1001 Low-Carb Recipes: Hundreds of Delicious Recipes From Dinner to Dessert That Let You Live Your Low-Carb Lifestyle and Never Look Back (52 page)

Stir in everything else until the cheese has melted.

Yield:
3 servings

Each with 8 g protein, 6 g carbohydrate, 3 g dietary fiber, 3 g usable carbs.

½ head cauliflower, cut into florets

½ cup (120 ml) chicken broth

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 ounce (28 g) cream cheese

Guar or xanthan

Place the cauliflower in your slow cooker. Add the broth, Italian seasoning, and garlic. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 5 to 6 hours. (Or cook it on high for 3 hours.)

When the time’s up, either remove the cauliflower with a slotted spoon and put it in your blender or food processor (with the S-blade in place) and purée it or drain the broth out of the slow cooker and use a hand-held blender to purée your cauliflower in the pot. Add the cream cheese and stir until melted.

The mixture will still be a little watery. Stir with a whisk as you use guar or xanthan to thicken it up a bit.

Yield:
3 servings

Each with 2 g protein, 2 g carbohydrate, 1 g dietary fiber, 1 g usable carbs.

This is great with anything with a barbecue flavor.

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

1 cup (240 ml) water

1 cup (100 g) Ketatoes mix

6 teaspoons ranch-style dressing mix

4 scallions, thinly sliced

Place the cauliflower in your slow cooker with the water. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 5 hours. (Or cook it on high for 3 hours.)

When the time’s up, the easiest thing to do is use a hand blender to purée the cauliflower right in the slow cooker. Don’t bother to drain the water first. Whisk in the Ketatoes, ranch dressing mix, and scallions.

Yield:
6 servings

Each with 14 g protein, 23 g carbohydrate, 11 g dietary fiber, 12 g usable carbs.

Our tester Maria said her kids were particularly impressed by this!

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

½ cup (50 g) chopped onion

3 cloves garlic, crushed

cup (160 ml) water

cup (65 g) Ketatoes mix

3 tablespoons (42 g) butter

Place the cauliflower in your slow cooker. Add the onion, garlic, and water. Cover the slow cooker, set it to high, and let it cook for 2½ to 3 hours. (Or cook it on low for 5 to 6 hours.)

When the time’s up, use a hand-held blender to purée the cauliflower, onion, and garlic right there in the slow cooker. Alternatively, scoop it all into a food processor to purée, but you’ll want the water in the pot, so if you transfer the vegetables, put the purée back in the pot with the water when you’re done. Now stir in the Ketatoes, butter, and add salt and pepper to taste.

Yield:
6 servings

Each with 9 g protein, 15 g carbohydrate, 7 g dietary fiber, 8 g usable carbs.

This is my decarbed version of a tradition Irish dish—and very tasty, too!

1 tablespoon (14 g) butter

2 cups (150 g) shredded cabbage

1 medium carrot, shredded

¾ cup (120 g) chopped onion

1 batch The Ultimate Fauxtatoes (page 209)

½ cup (60 g) shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C, or gas mark 4).

Melt the butter in a big, heavy skillet and sauté the veggies until the onion starts turning translucent and the cabbage has softened a bit.

Spray a 6-cup (1.4 L) casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Spread one-third of the Fauxtatoes on the bottom and then make a layer of half the cabbage mixture. Repeat the layers and finish with a layer of Fauxtatoes. Top with the cheese. Bake for 45 minutes and serve, scooping down through all the layers.

Yield:
6 servings

Each with 10 g protein; 14 g carbohydrate; 6 g dietary fiber; 8 g usable carbs.

I say thank you to Fran McCullough! I got this idea from her book
Living Low Carb
, and it’s served me very well indeed.

½ head cauliflower

Simply put the cauliflower through your food processor, using the shredding blade. This gives a texture that is remarkably similar to rice. You can steam this or microwave it or even sauté it in butter. Whatever you do, though, don’t overcook it!

Yield:
This is about 3 cups (500 g), or at least 3 to 4 servings

Assuming 3 servings, each will have 5 g carbohydrate, 2 g of which will be fiber, for a usable carb count of 3 g; 2 g protein.

This is higher-carb than plain cauliflower rice, but the wild rice adds a grain flavor that makes it quite convincing, and wild rice has about 25 percent less carbohydrate than most other kinds of rice do. I use this only for special occasions, but it’s wonderful.

