Low-Carb Keto Green Chile Bake

Lately, I've been attempting more vegetarian dishes in the hopes of finding foods that Ben and I both can eat. Here's a dish that has been a big hit with him. I've made it twice already and he seems to really enjoy it. :)

INGREDIENTS

For the Green Chile Bake...

• 16 oz whole green chiles, canned
• 4 oz sliced jalapeños
• 4 cups grated “Mexican Blend” cheese
• 5 eggs
• .25 cup heavy whipping cream
• .25 tsp. ground cumin
• .25 tsp. chili powder
• salt and pepper to taste

For the Quickie Guacamole...

• 2 medium avocados
• 2 cloves of garlic
• .5 white onion – .25 for the guacamole, .25 alone as a topping
• salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

For the Green Chile Bake...

• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees
• Prep a casserole dish by spraying with nonstick cooking spray, or greasing with olive oil
• Place the whole green chiles in a colander and allow to drain in the sink at least 10 minutes
• Beat your eggs
• Add heavy whipping cream to eggs and continue to beat
• Add cumin and chili powder to the egg and cream mixture and mix
• Season the mixture with salt and pepper, to taste
• Set aside and get back to those chiles!
• Using your fingers, split open each chile and remove any remaining seeds
• Place the chiles onto dry paper towels to remove any remaining moisture – for this many chiles, you'll probably need to do this twice.
• Press a layer of paper towel on top of the chiles to absorb moisture from both sides
• Set aside while the magic of absorption occurs and go make guacamole (Instructions below.)
• Layer green chiles along the bottom of the casserole dish – you may have to break apart your chiles to fit in corners for an even layer
• Cover this layer in cheese – about a third of the total 4 cups per layer
• Place another layer of green chiles on top of the cheese layer, setting aside any extra chiles.
• Cover the second layer of chiles with cheese.
• Dice any remaining green chiles.
• Place a layer of jalapenos and remaining diced green chiles over the cheese.
• Top with remaining cheese
• Pour the beaten egg mixture evenly over the entire dish. Note: The mixture will NOT cover the bake completely
• Cover the dish with foil and bake for 15 minutes
• After 15 minutes, remove foil and continue to bake for an additional 25 minutes
• Allow to cool slightly before serving alongside guacamole, sour cream, diced onions, and Tapatio!

For the Quickie Guacamole...

• Peel and press the garlic cloves and place garlic into a large bowl
• Finely chop the onion. Place half of the chopped onions in the large bowl with the garlic, the other half in a small bowl to use as a topping later.
• Peel and pit the avocados and add to the large bowl
• Mash the avocado, garlic, and onion mixture with a fork
• Season with salt and pepper to taste
• Set aside in the fridge until your Green Chile Bake is ready to be eaten

Boom! There you have it.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

For the Green Chile Bake...

Makes about 8 servings. Stats per serving:

• Calories: 281
• Fat: 22g
• Net Carbs: 1g
• Protein: 17g

For the Quickie Guacamole...

Makes about 6 servings. Stats per serving:

• Calories: 83
• Fat: 7g
• Net Carbs: 2g
• Protein: 1g

I could eat this once a week. So good. If you give it a shot, let me know how it turns out for you!

IMAGES

Pictures of the process might help you make sense of the instructions! LMK!

Holiday Dressing, Part 2: Hannukah

My series on holiday-themed, Redbubble dresses continues! (Find last week's Xmas prints at this link.) Here are eight excellent dresses for something-something-Adam-Sandler-movie-reference-something. 

Still to come: dresses to wear for Festivus, My Birthday (pretty sure that's a national holiday) and New Year's Eve!Hope you're swell!

Photographs I Downloaded from iStockphoto Today for Work Purposes, Presented Without Further Explanation

All images from iStockphoto.

OOTD: Pink Yarn Print

I like red and I like pink and I like putting outfits together and taking pictures of them. Oh, look! Here are some pictures now!

