In this fall menu, we’re dealing with the season changing from pleasantly warm to being a bit chilly. So we’ll balance some grilling at the start of the week with some slow-cooked and roasted things later in the week. We’ll have a bit of barbecue and creole, some traditional American comfort food, with some French influence later in the week. My son’s reaction when I read him this menu was “When are you going to make that, Mom? Can you hang the menu on the fridge?” Which is not at all a bad idea!
And note: the sidebar does not appear on subscribers’ pages, so you’ll find it easy to read.
| Menu 1: Saturday
Grilled Pork Chops with Ginger Barbecue Sauce Grilled Squash Packets |
Menu 2: Sunday
Yankee Pot Roast Make sure you make this before you make the “steak” salad below. |
Menu 3: Monday
Chicken Creole |
| Menu 4: Tuesday
Restaurant-style “Steak” Salad |
Menu 5: Wednesday
Autumn Baked Pork with Pears and Squash |
Menu 6: Thursday
Cheesy Beef and Root Vegetable Pie |
| Menu 7: Friday
Chicken in Mustard Sauce with Cauliflower
|
Bonus recipe: No-Sugar Ketchup Bonus recipe: Cauli-rice Both of these are staples you’ll use again and again. |
Shopping List for the Week
| Asian
___ Soy sauce (6 tablespoons) 1 Baking ___ Salt (1 teaspoon) B ___ Blackstrap Molasses (1 1/2 tsp.) 1 ___ Fresh-ground black pepper 1 ___ Maple flavoring (3/8 teaspoon) 5, (if not using sugar-free syrup) ___ stevia (bulk if not using the above) 5, B ___ Truvia or Purevia (11 package) 5, B ___ xanthan (2 teaspoons) 2 Canned Goods ___ Tomato paste (6 ounces) B ___ whole plum tomatoes (2 15 oz. cans) 3 Condiments ___ Blue cheese dressing or your favorite 4 ___ **Sugar-free maple syrup (4 1/2 tablespoon) 5 Meats ___ Beef bouillion concentrate (1 teaspoon) 2 ___ Pork steaks or chops (2 1/4 lbs) 5 Dairy ___ eggs (4 1/2) 6 ___ Greek or plain yogurt (3/4 cup) 7 *only if not making it |
Cheese___ shredded Cheddar (1 cup) 6
___ shredded cheese (3/4 cup) 7 Oils ___Balsamic vinegar 4 (just a few drops) ___Olive oil (not the “good stuff”) 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 ___ red wine vinegar (3 tbs) 1 Produce ___ Carrot (1 medium) 2 ___ fresh Parsley (1/2 cup) 2 ___ Squash (3 cups, Hubbard, Acorn or crookneck) 1,5 ___ turnips (10 medium) 2, 5, 6 Spices ___ Allspice (1/8 teaspoon) B ___ bay leaf (2) 3 ___ Cloves (1/8 teaspoon) B ___ Dried thyme (1 1/2 t) 5, 7 ___ garlic powder (1 1/2 teaspoon)1 ___ ground ginger (6 1/4 teaspoons)1 ___ Minced onion (2 tablespoon) B ___ oregano (3 1/2 teaspoon) 3, 6 Wine ___ white wine (3/4 cup) 7 **only if not making it with stevia and flavoring |
Recipes for The Week
Menu 1
Grilled Pork Chops with Ginger Barbecue Sauce
First impression is a lot of ginger in this recipe – both in the chops and in the sauce. But it works well, adding an hint of flavor that is not too ‘ginger-y’ or particularly hot; just a tiny kick. Tip: When you are marinating meat it helps to poke holes in it with a fork, to let the marinade absorb better. This is a combination of a couple of similar recipes, one by Katie Zeller of Thyme for Cooking.
