lil carb London Broil Marinade

Nothing better than throwing a piece of steak on the grill- or is there?!  I made my marinated London broil last night for dinner and it was amazing!  Jason was skeptical of the cooking process because I  cooked it in the oven!  *Gasp*  But once he had his first bite he was sold.  And happy that he didn't have to grill in the rain.  It was a win- win for us. By cooking the London broil in the oven and pouring some of the marinade on top the meat stays incredible juicy - something that you lose when you grill it. Plus it's a recipe you can have any time of the year even if it's not officially grillin' season. This recipe is best if you can allow the London broil to marinate over night however I didn't get mine into the marinade until 7am and we ate it at 7pm and it was still two thumbs up. Once again, simple ingredients and easy cooking. Low carb cooking at it's best!

Messy marinade!
I assembled it in a large bowl so I could whisk all of the ingredients together really well.
Then transferred it to a 1 gallon storage bag.

I used a 1.30 Lb London Broil that was 1 inch thick

Next this baby hit the fridge... this is not a science project its actually the marinade and meat in a  storage bag lol

Remove meat from fridge at least 30 minutes before cooking to get the meat back down to room temperature- this helps it cook more evenly.

Time to flip the meat! Since I was putting the meat in the oven I covered it in about half of the marinade including the chopped onion and garlic!

Serve this along side my Cauliflower Mac n Cheese!  Great combination of flavors!

London Broil Marinade:

1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil

1/4 Cup Onion, minced

4 Garlic Cloves, roughly chopped

Zest of 1 Lemon

Juice of Half of the Lemon

1 Tbsp Spicy Mustard

2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

1/2 Tsp Dried Oregano

1/2 Tsp Dried Basil

1 Tsp Paprika

Salt & Pepper

&

1-1.5Lb London Broil Steak, about 1 inch thick

Whisk all of the ingredients together in a large bowl.  Add London broil to a 1 gallon storage or freezer bag and pour in the marinade. Refrigerate and allow to marinate for 12-24 hours. 

Remove the marinated meat from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before cooking to allow it to come back up to room temperature to ensure it cooks evenly.

--At this point you can cook it to your liking - either on the grill or in the oven--

This is how I cooked it last night to get a perfectly cooked medium steak:

Turn oven broil on to 500 degrees. Place meat on a tin foil lined baking sheet. Spoon about half of the marinade back over the meat including the onion and garlic.  I tucked the garlic under the meat so that it did not burn.  Then I broiled it for 6 minutes on the first side, flipped it and broiled another 6 minutes, flipped one last time and cooked for another 3 minutes. Then I let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. 

Serve this along side my Cauliflower Mac n Cheese or any of my sides!

 Simple Sides Part 1, Simple Sides Part 2, or Simple Sides Part 3!!

Simple lil Side - Part 3

Here at the Hart household we love asparagus. Mushrooms... not so much. Well Jason doesn't like mushrooms- I love them! But I keep trying simple sides and adding mushrooms trying to sway his opinion of them because I can't get enough. This one worked!  This side is not only simple but it's low carb and fast to prepare. I buy pre sliced mushrooms and fresh asparagus and literally in 10 minutes you have a side dish. What more could you want!?

Simple low carb ingredients!

Asparagus & Mushroom Saute: -Serves 3
1/4 Cup Chopped Onion
2 Tbsp Garlic, chopped
1 Bunch of Asparagus, ends snapped off and cut into bite size pieces
8 oz Sliced Mushrooms
4 Tbsp Butter, divided
1/4 Cup Chicken Broth
Salt & Pepper to Taste

Add 3 tbsp butter to a saute pan heated to medium high heat. Add in onion and garlic and sauté for about 2 minutes. Then add in the mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes. Add in the asparagus and some salt and pepper then pour in chicken stock.  Bring to a bubble and cook for about 4-5 minutes depending how crunchy you like your asparagus. Right before serving swirl in 1 more Tbsp of butter and serve warm.

I love the bright green from cooking asparagus to perfection!

Serve this simple side with my Garlic Lemon Chicken!

lil carb Garlic Lemon Chicken

I must confess, I have made this chicken 3 times in the past 2 weeks and today will be number 4. I just love the freshness of this meal and how the lemon juice tenderizes the chicken as it mariantes.  You could grill this chicken or sauté it in some olive oil on the stove top. I've done both and the chicken is perfect either way. Tonight I decided to sautéd because it was raining!

This is one of those simple recipes that sometimes gets forgotten about but it is so tasty!  Plus it is also low carb! Sometimes a few fresh ingredients is all you need.  As soon as I get home from work I whisk together the marinade, add the chicken and refrigerate.

Perfectly whisked marinade ready for chicken!

Ready to marinate in the fridge for a few hours!

Garlic Lemon Marinade:

1/4 Cup Olive Oil

1/8 Cup Lukewarm Water

1 Lemon- zested then juiced

1 1/2 Tbsp Garlic, roughly chopped

1/2 Tsp Salt

1/2 Tsp Pepper

1 Lb Chicken Breast- Serves 2-

Whisk all of the marinade ingredients together in a large bowl.

Add in the chicken breasts - I like to cut my chicken breasts in half so they are thinner and cook quicker.

Cover the chicken with plastic wrap and put in the fridge.

Allow to marinate for 1-3 hours.

Heat about 2 tbsp of olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium to medium high heat.  Add in the garlic chunks from the marinade and allow to cook along with the chicken- I think it gives great flavor. Sauté the chicken for 3-4 minutes per side until they are golden brown.

This chicken is gorgeous ha

Serve long side any of my simple sides! 

Simple Side part 3

Simple Side part 2

Simple Side part 1! 

lil carb Buffalo Wings

Watch me make these wings!

