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Let’s Talk Air Fryers

So here’s the deal….. Your food is only going to be as good as your equipment. Don’t expect great results if you buy cheap equipment. There are so many air fryers out there and you need to do your research to find the best one that fits your needs. And I don’t care what anyone says…. Size Matters!! Specifically in an air fryer. If you have a family of 4 and you have a small capacity air fryer, get ready to stand around for a while waiting on your meals to cook. You will have to make multiple rounds of cooking because the capacity of the small ones don’t give you enough space to cook more than a breast or 2, or a steak or 2.

Option 1:

So, I researched and found a nice large air fryer that I love. The good thing about this one is that there is no digital parts, it cooks evenly, and nothing sticks to it… EVER! I found this gem on Amazon. I’ve ran a lot of meals through this one and it hasn’t ever let me down. It is one of the larger ones but the only downside is you don’t have racking to stack inside. I’m not sure that’s a bad thing because I don’t know how evenly it would cook. This specific air fryer is not quiet either. It’s loud, but not too loud where you don’t want to run it. So take a look, see if you like something like this. The price is comparable to the smaller ones you find in the big box stores. Click on this link (Paula Deen Air Fryer) and it will take you to it

Option 2:

So we ran into this issue where we would cook our protein and not have anywhere to cook our vegetables. We absolutely love the way our vegetables cook in the air fryer but it was being occupied by the protein, or vice versa. So what was the solution? We bought another air fryer. Once again, I went to Amazon and did some extensive research on the best “BIG” air fryer. I wanted to buy bigger than I need that way I couldn’t complain about not having enough space. And boy, was I surprised. This thing is big, it’s very quiet and it cooks just as good as the Paula Deen I originally bought. My only con I’ve found so far is that things like to stick to the grates. But if you properly spray them, there should be no problem. Even better, this unit is $50 off right now on Amazon. Just click on this link (Moosoo Air Fryer) and it will take you to it!

Are there more out there? Sure, but this is what I have experience with and I stand behind either one of these options. If you have experience with a good air fryer, drop me a comment below. I’d love to see what else out there works great.

Keto Taco Zucchini Boats

Well this was good…like really good. Imagine having all the same flavors of Taco Tuesday without the extra carbs. This is exactly what you get here. Now, I’ve done several iterations of this recipe; philly boats, chicken bacon ranch, but this has to be my favorite. Did I mention how super simple this is as well? Well, get after it, what ya waiting for?

all dressed and ready!

Ingredients:

  • 1lb. ground beef
  • 1/2 (4 oz.) block of cream cheese
  • 3 nice sized zucchini (get them as straight as you can)
  • Mexican blend grated cheese
  • Taco seasoning
  • Taco fixin’s of your choice

Instructions:

We need to start out by washing our zucchini and then cutting the tip off of both ends, but just the tip! Once this is done, cut them down the center as straight as you can.

Now, take a spoon and dig out the center. Don’t dig too deep, but dig deep enough to get enough of the filling inside. Also, stop about 1/4 inch from either end so the filling doesn’t fall out. Repeat until all 6 are done this way.

Throw these into the air fryer at 400 degrees and cook for 10-12 minutes. We just want to soften them up a bit prior to filling them and cooking again. I also elect to sprinkle with salt for a bit of added flavor.

While your zucchini is cookin’, add your ground beef to a skillet and get to browning it up. Cook until it’s good and brown. At this point I elect to remove the grease because it will make a mess in our boat. And, now that it’s cooked and drained, this is when I add the seasoning. Season to your liking.

Once your meat is cooked, take your 1/2 block of cream cheese, cubed, and throw in with your ground beef. Keep your fire on low and gently work it around until the ground beef and cream cheese is combined well. Kill the fire.

At this point, everything should be ready to stuff. Take your zucchini out of the air fryer. Using a spoon, start adding your filling into your boats. Fill each one and pack them down real good. This helps prevent them from falling out. Repeat until they are all stuffed. Just for reference, 1lb. of ground beef perfectly stuffed 6 boats.

Take some grated mexican blend cheese (or cheese of your choice) and sprinkle on top of each boat. Put back into air fryer and cook for about 10 minutes, or until your cheese is nice and crispy on top.

Plate your boats and start topping with your favorite taco fixin’s. I use sour cream, guacamole and crema. Hope you enjoy!

Keto Cheescake

Better than the original. I promise, not 1 person will know the difference. If you are looking for that knock-out punch dessert, this is the one.

