My Ten Minute Hospitality/Kids Need a Goodie Solution: Candy Cookie Bars

1 package Nestle’s break-apart cookie dough (in refrigerator section; I prefer peanut butter but others will do too)

6 oz chocolate chips

6 oz butterscotch chips (or 1/2 cup peanut butter)

8 to 10 fun-sized candy bars (I like Butterfinger, Kit Kat, Reese’s, any type of M and M, and/or Reese’s Pieces–or any combination thereof)

1. Open cookie dough slab and microwave for ten to twenty seconds until super soft but not hot or cooked. (Do not break cookies apart at the perforation.)

2. Press slab down into a greased 9 x 13 (or smaller but deeper) baking pan.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for ten to fifteen minutes, depending on oven type (convection vs. regular, etc.). Cook until dough is completely baked.

4. While dough is baking, place candies in quart size zip-lock bag and crush with kitchen mallet (or process in mini processor).

5. When bars are nearly done, place both chips (or chocolate only) in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on 50% for one to two minutes, stirring every thirty seconds. (When chips are glossy, stir them, and they will be melted and done. Do not over-cook.) If using peanut butter, stir peanut butter into melted chocolate chips.

6. Spread melted mixture over bars and sprinkle the “icing” with the crushed candies. Let cool/harden. Cut into bars.

Note: You can make this more festive by using pastel colors in the spring, or holiday colors of M and M’s or Reese’s Pieces in the fall!

The post My Ten Minute Hospitality Solution: Candy Cookie Bars appeared first on Character Ink.

True confession: I do not like Olive Garden’s salad dressing. But that is probably only because I do not like salad dressing at all. Period. Not.one.single.dressing. Nada. Nope. None.
However, I have some kids who are crazy about this dressing, so I make it with my homemade Italian Dressing Mix for them.

Read through the Labels and Variations—there are alternatives and ideas for all kinds of cooks there. And even if your family is not doing fewer carbs/lower glycemic index/less sugar/fewer wheat-type of grains, I think everybody will love this recipe. 

Recipe Labels & Variations

Low Carb (LC): This is a very low carb recipe with no added carbs—assuming you use a zero net carb bulk sweetener like erythritol, xylitol, Truvia, Pyure, Splenda, etc.

Family-Friendly Low Carb (FFLC): The sweetener in this is minute, and nobody can tell this is a “low carb food”—for those trying to persuade their family to enjoy foods with few carbohydrates/lower on glycemic index.

Store-Bought-Stella (SBS): You may use one packet of store bought Good Seasonings Italian Dressing mix in this recipe in place of the homemade Italian Seasoning Mix. Just be sure to use mayo and not Miracle Whip.

Homemade Hannah (HH): This is very homemade! You can make this completely whole-foods as written above—or make it even more homemade by using your own dried herbs or homemade mayo.

Trim Healthy Mama (THM): This is a very S dressing! Can be used to marinate meats for S entrees or as is for salad dressing for an Italian salad or sub on low carb bread, etc.

Sugar Free (SF): Sugar-free and healthy option! (See sweetener options above in LC.)

Gluten Free (GF): No fillers so no concern about hidden gluten.

Low Carb Mixes (LCM): Love my mixes!

The post Olive Garden Salad Dressing Recipe appeared first on Character Ink.

Revolution rolls. Oopsie buns. Cloud bread. Variations of this bread/bun/roll are all over the internet. Some have said that Dr. Atkins himself invented the original recipe, the revolution roll.

I’m not sure where the recipes originated, but I do know that when I added a little bit of my Basic Flour Mix (or finely-ground almond flour, see note below), these “Not-So-Oopsie” Rolls had more structure, were less “wet” to hold as sandwiches, and tasted amazing!

I have to classify this bread as one of my low carb finds of the year. I didn’t have to tweak it for weeks and make twenty to thirty versions of it (like I did for pizza crust!). I didn’t have to figure out a way to mask some taste that I couldn’t stomach. It was “just right.”

Make extra and store them in the freezer to have on hand anytime!

