No Empty Chairs

March 13, 2023 · 1:07 pm

Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage

Saint Patrick’s Day is just around the corner! An Instant Pot pressure cooker makes a wonderfully tender corned beef brisket and doesn’t take all day to cook. Cook the brisket separately first, then keep warm in the oven while quickly cooking the vegetables in the corned beef broth.

I usually make this with potatoes, but we are limiting our starchy carbs these days, so this time we just stuck with cabbage, carrots, and celery.

Serve with fresh ground horseradish, or a horseradish sauce on the side.

If you have leftover corned beef, or you want to throw an extra brisket in the Instant Pot while you are cooking, this layered Reuben Casserole might just be better than the original corned beef and cabbage:

RECIPE:

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Filed under Instant Pot, Low Carb/Keto, Main Dishes

Tagged as cabbage, corned beef, horseradish, horseradish sauce, Instant Pot, Irish, main dish, recipe, St. Patrick's Day

March 8, 2023 · 2:11 pm

College Cooking 101: Chinese Ramen Chicken Salad

I have some college kids requesting recipes for things that can be made quickly and don’t require an extensive array of spices. What is one staple in every college student’s pantry? Ramen. With just a few additional ingredients, you can transform that ramen packet into a delicious and slightly more nutritious main dish salad.

RECIPE:

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Tagged as cabbage, chicken salad, Chinese, chinese salad, college cooking, ramen, salad

March 2, 2023 · 2:07 pm

Pizza Stuffed Chicken

All of the delicious flavors of pizza, without all of the bread. This makes a fun alternative to traditional pizza, even for the one child who doesn’t let me fill hers with sausage, pepperoni, or mozzarella cheese. But then- she also doesn’t eat pizza, so at least she likes a basic version of this meal.

To make these chicken rolls, it is important to pound the chicken breast thin between layers of plastic wrap. If you are starting with a large breast, you can either cut it completely in half into two thinner pieces before pounding, or you can butterfly the breast first before pounding.

I like to fill them with pepperoni, cooked sausage, and just a little bit of sauce and cheese. Here are a few process pictures (ignore the skinny little roll on the end without any of the delicious meat inside).

RECIPE:

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Filed under Main Dishes

Tagged as chicken, entree, keto, low carb, main dish, pepperoni, pizza, recipe, sausage

February 20, 2023 · 7:57 am

Chicken Tikka Masala

After a week spent outside in the beautiful sunshine and warm weather (in mid-February!), the temperature has taken a nose dive this weekend. That makes this a perfect time to make a hearty curry for (maybe?) this last venture into winter.

Chicken Tikka Masala is a spice-filled, tomato-based Indian curry full of delicious tender chicken.

I use a Tandoori spice blend from Spiceology to marinate the chicken before roasting it and adding it to the curry base. You could also use a prepared tandoori paste, or a mixture of garam masala, turmeric, coriander, and Kashmiri chili powder.

Serve over rice with naan bread, if desired. Recipe for homemade Naan Bread:

RECIPE:

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Filed under Low Carb/Keto, Main Dishes, Side Dishes

Tagged as chicken, curry, Indian, keto, low carb, main dish, recipe, soup, tikka

February 3, 2023 · 3:05 pm

Smoked Pulled Pork Jalapeño Poppers

We had some leftover smoked pulled pork in the freezer, and I decided to use it to top some jalapeño popper appetizers. Now I will always set aside pulled pork so I never have to make them any other way!

I didn’t have any barbecue sauce prepared when I decided to make these, so I mixed the pork with just a bit of some homemade enchilada sauce that I had on hand, and we really liked it that way. Whichever you choose, use just enough to barely moisten the pork.

RECIPE:

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Basil Coconut Curry Chicken

Chicken breasts cooked in a coconut milk yellow curry and seasoned with dried and fresh basil.

I left the chicken in serving-sized pieces and served over brown rice and roasted asparagus. Without the rice, the meal is a perfect low-carb main dish.

You could also cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and stir-fry with other vegetables (any selection of: asparagus, zucchini, red peppers, green beans, pea pods, carrots, mushrooms) and serve the dish in a bowl as a curry/soup.