Friday, May 08, 2009

6:03 PM

This is one of our favorite meals, but even using Dreamfields Lasagna noodles I don't make it very often. Though I have to admit this last time I tripled the recipe and froze enough for 2 more dinners later on.

It's so simple to make but a little time consuming so making them ahead of time will make it so so much easier.    

Now I think you could use large eggplant slices in place of the noodles, but I've never tried it so I'm not certain it would work. I've also heard of people using "egg noodles" where you bake beaten eggs on a baking pan with sides then slice into noodles, but again I've never tried it so I don't know and I'd be afraid the y wouldn't be strong enough to hold. But since you only eat one, possibly two of these , you don't really consume that much pasta.

Easy Lasagna Roll Ups

Serves 3-6    

Ingredients:

• 6 lasagna noodles, par boiled ( just get them a little past pliable)
• 1 lb ground meat (turkey, chicken whatever you like)
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 1 8oz. Container of ricotta cheese
• 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, fresh is better but the canister stuff will work
• 1 egg, beaten
• Seasoning: it's really up to you, but I like a little salt & pepper, thyme and oregano, Italian seasoning would work great too if you have it.
• Optional: Fresh spinach, broccoli (steamed and pureed or chopped finely)
• Marinara sauce (my recipe follows this one)

     

  Method:

     

1. Pre-heat oven to 350
2. If you haven't done so, par boil lasagna noodles, drain and drizzle with olive oil to keep them from sticking
3. Brown meat with garlic and onion, drain and let cool or do like I do and pull a bag out of the freezer to thaw :o)
4. In a small bowl, mix together the three cheeses and season to taste then mix in the egg
5. Lay out on or two noodles at a time, I like to lay them on wax paper
6. Spread with cheese mixture, then press the meat into the cheese.
7. Next add veggies if using. I like to use pureed broccoli if I'm using chicken and fresh spinach with beef, but any veggie you like can be added or just omit if you prefer
8. *Carefully roll noodles into large rolls and place on sides in 9x13 baking dish
9. Spoon marinara over each roll and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and bake 25-30
10. Let set up a minute before serving.

       

    Vikki's Famous Marinara

     

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 med. Onion, minced
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2-4 tbsp. dried basil, I use at least 3
• 1 cup chopped mushrooms -if you family will eat them, mine won't but it's better with them
• 1 lg. can tomato sauce, I like Hunts or Muir organic fire roasted, just make sure it's one that tastes really good
• Salt & pepper
• 1 tsp sweetener of choice, sugar, splenda, honey, Agave, it's simply to balance the tartness and bitterness of the tomato 

Method:    

1. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan over med. heat, when shimmering add onions and simmer until slightly softened. Add garlic and sauté another minute or two; add basil and sauté until onions are translucent.
2. Add tomato sauce and turn heat down to simmer. Let it simmer about 10 minutes then taste and season with salt and pepper and stir in sweetener.

      

   I like to add the seasoning at the end because adding salt to tomatoes too early can cause them to become bitter. And I add the sweetener at the end because until it's done I don't know how much I will need; nothing worse than sweet marinara.    

   My original recipe had whole tomatoes, puree and paste, this is just faster and I get the same texture without the long cooking time.    

   It's perfect for pizza, chicken parmesan, pizza burgers or whenever you want a clean red sauce.

   Freezes wonderfully. I add small bags to my pizza kits and lasagna rolls.    

   *To freeze the lasagna rolls, simply roll as directed. Place on wax paper covered cookie sheet and flash freeze. When completely frozen (overnight). Place the number needed for one dinner into a air tight freezer bowl, add a bag with grated mozzarella and a bag of sauce. Seal, label and freeze. When ready to prepare, thaw completely in the refrigerator, place in backing dish, pour over sauce, sprinkle with cheese and bake as normal.    

   I've never tried them from frozen but I'm sure it would work very much like a frozen dinner from the grocery store, I just don't know how long it would need to bake. 

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I haven’t had a meatloaf like this in years.  I don’t know why I thought it would be higher in carbs than it is, but I stuck with the stuffed meatloaves and never tried to de-carb my old cracker filled recipe.

