I love making shredded chicken in my slow cooker with a little salsa, but I can only do lettuce wraps for tacos so many times before I start to really miss having an actual tortilla to pick up and eat like a real taco. These low-carb taco shells are incredibly easy to make and so delicious, you might not believe that they only require one ingredient. Seriously, one. That's right--the only thing that stands between you and a keto-friendly taco is a little handful of shredded cheese. Let's get cooking.

Ingredients (makes 4 taco shells):  

• About 6 ounces of shredded cheese (I like to use cheddar)

For the filling and toppings, follow this recipe for my crock-pot chicken tacos.

Instructions: 

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Separate the cheese into sections of about 1.5 ounces.
2. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat (affiliate link) and make small circular piles of cheese--usually I can only do two at a time so they have enough room (they will spread out a bit in the oven). Pat the cheese down so each pile is in one even layer. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool slightly (just a couple minutes).
3. Lay a wooden spoon or spatula over two overturned glasses and carefully transfer the baked cheese circle so that it lays over the handle, allowing it to cool into the shape of a taco shell. (You can also leave them flat and use them as a tostada.)
4. Fill with your choice of protein and top with chopped lettuce, avocado, salsa, sour cream, or whatever else you like on your tacos. Taco shells will keep for a few days in the fridge, but they do best freshly made, while they're still a little warm.

It's cherry season and Memorial Day Weekend is upon us, so I thought I'd spend some time in the kitchen this week coming up with a way to use all the cherries we bought at the market the other day. Every time we go grocery shopping, one of us ends up putting a big bag of cherries in the cart--they just look so good!

This recipe is grain-free and made without refined sugars (just a little bit of honey--the cherries themselves are sweet enough!). They'd be great right out of the oven with a scoop of your favorite dairy-free (or regular) ice cream, but they also keep pretty well in the fridge and make a delicious snack, dessert, or even a sweet breakfast treat!

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 1 cup almond flour
• 4 tablespoons coconut flour
• 4 tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 eggs

For the cherry filling:

• 2 cups fresh cherries, pitted
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder

For the crumb topping:

• 4 tablespoons grass-fed butter, melted
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1-2 tablespoons honey, to drizzle on top

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the crust ingredients until smooth and well incorporated. Spoon the crust out into a baking dish (I used an 8 x 4 inch one). Press it down well, making sure it's evenly spread out around the bottom of the dish and up the sides a bit. (I actually made my crust too thick this time, so next time I'll be sure to really pat it down so it's a bit thinner.) Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
3. While the crust is baking, transfer pitted cherries, honey, and vanilla extract to a small sauce pot. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Once the cherries have expelled some liquid, add the arrowroot powder and stir well to combine. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the grass-fed butter and coconut flower together until crumbly (you should be able to handle it with your fingers). 
5. Pour the cherry filling over the crust and top with the coconut flour crumb topping. Drizzle with half of the honey and bake at 350 for an additional 20 minutes. Remove from heat, drizzle with more honey, and serve warm.

Since Rob and I adopted a more ketogenic diet, this has become one of my favorite recipes. I love it because I always have most of the ingredients in my pantry already (soy sauce or coconut aminos, sesame oil, and some chili garlic sauce), so all I have to do is grab a pound of ground pork and some slaw mix at the grocery store.

This "egg roll in a bowl" has all my favorite Asian flavors and satisfies that Chinese takeout craving, but you can stick to a Paleo and/or keto diet (and save some money!) by making it yourself. I've also heard it referred to as "crack slaw" in the keto community, but I think egg roll in a bowl is a bit more fun to say.

The first few times I made this, I tried it with ground beef and regular shredded cabbage, and it just wasn't as good. I like it better with red cabbage, some carrots, and ground pork instead of beef--the pork gets nice and crispy and adds a nice flavor to the dish. But if you like beef, you can stick with that; and you could even do ground chicken if you'd prefer.

Ingredients: 

• 1 pound of ground pork

• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

• About 10 ounces of shredded cabbage and carrots (I use a bag of the shredded red and green cabbage with carrots from Trader Joe's)

• 1-2 tablespoons sesame oil

• About 1/4 cup of soy sauce or coconut aminos

• 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper (optional, plus more or less depending on your heat preference)

• 1-2 teaspoons of chili garlic sauce

• About 2 teaspoons of rice vinegar

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• Sliced green onions for garnish and some Sriracha for topping

Instructions: 

1. In a large pan, heat the sesame oil and add ground pork, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Cook over medium-high heat until the pork begins to brown and get crispy around the edges. Add the garlic and give it a stir.

2. Add about half of the soy sauce and the crushed red pepper. Season with salt (be conservative with the salt since you're using soy sauce) and pepper and stir well to combine. Continue to cook until the pork is completely browned.

3. Add the cabbage and carrot mixture to the pan and reduce heat to medium. Toss to combine and add the remaining soy sauce. Add the chili garlic sauce and cook for 4-5 minutes or until the cabbage begins to wilt.

4. Add the rice vinegar and give everything a good stir. Serve hot, topped with green onions and a drizzle of Sriracha, if desired.