Cheese Chips

You can find this recipe all over the Internet, there’s nothing unique about the one I’m sharing here. I’m just putting it up because I referenced it in the Guaca-FAUX-le post, and figured I should make the recipe available for using alongside it.

So, what you’ll need is:

• 2oz of shredded cheese (see caveat below)
• A microwave
• Parchment or wax paper (I prefer parchment)
• A microwave safe plate
• A paper towel or two
• Patience (kidding)

Wrap the paper plate with the parchment paper, or lay the parchment paper on top of the paper plate. If your microwave has a carousel, you’ll want to make sure the paper spins with the plate when activated. If the paper’s too wide, the cheese may not melt evenly. On the other hand, if your microwave doesn’t have a carousel, who cares?

Put the 2oz of shredded cheese in a layer on the parchment paper. I like to mound mine in the middle just a bit, but I try to have a nice, even layer everywhere else. Don’t fret though, it won’t stay.

Put the plate with paper and cheese in the microwave. Times on this will vary, but you’re going to actually overcook the cheese here. What you want is for the cheese to release the oils in it, and when they stop bubbling on the surface of the cheese OR the cheese starts turning too brown, it’s finished. If you burn it the chips will be GROSS, so keep an eye on it!

CAVEAT: You can use your favorite cheese, but I don’t recommend Colby or Colby-Jack blends. The finished cheese is way too salty. Cheddar, for whatever reason, doesn’t get salty at all, in my opinion. But for guacamole (real or faux), the taco or Mexican blends are the best. They’re incredible when finished.

After pulling the plate out of the microwave, dab any remaining oils off the top. Be careful, it’s HOT! Transfer the finished “patty” to a new plate and you can either break it into chunks for the chips, or cut it, or simply use the entire thing as one big chip. When it’s removed initially, it will be pliable (if you take it out as soon as the microwave stops); you can bend it over something to form a taco shell.

Delicious and VERY low carb, but careful, ketogenic dieters — it’s got protein in it, and contributes to your totals.

Keto-Friendly Guaca-FAUX-le Dip!

Okay, so, I love homemade guacamole, and avocados are absolutely wonderful in the fats they provide, but let’s be honest here: Those fats come at a HIGH price. Along with the great fats come a boatload of excess carbs us ketogenic dieters simply don’t want or need.

You can Google for “low-carb guacamole” all you want, but the fact is, avocados, tomatoes and most of the other fixin’s for it aren’t low-carb. So when my love and I made some a couple of weeks ago, we adored it on our keto-friendly cheese-chips, but we couldn’t eat a lot of it.

This got me to thinking…what can I do about it?

So, on a whim, I decided to come up with a keto-friendly dip I could use with my beloved cheese-chips, and what I hit on accidentally tasted like guacamole to me. I was so excited, I ran into our bedroom and woke my wife to tell her about it. Now, I’ll share it with you, because I don’t want to lose the recipe and because I don’t want to forget it. Since hardly anyone reads this blog, I guess those will suffice as reasons to post it.

What you need are:

• 4oz cream cheese (softened, if possible)
• ROUGHLY 1/4 cup minced cilantro
• 1/4 medium tomato, diced
• ROUGHLY 2 tbsp lime or lemon juice (I used lime)
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1 clove garlic (optional)
• 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Combine all the chopped ingredients with the softened cream cheese in a mixing bowl, and mix well, but don’t smash the tomatoes. Add the lime juice last.

And that’s it! Dip your LOVELY cheddar or Mexican or Taco blend cheese-chips in it and enjoy!

Delicious, and to me, it tasted JUST like guacamole. Your mileage may vary, of course, but give it a try!