lil carb Sausage Breakfast Bombs

Watch me make these babies!!!

So I think I have created something amazing. Usually I make frittatas or omelets or egg scramble bowls but now to add to this amazing breakfast group I bring you the breakfast BOMB! (insert bomb emoji here lol)
What is a breakfast bomb? My version is a fun mixture of breakfast staples scooped out onto a baking sheet into balls and after they bake in the oven they spread out and become what I like to call a bomb! You will love these and they're very versatile so you could switch up the ingredients to taylor whatever you have or whatever you're in the mood for!
In the morning I despise cooking. I like to grab and go. These bombs allow me to do that! I make a batch on Sundays and then I have them in the fridge ready to go for weekday morning breakfasts.
Lets get to it!

lil carb Sausage Breakfast Bombs- Makes 15 bombs
3/4 lb ground breakfast sausage (my package was slightly less at .68 of a lb)
3 Tbsp onion, chopped small
1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped small
1 cup cheddar cheese- I used white and yellow
3 eggs, scrambled
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Add all the ingredients to a mixing bowl and mix together with your hands until everything is combined.
Using a 2 tablespoon measuring scoop, scoop out the mixture onto a lined baking sheet (I use a silpat and it is the best thing ever!)
Bake in the oven for 27 minutes- I tested the time and found 27 minutes was perfect!
Take out the bombs and move them to a paper towel lined plate to soak up the extra grease from the sausage.
Now they are ready to eat! Or wait for them to cool and pack them up into a tuber ware.

*Each bomb is only 93 calories and 1 gram of carbs!

**During the week when you're ready to eat them microwave them for 1 minute and 20 seconds and they will be perfect!

***The BEST way to enjoy these bombs is with Cholula sauce and 1/4 of a chopped avocado!--You will not be sorry!  Flavorful breakfast and you won't believe how simple it is!

lil carb Stir Fry for One

This week Jason is away in sunny Florida on a fishing trip and I'm home with the chows. Normally that would be an excuse for my routine to fade away into the sunset. However, this time I decided I was going to still plan all my meals and try to eat and cook for one.  The cool part about not having the hubs around is that whatever I feel like for dinner I can make!  I don't need to talk it over with anyone lol Oh the perils of marriage. So tonight, I really was craving fried rice and veggies. Instead of picking up Chinese I think I did something even better. I made my own veggie stir fry in under ten minutes. It didn't take long at all because the ingredients were small amounts because I was just cooking one portion. You could certainly double or triple this for however much you need just increase the cooking time!  I also cooked this in my Baba's skillet wok (Baba is polish for grandmother) so along with my full stomach, I have a happy heart <3 :)

lil carb Stir Fry- One serving
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 medium onion, rough chop
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 asparagus spears, cut into 1inch pieces
1/8 cup frozen peas
3 baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 egg
2 medium size cauliflower florets, grated
1 scallion, chopped
1-2 Tbsp soy sauce-- be careful not to use too much because of the saltiness. (You can always add more after you taste it!)
1/2 Tbsp sesame seeds

This all comes together very quickly so prep all of your veggies and heat a wok or large skillet over medium high heat with 1 tbsp of olive oil.
Once the oil is hot add the onions. Stir for 30 seconds.
Add the garlic. Stir for another 30 seconds.
Add in the mushrooms and stir for 1 minute or until mushrooms have golden brown edges.
Continue to stir because the heat is so high.
Next add in the asparagus and continue to stir for another minute or so.
Then add in the cauliflower rice and the peas.
Warm everything through for about another minute.
Make a well in the center of the pan and add in the egg.  Scramble it in the pan and then incorporate it into the rest of the mixture. Keep stirring until the egg is cooked about 2 minutes.
Then add in the soy sauce.
Mix everything well and scrape the bottom of the pan.
Let sit for another minute until the soy sauce warms through then turn off the heat.
Let sit for another minute to let the flavors combine then top with sesame seeds and chopped scallion.

