Falco's Fall Chili Recipe

Ingredients:

6 Red hot chili peppers
8 Serrano peppers

3 Habanero peppers

3 Bulbs of garlic

1 Large white onion

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon each of the following powdered spices

   Cayenne pepper 

     Cumin

   Paprika

   Hot chili powder

1 tablespoon Carolina Reaper pepper flakes*
4 Pounds chopped chili beef

1 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce

3 tablespoons masa or all purpose flour

1 (16 ounce) can red kidney beans, drained

Optional

Sour cream & extra sharp cheddar to taste

* Carolina Reaper flakes are quite spicy and in fact are hotter than the Ghost Pepper..  For those who can't stand this much heat simply omit this.

Yesterday was the first cool fall day we had here in West Michigan.  I decided to make a pot of spicy chili to chase away the chill.  Made with beef, red kidney beans, fresh Serrano, habanero, red hot chili peppers, garlic, and onion this recipe makes 8 bowls of chili. For some extra heat there's a tablespoon of Carolina Reaper pepper flakes.  It's a good amount of work prepping all the fresh veggies but I knew it would be worth it for the taste it would impart.

The aforementioned veggies

Preparation:

Remove the stem from each pepper and cut in half lengthwise. Removed the seeds or you can leave them in for extra heat of course. Cut the halves in half again lengthwise and proceed to dice into smaller pieces.  Cut the white onion in half and dice each half as well.

A nicely diced onion if I do say so myself

Vegetables all diced

For the garlic remove the cloves from the bulb.  I 'peeled' them buy hitting them with a meat mallet to make removing the skin easier and then hit them again to slightly crush each clove.  I like chunks of garlic in my chili, but you could also dice each clove or run them through a garlic press.

After the vegetables were all prepped I sauteed them in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter over medium heat,  and added a teaspoon of salt.  I reduced the heat to low after 3 minutes and covered the pot and let them cook for 10 minutes.

 

Next I added the chopped beef and the tomato sauce along with the powdered spices and Carolina Reaper pepper flakes, bringing the heat up to medium until the chili began to simmer.

Four pounds of beef

I reduced the heat to low letting it simmer for about an hour, stirring it several times.   I drained and added the red kidney beans and simmered for an additional 10 minutes and then, to thicken the chili a bit, I added the masa flour mixed with a small amount of water.  Do this slowly while stirring  until it is incorporated..

Looks pretty tasty!

After ladling some chili into a bowl it was topped with extra sharp cheddar and a dollop of sour cream.  It really chased the chill of the fall day away!

For those who live in the Grand Rapids area all the ingredients except the Carolina Reaper Flakes were procured at Forest Hills Foods, an excellent store with a great selection.

RecipeChicken Fajitas with Peppers & Onions

This recipe is easy to make, but requires about 30-40 minutes. The slow cooking of the chicken and peppers really lets the flavors build and meld. Take note that while the peppers and onions here are similar to the other recipes I've posted recently, there are some subtle changes to the ingredients needed to make these fajita style. If you can't find a mix of frozen peppers and onions, which here they call a pepper stir fry mix, take 4 ounces of peppers and 3 ounces of onion and 1/4 cup of water).

Ingredients:
4 La Tortilla Factory Low Carb High Fiber tortillas (50 calories each)
2 ounces frozen skinless boneless chicken breast tenders
7 ounces frozen peppers & onions
3 tbs Conimex Sambal Oelek
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp salt substitute
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp Freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp Splenda
2 cups shredded lettuce
I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Pump Spray
Taco Bell Hot Taco Sauce (0 calories/serving)

Preparation:
Lightly spray the bottom of a small 8 inch frying pan with PAM spray. Place frozen chicken in center of pan and surround with peppers and onions. Being careful to get the following ingredients evenly on the peppers and onions, add the Sambal Oelek, garlic powder, ground cumin, salt substitute, parsley, pepper, chili powder, and paprika. Cover pan with glass lid and place on very low heat. The idea is for this to cook very slowly.

Cook for 20 minutes, turn chicken and stir peppers and onions, taking care to insure chicken is on bottom of pan without any peppers and onions under it. Sprinkle the Splenda on top of the peppers and onions, cover, and cook under low heat for another 10 minutes.

Remove chicken from pan and shred, distribute peppers and onions evenly over pan. Use the I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Pump Spray and coat pan contents, increase heat, and stir peppers and onion until any remaining liquid is thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add shredded chicken back to pan and stir to heat through.

