As I've mentioned, I try to eat real most of the time and avoid processed foods for the most part. But I'm not particularly zealous about it. If you are then you won't like this recipe.

This came about because Sav-a-Lot had the Veggie Ranch dip for 50¢ on its sell-by date. I normally wouldn't have bought it but knew I could make some sort of sauce with it, and this is what I ended up with.

I've been buying those 20 oz packages of ham and turkey when they go on sale for $1.49/pkg. They're good to have in the freezer for something fast; we eat 1-2 of these packages a month, usually on sandwiches or I fry some in bacon fat to serve with a couple of sides, or whatever. This is the first time I've used it in a casserole. While any leftover turkey or chicken will work, this is just what I had and what I used; you will want to alter this recipe to add liquid and salt if you use (cooked) fresh.

Filling:
20 oz pkg turkey breast meat (as described above)
1# frozen broccoli/cauliflower/carrot blend
10 oz box chopped spinach
16 oz carton Veggie Ranch dip

Thaw veggies; chop turkey and vegetables into bite-sized chunks; toss all above ingredients in large mixing bowl until thoroughly mixed; spread into greased 9x12 baking dish; set aside.

Topping:
2 large eggs
3 Tbsp olive oil (or melted butter, coconut oil, bacon fat, or other fat; I just used the olive         oil because it was sitting right there on the counter within reach)
1/2c half'n'half (I would have used cream if I'd had it)
1c Carbquik
1/4c Parmesan Cheese (from the can)

In SAME MIXING BOWL, without cleaning first, beat eggs; add olive oil (or fat of choice) and cream; beat until mixed well, incorporating as much of the filling leftovers from the sides of the bowl as you can; mix in CarbQuik. This will be a bit thinner than biscuit dough but not nearly as thin as pancake batter - should be spreadable.

Drop by spoonfuls on top of filling, then lightly spread to cover. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over top; bake @ 350 for 20-25 minutes until top is browned.

NOTES:
- No salt is needed, there is plenty in the meat; you will need to add salt if you are using fresh meat rather than processed. I don't use pepper, but by all means add it if you like it. There is also a lot of liquid in the turkey I used, which mixed with the dip to thin it out a bit; you may need to compensate if you use real meat.
- Using the leftovers in the mixing bowl in the topping will add some acid (from sour cream in the dip) which will work with the baking powder in the CarbQuik to give some rise to it. The finished topping won't be thick or heavy (like dumplings) but rather a light tasty crust.
- This isn't the healthiest of the meals I prepare due to the processed turkey, dip, canned parm, and CarbQuik - but it is cheap, and it is easy, and it is low carb, which is what this blog is about....and it is SUPER SUPER delicious, hubby and I really loved it, I will probably prepare it once a month although not in a weekly rotation.


 
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This was a GREAT supper! What you see here is creamed spinach, cheesy caulimash, half of a NY strip steak, and sauteed onion!

For the spinach, it's simply chopped frozen spinach, cooked, with butter, sea salt, and then onion chip dip mixed in. (I am using chip dip instead of sour cream a LOT lately - so much more flavor! And Kent Altena recently recorded a video about how make your own!)

The caulimash is kind of pink because I added ham which I chopped in the food processor and it turned it all pink. But who cares, it was SO GOOD! I also added butter and LOTS of shredded Monterey Jack cheese...I have some left over which I'm looking forward to digging into for a snack later! (As you can see I added a big hunk of butter on my plate, as well as to the spinach. Everything is better with butter!)

The onions I just put in the electric fryer, sliced, with some olive oil over medium low, covered them, and let them cook until soft, stirring occasionally. When they were soft and starting to brown I moved them to the side and cooked the steak in there; by then the onions were started to get really dark (like we like them!). I of course took the fatty half of the steak!

This was a dinner that wasn't as cheap as most but I wanted to make something special, and this was definitely it!

 
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Tonight I made a "triple meat" dish. Sounds strange but was SO GOOD! As always, super easy...not as always, a little pricier - but I didn't have to buy the can of crab meat ($2! I'd never buy it!)

I started with b/s chicken thighs, which I flattened. Onto each piece I put a generous blob (technical culinary term) of a mixture of cream cheese and crab meat - 1 block and 1 can, respectively. Then I rolled them up, wrapped them in bacon, and stuffed them - literally - in a Pyrex loaf pan; after 90 minutes in a 325 oven they were done. SO EASY but fancy-looking and delicious! No seasoning required.

With it I served some Dreamfield's penne pasta tossed with chopped spinach and butter, seasoned with sea salt, and sprinkled some Italian blend shredded cheese.

GREAT MEAL!