Spicy Pickle Dip

 

I like dill pickles.  I like moderately spicy stuff.  I like dippy stuff.  So when I stumbled upon a recipe for spicy dill pickle dip I said to myself, "Self, you must try this."  I don't really call myself "Self".  But I do talk to myself.  But that isn't the point.  The point is, I knew immediately that I wanted to try this stuff.  ON stuff.  Stuff on Stuff.  MAH FAVORITE! 

The recipe looked too creamy for my preference and the type of pickles it used are unavailable in this area, so I made an executive decision and scrapped it, creating my own.  I'm not usually such a rebel with recipes the first time I make them but since I would be serving this to guests, I wanted it to be as more to our liking.  So I tested small batches and came up with a good pickle-to-creamy ratio.

I served Spicy Pickle Dip at an Indoor Picnic with chips.  It was a hit with those of us who like dill pickles.  Not so much for the ones who don't.  And that is a fair assessment.  You really do need to like dill pickles to appreciate it. You can read about the Indoor Picnic HERE. 

As I said, I served the dip with chips.  I don't eat chips on a regular basis so I knew I would be trying it on other stuff... and had great results.  I hope you make it for yourself.  You know, if you like pickles.  Feel free to hack it and tell me what you think! 

 

SPICY PICKLE DIP

yield: approximately 3 cups

 

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

8 oz. sour cream

24 oz. baby dills, drained, juice reserved

2 heaping Tablespoons diced jalapenos (from a jar, not fresh)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

 

Grate dill pickles or otherwise process 'til finely chopped.   Add cream cheese, sour cream, jalapenos, and garlic powder.  Mix well.  Add enough reserved pickle juice to make desired consistency. (See note**)  Chill for several hours.  Serve with assorted dippers:  potato chips, fried pork rinds (chicharones sounds so much better!), various raw veggies, fried chicken wings, etc.

 

**The first time I made this I stirred it together.  I needed to add juice to make it dip-ish.  The second time I made it I processed it all in my food processor and didn't add any and it was a little on the runny side.  Perfect for a thick salad dressing!

 

  

31 Days of October: Day 20... Two For the Price of One

I hadn't intended to write a recipe post today but when I have a friend who is hosting a linky party about hospitality tips, how could I refuse?  So to kill the proverbial 2 birds with one stone, I'll feature a pumpkin recipe for my theme (October) and her theme (Hospitality).

This recipe will address 2 things that I like to do when I have people in my home for a meal. 

Tip #1... Make one thing in individual dishes.  I know that one way to a stress less menu is to serve everything family style but individual servings often make an otherwise ordinary dish seem a tiny bit special.  This recipe can be done a day or 2 ahead so it shouldn't require to much extra busyness on "the" day.  It can also be served cold as a dessert.  Win, win!

Tip #2... Do your best to accommodate special diets and food preferences.   It seems that more people have food allergies and dietary restrictions than ever!  It can be daunting to cook for someone with a lot of restrictions but it can also be fantastically rewarding.  People with severe food allergies have to live with it every day and I'm sure it can make them feel isolated from others when so many of our gatherings center around food.  I even find myself shying away from events when I am trying to stick to my eating plan like I should.  Even people who are just plain ol' picky need your hospitality, too.  Remember, hospitality is about blessing someone else!

Now to the recipe!  I try to follow a low carb diet and this is slightly higher in carbs than I would typically do but I wanted to make this suitable for someone who has a vegan/ gluten, soy and dairy-free diet.  It can be easily adjusted for my low carb needs when I make it for myself (Notice that I didn't say for my family. They tend not to like pumpkin or sweet potato dishes.  More for me!!).

I whipped up the low carb version of this a few nights ago when I realized that I didn't have a vegetable for my dinner.  The kids and grandkids were out of town and my husband wanted raw celery (I don't much care for raw celery) so I knew I'd be able to make something suited just for my tastes.  There was a little bit of pumpkin puree in the fridge (I had been experimenting with another recipe but it was a flop so you won't likely be seeing anything more about that) so I set it on the counter, stared at it, and put the taste bud part of my brain to work.

