It’s wintertime, so you’re going to get a lot more soup recipes. Of course, I love soup and could probably eat it every day, even when it’s 90 degrees out. But I think everyone can agree that a bowl of steaming hot soup is best on a cold and dreary day, which we’ve had a lot of recently. That’s why I made this Buffalo Chicken Soup the other night for dinner, and it hit the spot perfectly.
This one is an Instant Pot recipe. I love my Instant Pot, as you might have gathered by the number of recipes on this site that involve it. I have owned three electric pressure cookers in my life, and the other two couldn’t hold a candle to the Instant Pot. If you’re afraid of it because you’ve heard all the horror stories about grandma’s pressure cooker exploding all over the kitchen, don’t be. It’s idiot proof. If you can operate a crock pot, you can use this. Amazon almost always has deals on certain models, so keep an eye out if you don’t have one. Once you use it, you’ll be hooked.
The first thing you need to do is cook the chicken. Trim the fat off of 2 pounds of chicken thighs and throw it in the Instant Pot with 6 cups of chicken broth and some mirepoix mix. My grocery store has a 10-ounce premade version of this in the produce section–it’s just a mixture of diced celery, carrots, and onions. If you can’t find it premade or want to make it yourself, use approximately 4 ounces each of celery and onion and two ounces of carrots. I’d highly recommend a kitchen scale for anyone watching what they eat who likes to cook, so if you don’t have one, this is the perfect time to get one. Toss the veggies in there, set the Instant Pot for poultry (15 minutes if you don’t have that setting on your pressure cooker) and close the lid. When the 15 minutes are up, set a timer for 10 minutes. Once that’s up, do a manual release of the remaining pressure and open the lid.
Remove the meat from the pot with tongs and put it in a bowl. Set the Instant Pot to saute and add 6 ounces of cubed cream cheese and 4 ounces of crumbled blue cheese. Whisk the cheeses into the broth until they melt, then stir in 1/3 cup of heavy cream and 1/2 cup of Frank’s Red Hot sauce. Make sure it’s the original hot sauce and not the Buffalo sauce, because that one has a bunch of added stuff in it. After that, whisk in 8 ounces of shredded cheddar in 6-8 handful-sized batches. Make sure each batch has melted before you add the next one, otherwise it’ll get all clumpy and gross. Finally, turn the pot off, shred the chicken and add it back into the pot, then add two teaspoons of salt and as much white pepper as you want. If you have any extra blue cheese, you can sprinkle it on the top of the bowls as a garnish. It’s ready to serve as is, but it is even better the next day. This makes a lot of soup, so it’s perfect for meal prep if you like packing a lunch!
Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Soup
For when you get that wing craving but don't want to mess with frying.
4ouncesblue cheese crumblesplus extra for garnish, if desired
1/3cupheavy cream
1/2cupFrank's Red Hot sauce
8ouncesshredded sharp cheddar cheese
2tspsalt
white pepperto taste
Instructions
Put the chicken thighs, mirepoix mix, and chicken broth into the Instant Pot, close the lid, and set it for the Poultry setting, or 15 minutes on high pressure.
When the cook time has completed, wait ten minutes and then use a manual release. Open the lid once the pressure has subsided.
Remove the chicken and place it in a bowl.
Set the Instant Pot to saute, and add the cream cheese and blue cheese. Whisk until they're dissolved into the broth.
Stir in the heavy cream and Frank's Red Hot.
Whisk in the cheddar cheese in 6-8 batches, making sure that each batch is fully melted before adding more.
Shred the chicken and return it to the pot. Add the salt and pepper, then serve or store.
Macros per serving: 497 calories, 2 grams net carbs, 34 grams protein, 40 grams fat.
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A keto shepherd’s pie with a Tex-Mex twist, this Cowboy Pie uses a buttery and creamy parmesan ranch mashed cauliflower topping and a spicy salsa filling.