This bread has a mild flavor—not too non-grain-flour-tasting yet not too airy. I am one of the pickiest eaters I know—seriously, we are talking three or four non-starchy vegetables, and that is it! So when I say that you need to make these every week and put them in your freezer, you can trust me!

(I tell my kids that these taste sort of like King’s Hawaiian rolls without the flour and without bread texture or really any texture {that is why they are sometimes called cloud rolls!}. They don’t really believe me!)

Need suggestions on how to use these? I carry them in my lunch bag (I always carry a lunch/snack bag with low carb options in it) and pull one or two out whenever I get a sandwich from a fast-food place or even when I have a sit down lunch with friends or my kids. (I know a lot of people love the bun-less burgers or lettuce-wrapped sandwiches, but I like to feel like I am eating a real sandwich!) They make amazing buns for breakfast sandwiches. I don’t even drool over my son’s Mickey Dee’s bacon-egg-and-cheese biscuit any more. A turkey sausage patty (that I also pulled out of the freezer, pre-cooked and ready to go—are you seeing a theme here—low carb secret? Be prepared!) on one of these is a perfect breakfast. I really love all sandwiches on this.

I have been experimenting with making various sizes of these. I love to make mini ones to use for mini sausage breakfast sandwiches or mini chicken salad or chicken finger sandwiches. Perfect!

But savory isn’t the only use for these babies! Roll them in cinnamon-sugar (after baking or even when defrosted out of the freezer) and drizzle cream cheese frosting over them. Top them with sugar-free jam or no-sugar added pie filling. Sprinkle sugar-free chocolate chips over them, microwave until the chips are somewhat melted, and top with homemade whipped cream. Yum! Most recently, I have been making “jam sandwiches” out of two of them and packing them when I go teach. Makes me forget that I am on a “diet”!

An amazing low carb treat is this Not-So-Oopsie Bread toppied with my BEST Sugar-Free Strawberry Jam and whipped cream!

Yeah, you need to make these!

Not-So-Oopsie Rolls

2015-07-28 06:37:20

Yields 12

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Ingredients

1. 6 eggs, separated
2. ½ tsp cream of tartar alone
3. 4 TBSP cream cheese (half a bar), softened
4. 4 TBSP butter (half a stick), melted
5. 4 TBSP Basic Flour Mix* (or finely ground almond flour—see note)
6. 1 TBSP sugar-free bulk sweetener**
7. 1 tsp baking soda and ½ tsp cream of tartar mixed together
8. 1/3 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300 F, and spray cooking spray on parchment that is placed on large cookie sheet(s) or jelly roll pans. (May omit parchment, but who doesn’t love using parchment?)
2. Separate egg whites from yolks.
3. Place whites in one mixing bowl, and yolks in another mixing bowl.
4. Add first cream of tartar (1/2 tsp) to egg whites and whip with stand mixer or hand mixer until stiff peaks form. (I love my Kitchen Aid for this—and most everything!) Set aside.
5. Beat egg yolks in separate mixing bowl.
6. To the beaten egg yolks, add softened cream cheese, melted butter, Basic Flour Mix*, bulk sweetener**, baking soda & cream of tartar mixture, and salt.
7. Beat this egg yolk mixture until thoroughly combined.
8. Gently fold egg yolk mixture into egg white mixture until combined (be careful not to stir or beat {should still be a whipped meringue texture}).
9. Spoon mixture mounds onto cookie sheet (twelve to fourteen total mounds).
10. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes convection (20 to 30 minutes regular), or until tops and edges are slightly browned. (Check at shortest cooking time.)

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*Basic Flour Mix—a non-grain flour, low carb flour mix. Find the recipe here. You may also use finely-ground almond flour by itself for this recipe, but the Basic Flour Mix combines non-grain, low carb flours so that no one type is too strong while still keeping a low carb count.
*Bulk sugar-free sweetener—sweeteners that can be used cup-for-cup like sugar work well in baked goods. These include THM Sweet Blend, erythritol, xyilitol, Splenda, and Swerve (or any combination thereof!). To learn more about choosing flours and sweeteners, check out my post “Low Carb Baking and Treat Making—What I Wish Someone Had Told Me.”