Spread shredded lettuce over the four La Tortilla Factory Low Carb High Fiber tortillas. Divide pan mixture and spoon over lettuce. Add hot taco sauce if desired, roll up and serve.

Total Calories just under 350 for four fajitas!

Recipe:Hot Dogs with Spicy-Sweet Peppers & Onions

This recipe is easy to make, but requires about 30-40 minutes. The slow cooking of the hot dogs and peppers really lets the flavors build and meld. This is a typical dinner for me. I make sure to use a buffalo wing sauce that shows no calories per serving. Feel free to substitute hot dog rolls for the low calories bread and your favorite frank for my low calorie dogs. Be advised though without substitution this makes three delicious hot dogs with peppers and onions for under 300 calories! Note if you can't find a mix of frozen peppers and onions, which here they call a pepper stir fry mix, take 3 ounces of peppers and two ounces of onion and 1/4 cup of water)

Ingredients:
3 Hebrew National 97% Kosher Hot Dogs (40 calories each)
3 slices Aunt Mille's high fiber, low calories wheat bread (35 calories/slice)
5 ounces frozen peppers & onions
3 tbs hot buffalo wing sauce
2 tbs Conimex Sambal Oelek (you may substitute Tabasco sauce)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp salt substitute
1 tbs Splenda
I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Pump Spray
Celery salt to taste
Freshly ground black peppers to taste
Mustard to Taste

Preparation:
Lightly spray the bottom of a small 8 inch frying pan with PAM spray. Place hot dogs in center of pan and surround with peppers and onions. Being careful to get the following ingredients on the peppers and onions, add the buffalo wing sauce, Sambal Oelek, garlic powder, ground cumin, salt substitute, and paprika. Cover pan with glass lid and place on very low heat. The idea is for this to cook very slowly.

Cook for 20 minutes, turn hot dogs and stir peppers and onions, taking care to insure hot dogs are on bottom of pan without any peppers and onions under them. Sprinkle the Splenda on top of the peppers and onions, cover, and cook under low heat for another 10 minutes.

Remove hot dogs from pan, distribute peppers and onions evenly over pan. Use the I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Pump Spray and coat pan contents, increase heat, and stir peppers and onion until any remaining liquid is thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Place a hot dog on each slice of bread, distribute peppers and onions evenly across the three hot dogs, and then sprinkle with celery salt to taste. Add mustard to taste, and finally sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper to taste. Do this after adding the Mustard. Trust me, it makes a difference.

Serve and enjoy!

Recipe - Egg Beaters Omelet With Spicy-Sweet Peppers & Onions

This is one of the healthy dinners I have been eating featuring the same Peppers & Onions from my Hot Dog recipe which I will post later. It's about 200 calories for a very tasty omelet. Slow cooking the peppers & onions as described below is key to bringing out all the flavors this recipe has to offer.

If you can't find a mix of frozen peppers & onions which around here is called a stir fry mix, use 4 ounces sliced tri-color peppers and 2 ounces sliced onions, plus a 1/4 cup of water.

For those not counting calories, substitute three large eggs, whisked with 3 tbs milk, for the cup of Eggbeaters and an ounce of shredded sharp cheddar for the fat free variety.

Ingredients:
1 cup Eggbeaters
1 slice Kraft Sharp Cheddar Fat Free Cheese
6 ounces frozen tri-color peppers & onions
3 tbs hot buffalo wing sauce
2 tbs Conimex Sambal Oelek (you may substitute Tabasco sauce)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp salt substitute
1 tbs Splenda
I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Pump Spray
Freshly ground black peppers to taste

Optional: For an additional 70 calories serve with 2 slices (35 calories each) toasted Aunt Millie's high fiber low calorie bread sprayed with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Pump Spray.

Preparation:
Lightly spray the bottom of a small 8 inch frying pan with PAM spray. Evenly distribute peppers and onions in bottom of pan and add Sambal Oelek, buffalo wing sauce, garlic powder, ground cumin, salt substitute, and paprika distributing evenly over pan contents. Cover pan with glass lid and place over very low heat. The idea is for this to cook very slowly.

Cook for 20 minutes, then stir peppers and onions. Sprinkle the Splenda on top of the peppers and onions, cover, and cook under low heat for another 10 minutes.

