rosemary Archives - Holistically Engineered

Pot Roast with “Potatoes” (Low Carb and Gluten Free)

Karen Sorenson — Wed, 30 May 2012 19:05:00 +0000

My latest cooking adventure is Low Carb Crockpot Pork Roast. I am usually pretty busy during the week and I don’t always have time to make dinner. In order to stay on track with my low carb plan I usually make a large batch of meat (chicken breasts, pork roast, pot roast, etc.) on Sundays so I can eat off of it all week for lunch and/or dinner. This past week I decided to make pot roast. The typical pot roast uses potatoes, but for mine I used radishes. After being slow cooked in the crockpot they taste just like potatoes. It is definitely a great replacement!

I used the following ingredients for the Crockpot Pot Roast:

3 lbs beef chuck roast
3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
5 sprigs of fresh thyme
6 whole garlic cloves
3 cups beef broth
1 lb radishes

Add the beef broth and spices (rosemary, thyme, and whole garlic) into the crockpot. Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat with 1-2 Tbsp of oil. Season the chuck roast with salt and pepper, to taste. Sear all sides of the roast for 1-3 minutes for side or until each is browned. Place the roast into the crockpot. Cover and cook on LOW for 4-6 hours (you will be adding the radishes later–see below) or until the meat shreds easily with a fork.

Cut the ends of the radishes and cut them in half. With 1-2 hours leftover cooking, add the radishes and allow to cook with the roast until tender.

Once the roast is done cooking, taste the liquid and add any extra salt and pepper, if necessary. Remove the meat from the crockpot and shred with a fork. Also remove the radishes. To make a sauce, strain the liquid through a mesh strainer and reserve the liquid. Heat the liquid in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the temperature to a simmer and let the liquid reduce by half. Serve the sauce over the roast and radishes.

Net Carb Count*:

Pot Roast with Radishes: 15 net carbs (for the entire recipe with the sauce)

*Note carb counts are estimated based on the products I used. Check nutrition labels for accurate carb counts.

Comments: I left out the onions and carrots because I’m not a fan of onions and I didn’t want the added carbs from the carrots. These can definitely be added, but allow extra time for the onions and carrots to cook (they will take longer than the radishes and MAY be able to handle the full cooking time). This recipe produces tender and juicy shredded meat that can be eaten as a meal or used in other dishes like eggs or tacos. I portion the meat and radishes into individual servings and take it with me for lunch or dinner on a busy day. It’s always a good idea to plan ahead, when possible, and have meals and snacks ready. It’s the only way for me to stay on track. Hope you enjoy this recipe!

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Homemade Crockpot Chicken Stock (Low Carb and Gluten Free)

Karen Sorenson — Thu, 24 May 2012 21:13:00 +0000

My latest cooking adventure was Homemade Crockpot Chicken Stock. I have been reading a lot lately about the benefits of bone broth/stock and I wanted to try making some. Bone broth/stock is packed with vitamins, minerals, and gelatin (which helps with joint pain). While the store bought chicken broth is convenient, it is a processed food item that contains A LOT of sodium. Making your own allows you to control the ingredients and plus it’s pretty easy to make!

I used the following ingredients for the Homemade Chicken Stock:

The bones and carcasses of 2 cooked chickens (I used the bones leftover from two (3 lb) roasted chickens)

2 small onions

1 carrot

The inner ribs and leaves of 1 stalk of celery (plus leftover end pieces and leaves–use what you have available)

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary

3 sprigs of fresh thyme

10 cups of water

1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV)

Cut the onions and carrot in half. Place the carcasses/bones, ACV, veggies, rosemary, and thyme in the crockpot. Cover everything with water (I used 10 cups-make sure you leave some space at the top). Cook on LOW for 8-12 hours. Allow the broth to cool and strain the broth through a mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth (optional). Refrigerate, allowing the fat to settle to the top and skim the solidified fat.

You are left with nutritious bone stock that tastes even better than store bought! Freeze or store in the fridge (see note below for storage suggestions).

Net Carb Count*:

Estimated to be 1 net carb for 1 cup of stock

*Note carb counts are estimated based on the products I used. Check nutrition labels for accurate carb counts.

Comments: I used the bones and carcasses leftover from chickens I had previously roasted. A good tip is to place all of your leftover chicken bones in a plastic freezer bag and store the bag in the freezer until you are ready to make stock. Anytime you make bone-in chicken (breast, thighs, legs, whole, etc.) save the bones and add it to the bag. I usually have celery to snack on, but I don’t like eating the celery hearts (small, light green ribs of the celery stalk) so I used those in this recipe. You can save your raw veggies scraps and those veggies that aren’t perfect for your dinner recipe and use them for broth/stock. Just store your veggies the freezer in a plastic freezer bag and add all of your veggie scraps to the bag. The vegetables are good for making bone broth or vegetable broth. It’s great tip for not letting anything go to waste! Also, I cooked my chicken stock overnight and woke up to delicious stock in the morning.

In this recipe I made stock and without the addition of salt. I chose to leave out the salt so that I can control the amount that is used in my recipes. You could add it to your mixture while cooking, but *WARNING* make sure you figure out the amount of salt per serving. You don’t want to end up with more per serving than store bought!

STORAGE: To store the chicken stock, I saved about 2 cups of stock in a mason jar for use this week. The stock should last about 3 days in the fridge. The stock you store in the fridge will turn into a gelatin like substance. This is good! It means that there is a lot of healthy, joint healing gelatin in your stock. Heat will turn the gelatin back into liquid form when you use it in your recipes. What do you do with the other 8 cups? I poured it into ice cube trays, let them freeze, and stored the cubes in containers labeled with the serving size (I made 1 and 2 cup servings.) My ice cube trays hold about 2 cups of stock, but make sure you measure how much yours will hold so you can label the servings properly. The ice cube shape makes it faster for the stock to defrost. Also, each one of my cubes is about 2 Tbsp worth of stock so it’s easy to measure (yours may be different). If you don’t want to mess with ice cube trays you could freeze the stock in individual serving sizes, but be sure to label the container so you how much chicken stock it contains (I recommend 1 or 2 cup servings).

