As promised, here are the low-carb, occasionally high-fat recipes from our Easter at home. These recipes are incredibly simple, and all incredibly healthy as well. Salt is optional for everything, if you're leaning towards a heart-healthy dinner. We hope that you'll enjoy these recipes as much as we do, and especially enjoy the fact that you can spend special time with your family and friends, and eat like you would for Thanksgiving (we dare you not to) without the bloated after feel! Enjoy!
Green Beans with a Lemon Dijon Dill Sauce
Ingredients:
1/2 lb. fresh green beans (feeds up to 4)
1 large lemon
1/2 C Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp roughly chopped fresh dill
Instructions:
1. Bring 4 qt. water to a boil.
2. Trim top and bottom off of green beans, no one needs to munch on stringy ends!
3. Once water is at a rolling boil, add beans. Let boil for up to 10 minutes, depending on how crunchy or tender you like your green beans (we left them in for a full 10 minutes).
4. Pull green beans out, and if you want, drop them in frigid ice water to shock them and keep the color. This is optional, but it makes the beans look fabulous and stops the cooking so they're not mush.
5. Put beans aside.
6. Mix Dijon mustard with the juice of one (large) lemon.
Tip: Roll the lemon vigorously before squeezing; this releases juices easier and helps you avoid wasting fresh lemon juice!
7. Add 3 Tbsp. roughly chopped dill, mix, and garnish with additional dill (optional).
Tip: To separate dill easier from stems, take the bunch and hold your knife sideways, using it razer-like to scrape dill leaves from the stems.
8. Serve beans alongside Lemon Dijon Dill sauce with a ladle, so that guests can serve themselves!
Loaded Smashed Parsnips and Turnips
*This recipe can be made healthier by either omitting the cheddar, or using low-fat cheese*
Ingredients:
8 parsnips, diced
4 turnips, diced
1/4 C shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 C fat free milk
Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions:
1. Peel parsnips and turnips. Chop into 1/2 inch-1 inch pieces (this doesn't have to be exact, just make sure they're all roughly the same size for cooking time purposes).
Advice: Use a potato peeler for the parsnips. Just do it.
2. Put them in 4 qt. water, bring to a boil.
3. Boil vegetables until fork-tender, just like potatoes, about 10-15 minutes.
4. Drain vegetables, be careful, they will be hot!
5. Smash (or mash!) with a potato masher, or food process for smoother consistency.
6. Add cheese, salt, and pepper.
7. Serve!
Tip: You could really add anything you want to these. I am a mashed potato lover, but every Thanksgiving my family and I make these smashed parsnips and turnips as a side dish, because they have much more flavor, are slightly sweeter, and have parsnipity pizazz. Add fresh chives, caramelized onions, or various cheese to make it all your own!
Proscuitto Wrapped Asparagus
*This is the simplest of all the recipes. Omit the proscuitto for a salt-free side dish, and add lemon juice instead for extra flavor*
Ingredients:
Two bunches asparagus (serves 4-5)
Two pkg proscuitto (or enough to wrap two bunches of asparagus)
Pepper or other seasoning
Instructions:
1. Trim ends off of asparagus, about two inches from the bottom.
Tip: Hold the asparagus by both ends, and snap. Wherever the asparagus breaks is roughly where the fibrous stem ends. No one wants to chew on this al throughout dinner!
2. After trimming asparagus, wrap three pieces of asparagus in one slice of proscuitto.
3. Lay out in a roasting pan (or two), and make sure asparagus is spread out so that it crisps thoroughly.
4. Stick under the broiler on low for five minutes at a time, checking each time to make sure proscuitto is not burning.
5. When you take it out, asparagus should be tender, and proscuitto should be slightly crispy.
Katilee's Devilish Deviled Eggs
*This is my personal recipe for deviled eggs. I've been making them the same way for awhile now, but feel free to omit or add whatever you like! I don't believe you can go wrong with deviled eggs, after all. My measurements were estimated, a lot of this is all eyeballing depending on your personal taste. We love using Easter eggs for deviled eggs, and then for egg salad during the week.*
Ingredients:
6 hard-boiled eggs
3/4 C mayonaise
1/4 C Dijon mustard
3 sandwich stacker dill pickles (or roughly 2 Tbsp dill or sweet relish)
Salt and pepper to taste
Paprika, for sprinkling
Instructions:
1. Peel eggs. Slice eggs in half, length-wise.
2. Scoop out yokes into a separate bowl.
3. Mash yolks with a fork. Add mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, pickles or relish, and salt and pepper. Mash again.
Advice: At this point, you want to taste you filling, especially since you'll always have more devilish than eggs, to make sure that the flavors are working for you. I also usually mash my yolks until yolks are still slightly chunky.
4. Spoon, or pipe through a piping bag, yolk mixture into eggs.
6. Top by sprinkling with paprika and serve!
Rosemary Lamb Chops
*We made this salt-free, but I'm including salt and pepper in this recipe. It was a very, very simple lamb recipe, but you could always rub with other herbs in addition to rosemary*
Ingredients:
16 bone-in lamb chops (roughly 4 pkg from the grocery store)
5 stems fresh Rosemary
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, for oiling purposes
Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions:
1. De-stem rosemary by running your fingers backwards down the rosemary stems. Roughly chop until sprinkle-able.
2. Oil a sheet pan lined with foil. Arrange chops so that none are overlapping, use two sheet/roasting pans if necessary.
3. Sprinkle chops with rosemary.
4. Roast in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, check after 20, depending on the size of your chops. At this point, they should be cooked well.
Take chops out, cover with foil to let rest for 5-10 minutes, then serve. Top with extra rosemary and fresh parsley if desired.