Using the I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Pump Spray coat pan contents, increase heat, and stir peppers and onions until any remaining liquid is thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes. Again making sure pan contents are evenly distributed, sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper, increase heat slightly, and add Eggbeaters. Cook for about 5-8 minutes until surface is mostly solid, then flip. Cook an additional 2 minutes, turn off heat, break the slice of cheese into four parts and place on top of pan contents. Leave covered for an additional two minutes then serve and enjoy.

Recipe - Falco's Fire Sauce

It's been quite a while since I posted a recipe here. Using the ingredients shown in the picture below, I actually measured everything today while I whipped up a batch of this, though I've been making this sauce for over a month now.

This zesty sauce can be used as a marinate, barbecue sauce, or condiment. I use it on hot dogs both as a catchup replacement, or brushing the dogs with it before grilling. It's really great with vegetables too. I often toss veggies with it, and fry them on the stove with eggbeaters as a spicy garden omelet. It's as tasty with seafood as it is with any kind of meat. I've even brushed it on corn on the cob and then grilled the corn. While this recipe has heat, cooking mitigates a good portion of this. For those with limited tolerance for hot foods, you probably do not want to use this uncooked as I often do.

WARNING! Use caution when preparing this recipe and handling habenro peppers and other spicy ingredients! Afterward make sure you wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water. Rubbing your eyes after de-seeding a Habenaro pepper can be quite the unforgettable experience! Use caution when removing the lid of the blender after blending. The fumes arising from the blender can be irritating to the eyes and throat (makes your mouth water for some of this, don't it??). No kidding here! Th first time I made this I followed the chef's instinct to take the lid off the blander and smell my creation. BIG mistake! My eyes watered profusely, my throat almost clogged shut, and I coughed for an hour afterward. I also rubbed my tearing eyes with the hands that had been rinsed in water......it...was......memorable!! Ingredients: 1 7 oz jar Conimex Sambal Oelek (It must be this brand) 1 7 oz can Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce (I use Embassa brand usually) 1/2 cup red wine vinegar 1 cup water 1 cup Splenda 2 tbs curry powder 2 tbs paprika 2 tbs onion powder 1 tbs cumin 2 Habenaro peppers (seeds in or out; in makes it spicier!) 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper (only 1 tsp; don't want to make it too spicy!) 1/2 cup roasted garlic cloves Juice from one lime Note: Those not concerned about sugar or calories can substitute 1/2 to 3/4 cup of honey for the Splenda. Preparation: In a blender add the jar of Sambal Oelek, the habaneros, the can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, the red wine vinegar, the Habenaros, and 1/4 cup of water. COVER! Blend on liquefy or puree until smooth. Wait a minute or two before carefully removing cover, as mentioned above the fumes of this first blend can be most powerful! Seriously! Add remaining ingredients and again blend until smooth. Keeps for about 8 days in the fridge, I sometimes split the batch and put half in a freezer storage bag and freeze for up to a month. ENJOY!!

Recipe - Chicken Chorizo Sausage Roll Ups

I've been enjoying the produce at the local store and after Friday night's chili I decided I had to use most of the same spices yet create something different on Saturday. I had some leftover tortillas in the fridge and I decided some type of roll up was in order. Here's what I came up with.

Ingredients:
1 Habanero pepper
2 Poblano peppers
6 ounces (two sausages) Chicken Chorizo sausage
6 "Smart & Delicious" low carb, high fiber tortillas
1 cup Egg Beaters
1 large white onion
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp Hungarian paprika
1 tsp hot chili powder

Preparation:
Spray the bottom of a large frying generously with olive oil spray. Slice onions lengthwise, cut peppers in half, remove seeds. Slice Poblano peppers into strips, about 8-10 slices per pepper and dice the Habanero pepper.

Heat frying pan on medium-low heat and then add onions and peppers sprinkling salt on top. Stir occasionally and when onions just being to brown add last three ingredients above, stir, cover, and reduce heat to low for five minutes.

Remove casing from the sausages and crumble meat. Add to mixture in frying pan leaving uncovered for five minutes before adding Egg Beaters. Cover and cook on very low heat for five minutes. Stir mixture, cover and let rest for five minutes.

Divide between tortillas and top with optional items such as shredded cheese, fat free sour cream, or use what I did, some nice imported hot Mexican taco sauce.

Serves three.

Note this is less spicy than the chili in spite of the use of the Habanero pepper whose heat is mitigated somewhat by the cooking process. I'd rate this a medium on the commercial scale.

