1001 Low-Carb Recipes: Hundreds of Delicious Recipes From Dinner to Dessert That Let You Live Your Low-Carb Lifestyle and Never Look Back (14 page)

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

In a small, heavy skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and sauté the garlic, onion, and mushrooms until the onion is limp. Add the orange extract and Splenda and stir well. Cool.

Place the cream cheese, tuna, parsley, orange rind, salt, and pepper in a food processor with the S-blade in place. Pulse to blend. Add the sautéed mixture and pulse until smooth and well blended.

Spoon into a serving bowl and chill. Serve with celery sticks, pepper strips, cucumber rounds, and crackers (for the carb-eaters).

Yield:
At least 6 servings

Each with 3 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of fiber, for a total of 2 grams of usable carbs and 11 grams of protein. Analysis does not include vegetable dippers or crackers.

1 egg

2 tablespoons

(20 g) pumpkin seed meal or almond meal

2 tablespoons (20 g) rice protein powder

1 tablespoon (14 g) butter, melted

2 tablespoons (30 ml) half-and-half

1½ teaspoons lemon juice

½ teaspoon chili garlic paste

6 ounces (170 g) canned tuna, drained

4 scallions, sliced thin

Salt and pepper to taste

Easy Orange Salsa (page 496)

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C, or gas mark 5) and spray a mini-muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a mixing bowl, beat the egg for a minute or so. Now stir in the pumpkin seed meal, rice protein powder, melted butter, half-and-half, lemon juice, and chili garlic paste.

Add the tuna, breaking it up well as you stir it in. Stir in the scallions and add salt and pepper to taste.

Spoon into prepared mini-muffin cups and bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

When Tuna Puffs are done, place on a platter surrounding a bowl of Easy Orange Salsa.

Yield:
24 puffs

Each with 3 g protein; 1 g carbohydrate; trace dietary fiber; 1 g usable carb. Analysis includes the Easy Orange Salsa.

The quality of the vinaigrette dressing makes all the difference here, so use the best you can make or buy.

8 ounces (225 g) small, fresh mushrooms

1½ cups (360 ml) vinaigrette dressing (homemade or store-bought)

Thoroughly wipe the mushrooms clean with a soft cloth.

Place them in a saucepan, cover them with the dressing, and simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes.

Chill and drain the mushrooms, saving the dressing to store any leftover mushrooms in. (You can even simmer another batch of mushrooms in it when the first batch is gone.) Arrange the mushrooms on lettuce with toothpicks for spearing.

Yield:
Depending on the size of your mushrooms, this will make about 12 to 15 servings

Each with about 1 gram of carbohydrates and not enough fiber or protein to talk about.

These are the easiest stuffed mushrooms you’ll ever make and really yummy, too.

6 small portobello mushrooms, totaling 6 ounces (170 g)

1 package (6 ounces, or 170 g) garlic and herb spreadable cheese (such as Boursin or Alouette)

2 tablespoons (10 g) crushed pork rinds

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

Wipe the mushrooms clean and remove the stems (save them to slice and sauté to serve over steaks or in omelets). Divide the cheese between the mushroom caps. Sprinkle each one with a teaspoon of pork rind crumbs.

Arrange your mushrooms in a shallow baking pan. Add just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan. Bake for 30 minutes and serve hot. These are good with the Mustard-Horseradish Dipping Sauce (page 477), but they’re just fine as is.

Yield:
6 servings

Each with 1 g protein; 1 g carbohydrate; trace dietary fiber, 1 g usable carb.

People scarf these right down!

1½ pounds (680 g) mushrooms, wiped clean

2 tablespoons (28 g) butter

½ cup (80 g) chopped onion

4 cloves garlic, crushed

10 ounces (280 g) frozen chopped spinach, thawed

4 ounces (115 g) cream cheese

¼ teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon salt or Vege-Sal

1½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

¼ cup (25 g) Parmesan cheese, plus a little extra for sprinkling

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

Wipe the mushrooms clean and remove the stems. Set the caps aside and chop the stems fairly fine.

In a large, heavy skillet, over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Add the chopped stems and the onion. Sauté these until the mushroom bits are changing color and the onion is soft and translucent. Add the garlic, stir it up, and sauté for another couple of minutes.