Recipe Labels and Variations

Low Carb (LC): This is a very low carb recipe with a potential of only ½ to one carb per roll depending on whether you use the Basic Flour Mix or almond flour and how many you make per recipe.

Family-Friendly Low Carb (FFLC): I can’t say much about how FFLC these are as I only share them with my husband since they are a little time-intensive (compared with, say, a muffin in a mug!). Both of us like these!

Store-Bought-Stella (SBS): To save money, some cooks might prefer to use Splenda rather than a natural (but more expensive) sweetener like erythritol or xylitol.

Homemade Hannah (HH): This is very homemade! You can make this completely whole-foods as written above.

Freezer Cooking (FC): This isn’t in my monthly freezer entrees because I make it nearly weekly! And yes, I do freeze them with parchment between them, and they turn out great!

Oldie Goldie Family Recipes (OG): I have just begun making these with our low carb cooking and baking over the past year; however, if you are looking for a way to get more protein into your kids (and have less carby breads) or a way to utilize eggs or feed your kids more eggs, this recipe would be a great family recipe. You could even use white, wheat, oat, or gluten-free flour in place of the extremely low carb Basic Flour Mix—and still have a bread that is much healthier and lower in carbohydrates than most breads.

Trim Healthy Mama (THM): These could be used in an S setting or an E setting (if lower fat cream cheese were used). I think that with fat-free cream cheese, with only 1/3 of an egg yolk per roll and 1 tsp of butter per roll, you might be able to use one of these as a fuel pull (especially if you make the smaller version ones).
Sugar Free (SF): Sugar-free and healthy sweetener options!

Gluten Free (GF): This can definitely be gluten-free if using the gluten-free option of Basic Flour Mix and/or almond flour.

Low Carb Mixes (LCM): This recipe uses my Basic Flour Mix, a combination of low carb grain-less flours, such as almond flour, oat fiber, coconut flour, golden flax, protein powder, etc. This is a very low carb baking mix.

DISCLOSURE: I am an affiliate for these products that I recommend. If you purchase these items through my links, I will earn a commission, but you will not pay more when buying a product through my link. 🙂

The post Not-So-Oopsie Rolls appeared first on Character Ink.

Wowsie, sometimes I really miss BBQ—you know the sweet, yet spicy/tangy, taste of BBQ ribs from Outback or pulled pork from a street vendor at the fair? And when I start feeling that way, I know that it is time to pull out my Sugar-Free Sweet and Spicy BBQ Sauce and make something yummy!

And in grilling season, this is just the perfect dish—without any of the guilt or sluggishness associated with sugar-laden BBQ sauces (okay, and that sweet bread AND bloomin’ onion AND homemade croutons AND…you get the idea!).

This recipe might look like it has a lot of steps, but take heart:

(1) You can omit the marinating if desired (especially if using bone-in chicken with skin and/or dark meat);

(2) If you have the BBQ Sauce Base in your pantry, making the BBQ sauce is really not any harder than mixing up any other one-bowl-one-whisk concoction. (So make that base!);

(3) You might not feel the need to pre-cook your chicken like I do. I get nervous about getting chicken done on the grill without precooking. That is a personal choice.

So…many steps or few—this chicken is worth the extra time to make amazing grilled BBQ chicken!

Grilled BBQ Chicken {Sugar-Free}

• Sugar-Free Sweet and Spicy BBQ Sauce (two times if you like things really saucy and you are going to marinate your chicken)
• 15 lbs mixed chicken pieces, bone in/skin on
• Monterey Marinade one time (if you want to marinate your chicken that day; if you are using skinless chicken rather than the skin on listed above, I recommend marinating)

Note: This can also be made in the oven. I would recommend baking it a hot oven then broiling at the end to get the BBQ sauce cooked into the skin just so!

Make BBQ sauce as directed here two times for fifteen pounds of saucy chicken.

Marinating and pre/cooking in the crock pot makes it super easy!

Optional: Save out one cup of the BBQ sauce and make Monterey Marinade if you will be marinating your chicken for a few hours ahead of time.

Optional: Make Monterey Marinade one time.

