Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Another Grandma J Tutorial

Now that I'm on day three of my diet.....specifically the Atkins Diet, I thought I'd share one of my favorite recipes. Those of you who have been on Atkins probably know all about this tasty, easy snack food.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the Atkins Diet, it's basically a high protein, low carb diet. Finding snack foods with little or no carbs is not easy.

Let's pretend for a moment that you want to find something easy and simple on Rachael Ray's website.


Well, of course, you will have to schlep through tons of fluff like contests to bid on a Rachael look-a-like made out of Legos!

That's right, it's a life size replica made out of Legos! Well, you can thank your lucky stars that you won't be distracted by such rubbish prize winning games on Grandma J's site....no sirree.

I won't bore you with a feature called Weekly ROUND-UP, because if you're on Atkins, it would more than likely be called a Weekly BOUND-UP.

You won't find a Yum-O Menu section for kids on Grandma J's site. You can always get the recipe for "Orange You Hungry?" Tangerine Dream Chicken with Curry-Carrot Couscous straight from Rachael's Yum-O site. What's a couscous? And be honest...is this a dish your four year old will be asking you to fix for dinner?

Without wasting anymore time, let's get on with the tutorial...which is really a one ingredient recipe.


This is my favorite snack food on the Atkins Diet. It's a crispy cheese snack. Don't judge it by it's looks! It tastes cheesier and crispier than Cheez-It's. I used to bring this yummy snack to work to help me with the munchies....before long I was making it in large quantities to satisfy the moochers who loved it.

Let's make some, shall we?

Finely grate some cheese, any cheese. I buy it all ready grated, and prefer it finally finely grated. Just remember, American cheese, and cheese products aren't real cheese, and won't work.

Spread the grated cheese evenly on parchment paper. Microwave safe plates are OK but you have to spray them with Pam, or something similar, otherwise you will never get the cheese off. The parchment paper is so much easier, and the results are better.


I microwave the cheese on high for 3 minutes. Now, my old microwave took 5 minutes. The first time, set the timer for 5 minutes and watch it carefully. You want the cheese to melt and continue to bubble and cook until it starts turning brown. If it's not done enough it will be rubbery.

This is what is should look like when it's done...sort of, if my camera could only capture the right coloring.


Break it up, and you're ready to enjoy your cheese snack. I love this with a taco salad, basically lettuce,cilantro and ground beef with taco seasoning. You can make taco shells out of the cheese too. I'll show you that later.

Be sure and make plenty. I bag some of it to take with me for a quick snack, like when I go to the movies.
Here's the icing on the cheese....NO CARBS! Eat all you want.


15 comments:

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

"Couscous" is the sound that comes from you spontaneously after being on this diet.

But nevermind that.

I am very proud of you! Great job.

Busy Bee Suz said...

This is so funny...we must be related....this is one of my favorite snacks EVER. I usually make it with parm cheese and top it on salads. I have to make the triple amount for the salad because I eat most of it while it is cooking. I always do it in a skillet and do it in little circles.
Oh, lordy, I have to go make some right now!!!!!
couscous who? I gotta get me some fried cheees!!!!

Z said...

YUMMO! I make these in a regular oven but this looks easier! Thanks!

And thanks for coming by geeeeZ! I'll be checking back in....Good luck with the diet (I gained EIGHT POUNDS this Christmas ...YIKE..but the 'no carb' thing really does get it off fast!..it would help if Friday wasn't my birthday ..who wants to diet around your birthday, right? Happy New Year, Gran! xxx

Pumpkin Delight (Kimberly) said...

Ohhhh, the low carb diet...I love the fact you can eat as much as you want, but I hate the no carb thing. I love my carbs!
Wow! Who knew about the browned cheese! I will have to try that. Thanks for the recipe.

Cool Breeze said...

That is a grate (great) idea! I often get the munchies at night and that would be perfect ... and who doesn't love cheese?

Anonymous said...

I tried the Atkins Diet and lost 19 lbs, but I found them again.

Katrine said...

Hey, I've made this snack on accident! Yes, that's how good I am.

Anonymous said...

lol @ Katrine---I have made it by accident too.

Do you like pickles and olives? I keep plenty of green olives and tiny pickles on hand. No carb (even low fat)and they have a lot of flavor to satisfy. I buy the baby snappy dills so they are crunchy too.

Unknown said...

WOW...THANKS SO much for posting that recipe! It's sometimes like I live in a cave and miss things such as this...but this is just GREAT...I have about 7-8 pkgs of cheese left over from the holidays that I can now enjoy immediately...I'm excited to go try!

Big Hair Envy said...

That looks SO yummy!!! Will low-fat cheese work with this recipe?? I think Cool Breeze could use something "chip-like" to get him through Phase 1.

BTW - My quesadilla maker makes these all the time. She's such a trendsetter.

Unknown said...

BHE, you can try low fat, but I'm not sure it will work. Fat is not a bad thing on the Atkins diet. Recipes on the Atkins diet call for natural hard cheese, with no processing. I scramble my eggs in real butter. Margarine has carbs, butter doesn't.

jlo said...

I always struggle with a diet that you can eat as much bacon and cheese as you want. Does it really work?

Jason, as himself said...

And I've always wondered if people on The Atkins Diet get really super constipated. Do they?

Pleasing Procrasinator said...

This is a great idea that I will definitely be trying. We always have cheese so I will make this tomorrow.
BTW - I would love to go through all the contest, can I win me a Gramma J made of legos? Hehe!

Unknown said...

I would like a life size Grandma J as well : ). Gary thinks you are part of our family because I talk about you at supper all the time : ). You always teach me new things and help me look at things from a better perspective. I am thankful for you!

PS Did you know that Kaishon is adopted? I did not give birth to him so I wasn't in the same hospital as Jen.