Outfit Info

• "Pink Yarn" dress and scarf by etherize  – Redbubble
• hammered silver studs – Gorjana
• giant red safety pin used as a scarf ring – Amazon
• red faux leather moto jacket – Zara
• turquoise leather clutch – Baggu
• red leather booties – Topshop

Hope you're doing swell!

Low-Carb Pumpkin Custards with Whipped Cream

Let's not kid ourselves: the crust is the best part of the pumpkin pie. It's typically the best part of any pie. But, if you're going keto or low-carb or have thing for self-denial, here's a pretty tasty alternative.

Ingredients

For the custard...

• .5 cups pumpkin puree
• 5 Tbsp Xylitol
• 1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
• 3 whole large eggs
• .5 cup heavy whipping cream

For the whipped cream topping... 

• .25 cup of heavy whipping cream
• 1 tbsp Xylitol
• .5 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

For the custard...

• Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Boil some water.
• Using a stand mixer (or large bow and an immersion blender), mix the pumpkin, xylitol, and pumpkin pie spice together until smooth.
• Add the eggs and continue mixing.
• Finally, add the heavy whipping cream and continue to mix until you reach an even consistency.
• Pour your mixture into individual ramekins. Tip: you can use a measuring cup to ensure your serving sizes are even.
• Place the ramekins in a deep roasting pan and place the pan (with the ramekins in it) in the oven.
• Pour boiling water into the pan until the water reaches halfway up the side of the ramekins. This water bath prevents the outsides of your custard from over cooking while the interior of the custard continues to cook.
• Bake for 45 minutes or until custards are just short of firm. There should be a slight jiggle to the custards, but a toothpick or skewer placed into the center of the custard should come out clean. The custards will firm up after they come out of the oven and even more so if you leave them in the fridge for a few hours/overnight.
• Remove the pan from the oven and allow ramekins to cool on a cooling rack. When ramekins reach room temperature, cover and refrigerate for at least a few hours or even overnight.
• Top with whipped cream before serving!

For the whipped cream...

• combine heavy whipping cream, xylitol, and vanilla extract in a large bowl
• whip with a whisk until you reach your desired fluffiness
• dollop onto the center of your custard and dust with cinnamon

Some more pics... Your mixture may look a little pale before it goes into the oven. That's okay! It will darken as it cooks.I didn't have a skewer or a toothpick, so I used the thin end of a chopstick to test firmness. Not the best choice, obviously. Luckily, I was covering up the center with whipped cream anyway.And, the finished product once again... Ta-da!

Nutritional Info

You should get 6 servings out of this. The numbers per serving are:For the custard...

• Calories: 255 
• Fat: 27g
• Protein: 3g
• Net Carbs: 7g

For the whipped cream...

• Calories: 40
• Fat: 4g
• Protein: 0g
• Net Carbs: 0g

Hope you enjoy! 

Giraffes @ B. Bryan Preserve

Ben and I had the good fortune of visitng B. Bryan Preserve a few months back. I kissed a giraffe. It was pretty terrific.

Holiday Dressing, Part 1: Christmas

Maybe you've noticed my love of Redbubble dresses (examples here, here, here, here, and here). Maybe you'd prefer to call it an obsession. Maybe you should stop judging and get off my back for once. Maybe you're kind of jerk. Maybe you can fuck right off.WAIT! WAIT! Don't go. I'm sorry. Look! I picked out a whole bunch of Christmas-print dresses for you. 12 of them, in fact, for the 12 days of Christmas. Isn't that cute? Forgive me and look at these awesome dresses!BEHOLD!Please send one of each to my home immediately.Anywho, as the title suggests, this is but the first in a series of posts with my picks for holiday dresses. Over the coming weeks, I'll cover Hanukkah, Festivus, Birthdays (because it's almost my birthday), and New Year's Eve! STAY TUNED AND LET'S NEVER FIGHT AGAIN!

OOTD: All For Moe

Well, now I'm just putting outfits together for the fun of it. Here's an outfit inspired by one of the greatest television shows of all time, The Simpsons.

