INSTANT POT (OR SLOW COOKER ) LOW-CARB CHEESY CHICKEN TACOS
yield: 8 SMALL TACOS. total time: ABOUT 40 MINUTES prep time: 20 MINUTES cook time: 8 MINUTES, PLUS ABOUT 5 MINUTES TO COME TO PRESSURE AND 10 MINUTES NATURAL RELEASE TIME.
Low-Carb Cheesy Chicken Tacos can be made in the Instant Pot or the slow cooker; use low-carb tortillas or enjoy the chicken in lettuce wraps if you want even less carbs.
INGREDIENTS:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into lengthwise strips
1/2 cup salsa (see notes)
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 T Green Tabasco Sauce, plus more to add at the table if desired
2 T fresh-squeezed lime juice (see notes)
4 oz. cream cheese, cut into small cubes
1 can (4 oz) diced green chiles with juice
3/4 cup grated Mexican Blend cheese, plus about 3/4 cup more for serving tacos
8 small taco-sized low-carb flour tortillas (see notes)
Sliced olives for serving (optional)
Sliced green onions for serving (optional)
Other toppings as desired such as salsa, Pico de Gallo, sour cream, avocado, or guacamole
DIRECTIONS:
Trim visible fat and any undesirable parts from chicken breasts and cut each into 3-4 lengthwise strips. Put chicken strips into the Instant Pot with the salsa, onion powder, and garlic powder.
Lock the lid, set the Instant Pot to HIGH PRESSURE, 8 minutes.
While the Instant Pot comes to pressure and cooks for 8 minutes, get the Green Tabasco Sauce, fresh lime juice, cubes of cream cheese, and diced green chiles.
When the 8 minutes cooking time has finished, let the Instant Pot NATURAL RELEASE for 10 minutes, then turn the valve to quick release the rest of the pressure.
Remove the chicken strips to a cutting board to cool. Turn the Instant Pot to SAUTE/LOW HEAT and let the liquid simmer until it’s cooked down to about 1/2 cup. (This took about 5 minutes.) While the liquid reduces, use two forks to shred chicken apart.
When the liquid has cooked down, turn off the Instant Pot and let it cool for a couple of minutes. Then stir in the Green Tabasco Sauce (affiliate link), lime juice, diced green chiles with juice, and cubes of cream cheese. Whisk the sauce until the cream cheese is all melted and mixed with the liquid to make a creamy sauce. Add the shredded chicken back into the Instant Pot (you can turn it on low for a couple of minutes if you feel the chicken has cooled down too much) and add the grated cheese, stirring so it mixes with the chicken and melts slightly.
To serve, heat tortillas in a hot, dry pan for about a minute. Fill each tortilla with some of the creamy chicken mixture, more grated cheese, and other toppings as desired such as olives, green onions, salsa, Pico de Gallo, sour cream, avocado, or guacamole.
SLOW COOKER DIRECTIONS:
To cook in a slow cooker, trim and cut chicken as above and put into a 3.5 Quart Slow Cooker (affiliate link) with the salsa, onion powder, and garlic powder.
Cook on LOW for about 5 hours, or until the chicken is tender and shreds apart easily.
Remove chicken to a cutting board to cool.
Transfer the liquid to a saucepan that’s large enough to hold all the chicken. Cook the liquid over low heat until it’s reduced to about 1/2 cup (about 5 minutes.)
Turn off heat and let the liquid cool for 2-3 minutes, then stir in the Green Tabasco Sauce, lime juice, and cubes of cream cheese and use a whisk to stir until cream cheese has melted into the liquid to form a creamy sauce. Add the chicken into the pot with the grated cheese and stir to combine and melt the cheese slightly.
To serve, heat tortillas in a hot, dry pan for about a minute. Fill each tortilla with some of the creamy chicken mixture, more grated cheese, and other toppings as desired such as olives, green onions, salsa, Pico de Gallo, sour cream, avocado, or guacamole.
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BABY KALE AND MOZZARELLA QUESADILLAS WITH SRIRACHA-RANCH DIPPING SAUCE
yield: 2 QUESADILLAS total time: 15 MINUTES prep time: 10 MINUTES cook time: 5 MINUTES
These Baby Kale and Mozzarella Quesadillas with Sriracha-Ranch Dipping Sauce are perfect for a low-carb lunch or light dinner.
INGREDIENTS:
5 oz. package Baby kale (or you can use 5 oz. thinly sliced kale leaves)
1/2 tsp. olive oil (for brushing pan when you wilt the kale)
4 flour tortillas (see notes)
3/4 cup grated low-fat or full-fat mozzarella (or slightly more if you like a lot of cheese)
1/4 cup Ranch dressing
1-2 tsp. Sriracha sauce (to taste, we thought 1 tsp. was hot enough)
DIRECTIONS:
Before you make the quesadillas, mix together the Ranch Dressing and Sriracha Sauce to taste to make the dipping sauce. (I make my own light Ranch, and I confess I usually use a package mix with half buttermilk and half mayo and fat-free Greek yogurt mixed.)
Brush a large nonstick pan with the olive heat, heat the pan, and add the kale all at once.
Turn kale until it’s all wilted and the turn off the heat. (This only takes about a minute.)
Turn the heat to medium under a second non-stick pan, lay a tortilla in the pan, and sprinkle on barely enough cheese to sparsely cover the surface of the tortilla. (You’re adding more cheese, so don’t over-do it.)
Spread half the wilted kale over the cheese and sprinkle another sparse layer of cheese over the kale.
Lay the second tortilla on top of the cheese.