When making the stock you can optionally add 1 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar to the bones to help extract extra minerals. Pour the vinegar over the bones and wait 30 minutes before adding the other ingredients and starting the stock.

I’ve written a lot of info here, but it really was easy to make because the crockpot does all the work. It is a good way to use all of your ingredients and to not be wasteful. Plus you get all of those vitamins and minerals! I hope you try it out because I loved the rich flavor that was produced from the homemade stock!

Need recipes using chicken broth/stock? Do a search in my blog for chicken broth and it will bring up lots of great recipes that use chicken broth.

Want more info about the benefits of bone broth? https://www.marksdailyapple.com/cooking-with-bones/#axzz1vp6uEuQ7 discusses the benefits of bone broth.

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Herb Pesto Chicken with Roasted Cauliflower

Karen Sorenson — Tue, 22 May 2012 18:55:00 +0000

My latest cooking adventure is Herb Pesto Chicken with Roasted Cauliflower. I was so indecisive about what to do for dinner over the weekend. I was so close to just taking the easy route by going out to dinner, but I really didn’t want to do that. Lately going out to each just throws off my plan since I’m being very strict to lose my last 15 lbs. I have been really into herbs lately so I decided to make a pesto and boy am I glad I did.

I used the following ingredients for the Herb Pesto Chicken:

6 boneless/skinless chicken thighs (use your favorite cut of chicken)
1 cup fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup fresh basil
3 Tbsp of fresh rosemary (the leaves from about 3 sprigs of rosemary)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 lemon, juice and zest
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp salt and pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 F
To make the pesto, combine all of the ingredients (except for the chicken) in a mini food processor and process until a paste is formed. Place the chicken in a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Season the chicken, to taste, with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Spread the pesto evenly over both sides of the chicken. Cook the chicken for 20-30 minutes or until cooked through.

I served the chicken with roasted cauliflower. If you haven’t ever had roasted cauliflower YOU HAVE TO TRY IT!!! It is so delicious!!!! I tossed the florets of one head of cauliflower in 2 Tbsp of olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Spread evenly onto a cookie sheet. Bake the cauliflower at 400 F for 1 hour (turning every 20 minutes for even cooking).

Net Carb Count*:
Herb Pesto Chicken: 8 net carbs (for the entire recipe)
Roasted Cauliflower: 10 net carbs (for the entire recipe)

*Note carb counts are estimated based on the products I used. Check nutrition labels for accurate carb counts.

Comments: I wasn’t expecting much out of the pesto recipe, but it was delicious! Even my fiance, who hates spinach, liked the pesto (HA! I snuck in some spinach). The pesto would be good on everything. Use your favorite cut of chicken (just adjust the cooking time), toss it with some vegetables, serve it over “pasta,” add some to your scrambled eggs, etc. That reminds me…I should have saved some for my morning eggs. Good thing it is easy to whip up a batch! Anyway, back to the point…this is a very versatile sauce that is ready in minutes.

As for the roasted cauliflower this is by far the BEST cauliflower I have ever had. The question is why have I never had roasted cauliflower before? Have I been living under a rock? I was seriously missing out. I’m not really a big cauliflower fan, but I can’t get enough of this stuff. The fiance also said it was the BEST cauliflower he has ever had. I suggest lining your baking seat with parchment paper to help keep the cauliflower from burning (makes for easy cleanup too). Also be sure to turn the cauliflower so that it cooks evenly.

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Low Carb Rosemary and Thyme Pork Chops

Karen Sorenson — Tue, 15 May 2012 00:25:00 +0000

My latest cooking adventure is Low Carb Rosemary and Thyme Pork Chops. I have to admit sometimes cooking with fresh spices can be intimidating, but after seeing so many chefs artfully use fresh spices I decided to whip up a pork chop dish with fresh rosemary.

I used the following ingredients for the Rosemary and Thyme Pork Chops:

4 Bone-in Pork Chops (I used a thick cut)
Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Powder, to taste
1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
2/3 cup of chicken broth (low sodium)
1 Tbsp of Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 400 F
Heat 1 Tbsp of oil over medium-high heat. Liberally season the pork chops on one side with salt and pepper and lightly season with garlic powder, to taste. Sear the pork chops, seasoned side down, for 3-4 minutes. Season the other side of the pork chop with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Flip the pork chop over and sear for another 3-4 minutes. Place the pork chops in an oven proof dish, sprayed with cooking spray and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the pork chops are cooked through. Next, add the chicken broth to the skillet that the pork chops were seared in and scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the rosemary and thyme and stir to combine. Simmer for 5 minutes or until the sauce has reduced by 1/3. Off the heat, finish the sauce by whisking in the Dijon mustard. Serve the sauce over the pork chops.

Net Carb Count*:
Pork Chops: 2 net carbs (for the entire recipe)

*Note carb counts are estimated based on the products I used. Check nutrition labels for accurate carb counts.

Comments: I loved the end result of the pork chops! The rosemary added a fragrant freshness to the sauce. If you like extra sauce you may want to make a double batch. I had planned to use fresh thyme as well, but I couldn’t find any at the store. The dried thyme still worked well in the recipe. If you plan to use fresh thyme make sure you add more thyme (about 1 1/2 tsp total) because dried herbs have a more concentrated flavor. I added the Dijon mustard to give the sauce some creaminess and tanginess. It was delicious! Hope you enjoy!

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