However once I decided to start cutting the cost this was one of the first things I made.  Why?  I have no idea because it doesn’t really use any less ground meat than the stuff version.  However I did forget that in the past I had supplemented the meat in this recipe with shredded carrots.  Which I will be doing in the future to stretch the meat.

Old Fashioned Meatloaf

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground meat
• 1/2 lg. green pepper, chopped small
• 1/2 med. onion, dices small
• 1/2-1 cup grated carrot (not pictured)*
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/3 cup Parm/pork skin mix
• 1-2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 can tomato soup or tomato sauce (with a pkg of splenda mixed in)
• Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper*

Directions:

1. Place ground meat, veggies, parm/ pork skin mix, egg, milk, seasoning and Worcestershire sauce in a large bowl.
2. Pour in half can of soup or tomato sauce and using hands mix to combine.  Try to work the meat as little as possible.
3. Form into a large flat square ( cooks faster and doesn’t dry out like a loaf)
4. Place in 8x8 baking pan.  Mix remaining soup or sauce with water and pour over the top.
5. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes.
6. Let set up a few minutes before cutting.

I used tomato soup because I was out of small cans of tomato sauce and I didn’t want to stick left over sauce from a big can in the fridge since it wasn’t in anything else on my menu that week. Tomato sauce is much lower in carbs than the soup, so it’s my first choice and just as yummy with the addition of one splenda packet.  You can of course add some sugar free ketchup to the top, but we like it just as well without.

* Carrots help stretch the ground meat farther, if you want to cut the carbs simply omit them.  But once baked into the loaf, even your kids will not know they are in there.

* I have started using kosher salt because it’s a flat flake shape rather than a crystal like normal or sea salt.  Therefore you can use less salt for the same flavor, and I’m trying to reduce the sodium in our food to help mom reduce her over all sodium intake.  I bought a 1 lb. bag from Penzey’s  for just over a $1.00 so it’s not pricey at all.

I've been making meat balls like this forever. There are a few tricks to keeping them moist and delicious. The first tip is, DO NOT over work the meat. Put everything in your in your bowl at once and mix until just incorporated. Second, don't roll your meatballs too tightly. Keep the meat as loose as possible. Compacting the meat will dry your meat out as you cook it. Leaving it loose will allow it to hold on to it's moisture. The third is keep even sized meatballs so they will all cook the same. I use a small cookie scoop for mine, but a spoon will certainly work

I like to keep meatballs made up for lunches, dinners or snacks. They are quick to make and you can make up as many as you want.

Baked meatballs

Ingredients:

• 2 lb ground beef, chicken, pork, sausage or any combo you like (I used1 ½ burger ½ sausage)
• 1 egg
• 2-3 tbsp. milk (I use Hood Calorie Count Down)
• Seasoning , I use powdered onion and garlic, steak seasoning , salt and pepper
• ¼ - ½ cup Shredded cheese

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 475
2. quickly mix all ingredients without over working or compacting the  meat. 
3. Chill for 10 minutes
4. Scoop out meat balls, rolling gently if need be.
5. Place on foil lined jelly roll pan, that you sprayed well
6. Turn oven down to 425 and bake until brown.  About 10 minutes
7. Pour off fat and allow to drain.  ( if making a brown gravy reserve some of the fat)
8. To freeze:  Let cool and place on clean cookie sheets cover loosely with plastic wrap and freeze.  When frozen place in freezer bags, that you have dated and labeled with a sharpie. Will be good for up to 3-6 months.

I heat them in the microwave the next day with the following sauce

5 meat balls

1 tbsp.  low carb ketchup ( I used Heinz)

1 tbsp. low carb pancake syrup

1 tsp. Rojo Taco Sauce

Heat 90 seconds or until hot

add 1 tsp. butter and stir to melt.

Oh sooo good.

