Warm Apple Dessert (Compote)

This tastes amazingly like gooey apple pie! This is delightful. Just like Grandma used to make.

Shrimp Cocktail Chowder

Talk about easy to make. This soup is done in a flash. If you’re like me you’ll make a triple batch. You can freeze the portions and just add shrimp bits when you go to serve it.

Chili Con Carne

This is a meaty chili with some veggies tossed in for crunch factor. Makes a satisfying lunch.

Roasted Fennel

Fennel has a distinct flavor, but when it's roasted, the flavor mellows. If you like fennel, this recipe is great, and it's very easy to make.  

Vegetable Soup

As the weather gets colder and the nights get longer this makes a wonderful soup. Or if you get a cold while on Plan Z this might be just the ticket!

Beef & Vegetable Stew

This stew will contain your meat and vegetable portion, serve with salad greens for a complete meal.

Creamed Orzo with Leeks and Parmesan

Orzo is a wonderful, tiny pasta. This is the most requested side dish recipe I get from dinner guests–but watch your portion size. Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Casserole

Serve this at your next family event instead of potatoes and you’ll save 30% of the carbs.

Can be a vegetarian entrée or a side dish. SUPER Yummy because as the squash bakes it becomes sweet.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

In addition to being crunchy, satisfying and delicious, pumpkin seeds are a nutritious snack. You can buy shelled pumpkin seeds in the grocery store (also know as pepitas), but when pumpkin season rolls around, you can buy a fresh pumpkin, scrape out the seeds, and toast the whole seeds yourself. YUM! 

BBQ Bean Hash

When I was a kid my father traveled a lot. When he was gone, sometimes my mom would let us just fry up some hamburger meat and add a can of Campbell’s baked beans. We called it bean hash. I loved it.

Taco Casserole

This is a throw it together FAST meal for any weeknight. It is not a spicy dish but you can if you wish, add hot sauce at the table for a little extra zing.

Seafood Chowder

This is not the usual, thick, gloppy chowder since you are on ZReduction, but it will pass as a fancy, flavorful meal.

Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

You know how you can eat mac and cheese and not even use your teeth? This had the same result. BIG YUM!

Curried Asparagus Soup

Serve in soup bowls with a protein of choice. In Z2 this is your veggie portion. You can have plain salad greens on the side if you need more. It’s very filling though.

Caramelized Pears (ZReboot Version)

A no sugar variation of my caramelized pears recipe. Still very yummy!

Beef Stew in a Dutch Oven

I’m Irish, so beef stew was a staple in our family. Trouble is there are so many carbs in most beef stew recipes. So with this recipe I have adjusted it to keep the carbs lower and introduce some other veggies that are lower carb to the mix.

Chicken Scallopini

A traditional Italian meal made the Plan Z way. My husband declared this one of his favorite meals of the year.

Seared and Baked Pork Chops

This is an easy preparation with a homey vibe, when you want comfort food this is a sure bet.

Apple Crisp

There’s something about the potential of smelling apples baking with cinnamon and nutmeg that conjures up fond memories of my mother in the kitchen.

Baked Pasta with Sausage, Tomatoes and Mushrooms

This dish can be made a day ahead and reheated.

Creole Meatloaf

This is a wonderfully moist meatloaf. It has a kick from the Cajun spices but not all that much and you can adjust according to taste. This transports well to work.

American Amatriciana

Amatriciana is an Italian dish. Simple and traditional. I am calling this American Amatriciana because the Italian version is made with guanciale or pancetta. I make mine with good ole’ American bacon. This is one of my husband’s favorite dishes. I hope you love it too.

Breaking Thanksgiving Tradition

Everyone has their Thanksgiving traditions; especially when it comes to food. Do you ever think about breaking tradition and making something different?

Spinach Stuffed Roasted Chicken

A unique way to stuff a chicken! From our dieting friend from Canada…Loretta.

Caramelized Pears (ZReboot 3.5 Version)

Chris’s cousins sent us a HUGE box of fruit as his get well wish. There are only two of us, so in order to use the fruit I have had to get creative! Oh, my, these are yummy!

