1001 Low-Carb Recipes: Hundreds of Delicious Recipes From Dinner to Dessert That Let You Live Your Low-Carb Lifestyle and Never Look Back (86 page)

2 tablespoons (30 ml) dry sherry 1 teaspoon guar or xanthan (It’s optional, but it makes the sauce thicker.)

¾ cup (75 g) grated Parmesan cheese

3 cups (675 g) cooked spaghetti squash, scraped into strings

Over medium heat, melt the butter in a heavy skillet and start the onions and the mushrooms sautéing in it. While that’s cooking, combine the cream, half-and-half, bouillon concentrate, sherry, and guar, if you’re using it, in a blender and blend it for just ten seconds or so to combine. Go back and stir the vegetables! When the onion is limp and translucent, transfer half of the vegetables into the blender, add the Parmesan cheese, and blend for another 20 seconds or so to purée the vegetables. Combine this cream sauce with the spaghetti squash, the rest of the vegetables, and the turkey and mix everything well. Put in a 10-cup (2.4-L) casserole dish that you’ve sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Bake uncovered at 400°F (200°C, or gas mark 6) for 20 minutes or until bubbly.

Yield:
6 to 8 servings

Assuming 6, each will have 7 g carbohydrate; trace fiber; 24 g protein; 7 g usable

This tetrazzini is wonderful; everyone who tries it loves it. However, if you have some folks in your family who are going to be unhappy about spaghetti squash, here’s what you do: use half spaghetti squash and half spaghetti. Mix half of the sauce with the turkey. Divide the other half of the sauce and the un-puréed mushrooms and onions between 1½ cups (340 g) spaghetti squash and 1½ cups (105 g) cooked spaghetti. Put the spaghetti squash at one end of your casserole dish and the spaghetti at the other end (it helps to use a rectangular casserole dish!). Then make a groove down the middle of the whole thing, lengthwise and pour the turkey mixture into the groove. Bake according to the instructions above.

This has become my sister’s standby recipe for potlucks and other casserole occasions.

FOR THE PASTICCIO:

1 pound (455 g) ground turkey

½ medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon

teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup (250 g) ricotta cheese

¼ cup (15.2 g) chopped fresh parsley

¼ teaspoon salt or Vege-Sal

teaspoon pepper

FOR THE SAUCE:

2 tablespoons (28 g) butter

½ teaspoon salt or Vege-Sal

1½ cups (360 ml) heavy cream

½ cup (50 g) grated Parmesan cheese

2 cups (450 g) cooked spaghetti squash

To make the pasticcio: In a microwave-safe casserole dish, combine the onion and garlic; place the turkey on top. Microwave this uncovered for 5 minutes at full power. Stir it up a bit, breaking up the ground turkey in the process. Microwave the turkey and onion mixture for another 3 minutes or until the turkey is cooked through.

Break up the turkey some more—you want it well crumbled—and drain off the fat. Stir in the cinnamon and nutmeg and microwave it for just another minute to blend the flavors. Transfer the turkey mixture to a bowl and set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, parsley, and salt and pepper; set aside.

To make the sauce: In yet another bowl or a measuring cup (okay, you need both a microwave and a dishwasher for this to be a convenient recipe!) combine the butter, salt, cream, and cheese to make the sauce.

Spray a microwave-safe casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. In the dish, layer half of the spaghetti squash, then half the turkey mixture, then half the ricotta mixture, and then half the sauce. Repeat the layers, ending with the sauce.

Microwave the pasticcio at full power for 6 to 8 minutes or until it’s bubbly and hot all the way through. Let it sit for 5 minutes or so and serve.

Yield:
6 servings

Each with 7 grams of carbohydrates, a trace of fiber, and 22 grams of protein.

If you haven’t eaten a lot of ground turkey, you may find it’s a nice change from meat loaf made from ground beef.

1 pound (455 g) ground turkey

½ cup (40 g) crushed pork rinds

1 rib celery, finely chopped

1 small onion, finely chopped

½ cup (45 g) finely chopped apple

1½ tablespoons (23 ml) Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons poultry seasoning

1 teaspoon salt or Vege-Sal

1 egg

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

Combine all the ingredients in a big bowl and with clean hands squeeze it together until it’s very well combined.

Spray a loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and pack the turkey mixture into the pan. Bake for 50 minutes.

