DIY Italian Seasoning

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meatballs

Yes I got up early. And I have just enough energy to whip up some meatballs, tomato sauce and a lovely smelling batch of Italian seasoning. Now time for a nap!

Thanks to my wonderful pup (I have to tell myself that right now), I woke up at 4:30 a.m. She decided that I was in bed long enough. And she had things to do…like play, eat, play, go for a walk, and play.

In between 2 play sessions, I decided to make some coffee to help wake me up.

D’oh! Never make coffee when you are sleepy…or with the lights off. Never! Bad things happen. Now I don’t know what happened since the lights were off, but it was the worst thing I’ve ever created.

Sure enough that awful taste woke me up. I think I brushed my teeth 20 times.

I’m hoping to catch a quick nap soon. But for some reason I decided I needed to make a batch of Italian meatballs. And that lead to whipping up some tomato sauce.

But before either, I had to make my own Italian seasoning. Why? Because I have no Italian seasoning in my house. I stopped buying it because I figured I can make my own. Of course I picked the morning with lack of sleep to do it.

Of course.

Soon all will be in the slow cooker.

Then the nap.

Italian Seasoning Recipe
The Italian seasoning smells wonderful. It seems like I got that right.  I kept it with 6 ingredients: basil, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, thyme and sage. I decided to leave the garlic powder out since I tend to use real garlic. I also left out the red pepper flakes…for now. I may reconsider. I do love heat.

This makes yields about 52 servings with a serving size of 1/2 teaspoon. Net carbs are 0g (0.2g total carbs).

Italian Seasoning
Serving size: 1/2 teaspoon
Yield: 52 servings

  • 2 tbsp. Dried basil leaves
  • 2 tbsp. Dried oregano leaves
  • 2 tbsp. dried marjoram leaves
  • 1 tbsp. Dried Rosemary leaves, crumbled
  • 1 tbsp. Dried thyme leaves
  • 2 tsp. Dried sage leaves
  • 1 tbsp. Red Pepper Flakes (optional; may use less for less heat)

Nutrition: 1 Calorie/0g Protein/0g Fat/0.2g Carbs/0.2g Fiber

Roasted Salsa Verde & Bonus Recipe

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Roasted salsa verde…so easy to make…so delicious.  This 3 cup recipe lasts for a week. Seems like a lot for so little time but I promise you, you’ll want to add it to everything — casseroles, omelets, salads, pork, chicken and fish dishes. Or you can go the traditional route and use it as a dip with your vegetable crudités. Trust me you’ll forget about those unhealthy corn chips.

Bonus Recipe! Salsa Roja
Turns out the day I’m posting my roasted salsa verde recipe, The Domestic Man, posts his Salsa Roja. It looks so tasty that I’m making a batch this weekend. Normally my red salsa is raw — no roasting. But if I’m roasting my salsa verde why not try it with the red salsa too!

Plus he goes the extra mile and uses a mortar to better grind the salsa. Now that is a true chef! Not to fear. A food processor or blender works just as well.

Check out the recipe and his blog. The recipes are healthy and mouth-watering!

Chimichurri Rib-Eye & Zoodle Salad

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steak & zoodle salad

What initially started off as a boring steak and zucchini dish turned into an awesome salad thanks to some heirloom tomatoes and chimichurri sauce.

When putting together my weekly menu, I originally planned a Wednesday lunch of grilled rib-eye steak with 1/2 a large zuchinni. Wow, there’s excitement for you. Then it dawned on me to make zoodles with the squash and add some Argentine chimichurri sauce. That sounded tastier. Toss in some slices of heirloom tomatoes and now you’ve got an awesome salad.

Chimichurri sauce, if you haven’t experienced it, is just wonderful. Garlicky and tart, the bright green color really pops. It can double as a marinade or sauce that you can use for chicken, pork or vegetables. But I absolutely love it with steak.

Typically it’s made from fresh parsley and oregano, garlic, vegetable oil and white vinegar. For mine I used what I had available: flat-leaf parsley and cilantro.  Read More

Slow Cooked Pulled Pork & Low Carb Mustard BBQ Sauce

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I’ve tried to make a pulled pork dish a few times over the last couple of years and found some success using rubs rather than sugary sauces. But the leftovers never stayed tender or moist.

So about a week ago I embarked on creating a mustard-based BBQ sauce without any sweeteners. I don’t think what I came up with is considered an official “according to Hoyle” South Carolina mustard sauce, but I loved it and that’s what counts.