Use a large turner to press down on the quesadilla until the cheese starts to melt and sticks the tortillas together.
Then turn the quesadilla and continue to cook until it’s nicely browned on both sides and the cheese is all melted. (I usually turn it a couple of times so I can see how both sides are browning.)
Total cooking time for me was about 4 minutes, but it will depend on how hot your stove gets on medium.
When the quesadilla is done, remove from the pan, use a long knife to cut it into fourths, and serve hot with the Sriracha-Ranch dipping sauce.
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EASY LOW-CARB GUACAMOLE TOSTADAS
yield: 4 SERVINGS total time: 20 MINUTES prep time: 20 MINUTES
These Easy Low-Carb Guacamole Tostadas made with low-carb tortillas are delicious for a quick lunch or light dinner! This recipe makes 4 tostadas, but can easily be doubled or tripled.
INGREDIENTS:
TOSTADA INGREDIENTS:
4 fajita-size low-carb flour tortillas, toasted (see notes)
2 tsp. olive oil, for brushing baking sheet
about 1 cup thinly sliced lettuce
1/2 cup finely grated cheese, more or less to taste
2 avocados
4 tsp. fresh-squeezed lime juice
1/2 tsp. Green Tabasco Sauce or other hot sauce (or more if you like it spicy)
1/2 tsp. salt (I used Veg-Sal)
pinch of chili powder
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven or toaster oven to 450F/230C and brush a baking sheet with olive oil. Lay the tortillas on the baking sheet and toast until they are firm and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. (Turn them a couple of times while they are toasting and watch carefully because they can go quickly from nicely brown to burned.) Let tortillas cool for a few minutes.
Cut the avocado in half, remove seed and discard, scrape out the avocado flesh into a small bowl, and quickly mix in the lime juice, mashing the avocado and stirring well so the lime is well-distributed (to keep the avocado from turning brown.)
Mix in Green Tabasco Sauce (or other hot sauce), salt, and chili powder. (Don’t use too much chili powder or it turns the guacamole brown!)
To assemble tostadas, spread a thin layer of Easy Guacamole over each toasted tortilla shell, then top with shredded lettuce and finely grated cheese.
You can add other ingredients if desired like sliced olives, sliced green onions, chopped tomatoes, or salsa, but this version with just guacamole, lettuce, and grated cheese
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LOW-CARB EGG BURRITOS FOR A CROWD
yield: 8-10 BURRITOS total time: 45-60 MINUTES prep time: 15 MINUTES cook time: 30-45 MINUTES
These Egg Burritos with low-carb flour tortillas are one of my favorite breakfasts!
INGREDIENTS:
1 dozen eggs
1 or 2 red bell peppers, chopped in 1/2 inch pieces
1 green bell pepper, chopped in 1/2 inch pieces (or use any color you wish)
1 or 2 cans (4 oz. can) diced green chiles (These are Anaheim chiles, not Jalapenos unless you like it really spicy.)
1-2 T olive oil (more or less, depending on your pan)
2 tsp. Spike seasoning (optional, but recommended; or use another all-purpose seasoning blend that’s good with eggs)
8-10 low-carb tortillas (see notes)
about 2 cups grated cheese (I used grated Four Cheese Mexican Blend cheese.)
sour cream, for serving
Salsa, for serving (see notes)
hot sauce such as Green Tabasco Sauce for serving if desired
DIRECTIONS:
Use a good nonstick frying pan for this recipe; I used my favorite Green Pan. Heat some of the olive oil in pan over medium heat, then add diced peppers and cook until slightly soft, about 3-4 minutes.
Add green chiles and Spike seasoning and cook about 2 minutes more.
While peppers are cooking, break eggs into mixing bowl and whisk until whites and yolks are completely combined.
Add a little more olive oil to frying pan, add beaten eggs, and immediately turn heat to low and cook until eggs are barely set, gently stirring and scraping side of pan with rubber scraper or turner the entire time, about 8 minutes.
They should still be slightly wet-looking and not completely cooked when you turn off heat, especially if you’re going to warm them and melt cheese in the slow cooker.
TO MAKE LOW CARB EGG BURRITOS FOR A CROWD AS SHOWN:
Spray the crockery part of the Crock-Pot Casserole Crock Slow Cooker (or large oval slow cooker) with non-stick spray.
Fill each flour tortilla with some of the egg mixture and some grated cheese in a row down the center, roll it over, and place in the casserole crock.
Continue with each tortilla until you have a row of rolled burritos in the slow cooker.
Sprinkle with the rest of the cheese and cook covered on HIGH until all the cheese is melted, about 30-45 minutes.
If you don’t have the Casserole Crock, you can warm these in a large oval slow cooker, maybe cutting one burrito in half to fit into the smaller ends.
Burritos can also be warmed in a covered casserole dish in a 350F/180C oven until cheese melts. (I haven’t done it that way so I can’t say for sure how long it would take.)
TO MAKE BURRITOS TO EAT IMMEDIATELY:
Warm tortillas in the microwave or wrap them in foil and warm in the oven.
Down the center of each warmed tortilla put a row of egg mixture, topped with cheese, sour cream, and salsa, fold together and enjoy.
TO MAKE BURRITOS TO FREEZE:
Inside each tortilla put a line of egg mixture, top with cheese, wrap tortilla over.
I like to cut them in half so they fit into my sandwich size freezer containers, but you could also wrap in foil or put in a Ziploc bag.
For best results with frozen burritos, thaw overnight in refrigerator, because if you microwave them for too long the tortilla can get tough.
Serve with more cheese, sour cream, and salsa as desired.