6 Servings
Ingredients
6 Pork chops or 8, depending on size, boneless
Marinade
3 tbs red wine vinegar
3 tbs soy sauce
3 tbs ketchup (buy sugar-free, or use the recipe included this week)
1 tbs fresh grated Ginger(or buy fresh, grated ginger in a jar)
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
9 tbs olive oil
Ginger Barbecue Sauce
1 1/2 tsp. Blackstrap Molasses
3 tbs cider vinegar
3 tbs dry mustard
3 tbs ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
3/4 cup Ketchup (as above)
Instructions
Mix all ingredients for marinade and pour over chops. Let marinate for at least 15 – 20 minutes. Cook on barbecue (grill) for 5 – 8 minutes a side or until done, basting each side with barbecue sauce late in cooking. Should be slightly pink in the center (or near bone) when done – take a look by inserting a sharp knife. Or fry in skillet over medium-high heat the same amount of time. Serve, with Ginger Barbecue Sauce on the side. Save the rest for later.
Barbecue Sauce
Heat all ingredients in a small saucepan, whisking or using a fork to combine. Bring to a simmer just long enough to combine all ingredients. This will keep a week.
This recipe has roughly 5 grams of useable carbs, depending on how much sauce you use. Most of what’s in the marinade is not absorbed, and this makes more barbecue sauce than needed for the recipe. Add 5 g. for each 2T you use to dip.
Grilled Squash Packets
I hit on this accidentally one day. It’s great for fall days when it’s still warm enough to grill out!
6 Servings
Ingredients
3 cups Squash (use the Hubbard or acorn you bought, or a yellow crookneck)
Olive oil –just a tad
1 Red onion chunked into pieces about an inch wide
2 tablespoon Soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon ginger ground
Fresh-ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
Cut the squash into slices about 1/2″ thick; some will have the rind on. That’s ok. If using a yellow crookneck they’ll all have rind on them; if you bought a large Hubbard to use for both this and the baked pork recipe later in the week it should come out just about right. The smaller the slices, the faster it will cook.
On a firm surface, roll out two squares of foil about a foot across. Coat with olive oil (dunk a small piece of paper towel or napkin and rub it on the foil until covered). Divide the squash between the two. Chunk up the onion and divide it between the two as well. Sprinkle each square with a little ginger, pepper and soy sauce.
Wrap up the packets tightly, folding the center seam over twice if possible. This will allow them to cook faster.
Put on a plate and carry out to the grill. Place on upper rack of grill for about 10 minutes per side, turning once or twice. When it’s done, the onion will be tender and beginning to caramelize on the bottom.
To serve, divide each packet among three diners. Diners can either easily scoop the squash from the rind with a spoon; or if eating with fingers, just eat it like corn on the cob, discarding the rind.
4 grams total carbs, with a gram of fiber, leaving 3 grams of useable carbs.
Tonight’s Master Plan:1. Mix up the marinade for the chops. You may need to make the ketchup first. 2. Chop up the squash and onions. 3. Make up the packets . 4. Mix up the barbecue sauce. 5. Start the veggies grilling. 6. Go set the table, or if a child is doing it, sit down and sip something delicious; pour drinks for the family |
7. Start the pork chops grilling.
8. Turn the veggies 9. Turn the chops 10. Baste the chops 11. Veggies done? Remove to serving plate 12. Chops done? Remove to serving platter |
Menu 2
Yankee Pot Roast
An old-fashioned favorite for fall and winter. Instructions included for either slow-cooker or Dutch oven.
6 Servings
Ingredients
1/4 cup Olive oil–just the regular stuff for cooking
5 lb. Chuck roast boneless
2 cups Water
1 medium Onion sliced
1 large Celery stalk, sliced
2 small Turnips
1 medium Carrot sliced
1/2 cup fresh Parsley, chopped
4 ounces fresh Mushrooms, thickly sliced
1 teaspoon Beef bouillon concentrate liquid (I prefer Trader Joe’s but you may have a brand better for you)
1/2 teaspoon xanthan or guar gum, Thick n’ Thin Notstarch (Xpert Foods)
Instructions
You can use a Dutch oven or a slow cooker for this, depending on much you want to heat up your house. The Dutch oven will be faster but heat up your house more, which might or might not be a good thing.