Ingredients:

Instructions:

We will first prepare the crust. Preheat your oven to 375. While preheating the oven, in a large bowl put all your crust ingredients into a bowl and mix well. This will be a crumbley mixture.

Line a springform pan with parchment paper.

Dump crust contents into the pan and press with your hands to cover the bottom.

Bake 12-15 minutes at 375 until brown around the edges.

Remove from oven and let completely cool.

Now, while the crust is cooking, we will prepare the filling. In a large mixer, beat your 5 blocks of cream cheese until fluffy.

Once your mixture is fluffy, gradually pour the 1.5 cups of keto sweetener into the mixture. Add in 1 egg at a time, scrape down the bowl after each.

Next, add the lemon and vanilla and beat them until incorporated. Finally, add the sour cream and cinnamon and beat until this is incorporated as well. At this point, the batter is going to be pretty thick. Then you will know it’s ready to pour into the pan.

After the crust has completely cooled and your filling is completely mixed, you need to wrap the springform pan with foil to protect it from the water bath.

Get a large roasting pan that your springform pan will fit into. Pour hot water so that the water level is 1/2 up the side of the pan. Pour your filling into your crust and place into water bath. Adjust the water level so that it’s only 1/2 way up the springform pan.

Bake at 325 degrees for 1.5 hours. At the end of 1.5 hours, if it is still jiggly, cook longer in 15 minute increments until there is no more jiggle. Remove from oven and let cool before placing in the refrigerator. Let it chill overnight for best results. If you just can’t wait, throw it in the freezer for an hour or 2! Enjoy.

Keto Beef Birria Tacos w/Consome

Want to take your tastebuds for a ride? Well, start with this recipe here. Full disclosure, this isn’t my recipe. It belongs to a good friend of mine. She’s been holding out on it for a while and I finally was able to get it from her and make it myself and O-M-GEE! This was outstanding.

Birria itself is Keto friendly. What makes these Keto birria tacos Keto friendly is your choice in low carb tortillas. As I’ve stated many times, I order mine from a company in Dallas, The Salsa Texan. You can find them on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/thesalsatexan/. I also used Mr. Tortilla low carb tortillas. They are another great choice. You can find them at www.mrtortilla.com. Whatever you choose, choose a good low carb tortilla with good ingredients.

Buckle up, this one is multi-step and takes a little prep. But the payoff is out of this world!

Ingredients:

  • 2-3 lbs. beef
    • I used shoulder but you can use a pot roast as well. Just make sure it’s good and fatty
  • Chiles:
    • California (4-5)
      • I couldn’t find California Chiles so I used New Mexico Chiles
    • Ancho (4-5)
    • Guajillo (3-4)
  • 1 whole onion
  • Garlic (3-4 cloves)
  • 1 stick cinnamon
  • Bay Leaves (4)
  • Whole Pepper (6-7)
  • 1 tsp. Oregano
  • 1 tsp. Clove or 4-5 Cloves
  • 1/2 tsp. cumin
  • 1/4 cup Salt
  • Quesadilla cheese
  • Lime/Cilantro for garnishing

Instructions:

Start by prepping your meat. Coat both sides with avocado oil or olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Put in a scorching hot pan and sear both sides 2-3 minutes. Remove from pan and put into a lined crock pot.

Chop up your entire onion, place in the crock pot. Take a pot of boiling water and fill the crock pot about halfway. You want to make sure to leave room for our other seasoning mixture we are going to dump in here.

Now, start another pot of boiling water. While that’s boiling, wash your chiles and then cut them open and remove as much of the seeds as possible. Rinse once again. Once all of your chiles are clean, put them into the boiling water for 4-5 minutes to rehydrate them.

Cut the heat after 4-5 minutes and dip out your chiles and put into your blender. Add all of your other ingredients. Now add the water you boiled your chiles in. You should just cover the chiles and seasonings and not much more.

Once you have all of those ingredients in there, blend until smooth.

Once blended, poor into the crock pot over the meat/onions. Give it a little stir and put the lid on and set the crock pot to High 6 hours.

If you have access to stir every few hours, do so. If not, no big deal. It will still all come together at the end.

Once you’re ready to serve, get 2 forks and shred the beef. It should be very easy at this point to shred.

In a skillet, add a little bit of oil on medium heat. Dip your low carb tortilla into the crock pot then place in the frying pan. Take some tongs and dip out some of the beef and place on the tortilla. Add some quesadilla cheese and fold. Let crisp up on the 1st side then flip. Get them fried up good!