Eureka!  Pumpkin Casserole!  You know, like that overly sweet, sweet potato side dish that Icould eat out of the casserole all by myself so many people serve at their Thanksgiving feasts?  Not the marshmallow kind, the pecan crumble kind.  Yeah, that's the stuff!  Yummy, yummy but not healthy for me, so out with the sugar and in with the carb free stuff!

I'm not opposed to using artificial sweeteners but I would like to get away from using them as much as I currently do so I reached for the coconut crystals.  They are a little higher in carbs than I like but they aren't overly sweet and they have a molasses undertone that fits perfectly with this recipe.  So I mixed up a 2-serving batch of my adjusted casserole and it was quite tasty!  Of course I used real butter, egg, and heavy cream in mine but since this is about serving someone else I'll post that version at another time.  I can think of so many ways this recipe can be played with (flaked coconut, raisins, oats, sweet potatoes...)

I ate one serving warm for dinner and the other for breakfast... cold!  It had a granola-like flavor that I love!!! Yum!

I wasn't familiar with coconut crystals until someone introduced them to me a couple years ago.  They are made from dried coconut tree sap and are said to be diabetic friendly.  I use them sparingly since even they can irritate my skin (I'll explain that in another post!) 

Chia seeds are completely new to me!  This is the first time I've used them.  Ever!  They can be eaten raw or cooked, used as an egg replacer in baked goods and are loaded with fiber, Omega-3, protein, and antioxidants.  And yes, you can even make your own chia pet with them :-)

So here is my recipe that can meet both tips noted above.  Pictures follow.  Enjoy!

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Pumpkin Crunch Casserole/Breakfast Pudding (vegan/GF/soy and dairy-free/reduced carb version)

2 T chia seeds
6 T water
coconut oil
1 15oz can pumpkin puree
1 T pumpkin pie spice
6 T coconut crystals
stevia to taste
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 C ground almonds (preferably already toasted)
2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 T coconut spread, melted
2/3 C coconut milk

Soak chia seeds in water for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Use coconut oil to coat the inside of 6 8-ounce ramekins.  In medium bowl mix soaked chia seeds, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, coconut crystals, and vanilla.  Take a tiny taste and add stevia if you want a little more sweetness.  After everything is well incorporated, divide pumpkin mixture evenly among the 6 ramekins.
In small bowl mix ground almonds, cinnamon and coconut spread.  Sprinkle evenly over the pumpkin mix.  Bake for 25 minutes at 350* using a water bath method. When almonds are starting to  brown, remove from oven and pour coconut milk over top.  Serve warm or cold. 

Total carbs per serving... 17.25g
Fiber per serving...  6.4g
Net carbs per serving... 10.85g 

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Assemble the ingredients...

 

Dry chia seeds...

 

Soaked chia seeds... for some reason the picture came out gray.  They don't look as dark as this in real life.

 

The pumpkin puree mix...

 

In the oven, waterbath method...

 

Out of the oven...  again, too gray.

 

With coconut milk...

 

Wanna taste it?...

 

31 Days of October: Day 8... And the Winner is... Low Carb Pizza Crust

Pizza!  It is one of the foods I miss the most when I am following my low carb plan closely.  I adapted a recipe to simulate pizza that we like fairly well but it just didn't feel like eating pizza.  More like a pizza inspired casserole, really.  Since I find it easier to stick to the plan when I can make things at home that more closely resemble the food I usually crave, I set out to find a better replacement for "real" pizza.

I'll tell you how this all relates to October waaaaay down at the end.

The secret to a good low carb pizza is the crust, in my opinion.  Most pre-made sauces are high in sugar so you have to watch out for that, but I'm focusing on the crust for now.  I decided to make 3 different kinds, 2 that I based on the recipes found on this site and one that makes a major substitution in one of those. I let all the crusts cool before topping them so that I could be sure they were holding together.  Also, I used very little cheese for topping since the crusts have so much cheese in them. The pictures are of the crusts only. 