Enjoy!

lil carb Marinated Salt Block Shrimp

Happy Valentines Day everyone!  In true Hart fashion- Jason and I said we weren't exchanging gifts. Which is what we say every year and every year we both end up with a new toy. lol This year we both broke the rules yet again. I got J a Food Saver food vacuuming and marinating system! I usually buy gifts that I can also benefit from and I am guilty for this gift.  And Jason gave me a Himalayan salt block to cook on! I was so excited to experiment with it. I have never used one before so I did some research online about the general use and care and came across very few recipes without buying a whole cookbook. So I decided to incorporate Jason's gift and my gift and cook something new for Valentines Day dinner.
The best part- you can use this recipe even if you don't have the fancy air- sucking-marinate-machine or the Himalayan salt block. lol  Sometimes just simple, fresh ingredients are what makes a meal seem fancy.  I am being completely honest when I say this is the best shrimp I've ever eaten and J agreed!




lil carb Shrimp Marinate- Serves 2
13-15 raw shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails left on
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, sliced very thin
1 tsp fresh chopped rosemary
1/8 tsp black pepper
*If you are cooking on a salt block do not add salt- If you are cooking stove top add 1/8 tsp salt*

Combine all of the marinade ingredients and whisk together then add the shrimp and toss to coat.
At this point you can add this to a ziplock bag and place in the fridge for 6-8 hours.
You could also add to a shallow bowl and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6-8 hours.
Or you could vacuum seal it like we did! Then we let it chill in the fridge for about 8 hours.

Remove the shrimp from the fridge about 15 minutes before you're ready to cook them.

When I was cooking on the salt block it actually took about an hour for it to heat up. I started on medium low heat until it was very warm to the touch. That took about 25 minutes. Then I increased the heat to medium and let it warm up for another 35 minutes.

Next, I removed the shrimp from the marinade and layed them flat on the salt block.
I also put the garlic slices and rosemary bits right on the shrimp and the block.

*You could also cook these in a skillet with a little olive oil on medium high heat.

Overcooking shrimp is so easy to do. I go by a timer and when it goes off I know they are done.
2 minutes on the first side then flip and another minute and a half on the second side. Thats how quick shrimp cook! When you put the shrimp in the pan or on a salt block it should always sizzle right away.

How cool does that look!? I cooked on a block of salt!

I loved the way this shrimp came out and the crispy garlic gave so much extra flavor! 

The shrimp were kissed with a light salt flavor.  The block does not overpower with salt which is what I was afraid of. Nope, do not worry! If you are in to trying new cooking techniques I highly recommend grabbing one of these blocks!  I hope to share more recipes after I experiment with it some more. Even if you don't have one this shrimp marinade is simple, fresh, and packs so much flavor!

lil carb Salmon Entree

I have to admit I have never eaten Salmon cooked until just recently. I have eaten it plenty of times in sushi but I never tried cooking it. I know that sounds weird but that is just how random I am sometimes. Since we moved last year now, I am only a few miles away from Wegmans and they have such an amazing seafood department that I have been experimenting more and more with new ingredients. Now that I have perfected this salmon entree we eat it about once a week!  Jason loves it and it is SO simple that it really showcases how great fresh fish can be.  If you're like me and are "afraid" to cook fish - which I definitely was- try out this recipe and impress everyone in your family!  You can make this for one person, 2 people OR because of how it cooks you can literally feed as many people as you want.  It looks complicated but it's totally not! For an easy side dish cooked in the oven with the fish scroll all the way to the bottom!

lil carb Salmon Foil Packets- Serves 2 people
3/4 lb salmon
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon
1 garlic clove, minced
1 shallot, sliced thin
pinch of dried thyme
pinch of dried oregano
salt & pepper
tin foil


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Tear off 2 squares of tin foil big enough to fit your fish pieces.
Check salmon for tiny pin bones by running your finger along the top of the meat and remove them.
Cut the 3/4 lb piece in half and put one half on top of each tin foil squares. Each piece gets its own packet.

Top each piece with 1/2 tbsp olive oil, a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper. Divide the garlic and shallot to top each one.
Add a pinch of thyme and a pinch of oregano to each one.
Cut the lemon in half.  Squeeze one of the halves over the salmon pieces. The other half cut into thin slices. Put 2 slices on top of each salmon piece(optional).Take each packet and wrap it up starting at the corners and then folding the seams closed until you reach the other side.

Put the foil packets onto a baking sheet and put in the oven for 22 minutes.
Take them out and let them rest for 3-5 minutes without opening the foil.
After that they are ready to go!  You can serve them right in the foil packet on your plate or transfer the fish and sauce to it's own dish. Enjoy!!

