Low-carb turkey with vegetable soup

I love soup all year round but especially during the colder months. The problem is I can never find any at a restaurant or at the market that is suitable for someone, like myself, who needs to follow a low-carb diet and has multiple food allergies (dairy, gluten, corn, eggs).

That's where the old soup pot comes in handy. I can cook up my own "safe-for-me" soup and enjoy it to my heart's content. Recently, I made use of the leftover turkey carcass from Thanksgiving to make a low-carb turkey-vegetable soup. I confess I had never used the carcass before but decided to give it a go after one of my Thanksgiving dinner guests suggested it. There is a considerable amount of time involved with this recipe if you use a turkey carcass but it also can be made with leftover chicken and purchased chicken broth.

Low-Carb Turkey with Vegetable Soup

Step 1: Make the broth

1. Put the leftover bones and skin from either a turkey or chicken into a large stock pot. Cover with cold water by an inch. Add a quartered onion, chopped celery and tops, chopped carrot, parsley, thyme, a bay leaf and a few peppercorns.
2. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to bring the stock to a simmer. Add salt and pepper.
3. Cook for about four hours, uncovered so the stock reduces. Remove the bones and skin. Strain the broth if desired.

Step 2: Make the soup

1. Add chopped veggies of your choice. I added the sturdier veggies (celery, onions, rutabagas and carrots) first. Skip adding grains or noodles if you want this to be low carb.
2. Cook and simmer until the veggies are tender (approximately 30-45 minutes).
3. In the final 10-15 minutes of cooking, add green beans. I also could have added greens, such as spinach, chard or kale, at this time.
4. Serve with a salad.

Sesame chicken tenders

My husband has been "forcing" himself to eat pie leftovers since Thanksgiving. I made pumpkin pie and company brought apple pie. What torture for my spouse to eat all that pie since I cannot eat any of it. I think he will soon go through pie withdrawal after the supply ends.

Most traditional Thanksgiving foods are not candida-diet friendly for those of us eating low-glycemic diets. I love turkey but what happens when the supply dwindles. I turn to low-carb sesame chicken tenders. We gobbled them up greedily. Fortunately, I snatched a couple aside to snap a photo.

Low-Carb Sesame Chicken Tenders

Ingredients

1. 1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders
2. 4 T. sesame seeds
3. 1 -2 tsp. Chinese Five-Spice
4. 1 T. olive oil
5. Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray and oil baking sheet or pan and preheat in oven to distribute the oil.
2. In a shallow bowl or dish, combine sesame seeds and five spice.
3. Rinse chicken tenders in water.
4. Roll chicken tenders in seed/spice blend to coat.
5. Make additional seed/spice coating if needed.
6. Place coated tenders in preheated, oiled cooking pan.
7. Bake in oven for approximately 15 minutes. Then turn tenders and bake another 15 minutes until crispy.

Serve with a hot, spicy dipping sauce. Saute 2 T. chopped onion in 1 tsp. oil in a small skillet. Add can of tomato sauce (purchase the kind with no additives); 1 tsp. each Bragg's Amino Acids and hot sauce of your choice. Continue cooking until heated through.

Spaghetti squash stew

I keep looking for ways to use up my store of spaghetti squash from last summer's garden. Spaghetti squash chicken stew tops my list as my favorite spaghetti squash recipe. My son, who is not a squash lover, even enjoys it.

Spaghetti Squash Chicken Stew
(serves 6)

Ingredients:

1. 1 T. grapeseed oil or other oil of your choice
2. 6 boned, skinless chicken thighs
3. 1 medium onion, chopped
4. 1 red pepper, cut into one-inch pieces
5. 2 garlic cloves, minced
6. 8 ounces chicken broth, gluten-free, sugar-free
7. 6 chopped roma tomatoes or 14 1/2-ounce can of diced tomatoes
8. 1 T. paprika
9. 1/2 tsp. sea salt
10. 1 baked spaghetti squash
11. 8-12 ounces of frozen or fresh green beans
12. 1/4 cup unsweetened sunbutter

Directions:

1. Bake the spaghetti squash until fork tender; allow to cool and scoop out the squash and cut into bite-sized pieces; set aside
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and saute until browned; remove to a plate.
3. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the garlic, onions, pepper and saute until softened.
4. Add the chicken broth, tomatoes, paprika and salt. Bring to a boil and add the chicken and green beans. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer until the chicken and veggies are tender.
5. Add the sunbutter and stir until well-blended.
6. Add the squash and cook until mixture is hot and thickened.
7. Serve in bowls or as an option, ladle over additional spaghetti squash as pictured above.