Guys, I did a thing. I made something that both of my kids actually loved. This is super rare. As I’ve mentioned before, I have one kid who is a total carnivore and one who would eat only carbs if given the option. They both ate the heck out of these. They discovered the joy of gyro meat a few months ago, so I decided to try to make something resembling it at home, only in fun kid form. And it worked!
These work best when you use these silicone muffin pans, because they don’t stick as much and are easier to clean. But if you just have a regular aluminum one, that’s cool too. I haven’t tried this with the individual silicone muffin liners, because I like to save those for actual baked goods, and I’m not sure how well they’d hold up to what is essentially a giant meatball. You’ll also want to put the muffin tin on a foil-lined cookie sheet while you cook these, both because the juices will leak out of the muffin pan, and because for the last few minutes you cook them outside of the pan, on the cookie sheet.
This recipe couldn’t be easier if you tried. If you can mix things and turn on an oven, you can make this. Start by turning on the oven, to preheat to 350. By the time you get everything measured and mixed, it’ll be ready to go. Grab a large mixing bowl and put in a pound of ground beef and a pound of ground lamb. The lamb is pretty necessary for the flavor, so I wouldn’t substitute it with anything. To that, add 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese, 1 egg, and a tablespoon of oregano, 2 teaspoons of cumin, 2 teaspoons of salt, a teaspoon and a half of garlic powder, and a teaspoon each of thyme, onion powder, crushed rosemary, and parsley. Grind over some black pepper, mix it all together until all the spices are blended well into the meat, and form six equal balls. Place the balls into the muffin tin, doing your best to fill the tins evenly and avoid air bubbles or gaps. They will probably overlap the cups a little bit. Make sure that you put the muffin tin on that foil-lined cookie sheet to catch the juices that will come out as they cook. Put them in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
Remove them from the oven and carefully take them out of the muffin tin. Set them upright on the cookie sheet. If the juices aren’t running clear, put them back into the oven like this for ten minutes. If they are, or after your ten minutes have passed, move the oven rack to second from the top, set it to broil, and put the meatloaves back in under the broiler. Broil them for 3-4 minutes, until the outsides start to brown like the outside of the meat on a gyro spit. Remove them from the oven and throw them on a plate. As you can see from the picture, I served mine with a quick Greek salad. For the dressing, I just mixed together 2 tablespoons of olive oil, two tablespoons of lemon juice, about a half teaspoon of oregano, a quarter teaspoon of garlic powder, and a pinch of salt and pepper. The salad had feta cheese, kalamata olives, banana peppers, red onion slivers, and sliced tomato. I would have thrown in some cucumber if I had some.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place a 6-compartment muffin tin on top of a foil-lined cookie sheet.
Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl until the spices are evenly dispersed. Divide into six equally-sized balls and place each one in a muffin tin compartment, making sure to avoid gaps or air bubbles.
Place the cookie sheet with the muffin tin on top in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and carefully remove each meatloaf from its compartment, placing it upright on the cookie sheet. If the juices are running clear, skip to the next step. If not, bake them for another 10 minutes, then remove the sheet from the oven.
Place an oven rack in the 2nd from the top position in your oven, then turn on the broiler. Put the cookie sheet with the meatloaves on that rack and broil for 3-4 minutes, until the meatloaves are golden brown. Remove from the oven and serve.
Macros per serving (1 meatloaf) using 80/20 ground beef: 454 calories, 1 gram net carbs, 29 grams protein, 36 grams fat.
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Like many Americans, I’ve been paying attention to the current impeachment proceedings. Unlike many Americans, hearing people talk about Kiev all the time has made me hungry. That’s because I like chicken Kiev a whole lot. And what’s not to love, really? It’s breaded chicken stuffed with herb butter! The problem arises when you try to make it at home. It’s a tedious process that involves trying to wrap a chunk of butter inside a chicken breast and bread it in such a way that when you bake it, the butter oozes out of the chicken when you cut it. In theory, that’s awesome. In practice, it’s almost impossible to achieve. It ends up with dry breaded chicken that’s soggy on the bottom because all the delicious herb butter leaked out and made a puddle. So when I imagined making chicken Kiev for the blog, I realized that nobody had the time or energy to try to make it the usual way.
