Atkins Spicy Baked Chicken

My whole family enjoyed this new chicken recipe. I found this recipe here on the Atkins website. The overall taste was pretty good, although it was a little salty for me. The next time I will leave out the salt altogether. The changes that I made are next to the ingredients in bold. 

 Spicy Baked Chicken
serves 4

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons canola oil
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon dried thyme - I omitted it because I didn't have it on hand
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dried cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt - I would omit next time
1/2 teaspoon pepper - I used Montreal steak seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
6 chicken legs with thighs, rinsed and patted dry - I used 9 bone-in thighs

Directions:

Heat oven to 350F.

In a small bowl, mix oil and spices.

Rub chicken legs with spice mixture; arrange on a baking sheet.

Refrigerate 30 minutes.

Bake chicken 40 to 45 minutes or until cooked through. My chicken was still a bit frozen even after thawing overnight in the frig. I didn't refrigerate the chicken before baking it. It took about 10 minutes longer than the suggested time to bake.

Net Carbs: 1.0 grams
Fiber: 1.0 grams
Protein: 46.0 grams
Fat: 37.5 grams
Calories: 535

This recipe is a definite keeper. I had mashed fauxtatoes to go along with it.

Menu Plan Monday - Family and Low Carb Menus

Last week's menu worked out fine until the end of the week. My husband and I were in a car wreck on Thursday morning. (we're ok, the car wasn't) We spent the entire day focusing on what to do with the car ..etc. That meant that Thursday's dinner was take out. On Friday, we had plans to take our kids to Monkey Joe's so we ate dinner out and then headed to MJ's. On Saturday, we managed to get a meal in at home...yay! For the Super Bowl, let's just say that I was a little irked with my husband. I cooked my meal at home, the rest of the family ate food from McDonald's.

So, you might see some repeats for recipes that I haven't tried, in the coming weeks. I've managed to stick to low carb meals. My weigh-in this morning showed another 2.5 lb loss! The total is now 14 lbs since 1/11/10! If the rain ever stops here, I would love to start walking. I'm finding it so hard to get motivated to exercise in my house.


My Low Carb Menu

S- steamed cabbage & kielbasa

M - Atkins spicy chicken*, faux mashed potatoes, salad - new recipe

T -talapia*, squash, salad -new recipe

W- beef veggie soup* - new recipe - changed to chicken soup from leftovers in freezer

H - chef salad

F - portobello mushroom burger* w/ rutabaga fries - new recipe

S - taco zucchini lasagna* - new recipe


Family Menu

S - Mc D's

M - chicken, pasta & sauce

T - talapia*, mac n cheese, salad - new recipe

W - beef veggie soup* - new recipe - changed to chicken noodle soup from leftovers in freezer

H - rigatoni bake

F - portobello mushroom burgers w/ fries

A - taco braid *, Spanish rice - new recipe


Be sure to stop back often this week because I will be posting the new recipes as I make them.

If you've found my blog through Menu Plan Monday, please let me know. I've been meeting so many wonderful cooks from there!  See for yourself -- Menu Plan Monday.

To my new low carb friends, I hope that we continue down the losing path in the weeks to come!

Stuffed Burgers - Low Carb, too!

My son's favorite meal is a cheeseburger. He was so happy when I told him that I would be adding it to our menu this week because I can eat them, too. My husband and daughter are ok with eating cheeseburgers as long as it's only once in a while.

I decided to stuff all of the toppings into the burgers so we didn't have a mess with everything falling off of them when we were eating. I find it to be a pain when toppings fall all over the place and you don't get to eat them with the burger.

I pan fried these because it's been raining and very windy here for the last two days - not good for grilling.

Stuffed Burgers
makes 6 - 8 burgers

2 lbs 80% ground beef
3/4 C. chopped mushrooms
3/4 C. shredded cheddar cheese
2 TBSP Montreal steak seasoning
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder

I divided the 2 lbs of meat into 6 burger. If you like smaller burgers, you can easily divide it into 8.

