Category Archives: Desserts

Low Carb Candied Bacon Dipped in Chocolate and Peanut Butter

bacon candy

Candied bacon that’s low carb?  Wha-what?

Low Carbers rejoice!  You CAN have your candied, chocolate covered, peanut butter dipped bacon AND eat it too….only 8 net carbs per slice, y’all!

Just don’t go Bacon my Heart…

Here’s my Candied Bacon tutorial– and the first in my “Eat Rich, Stay Skinny” video series!

Enjoy!

Low Carb Candied Bacon Dipped in Chocolate and Peanut Butter

Low Carb Candied Bacon Dipped in Chocolate and Peanut Butter

Ingredients

  • 1 package of center cut bacon
  • Splenda Brown Sugar Blend (about ½ - 1 tsp per slice of bacon)
  • Dark chocolate melting wafers (12 oz bag)
  • White chocolate melting wafers (12 oz bag)
  • ½ cup peanut butter
  • Toppings: Cayenne pepper, crushed red hots and sprinkles

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 300.
  2. Take a wooden skewer and weave it through a slice of bacon. Lay out flat on baking sheet.
  3. Repeat with the rest of the slices of bacon.
  4. Press Splenda Brown Sugar Blend into each strip of bacon.
  5. Bake at 300 for 40 minutes. Drain bacon.
  6. Melt dark chocolate wafers in a double boiler. Dip some slices of bacon in dark chocolate and decorate with crushed red hots and sprinkles.
  7. Melt white chocolate wafers in a double boiler. Set aside half of the white chocolate and mix peanut butter into the other half. Stir until melted.
  8. Dip bacon in white chocolate and white peanut butter chocolate and decorate with sprinkled cayenne and/or desired toppings.
https://whatsonparkersplate.flywheelsites.com/2014/02/low-carb-candied-bacon-dipped-in-chocolate-and-peanut-butter/

Cheesy Jalapeño Cornbread Hash

Sometimes kitchen mess ups can turn into kitchen marvels…. Case in point, my jalapeño cornbread hash.  I was intending to make jalapeño cornbread pancakes, but I added a wee bit too much cheese and they weren’t holding together in the pan.  No one was witness to my frying pan fit, but it went something like this:  Take spatula and pound the flopped pancake into tiny little bits. 

Chef Ramsay would’ve been all head turning disappointment.  Insert (expletive).ramsay

 

Then it hit me.  Turn hellacious mess up into….wait for it…..HASH!

Hell yeah!

So, I scooped out the rest of the batter into a frying pan as if I was going to make a giant pancake and mashed it all together, sauteeing it until it was cooked through.

batterThen, once it was sufficiently smashed and mashed, (new meaning to “beaten and battered” cuz I pounded that pancake, y’all!) I put it in a pie pan and topped it with more cheddar cheese and a sprinkling of panko to amp up the crispy factor.  The batter actually resembled stuffing.

pie pan

Pop that bad boy under the broiler for a couple minutes and then serve with eggs and bacon.  BOOM.  Mucho bueno Delish.

hash 2

Cheesy Jalapeño Cornbread Hash

Cheesy Jalapeño Cornbread Hash

Ingredients

  • 1 box of Jiffy Corn muffin mix
  • 1 egg
  • 2 Tb melted butter plus another 2 Tb melted butter
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1 cup grated cheddar (divided)
  • 1-2 chopped jalapeños
  • 2 Tb panko or breadcrumbs

Instructions

  1. Combine Jiffy mix with milk, egg, 2 Tb melted butter, 1/2 cup cheddar and chopped jalapeños.
  2. Pour mixture into a greased frying pan and saute until cooked through. Mix it all up in the pan to make sure it's lightly browned on all sides. Mixture will resemble stuffing.
  3. Scoop mixture into a pie plate or casserole dish and top with another 1/2 cup of cheese, sprinkle the panko or breadcrumbs and top with the other 2 Tb of melted butter.
  4. Broil for 2 minutes or until browned on top.
https://whatsonparkersplate.flywheelsites.com/2014/02/cheesy-jalapeno-cornbread-hash/

