1001 Low-Carb Recipes: Hundreds of Delicious Recipes From Dinner to Dessert That Let You Live Your Low-Carb Lifestyle and Never Look Back (40 page)

½ cup (120 ml) ranch dressing

1 batch Chicken or Beef Taco Filling*

1 cup (120 g) shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

Sour cream

Put the lettuce, pepper, cucumber, tomato, onion, avocado, cilantro (if using), and olives (if using) in a large salad bowl.

Stir together the 2/3 cup (173 g) of salsa and the ranch dressing, pour it over the salad, and toss.

Divide the salad between the serving plates and top each one with the taco filling and shredded cheese. Put the salsa and sour cream on the table so that folks can add their own.

Yield:
6 servings

Each with 12 grams of carbohydrates and 4 grams of fiber, for a total of 8 grams of usable carbs and 22 grams of protein.

*To make chicken taco filling, combine 1 pound (455 g) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 1 cup (240 ml) chicken broth, and 2 tablespoons Taco Seasoning (page 483) in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cover, put it over low heat, and simmer for 1½ hours. Tear chicken into shreds.

To make beef taco filling, crumble 1 pound (455 g) ground beef into a heavy skillet over medium-high heat and cook until brown. Drain and stir in 2 tablespoons Taco Seasoning (page 483) and ¼ cup (60 ml) water.

This skewered lamb is usually served as a sandwich in pita bread, but it makes a fabulous salad for a lot fewer carbs.

2 pounds (910 g) lean lamb, cut into 1-inch cubes

½ cup (120 ml) olive oil

1 cup (240 ml) dry red wine

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon oregano

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 head romaine lettuce

¼ sweet red onion, sliced paper-thin

24 cherry tomatoes, halved

cup (160 ml) Greek Lemon Dressing (page 172)

6 tablespoons (90 g) plain yogurt or sour cream (The yogurt is more authentic.)

Put the lamb cubes in a large resealable plastic bag.

Combine the oil, wine, salt, pepper, oregano, and garlic. Pour the mixture over the lamb cubes in the bag. Let this marinate for at least a few hours.

When you’re ready to cook the lamb, pour off the marinade and thread the cubes onto skewers. You can grill these or broil them 8 inches (20 cm) or so from the broiler. Turn the kebabs while they’re cooking and check for doneness by cutting into a chunk of meat after 10 minutes. They should be thoroughly cooked in 15 minutes. (If you don’t have any skewers, you can always just lay the lamb cubes on the broiler pan. They’re a lot easier to turn over if they’re on skewers, however.)

While the meat is cooking, wash and dry your lettuce and arrange it on serving plates.

Push the cooked meat off the skewers and onto the prepared beds of lettuce. Scatter some red onion over each plate and arrange 8 cherry tomato halves on each. Drizzle each plate with a couple of tablespoons of dressing and top each with a tablespoon of yogurt.

Yield:
6 servings

Each with 11 grams of carbohydrates and 4 grams of fiber, for a total of 7 grams of usable carbs and 34 grams of protein.

1 medium cucumber, cut into chunks

cup (50 g) sweet red onion, sliced

cup (20 g) chopped fresh parsley

½ large green pepper, cut into small strips

15 cherry tomatoes, quartered

1 can (6 ounces, or 170 g) tuna, drained

¼ cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons (30 ml) wine vinegar

1 clove garlic, crushed

¼ teaspoon salt

teaspoon pepper

Put the cucumber, onion, parsley, pepper, tomatoes, and tuna in a salad bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine the oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper. Pour the mixture over the salad, toss, and serve.

Yield:
2 servings

Each with 16 grams of carbohydrates and 4 grams of fiber, for a total of 12 grams of usable carbs and 25 grams of protein.

2 large ribs celery, diced

½ cup (80 g) diced red onion

½ cup (43 g) diced red apple

½ cup (60 g) chopped pecans

1 can (6 ounces, or 170 g) tuna, drained

3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

¾ cup (175 g) mayonnaise

Salt

Lettuce

Put the celery, onion, apple, pecans, tuna, and hard-boiled eggs in a big bowl. Toss with the mayonnaise until it’s all coated. Add salt to taste and serve on a lettuce-lined plate, if you like.

Yield:
3 servings

Each with 10 grams of carbohydrates and 3 grams of fiber, for a total of 7 grams of usable carbs and 23 grams of protein.

Short on time, I got my pal Julie McIntosh to try out this recipe for me. She loved it the way I’d conceived of it but suggested a little more cilantro, plus a little scallion, so that’s what we did. Thanks, Julie!

1 ripe black avocado

3 tablespoons (45 ml) lime juice, divided

1 can (6 ounces, or 170 g) crabmeat, or 6 ounces cooked lump crabmeat

1 teaspoon lemon juice

¼ cup (60 g) mayonnaise

2 tablespoons (8 g) chopped cilantro

1 scallion, thinly sliced

¼ teaspoon pepper, or to taste

Salt, if desired

Split the avocado in half, remove the seed, and sprinkle the cut surfaces with 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of the lime juice to prevent browning.

Combine the crabmeat, remaining 2 tablespoons (30 ml) lime juice, lemon juice, mayonnaise, cilantro, scallion, pepper, and salt in a mixing bowl and mix well. Stuff into the avocado halves, piling it high. Garnish with extra cilantro, if desired, and serve.

Yield:
2 servings

Each with 9 grams of carbohydrates and 5 grams of fiber, for a total of 4 grams of usable carbs and 20 grams of protein.

This salad also provides 932 milligrams of potassium and 110 milligrams of calcium.

Here’s a cool summer night’s dinner that will take all of 10 minutes to assemble, yet impress the heck out of any guests who might happen to have wandered in—or just the family.

2 pounds (910 g) shrimp, cooked and shelled

1 black avocado

10 scallions, sliced thin

cup (160 ml) bottled vinaigrette dressing (I like Paul Newman’s Olive Oil and Vinegar.)

1 head romaine lettuce

This is very simple if you buy your shrimp already shelled and cooked. I like to use little bitty shrimp for this, but feel free to use middle-sized shrimp if that’s what you have on hand. Put the shrimp in a big mixing bowl. Peel and seed your avocado and dice it, somewhere between ¼-inch (6 mm) and ½-inch (1.3 cm) big. Put that in the bowl, too. Slice your scallions, including the crisp part of the green, and throw them in the bowl as well.

Pour on the dressing and gently stir the whole thing up to coat all the ingredients. Let that sit for a few minutes while you break or cut up the lettuce. Arrange it in beds on 6 serving plates.

Now stir the shrimp salad one last time to get up any dressing that’s settled to the bottom of the bowl and spoon it out onto the beds of lettuce. Serve immediately.