Keto Connect Challenge: Keto Cook off featuring 4 Recipes! Pizza, Broccoli ricotta bites, Broccoli chips, and Ricotta maple bacon chocolate ship cookies
This week's challenge required these three ingredients: Broccoli, Ricotta, and Bacon.
I immediately knew what I was going to make. Broccoli bacon pizza crust, with a ricotta cheese topping, sprinkled with bacon - AND - Broccoli stem chips.
My husband had the idea to make fried ricotta broccoli balls, that we would try both by deep frying and air frying. FYI: The Air Fryer won.
My last creation is a ricotta maple bacon chocolate chip broccoli cookie. Yes, there is broccoli in the cookie. And they are delicious. I whipped this up as a "go big or go home" kind of recipe. I mean, with these ingredients - what are the chances that other people are making broccoli into a desert? Right?
So, here we go. Up first are the Air Fried Ricotta Broccoli Bacon Balls. Wow, that's a mouth full!
Ingredients:
1 Small head of broccoli - Florets only. Save the stem for the broccoli chips.
1 large egg
2 Tbspn Ricotta Cheese
2 Tbspn crumbled bacon
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 Large egg, beaten (this is for later use)
Pork rind crumbs (this is also for later use)
Take the florets and pulverize in a food processor into fine grounds. Pick out any large chunks. Place riced florets into a microwave safe bowl, and microwave for 1 1/2 minutes to steam. Press out any excess moisture with paper towels. Add to it 1 large egg, the ricotta, bacon, Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Reserve the other egg and pork rind crumbs for coating the balls after.
Mix all the ingredients into the steamed broccoli. Form into balls, and place on a cookie sheet in the freezer until they are firm - approximately 1 hour. Once the balls are solid - roll them into a beaten egg, then into pork rind crumbs. Place back in freezer for 10-15 minutes.
Cooking: You can either deep fry these, or you can use the Air Fryer. We did both. Both work fine, however... deep frying took much longer, and made a mess. The Air Fryer we cooked them at 370 deegrees for 8 minutes - and they were perfectly crunchy and cooked through completely.
Now... we're not done there. We also made a warm ricotta dip for the broccoli balls, and a kefir cream and avocado oil chili sauce. The balls were great on their own - but these two things really amped them up to another level. For the ricotta dip - I mixed 1/2 cup ricotta cheese with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, 2 Tbspn bacon crumbles, 1/8 cup chopped artichoke hearts, salt, and pepper. I baked this mixture for about 4 minutes in the air fryer, and used this as a base on my plate to set the balls on. My husband made a sauce to drizzle on top which was truly delicious. It was 1 Tbspn kefir cream, 1 Tbspn mayo, 2 tsp sweet chili sauce, 2 tsp avocado oil all mixed together - and drizzled over the broccoli balls. Delish.
Up next is our broccoli bacon crust.
I've made broccoli crusts before... a long time ago. I'm not sure why I got away from making them, because they are delicious. But, I decided to take my old broccoli crust recipe - and modify it slightly - to incorporate the bacon, but also to simplify the process.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 heads of broccoli - florets only (reserve stem for later use)
1/2 cup crumbled bacon
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 Large eggs
1/2 cup pork rind crumbs
Salt. pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and fennel seed to taste
Place the florets in a food processor and pulverize into find grounds. Put the broccoli in a microwave safe bowl - and microwave 1 1/2 minutes. Press out excess moisture with paper towels. Add all the remaining ingredients. Mix well. Put the mixture onto a parchment lined pizza tray and press out into a circle, to be approximately 1/4" thick. Bake 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes.
For the topping you will need 1 cup ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella, 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, 1 egg, parsley, salt, and pepper. Mix everything together, and spread evenly over the pizza crust. Top with crumbled bacon, and 4 cherry heirloom tomatoes that have been quartered. Sprinkle on additional parsley if desired, and 1/4 cup crumbled bacon. Bake at 325 degrees for an additional 10-12 minutes. Drizzle with EVOO or Avocado oil after taking out of the oven.
Our next recipe is really super simple, and such a good snack. Remember all those reserved broccoli stems? This is where they come into play.
Thinly slice the left over stems with knife or mandolin. Be careful not to cut your fingers or hand if using a mandolin. Very sharp. Heat coconut oil in a frying pan, about 1/4 inch deep with oil - medium high worked best for me. Add a few slices at a time, and allow to fry til golden. Drain on paper towel, and season with salt. I used bacon salt to season ours.
For the dip - 1/4 cup ricotta, 1 tbspn avocado oil, 1/8 cup crumbled bacon, 1/8 cup parmesan cheese, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp white pepper, 1 tsp parsley. Mix well. Serve warm or cold with the broccoli chips.
And, finally... we have what is either pure genius or absolutely repugnant. Ricotta maple bacon chocolate chip broccoli cookies. I have no idea what I was thinking. But, they taste delicious. No weird broccoli after taste, which is fantastic.
1/2 stick of butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated swerve
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar free maple syrup
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 tsp xantham gum
1 tsp baking powder
3 Tbspn coconut flour
1/2 cup crumbled bacon
1/2 cup lily's sugar free chocolate chips
1/4 cup grated broccoli florets
Beat the softened butter with the swerve, vanilla, salt, and sugar free maple for 2-3 minutes until fluffy. Add in eggs - and beat to incorporate. Add in ricotta cheese and mix. With a spoon, mix in the xantham gum, baking powder, and coconut flour, bacon, chocolate chips, and broccoli. Let stand for 5 minutes. Heat oven to 360 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Spoon out 1 1/2 tbspn worth of batter, and flatten down slightly with the back of spoon. Bake for 12-14 minutes - or until golden brown. Allow to cool on the sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
And that's it! These are our submissions for Keto Cook Off this week. I'm exhausted.