Yield:
5 servings

Each with 5 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of fiber, for a total of 4 grams of usable carbs and 32 grams of protein.

Ground turkey is cheap, low-carb, and low-calorie—and by itself just plain boring. So jazz it up by adding some Thai flavors.

2 pounds (910 g) ground turkey

1 medium onion, chopped

1 can (4½ ounces, or 130 g) mushroom slices, drained

4 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tablespoons (30 ml) lemon juice

4 tablespoons (60 ml) lime juice, divided

4 teaspoons chili paste

3 tablespoons (18 g) grated ginger

1½ tablespoons (30 ml) fish sauce

1½ tablespoons (23 ml) soy sauce

1½ teaspoons pepper

½ cup (40 g) pork rind crumbs (Run some pork rinds through your food processor.)

½ cup (32 g) chopped fresh cilantro

½ cup (115 g) mayonnaise

Place the turkey in a big mixing bowl.

Place the onion, mushrooms, and garlic in a food processor. Pulse until everything is chopped medium-fine. Add it to the turkey.

Add the lemon juice, 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of the lime juice, the chili paste, ginger, fish sauce, soy sauce, pepper, pork rind crumbs, and cilantro to the bowl. Mix it around with clean hands until it is well blended.

Spray a rack or a collapsible-basket-type steamer with nonstick cooking spray and place it in your slow cooker. Add 1 cup (240 ml) of water under the rack. If the holes in
are pretty large, cover it with a sheet of foil and pierce it all over with a fork. Take two 18-inch (45-cm) squares of foil, fold them into strips about 2 inches (5 cm) wide, and criss-cross them across the rack or steamer, running the ends up the sides of the slow cooker. (You’re making a sling to help lift the meat loaf out of the slow cooker.) Place the meat mixture on the rack or steamer and form it into an evenly-domed loaf. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 6 hours.

When the time’s up, use the strips of foil to gently lift the loaf out of the slow cooker and place it on a platter.

In a bowl, mix together the mayonnaise and the remaining 2 tablespoons (30 ml) lime juice. Cut the loaf into wedges and serve it with the lime mayonnaise.

Yield:
8 servings

Each with 25 g protein, 5 g carbohydrate, 1 g dietary fiber, 4 g usable carbs.

1 pound (455 g) ground turkey

2 tablespoons (20 g) minced red onion

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 clove garlic, crushed

¾ cup (90 g) crumbled feta cheese

¼ cup (25 g) chopped kalamata olives

2 tablespoons (20 g) sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil, chopped

Plunk everything in a mixing bowl and with clean hands smoosh it all together until it’s very well blended. Form into four burgers—the mixture will be pretty soft, so you may want to chill them for a while before cooking.

Preheat an electric tabletop grill. When it’s hot, add the burgers and cook for 6 minutes. That’s it!

Yield:
4 servings

Each with 24 g protein; 4 g carbohydrate; 1 g dietary fiber; 3 g usable carbs.

1 pound (455 g) ground turkey

1 tablespoon (15 ml) lemon juice

1 tablespoon (15 ml) lime juice

½ cup (60 g) grated carrot

2 teaspoons chili paste

4 scallions, minced

2 tablespoons (8 g) chopped cilantro

1 teaspoon fish sauce

1 batch Chili Lime Mayo (page 479)

This is very straightforward. Preheat an electric tabletop grill. Then dump everything except the Chili Lime Mayo in a bowl, smoosh it all together really well with clean hands, and make three burgers—the mixture will be pretty soft. When the grill is hot, slap the burgers in it and cook for 5 minutes. Top with Chili Lime Mayo and serve.

Yield:
3 servings

Each with 27 g protein; 6 g carbohydrate; 1 g dietary fiber; 5 g usable

Ground turkey is handy, but by itself it can be bland. Here’s a good way to liven it up.

1 pound (455 g) ground turkey

¼ cup (40 g) minced onion

3 tablespoons (11.4 g) chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons (30 ml) Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons (20 g) minced green bell pepper

1 tablespoon (15 ml) soy sauce

1 tablespoon (15 ml) cold water

1 tablespoon (6 g) grated fresh ginger

¼ teaspoon pepper

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Combine all the ingredients in a big bowl and with clean hands squeeze it together until it’s very well combined.