Outfit Details

• Thames Fog long-sleeve mesh dress in "azure" – Universal Standard
• cream turtleneck sleeveless tunic – Gap
• yellow silk wrap belt – vintage, but here are similar in cotton and suede on Etsy.
• yellow zippered jacket – Lafayette 148 New York
• Moe Tassel Clutch – Skinnydip London
• Call Me Mr. Burns enamel pin – Skinnydip London
• Sam Edelman embellished mules – Amazon

There it is. Now take off and have a frank and productive holiday. 

In The Mushroom Kingdom

OOTD: Big Trouble In Little China

My outfit homage to one of the greatest films of all time.Had planned to wear this out to dinner one night over the Thanksgiving holiday, but, instead got lazy and ate leftovers. It was the environmentally friendly choice!A closer look at the details...

Outfit Info:

• Big Trouble in Little China print dress and scarf – Super-Tees on Redbubble
• Gold-plated mors scarf ring – Hermes
• Black velvet wrap jacket – Bagatelle on Bloomingdales.com
• Red croc Royale flats – Free People

What to Do with Leftover Turkey: Keto Broccoli Mushroom Bake

Got leftover turkey? Here's a quickie recipe to add some variety to the endless turkey-based meal slog that is the week after Thanksgiving.I ordered a six-pound turkey. I received a nine-pound turkey. This is too much turkey. Honestly, six was already pushing it for a household of two where one person is a vegetarian.I have too much turkey and I need to do stuff with it. Here's what I did this morning. Most of this was winging it with ingredients I had on hand and there was no measuring involved. So, do as you feel! Be yourself! Motivational slogans!

Ingredients

• leftover turkey, shredded by fork. I shredded up enough to cover the bottom of a small baking dish.
• leftover cream of mushroom soup. I made some yesterday, but canned is fine.
• 1 medium broccoli bunch – roughly chopped and cleaned.
• hella parmesan cheese, grated

Instructions

• preheat your oven to 350 degrees
• line your baking dish with a layer of shredded turkey
• mix half your broccoli into your cream of mushroom soup
• pour the mixture over the turkey
• sprinkle remaining broccoli over the mixture
• sprinkle parmesan over everything
• bake for 25-30 minutes

Pics of how the layers go down...

Still more turkey to go, of course! Any suggestions for recipes would be greatly appreciated! 

Easy Keto Cream of Mushroom Soup

I like mushrooms. I made soup.Not exactly sure what happened, but somehow I ended up with 1.5 lbs of white mushrooms. My best guess is that over the several trips to the store that preceded the Thanksgiving holiday, I saw some mushrooms and thought it would be a good idea to grab some. So, I grabbed some, repeatedly, at least 4 times.And that's how I ended up making my very first batch ever of cream of mushroom soup.

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs white mushrooms  – cleaned and sliced
• 6 tbs butter – picked up some amazing cultured butter from Achadinha Cheese Company at CUESA's Ferry Plaza Farmers Market
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• .75 cups heavy cream
• 2 tsp of garlic powder
• several sprigs of fresh thyme
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• In a large pot, sauté mushrooms in butter, season with salt, pepper, thyme, and garlic powder until browned.
• Add vegetable broth to pot, stir, and bring to a simmer.
• With an immersion blender, purée the mixture.
• Once the mixture reaches your desired level of smoothness/chunkiness, stir in the cream.
• Bring your soup back up to temperature and enjoy!

Nutrition

Makes about 6 generous servings of soup. Per serving... 

• Calories: 257
• Fat: 23 grams
• Protein: 9 grams
• Net Carbs: 5 grams

More pics for your viewing pleasure...

Really enjoyed the finished product! Lemme know if you give it a shot, I'd love to know how it works out for you!

OOTD: Playing My Cards Right

Had a terrific dinner at The Progress last night. Go there and eat all the things immediately!ALL THE THINGS.IMMEDIATELY.This is what I wore. Bigger pics and details behind the cut.

Outfit Info

• Scattered Pack of Playing Cards dress by HotHibiscus – Redbubbleblack
• mesh top – H&M
• black suede wrap belt – Bloomingdales
• black leather Michael Kors booties – 6pm

HAPPY WEDNESDAY BEFORE THANKSGIVING, FRIENDS!