One of my best Gal pals recently posted her Crockpot meatball recipe on her blog Patty's Life; meatball recipe. Well, I have to admit I had never made meatballs this way. I have always baked them and on a few occasions even fried them. This sounded so much cooler. So, I decided to give it a whirl. Here is my version of

Patty's Crockpot Meatballs

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Rotel tomatoes
• 1 can Hunts Spaghetti sauce ( low sugar)
• 2 drops sweetzfree or 1 package Splenda
• 1 lb ground chuck
• ½ lb breakfast sausage
• 2-3 tbsp. chopped onion
• 2-3 tbsp. chopped zucchini
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp. milk
• 1 tbsp. flaxseed oil ( trying to get more omega 3 in our diet)
• ½ - 1 cup of my Parm/bread crumb mix
• 1-2 tbsp. dried parsley
• 1-2 tsp. garlic powder, depending on how much you like garlic
• ½ cup grated mozzarella cheese

Method:

1. Spray Crockpot liner with non-stick spray
2. Mix rotel, spaghetti sauce and sweetener in the Crockpot, cover and set on low
3. Run onions and zucchini through food processor or mini chopper until finely chopped.
4. Place meat, veggies, egg spices and parm bread mix in a large bowl
5. Using hands or spoon mix well.
6. Form meatballs and drop into hot sauce
7. When all meatballs are in sauce, spoon a little sauce over them; cover a cook on low (my Crockpot cooks really hot. So I turned mine to warm after about 3-4 hours. You will have to determine time according to your slow cooker.
8. Sprinkle with cheese, cover and allow cheese to melt.

    

   Serve over shirataki noodles, Dreamfields pasta, zucchini ribbons, spaghetti squash or shredded cabbage. Whatever works for you? Add a tossed salad and your set to go.

I don’t know if I’ve done something or if there is a problem with my blog pages but I seem to be missing some recipes, my Taco meat recipe in particular. I remember posting it, I even had a comment from, someone about it. However, today when I went to link to it, it was nowhere to be found.

So I will give it another try. I hope this time it doesn’t get lost or go MIA because it’s one of the recipes I use more than any other. Use it to stuff zucchini or bell peppers along with cheese and baked off for a fabo easy dinner.

Taco salad is my favorite use, but there are so many, mix with your favorite pasta, mine is shirataki noodles, a few veggies, sour cream and cheese and bake or microwave for a one pan meal that will satisfy even the pickiest of eaters.

Jamie AKA Cleochatra has a number of recipes for Mexican food you could use it in, just scroll down a little on the right side to find all her excellent assortment of oh so yummy recipes. Or check out a few of mine. Everything from Taco casserole to omelets, scroll down a little and mine are on the left hand side.

What the heck, make up a great big batch, freeze in dinner-sized portions, go crazy in your own kitchen, and see what you create!

Vikki’s Famous Taco Meat

Ingredients:

· Per pound of ground meat, beef, pork, turkey or any combo you like

· 1 tbsp of taco seasoning, I make my own but use what you like

· 1/3 cup onion, chopped fine

· 1-2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped finely

· ½ red pepper, chopped

· Salt and pepper

· 1 med. Sized plum/Roma tomato, chopped

Method:

1. Brown meat in a large skillet until just no longer pink

2. Drain well

3. Add onions, garlic and peppers and cook until veggies are all done

4. Sprinkle with taco seasoning, covering the meat well.

5. Add salt and pepper along with tomato

6. Cover and let simmer 5 minutes.

I make up about 5-10 lbs at a time. I package up 2 cup of finished taco meat, per freezer bag. Date and label clearly before freezing. * 2 cups cooked meat is equal to a pound of meat.*

Just remove from freezer and let thaw in your fridge or under cold running water if your in a big hurry. Pour in a bowl and microwave 2-3 minutes to heat.

I have fond memories of occasionally getting to buy my lunch when I was in grade school and how much I loved the Salisbury steak.  Then tv dinners came out.  Yum yum more Salisbury Steak, not often but such a treat. 