Put the olive oil in a skillet and sear the roast in it until it’s a deep brown all over (do this in the Dutch oven if using it). Put 1/4 c. of the water and the sliced onions in the slow cooker (or the Dutch oven) and put the roast right on top of it.
If using the slow cooker, add all of the ingredients except the thickener, set it for low, and let it go for around 6 hours.
If using the Dutch oven, cover it, set the burner on low, and let it go for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. When this time is up, take out the roast again–very carefully, because it’s tender at this point and could fall apart a little– add a cup of the water and the veggies. Put the roast back in on top of everything, cover it with the lid, and let it simmer for another 30-45 minutes, or until the hardest veggies are softened.
Whichever cooking method you chose, at this point remove the roast to a serving platter, and use a slotted spoon to remove the veggies and pile them around and on the roast. Or you could put them in a serving dish.
Put the last 1/2 cup of water in your blender with the bouillon and thickener, and whir it for a few seconds, until everything is dissolved . Pour/scrape it back in with the juices and stir it until it’s thick. Serve by pouring over vegetables and roast, or in a gravy boat.
If you use a 3 lb. roast, this is 8 servings; 2.5 lb. is 6 servings. Each serving has 5 grams of carbs with one gram of fiber, for useable carbs of 4 grams. This is doubled, because you need extra meat for the “steak” salad later in the week.
Menu 3
Chicken Creole
Boneless chicken breasts or thighs, cooked with mushrooms, onions, peppers, and tomatoes make a quick, healthy dinner, perfect for a busy day. Add hot pepper sauce if you like more heat. Adapted from a recipe by Katie Zeller of Thyme for Cooking
6 Servings
Ingredients
4 chicken breasts or thighs, boneless, skinless
2 green pepper s
8 ounces mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
2 medium onions, roughly chunked
4 cloves garlic, minced (can use pre-minced or crushed)
30 ounces tomatoes
2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoon oregano
2 bay leaf
2 tbs olive oil
Instructions
Cut chicken breasts in half, the short way. Roughly chop the pepper into largish chunks. Mince the garlic. Rinse and slice the mushrooms. Chop the onion.
Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add the pepper, onion and sauté for 5 minutes, until it starts to look translucent. Add chili powder, garlic and mushrooms and sauté another 5 minutes. Push vegetables to the sides of pan and add chicken in the center. Sauté until chicken starts to get brown. Roughly chop tomatoes by using a knife in the can and add to chicken, along with juices and remaining ingredients. Cover, reduce heat and let simmer 10 – 15 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink in the center and juices run clear. Remove bay leaf before serving.
To finish: Put chicken on a small platter, spoon Creole over and serve over Cauli-rice or steamed spaghetti squash.
10 grams of carbs, 3 grams of fiber leaves 7 grams of useable carbs. You do have an extra half-head of cauliflower to use this week!
Tonight’s Master Plan1. If making Cauli-rice, cut the head of cauliflower in half and put through the food processor. 2. Cut the chicken in half and chop the veggies. 3. Heat the oil, add the pepper and onions. 4. Add the spices and mushrooms, saute again. 5. Add chicken and begin to saute. |
6. Chop up tomatoes and add to chicken, along with rest of ingredients. Cover.
7. Heat some olive oil and butter in another pan and sauté the cauliflower, or steam it. It’s better sautéed with this. 8. Remove bay leaf from chicken and serve over the cauli-rice. |
Menu 4
Restaurant-style “Steak” Salad
It’s “steak” because we’re actually using leftover potroast for the meat! This goes together fast, and is a great low-carb meal.
6 Servings
Ingredients
olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
a few drop balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 lbs Pot roast leftover from Yankee Pot Roast
1 head Romaine lettuce washed, dried, broken up
3 medium Tomatoes cut into thin wedges
1 Red onion sweet, sliced thin
Blue cheese dressing, or your favorite. Most Newman’s Own dressings are gluten-free.
Instructions
Heat a little olive oil in a cooking pan (skillet). Add garlic and saute’ just for a minute, because garlic gets bitter if it’s cooked too long. Add pot roast and gently heat through, not stirring too much to avoid breaking it up too much. When it’s nearly through cooking, sprinkle with balsamic vinegar.