Jason and I LOVE wings!  I'm a wing girl and he's a drum guy- it's like we were meant to be or something... hehe.
When we started our low carb lifestyle I was pleasantly surprised to find that buffalo wings were low carb and if you pick the right blue cheese or ranch, that's low carb too. In honor of the Dayton 500 today I decided to make my lil carb buffalo wings. The method that I use to cook the wings is a great starting point for any sauce that you want to toss the wings in.  We prefer our wings extra crispy and today I made a spicy buffalo sauce to toss them in.

*Watch me whip up Homemade lil carb Blue Cheese Dressing*

I started out with about 1 and 1/4 lbs of wings. 

Already trimmed and ready to go.

I place them on a baking rack that I sprayed with cooking spray and laid that on top of a tin foil lined baking sheet. This step really helps keep my wings crispy. 

I also gave the wings a quick spray with cooking spray then I put them in the oven.

Then I prepped my sauce. I used a combination of Xtra Hot and Buffalo.

If you want mild wings just use all Buffalo.

I just warmed butter and those sauces in a pan until it was hot and the butter was melted.

And the sauce is done!

These are the crispy wings themselves! Ready for the sauce!

Then I poured the sauce into a large bowl and tossed all the wings. 

I let the wings sit in the sauce for a minute or so to really soak in the flavor.

For the blue cheese I did not have all of the ingredients to make my own but I did have store bought blue cheese.  To make it my own I added in a pinch of black pepper and some extra blue cheese crumbles. 

I plated the wings with some celery and chowed down with Jason!

lil carb Extra Crispy- Hot Buffalo Wings - Serves 2 - 

1- 1 1/2 lbs of Wings

1/2 Stick Butter

1/4 Cup Buffalo Sauce - Franks Brand

1/2 Cup Xtra Hot Sauce - Franks Brand

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Cover baking sheet with tin foil. Place baking rack on top of foil (optional). 

Spray baking rack with cooking spray.

Lay all the wings on the rack spreading the wings out so they have room to cook evenly.

Spray the wings lightly with cooking spray and bake for 30 minutes on the center rack of your oven. 

Flip the wings over, increase the oven temperature to 420 degrees and bake an additional 10 minutes. 

Flip them over again and move them up one rack so they are closer to the broiler. Broil the wings for 4 minutes. Watch them closely to decide how crispy you want them. For the sauce, in a medium saucepan melt the butter and stir in the buffalo sauces until warm and combined. Remove the wings from the oven and toss them in the sauce allowing them to sit in the sauce for about a minute then serve up with celery and blue cheese or ranch!

For my homemade lil carb Blue Cheese Dressing go HERE!

Sausage Stuffed Peppers & Balsamic Marinated Tomatoes

This just might be my most favorite low carb dinner!

I am constantly in search of flavorful recipes that don't have a million and one ingredients. The dinner I made last night fits the bill. The ingredient list is short but the flavors do not give that away. This is healthy, low carb and the flavors really went well together. 

On a side note: if you think you don't like goat cheese, give it another try- this dish might just change your mind. One last thing- hehe- the stuffed pepper mixture is so versatile! I recently made it as a party appetizer stuffed into mushrooms! 

Sausage Stuffed Peppers- Serves 2

2 Bell Peppers- any color

1/2 Onion, chopped

2 Cloves Garlic, chopped

1 16 Oz Package of Ground Sausage- mild, sweet, spicy- whatever you prefer -OR- 5 sausage links with the casing removed.

6 Oz Goat Cheese

Salt, Pepper, Crushed Red Pepper

1/2 Container Vita Blend Mixed Greens, 2.5 oz (see below) or you can use fresh kale or spinach!

Shredded Mozzarella Cheese to top

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut peppers in half cutting right through the stem and take out the seeds and extra ribs and cut off stems.  Set them aside on a baking sheet lined with tin foil.

In a skillet over medium high heat sauté onion, garlic, and sausage. Break up sausage and cook until it is cooked through. Season with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to your liking.  Then add in the mixed greens and stir until they are wilted and combined. Next, add in the goat cheese. Stir until goat cheese is all melted into the sausage mixture. Check for seasoning.  Then spoon the mixture into the pepper halves. Top with the shredded cheese and bake for about 5-8 minutes or until the cheese is melted. 

*If you prefer softer peppers, preheat oven to 375 and cook for 15-18 minutes. If you like a crispy but warm pepper bake as stated above. 

This sausage mixture is begging to be stuffed into some peppers!

Stuffed!!! Red and yellow peppers tonight! Ready for the oven!

Balsamic Marinated Tomatoes- Serves 2 -

2 Large Tomatoes, sliced thick into 4 slices (end slices sprinkle with salt and pepper for a snack)

3 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

Other 1/2 onion, chopped

1 Clove Garlic, chopped

Other 1/2 Vita Blend Mixed Greens, 2.5 oz (see below)

2 oz Shredded Cheese- you can use Provolone, Parmesan, Mozzarella, whatever you have/prefer 

(I used provolone because I had a wedge in my fridge)

Salt & Pepper

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Slice tomatoes thick and place in a shallow dish. Pour balsamic over tomatoes, turning tomatoes to coat and set aside. Let them marinate for at least 10 minutes. 

Take tomatoes out of the marinade and place on a baking sheet- reserve balsamic marinade.

In a skillet over medium heat sauté onions and garlic for 3-4 minutes in 1 tbsp olive oil. Add in the greens and stir until wilted then pour reserved balsamic marinade over greens and stir until most of the balsamic cooks off about one minute. Top each tomato with even amounts of the warm mixed greens mixture. Then top with grated cheese of your choice. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and broil until the cheese is melted. 

I absolutely love these mixed greens!  

They carry it at all of the stores in my area.

If you can't find it just substitute spinach or kale.

The moment before I topped the tomatoes!