kattitudes

Ingredients:

6 ounces fresh tuna
1/2 medium onion, minced
1 stalk celery, minced
Juice of 1/2 lemon
6 medium black olives, minced
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon leaves, minced
1 cup red rose petals, cleaned, trimmed of white bases and minced (reserve about a tablespoon of the petals for a garnish)
1/4 cup rose mayonnaise
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
Sprig of parsley for garnish
Salt and pepper to taste

Remove dark flesh and any skin from the tuna. Brush lightly with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and broil over medium flame until fish flakes easily with a fork. (Canned tuna packed in spring water may be substituted; but be careful to thoroughly drain). Set aside and let cool

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except almonds and parsley. Flake tuna into small chunks and add to the mixture. Cover and chill through in the refrigerator.

To serve, line salad plate with red leaf lettuce and mount salad atop a 3 inch round water cracker. Garnish with parsley, almonds and reserved rose petals.

As a note, a light dry white wine tastes wonderful with this salad.

GREEK CHICKEN - 4 Servings

1 pound boneless chicken
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (3 grams of carbs)
1/2 tsp dried oregano (0.5 grams of carbs)
1 tbsp lemon juice (1.3 grams of carbs)
1 tbsp oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup tomato diced (5.8 grams of carbs)
1 cup fresh spinach (2.4 grams of carbs)

Flatten chicken. Combine feta, lemon juice and oregano. Spread over chicken. Fold chicken to enclose filling; secure with a toothpick. Heat oil in a skillet until hot. Add chicken and cook until golden brown. Mix chicken broth and spinach. Add to skillet, heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 8-10 minutes. Serve.

Carb Count: Recipe Total 13 grams of carbs, carbohydrates per serving: 3.2 grams of carbs

As a note: this recipe originally called for tomatoes also. I, however, seem to have developed a disagreement with fresh tomatoes, and the Mister cares not for the fresh variety, so to avoid overeager intestinal discomfort, I chose to drop that particular ingredient from the list. However, once I did love the addition, so certainly try.

I love the flavor of chicken wings, but I absolutely abhor the wing piece of the chicken. The skin is too gross for me and I shudder at the thought of finding one of the pin feathers from the chicken. Ugh, gag. I would rather go without.

Fortunately, you do not want to eat the skin when you are focused on low carb eating. That works right into this recipe; I would rather cut skinless boneless meat into strips and fake the wings instead. Much better in my world. I just cut the chicken into bite sized chunks and bake it, then treat it as if they were the wings.

BUFFALO CHICKEN WINGS

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken, cut into strips
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup hot pepper sauce

Bake chicken at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes. In saucepan, melt butter. Stir in hot pepper sauce. Brush chicken with sauce. Bake for 10 more minutes. Turn over and baste with sauce. Bake 10 more minutes. If desired, serve with blue cheese dressing and celery (1/2 cup = 1.9 grams of carbs).

Carb Count: Recipe Total 0 grams of carbs, Carbohydrates Per Serving 0 grams of carbs