3 cups (500 g) cauliflower rice—about ½ head’s worth

¼ cup (50 g) wild rice

¾ cup (180 ml) water

Cook your cauliflower rice as you please—I microwave mine for making this—taking care not to overcook it to mushiness; you want it just tender. Put the wild rice and water in a saucepan, cover it, and set it over the lowest heat until all the water is gone—at least half an hour, maybe a bit more. Toss together the cooked cauliflower rice and wild rice and season as you please.

Yield:
8 servings

Even with the wild rice, this has only 6 g carb, with 1 g fiber, for 5 g usable carb per ½ cup (85 g) serving.

This is my favorite way to season the cauliflower– wild rice blend above. It’s a big hit at dinner parties!

1 small onion, chopped

1 stick (115 g) butter, melted

1 batch Cauliflower Rice Deluxe (page 212)

6 strips bacon, cooked until crisp, and crumbled

¼ teaspoon salt or Vege-Sal

¼ teaspoon pepper

½ cup (50 g) grated Parmesan cheese

Sauté the onion in the butter until it’s golden and limp. Toss the Cauliflower Rice Deluxe with the sautéed onion and the bacon, salt, pepper, and cheese. Serve.

Yield:
8 servings

Each with 8 grams of carbohydrates and 2 grams of fiber, for a total of 6 grams of usable carbs and 5 grams of protein.

What a brilliant color! This looks so beautiful on your plate. It’s good with any main dish that’s a little fruity-spicy.

½ head cauliflower

1 teaspoon saffron threads

¼ cup (60 ml) water

½ medium onion, chopped

1 teaspoon minced garlic or 2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tablespoons (28 g) butter

2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules

¼ cup (30 g) chopped toasted almonds

Run the cauliflower through the food processor using the shredding blade. Put the cauliflower in a microwaveable casserole dish, add a couple of tablespoons (30 ml) of water, cover, and microwave on high for 7 minutes.

Start soaking the saffron threads in the water. While that’s happening, sauté the onion and garlic in the butter over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet.

When the cauliflower is done, remove it from the microwave, drain it, and add it to the skillet. Pour in the water and saffron and stir in the chicken bouillon granules. Let the whole thing cook together for a minute or two while you chop the almonds. Stir the almonds into the “rice” and serve.

Yield:
5 servings of brilliantly yellow “rice”

Each with 4 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of fiber, for a total of 3 grams of usable carbs and 2 grams of protein.

Variation: Traditionally, saffron rice has raisins in it. If you can afford the extra carbohydrates—if, for instance, you’re serving a very low-carb main dish—you can stir in 3 tablespoons (25 g) of raisins with the saffron and water. Each serving of this version will have 8 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of fiber, for a total of 7 grams of usable carbs and 2 grams of protein.

Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world and with good reason. Each saffron thread is the stamen of a particular kind of crocus flower. There are four per flower, and they all have to be plucked by hand with tweezers. It takes 50,000 of them to make a pound (455 g) of saffron! Luckily, small quantities of saffron make a big impact on a dish. Do look for saffron in a store that sells bulk spices—many natural food stores do. At least that way you’re not paying extra for that little glass jar.

½ head cauliflower, shredded

2 eggs

1 cup (75 g) snow pea pods, fresh

2 tablespoons (28 g) butter

½ cup (80 g) diced onion

2 tablespoons (16 g) shredded carrot

3 tablespoons (45 ml) soy sauce

Salt and pepper

Put the shredded cauliflower in a microwaveable casserole dish with a lid, add a couple of tablespoons (30 ml) of water, cover, and microwave on high for 6 minutes.

While that’s happening, whisk the eggs, pour them into a skillet you’ve sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, and cook over medium-high heat. As you cook the eggs, use your spatula to break them up into pea-sized bits. Remove from skillet and set aside.

Remove the tips and strings from the snow peas and snip into ¼-inch (6-mm) lengths. (By now the microwave has beeped—take the lid off your cauliflower or it will turn into a mush that bears not the slightest resemblance to rice!)

Melt the butter in the skillet and sauté the pea pods, onion, and carrot for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cauliflower and stir everything together well. Stir in the soy sauce and cook the whole thing, stirring often, for another 5 to 6 minutes. Add a little salt and pepper and serve.

Yield:
5 servings