So here I am many many years later and I decided it was time to come up with my own version, de-carbed of course.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. ground meat ( I used beef but pork and beef might have been better)
• 1 tbsp. each onion powder, powdered garlic, dried parsley and Worcestershire Sauce ( I didn't add but it needed it)
• 1 tsp. ground mustard
• 1 tbsp. milk ( hood)
• 1 tbsp. parmesan/bread combo*
• Salt and fresh ground pepper
• Mushroom gravy ( see below)

Preparations:

1. Add all ingredients and mix with clean hands.
2. Forum into oval patties
3. Brown in a little coconut oil
4. Remove from pan and make mushroom gravy.

Mushroom Gravy

Ingredients:

• Pan drippings from above
• 2 tbsp. carbquik ( I will use 1 tbsp. white flour next time, the carbquik broke)
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 1/2-3/4 cup beef stock
• 1 jar sliced mushrooms, drained
• 1-2 oz cream cheese
• gaur gum if needed

Preparations:

1. After removing steaks from the  skillet, add "flour" to the pan stirring and browning lightly.
2. Add the wine and stock, a little at a time don't over thin the gravy.
3. Add mushroom and cream cheese.  Let simmer until creamy and well combined.
4. Return steaks to the pan, cover and let simmer until everything is hot.

My first shot at this came out pretty well.  But it really needed the Worcestershire sauce,  and the gravy broke with the carbquik.  Next time I will use white flour.  One tbsp. shouldn't be too bad.  This isn't a real thick gravy.  It's more like a creamy sauce. 

These can be made and frozen after browning.  When thawed, the gravy made and the steaks heated in the gravy for a very quick dinner.

Ground meat is so easy to work with, but how many times have you taken out a package only to find you can't think of a thing to make with it.  Your tired, your stressed it's time to make dinner and your brain has completely left you on your own.

One solution is to mix up the ground meat and freeze it the way you intend to use it.

Your family love burgers with something special in them?  Mine likes them with bacon, onion and cheese mixed right in with the meat.  So mix the raw meat with the cooked bacon, raw onion and cheese, form into patties and freeze with wax paper between them.  Whaa la... burger are ready for the grill.

Your nuts for spaghetti sauce?  Make up a huge batch and freeze in dinner sized portions.

Stuffed pepper/veggies a big hit.  Cook up the meat and freeze in dinner sized portions.  When your ready you simply need to bake them off.  By the way in case your not aware of it.  Zucchini's and onions work wonderfully this way too. I'm sure egg plant and tomatoes would be divine.

Tacos? Taco meat is a main stay out our house.  It makes everything from taco salad to my OopsiMexalious.  It makes great tostados and you can use it in place of the chicken in my Taquitos and many other uses.  I usually bag up more of this than anything else because we use it so much.

Ground meat with no particular use in mind.  I usually brown up some meat with onion and garlic.  Bagged up for use in casseroles, pizza or whatever else I might come up with.  But it's nice to have it ready to go.

You can't for get meat loaf.  It's so nice to have it ready to just pop in the oven.  I find making mini meat loaves make quick work of the backing time too.  I personally make my meat loaves like jelly rolls.  They are wrapped around bacon, cheese and veggies.  But even the normal meatloaf can be formed to fit in your muffin pans.  Then when thawed you can bake them off in the muffin pans much quicker than in a loaf pan.  I find they are much more moist too.  You can even mix a pretty simple meat loaf and then top with a wonderful brochette or BBQ sauce for something spectacular.

What ground meat plan would be complete without meat balls?  They make a great low carb snack or lunch not to mention dinner.  My favorite is to have with a bowl of warm marinara sauce, a couple of stringed cheeses and strips of red and green pepper.  But they are wonderful mixed with shirataki noodles and sauteed veggies.  Your imagination is your only limit.

I hope this helps a little giving you some ideas of what you can actually do to help yourself be prepared for not only summer but your everyday busy life.  If you take a one day every couple of weeks and cook all you can you will soon have a freezer that is well stocked and ready for when you just don't have time or energy to cook a full meal.