Optional: Place your chicken in a large bowl or huge crock pot insert and pour marinade over all. Let sit in fridge for an hour or more to marinate. (Do not marinate out on counter—even if your chicken is frozen as some will defrost sooner than others and you risk spoilage of the early-defrosted chicken.)

Optional: Place crock pot in the base and cook until internal temperature reaches 120 degrees or so. (For my super-hot crock pot, this is two hours on high followed by two hours on low.)

Note: I always start any chicken in the crock pot on high for an hour or two (even chicken I am shredding for casseroles, etc.,). I feel it is safer than having chicken in a warm environment for too long (rather than in a “cooking state,” which it gets into more quickly on high for an hour.

Optional: If you want to precook in the oven, that is another option, making sure it reaches the internal temperature listed.
Transfer chicken to grill and use a brush to slather the BBQ sauce over both sides of the chicken.
Cook on medium heat for twenty to forty minutes, depending on your grill and how precooked your meat was (longer if you did not precook!).
Turn frequently and sauce often. Chicken is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. (I always use a meat thermometer for chicken—and I have been known to get my married kids meat thermometers every year for Christmas…you know, in case they lost last year’s!)

Recipe Labels and Variations

Low Carb (LC): Carbs are minimal (just from the tomato paste and a tiny bit from the broth and the molasses).

Family-Friendly Low Carb (FFLC): This does not taste the least bit sugar free or low carb! My “this is sugar-free, isn’t it, Mom?” adult kids all really enjoy it! And there is something wonderful about skin-on BBQ chicken—the way the BBQ sauce sticks to the skin. The way the skin crisps up on the grill. Yeah, this is yummy stuff!

Store-Bought-Stella (SBS):  Very homemade—but very worth it! Of course, SBS may also purchase store-bought sugar-free bbq sauce and use that in place of my homemade version. Just be sure you try it ahead of time as the store bought ones vary greatly in how “sugar-free” they taste!

Homemade Hannah (HH): Go on, Hannah, you know you want to do all the steps! 🙂
Freezer Cooking (FC): This chicken can be flash frozen after it is grilled and then dropped into zip-lock bags for one or two serving use. To flash-freeze, just place the finished chicken pieces on cookie sheets (I would line with parchment…always parchment!) and slide into the freezer. Leave there uncovered until chicken is frozen solid. Then remove and place in freezer bags or containers. To use, you would just defrost in a dish (if you defrost in the bag, all of your sauce will come off on the bag as it defrosts!) in the fridge, heat in the microwave or oven, and enjoy!

Oldie Goldie Family Recipes (OG): This “pre-cooking in a BBQ-based marinade” is how I have always fixed my BBQ chicken! Love that flavor infusion!

Trim Healthy Mama (THM): As it is written, this recipe is an S with the skin on the chicken (and the combination of dark meat and white meat) and with the oil in the marinade. To make this an E, you would need to be sure you do not marinate in oil (broth and BBQ base only) and you would need to use boneless, skinless breasts. I highly recommend marinating if you are using chicken without skin and/or white meat only.

Cycle Cooking (CYC): I don’t usually do BBQ chicken in my cycle cooking as grilling takes longer than a cycle cooking day allots!

Sugar Free (SF): Sugar-free and amazingly yummy!

Gluten Free (GF):  Be sure all of your products are gluten-free, and you will be great!

Low Carb Mixes (LCM): This uses my BBQ Sauce Base mix! Love my “Low Carb Mixes and Fast Fixes”!

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The post {Sugar Free} Grilled BBQ Chicken appeared first on Character Ink.

I like to marinate meats in a bbq type/Tex Mex marinade when using them in fajitas, bbq, etc. (Even if I am adding bbq sauce at cooking time, I still love that flavor-infusion from marinading in this mixture!)

I usually make my bbq sauce (plenty for whatever I am bbq’ing) then take out a cup of it for the first Monterey Marinade choice below.

If you do not want to make the bbq sauce or you are not bbq’ing (in the case of wanting to marinate beef strips for fajitas or something that you are not going to need bbq sauce for), you can use Monterey Marinade #2 given below (using my BBQ Sauce Base). Both recipes give you a moist meat with a hint of Tex-Mex!