Arrange lettuce on dinner plates. Break up leftover pot roast into bite-sized chunks and divide among plates, scattering over the lettuce. Place tomatoes around the edges of plates, and scatter the onion over the meat. Allow each diner to add the dressing of their choice (blue cheese is great with this).
5 grams of carbs with 2 grams of fiber leaves 3 grams of useable carbs.
Menu 5
Autumn Baked Pork with Pears and Squash
6 Servings
Ingredients
4 1/2 medium Turnips peeled and chunked
2 1/4 cups Hubbard squash peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks
1 1/2 Red onions, peeled and quartered
1 1/2 Pear2 (under-ripe, peeled, cored, chopped)
2 1/4 lbs (roughly) Pork steaks or chops—about 6 average-sized ones
3 cloves garlic, peeled or 1 tsp. crushed
1 1/2 teaspoons Dried thyme
3/8 teaspoon Maple flavoring
3 packages Truvia or Purevia or 3 T most stevia blends
OR
4 1/2 tablespoons Sugar-free maple syrup
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Put the vegetables, pears, garlic, thyme and pork steaks in a large shallow roasting pan. Drizzle with the maple syrup or flavoring/stevia and oil, season, then turn with a large spoon or your hands.
Place in the oven for 20-25 minutes, turning the mixture once. Increase the heat to 400°F and roast for 5-10 minutes more until the pork is cooked through with the fat starting to crisp, and the vegetables are beginning to caramelize.
Serve the pork garnished with fresh thyme (optional if you still have some going in your garden–don’t buy this just for a garnish!).
10 grams of total carbs, with 2 grams of fiber leaves 8 g. of net carbs. The pear is under-ripe, which lowers the normal carb count considerably.
Using under-ripe pears will ensure that they don’t break up during cooking.
Acorn or spaghetti squash can be swapped for the butternut variety. If using butternut, reduce the quantity to about 1 c. cooked.
Menu 6
Cheesy Beef and Root Vegetable Pie
A great comfort food-style dish, good for blustery days. Adapted from a recipe by Katie Zeller of Thyme for Cooking.
6 Servings
Ingredients
3 cups turnips
12 ounces ground beef
1 1/2 onion
1 1/2 red bell peppers
3 cloves garlic
1 1/2 tbs oil
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
3/8 cup beef stock
4 1/2 eggs
3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 cup Cheddar, chunked or shredded
Instructions
Chop onion and pepper, not being too careful about size. Mince garlic (or just measure 1 tsp. from your jar of minced or crushed garlic). Cut turnips in half the long way: then slice thinly into little half moons. Heat oil over medium heat. Add turnips and toss to coat with oil. Sauté turnips until tender and starting to brown, about 12 minutes. Add the onions, peppers and garlic and continue to sauté until all vegetables are lightly browned, about 10 minutes longer. Add the beef stock, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Uncover and put vegetables in a baking dish, 8 to 9 inch square–it cooks faster in a larger container. Return pan to heat and add beef, paprika and oregano. Brown beef, crumbling it up as it cooks. When beef is done, spread it over turnips. Sprinkle or drop cheese evenly over beef. In a medium bowl whisk eggs and Worcestershire. Pour eggs evenly over the cheese. Bake at 400F until eggs are set, 15 – 18 minutes. Serve.
10 grams of carbs, 2 grams of fiber leaves 8 grams of useable carbs.
Menu 7
Chicken in Mustard Sauce with Cauliflower
Adapted from a recipe by Katie Zeller of Thyme for Cooking.