Stuff peppers is one of those dishes we always loved but never seemed to have that often as a kid growing up.  Not sure why.  But once we started low carbing it  was out with all that rice in it.  But you know me, I'm never satisfied giving up a recipe until I've had a chance to play with it.  So this is what I've come up with.  We all agree it's even better without all that rice gumming up the flavor. Oh by the way, the amounts in this are for batch cooking.  I was able to get  3 double dinner/lunches out of it.  One dinner and one lunch from each bag.

Ingredients:

• 4 lbs ground meat, I used chuck
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 2-3 gloves garlic, crushed and minced
• 1 cup fresh mushrooms, chopped *
• salt & pepper
• 1 plum tomato, seeded and chopped *optional*
• 1 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1-2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1/4-1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper *optional*
• Bell peppers
• Cheese, grated  I used Colby -Jack

Preparations:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Brown meat adding onion and garlic when no longer pink. Drain grease.
3. Season with salt and pepper
4. When onions are translucent, add mushrooms*, tomato sauce, and chopped tomato if using. Simmer.
5. Add Worcestershire sauce and seasonings.  Taste for salt and pepper.  But remember you will be adding cheese.
6. Simmer until all flavors are melded.
7. Meanwhile put a large pan of water on to boil. 
8. Cut top off peppers or cut in half.
9. Clean out all seeds and membrane.  Wash well.
10. ***Drop peppers in boiling water.
11. Blanch 5 minutes
12. Remove from water and drain on clean dish towel.
13. Turn over and salt peppers. Us a paper towel to absorb any water.***
14. Place peppers into a sprayed baking dish.
15. Fill with meat mixture
16. Top with cheese
17. Bake 20 minutes** or until cheese is melted and peppers are hot.

*  I didn't have any fresh mushrooms so in these pictures I used half a grated carrot in stead.  Mushrooms are much better.

** Time based on baking hot ingredients

*** If freezing do not blanch peppers or they will become mushy.

I got 3 dinners and 3 lunches from this recipe.  I freeze the meat. Then cook the peppers as above, heating meat before stuffing after thawing when we have them.

But you can stuff the peppers and flash freeze then pack them in a large zip bag.  Just don't precook the pepper.  The meat takes up less room in my freezer so I just make up a large batch and freeze the meat, then make a double batch so we can have peppers for lunch one day as well.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lb. ground beef
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp. of taco seasoning or 1 envelope of store bought
• 4 Tablespoons Salsa
• 2 cups Cheddar cheese,grated
• 8 ounces Sour Cream
• Optional toppings:  shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, chopped black olives

Method:

1. Mix ground beef, seasoning and egg together.
   Pack into baking dish and bake for 20 minutes.
2. Drain juice.
3. Cover with salsa and grated cheese and bake for another 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
4. Serve with sour cream and other toppings.

• 2 1bs.Ground meat ( I use chuck ) or combo of ground meat and pork or sausage.
• a handful of chopped onion
• 1 egg
• 1-4 tbsp. bread crumb mix* (see bottom)
• bacon strips (cooked), pepperoni, ham, boiled eggs, etc.
• veggie of choice, fresh spinach leaves, canned diced tomatoes, sliced mushrooms, shredded zucchini, minced frozen broccoli, whatever you like.
• shredded cheese
• Optional: sauce for top.
• Cheese shredded.

Preparation:

1. Place onions in the food chopper and process as much as you can.  Add egg and process until well mixed and onions are liquid.
2. Mix meat, egg mixture and bread mixture until blended and moist.  Don't add to much bread mix or it will be dry.
3. Divide meat into equal parts ( 2 if making large loaves, 6-8 if mini loaves)
4. Flatten meat into rectangle on a piece of plastic wrap.
5. Sprinkle grated cheese over the meat ( don't over do)
6. At one end add any meat and veggies your adding.
7. Using the plastic wrap roll into a loaf.
8. Using your finger seal the edges well
9. Wrap tightly in the plastic wrap
10. Place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up.
11. Place the extra in a labeled freezer bag and freeze for up to 6 months.
12. Place on foil covered baking sheet with sides and bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes for mini loaves or 30 - 45 for large loaves.
13. If using sauce add midway through baking.
14. Let set up for 5-10 minutes before cutting.

