Extra - Cooking Out with Friends

Keeping it simple!

Some of the best evenings are those that we spend outside the RV with friends.  Of course the happy hour is a great warmup to the cookout and we were happy to find out that the sugar is typically distilled out of alcohol, so as long as the sugar that is added back into the drink is minimal, then Alexx can enjoy a drink.  This is his new favorite:

Raspberry Margaritas

I use a small smoothie blender to make his drink - a $12 item at Target or Walmart and it's great for smoothies or mixing pancakes too.
Ingredients:
2 ice cubes
2 packets True Lime (pure lime with no sugar - find it in the baking section at Walmart.)
1 shot Tequila
1 shot water
4 drops liquid spenda
4 fresh raspberries (2 large strawberries also are good)
Blend and serve in a chilled glass!

Chips and Spicy Dip

As long as you have some fresh raspberries out, mash up a few more and mix them in with cream cheese and some fresh or refrigerated jalepanos.  I add these with high fiber crackers.  I also frequently mash avocados and salsa for another easy spicy dip.  The high fiber crackers are a good substitute for corn tortillas and have a lot less carbs.  Enjoy every morsel and you don't need many chips!

Farm Fresh Sausage and Mustard

One of our favorite things to do (well mine anyway - Alexx is a good sport about going along with me) while we travel from town to town in the RV is to go to local Farmer's Markets.  I have a great ap on my Iphone that tells me where all the Farmers Markets are in the country and even zones into where we are currently located.  It's free and available through ITunes.  It's called Farmers Market Finder.  We try to buy our cage free eggs, produce, cheese and grass fed beef and no nitrate pork locally each week.  I can even plan ahead so if I know we won't be near a Farmers Market for a while, I buy extra meat or poultry and freeze it.  One of our favorite things to purchase are homemade brats or kielbasa.  I put them in my 1 quart slow cooker with a can of beer and let them gently precook for a couple hours.  Then they cook quickly and evenly over the grill to just add a nice edge.  Serve them with mustard!

Grilled Veggies

See my notes on Day 3 for Meal Plan for grilled veges.  For the cookout I just wrap the veggies in tinfoil and toss them on the grill.  If you want extra flavor, marinate the veges in 1/4 cup olive oil and 1 tsp each of your favorite savory spices like garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, basil, lavendar, herbs de provence, and 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.  I vary my mixture depending on what I have on hand and often add a few drops of Tabasco.

Broccoli/Bacon/Cheese Crunchy Salad

Every now and then I find something at the Farmer's Market that is not on my shopping list and it just cries out for me to buy it.  I was planning to make this salad for dinner and to purchase a broccoli at the market, but when I got there, I found no brocoli - but instead this beautiful lavendar cauliflower!  I've never seen such a beautiful head of cauliflower so I had to buy it!  Instead of using broccoli in the salad below I substituted this beautiful cauliflower and it worked just fine!  Don't be afraid to try substitutions as long as the carbs are still low.  My general guideline is to stick to veggies that are grown above ground. (Doesn't work with peas, but for most everything else.)

Lavendar Cauliflower from the Santa Fe Farmers Market - Sept., 2013

Mix together the following ingredients:
1/4 head broccoli chopped fine or shredded
2 strips no nitrate bacon, cooked to crisp and broken into small pieces
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup slivered almonds
2 hard boiled eggs, shelled and chopped finely
1/2 green pepper chopped fine
1/4 cup red onion chopped fine
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon ground oregano
salt and pepper to taste
Pile the mixture into a serving bowl.  Top with grated cheese (cheddar, feta, Gouda are all nice choices) and chill for at least one hour before serving.  It keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Berries and Jello SaladGrilled Chocolate Chip Cookie

For dessert, I keep it simple and Midwestern style.  I mix up a fruit flavored jello in the morning and chill it all day.  The recipe for chocolate chip cookies that I posted in Day 1 Meal plan is the same cookie recipe I use for the cookout, but instead of baking the cookies, I make them on the griddle.  They aren't as pretty but they are very tasty.  Drop a dollop of whipped cream a few of those fresh berries on the jello and add a cookie that is fresh off the griddle for an easy and tasty dessert!

This is a low carb cookout that everyone enjoys!