1001 Low-Carb Recipes: Hundreds of Delicious Recipes From Dinner to Dessert That Let You Live Your Low-Carb Lifestyle and Never Look Back (100 page)

1 can (14½ ounces, or 410 g) diced tomatoes, undrained

½ cup (120 ml) dry red wine

Guar or xanthan (optional)

In a big, heavy skillet, brown the beef in the oil over medium-high heat in a few batches. Transfer the beef to a slow cooker. Add the garlic and celery to the slow cooker and then sprinkle the salt or Vege-Sal, cinnamon, cloves, pepper, allspice, and nutmeg over the beef and vegetables. Pour the tomatoes and the wine over the beef and vegetables. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 7 to 8 hours.

You can thicken the pot juices a little if you like with guar or xanthan, but it’s not really necessary.

Yield:
8 servings

Each with 44 g protein, 5 g carbohydrate, 1 g dietary fiber, 4 g usable carbs.

This Tex-Mex dinner is a simple family-pleaser.

2 pounds (910 g) beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch (2.5-cm) cubes

1 can (14½ ounces, or 410 g) tomatoes with green chiles

½ cup (80 g) sliced onion

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 envelope (1¼ ounces, or 35 g) taco seasoning mix

1 can (15 ounces, or 425 g) black soybeans

½ cup (65 g) sour cream

Put the beef, tomatoes, onion, and chili powder in a slow cooker. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 8 to 9 hours.

Stir in the taco seasoning and soybeans. Re-cover the slow cooker, turn it to high, and let it cook for another 20 minutes. Place a dollop of sour cream on each serving.

Yield:
6 generous servings, and it could even serve 8

Each with 46 g protein, 12 g carbohydrate, 5 g dietary fiber, 7 g usable carbs.

The original recipe from which I adapted this said it was an Italian version of a Hungarian stew. Whatever it is, it’s good!

1½ pounds (680 g) beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch (2.5-cm) cubes

¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 green pepper, cut into strips

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 cup (240 ml) beef broth

1 teaspoon beef bouillon concentrate

1 teaspoon dried marjoram

1 tablespoon (16.5 g) tomato paste

1 tablespoon (6.9 g) paprika

1 tablespoon (30 ml) lemon juice

½ cup (65 g) plain yogurt

In a big, heavy skillet, heat a tablespoon or two (15 to 30 ml) of the oil over medium-high heat. Start browning the stew meat. It will take two or three batches; add more oil as you need it. Transfer each batch of browned meat to a slow cooker as it’s done.

When all the meat is browned, put the last of the oil in the skillet, reduce the heat to medium-low, and add the onion. Sauté the onion until it’s just softening and add it to the slow cooker. Add the green pepper to the slow cooker.

In a bowl, mix together the garlic, broth, bouillon, marjoram, tomato paste, paprika, and lemon juice, stirring until the bouillon and tomato paste are dissolved. Pour the mixture over the meat and onions. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 6 to 7 hours. When the time’s up, stir in the yogurt. Serve over Fauxtatoes (page 209).

Yield:
5 servings

Each with 38 g protein, 7 g carbohydrate, 1 g dietary fiber, 6 g usable carbs. (Analysis does not include Fauxtatoes.)

Don’t try adding the zucchini at the beginning, or they’ll cook to a mush! Put out some vegetables and dip for the ravening hoards and sip a glass of wine while you’re waiting that last hour.

2 pounds (910 g) boneless beef chuck, trimmed of fat and cubed

1 medium onion, sliced

1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch (2.5-cm) squares

1 large green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch (2.5-cm) squares

1 cup (240 ml) no-sugar-added spaghetti sauce (I suggest Hunt’s.)

½ cup (120 ml) beef broth

½ teaspoon beef bouillon concentrate

1½ pounds (680 g) zucchini, cut into ½-inch (1.3-cm) slices

Guar or xanthan (optional)

In a slow cooker, combine the beef with the onion and peppers.

In a bowl, stir together the spaghetti sauce, broth, and bouillon. Pour the mixture over the beef and vegetables and stir. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 9 hours.

Turn the slow cooker to high, stir in the zucchini, re-cover, and let it cook for 1 more hour. When the time’s up, thicken the sauce with guar or xanthan, if needed.

Yield:
6 servings

Each with 27 g protein, 10 g carbohydrate, 3 g dietary fiber, 7 g usable

This has a lot of New Orleans elements, including some serious heat, so I named it after Lake Pontchartrain. Oxtails are bony but very flavorful, and they take very well to the slow cooker. If you haven’t had oxtails, don’t fear them; they’re just muscle meat, like a steak or a roast. It’s just that there’s a high bone-to-meat ratio.