These reheat very well in either microwave or oven.

Bread crumb mix

Place 1 slice of low carb bread in mini chopper and process into fine crumbs.  Mix in an equal amount Parmesan cheese ( dry type in green canister). Process to mix.  Store in fridge.

Alfredo Beef and Broccoli Bake

Number of Servings: 4

 

1.5lbs lean ground beef
1 cup diced onion
1 can (4oz) sliced mushrooms; drained
1lb bag frozen broccoli flowerets; thawed
1/2 bottle Ragu Alfredo sauce
salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste
extra parmesan cheese for the top

Brown ground beef with onions. Drain if needed. Add salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste then add the mushrooms and broccoli. Cover and let steam for about 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
Raise heat to high, pour on Alf redo sauce* and let simmer 2-3 minutes to heat through.
Top with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and enjoy!

*Note: use as much Alfredo as you like. I find 1/2 a jar is enough, but it you want it more soupy, add the whole thing!

 

Preparation Time: 25-30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 medium onion
• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp. caraway seeds
• 3 cups coarsely chopped cabbage
• 1 can tomato soup or a can of tomato paste with a pinch of sweetener (lower carb count)

Preparations:

1. Preheat oven to 300
2. Sauté onion and ground beef until the beef is brown and the onion is translucent.
3. Salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in caraway seeds.
4. Spread the cabbage in a 2 quart
   baking dish sprayed with non-stick coating.
5. Spread the meat mixture on top of cabbage.
6. Spread the tomato soup over the meat mixture.
7. Cover and bake for an hour.

This could easily be layered in a crockpot and cooked on low all day, unless your crockpot is like mine in which case it will be ready in about an hour.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 egg
• 4 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
• 3 to 5 slices of bacon (cooked and crumbled)
• garlic powder to taste
• black pepper to taste

Preparations:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Lightly brown beef and drain well.
3. Mix all ingredients together except Mozzarella.  Press mixture into small casserole dish and top with Mozzarella.
4. Bake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes.
   Cheese should be melted and lightly browned.

I usually drain this immediately.  Depending on the amount of fat in the meat and the cheeses, it can be very fatty.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Ricotta cheese or Sm. curd creamed cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese; grated
• 1 pound --Ground beef; cooked; drained
• 2 cups Mozzarella; shredded
• 1 teaspoon Oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon Basil
• 6 ounces Tomato paste
• 1 cup Hood Milk
• 2/3 cup Carbquik
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Pepper
• Fresh parsley; chopped

Preparations:

1. Preheat oven to 400. Grease pie plate or a 8x8 baking dish.
2. Layer Ricotta and Parmesan cheese in pie plate.
3. Mix cooked beef, 1 c. of mozzarella, the oregano, basil and tomato paste; spoon
   evenly over the top.
4. Beat milk, eggs, baking mix, salt and pepper 15 sec. in blender on high speed, 1 min. with wire whisk or hand beater or until smooth.
5. Pour in to pie plate. Bake 30-35 min. or until a knife  inserted in center comes out clean.
6. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Return to oven 1-2 min. or until cheese is melted.
7. Cool 5 min. Sprinkle with parsley.

Serve with a crisp salad. 

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs ground meat
• 1 lb sausage
• ¼ cup onion, chopped ( mini food processor)
• 3 sm. Cloves garlic, minced ( mini food processor)
• 3-4 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tsp. fish sauce Optional but gives a wonderful flavor
• 1 tsp. molasses
• 2-3 tbsp. yellow mustard
• 2 tbsp. cider vinegar
• ½ c.  my low carb ketchup

Preparations:

1. Brown meat in a large skillet breaking up as you go. 
2. Drain.
3. Pour in  crock-pot. 
4. Add other ingredients and set to high.  Cook for 3-4 hours or until it’s sloppy Joe.

Serve on a toasted oopsie or low carb bread add salad and dinner is done.

Freeze left overs for another night or two.

Reducing or omitting the molasses would bring the carb count down by about 5 net carbs