 

Coconut Pineapple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

coconut pineapple cake with cream cheese frosting

I’ll take bacon over brownies any day of the week, but don’t mess with my cake, y’all.  In fact, after a boozy dinner party last weekend, I found myself standing over the kitchen sink in the wee hours, stuffing my pie hole with rum cake.  Um, yeah. (I blame the rum.)

rum cake meme

Chalk it up to a hangover sugar-high inspiration, but I wanted to come up with a fab new recipe for JP’s birthday.  Rum cake was now decidedly off-limits.  But in keeping with the island theme here, I narrowed my search to coconut and pineapple.

Southern Living always has insane dessert recipes and I came across a coconut-pineapple cake with a cream cheese concoction that apparently won a reader contest back in the 80’s. Sweet! I doctored it a bit — added a little more lemon, some buttermilk and amped the delish factor. (Like you’re surprised??)

I was surprised that the recipe didn’t call for any rising agents, like baking powder or baking soda, and I was a little worried when I pulled the 3 round cake pans out of the oven and they looked sort of flat. But the consistency is key here — this is a denser variety, like a pound cake. And Holy Coconut. Behold Lemony Pineapple Heaven. You might just find yourself having a sink incident.

Don’t be ashamed. Eat it. With your fingers.  (I won’t tell anyone.)

Finished Product Coconut Pineapple Cake

Have your cake and eat it (over the sink) too

Coconut Pineapple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Coconut Pineapple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

    For the cake
  • 1 (15 1/4 ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice, divided (save ½ cup of juice for the cake batter and ¼ cup for the frosting)
  • 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 5 eggs
  • 1/2 cup 7-Up or Sprite soda
  • 3 cups cake flour
  • 1 teaspoon lemon extract
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 Tb lemon zest
  • Sweetened shredded coconut (for coating sides of cake)
  • For the Pineapple Filling
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1 cup water
  • ½ cup buttermilk
  • drained crushed pineapple from the can
  • juice from ½ lemon
  • 1 Tb lemon zest
  • For the Cream Cheese Frosting
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 6 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup reserved pineapple juice

Instructions

    For the cake batter:
  1. Grease three 9" round cake pans
  2. Drain pineapple, reserving 3/4 cup juice (reserving ¼ cup for frosting and ½ for cake batter. Set drained pineapple aside).
  3. Beat butter at medium speed with a mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating well.
  4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until blended after each addition.
  5. Combine 1/2 cup reserved pineapple juice and 7-Up and then add flour to butter mixture, alternately with juice mixture, beginning and ending with flour.
  6. Beat at low speed until blended after each addition.
  7. Stir in extracts.
  8. Pour 1/3 of batter into each of the prepared cake pans.
  9. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
  10. Remove from pans immediately; cool on wire racks.
  11. For the Pineapple Filling.
  12. Stir together sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan.
  13. Stir in pineapple, water, buttermilk, lemon juice and zest.
  14. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes or until very thick.
  15. Cool.
  16. When cake is cool, make Cream Cheese Frosting.
  17. For the frosting
  18. Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended.
  19. Gradually add powdered sugar, vanilla, and pineapple juice, mixing well.
  20. When cake has cooled, stack cake layers, spreading 3/4 cup Pineapple Filling between each layer and some on top within 1/2" of edges.
  21. Spread Cream Cheese Frosting on all sides of the cake and then cover with shredded coconut.
https://whatsonparkersplate.flywheelsites.com/2014/02/coconut-pineapple-cake-with-cream-cheese-frosting/

8 Awesome Superbowl Recipes: Game Day Winners

From White Girl Can Cook Wings to Dude Dip, my favorite MUST HAVE Superbowl recipes…..WINNING!

Super Bite of Delish

Low Carb Slam Dunk Delish: Bacon Wrapped OMG Jalapeño Chicken Popper Bombs

Best bacon...EVER.

 And while we’re talking BACON…These Bacon Guac bites are a game changer.

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Sticky, Spicy, Finger Lickin’, Lip Smackin’ Wings from White Girl Can Cook Productions.

