15 Deliciously Low Carb Casserole Recipes

Fall is almost here!  Can you believe it?  I feel like I was just planning our summer adventures yesterday.

Now it's time for cozy sweatshirts, bright, colorful leaves, pumpkin picking and casseroles.  Casseroles?  Yes, this time of the year tends to be incredibly busy for parents.  The easiest dinners I know how to make that don't involve my crock-pot are casseroles.  I love being able to just toss a bunch of ingredients in a baking dish to cook in the oven while I get other things done.

Back to School shopping with my new Preschooler!

  My daughter is entering preschool this fall so I know there will be some activities and skills that we'll need to reinforce at home so that will eat up our free time.  If I can spend just a few less minutes standing at the stove then I'll do it.  For me, the answer is casseroles!  

And without further adieu, here is a round-up of 15 deliciously low carb casseroles!

• Grain-Free Chicken Enchilada Casserole
• Paleo Cauliflower Hamburger Casserole
• Smoked Gouda Cabbage and Bacon Casserole 
• Philly Cheesesteak Casserole 
• Spiralized Zucchini Casserole 
• Not Mac and Cheese 
• Spinach Artichoke Egg Casserole 
• Roasted Cauliflower Beef Marinara 
• Primal Pizza Pie Layer Casserole 
• Creamy Chicken Mushroom Casserole 
• Chicken Stella Scarpariello 
• Easy Baked Pesto Chicken 
• Cheesy Bacon Brussel Sprouts Casserole 
• Beefy and Cheesy Low Carb Green Chile Bake 
• Cheesy Veggie Bake

May (Low-Carb, Gluten and Nut-Free) Menu

How is it even May?  This year is just flying by, but I am glad that summer is almost here.  My

Not a short list of allergens.  

family and I have several fun weekend trips and special events planned.  Now that I am aware of what all of my allergies are, I'm going to have to really plan on what I eat (or when I don't eat) on the road.  Staying low carb, gluten free and high fat while I traveled has always been tricky, but doable, but with so many allergies to fruits and vegetables, my options are even more limited.  Luckily, I always have intermittent fasting to fall back so if I need to fast longer than normal (16 hours a day), I can.  You can bet I'll be putting together a list (in blog form too) of what to pack so I don't cheat (too much).

May is shaping up to be an extremely busy, but fun, month for us.  I have 3 races (Cinco de Miles, Gate City Half Marathon and Boston's Run to Remember).   There is also Mother's Day and my daughter's first ever dance recital.  Not that this is any different from usual, but I am going to try to keep my recipes as easy and quick to cook as possible.

Since I do have so many races this month and the weather should be better, we'll most likely pick up some pre-marinated meats from our local butcher shop, Mr. Steer, to grill so I didn't include recipes for those nights.





Are you ready for this month's list?

• Pork Egg Roll in a Bowl
• Taco Bake
• Sloppy Joe's
• Buffalo Chicken Jalapeno Popper Casserole
• Mongolian Beef
• General Tso's Meatballs
• Beefed up Meatloaf
• Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken with Vegetables
• Grilled Ginger Soy Pork Chops 

And, just to make my nutritionist happy, I'll be adding lots of vegetables to my diet as well.  Veggies, veggies and more veggies!

Here is a new one I'd like to try:  Roasted Spiced Radishes.  

Low Carb Italian, Chinese and Mexican Recipe Roundup!

As you can tell by glancing at this month's menu, my crock pot will be getting a workout!  February kicked off my half marathon training and I just barely had the time let alone energy to make dinner every night or even every other night.  Not good for me as an athlete because if dinner wasn't ready after a run then I was tempted to grab something quick and easy, and not necessarily healthy just to refuel my body.

I don't have a link for my corned beef recipe because, well, it's in my head.  It's the same one I've been using for years and I don't know measurements and such plus it is not quite low-carb.  But what are holidays if not a good time to cheat (with limits)?

Low Carb Italian Dinners

• Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken 
• Chicken Parmesan
• Lasagna in a Bowl - Single serve recipe

Low Carb Mexican Food

• Slow Cooker Steak Fajitas 
• Mini Tex-Mex Chicken and Cheese Pies
• Southwest Beef and Bean Casserole



Chicken Tortilla Soup

• Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup

Low Carb Chinese Food

• Slow Cooker Paleo Sesame Chicken
• Crockpot Beef and Broccoli 

American Low Carb Food

• Knock Your Socks Off Slow Cooker Chicken and Sausage
• Texas Slow Cooker Beef Chili
• Cheese-Filled Mini Meatloaf
• Cheeseburger Soup

St. Patrick's Day Dinner (March 17)

• Corned Beef
• Low Carb Shephard's Pie 

Easter Dinner (March 27)

• (Really Freaking Good) Umami Roast Beef Dinner
• Honey Glazed Baby Carrots (Higher carb because of the carrots and honey)

Cheese-Filled Mini Meatloaf

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Stuffed Bell Peppers (Low Carb)

The basic ingredients.

About a year ago when I was re-dedicating myself to the low-carb lifestyle, I stumbled upon a multitude of recipes for stuffed bell peppers.  The recipes seemed easy enough, which as a working mom is super important to me, and none of the ingredients were exotic, another plus.  I found them great for lunches as they were easy to reheat.  Also, I played around with what I stuffed them with.  Sometimes I used cream cheese and mayo.  Other times I used cream cheese and sour cream.  I'd switch up the crumbled bacon with pepperoni if I didn't have any on hand.  Point is, once you start making these you can switch up the ingredients as much as you want and really make them your own to fit your taste.