Remove once reached the desired crispness and plate. Take a small bowl or ramekin and dip out some of the consome. You will use this to dip your taco in! Garnish with cilantro and squeeze some fresh lime and you’re ready to tear ’em up! Enjoy!

Keto Cranberry Sauce

Don’t forget the cranberry sauce! If you’re like me, you love to have a little cranberry sauce with your turkey or ham or any other time of year. If you need a super simple, super fast, and super tasty Keto cranberry sauce, look no further. 10 minutes prep and about 20 minutes cook time and you’re in business!

Ingredients:

  • 12 oz. fresh cranberries
  • 1 cup Keto approved sweetener
    • I’m starting to lean towards allulose more than the other sweeteners. It’s much easier on the tummy. I order on Amazon in a 2 pack–> https://amzn.to/3FscXeB
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 tbsp. vanilla
  • Cinnamon (measure with your heart)

Instructions:

In a medium sized pot, place your cranberries and 1/4 cup of water. Heat on medium for about 6 minutes till they start to pop. Don’t worry about the water level, it may not cover the cranberries. Just make sure you use 1/4 cup of water, no more, no less.

This is after 6 minutes, you can see they popped

Once they have popped, reduce the heat and add your sweetener, vanilla and cinnamon and stir until well combined.

Put the lid back on and let simmer until it thickens. You get to decide how thick you want it! Once done, turn off the pot and allow it to cool. Place in a mason jar, bowl or whatever you desire and put in the fridge to solidify. If you want your cranberry sauce the be smooth, you can hit it with an emulsifier before refrigerating. Hope you enjoy!

Keto Broccoli Salad

Nothing like taking a good ole southern side and turning it into a great Keto side. If you’re struggling to find a great side dish to take to a party or host, you should definitely make this broccoli salad. And as usual, you can add or remove ingredients as you see fit. You can always just use these recipes as a guide.

Not pictured: Keto sweetener and bacon

Ingredients:

  • 2 heads broccoli, fresh
  • 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1 cup avocado mayo
  • 3 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
  • 1 cup chopped red onion
  • 1 cup crumbled bacon
  • 2 tbsp keto approved sweetener

Optional ingredients:

  • Freeze dried cranberries (not particularly keto but your guest may enjoy them)
  • Salted sunflower seeds – mine will be on the side and added as it’s served

Instructions:

We will want to start by making the dressing first. In a medium bowl, add your mayo, apple cider vinegar and keto sweetener. Stir together until nice and smooth and set aside.

Now, lets start on the salad part. Start by chopping your red onion.

Next, clean your broccoli and cut it up. I prefer my broccoli salad without the stems. Of course, you cut it up how you prefer to eat it. I just cut the tops off. Put these in the bowl once your 2 heads are cut.

Now, throw in your cheddar cheese and bacon crumbles and give this salad a good toss to get it all mixed together.

Now, take your dressing and pour over the top of your tossed salad. Hit it with a little bit of pepper. Mix really good until it’s all coated. This should only take a few minutes.

Cover in foil/saran wrap and put into the fridge. This will be best after several hours in the fridge or even the next day. The longer it sits, the better it gets. Eat within 4 days then throw away, but I doubt there will be any left! Hope you enjoy.

Keto French Silk Pie

This one here…. you gotta try it. It’s so rich and so smooth and when using good clean ingredients, makes a perfect Keto dessert. This one packs a powerful punch and is super rich! Have a drink ready 🙂

As a precautionary note, this recipe uses raw eggs. The pie filling is not cooked. Therefore, you should select pasteurized eggs to eliminate the chances of getting sick from eating raw eggs.

Ingredients:

Crust

Use this recipe from my pumpkin pie crust –> Keto Pumpkin Pie – The Keto Guru (justaketoguru.com)

Filling

  • 4 oz. keto approved chocolate chips (I prefer lilly’s, but you do you boo)
  • 1 cup (16 tbs) grass fed butter
  • 1 and 1/2 cup keto approved sweetener
    • This is a great option -> https://amzn.to/3yLUgzT
    • I used a granular sweetener and it made it a little grainy. It’s not bad but you’d be better off using powdered
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 4 pasteurized eggs

Instructions:

Make the crust ahead of time using the recipe link provided. Allow this time to cool down. On the stove top, make yourself a double-boiler set-up. Get the water in the pot below boiling.

