Crispy Fried Chicken (low carb version)

I love fried chicken.  I will openly admit, mostly for the breading portion... so how does this fit in to a low carb lifestyle where I (obviously) shouldn't be eating bread?  On a recent trip to Florida, we stopped at a roadside stand in GA and picked up some peanut flour (it sounded interesting).  It's not the *absolute* lowest carb thing in the would, but from what I can find, it has about 20g of carb per cup... and considering that I used about a cup (considering that some was left over) for this recipe, it doesn't seem so bad!!

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 3 chicken breasts, cut into strips/pieces (I assume you can also purchase tenders)
• 2T cajun seasoning
• 2T salt
• 1T ground black pepper
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1.5c peanut flour
• 1t ground oregano
• 2T cajun/rib/any seasoning mix you love
• 1t onion powder
• 1/2t garlic salt
• 1t garlic powder
• 3t Italian seasoning
• 1/2t chipotle chili powder
• 1t black pepper
• 2t salt
• 2T paprika
• crisco/frying oil (I think we used about 2 cups)

Directions:

1. Put chicken breast pieces in a large plastic bag and cover with water, add 2T cajun seasoning, 2T salt, and 1T ground black pepper.  Let sit for about an hour.
2. In another large, plastic bag (I used gallon size), combine the peanut flour with the remaining seasonings and shake together.
3. Put the eggs in a pie pan (or other large dish object) and add about a tablespoon of water.
4. Pat the chicken pieces dry, and cover in the egg solution then put (a couple pieces at a time) into the bag with the seasoned flour and shake.
5. Place the pieces on a rack to let dry while you work on the remaining pieces.
6. Once the pieces are dry, repeat with the egg wash and dredging process a second time (I did a couple pieces a third time just for fun to use up the eggs).
7. Heat the oil to 365 (F) and start with the frying!!  Something to keep in mind - the peanut flour does make them turn brown almost immediately, and while they start to look a little "overdone", they actually aren't.  Make sure to leave your chicken in long enough to cook all the way through!
8. Then, grab a bit of BBQ sauce (or other sauce), if desired and chow down!!  :)

Eggplant Pasta (low carb)

This is my second time around trying this recipe, and I'm so glad it came out right this time!!  To explain, last time my eggplant "noodles" came out terrifyingly salty.  I ate two bites and couldn't even pretend to be able to finish.  :(  This time, however, it came out delicious and the most amazing part was how filling this is, especially considering that it's (mostly) all veggies!!

Ingredients:

• 2 medium/large eggplants (ours equaled about 2lbs)
• 4T olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2t chile flakes
• 4 small tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1/2c cream (I used half heavy, half light cream)
• 1/4c grated fresh parmesan cheese
• 1/4c fresh basil
• kosher salt
• pepper

Directions:

1. To prepare the eggplant, peel it first then slice lengthwise into 1/4" wide pieces.  Salt both sides of each piece and lay out on a grate (over a baking sheet), or place in a colander in the sink for 45min (up to 2 hours) to drain out the water.
2. After the eggplant has purged out the water, rinse well under cold water then slice into small strips lengthwise (these will be the noodles so the thinner they're sliced, the more like spaghetti they will be) then put in a bowl of cool water and let it sit for a little, then keep rinsing (this is the part I added between the first and second times).  Make sure to squish all the water out at the end - don't worry about damaging the noodles, they're pretty resilient, just make sure they're as dry as possible.  At the end, you can try a piece to make sure it's not too salty!
3. Heat up the olive oil in a large frying pan.
4. Add the garlic and chile flakes to the oil for a couple minutes until they start to smell delicious.
5. Throw in the eggplant noodles and coat them in the garlic/chile oil for a couple minutes then add the tomatoes and let mingle for 4 minutes together.
6. Pour the cream into the pan, and turn up the heat to help it simmer off and thicken.
7. Once the cream has thickened up, add the cheese, basil, and pepper to taste.  It shouldn't need any salt to be added!!
8. Enjoy your dinner!!