OOTD: Thanksgiving Prep

If everything goes according to plan, I'll be spending most of the Thanksgiving holiday in some variation of jammies – jammies with a jacket to go get some coffee, jammies with some slippers to head to the fridge, jammies and a blanket to catch up on some Netflix. Jammies with some jammies to sit and think about jammies. Jammies.Anywho, I reckoned I should get a little dressing up in before jammies-gedon. I wore this yesterday to go pick up a turkey and gather provisions.Outfit info and a closer look at this awesome Redbubble print behind the cut. I want to go to there, but part of me suspects a demogorgon inhabits these woods. Only one way to find out...[gallery ids="7632,7631" type="rectangular"]

Outfit Details

• Forest Creek @ Sunrise in Fall dress – DyrkWyst on Redbubble
• Cream turtleneck sweater – (currently 40% off!) from Old Navy
• Green leather wrap belt – Ada Collection 
• Yellow leather saddle bag – Coach, but deeply discounted in other colors on Amazon
• Saddle leather campus boots – Frye

Side note: I've had these Frye boots of TEN (10!) years. They really hold up. 13/10 would recommend.How's your Tuesday going? Good? Good. 

Foods I Hath Wrought

I haven't posted a recipe in ages. Here's why: I've been cheating on keto like a total jerk. Stuff happened. All kinds of stuff. There were cakes and chips and some champagne. There were bags of mini candies. One time, there was a pizza. Forgive me.Still, plagued by intermittent guilty feelings and the desire to do anything other than look at a screen, I have managed to cook myself the occasional keto meal over the last few months, and do quickie posts to Instagram. I've found that this process provides a pretty satisfying illusion of keeping healthy. Isn't that what the Internet has taught us: that it's the illusion that matters? If you've got a different takeaway, I don't know what Internet you're looking at.Anywho, how about some pics of some keto meals I made?

 

OOTD: Matchy Matchy

I may have overdressed for going out to coffee. More than anything, I felt a smidge disturbed by how matchy-matchy everything was and reverted to jammies as soon as I got home. (It's Sunday! Don't judge me!)BUT, I was very pleased with the knot I tied in my belt. Close up of that, plus outfit details, behind the cut.I have no idea how I managed this and continue to fail to replicate it, but we'll always have this picture, right?

Outfit Details

• grey suede jacket – Saks Off Fifth
• fuschia pleated slip dress – Maggy London on Nordstrom Rack
• cobalt leather wrap belt – ADA Collection (available on Amazon)
• fuschia leather clutch – Leah Lerner on Etsy
• cobalt mules – Dolce Vita (available on Amazon)

What do you think? Too matchy? I will try harder! 

OOTD: I Have to Return Some Video Tapes

Dipping my toe back into #ootd posts! Turns out they're a lot easier to pull off when my stupid face isn't in them ruining all the pictures. Hooray!Remember back when I posted about Redbubble? Let me assure you my enthusiasm has not waned. So far, I've purchased 15 different dresses, some with matching scarves. Here's one now!The print is vintage video tapes! If only this dress had my favorite 80s movies – Big Trouble in Little China and G.I. Joe: The Movie – it would be the ultimate garment.Anywho, I wore this outfit for an afternoon of goofing around the SF MoMa with the always awesome Candace of The Real Food Effect. Good times were had by all.

Outfit Details

• Yellow faux-suede jacket from Zara
• 80's VHS Tapes dress from Super-Tees on Redbubble
• Leather clutch from Leah Lerner on Etsy
• Waterproof Teva booties from Amazon (perfect for a rainy day and standing around for hours on end)

Hope you've been swell! 

Scenes from the SF MoMA

Spent a lovely, rainy afternoon at the SF MoMA with the lovely, not rainy Candace of The Real Food Effect. Here are some things we saw. (Spoilers: It's mostly Candace standing in front of art.)

 Hope you're well.

Wolfenstein: The New Colossus

It's not all cooking and pictures of dogs. Sometimes I do work. Here's some now...Source: Wolfenstein: The New Colossus

We Are a Human Person & Other Exciting News

I am this human person...