Recipe - Three Alarm Chili

I decided to take a break from Ramon posts because last night I made some ground beef chili and it turned out awesome! So good in fact I had to share the recipe! The two types of fresh pepper plus the imported Hungarian paprika give it a unique taste. If you can't find Hungarian paprika at your local store use any good smoked paprika. There are many variations on chili recipes; I hope you enjoy this one!

Ingredients:
1 large white onion chopped
3 Chili peppers chopped
3 Jalapeno peppers chopped
1/4 cup Sambal Oelek
1.25 pounds 92% lean ground beef
1 8 ounce can of tomato sauce
8 cloves garlic
1 small can red kidney beans
1 cup water
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp Hungarian paprika
2 tsp hot chili powder

Note: Once again I must caution you to use GOOD Sambal Oelek; I have tried over a dozen brands and only the Conimex brand has the heat with the subtle tastes of the peppers! The rest are just tasteless heat. Click the link above under the ingredients and rest easy as I have ordered from this place multiple times with no hassles.

Preparation:
Spray the bottom and sides of a four quart sauce pan with olive oil spray. Using the flat edge of a knife crush the garlic enough to remove the skin. Cut peppers in half and remove the seeds if you want three alarm chili, use them if you'd like a three.5 or 4! I removed them in this case.

Using medium-low heat add the onion, pepper, and garlic to the pan and sprinkle salt over the top. Sweat for a few minutes stirring once or twice. Break up the ground beef into the pan and cover for five minutes.

Remove lid and using a large wooden or plastic spoon break up the ground beef. Sprinkle in paprika, cumin, and chili powder and mix well.

Add tomato sauce and water, stir well. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add kidney beans, stir, cover and simmer gently for 45 minutes. Remove lid and adjust heat to that mixture simmers slowly. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes or longer until liquid is thickened.

Stir in Sambal Oelek, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and let rest covered for 15 minutes. Serve as desired with your favorite toppings such as fat free sour cream, low fat shredded cheddar cheese, etc.

This is a nice spicy chili, maybe not for those who can't tolerate any heat, but not too fiery. it goes down easy and leaves a nice sweat on the forehead after eating! For people with normal taste buds I would rate this between medium and hot for commercially labeled products.

This evening I think I shall make Mexican roll ups featuring Poblano peppers, onions, chicken chorizo sausage, and egg beaters. If it turns out well another recipe may follow, if you would like to see it.

Footnote: I made the roll ups I mentioned above for dinner, and they were great!

Recipe:South of the Border Chicken Nachos

I've been trying really hard before and after vacation to stick to the diabetic dietary requirements. Last night I wanted something good, without exceeding those. I created the following and was quite pleased with the results!

Ingredients:
1 pound frozen boneless skinless chicken breast tenders
1 cup white onion diced
3 tbsp water
1 tbsp crushed garlic (I used jarred here)
1/2 tbsp hot chili powder
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp powdered cumin
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 Slices fat free Kraft Cheddar Cheese
6 ounces Tortilla Chips (I used soy chips for less carbs and more protein)
PAM type Olive Oil Spray

Optional for topping:
Fat Free Sour Cream
Taco Sauce
Sambal Olek
Guacamole

Perparation:
Spray a non-stick saucepan with PAM spray. To bottom add water and crushed garlic. Add Frozen Chicken, and spray top lightly with PAM. Sprinkle on chili powder, paprika, cumin, and black pepper. Cover, and and simmer on very low heat for an hour.

Stir contents. At this point chicken should be soft enough (you used tenders, tight?) to break up. Using a wooden or plastic spoon press down on tenders until they break into smaller pieces.

Add chopped onion, cover, and again simmer on low heat for an hour. Remove from heat, add cheese, stir, cover and let sit for several minutes.

Arrange tortilla chips in a single layer on a large platter and then spoon chicken mixture on top. Add whatever else you like at this point such as guacamole, taco sauce, fat free sour cream, etc. I just topped mine sparingly with some Sambal for extra heat!

ENJOY! Serves four as an appetizer or two for dinner.

Sunday.....or Attack of the Hot Wings Part Deux

Sunday started off early with the sounds of my 18 year Chris old banging around the house, the common practice he has of moving about nosily when people are in bed or resting. As I was getting up and getting dressed (as I was too awake to go back to sleep) I heard him knocking at my door; I already knew what he wanted; he was supposed to pickup one of the X's workers and drive him to her house where he was planning on working on the business accounting files all day. Chris had stayed out way too late (or early!) with his friends and did not feel comfortable driving. With little admonishing, other than the "When you have a responsibility, you have to take care of it" speech, short version, I said nothing as I understand how he is trying to spend as much time with his friends as he can before he goes off to college this Thursday. I have a feeling he was hoping I would just let him go to bed, but, he was not to get off that easy!