Throw your butter and chocolate chips in the double-boiler and start letting them melt. You need to stir continuously to keep the chocolate from burning. This only takes a few minutes.

Once your chocolate and butter have been combined and everything is nice and melted, take off the stove top and set aside and allow to cool a few minutes.

Add your 1.5 cups of sweetener and vanilla and stir together really well.

Get out your hand mixer or stand mixer and get ready to work. This is probably the most important step you need to ensure you follow. If not, the filling will not form correctly.

You need to start adding your eggs but you’re going to do this one at a time and mix for about 5 minutes between each. Yes, 5 minutes between each egg (4×5=20 minutes). It probably makes sense to use a stand mixer. I unfortunately used a hand mixer and that got a bit tiring. After each 5 minute set, add the next, repeat the 5 minutes until all your eggs have been used.

As you see, as the eggs get added, the color is changing lighter and the filling is firming up.

Now that our filling is made, our crust has cooled, just dump the filling into the crust and you’re done!

Before you eat, let this set-up in the fridge for at least 3 hours. Top with homemade whip cream and enjoy!

Keto Smashed Brussel Sprouts

Just as the name says, here are some awesome smashed brussel sprouts. This is one of those super simple easy side dishes that goes with anything. Best of all, they taste fantastic. These will make someone that doesn’t like brussel sprouts into someone who does!

Ingredients:

  • 24 oz. fresh brussel sprouts (whole)
  • Crumbled bacon
  • Grated Parmesan
  • Salt/Pepper to taste
  • Avocado oil spray

Instructions:

Cooking these bad boys, or girls, is an easy 2 step process. 1st, place your brussels into a large pot and boil for 10 minutes. Don’t start the timer until the water is boiling.

After 10 minutes of boiling, remove from heat. On a sheet pan, place some parchment paper and spray with avocado oil. Dip your sprouts out of the water, allowing the water to drain, and place on the pan.

Now, take a smashing tool and smash flat. If you don’t have a smasher, use a bowl or something flat. Smash all of them nice and flat.

Once flattened, sprinkle on your grated parmesan cheese followed by the crumbled bacon. Salt and pepper to your liking. Put in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. At the end of 20 minutes, you may elect to use your broiler for a few minutes on high to get that cheese extra crunchy on top.

Once your time is up, pull from the oven and immediately enjoy! Pair with your favorite protein or eat them by themselves. Hope you enjoy!

Keto Spicy McChicken Sandwich

I’ve made a lot of dupe’s but this one here was pretty dadgum awesome. I was actually going to make chicken nuggets tonight but I changed my mind while on my long run today. It tasted very close to a McDonalds McChicken. The only thing was it didn’t come out as spicy as I hoped (add more cajun hot sauce!).

Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs ground chicken
  • 2 eggs
  • Cajun Hot Sauce
  • Salt/Pepper
  • Seasonings of choice (preferably something with some spice)
  • 3 Eggs for egg wash
  • 6 oz. pork rinds
  • 1.5 cups almond flour

Instructions:

Let’s knock out the batter first. In a food processor, add your pork rinds, almond flour and some seasonings. Place on blend until you have a nice powdery pork rind mixture.

In a separate bowl, crack your eggs for your egg wash. Add as much of the cajun hot sauce as you desire. If you don’t want spicy, don’t add any. Mix well.

Onto your chicken patties. In a bowl, add your ground chicken, 2 eggs, salt, pepper and seasonings. Mix well until all combined.

After mixed, use your hand to form 1/4lb chicken patties. Pack them as tight as you can. The mixture will be a bit sticky but they will hold together. Take each patty and drown in your egg wash. Remove from egg and immediately place in your pork rind mixture. Place in a lined (helps with cleaning) air fryer. Repeat this step until you are finished. 2lbs of ground chicken should yield 8 patties.

Air fry your patties for about 15 minutes, flipping halfway. You can cook a little longer if you want to get extra crunch but you risk drying out the chicken.

While your chicken is cooking, get your bread toasted and ready. I make PSMF bread but you can also use your favorite low carb bread. If you want to make PSMF bread, look up Maria Emmerich and search for her recipe.

Butter both sides of the bread and warm it in a pan. Toast until you get it to where you like it.

Mayo both sides of your bread, add your chicken patty, a slice of cheese, sliced tomato, shredded lettuce and cap it with your 2nd slice of bread. Head to the table and enjoy!