*To make this a complete meal ready in less than 30 minutes- I put the foil packets on one side of a foil lines baking sheet and then on the other half I spread out 10-12 asparagus spears. I use about 2 tsp of olive oil and coat the spears then sprinkle on salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder- easy as that!  Then I bake the spears right along with the fish. When the salmon is out of the oven and resting I crank up the heat to 450 for about 5 minutes to get that nice charred crust on the asparagus.  If your spears are thinner than the ones in my picture they will be done at the same time as the salmon!  
Check out my youtube video above to see how I did it!
Enjoy!

lil carb Super Bowl Wings X 2

Of all days to enjoy some homemade, baked, wings- Super Bowl is the day!  The first time I made wings a few years ago I was amazed at how good they were!  I was able to control how crispy they were and how much sauce they had.  But even more importantly, I bought the raw wings so I could pick if I wanted a mixure of drums and wings and also how big or small they were. When ever Jason and I are out we love to try different wings so I know exactly how I like mine- extra sauce, wings only, not too big, and extra extra crispy!  Keeping that in mind I made 2 different kinds of wings today to celebrate Super Bowl 50- Garlic Bread Wings and my Traditional Buffalo- both low carb.  These were so tasty today but they're so easy they can be made any day of the year.  I also made my homemade blue cheese dressing yesterday and let all the flavors merry in the fridge- that was SO delicious!

Garlic Bread Wings- Topping coats about 8 medium size wings
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup parmesan cheese plus more to garnish
dash of dried oregano for garnish
Salt & Pepper

Follow my recipe HERE for crisping up your buffalo wings. If you want them crispier put them under the broiler longer- making sure you watch them carefully.
In a small sauce pan melt the butter and oil over medium heat.
Add in the garlic.  As soon as it begins to sizzle lower the heat to medium low.
Add in the garlic powder and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Let this heat for about 5 minutes- softening the garlic and flavoring the butter and oil.
Once the wings are cooked to your liking toss them in the sauce.
Then sprinkle on the parmesan and toss again. I like to use a spatula to coat al the wings evenly.
Let the warm wings sit in the bowl for about a minute to really let the flavors develop.
Then serve and sprinkle with as much parmesan and oregano as you desire!

For my traditional buffalo wings go HERE!

These come out better and better every time!

On the side I served my homemade blue cheese!

Better than the bar and completely low carb and homemade.

Happy Super Bowl 50!

lil carb Sausage & Kale Frittata

I have been a horrible blogger lately!  But instead of dwelling on the fact that I have been MIA for ...OUCH- over 3 months!--I'm going to jump right in and give you the best frittata recipe that I have ever made to date!  Best frittata awarded to me by my husband Jason. I love frittatas because you can literally throw in whatever you have or whatever you like- it's that simple.  This time I had a lot of fillings so I actually made 2 frittatas.  When I did this it resulted in a little bit thinner of a frittata which I really liked.  It made the fillings the star versus the egg this time. A nice change!  You could certainly half the recipe if you only want one but in my house these reheat so well that they are usually gone in 3 days tops!  When you want a homemade breakfast in the morning you can microwave a slice and it is ready in 2 minutes!  How convenient is that!? Especially because I hate cooking a big breakfast before work during the week - this is perfect to keep in the fridge and reheat whenever you're ready.

Self Proclaimed Best lil carb Frittata Yet- Serves 8 
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium tomato, juicy insides removed and chopped
1 cup kale, tightly packed
1/2 lb ground breakfast sausage
8 whole eggs
3 Tbsp half and half
3 slices of american cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste

Spray 2 8-inch pie pans with cooking spray.
Preheat over to 415 degrees.
Add 2 tsp olive oil and 1/2 tbsp of butter to a large skillet.
Crumble your sausage as you drop it into the skillet.
Brown sausage for about 2 minutes then add in the chopped onion.
Cook together for a few minutes more until the sausage gets browned and cooked through and the onions begin to soften.
Next, add in the kale and stir until it wilts- about 2 minutes.
Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Add in the tomatoes and stir.  Just to warm them through.
Turn off the heat.




Next, scramble your eggs with half and half and add in a pinch of salt and pepper.
Divide the sausage filling between each pie pan.  Then pour equal amounts of the egg mixture over each. Using a spatula, stir gently each frittata so the egg coats all the filling.
Lastly, I like to break the american cheese into smaller pieces and lay them over the top of each frittata.
Bake for 20 minutes and then let sit for 5 minutes before cutting in and enjoying!