The first crust I made was Cauliflower Crust.  This should freeze well, and as long as you are making the riced cauliflower, you might as well make a large batch since the most complicated part of the recipe is preparing the cauliflower.  Run some raw cauliflower through the shredding blade of a food processor then steam with a bit of salt and water in the microwave. 5 to 7 minutes should just about do it for 2 to 4 cups worth.  Drain and cool before mixing in.

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

1 cup cooked riced cauliflower
1 egg
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preheat oven with pizza stone to 425 degrees.  Mix all ingredients together then pat out into a circle on parchment paper.  Slide the whole thing onto the stone and bake till lightly browned, about 10 minutes.  Let cool on a wire rack before topping.  After topping, bake at 425 degrees for about 5 minutes til hot.
Makes 4, 1-slice servings.
Carbs per serving: about 2 g

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Next I put together a crust made with coconut flour.  I followed the ingredient list and followed the mixing directions but then changed the baking directions because of the pizza stone and the temperature variation of my oven. 


 Coconut Flour Pizza Crust or Bread Sticks

⅓ cup coconut flour
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons ground flax
4 large eggs
1-2 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning Blend
1 teaspoon parsley
¾ cup mozzarella cheese

Place all ingredients except mozzarella cheese into a food processor. Process until there are no more lumps. Fold in mozzarella cheese. Spread onto parchment paper and pat out to desired thickness.  Bake on pizza stone at 350 degrees for til lightly browned, about 18 minutes. Let cool on wire rack before topping.  After topping bake at 425 degrees for about 5 minutes until hot.
Makes 6 servings
Net carbs per serving: 3g

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Last I made a variation of the first one except I used spaghetti squash instead of riced cauliflower.  I used what was left over from the night before (already shredded out of the shell) and chopped it up to about the size of long-grain rice.  After that, follow the recipe as above, omitting the cauliflower.  I would guestimate the net carb count to be about 4 or 5 per slice.

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Here they are all together so you can compare color (l. to r. cauliflower, spaghetti squash, coconut flour)

I attempted a picture to compare thickness.  Not such a great photo but you can kinda see that the two on the left are super thin and the one on the right is a bit thicker.

 

Results:
Best for Ease of Preparation... I'm the only one who was able to vote in this category since I was the only one involved in the preparation!  The hands down winner here is the Spaghetti Squash Crust.  If I had needed to prepare the squash specifically for this recipe then the winner would've been the Coconut Flour Crust but since it was left over it was simple, simple, simple.
Easiest to Pick Up... No question!  The Coconut Flour Crust.  It had a more crispy biscuity texture that resembled a famous frozen pizza variety.
Best Tasting... Spaghetti Squash Crust.  All 4 of us agreed! This is unusual indeed!
Lowest Carb Count... According to my calculations, Cauliflower Crust wins this category.
Best All Around... Here I was outnumbered 3 to 1.  They all liked the Spaghetti Squash the best.  They all chose it because of flavor.  I would choose the Coconut Flour Crust. I think they would have, too, if I had patted out the crust thinner.

So what does this have to do with October?  October begins my favorite time of year to experiment with cooking!  In Summer I like to get out of the kitchen as fast as I can so I tend to use tried and true recipes.  By October I'm ready for something new that I can practice throughout the colder months so that by the following Summer I have the recipe down pretty well.

I don't always eat low carb but always cook low carb, except for holidays.  It is what works best for my health.  Accomodating the very varied tastebuds of 4 adults isn't always easy so I search for recipes that I think might please us all.  I think I will keep up the search for a pizza crust.  We just aren't there yet!  I'll share that with you when I find/create it.

This may seem like a failed experiment but I enjoyed the process, so in that case, it was a success.  "This is the day that the Lord has made.  Let us rejoice and be glad in it!" Psalm 118:24.  Everyday living... my antidote to thinking that I have an ordinary life.