So, I took him to the pickup in his car. We came back home, Chris for a nap, me for the exercise bike.

Around noon I took Scott and Danielle to McDonald's for lunch (I love watching them eat fast food!) and then we went to Meijer for a few items, stopping at GameStop per Scott's request.

Chris had wanted our famous hot wings today so I started their preparation around 4PM which started off making the Chris Squared hot sauce. First step here was the pealing and crushing of 14 large cloves of garlic and proceeding with the addition of the rest of the ingredients.

Once I lit the oven I knew I was in trouble..... I could almost hear Han Solo saying “I've got a bad feeling about this!"

As an afterthought I figure I must have BEEN OUT OF MY FREAKING MIND making oven-baked wings on a day when it was almost 100 degrees outside and having the oven on 500 degrees for 2 hours. To make a fun situation even better, the wings having to be turned and the pans moved around from top to bottom racks every 10 minutes of those two hours and at one point, since I had to use frozen wings, I had to spoon out the excess water from all five pans.

I was literally soaked in sweat by the time the wings came out of the oven and cooled enough to be tossed in the Chris Squared sauce. My AC can barely handle the house alone when it is this hot, so, with the oven lit I had turned the AC off and opened the windows.....

However, since Chris is leaving Thursday for college and he enjoyed the wings, it was worth it. My least favorite part was the cleaning of the 5 Pyrex baking dishes, even after soaking in the sink for a couple of hours they were a chore to clean.

This was the biggest batch yet of wings, about 10 pounds of wings and we took them over to the X's so her business associate could eat with us. Chris and Scott left early as they had to stop at the local Chinese place to get Scott some Chicken Lo Mein because he does not like spicy wings....whose kid is this anyway???

Daniele was proud she ate more hot wings then he did and could take the heat of the sauce better. I was SO proud of her!

The Right Stuff (Food for thought!)

I am sure you have heard sayings like "All Aspirin Is Not Alike", "You Get What You Pay For", Accept No Imitations!", and, "The Right Stuff". After I describe what happened yesterday below, you'll understand why today I have new respect for these.

Regular visitors will know I have been mentioning Red Monkey Spice and jarred chopped chili peppers in some of my recent recipes. For the Red Monkey Spice I have posted the link where you can order it.

First off, the jarred chili peppers are called Sambal Oelek and I use the ones distributed by Conimex, a place in Holland and I learned a valuable lesson about them! I had gotten them at Forest Hills Foods (though they have been out of stock for over a week).

So, yesterday I went to the big Miejer store to look. You could easily fit six Forest Hills Foods into this place and their international food selection is almost as big as the aforementioned store. Sadly, I did not find the Conimex brand but found some oriental brand that looked the same.

Happy and Giddy with my (seeming) success I brought them home and made dinner, only to find much to my surprise that they were nowhere as good as the Conimex brand. Where the Conimex has such a myriad of incredible flavors to it while being very spicy, the oriental brand was just pure tasteless heat. Bleech! Were it not for the liberal application of Red Monkey Spice to my dinner last night, the flames shooting out of my mouth would have been pointless, though no less entertaining to the children I suppose!

Needless to say, though obviously I will say it, I was most disappointed! I have just sent an e-mail to Forest Hills Foods asking them to restock the Conimex Sambal Oelek. buying it locally would be much more economical than mail ordering it here, though, I will mail order it if I have to. This stuff is like the Nectar of the Gods as far as spicy foods go!

I have seen the Grail! I will never again be fooled by imitators! The following picture is what you must seek if you wish to truly enjoy any of my recipes that use this as an ingredient! You must! (Oh, add a little freshly squeezed lime juice and some fresh chopped cilantro and this makes an awesome salsa perfect for dipping tortilla chips into!)

Spicy Nectar of the Gods!

Recipe - Spicy Stuffed Cheeseburger Roll Ups

Spicy Stuffed Cheeseburger Roll Ups - Serves Two

This evening I was wondering what to do with my Red Monkey Spice Rubs when I fondly remembered my recipe for Spicy Cheeseburger Roll Ups. After pondering these for awhile I decided I could certainly improve on this with my creation called Spicy Stuffed Cheeseburger Roll Ups.