Oh yeah, and those bad ass onion rings are right here, y’all.  The two go together like wings and rings.

Here’s another peek at the Best. Onion. Rings. Ever

Onion rings in Heaven

Dubbed, “The Ultimate Dude Dip”— this creamy, sausagey yum will bring your man to his knees. But it’s too good to relegate to Dude Only status.  Stuff it into mushrooms and call it gourmet.

The Ultimate "Dude Dip"

 Dude Food Extravaganza right here, folks.  Can anyone say, TOTS of delish???

Cheesy, crunchy, spicy tots

Chips and Dip are sooooo Superbowl XLVII.  How about #meltydelish on a chip.  We’re talkin’ blue cheese and bacon on a homemade chip.  

OMG.

 

And y’all gotta have some sweets for the sweet….OMG Bars are easy and ridiculously GETINMYMOUTHRAWTNOW kinda good.

1476128_10202317245389867_1278866014_n

 

Happy Football Feasting!

 

 

Cake Decorating 101: Shaggy Mum

Cake MUM

I consider myself to be a pretty formidable baker.   I mean, after all, I won 1st place in the CBS Atlanta bake-off with a carrot cake recipe that I totally took credit for pimped from a good friend. But, decorating the cake?  That’s a whole ‘notha drama.  Thankfully, I got a decorating tip (and learned how to use a decorating tip, literally!) from Angela Shook, resident decorating Diva at Cake Art Party Store.  There’s no recipe here, folks.  Just watch and learn.  And if you really want to get all Cake Boss, take a class.  You can sign up at CakeArt.com.

“Snowpocalypse” Low-Carb Vanilla Rum Cheesecake Bites

Vanilla + Rum + Cheesecake = Delish

Vanilla + Rum + Cheesecake = Delish

While all of metro Atlanta was paralyzed in “Snowpocalypse,” I was fortunate enough to be snugged up at home with my man.  It was the perfect day for baby makin’ and cheesecake makin’, y’all!

apoc

Let’s discuss the cheesecake portion and leave the rest to your imagination…*Giggle!  I didn’t have a ton of ingredients on hand to make a sweet treat, so I improvised with what I did have: 1 package of cream cheese, vanilla extract, rum, Truvia, eggs, butter and Brazil nuts.  Normally, I would make an almond crust, but the Brazil nuts were a perfect substitute.

The result was cheesecake perfection!  The recipe below only makes 4 muffin sized cheesecake bites, so you could double or even triple the ingredients to make more…They’re low-carb, gluten free AND sugar free.  My man opted to slather some, uh, salted butter on them as well, (cuz what’s wrong with a little butter frosting, right??!) and promptly declared they were the “best cheesecake bites” he’d ever tasted.  Add extra butter at your own risk….

cheesecake bite 2

Hint: Best eaten in bed with your sexy significant other. 

“Snowpocalypse” Low-Carb Vanilla Rum Cheesecake Bites

“Snowpocalypse” Low-Carb Vanilla Rum Cheesecake Bites

Ingredients

    For the crust
  • 1/4 cup brazil nuts
  • 3 Tb butter
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • For the filling
  • 8 oz package cream cheese
  • 3 Tb Truvia
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 Tb Rum

Instructions

    For the crust
  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Put 1/4 cup of brazil nuts in the food processor and pulse until they turn to crumbs (about 30 seconds)
  3. Melt 3 Tb of butter and combine with brazil nut crumbs.
  4. Sprinkle with cinnamon
  5. Pat into the bottom of a muffin tin (about 4 muffins)
  6. Bake crust for 5 minutes
  7. For the filling
  8. In a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, combine room temperature cream cheese with Truvia, egg, vanilla and rum
  9. Pour batter into muffin tins
  10. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.
  11. Let cool and scoop out of muffin tin.
https://whatsonparkersplate.flywheelsites.com/2014/01/snowpocalypse-low-carb-vanilla-rum-cheesecake-bites/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Low-Carb OMG Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Popper Chicken Bombs

Finished Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Chicken Bombs

Super Bite of Delish

When I share my low-carb lifestyle with people, I often get asked, “Don’t you get tired of bacon?” The short answer is, NO.