I immediately knew what I was going to make. Broccoli bacon pizza crust, with a ricotta cheese topping, sprinkled with bacon - AND - Broccoli stem chips.
My husband had the idea to make fried ricotta broccoli balls, that we would try both by deep frying and air frying. FYI: The Air Fryer won.
My last creation is a ricotta maple bacon chocolate chip broccoli cookie. Yes, there is broccoli in the cookie. And they are delicious. I whipped this up as a "go big or go home" kind of recipe. I mean, with these ingredients - what are the chances that other people are making broccoli into a desert? Right?
So, here we go. Up first are the Air Fried Ricotta Broccoli Bacon Balls. Wow, that's a mouth full!
Ingredients:
1 Small head of broccoli - Florets only. Save the stem for the broccoli chips.
1 large egg
2 Tbspn Ricotta Cheese
2 Tbspn crumbled bacon
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 Large egg, beaten (this is for later use)
Pork rind crumbs (this is also for later use)
Take the florets and pulverize in a food processor into fine grounds. Pick out any large chunks. Place riced florets into a microwave safe bowl, and microwave for 1 1/2 minutes to steam. Press out any excess moisture with paper towels. Add to it 1 large egg, the ricotta, bacon, Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Reserve the other egg and pork rind crumbs for coating the balls after.
Mix all the ingredients into the steamed broccoli. Form into balls, and place on a cookie sheet in the freezer until they are firm - approximately 1 hour. Once the balls are solid - roll them into a beaten egg, then into pork rind crumbs. Place back in freezer for 10-15 minutes.
Cooking: You can either deep fry these, or you can use the Air Fryer. We did both. Both work fine, however... deep frying took much longer, and made a mess. The Air Fryer we cooked them at 370 deegrees for 8 minutes - and they were perfectly crunchy and cooked through completely.
Now... we're not done there. We also made a warm ricotta dip for the broccoli balls, and a kefir cream and avocado oil chili sauce. The balls were great on their own - but these two things really amped them up to another level. For the ricotta dip - I mixed 1/2 cup ricotta cheese with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, 2 Tbspn bacon crumbles, 1/8 cup chopped artichoke hearts, salt, and pepper. I baked this mixture for about 4 minutes in the air fryer, and used this as a base on my plate to set the balls on. My husband made a sauce to drizzle on top which was truly delicious. It was 1 Tbspn kefir cream, 1 Tbspn mayo, 2 tsp sweet chili sauce, 2 tsp avocado oil all mixed together - and drizzled over the broccoli balls. Delish.
Up next is our broccoli bacon crust.
I've made broccoli crusts before... a long time ago. I'm not sure why I got away from making them, because they are delicious. But, I decided to take my old broccoli crust recipe - and modify it slightly - to incorporate the bacon, but also to simplify the process.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 heads of broccoli - florets only (reserve stem for later use)
1/2 cup crumbled bacon
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 Large eggs
1/2 cup pork rind crumbs
Salt. pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and fennel seed to taste
Place the florets in a food processor and pulverize into find grounds. Put the broccoli in a microwave safe bowl - and microwave 1 1/2 minutes. Press out excess moisture with paper towels. Add all the remaining ingredients. Mix well. Put the mixture onto a parchment lined pizza tray and press out into a circle, to be approximately 1/4" thick. Bake 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes.
For the topping you will need 1 cup ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella, 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, 1 egg, parsley, salt, and pepper. Mix everything together, and spread evenly over the pizza crust. Top with crumbled bacon, and 4 cherry heirloom tomatoes that have been quartered. Sprinkle on additional parsley if desired, and 1/4 cup crumbled bacon. Bake at 325 degrees for an additional 10-12 minutes. Drizzle with EVOO or Avocado oil after taking out of the oven.
Our next recipe is really super simple, and such a good snack. Remember all those reserved broccoli stems? This is where they come into play.
Thinly slice the left over stems with knife or mandolin. Be careful not to cut your fingers or hand if using a mandolin. Very sharp. Heat coconut oil in a frying pan, about 1/4 inch deep with oil - medium high worked best for me. Add a few slices at a time, and allow to fry til golden. Drain on paper towel, and season with salt. I used bacon salt to season ours.
For the dip - 1/4 cup ricotta, 1 tbspn avocado oil, 1/8 cup crumbled bacon, 1/8 cup parmesan cheese, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp white pepper, 1 tsp parsley. Mix well. Serve warm or cold with the broccoli chips.
And, finally... we have what is either pure genius or absolutely repugnant. Ricotta maple bacon chocolate chip broccoli cookies. I have no idea what I was thinking. But, they taste delicious. No weird broccoli after taste, which is fantastic.
1/2 stick of butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated swerve
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar free maple syrup
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 tsp xantham gum
1 tsp baking powder
3 Tbspn coconut flour
1/2 cup crumbled bacon
1/2 cup lily's sugar free chocolate chips
1/4 cup grated broccoli florets
Beat the softened butter with the swerve, vanilla, salt, and sugar free maple for 2-3 minutes until fluffy. Add in eggs - and beat to incorporate. Add in ricotta cheese and mix. With a spoon, mix in the xantham gum, baking powder, and coconut flour, bacon, chocolate chips, and broccoli. Let stand for 5 minutes. Heat oven to 360 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Spoon out 1 1/2 tbspn worth of batter, and flatten down slightly with the back of spoon. Bake for 12-14 minutes - or until golden brown. Allow to cool on the sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
And that's it! These are our submissions for Keto Cook Off this week. I'm exhausted.
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