Ingredients:
1 pound 92% ground beef
1/2 teaspoon Red Monkey Spice Rub - Cajun Spice
1/2 teaspoon Red Monkey Spice Rub - BBQ Spice
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons jarred chopped chili peppers (Sambal Oelek)
2 ounces Shredded Chipotle Cheddar Cheese (I used Sargento)
2 Flat Out lite Original Flat breads
1 cup Shredded lettuce
4 thin slices white onion
6 slices vine ripened tomato
2 tablespoons Fat Free Miracle Whip

Preparation:
Preheat your grill (I used a propane grill) to 550 degrees.
Mix first four ingredients together. Split ground beef mixture into four parts and make four thin patties. Note a large lid can be used as a template, though I did it by hand.

On two of the patties put a tablespoon of the chopped chili peppers and spread leaving at least an 1\8th of an inch all around the edge of the patty free of the mixture. If you do not do this the burgers will fall apart or leak while they are being cooked.

Next, again keeping the edges clean, add 1 ounce of cheddar cheese to each of the two patties on top of the chopped chili peppers.

Place the other two patties carefully on top of these patties. Press firmly around the edges to seal. Spray tops with non-fat cooking spray (such as PAM) and put the oil side down on the grill.

Cook three minutes, turn, and cook an additional two minutes. Remove from grill.

I placed half each of the lettuce, onion, tomato and Fat Free Miracle Whip on the two flat breads along with a burger. ENJOY!!!!

Note that this is, even with the whole cheese, still an excellent low calorie, low carbohydrate, and high fiber meal. It is also spicy and delicious.

Recipe - Chris' Spicy Cheeseburger Rollups

Last night I used the last of the Chris-squared (the new name my son came up with) hot sauce he and I made last Friday by making spicy cheeseburger roll ups. For those wishing to try this recipe the link the post with the sauce recipe, which will open in a new window, can be found here.

Ingredients:
1/8 teaspoon Red Monkey Spice Rub Cajun Spice
1/8 teaspoon Red Monkey Spice Rub BBQ Spice
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound 92% Lean ground beef
1/2 cup finely diced onions
1/8 to 1/4 cup Chris Squared Hot Sauce
2 Original Light FlatOut flat bread roll ups
2 slices fat free Kraft Cheddar processed cheese
non-stick oil spray
1 cup shredded lettuce
6 slices vine ripened tomato
4 slices Clausen Hearty Garlic Dills
Your choice of condiments (mine are listed below)

Preparation:
In a bowl combine first 6 ingredients; chill for 30 minutes. After 20 minutes preheat your grilling surface to 550 degrees (I used a propane grill)

On each of the two flat beads place 1/2 cup shredded lettuce, 3 slices tomato, 2 slices garlic dills, 1 tablespoon fat-free Miracle Whip, 1 teaspoon mustard, 1 teaspoon low-carb ketchup.

Remove the meat mixture from the fridge shaping it into one burger sized to one inch wider than the width of the flat bread.

Spray one side of burger with non-stick spray. Grill covered (oiled side down) for 3 minutes and flip, cook for a minute. top with cheese and cook until cheese is melted. Remove burger and cut in half lengthwise and place a half burger on each flat bread. Enjoy!

This is typical of a main meal for me; it is a lot of food, yet has little calories, about 650 for the whole shebang! Compare that to a Whopper or a Quarter Pounder with cheese. It is also QUITE delicious and has protein, fiber, and is low in carbohydrates and fat.

Son of Hot Sauce

Last night my daughter and I used the majority of the left over spicy hot sauce my son Chris and I had made Friday evening. Sadly, as he was working (yes, working, the second day since last summer!) and had to meet a friend after work, he was unable to attend.

I took some frozen skinless chicken breast tenders and put them in a pan with some Red Monkey Cajun Spice rub, and then cut them in strips and finally tossed with hot sauce. We put them on LA Tortilla Company high fiber low carb tortillas, which are excellent!

Accompanying mine were shredded lettuce, diced tomato and fat free sour cream, while Daniele had lettuce and either buttermilk ranch or fat free sour cream. They were excellent!

There is still a quarter cup of the sauce left. Sadly, as Chris is right now having oral surgery, we would be unable to enjoy it before it goes bad. So, I will have to use it this evening! I am thinking of mixing it with some lean ground beef and chopped onions, and then making grilled spicy hamburger roll ups! Or cheeseburger roll ups with fat-free cheese. I may even add some Red Monkey BBQ Spice to the mix!