1001 Low-Carb Recipes: Hundreds of Delicious Recipes From Dinner to Dessert That Let You Live Your Low-Carb Lifestyle and Never Look Back (48 page)

Each with 25 g protein, 10 g carbohydrate, 2 g dietary fiber, 8 g usable carbs.

This soup is so elegant!

4 tablespoons (56 g) butter

1 cup (160 g) chopped onion

2 stalks celery, diced

1 large carrot, shredded

2 cups (200 g) portobello mushrooms, cut in matchstick strips

2 quarts (1.9 L) chicken broth

2 bay leaves

1 pound (455 g) boneless, skinless chicken breast

½ cup (120 ml) heavy cream

Salt and pepper

Guar or xanthan

Melt the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan and add the vegetables. Sauté until the onion is translucent and the mushrooms change color. Add the chicken broth and the bay leaves, bring to a simmer, and let cook on low for 30 minutes.

Scoop out about half of the broth and vegetables into your blender and purée. Return to the pan. Stir in the diced chicken breast and let simmer for another 20 minutes. Stir in the cream, add salt and pepper to taste, and thicken just a little with guar or xanthan. Remove the bay leaves and serve.

Yield:
6 servings

Each with 26 g protein; 11 g carbohydrate; 2 g dietary fiber; 9 g usable carbs.

This makes a light, quick, and tasty supper all by itself.

½ pound (225 g) ground turkey

1½ tablespoons (9 g) oat bran

2 tablespoons (7.6 g) minced fresh parsley

½ teaspoon salt or Vege-Sal

½ teaspoon poultry seasoning

teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil

½ cup (60 g) grated carrot

2 cups (250 g) diced zucchini

1 tablespoon (10 g) minced onion

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 quart (960 ml) chicken broth

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 eggs, beaten

¼ cup (25 g) grated Parmesan cheese

In a mixing bowl, combine the ground turkey with the oat bran, parsley, salt or Vege-Sal, poultry seasoning, and pepper. Mix well and form into balls the size of marbles or so. Set aside.

In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the carrot and let it sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Then add the zucchini, onion, and garlic and sauté the vegetables for another 5 to 7 minutes.

Add the chicken broth and oregano and bring the soup to a simmer for 15 minutes. Drop the turkey meatballs into the soup one by one and let it simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes. (Taste the soup at this point and add more salt and pepper to taste, if desired.)

Just before you’re ready to serve the soup, stir it slowly with a fork as you pour the beaten eggs in quite slowly. Simmer another minute and ladle into bowls. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon (6.3 g) of Parmesan and serve.

Yield:
4 servings

Each with 7 grams of carbohydrates and 2 grams of fiber, for a total of 5 grams usable carbs and 21 grams of protein.

This is a great, filling family soup for a cold night.

1½ pounds (700 g) bulk turkey sausage

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

1 can (8 ounces, or 225 g) sliced mushrooms

1 turnip, diced

1 cup (150 g) cauliflower, diced

½ cup (50 g) chopped onion

1 cup (120 g) chopped green bell pepper

1 quart (960 ml) chicken broth

2 teaspoons chicken bouillon concentrate

1 teaspoon dried basil

2 teaspoons prepared horseradish

1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream

In a large, heavy skillet, brown and crumble the sausage. Pour off the fat and put the sausage in your slow cooker. Add the tomatoes, mushrooms, turnip, cauliflower, onion, and green pepper.

In a bowl, stir the broth and bouillon together. Stir in the basil and horseradish. Pour the mixture into the slow cooker. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 7 to 8 hours.

When the time’s up, stir in the cream and let it cook for another 10 to 15 minutes.

Yield:
6 servings

Each with 17 g protein, 12 g carbohydrate, 2 g dietary fiber, 10 g usable carbs.

This Italian-style soup somehow manages to be delicate and substantial at the same time. It is really addictive.

16 ounces (455 g) hot Italian sausage links

2 quarts (1.9 L) chicken broth

1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream

½ head cauliflower, sliced ¼-inch (6 mm) thick

6 cups (120 g) chopped kale

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 cloves garlic, crushed

First, sauté the sausage until it’s done. Remove from your skillet and let it cool a little. Meanwhile, start heating the chicken broth and cream in a big, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add the cauliflower and the kale to the soup.