And they both marinate a lot of meat—depending on how much marinade you like to use. I have marinaded up to fifteen pounds of mixed chicken pieces with each of the recipes given below.

Monterey Marinade #1

1 cup olive oil or melted butter+

1 to 2 cups broth (depending on how much marinade you need/how much meat you are marinating)

1 cup sugar-free bbq sauce (Try mine here!)

+Or sub half wine/half broth or all wine/all broth if using chicken with skin or other fatty meat in which you do not want to add more fat.

1.    Whisk all ingredients together.

2.    Marinate chicken pieces, pork loin slices, etc. as desired.

3.    Do not use extra marinade after you remove the meat unless you cook it first. (You may desire to cook the used marinade in the microwave for several minutes in order to use it on the meat at serving time.)

I love to precook meats before grilling and marinate before precooking! Sometimes I just marinate the meat (putting in s few pieces of meat then some marinade then repeat til done) right in my crick insert then put marinade and all on to partially cook before firing up the grill!

Monterey Marinade #2

1 cup olive oil or melted butter+

2 cups broth

¼ cup BBQ Sauce Base

4 ounces tomato sauce

¼ cup bulk sugar substitute (Splenda, erythritol, or xylitol—use a granulated one that measures cup-for-cup in place of sugar)

Drop or two of molasses

2 tsp liquid smoke

1.    Whisk all ingredients together.

2.    Marinate chicken pieces, pork loin slices, etc. as desired.

3.    Do not use extra marinade after you remove the meat unless you cook it first. (You may desire to cook the used marinade in the microwave for several minutes in order to use it on the meat at serving time.)

+Or sub half wine/half broth or all wine/all broth if using chicken with skin or other fatty meat in which you do not want to add more fat.

Recipe Labels and Variations

Low Carb (LC): Yep!

Family-Friendly Low Carb (FFLC): My family loves meats marinated in one of these mixtures!

Store-Bought-Stella (SBS:  Come on, Stella, join the low carb mixes bandwagon!  🙂

Homemade Hannah (HH): You may desire to omit the liquid smoke if you do not like using processed condiments.

Freezer Cooking (FC): Sometimes I make marinades (one of these and others) and place my prepared meat (chopped, sliced, cubed…whatever) in a labeled zipper bag and pour the marinade over the meat and freeze! Then when I need that meat, I just defrost in the sink or the fridge (chicken always in fridge) and allow the meat to marinade as it defrosts. Then I am ready to use it! (This is actually the basis for many of those “Eighty-Five Freezer Meals in One Day” type of posts in which different sauces and marinades are prepared and meats are frozen raw in the sauces. I am not a big fan of too many of those simply because I like many of my freezer meals to be more ready than that—and I like freezer entrees that are more “all in one meal” types, like lasagna (make it with my crepes here!), enchiladas, etc.)

Oldie Goldie Family Recipes (OG): I have always (at least for the twenty-four years that I have been freezer cooking and mix making!) done the type of marinade and freeze described in the FC note. I just haven’t always done it low carb! Feels so good to find ways to do some familiar favorites of days gone by in healthier ways!

Trim Healthy Mama (THM):  This can be S, E, or FP! Make it as is for an S (with the oil/butter—it does help the marinade infuse the meat more!). Make it an E or an FP without the oil or butter (with more broth or with cooking wine).

Cycle Cooking (CYC): To use this in my cycle cooking, I would probably either use it in my “shaped cycle”—pieces of beef and/or pork that I cook up all in one day for a special purpose or for meals that week or for the freezer. Or I would do chicken breast chunks for the freezer (frozen in the marinade as described). I seldom do two or three “kinds of meat” together since my cycle cooking involves all “crumbled ground beef” or “shaped meat” (meatloaves, meat balls, pieces of meat {like swiss steak, pork loin, etc.}) or “shredded chicken” or “sides” or “chicken breasts.” I find it more efficient to do all one meat type at once and make various meals out of that one type!

Sugar Free (SF): My Sugar-Free Sweet and Spicy BBQ Sauce is sugar free as is my BBQ Sauce Base! So either way, this marinade is sugar free!