The recipe for the sauce makes a little more than 2 cups. I ended up using just 1 cup and used up the rest on burgers, salads and steaks. Hmmmm…

Now when I say this is slow cooked, it is…about 6-7 hours in my Dutch oven at 300 degrees. I always thought it was an art to transforming tough cuts of meat into tender bites of deliciousness. But there is also a science to slow cooking meat too. It’s important that the temperature is low enough to breakdown the collagen in the meat – that’s what turns tough meat into tender, falling off the bone awesomeness. If you cook the collagen too quickly the meat turns tough as heck. Too slow and it never breaks down.

This recipe worked best if you season the pork and make the sauce the night before cooking the pork. It’s important to let the ingredients meld together overnight. Your taste buds will thank me. Read More

Homemade, Low Carb Marinara Sauce

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Last night we used the yellow marinara sauce over meatballs and zoodles. Absolutely delicious!

Last night we used the yellow marinara sauce over meatballs and zoodles. Absolutely delicious!

Powering through my new ketogenic cookbook, I spent a lovely evening making a marinara sauce for two dishes I’m making – Meatballs with Zucchini Noodles and a Pizza Casserole (recipe coming).

I love tomatoes, especially tomato-based sauces. While I’ve tried making my own sauce, it was mostly cooking down diced roma tomatoes in olive oil for a few minutes. Nothing to write home about.

Typically I’d just hunt the grocery store for the lowest carb sauce I can find. Not an easy task as many include added sugar.

Then I discovered the Yellow Marinara Sauce in The Ketogenic Cookbook. Intrigued, I was nervous about trying this recipe. Why? Peeling tomatoes. I’ve never done that before. It always seemed like an impossible task. Read More

Roasted Garlic – Keto Style

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I'm loving The Ketogenic Cookbook. I picked roasted garlic as the first recipe to try. Easy to make, I'll use all of the garlic pictured over the next few days.

I’m loving The Ketogenic Cookbook. I picked roasted garlic as the first recipe to try. Easy to make, I’ll use all of the garlic pictured over the next few days.

While flipping through The Ketogenic Cookbook I was trying to decide which recipes to try first. Turns out nearly every recipe I picked called for roasted garlic, one of the first recipes listed in the book.

As much as I love garlic I never tried roasting a whole bulb. This one calls for an even dozen. Why so much? Apparently you can preserve roasted garlic in the freezer. Who knew?

I don’t know why I never tried roasting garlic before. The recipe is so simple to follow. The garlic tastes amazing. Plus you’ll love the fragrance that fills your kitchen.

Cooking With MCT
The big surprise for me with this recipe was the use of MCT oil. For some reason I viewed MCT oil as something I use when making my morning Bulletproof Coffee. I never thought of using it in cooking. Silly Rabbit! Read More

Yummy Mushroom Powder

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This stuff is so delicious and the porcini mushroom aroma is very intense. Perfect blend for chicken, fish, soups, grilled veggies and salads.

This stuff is so delicious and the porcini mushroom aroma is very intense. Perfect blend for chicken, fish, soups, grilled veggies and salads.

As a kid, my only experience with mushrooms was picking them off a slice of pizza before enjoying that first bite. They were just too slimy looking. Yet my parents always ruined perfectly good pizza by always ordering those blasted mushrooms.

Well my hatred of all things mushrooms continued until a year ago. Last May it dawned on me that I never actually ate a mushroom. Was my household ban on all things mushrooms justified? Time for a test. I picked up some baby bellas, sautéed them in butter and served over a rib-eye.

Oh man was I missing out! From that moment my war against edible fungi was over.

I was only too excited when I found this awesome recipe for Magic Mushroom Powder over at Nom Nom Paleo (a kick-ass recipe blog you should follow!) Read More

Dukkah! Nutty, Toasty Spice Blend Makes It All Taste Better

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I made my first ever batch of dukkah, a delicious toasted rub.

I made my first ever batch of dukkah, a delicious toasted rub.

Dukkah! There are lots of variations out there for this nutty-flavored Middle Eastern “dry dip.” Some recipes call for almonds, macadamia nuts or pistachios. Or fennel seeds vs. sesame seeds. Or sea salt or no sea salt. Also the level of coarseness varies greatly from recipe to recipe.

I like the variations. It gives spice-making newbies like me the opportunity to explore and experiment without fear of screwing it up! Read More

Pepper Lime Salmon

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Salmon fresh off the grill! It cooked a little faster on the thinner parts of the fillets. It was still good eatin'!

Salmon fresh off the grill! It cooked a little faster on the thinner parts of the fillets. It was still good eatin’!

I stayed true to my word and made salmon last night. My grocery story had a sale on farmed salmon and I got a couple fillets for me and the hubby. I did a small variation of a lime-marinated grilled salmon recipe I found on allrecipes.com. This recipe is awesome not only in taste but because it is low carb — only 2 net carbs per 6-oz serving of fish. Sweet! Read More