6 Servings
Ingredients
3 chicken breasts boneless, skinless (or sliced, cooked chicken)
1 1/2 medium onions
1 1/2 tbs olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons thyme
3/4 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup white wine
3 tbs Dijon mustard
3/4 cup Greek or plain yogurt
1 1/2 dash guar gum or xanthen gum, or Thick n’ Thin Not Starch
1/2 medium cauliflower
3/4 cup mustard sauce (from what you’ve made)
3/4 cup shredded cheese
Instructions
Peel and chop the onion. Sauté onion in olive oil in a largish skillet over medium-high heat. I prefer stainless steel, because when things brown you can add a little liquid and scrape with a metal spatula, and all the tasty brown bits come up, both cleaning the pan and making the food taste better. This is called “deglazing the pan”. See? Now you, too, know another classic French cooking technique! Who knew it was also a lazy dishwasher’s hack?
If using uncooked chicken breasts: when onion starts to brown, move it to the sides of the pan and sauté chicken breasts until lightly browned. Cutting breasts in half when half-cooked is both easier than cutting them in half when they’re raw, and it makes them cook faster.
Add thyme, mustard, wine, and stock. Stir to combine. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until chicken is done, about 15 minutes.
If using cooked chicken: add to onions in skillet with thyme, mustard, wine, and stock, add chicken, and simmer until heated through.
Remove chicken from skillet and reserve to a plate. Remove skillet from heat, because these thickeners don’t need heat. Using your thickener sprinkler (salt shaker with your thickener in it), sprinkle your choice of thickener while whisking briskly. Whisk until sauce is thickened. Stir in yogurt.
Take about 3/4 cup of the sauce and toss with the cauliflower. Arrange cauliflower on platter, sprinkle with cheese. Lay chicken on top and serve, remaining sauce on the side.
Cauliflower
Time: 15 minutes
Heat a large pot of water to boiling over high heat. Add a pinch of salt if desired (no oil). Cut cauliflower into florets. When water is boiling add cauliflower. Cook until done – probably around 11 minutes cooking time. When done, drain well. Put back into the pot. Add mustard sauce and toss to combine. Spoon cauliflower onto a platter, sprinkle with cheese, top with chicken and serve.
8 total grams of carbs; 2 grams of fiber for 6 net grams of carbs.
Tonight’s Master Plan:
This is almost too simple for a Master Plan: simply start the water boiling when you start the chicken part; and while the chicken is simmering for the 15 minutes, this can be simmering, too.
Bonus recipes:
No Sugar Ketchup
Goes together quickly and keeps a couple of weeks in the fridge. Is the basis for several sauces. Very similar to Dana Carpender’s recipe, but without artificial sweeteners.
12 Servings
Ingredients
6 ounces Tomato paste (the usual can–NOT the double-concentrated in a tube)
1/2 cup Cider Vinegar raw– if using pasteurized use 2/3 c
1/2 cup Water (if using raw vinegar reduce water to 1/3 cup)
8 packets Truvia or Purevia or 1/3 c. stevia blend
2 tablespoons Minced onion
2 cloves garlic or 1 tsp. minced from a jar
1 teaspoon Salt
1/8 teaspoon Allspice
1/8 teaspoon Cloves
1/8 teaspoon Black pepper
Instructions
Put it all in the blender, and blend until you can’t see the onion as onion anymore. Put it in a tightly-sealed container and store it in the fridge.
Serving size is 2 T; makes roughly 12 servings, or about 1 1/2 cups. Each 2T serving has 5 g. of carbs per serving with 1 gram of fiber, for 4 useable grams of carbs.
Cauli-rice
This is a popular and kind of ubiquitous recipe for those who cannot eat grains of any kind. You can do all kinds of things with it, and I almost hate to call it a “recipe”!
4 Servings, or 6 if served under a sauce
Ingredients
1/2 head Cauliflower
Butter (optional)
Instructions
Such a cinch: just put the cauliflower into your food processor until it resembles rice! You can do all kinds of things with this, from sautéing or stir-frying it; steaming it; boiling (although straining is it is hard). If you use a microwave it’s 7 minutes on High, which takes longer than sautéing. The optional butter would be either to saute, or to top it. Goes well with dishes with a lot of sauce for which you’d normally want some rice or pasta.
Roughly 3 grams of carbs per serving.
Can be the base for a non-grain pilaf, risotto, fried rice, and more.
Compliments to the Chef