Gluten Free (GF):  Yes! (Again, assuming that you have the condiments and ingredients this recipe calls for in gluten-free.)

Low Carb Mixes (LCM):  The BBQ Sauce Base that is the basis for this marinade is a super handy “mix” that you will probably use time and time again. (Watch for future recipes using it!)

The post Monterey Marinade appeared first on Character Ink.

Sugar-Free Sweet and Spicy BBQ Sauce

One of the primary uses for my BBQ Sauce Mix is definitely to make BBQ sauce! I love sweet BBQ—but I also love foods with a little zip. This sauce give me both!

Click for recipe!

I like the sweetness just as it is, but you might like a little more or a little less bulk sweetener. Also, I like the spice as is, but you might want to adjust your base (i.e. omit the chili powder) or lessen the liquid smoke if you feel it is too spicy for your family.

Generally speaking, this sauce can be slathered on fifteen to twenty pounds of chicken (as given below—totaling three cups or so). It keeps in the fridge for a couple of weeks, so even if I do not need all of it at the time, I go ahead and make the three cups and store the leftovers in a canning jar in the fridge. (I can always BBQ a few breasts or a pound of shrimp for my husband and me when the kids are all gone some evening!)

Soon I will give my Monterey Marinade that I like to use to marinade things I will be BBQ’ing. That marinade uses one cup of this sauce, so I like to keep a little in the fridge for that marinade as well.

 Ingredients:

• ½ cup BBQ Sauce Mix
• ½ cup bulk sugar substitute (Splenda, erythritol, or xylitol—use a granulated one that measures cup-for-cup in place of sugar)
• 4 ounces tomato paste
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon blackstrap molasses
• 2 Tablespoons liquid smoke
• 1 to 1 ½ cup broth (I use beef or pork when making bbq for those meats and chicken broth when making bbq for chicken)
• 1 to 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1.    Mix all ingredients except broth until smooth.

2.    Whisk in broth as needed to get the thickness desired. (Keep in mind that if you are not using it immediately or you are refrigerating it for future use, it will thicken. You can wait and add more broth when you reheat and whisk again if desired.)
3.    Store or use immediately.

4.    Just before using, re-whisk and heat in micro for 2 to 3 minutes.

5.    Makes just under 3 to 3 ½ cups of BBQ sauce (depending on how much broth you use and how thick you like your BBQ sauce).

Recipe Labels and Variations

Low Carb (LC): Carbs are minimal (just from the tomato paste and a tiny bit from the broth and the molasses).

Family-Friendly Low Carb (FFLC): This does not taste the least bit sugar free or low carb! My “this is sugar-free, isn’t it, Mom?” adult kids all really enjoy it! Regular BBQ sauce is so sugar-laden. It is like eating a candy bar every time you use a few tablespoons! This is tasty without the sugar coma!

Store-Bought-Stella (SBS):  Very homemade—but very worth it!

Homemade Hannah (HH): Sweet and spicy HOMEMADE BBQ sauce…you gals will love it! Optional: If you do not want to use liquid smoke, you may omit it altogether. Some HH’s do not like to use such a processed condiment. (I love the smoky taste that it adds!)

Freezer Cooking (FC): I have made BBQ meatballs and BBQ chicken breasts ahead of time and froze them. They were still amazing!

Oldie Goldie Family Recipes (OG): Not my original BBQ sauce from years ago—but better because it isn’t like eating candy! 🙂

Trim Healthy Mama (THM): This BBQ sauce can be used in all three settings, depending on what you put it on! Put it on chicken with skin for a yummy S meal. Put it on turkey meatballs or pulled pork for an E meal. Or put it on skinless, boneless chicken breasts for a FP!

Cycle Cooking (CYC): I make my seasoning mixes all at one time to rotate them in to my cycle cooking!

Sugar Free (SF): Sugar-free and amazingly yummy!

Gluten Free (GF):  Be sure all of your products are gluten-free, and you will be great!

Low Carb Mixes (LCM): This uses my BBQ Sauce Base mix! Love my “Low Carb Mixes and Fast Fixes”!