Mix the steak seasoning, garlic powder and onion powder into the meat. Be careful not to over mix or it will make the meat tough. 

Divide each burger into 2 pieces.

Divide the mushrooms and cheese evenly among the burgers, laying the toppings on one of the two pieces of each burger.

 

Place the second half of the burger on top of the cheese. Pinch the edges together all the way around the burger to seal. Pan fry until cooked to your liking.

The family had fries with their burgers. I had a side of sauteed kale with mine. (above photo)

Marinated Flank Steak with Peppers & Onions - It's Low Carb, too!

Yesteraday, while shopping at Bloom, I found a really nice flank steak that had been reduced to a great price. Now, I'm not one to buy reduced priced beef unless it looks absolutely perfect with no brown spots on it - even if the expiration date is ok. This flank steak looked fresh, plus the expiration date was still 4 days away. I knew that I was going to marinate it and cook it today so I went ahead and bought it. I'm glad that I did. It was delicious.

I searched for a low carb marinade that both my family & I would like. I didn't find anything right away but I did find this recipe and I knew that it would be easy enough for me to make some changes so that it would be low carb.

I enjoyed the steak and peppers with a side salad and 4 small pieces of avocado.  My family enjoyed it in soft tacos, along with some cheese. I served rice and green beans on the side for them.

My version of the recipe is posted below. If you would like to see the original version, click on the link above.

Marinated Flank Steak 

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce - I omitted it. You won't miss it.
1 tablespoon grainy brown mustard
2 TBSP minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon Montreal steak seasoning
1 TBSP cumin
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 1/2 pounds flank steak

In a medium bowl, mix the oil, soy sauce, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, Montreal steak seasoning, cumin and red pepper flakes. Place meat in gallon size Ziploc bag. Pour marinade over the steak, turning meat to coat thoroughly. Cover, and refrigerate for 6 hours. << Marinate this long to really allow the marinade to sink in.

Slice peppers & onions into thin strips.

Preheat a wok on medium - high heat. Add peppers & onions to the wok. Pour in 1/4 C. water. Cover with a lid and allow the peppers to cook until fork tender but remove them while they still have some crunch. Remove to a warm plate. Cover and set aside.

Remove the steak from the marinade. Slice steak, against the grain, into thin slices. (using an electric knife makes this job really easy.)  Discard marinade.

Cook 5 - 8 pieces of steak at one time. Do not crowd the meat. It will take only 20 -30 seconds to cook one side of this meat. Flip the meat over and cook for another 20 -30 seconds. Remove it to a warm plate. Cover. Finish cooking the rest of the meat.

Fill soft tortillas with the steak, peppers & onions, along with your favorite toppings.

or

Serve with a side salad and some fresh avocado to keep the carbs low.

Menu Plan Monday - Low Carb & Family Menus

My kids had a snow day from school today due to icy roads and my husband is sick, so I'm not getting much done on the computer. While I have a minute, I want to post my menus for the week.

If anyone has suggestions for low carb snacks and quick meal ideas, I'd love to see them!

My Low Carb Menu

M - cheeseburger w/ steamed cabbage (changed cabbage to kale to use what was in frig)
T - fresh green beans cooked with mushrooms and turkey ham
W -flank steak w/ peppers & onions, side salad, slices of avocado
H - skillet chicken florentine* - new recipe
F - kielbasa (if a can find some that is fairly low carb) & cabbage.
A - chef salad
Sun - Superbowl - going out to dinner with my daughter while my
husband and son watch the game.


Family Menu

M - cheeseburgers with spicy mac 'n' cheese
T - pasta & red sauce
W - flank steak soft tacos, rice and green beans
H - grilled chicken, chicken rice, cottage cheese & cukes w/ vinegar
F - hot dogs w/ fries
A - chef salads
Sun - Superbowl - menu to be determined


Don't forget to check out some other great menu plans at Menu Plan Mondays!