Bacon makes my life better. And it makes everything more delicious. I’ve become a total bacon snob after experiencing the utter delish from Burgers’ Smokehouse. I mean, between the Steak Bacon, the Cajun bacon and Country Peppered Bacon, I’ve practically died and gone to Hog Heaven. This little piggy is a very well fed girl!

Jalapeño poppers are a slam dunk when it comes to an easy appetizer or party snack that totally fits with low-carb living– whether you’re doing Atkins or LCHF (low carb high fat). My original popper recipe was published in my “Eat Rich, Stay Skinny” cookbook. So, inspired by a picture on the LCHF Facebook group page, I added some chicken tenders to the mix. There are a couple steps involved, but it’s super easy.  Trust me, they’re worth it.  These are the perfect snack for your Superbowl party! I made them for dinner and was planning on taking the leftovers for lunch today, but there was nary a nibble of bacon left. #baconhoarder

Take a pack of chicken tenderloins (or cut chicken breasts into strips) and dry them off with paper towels.  (They cook evenly if they are patted dry.)  There are usually 8-9 strips in a package of tenderloins.  Then season with a little paprika and Montreal Steak seasoning.

seasoning chicken

Then, cut the stem off of 4 jalapeños, slice them in half and scoop out the seeds and membranes. Fill them with full-fat cream cheese and top with some chopped chives.

cream and jalapenos

Place a stuffed jalapeño on top of each chicken strip and sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt.

stuffed jalapeno on top of chicken

Wrap a strip of bacon around each chicken popper.  (I used Burgers’ Country Peppered Bacon and it was sublime.)

chicken poppers wrapped in bacon

Line up your chicken poppers on a baking sheet and put in the oven at 375 for 35 minutes.

Poppers ready for baking

Turn the broiler on for 2 minutes and brown the top of the popper bombs.Delicious Jalapeno Poppers Finished Product

If you can’t handle the spice factor, you can always substitute out the jalapeños for sweet peppers, but I don’t recommend it. Once you bake the jalapeños, the heat factor is reduced significantly. And DON’T use low-fat or fat free cream cheese. It will get watery and yucky.

It’s pretty much the perfect bite.  Tender chicken, creamy, melty, popper with the peppery, salty crunch of bad ass bacon.  OMG.  GETINMYMOUTHRAWTNOW.

Low-Carb OMG Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Popper Chicken Bombs

Low-Carb OMG Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Popper Chicken Bombs

Ingredients

  • 1 package of chicken tenders/tenderloins
  • 4 jalapeños (stems cut off, sliced in half lengthwise with seeds and membranes scooped out)
  • 4 oz of full fat cream cheese (about 1/2 a pack)
  • 8 strips of bacon
  • 2 Tb chopped chives
  • 1 tsp Montreal steak seasoning
  • 1 tsp Paprika
  • pinch of kosher salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375.
  2. Dry off chicken tenders with paper towel and sprinkle them with paprika and Montreal Steak seasoning (about a tsp of each for the whole pack).
  3. Stuff cream cheese into the jalapeños and top with chopped chives.
  4. Place each stuffed jalapeño on top of a chicken strip. Sprinkle top of jalapeños with a pinch of kosher salt.
  5. Wrap each "popper bomb" with one slice of bacon.
  6. Put popper bombs on a foil lined baking sheet.
  7. Bake at 375 for 35 minutes.
  8. Turn broiler on high and broil popper bombs for 2 minutes to crisp up the bacon.
https://whatsonparkersplate.flywheelsites.com/2014/01/low-carb-omg-bacon-wrapped-jalapeno-popper-chicken-bombs/

Low-Carb Sugar Free Tartar Sauce

More tartar sauce, please!

More tartar sauce, please!

I’m a girl who likes a side of fish with a plate of tartar sauce.  It’s one of my favorite condiments of all time.  In fact, when I indulge in french fries on occasion (not so much anymore, now that I’m low-carbing it) I drench them in tartar.  OHMAHGAWDIT’SGOOD!!!