DISCLOSURE: I am an affiliate for these products that I recommend. If you purchase these items through my links, I will earn a commission, but you will not pay more when buying a product through my link. 🙂

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     BBQ Sauce Base

• 4 Tablespoons dry minced onion (D ½ cup; Tr ¾ cup)
• 1 TBSP garlic powder (D 2 TBSP; Tr 3 TBSP)
• ½ to 1 TBSP chili powder (D 1 to 2 TBSP; Tr 1 ½ to 3 TBSP)
• 2 teaspoon ground mustard powder (D 4 tsp; Tr 2 TBSP)
• 2 teaspoon paprika (D 4 tsp; Tr 2 TBSP)
• 2 bay leaf crumbled (or use powdered/ground bay leaf) (D 4; Tr 6)
• 2 teaspoon salt (D 4 tsp; Tr 2 TBSP)
• 1 teaspoon pepper (D 2 tsp; Tr 1 TBSP)

1.     Combine all ingredients and store in air tight container.

2.    Use as desired in recipes on Character Ink blog that call for BBQ Base. (Recipes for Sugar-Free BBQ Sauce Recipe and Grilled BBQ Chicken {Sugar-Free} coming soon!)

3.    Also may be used by the teaspoonful (or more!) in recipes in which an onion-y, somewhat spicy flavored is desired (since there is no sweetener in the BBQ Base itself.)

4.    Recipe may be doubled (D) or tripled (Tr) or quadrupled—sorry, do your own math on the latter! I use this often enough in various things to go ahead and make it five or six times when I make it. It isn’t just a bbq sauce mix to me but a handy somewhat spicy seasoning mix! Gives things that Tex-Mex flavor!

Use this BBQ Sauce Base to make my yummy Sugar-Free BBQ Sauce!

Recipe Labels and Variations

Low Carb (LC): This is a very low carb seasoning mix. The small amount of minced onion is really the only thing with measurable carbs—and I don’t even count that. (And the sauce that is made from this is also very low carb!)

Family-Friendly Low Carb (FFLC): I use this in so many cooking applications. I used to have this seasoning called 33rd & Galena (from Penzeys Spices, which are great!). With this, I don’ t need that seasoning any more. Handy to have for all cooking—not just low carb.

Store-Bought-Stella (SBS):  The whole mix process is pretty homemade, which might make some SBS’s think that my ideas and recipes are not really for them. However, the very nature of a homemade mix is to make things faster and easier. If you are a Stella who is a Homemade Hannah-Wannabe, then start making mixes as they are the best of both worlds—the homemade world and the quick and efficient world! 🙂

Homemade Hannah (HH): Any Homemade Hannah who wants to be more efficient in her kitchen and desires to have a cool cupboard full of mixes (see picture here!) will love this mix! The bbq sauce is homemade, sugar-free, and out of this world sweet yet spicy!

Freezer Cooking (FC): I don’t recommend freezing seasoning mixes like I do flour and baking mixes.  I use them too fast to need to freeze them any way!

Oldie Goldie Family Recipes (OG): This is not my original, sugar-laden bbq sauce recipe base from days gone by. But I feel better using less or no sugar nowadays!

Trim Healthy Mama (THM): The BBQ Sauce Base as it is given above may be used in an S, E, or FP setting since it has little carbs and no fat. Sprinkle it on anything you want to give a Tex-Mex flavor to!

Cycle Cooking (CYC): I love to make all of my seasoning mixes at one time since I have so many spices out already. Then another day I will make my sweet mixes and another my croutons, etc. This is in addition to my beloved “shredded chicken cycle,” “crumbled ground beef cycle,” etc.

Sugar Free (SF): This base is sugar-free—and so is the amazing bbq sauce recipe that uses this base.

Gluten Free (GF):  I am not a gluten-free cook, but I understand that if you put gluten-free products together (i.e. all of your spices are gluten-free), your mix will be gluten-free, so go for it!

