos below. Enjoy!

   

Breakfast for Dinner - Scrambled Eggs, Sausage, Toast & Buttermilk Berry Pancakes

This evening I was in the mood to have "breakfast for dinner". I haven't made it for a long time now and it was definitely overdue. I had leftover No-Flip Buttermilk Berry Pancakes in the fridge as well as a couple loaves of my grain-free bread (both the "with flax" and "without flax" versions). I sliced a wedge of pancake and reheated it briefly in the microwave and then sliced a piece of bread and popped it into the toaster. All that was left for me to do was cook a couple scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese and heat up Applegate Chicken & Apple sausage patties. I had dinner on the table in less than 10 minutes! I enjoyed it along with a cup of coffee. It was quick, simple and a perfect meal for this stormy Monday night. I snapped a few quick photos before the sky opened up and it began to pour down rain, thunder and lightening. Enjoy!

         

Grilled Zucchini Lasagna - Low Carb and Grain Free

This evening I decided to make Grilled Zucchini Lasagna for dinner since I had a bunch in the fridge that needed to be used. You can layer the lasagna any way you prefer, use whatever kind of cheeses that you like best and make as many layers as your baking dish will allow without bubbling over. Zucchini typically contains a lot of liquid so I decided to lightly salt my thinly sliced zucchini to draw out some of the excess fluid. It's not necessary to do that step, but it helps keep it from getting too juicy as it cooks. Grilling the zucchini also helps dry it out a bit as well. I absolutely love lasagna made with either eggplant or zucchini...especially in the summertime when it's plentiful. Rather than use ground beef this time, I used some bulk hot Italian chicken sausage that I picked up at Sprouts. I paired the spicy sausage with DelGrosso's spicy Fireworks sauce. I added some diced onion and red bell peppers to the sausage as it was browning. It was nice and spicy without being overly spicy. I served the lasagna with my Cheese Filled Dinner Rolls which were nice to use to dab up the extra sauce. Both boys came for dinner and they enjoyed it too. I snapped a few photos below as well as included the recipe. The most important thing (other than not using too much sauce) is to allow the lasagna to sit for a bit after it comes out of the oven before serving it so the cheeses don't run out when you cut it. It actually serves more nicely the second night. Enjoy!

Salted, excess liquid blotted and ready to grill

No-Flip Buttermilk Berry Pancakes - Low Carb, Thick & Fluffy

This morning we ate a late breakfast. I had initially planned to make some sort of eggs for breakfast, but when I opened up the fridge and saw the fresh strawberries, blueberries and raspberries staring back at me...well, the decision was made for me. It was settled...I was going to make my low carb No-Flip Buttermilk Berry Pancakes. They are thick, fluffy and absolutely delicious. I love whisking these together and topping them with whatever fresh berries I have on hand (and if you don't have fresh berries, thawed frozen berries work beautifully too). This takes all the "work" out of making pancakes. You simply whisk them together, pour them into an ovenproof skillet, pop it into the oven and let your oven do all the work for you. Once they are baked to perfection (about 25 minutes), you simply remove them from the oven and let them sit for about 5 minutes...then use a rubber spatula to gently slide them out onto a cutting board, cut in wedges and serve. BOOM...you are enjoying pancakes without having to stand over your stove, waiting for the little bubbles to magically appear before flipping, then piling them onto a plate while you make the next batch...meanwhile the first pancakes are getting cold. Oh, did I mention, there are no first few "ugly pancakes" either that inevitably happen when you make the first few traditional pancakes while you wait for your skillet to reach that magical temperature. These pancakes are delicious and ridiculously simple to make. You can switch them up and add chocolate chips, nuts or whatever your heart desires. Try them now...thank me later! LOL I snapped a few photos below and included the recipe. Enjoy!

**Deal Alert: I picked up Nutiva 54-oz coconut oil on sale at Sprouts this week for $23.99 - also, check out these freezer pop molds I got yesterday at Kohl's for $5.00 (they were 70% off). If you don't own any, this would be an inexpensive way to pick some up while on sale!  

Grilled Chipotle Drumsticks, Caprizza Salad & Cheese Filled Dinner Rolls - Low Carb, Wheat & Gluten Free

This evening we grilled the chicken drumsticks that I picked up at Sprouts last night. I had planned to make my Sweet & Spicy Chipotle Barbecue Sauce but instead just sprayed them with olive oil and seasoned them with McCormick's Grillmates Chipotle Seasoning. We grilled them outside over medium heat for about 30 minutes. 

While the chicken was grilling, I cut up the mini heirloom tomatoes I picked up at Sprouts to make a little "Caprizza Salad." What is Caprizza Salad you wonder? It's a cross between a Caprese Salad and a pizza...because it also has diced pepperoni along with the fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and fresh basil. I drizzled it with extra virgin olive oil and a splash of red wine vinegar. I served our chicken and Caprizza salad along with the Cheese Filled Dinner Rolls I made last night using my "Perfect Dinner Rolls" recipe as a base. I added some Parmesan cheese to the dough, some shredded cheese on top and inserted a chunk of cheese inside each roll. They turned out good. I used small chunks of the Marinated Braided String Cheese I got at Sprouts to fill my rolls with.  I snapped a few photos of our simple dinner as well as included the recipe I used for the cheese filled rolls below. Enjoy!

This Weekend's Finds at Costco & Sprouts Farmers Market

We awoke to a beautiful cool morning here. Of course, it's warmed up quite a bit and is close to 90 degrees now. We got up early and took a little walk and then began our outings for the day. We began with breakfast at Einstein Bros Bagels for breakfast. I took one of my thick grain-free sandwich buns (sliced in half) and slipped it into my purse. When I get there I buy their cream cheese to spread on it like a bagel and a cup of their hazelnut vanilla coffee. Last night I went to Sprouts and picked up a few things. After breakfast this morning, we went to Costco. I snapped a few photos of some of my finds at Sprouts and Costco below. Enjoy!

Here are a few of my Sprouts finds from yesterday:

Assorted baby heirloom tomatoes

$2.29 each

Dinner tonight...maybe?

My regular grocery store sells these for $13.99 EACH (yikes)...picked these up for $6.99 each (I have an idea for using these)

Marinated mozzarella w/ olive oil, garlic, red pepper, and parsley (they also sell these in humongous beautiful braided hunks)

Had to pick these up...Cheddar Cheese Curds...Cajun style!

This chocolate bar is sweetened with stevia and REALLY good...but pricey at $4.79

Here are a few of my Costco finds today:

Each bag of baby eggplants had one of the little stripey varieties inside...so pretty!

This is the first time I've seen their brand of macadamia nuts...so thought I'd try them. Wish they'd bring the Mauna Loa back though!

P.S. -- Does anyone know what kind of flowers these are?

Found them at Costco...they are beautiful but weird!

This morning's breakfast! Finally bought a "refill cup" since I plan on going back frequently now with my own grain-free buns!