Dieter Angela’s Ground Turkey “Meatzza” Crust

Angela says, "I love pizza, so I was looking for alternatives. I was disappointed to find cauliflower crust is not much lower in carbs than a traditional pizza crust. I came across that recipe for a meatzza crust and was pleasantly surprised. It satisfied my pizza craving, and I could have a slice of pizza without needing a fork! For those pizza cravings, here’s a recipe for a meatzza crust."

Hot Brown Open-faced Sandwich

This is fast to make and is a wonderful comfort food addition to your recipes.

Baked Chicken with Shiitake Mushroom Sauce

If we had a gourmet comfort food category this recipe would be the first one. Its easy to make, very satisfying, and tastes delicious. A great meal for a rainy day.

Instant Pot Corned Beef

When you buy corned beef, there is a little packet of corned beef spices that accompanies the brisket. The secret is to use that and ADD your own corned beef spices to the mix -- after you toast them.

Chili

This is a great comfort food. Make a big pot and pack it up for lunches on future days for a nice hot meal on a cold day.

Italian Sausage Tart

This meal is good for breakfast, lunch or dinner. With a side salad it makes a nice brunch offering too!

Onion Chicken and Homemade Applesauce

"My mom wasn’t a cook which I think I’ve told you, so when she made pork chops she would put them in a dish, pour French onion soup (Campbell’s from a can) over them and serve it with applesauce.

Outlaw Chili Verde

This award-winning chili recipe won best Verde Chili by the International Chili Society in 2018. "Texas Chuck," the creator of this awesome recipe, made this chili using Mild Bills Spices (in case you're trying to get his authentic flavor).

Braised Red Cabbage

For all you cabbage lovers out there, this recipe is a ZReduction take on a German classic. While you can whip this dish up in about 30 minutes, red cabbage tastes sweeter the longer you cook it -- so if you are on ZReduction and like your cabbage a little sweeter, cook it low and slow until the flavors mellow and meld to your liking.

Italian Sausage Zucchini Casserole (with Pasta)

This dish is Italian comfort food. I curl up on sofa with a bowl of this and watch a movie. You can go totally low-carb with this one and make it without the pasta. Tastes just as good. This also makes a great casserole addition to a pot luck party.

Cabbage Rolls

We were really happy with the way it turned out and I think you could adjust the seasonings to your own taste if you want more garlic or more salt, etc.

Tomato Shrimp Chowder

Talk about easy to make. This dish is done in a flash. If you’re like me, you’ll make a triple batch of the tomato base. You can freeze the portions.

Potatoes Brabant (Zola Style)

I don’t eat potatoes very often but these are worth the splurge a few times a year. The yellow potatoes they are made from in my recipe are lower in carbohydrates than a Russet potato, so that’s a bonus, too.

Crispy Chicken

You have a hankerin’ for Fried Chicken? This will fit the bill.

Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Casserole

When you get into the second portion of ZReboot you can start to experiment with a little more carbohydrates. Try this at week 4 – 6 of ZReboot and see how you do.

Famous Burger Meatloaf

This is a “Whopper” of a meatloaf, designed to taste like the famous burger. I hope you enjoy.

Mushroom-Bacon Soup

I had a hankering for bacon. My husband wanted mushroom soup. And this recipe was born.

Summer Veggie Casserole with Pepperoni

This dish is easy to put together. The spouse or the kids can help chop and it comes together fast. You can be doing other things while your dinner bakes in the oven. Makes great leftovers, too.

Chicken “Chimichangas”

At first you’d think chimichangas would be high carb. The good news is they have low carb tortillas at the grocery store that taste the same as the traditional. Look for the low carb versions.

Chicken Mamou

One of my favorite Cajun meals is chicken mamou. Mamou in Creole is basically grandma. So this is “grandma('s) chicken.”

Beef Over Noodles

Our Plan Z “cafeteria” smelled just like Grandma’s house today. This beef over noodles recipe is a hit. Serve this when you have family around at holidays or other times when there’s a crowd.

Italian Pepper Steak in a Crock Pot

This is a great crock pot recipe. Super simple but really tasty.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

This soup can be served hot or cold.

Cheesy Turkey Noodle Casserole

This dish can be made with chicken or is a perfect way to use up leftover turkey from the holidays.

Chicken Chili Enchilada Casserole

This casserole tastes just like a zippy chicken enchilada without the major carbohydrate intake.