As if the colors in this photo aren’t delish enough???  These are trading beads; beads were traded for goods between trappers, soldiers, Native Americans, pioneers.  Many of the beads pictured here are more than 200 years old.  Sourced from Europe, Africa, China.  A myriad of locales and countries.  What a visual feast for the eyes.  (BTW, if you want to see these and thousands more, come to the Mountain Man Rendezvous in Fort Bridger, WY over Labor Day weekend)

Every once in a while I need a sweet- as I generally prefer salty and crunchy.  So I decided to make some Keto cookies.  No grains, no sugar.  I took these tasty tidbits to my gym, (7KFit-  7KFitness.sites.zenplanner.com ) People started complaining that some classes got them and others didn’t.  Next time I need to quadruple the recipe and share with EVERYONE.  This is an easy refrigerator cookie; no rolling pin, no cookie cutters, no frosting.  NO heavy lifting.

Keto Pecan Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups Almond Flour  ( I use Simple Truth or Bob’s Red Mill)

1 tsp Real Vanilla

1/2 c chopped pecans  (Pistachios work equally well) Note:  i would chop the pecans smaller than a rough chop- if they are a bit smaller, easier to cut dough later.

6 T butter @ room temperature

1/2 cup Confectioners Erythirtol sweetener ( i like Swerve)

Plastic wrap

Put it Together:

In a mixer, add butter, vanilla and Swerve.  Mix together until light and well creamed.  Add in Almond flour in 1/2 cup increments.  Dough will not form a ball.  Remove from mixer and stir in pecans.

Take a large handful of dough and place on a large piece of plastic wrap.  Roll into logs-try to make the ends square so all cookies are consistent in size.  Your dough should now be sticking together well.Tightly wrap plastic wrap around cookie dough.  Place in refrigerator for at least half hour.  Repeat with remaining dough.

Note: if you don’t feel like baking all the cookies, (roughly 16 in two logs), freeze one.  I typically make a double batch then thaw the dough when I want a warm cookie.)

Heat oven to 350 Fahrenheit.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper.  Remove cookie dough from refrigerator.  Unwrap and cut the dough log into slices appx. 1/2 inch thick.  Place on parchment lined baking sheet and put into oven. Will take between 12-14 minutes.  I like mine just turning light brown on the edge.

This is all that’s left of a double batch. And the little ones are a bit crispy.  But still delish.  I hope they become on of the staple treats in your house.

Yield: 16 cookies

Nutrition: 14 g Fat, 4g Protein, 1.6g net carbs  145 calories per cookie.

Enjoy!

Terri

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are lucky to have so many food options available to us in the United States.  We can shop globally for that unique ingredient at our local grocery store.  We have abundance-we don’t need to trek for miles to find bread. And ten more miles to get butter.  Or milk.  To that end, I ask you to contribute to a local food effort to feed those in need.  My personal favorite is Backpacks for Hungry Kids.  Pick one that speaks to your heart and make a difference.  For me, no child should be hungry.  That is a travesty.  And tragic.

This recipe is about abundance-plenty of veggies, luxuriant cream cheese, artichokes, rich flavors.  And as I write this, we just received 2″ of snow!  And it’s April 17th!  I think alot of the frustration is that we were in the southwest last week- and I am so ready for spring!

Let’s do this!

Spinach and Artichoke Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 4 Garlic Cloves, minced (Hack: use the jarred minced garlic in Olive oil)
• 1 – 9-ounce pkg. Frozen Chopped Spinach, drained and squeezed dry
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Pepper
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 4 cups Chicken Broth
• 1 – 14 ounce can Artichoke Hearts, drained and roughly chopped OR use a thawed package of Trader Joe’s Frozen Artichoke Hearts.  Will need to rough chop for soup
• 1- 1½ cups Heavy Cream  (may want to adjust to personal taste)
• 1 – 8-ounce pkg. Cream Cheese, room temp and chopped into 6 pieces.
• 1 cup Parmesan Cheese
• 1 lb. shrimp
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1/2 tsp Hungarian Paprika (optional)
• 2 T minced garlic
• 2 T Olive oil
• 1 T Butter
• Additional Shaved Parm for garnish

Putting it Together:

Add the 2 T butter to soup pot and melt.  Add the onion and cook till translucent.  Should take about 7-10 minutes on medium heat.  Add the garlic to onion and watch closely.  Don’t want garlic to burn.  Add spinach to pot; break up any chunks with spoon.

Add chopped drained artichokes to soup pot.  Add in broth.  Add in salt and pepper.  Add in garlic and onion powder. Mix in the cream cheese bit by bit- actively stirring each hunk until melted in.  Slowly stir in the heavy cream till thoroughly blended.  Reduce heat to simmer, do not allow to boil.

Note: I like to use chop sticks to break up stuff- like spinach or stirring scrambled eggs into pretty little curds.

While the soup is simmering, heat deep saute pan to medium. Add in the 2 T olive oil and 1 T butter to the pan.  Sprinkle in the crushed red pepper, garlic and paprika.  Heat till fragrant (only about 1 minute).  Add in the cleaned and detailed shrimp.  Cook till pink and cooked through. Reduce heat.

 

Back to the soup- mix in the cup of Parmesan cheese.  I would mix in in 1/4 cup increments. May want to adjust salt and pepper at this point to taste.

Let simmer about 5 more minutes.   Ladle into shallow bowl.  Place a few or more shrimp in each bowl.  Drizzle with a bit of the oil/butter mix from shrimp over top.  Sprinkle with additional shaved parm.  I also like a bit of fresh crushed pepper and some chopped cilantro, but that is optional.

Let me know what you think,

Enjoy!

Terri