Keto Eggplant Parmesean

Sometimes when I have no clue what I’m going to do it turns out the best. I had fresh eggplant in my garden and needed to cook it. So, I got into the Keto lab and started working. There’s nothing in this recipe that I would change. It turned out fantastic! This recipe will be a little different. I didn’t really measure my ingredients but it all worked out. I think it will work out for you as well!

Ingredients:

  • 3 fresh eggplants
  • Rao’s marinara sauce or any other Keto friendly marinara
  • Grated parmesan cheese
  • Mozzarella cheese
  • 4 boneless skinless breasts cut into tenders or pre-cut tenders
  • eggs for battering
  • Seasonings
    • Salt
    • Pepper
    • Italian

Instructions:

The 1st step will be to sweat out the eggplant. This is preventative to remove any bitter taste that may come from the plant. Mine weren’t bitter but I did this step anyway. Wash your eggplant and slice into 1/4″ slices. Salt 1 side and let sit for 30 minutes.

  • This has been sweated out

Move onto your chicken. Use this recipe to prepare your chicken: https://justaketoguru.com/2020/08/12/keto-parmesan-chicken-fettuccine/

After sweating out your eggplant for 30 minutes, we will batter them now. Take your eggplant and dip into your egg wash, let drip off, then place in a bowl with the grated parm and coat both sides. Repeat this until all of your eggplant is battered. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, remove from the oven. Place a dollop of marinara on each of the eggplant. After adding marinara to all your eggplant, add a pinch of mozzarella to them and put back into the oven for 10 minutes. Remove when the 10 minutes is up.

Plate your eggplant, add your parmesean chicken and enjoy. It’s really easy to make and really yummy!

  • ENHANCE_BLUR

Keto Philly Steak Zucchini Boats

A couple of weeks ago I posted a recipe very similar to this one, Chicken Bacon Ranch Zucchini Boats. I knew that the boats could be stuffed with so many other things. Tonight, philly steak was the chosen one and it did not disappoint. This one took a bit longer than a normal meal because there were several parts from trimming the steak to finish. You can cut some time off by buying pre-cut philly meat but that takes the fun from it.

Ingredients: Yields 8 zucchini boats

  • 2-3 large ribeye steaks
  • 1 block softened full fat cream cheese
  • 1/2 white onion
  • 1 cup mushrooms
  • 2 jumbo jalapeno
  • 8 slices provolone cheese
  • 4 large zucchini (find them as straight as possible)
  • 1 tbsp salted grass fed butter
  • 1 tbsp avocado oil
  • Salt/pepper/garlic powder to taste

Instructions:

Start by slicing your fresh ribeye steak very thin. The thinner the better. Make sure you cut against the grain so your meat isn’t chewy. Set to the side.

On a cutting board, slice the ends of your zucchini and split down the middle. Do your best to cut as straight as possible. Using a spoon, remove the insides leaving about 1/4″ of the meat.

Spray your zucchini boats with avocado oil and place them in the air fryer or oven for 10 minutes. We just need to soften them up a bit prior to stuffing.

On a cutting board, slice up 1/2 of an onion and your peppers. Open your pre-sliced mushrooms and wash, set to the side.

In a frying pan, add 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp of avocado oil. On med-high, throw in your onions only at this point. Start sweating them down. Let them cook for about 15 minutes, casually stirring.

After 15 minutes of sweating them down, toss in the peppers and mushrooms and continue on med heat for another 10 minutes or so while you are cooking your beef.

In an alternate pan, add your beef, 2 tbsp of avocado oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder and cook for just a few minutes on med-high, just to a slight pink color. We will be adding the veggies and airfrying so the meat will continue to cook.

Once your steak is cooked, drain the juice off and add it to the veggies. Combine.

Add your cubed softened cream cheese and turn your heat back on to med-high. Stir this really well until all of the cream cheese is melted and combined with the meat/veggies. This shouldn’t take more than 4 or 5 minutes.

Now that we have everything cooked, it’s time to start stuffing the boats. Using tongs or a spoon, divide your mixture into your 8 boats. You may have to use your hand a bit to get them formed into the boat and not overflowing the sides. Once stuffed, place your boats into the air fryer/oven and cook on 400 degrees for about 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, pull them out and put a slice of provolone cheese on each of the boats. I cut my slice in half to make it go end to end. Place back into the air fryer/oven for about 2 minutes, or until the cheese is nicely melted.

And that’s it! Now remove these bad boys and enjoy!