Enter the deconstructed version. It has all the aspects that make chicken Kiev tasty, with none of the problems of actually making it. It takes about half the time as the original recipe, and you know exactly what you’re going to get with it. There’s no putting it in the oven and praying you didn’t screw it up. That’s because I pan fry the breaded chicken, then drizzle the herb butter on top. You can’t mess this one up, I promise. Sure, it lacks the pizzazz of a properly-done chicken Kiev, but I’m old and don’t need that kind of drama in my life.
For the herbs, I used tarragon, dill, chives, and parsley. About 1/4 cup of each is good. This picture shows the amount that I used, with an 8-inch chef’s knife for scale.
Chop all that up coarsely. It doesn’t need to be super finely minced, but you don’t want any massive chunks of one herb. It probably ends up making about 1/2 cup of minced herbs when all is said and done.
For the chicken, get 4 small or two large chicken breasts, about a pound to a pound and a half in total weight. If you get the two large, slice them in half so you get two thin cutlets. Use a meat tenderizer mallet to pound them to about 1/4 inch thickness.
On a large plate, toss together a cup of almond flour with a teaspoon of salt, a teaspoon of garlic powder, and a teaspoon of onion powder. Add black pepper to taste as well. Beat 2 eggs into a bowl. Set those up next to your cooktop. Put 6 tablespoons of avocado oil into an enameled cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Once the oil has reached temperature, dip each chicken cutlet into the egg, then dredge in the almond flour mixture. Place each one gently into the hot oil and cook for 4-5 minutes, until you see the bottom turn a nice golden brown. Flip them carefully.
While you’re cooking the chicken breasts, 6 tablespoons of butter to a small saucepan and melt the butter over medium heat. When the butter is halfway melted, add the herbs and stir. Once it’s all the way melted, turn the heat down to low to avoid browning the butter.
When both sides of the chicken have turned golden brown, remove them to plates and drizzle each piece with about two tablespoons of the herb butter. I served this with a simple arugula salad, which worked well with it, because the acidity of the dressing and the peppery bite of the arugula complemented the savory, buttery chicken. The dressing for the salad was just 1/4 cup of olive oil, 1/4 cup of lemon juice, and 2 teaspoons of dijon mustard. Shake that up in a lidded container, then toss it with 5 ounces of baby arugula. Sprinkle the arugula with a couple of pinches of kosher salt and add black pepper before serving.
Deconstructed Chicken Kiev
A drama-free way to get the flavor of Chicken Kiev without a ton of effort.
Heat the avocado oil in a large enameled cast-iron skillet over medium high heat.
Using a meat tenderizer mallet, pound the chicken breasts to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness if necessary.
On a large plate, mix together the almond flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Beat the eggs into a medium bowl. Put those next to your cooking surface.
Dip a chicken breast into the beaten egg, then dredge in the almond flour mixture. Place it gently into the pan. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts, and cook for 4-5 minutes, until the bottom of the chicken turns golden brown. Flip them carefully and cook for another 4-5 minutes.
While the chicken is cooking, melt the butter over medium heat in a small saucepan. As soon as it's melted, add the herbs and simmer over low heat.
When the chicken is finished, put each piece onto a plate, and drizzle with up to 2 tablespoons of the melted herb butter. Serve immediately.
Macros per serving: 518 calories, 2 grams net carbs, 37 grams protein, 39 grams fat.
Keyword butter, chicken, keto, lchf, low carb
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Now you can have your favorite fall beverage for breakfast without guilt! These keto pumpkin spice latte muffins have all the flavor of Starbucks without all the carbs.
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