4 pounds (1.8 kg) beef oxtails

3 tablespoons (18 g) Cajun seasoning

2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil

3 large banana peppers, sliced

1 medium onion, sliced

1 medium carrot, shredded

2 stalks celery, sliced

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 cup (240 ml) dry red wine

¼ cup (60 ml) brandy

1½ teaspoons dried thyme

3 bay leaves

1 can (14½ ounces, or 410 g) diced tomatoes

2 chipotle chiles canned in adobo sauce, chopped (You can use just one if you’d like to cut the heat a bit.)

Sprinkle the oxtails all over with the Cajun seasoning.

In a big, heavy skillet, heat the oil and brown the oxtails all over. Transfer the oxtails to a slow cooker.

Add the peppers, onion, carrot, celery, and garlic to the skillet and sauté them until they’re just softened. Add them to the slow cooker and mix them in with the oxtails.

Pour the wine and brandy in the skillet and stir it around. Stir in the thyme and add the bay leaves, tomatoes, and chipotles. Stir this all up and pour it over the oxtails and veggies. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 8 hours. Remove the bay leaves before serving.

Yield:
6 servings

Each with 96 g protein, 13 g carbohydrate, 3 g dietary fiber, 10 g usable carbs.

Here’s something good to do with pork chops, now that you’re not breading them.

1 pork chop, 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick

Salt or Vege-Sal

Pepper

1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil

1 tablespoon (15 ml) dry white wine

1 tablespoon (15 ml) heavy cream

1 tablespoon (15 ml) spicy brown mustard or Dijon mustard

Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of the chop.

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Sauté the chop until it’s browned on both sides and cooked through. Put the chop on a serving platter and keep it warm.

Put the wine in the skillet and stir it around, scraping all the tasty brown bits off the pan as you stir. Stir in the cream and mustard, blend well, and cook for a minute or two. Pour over the chop and serve.

Yield:
1 serving

2 grams of carbohydrates, a trace of fiber, and about 20 grams of protein.

1½ pounds (680 g) pork chops, about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick

3 tablespoons (45 ml) olive oil

1 clove garlic

1 tablespoon (7.8 g) chili powder

1 teaspoon ground coriander

Start a charcoal fire or preheat a gas grill.

Measure out the olive oil; crush the garlic and stir it into the oil. Rub the chops thoroughly with the garlicky olive oil. Stir the chili powder and coriander together and sprinkle over both sides of the chops. Grill over well-ashed coals or on a gas grill set to medium-low for about 10 minutes per side or until an instant-read thermometer registers 170°F (80°C).

Yield:
3 to 4 servings

Assuming 3 servings, each will have 2 grams of carbohydrate and 1 gram of fiber, for a usable carb count of 1 gram; 35 grams protein.

1 pork chop, 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick

1 clove garlic, crushed

½ teaspoon dried, powdered sage

½ teaspoon dried, powdered rosemary

Salt or Vege-Sal

2 tablespoons (30 ml) dry white wine

Rub the crushed garlic into both sides of the pork chop.

In a bowl, mix the sage and rosemary together and sprinkle this evenly over both sides of the pork chop as well. Sprinkle lightly with the salt.

Place the chop in a heavy skillet (if you’re multiplying this recipe to feed several people, you may well need two skillets) and add water just up to the top edge of the pork chop. Cover the skillet, turn the heat to low, and let the chop simmer for about 1 hour or until the water has all evaporated.

Once the water is gone, the chop will start to brown. Turn it once or twice to get it browned on both sides. (The pork chop will be very tender, so use a spatula and be careful. If it breaks a little, it will still taste great.)

Remove the pork chop to a serving platter and pour the wine into the skillet. Turn up the heat to medium-high and stir the wine around, scraping up the stuck-on brown bits from the pan. Bring this to a boil and let it boil hard for a minute or two to reduce it just a little. Pour this sauce over the pork chop and serve.

Yield:
1 serving

2 grams of carbohydrates, a trace of fiber, and about 23 grams of protein.

1 pound (455 g) pork chops, 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick

1 tablespoon (6 g) grated ginger

1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil

1 tablespoon (15 ml) soy sauce

1 tablespoon (15 ml) dry sherry

1½ teaspoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon (15 ml) water

½ clove garlic, crushed

¼ teaspoon toasted sesame oil

¼ teaspoon Splenda

1 scallion, sliced, including the crisp part of the green shoot

In a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat, brown the pork chops on both sides in the olive oil. Mix together everything else but the scallion and pour into the skillet. Turn the chops to coat both sides. Cover the pan, turn the heat to low, and let the chops simmer for 30 to 40 minutes. Spoon pan juices over chops and top with a little sliced scallion to serve.

Yield:
3 to 4 servings

Assuming 3, each will have 24 g protein; 1 g carbohydrate; trace dietary fiber; 1 g usable carb.

3 pork chops, 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick

3 slices bacon