Another Saturday of stay at home leaving ample time for my cooking passion. With a big restock on produce and an huge box of Roma's I stared pondering the day. I had originally planned on doing more salsa ranchero but decided today that I would attempt some type of Italian sauce from scratch. Pretty much winged it and cooked to taste with on hand ingredients and spices.
Ended up using about half the large onion, 1 1/2 of the green peppers, 15 small romas, 1 container of mushrooms., about 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley and with stay at home went with 2 tsp dried basil, 2 tsp oregano, 1 TBSP pepper flake and about 1 1/2 TBSP of the minced garlic. I did add about a 1/4 cup artificial sweetener and salt to taste. Probably should have made more considering I have 20 more lbs of Roma’s, 25 lbs of onion and a huge bag of peppers lol.
Started by toasting the garlic in the olive oil (about 3 TBSP and added the diced peppers and onions. Once they were softened I added the mushrooms cooked for a bit and then added the diced tomatoes. I was way to lazy to remove the skin of the tomatoes. Ill use the excuse that is where the vitamins are :)
I cooked the sauce in my giant cast iron skilled for a good 4 hours total until it got a nice dark rich color to it. Once it was finished I used my immersion blender to puree about 2/3 of the sauce and then mixed the rest of the chunky deliciousness in. With the red pepper it reminds me of some of the commercial Arrabbiata sauces I buy and love. This came out really good and after a couple more shots at this I think I will have it nailed to a pretty high standard.
With sauce done and the kitchen having that Italian spices goodness smell going I figured I would just stick with the theme. First up I got some chicken breast ready by slicing each horizontally for thinner slices that would cook reasonably quickly. I seasoned them up with salt, granulated garlic and Italian seasoning mix. After that I made my "breading" mix. Very easy keto breading. I have tried a few including crushed pork rind but this is my favorite for chicken. One cup shredded parmesan and 1/2 cup almond flour. Whipped up a couple eggs in a bowl and got at it. Dredge each piece in egg , coat in the parmesan mixture and move on to the next one.
The chicken was fried in avocado oil on medium high heat in a non stick pan for about 5 - 7 minutes per side depending on the thickness and size of the piece of breast. Came out beautifully. Nice and crispy and can smell the cheesy goodness.
Before I fried the chicken I actually got several other things ready. In the oven I got some Tuscan style asparagus going at 400F. Coated asparagus lightly in olive oil , salt and garlic and added a container of halved multi color cherry tomatoes. They will get dressed up at the end with a little parmesan and some slivered almond. For an appetizer I had some white mushrooms so I hollowed a few and stuffed them with basil goat cheese and parmesan topped with a kalamata olive.
I also whipped up a small batch of my alfredo sauce. I do this so often I do not use a recipe. Just about 3 TBSP butter , toasted a TBSP or so of garlic in it. added a few TBSP of almond flour to make a roux. Added heavy cream and cream cheese to finish it off. I will be serving it on Miracle Noodle Fettuccine. It is a keto replacement for noodles made from Konjac root. When you first take it out of the pouch it has an ammonia like smell. You rinse it a few ties in cold water and let it soak for bout 20 minutes. Prior to tossing with sauce boil it for 2 minutes in already boiling water. Dry it in a warm skillet some before tossing with the pasta.
Time to serve up a feast!! First up is the appetizer. I plated the stuffed mushrooms on wilted spinach along with some roasted Italian peppers in oil, asiago cheese and a dollop of my Arrabiata sauce.
Finally time for the main course. Crispy parmesan chicken with some Arrabbiata sauce and parmesan on a bed of the Miracle noodle fettuccine alfredo Tuscan asparagus with parmesan and almonds. Here is a plated shot along with a couple closeups.
Well that's it folks. The sauce I cooked all morning ended up taking a small but delicious spot in the meal. Like a lot of meals I cook I go with the flow based on ingredients in the house and the direction the wind blows lol. The sauce was great to dip the chicken in and in the near future will figure into a dish featuring italian sausage for sure. Thanks for looking!!
Ended up using about half the large onion, 1 1/2 of the green peppers, 15 small romas, 1 container of mushrooms., about 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley and with stay at home went with 2 tsp dried basil, 2 tsp oregano, 1 TBSP pepper flake and about 1 1/2 TBSP of the minced garlic. I did add about a 1/4 cup artificial sweetener and salt to taste. Probably should have made more considering I have 20 more lbs of Roma’s, 25 lbs of onion and a huge bag of peppers lol.
Started by toasting the garlic in the olive oil (about 3 TBSP and added the diced peppers and onions. Once they were softened I added the mushrooms cooked for a bit and then added the diced tomatoes. I was way to lazy to remove the skin of the tomatoes. Ill use the excuse that is where the vitamins are :)
I cooked the sauce in my giant cast iron skilled for a good 4 hours total until it got a nice dark rich color to it. Once it was finished I used my immersion blender to puree about 2/3 of the sauce and then mixed the rest of the chunky deliciousness in. With the red pepper it reminds me of some of the commercial Arrabbiata sauces I buy and love. This came out really good and after a couple more shots at this I think I will have it nailed to a pretty high standard.
With sauce done and the kitchen having that Italian spices goodness smell going I figured I would just stick with the theme. First up I got some chicken breast ready by slicing each horizontally for thinner slices that would cook reasonably quickly. I seasoned them up with salt, granulated garlic and Italian seasoning mix. After that I made my "breading" mix. Very easy keto breading. I have tried a few including crushed pork rind but this is my favorite for chicken. One cup shredded parmesan and 1/2 cup almond flour. Whipped up a couple eggs in a bowl and got at it. Dredge each piece in egg , coat in the parmesan mixture and move on to the next one.
The chicken was fried in avocado oil on medium high heat in a non stick pan for about 5 - 7 minutes per side depending on the thickness and size of the piece of breast. Came out beautifully. Nice and crispy and can smell the cheesy goodness.
Before I fried the chicken I actually got several other things ready. In the oven I got some Tuscan style asparagus going at 400F. Coated asparagus lightly in olive oil , salt and garlic and added a container of halved multi color cherry tomatoes. They will get dressed up at the end with a little parmesan and some slivered almond. For an appetizer I had some white mushrooms so I hollowed a few and stuffed them with basil goat cheese and parmesan topped with a kalamata olive.
I also whipped up a small batch of my alfredo sauce. I do this so often I do not use a recipe. Just about 3 TBSP butter , toasted a TBSP or so of garlic in it. added a few TBSP of almond flour to make a roux. Added heavy cream and cream cheese to finish it off. I will be serving it on Miracle Noodle Fettuccine. It is a keto replacement for noodles made from Konjac root. When you first take it out of the pouch it has an ammonia like smell. You rinse it a few ties in cold water and let it soak for bout 20 minutes. Prior to tossing with sauce boil it for 2 minutes in already boiling water. Dry it in a warm skillet some before tossing with the pasta.
Time to serve up a feast!! First up is the appetizer. I plated the stuffed mushrooms on wilted spinach along with some roasted Italian peppers in oil, asiago cheese and a dollop of my Arrabiata sauce.
Finally time for the main course. Crispy parmesan chicken with some Arrabbiata sauce and parmesan on a bed of the Miracle noodle fettuccine alfredo Tuscan asparagus with parmesan and almonds. Here is a plated shot along with a couple closeups.
Well that's it folks. The sauce I cooked all morning ended up taking a small but delicious spot in the meal. Like a lot of meals I cook I go with the flow based on ingredients in the house and the direction the wind blows lol. The sauce was great to dip the chicken in and in the near future will figure into a dish featuring italian sausage for sure. Thanks for looking!!
Last edited:
