****SEE BELOW FOR A LIST OF LO-CARB VEGGIES .

Once in awhile I like to pretend I’m on Chopped.  I make myself a rule that I have to prepare a good dinner without going to the store or borrowing anything from Beckie next door.  Also, I have the added complication of a hubby who is on a lo-carb diet.  So, my goal is to make something which has less than 10 grams per serving.  As I’ve said before, I use the “ballpark” method of counting carbs.  I just look on my little book, or on the can or package of the ingredient, and measure about how much I think my dish contains.  I looked up canned tomatoes, and 1 cup contains 6 grams of carbs.  I doubt that after I made my sauce there was a whole cup of tomatoes in a serving, so I just counted 5.  Peppers are very low in carbs (and are considered one of the favorite lo carb veggies because of their nutrition).  On hand I had sweet mini peppers, onions, chicken thighs and canned tomatoes.  So I put together a nice little chicken dish from this ingredients.  NOTE:  it can easily become a Chicken stew by adding a can of vegetable or chicken broth.  But Larry’s little dinner probably had about 10 carbs total! (for hi-carbers, serve on rice or potatoes!)

CHICKEN WITH PEPPERS

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or breasts–your choice)

2 or 3 cups mini peppers, sliced (of course you could use a large red or green bell)

1 small onion, sliced

1 can crushed tomatoes

Since this is lo carb, I beat an egg with a little water and dipped the chicken in it, after pounding each thigh till slightly flattened.  (**If I were making a non-lo carb dinner, I would dip the thighs in seasoned bread crumbs.)  Saute thighs in olive oil till almost done (about 4 minutes on each side).  Remove thighs from pan and set aside.   Saute onion and peppers in the drippings till soft.  You might need to add more olive oil.  Then add tomatoes and simmer about 10 minutes.  Replace thighs back into the skillet and cover with tomatoes.  Finish in the oven for another 10 minutes at 350, or till chicken is done (about 160 degrees if you are a purist!).  (Cheese on top if you desire when you put it in the oven.)

NOTE ON SPICES:  You will notice I did not list any seasonings on this.  This is where it gets to be fun.  If you like a Mexican flavor, add chili powder, salsa, garlic, cumin–whatever you like!  I like Italian, so I added lots of basil, pepper, garlic powder and always a little sweetener (it brings out the flavor–and 1 tsp. in an entire dish is almost carb-negligible.)  Another seasoning I often use is a little packet of onion soup mix (beef, or or veggie). Go crazy!

ACCORDING TO THE INTERNET, HERE ARE THE TOP 20 LO-CARB VEGGIES, SAFE TO USE IN A “KETO” DIET:

onion, asparagus, red peppers, spinach, eggplant, celery, mushroom, radish, cabbage, brussels sprouts, garlic, lettuce, zucchini, tomatoes, cauliflower, artichokes, broccoli, cucumber, kale, green beans