300 15-Minute Low-Carb Recipes (38 page)

Yield:
2 servings, each with 5 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of fiber, for a total of 4 grams of usable carbs and 29 grams of protein.

Beef and Artichoke Skillet

This is both different and good. Because quite a lot of the carbs in artichokes are in the form of inulin, a very low-impact carb, this is even easier on your blood sugar than the carb count would suggest.

8 slices bacon

1 1/2 pounds (680 g) boneless beef—sirloin or chuck are fine

1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons (28 ml) olive oil

1/4 cup (60 ml) cider vinegar

1 tablespoon Splenda

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic or

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 can (14 ounces, or 390 g) quartered artichoke hearts, drained

Lay the bacon on a microwave bacon rack or in a glass pie plate. Microwave on High for 8 minutes.

While the bacon is cooking, slice the beef as thinly as you can and then cut across the strips a couple of times, so they're no more than 2- to 3-inches long (5 to 7.5 cm). (This is easiest if the meat is partly frozen.) Slice up the onion now, too.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over high heat and start stir-frying the beef and onion. When the pink is gone from the beef, add the vinegar, Splenda, pepper, garlic, and artichoke hearts and let the whole thing simmer for 5 minutes or so.

Check on the bacon while the beef is simmering. If it's not crisp yet, give it another minute or so.

Divide the beef mixture between 6 serving plates or bowls and crumble about a strip and a half of bacon over each portion before serving.

Yield:
6 servings, each with 9 grams of carbohydrates and 4 grams of fiber, for a total of 5 grams of usable carbs and 23 grams of protein.

Tex~Mex Skillet Lasagna

This will take every second of the fifteen minutes, but it's worth it. Not only is it yummy as can be, it'll feed at least 6 people, and I'm betting even the carbivores will eat it with no complaints. Go for it. And keep in mind that keeping that tilted lid on the skillet every possible second is the key to getting it done fast.

1 pound (455 g) ground chuck

1 small onion

8 ounces (225 g) cream cheese, softened

1 cup (225 g) cottage cheese

1 1/2 cups (173 g) 4 cheese Mexican blend

1 teaspoon cumin

1 1/3 cups (327 g) no-sugar-added spaghetti sauce

2/3 cup (173 g) salsa

1 1/2 tablespoons (12 g) chili powder

1 can black soy beans (Eden cans these.)

2 packets tofu shirataki noodles, fettuccini style

Put the biggest skillet you can get your hands on over medium-high heat and throw in the ground chuck. Spread it over the whole bottom of the skillet, for maximum heat exposure, and cover with a tilted lid.

Throw the onion in your food processor and chop it to a medium-fine consistency. Dump it in with the ground beef and stir it all up, turning the beef and breaking it up. Re-cover with that tilted lid.

Mix together the cream cheese, cottage cheese, 1/2 cup (58 g) of the 4 cheese Mexican blend, and the cumin. Set aside.

Go stir up your beef and onion and re-cover with that tilted lid! Now measure the spaghetti sauce and salsa together in a 2 cup (475 ml) measuring cup and assuming most of the pink is gone from your beef—it should be—stir it in. Go ahead and stir in the chili powder, too. Re-cover with the tilted lid!

Open your soy beans and drain. Add them to the skillet and re-cover!

Drain your shirataki, rinse them quick, and snip across them 5 or 6 times with your kitchen shears. Go stir them into the mixture in the skillet, which will be getting mighty full—this completely filled my big cast iron skillet.

Spoon the cream/cottage cheese mixture over the top and then sprinkle the rest of the 4 cheese blend over the top. Re-cover with that tilted lid and let it finish out the cooking time or until the 4 cheese blend is melty and then serve.

Yield:
At least 6 servings, assuming 6, each will have 420 calories, 31 grams fat, 24 grams protein, 13 grams carbohydrate, 4 grams dietary fiber, and 9 grams usable carb.

Kinda Cajun Skillet Supper

This is another recipe that takes multi-tasking, but it'll feed the family on a pound of ground chuck. This would also be good with pork sausage instead.

1 pound (455 g) ground chuck

1/2 head cauliflower

1 celery rib

1 medium onion

1 medium green pepper

2 teaspoons chopped garlic

5 bacon slices

1/2 cup (55 g) chopped roasted and salted pecans

5 teaspoons (15 g) Cajun seasoning

2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules

Louisiana-style hot sauce

First put your biggest skillet over medium-high heat and start the ground beef browning; break it up to cover the whole bottom of the skillet. Cover with a tilted lid.

Whack the cauliflower into chunks and run it through the shredding blade of your food processor. Put the cauli-rice in a microwaveable casserole with a lid, add a couple of tablespoons (28 ml) water, cover, and nuke on high for 6 minutes.

Go stir your beef! Now swap out the shredding blade of your food processor for the S-blade. Whack the celery, onion, and pepper into hunks, throw them in, and pulse to chop to a medium consistency.

Check your beef. If you think there's too much grease, pour some off, but leave at least a few tablespoons (45 to 60 ml). Dump in the veggies and add the garlic, too. Stir it all together and put that tilted lid back on.

Lay the bacon slices on a microwave bacon rack or in a Pyrex pie plate; you want them ready to swap out with the cauliflower as soon as the microwave beeps! Then chop your pecans.

By now your cauliflower is done. Pull it out, stick the bacon in, and set the timer for 5 to 6 minutes. Drain your cauliflower and dump it in the skillet.

Add the Cajun seasoning and beef bouillon concentrate to the skillet and stir everything together really well until the seasonings are evenly distributed.

Stir in the pecans and dish it up.

When the bacon is done, use your kitchen shears to snip a slice over each serving and eat.

Yield:
4 to 5 servings, assuming 5, each will have 399 calories, 30 grams fat, 21 grams protein, 12 grams carbohydrate, 4 grams dietary fiber, and 8 grams usable carb.

Sweet and Sour Pork

This is not exactly authentic because the pork isn't battered and fried. Still, it tastes great! And it's far lower-carb than Sweet and Sour from a Chinese restaurant. If it feels strange to you not to serve this stir-fry over something, there's no reason not to make some cauliflower “rice” to serve with it.

3 tablespoons (45 ml) rice or cider vinegar

1 1/2 tablespoons (2.3 g) Splenda

3 tablespoons (45 g) canned, crushed pineapple in juice

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon blackstrap molasses

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

3 tablespoons (45 ml) oil

12 ounces (340 g) boneless pork loin, cut into thin strips

1/2 medium green pepper, cut into squares

1/2 medium onion, sliced

Guar or xanthan

Mix together the vinegar, Splenda, pineapple, soy sauce, molasses, and garlic and set it by the stove.

Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over highest heat. Add the pork and stir-fry until it's half-done. Add the peppers and onions and keep stir-frying. When all the pink is gone from the pork, add the vinegar mixture and stir. Let the whole thing simmer for a couple of minutes, stirring once or twice, until the vegetables are tender-crisp. Thicken the pan juices just a touch with guar or xanthan and serve.

Yield:
2 or 3 servings. Assuming 2 servings, each will have 11 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of fiber, for a total of 10 grams of usable carbs and 36 grams of protein.

Each serving also packs 782 milligrams of potassium!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

No big surprise—you can make the same recipe with chicken, instead.

Make the recipe for
Sweet and Sour Pork
, substituting 12 ounces (340 g) of boneless, skinless chicken breast for the pork.