Okay, your sausage is cool enough to handle! Slice it on the diagonal, about ½ inch (1.3 cm) thick. I like to cut each slice in half, too, to make more bites of sausage, but that’s not essential. Put the sliced sausage in the soup.

Stir in the red pepper flakes and the garlic. Turn the burner to lowest heat and let the whole thing simmer for an hour, stirring now and then.

Yield:
6 servings

Each with 20 g protein; 10 g carbohydrate; 2 g dietary fiber; 8 g usable carbs.

If this were really authentic, it would have potatoes in it. But this decarbed version is delicious, and it’s a full meal in a bowl. Read the labels on the smoked sausage carefully—they range from 1 gram of carb per serving up to 5.

cup (80 ml) olive oil, divided

¾ cup (120 g) chopped onion

3 cloves garlic, crushed

2 cups (300 g) diced turnip

2 cups (300 g) diced cauliflower

1 pound (455 g) kale

1½ pounds (680 g) smoked sausage

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

2 quarts (1.9 L) chicken broth, divided

¼ teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Salt and pepper

Put ¼ cup (60 ml) of the olive oil in a large soup pot and sauté the onion, garlic, turnip, and cauliflower over medium heat.

While that’s cooking, chop the kale into bite-sized pieces and add it to the pot as well. (You may need to cram it in at first, but don’t
worry—it cooks down quite a bit.) Let the vegetables sauté for another 10 minutes or so, stirring to turn the whole thing over every once in a while.

Slice the smoked sausage lengthwise into quarters, then crosswise into ½-inch (1.3-cm) pieces. Heat the remaining oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat and brown the smoked sausage a little.

Add the browned sausage, tomatoes, and 7½ cups (1.8 L) of the chicken broth to the pot. Use the last ½ cup (120 ml) of broth to rinse the tasty browned bits out of the frying pan and add that too. Bring to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are soft (30 to 45 minutes). Stir in the hot pepper sauce, add salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Yield:
10 servings

Each with 13 grams of carbohydrates and 2 grams of fiber, for a total of 11 grams of usable carbs and 23 grams of protein.

All this Italian soup-stew needs with it is a green salad and maybe some crusty bread for the carb-eaters.

1 large onion, sliced

2 carrots, cut ½ inch (1.3 cm) thick

3 stalks celery, cut ½ inch (1.3 cm) thick

2 pounds (1 kg) beef round, cubed

½teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons (7.6 g) chopped fresh parsley

1 bay leaf

3 teaspoons chicken bouillon concentrate

1 quart (960 ml) chicken broth

2 pounds (910 g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cubed

1 pound (455 g) Italian sausage links

½ cup (115 g) purchased pesto sauce

Put the onion, carrots, and celery in your slow cooker. Season the beef with the salt and pepper and place them on top. Add the parsley and bay leaf. Stir the bouillon into the chicken broth and pour it into the slow cooker. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 5 to 6 hours.

Add the chicken, turn the heat up to high, and let the whole thing cook another hour.

While it’s cooking, pour yourself a glass of Chianti and put out some vegetables and dip for the kids. In a big, heavy skillet, place the sausages, cover with water, slap a lid on, and simmer for 20 minutes over medium heat. Remove the skillet from the heat and leave the sausages in the water, keeping the lid on.

When the slow cooker’s time is up, drain the sausage and cut it into 1-inch (2.5-cm) chunks. Stir the sausage into the soup in the slow cooker. Remove the bay leaf and ladle the soup into soup bowls. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon (14.4 g) of pesto.

Yield:
8 servings

Each with 44 g protein, 6 g carbohydrate, 1 g dietary fiber, 5 g usable carbs.

This chunky, vegetable-rich soup is spicy and filling! I’ve replaced the traditional gumbo
file
(powdered sassafras leaves) thickener with guar or xanthan, because I figure you’ll have one of these in the house anyway.