Low Carb Mixes (LCM): This is not specifically a low carb mix. (I would have loved to have had created this years ago before I began low carb cooking!) But I call it a LCM because the dishes that use this base (coming soon—Sugar-Free BBQ Sauce Mix, Grilled BBQ Barbecue Chicken {Sugar-Free}, Monterey Marinade, Philly Cheesesteak Casserole, Crock Pot Beef Fajitas, and more!) are all low carb (and sugar-free and nearly always grain-free!).

The post BBQ Sauce Base appeared first on Character Ink.

BEST. Sugar free. Jam. Ever. And I am a grammar police—I have written fifty books (mostly English curricula) and forty thousand pages over the past fifteen years. But this jam is good enough to break the sentence rules over! 🙂

(See samples of my complete language for grades two through twelve here. See samples of my composition/writing program for grades two through twelve here.)

Now, back from that commercial break! I can’t get to the link to give the gal credit for the original, non-sugar-free version of this (blocks me!), so I don’t know who to give the accolades to—but trust me when I tell you that this is the best…the best of the best. The very best.

It can also be used in multiple ways—use a little less sweetener (if desired) for the jam itself. Add a little more sweetener (and maybe thin it when serving with a little water) to use as a shortcake or ice cream topping.

This Trader Joe’s bread only has four net carbs and is amazing with butter and the yummy jam!

I keep a few pint jars of this in my freezer all the time—then transfer to the fridge to use on low carb toast, my BEST Low Carb Biscuits, low carb pitas, low carb crepes, Not-So-Oopsie Bread, pancakes, and more. You want this in your freezer! 🙂

Sugar-Free Jello-O Freezer Jam

10 cups strawberries, washed and crushed with potato masher or mixer

1 ½ to 2 cups bulk granulated sugar free sweetener

2 large (6 oz) or 4 small (3 oz) boxes sugar free strawberry Jell-O

1. In a large pot, combine strawberries and bulk sweetener.
2. Let stand for one hour.
3. Heat the pot to boiling, then simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Stir in the Jell-O.
5. Fill clean containers with jam. (I use pint jars and allow a little room at the top for expansion.)
6. Place in freezer and get out as you need them. (I put one in the fridge right away and put the others in the freezer for later.)

Recipe Labels and Variations

Low Carb (LC): This is a very low carb jam—but doesn’t taste “yucky” like the low carb jams available at the store! 🙂 (I told you that I am picky!)

Family-Friendly Low Carb (FFLC): This is family-friendly too! In other words, it is very low carb, but it doesn’t taste low carb—so all of my kids love it!

Store-Bought-Stella (SBS): No, this isn’t as easy as buying jam at the store, but I have tried like eight different jams—and all of the sugar-free ones are, as I mentioned above, yucky. 🙂

 
Homemade Hannah (HH): I know that many HH’s would never use sugar-free jello, but if you ever want to make an exception to that rule, this is the time to do it! It isn’t that much sf jello per serving over all. But I understand if you are not comfortable with this recipe. No problem!

 
Freezer Cooking (FC): Perfect for the freezer—that is why they call it freezer jam!  🙂  You want this in your freezer, at the ready, all the time…

Oldie Goldie Family Recipes (OG): I have made a lot of homemade jams and jellies in my day (jalapeno jelly, anyone?), but none (even the sugar-laden ones) were as good as this one!

Trim Healthy Mama (THM): Technically, this is not on plan for THM’s because of the artificial sweetener in the store-bought jello. However, if you want to go “off plan” while still staying well under your carb limit for all three settings—S, E, and FP—this is the dish to do it with!

Cycle Cooking (CYC): Not in my regular meat or side dish cooking cycle, but I do try to group things together. For example, if strawberries are on sale, I will buy a ton of them and cut and clean while listening to my audio book—and then have strawberry shortcake, make fruit salad for a dance with strawberries in it, make strawberry cake or muffins, and, of course, this jam! Efficiency, baby!
Sugar Free (SF): Yep—but doesn’t taste like it is!
Gluten Free (GF): Yes!

Low Carb Mixes (LCM): Not a mix per se, but another bulk item. I love cooking in bulk!

DISCLOSURE: I am an affiliate for these products that I recommend. If you purchase these items through my links, I will earn a commission, but you will not pay more when buying a product through my link. 🙂

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