For this recipe, I used dill relish, but you could substitute “sugar free” relish and omit the Truvia, I suppose, but I haven’t tried sugar free relish, so I can’t attest to the delicious factor.

I used 1/2 tsp of Truvia in this recipe, but taste test it and see if you want to add more sweetener.  Some people like their tartar more sweet than savory.  I added closer to a teaspoon of Truvia and it was a bit sweet.  That lovely piece of fish in the pic?  That’s your teaser for tomorrow’s recipe: Herbes de Provence Sea Bass.  Easy, healthy and delish!

Tartar  Sauce with a side of Sea Bass

Tartar Sauce with a side of Sea Bass

Low-Carb Sugar Free Tartar Sauce

Low-Carb Sugar Free Tartar Sauce

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup full fat mayonnaise
  • 2 tsp dill relish
  • 1/2 tsp truvia
  • 1 Tb fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • kosher salt to taste

Instructions

  1. Mix all ingredients together until combined and serve with your favorite seafood dish.
https://whatsonparkersplate.flywheelsites.com/2014/01/low-carb-sugar-free-tartar-sauce/

 

 

Low-Carb Sugar Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Bombs

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bombs

These are little morsels of heaven.  It’s like a homemade Reese’s Peanut Butter cup without all the crapola.  Coconut oil has made a resurgence in the health world because it’s a fat that doesn’t go straight to your ass.  Seriously, y’all.

According to Wikipedia: “Medium Chain Triglycerides are generally considered a good biologically inert source of energy that is easy to metabolize. Some studies have shown that MCT’s can help in the process of excess calorie burning, and thus weight loss.”

Here are some more scientific details.  Parker translation: It’ll keep you in your skinny jeans!

This is a big favorite in the Low-Carb High-Fat (LCHF) community, often called Fat Bombs. For me, it’s the perfect snack when that mid-afternoon craving for sweets hits.  It also doubles as a healthy dessert.

You can modify it any way you like– sometimes I use almond extract and stuff it with coconut. You can pop in a few espresso beans for a little caffeine kick which is scrumptiously delish.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bombs

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bombs

Ingredients

  • 4 Tb refined coconut oil
  • 4 Tb dark chocolate cocoa
  • 3 tsp Truvia
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • Peanut butter
  • Sea salt

Instructions

  1. Melt coconut oil in microwave for 45 seconds (I prefer using refined coconut oil because it does not have the strong coconut taste that unrefined coconut oil does.)
  2. Stir in cocoa, Truvia, and vanilla and mix until smooth. Pour chocolate mixture into mini silicone cups and spoon a small bit of peanut butter into each cup. Sprinkle with sea salt.
  3. Freeze for 20 minutes. Enjoy!
https://whatsonparkersplate.flywheelsites.com/2014/01/low-carb-sugar-free-chocolate-peanut-butter-bombs/

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bombs Finished

Low-carb, Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies

pb cookies

It’s been a challenge (I could think of other, more descriptive words!)  to modify my favorite recipes to accommodate my gluten allergy.  These peanut butter cookies were surprisingly easy, and the addition of a little bit of coconut flour really improved the consistency.

JP is always my culinary litmus test to determine if a modified recipe is as good or even better than the real thing.  These cookies, passed muster- -and then some.  I served them with ice cold milk— he was stoked!

Note: The cookies will be very soft when they first come out of the oven– so let them cool on a wire rack and they’ll harden a bit.

My BFF college roomie and her kiddos made these last weekend– the testimonial is in her daughter Bella’s expression!  (Look how beautiful she is!!  Aunt Parker is so proud!!)

bella

Low-carb, Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies

Low-carb, Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • 2 Tb coconut flour
  • 1/2 cup truvia
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • Pinch kosher salt

Instructions

  1. Mix all ingredients in mixer until smooth
  2. Ball up the batter into 1 inch balls
  3. Press down balls with a fork
  4. Bake at 325 for 10 minutes
https://whatsonparkersplate.flywheelsites.com/2014/01/low-carb-gluten-free-peanut-butter-cookies/