Good-bye Summer. Good-bye Tomatoes. The Last of The Summer Tomatoes

Good-bye Summer. Good-bye Tomatoes.

August in Texas signals an end to the summer’s crop of fresh tomatoes. This is our signal to stock up on hearty, rich tasting, low carb vine ripened tomatoes – and do that voodoo we do so well with them before the tasteless winter imposters make the scene. Now is the time to freeze, can, make low carb sauces, low carb soups, pastes, juice, and chop these prize tomatoes. If you’re like me, you have salsas dancing through your mind.

During the summer, it’s not unusual to see tomatoes for $0.75 per pound here in Texas. Making your own low carb tomato based products might not be as cheap as using store coupons, or buying canned tomatoes and marinara on sale, but they represent a better nutritional bargain and remain free of added sugars, preservatives and chemicals like BPA, a recognized hormone and endocrine disruptor.

Fluffy Chix Cook decided to give you a couple of base recipes this month. We will be adding to these base low carb recipes so you can have a complete set of quick, cheap foundation recipes. With bases in your freezer, low carb dinner comes together in a snap for less than the cost of a frozen entree. Mix and match, or eat the bases on their own; they taste great,and easily morph into exciting low carb comfort meals.

You can find the low carb recipes for these bases by clicking on the associated links inside each recipe. By the magic of the internets, you will be whisked away to CarbSmart Magazine’s special low carb recipe section called Easy Bases. The low carb recipes you see this month feature tomatoes in all their glory and rely heavily on our base recipes.

The easiest (and cheapest) method Fluffy Chix has found for working with these bases is to make a double recipe stashing extras in the freezer in workable portions. You eat one dish for dinner that night and freeze the overage in strategically portioned units.

MEAL 1: Low Carb Spaghetti (Zucchini Noodles) and Meat Sauce with Mushrooms and Low-Carb Chopped Salad

Low Carb “Spaghetti” and Meat Sauce (Zucchini Noodle Version)

Recipe By: Susie T. Gibbs
Serving Size: 4 servings    Yield: 6 cups
Prep. Time: 20 Minutes
Cooking Time: 10 Minutes Stove Top
Start to Finish: 30 Minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Low Carb Zucchini noodles replace high carb pasta in a convincingly delicious, hearty Italian comfort meal. No BPA, no soy, and no gluten in sight!

Ingredients

• 2 cups  Meat Sauce and Marinara with Mushrooms (Base Recipe)
• 2 cups zucchini
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes — optional
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Wash and dry zucchini. Peel and thinly slice garlic.
2. You can make many different types of noodles from zucchini. The easiest way to make noodles is to make either tagliatelle size or pappardelle sized strips of zucchini using a vegetable peeler. Don’t worry about peeling off the green outer skin. The greatest concentration of vitamins, minerals and fiber is often located just under or in the skin of the vegetable!
3. To make zoodles with a vegetable peeler: Make thin, shallow strips down the zucchini, trying to travel the entire length of the squash without breaking the strip. The strips will accumulate into a “mound of pasta” or zoodles (zucchini noodles). Rotate the squash to keep the width of the strips as uniform as possible. Thinner strips are called tagliatelle. Wider strips are termed pappardelle.
4. When you get to the core you can either stop and chop up the core in a julienne slice or cube it for more texture. Either way, don’t waste the core. It will still taste great in your dish. Fluffy Chix Cook the zucchini cores with the rest of the zoodles and like it julienned or cut into long thin strips to match the other zoodles.
5. Alternately, you can use a julienne vegetable peeler and make long thin julienne strips of zucchini. Those are our linguini. If you have a spiral slicer, you can make spiral zoodles.
6. Heat olive oil and garlic in a non-stick pan over high heat. Add zucchini and sauté for about 1 minute. Remove pan from heat. While zucchini is cooking, heat meat sauce in microwave until hot, or make a fresh batch of meat sauce and marinara. Toss meat sauce into the sauté pan with the zoodles. Distribute sauce throughout the noodles. Serve immediately.
7. Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and optional red pepper flakes.

 

Per Serving: 231 Calories; 15g Fat; 11g Protein; 14.25g Carbohydrate; 4.5g Dietary Fiber; 25mg Cholesterol; 603mg Sodium; 9.75g Net Carbohydrate

Serving Ideas: Serve low carb spaghetti and meat sauce with a quick chopped salad or simply Greek salad for an easy weeknight meal. Cheap and delicious House Vinaigrette makes an easy dressing. Perfectly low carb and comforting.

NOTES :

Low carb “spaghetti” and meat sauce makes a comforting and thoroughly convincing alternative to high carb spaghetti and meat sauce. The secret is in the low carb garlic zoodles! You can twirl ’em, cut ’em with a knife and almost dance to ’em, they’re so good.

Belly up to a plateful and listen to your family gush with praise! Fluffy Chix Cook extra meat sauce and also keep the meat base and roasted marinara in the freezer at all times for those emergency meals on the go when there is no time or energy for thought!

Throw a quick salad together and poof! Low carb dinner’s served. It sure keeps the delivery driver away from the door and the low-carb lifestyle firmly in place.

Recipe can be halved or doubled!

 

ALTERNATE MEAL 1 (Spaghetti Squash Version): Low Carb Spaghetti and Meat Sauce with Mushrooms and Low-Carb Chopped Salad

Low Carb Spaghetti and Meat Sauce (Spaghetti Squash Version)

Recipe By: Susie T. Gibbs
Serving Size: 4 servings        Yield: 6 cups
Prep. Time: 20 Minutes
Cooking Time: 10 Minutes Stove Top
Start to Finish: 30 Minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Spaghetti squash “noodles” replace high carb pasta in a convincingly delicious, hearty Italian comfort meal. No BPA, no soy, and no gluten in sight!

Ingredients

• 2 cups Meat Sauce and Marinara with Mushrooms (Base Recipe)
• 3 cups spaghetti squash, cooked (About 3/4 of an average size squash)
• ½ tablespoon olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground

1. If you prefer using spaghetti squash, substitute the spaghetti squash for zucchini in the recipe above. Preheat oven to 450°
2. Split spaghetti squash lengthwise and seed. Rub cut sides with olive oil and season with kosher salt and pepper. Line a baking sheet with non-stick aluminum foil and roast squash, cut side down, at 450° for 25-35 minutes. Squash is done when a knife tip easily pierces the skin.
3. Remove from oven and flip the squash over. Using a fork, separate the strands of squash to form “spaghetti” strands. Scrape strands out of squash and toss with sauce. Top with Parmesan cheese and serve.

Per Serving: 221 Calories; 15g Fat; 9g Protein; 13g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 25mg Cholesterol; 610mg Sodium; 10g Net Carbohydrate

 

Serving Ideas: Serve low carb spaghetti and meat sauce with a quick chopped salad or simply Greek salad (recipe below) for an easy weeknight meal. Cheap and delicious House Vinaigrette makes an easy dressing. Perfectly low carb and comforting.

 

NOTES:
Whether you use zucchini noodles or this little darling of the low carb world (spaghetti squash), satisfying low carb Spaghetti and Meat Sauce is just minutes away. Spaghetti squash freezes very well, too. Feel free to freeze the leftovers from this dish.

Low-Carb Stuffed Zucchini Boats

Low-Carb Stuffed Lasagna Peppers

Low-Carb Chopped Salad

Low-Carb Greek Salad

MEAL 3: Low-Carb Stuffed Lasagna Peppers and Low-Carb Greek Salad

For more recipes featuring summer tomatoes please visit Fluffy Chix Cook.

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