Ingredients

• 8 Ounces of cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese 
• 2 Tablespoons of full fat mayonnaise
• 2 Green (or really, any color) bell pepper
• 2 slices of bacon, turkey or pig, your choice
• 2 teaspoons of garlic powder (optional)
• Any additional low carb toppings that you would like!

Directions

The finished product!  Yum. 

• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
• Soften the cream cheese and then mix it with the Parmesan cheese, mayonnaise and garlic powder.
• Slice open and clean out the peppers of all seeds.  
• Spoon in the mixture into the open-faced peppers and add any additional toppings you might want.
• Place the peppers onto a greased cookie sheet and put into pre-heated oven for at least 25 minutes.  I like mine a little crispier so if you do too you might want to put them in for longer.  
• Let them cool down for a bit before enjoying.
• These re-heat wonderfully for lunch the next day.  

February Low Carb, High Fat, Gluten Free Dinner Menu

Happy February!

Smoked Sausage Cheddar Beer Soup .

February is a very special, very busy and very expensive month for us.  Both the Mister and I have our birthdays, there is Valentine's Day and my brother and mother-in-law have birthdays as well.  And there is the Super Bowl too which we actually get to relax and watch this year since our beloved Patriots won't be in it.  Crazy.

February also brings with it a new dinner menu.  During the last week of the month prior I sit down with my pen, paper and log into Pinterest to start planning out the next month's menu.

I started menu planning a year ago and it really has been a game changer for me.  I don't grocery shop nearly as much because I have everything I need to make dinner already.  We also don't eat out as much because frankly, if I can make it at home why would I pay someone 3 times as much to eat it at their restaurant?  Menu planning has definitely made me picky about eating out.

Now, I don't cook every night and most of our lunches tend to be leftovers from the night before.  The reason I don't cook every night is because I get such little time to spend with my family that I really can't bear to stand at the stove for an hour, hour and a half every night.  Plus, I start Half Marathon training this month!

February Dinner Menu

Super Bowl/Husband's Birthday Meal  

• Bacon Cheeseburger Crock Pot Dip:  I buy GF chips, but they are NOT low-carb so be careful here if you want to stay in Ketosis.
• Smoked Sausage Cheddar Beer Soup  

Cuban Pot Roast from I Breathe I'm Hungry.

Rest of the Month

• Tuscano Soup
• Smoked and Pulled Pork Butt
• Low Carb Chili
• Taco Soup
• Beef Stew
• Smothered Pork Chops
• Cuban Pot Rost

The Ketogenic Cookbook Recipes

The Following recipes can be found in the book The Ketogenic Cookbook.  

• Zucchini Tot Hot Dish
• Swedish Meatballs
• Easy Mortadella Ravioli
• Kielbasa and Braised Cabbage
• Herb and Ricotta Rotolo 
• Asian Lettuce Wraps 

I'd love to hear about which recipes you've tried and which ones were hits or misses!

Until next time!

Sabrina

Sample Low Carb, High Fat and Gluten Free Dinner Menu

A few of you have asked me to post about what kinds of dinners I make for my family of three as someone who is low carb, high fat and gluten free and I am more than happy to do so.

Most of my recipes come from the almighty Pinterest or from low-carb Facebook pages that I follow, but I just ordered the book, The Ketogenic Cookbook by Jimmy Moore and Maria Emmerich.  I've added a few of their recipes to my monthly menu plan for February.  I love the fact that this book is big and has huge, colorful pictures of the final product.  

Mind you, I haven't tried any of the recipes from this book, but they all seem to be pretty doable and you don't need too many crazy ingredients, but if you are going low-carb you will most likely need things like Stevia, MCT Oil and Xanthum Gum among others.

OK, time for what I cook for dinner!

Our January Menu included the following recipes (all pinned from Pinterest):

Enchilada Bake

Hearty Hamburger Soup - for this one I substituted the can of pumpkin with good old tomato             sauce because pumpkin sounded blech.

Italian Sausage Soup

Caramelized Onion and Bacon Smothered Pork Chops

Crock Pot Asian Pork Chops - I would substitute Stevia for Splenda and Liquid Aminos for Soy Sauce (yes, even Market Basket sells something as random as Liquid Aminos!)

Bacon Ranch Chicken - be careful of how many carbs are in each serving of the brand of Ranch you buy.  

Meatball Parmigiana

Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

Chicken Egg Foo Young

Honey Garlic Pork Chops

Lemony Chicken Stir Fry with Asparagus

Tuscano Soup - an absolute favorite of the Mister's!  

And there it is!  12 recipes from our latest month of dinner menu planning.  

Always be aware of the carb count of any ingredient you use especially pasta/tomato sauces and dressings.  And yes, there are some dressings with wheat listed as an ingredient which you will want to watch if you are trying to be gluten-free.

For breakfast, this is my favorite recipe as of late after my week long egg fast (Week long egg fast!?  Also, another blog post):

Delicate Cream Cheese Pancakes

I practice intermittent fasting which means I fast for 16 hours a day and only eat for 8.  If I say I am eating breakfast that is usually when everyone else is eating lunch around 11:30am.  I stop eating by 7:30pm the night before but that is a whole other post!

As always, please let me know if you have any questions about what I've shared.