While that’s happening, dump your thawed spinach into a strainer and press all the water out of it that you can. Now stir it into the mushroom-onion mixture. Next, stir in the cream cheese. When it’s melted, add the pepper, salt, Worcestershire sauce, and Parmesan.

Stuff the spinach/mushroom mixture into the mushroom caps. Arrange the stuffed caps in a baking pan as you stuff them.

When they’re all stuffed, sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese over them to make them look nice. Add enough water to just barely cover the bottom of the pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve warm.

Yield:
About 40 pieces

Each with 1 g protein; 1 g carbohydrate; trace dietary fiber; 1 g usable carb.

Of all the stuffed mushrooms I’ve cooked or sampled, these are my absolute favorites.

½ pound (225 g) fresh mushrooms

1 can (6 ounces, or 170 g) tuna

½ cup (60 g) shredded smoked Gouda

2 tablespoons (12.5 g) grated Parmesan cheese

3 tablespoons (42 g) mayonnaise

1 scallion, finely minced

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

Wipe the mushrooms clean with a damp cloth and remove their stems.

Combine the tuna, Gouda, Parmesan, mayonnaise, and minced scallion and mix well.

Spoon the mixture into the mushroom caps and arrange them in a shallow roasting pan. Add just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan. Bake for 15 minutes and serve hot.

Yield:
About 15 servings

Each with 1 gram of carbohydrates, a trace of fiber, and 4 grams of protein.

1 pound (445 g) ground turkey

¾ cup grated (75 g) Parmesan cheese

½ cup (115 g) mayonnaise

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon salt or Vege-Sal

¼ teaspoon pepper

1½ pounds (670 g) mushrooms

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

Combine the turkey, Parmesan, mayonnaise, oregano, basil, garlic, salt, and pepper, mixing well.

Wipe the mushrooms clean with a damp cloth and remove their stems.

Spoon the mixture into the mushroom caps and place them in a shallow roasting pan. Add just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan. Bake for 20 minutes and serve hot.

Yield:
About 45 mushrooms

Each with 1 gram of carbohydrates, a trace of fiber, and 3 grams of protein.

I gave away tins of these for Christmas one year and got rave reviews.

2 cups (200 g) shelled pecans

4 tablespoons (56 g) butter, melted

3 tablespoons (45 ml) soy sauce

1 teaspoon ground ginger

Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C, or gas mark 2).

Spread the pecans in a shallow roasting pan. Stir in the butter, coating all the nuts.

Roast for 15 minutes and then remove from the oven and stir in the soy sauce. Sprinkle the ginger evenly over the nuts and stir that in as well.

Roast for another 10 minutes.

Yield:
8 servings

Each with 6 grams of carbohydrates and 2 grams of fiber, for a total of 4 grams of usable carbs and 3 grams of protein.

I like to use this combination of nuts, but feel free to use just one or the other or to experiment with your own proportions.

1 cup (150 g) shelled walnuts

1 cup (100 g) shelled pecans

4 tablespoons (56 g) butter, melted

3 tablespoons (45 ml) Worcestershire sauce

Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C, or gas mark 2).

Spread the nuts in a shallow baking pan and stir in the butter, coating all the nuts.

Roast for 15 minutes and then remove from the oven and stir in the Worcestershire sauce.

Roast for another 10 minutes.

Yield:
8 servings

Each with 6 grams of carbohydrates and 2 grams of fiber, for a total of 4 grams of usable carbs and 3 grams of protein.

These are crunchy with a nice kick!

1 pound (455 g) almonds

3 tablespoons (42 g) butter

2 teaspoons Classic Barbecue Rub (page 486, or use purchased rub)

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons liquid smoke

Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C, or gas mark 2).

Lay a big flat roasting pan over a burner and melt the butter in it.

Stir in the seasonings, making sure they’re blended into the butter.

Now add the almonds and stir until they’re well-coated. Roast for 30 to 40 minutes. Store in an airtight container.

Yield:
12 servings

Each with 8 g protein; 8 g carbohydrate; 4 g dietary fiber; 4 grams usable carbs.

I originally wanted to make these with powdered blue cheese dressing mix, only to find that there is no such thing, at least not in my grocery stores. So I tried using liquid dressing instead. It didn’t end up tasting a lot like blue cheese, but it did end up tasting really good.

4 cups (400 g) walnuts

½ cup (120 ml) blue cheese salad dressing

1 teaspoon garlic salt

Combine the walnuts and dressing in your slow cooker. Stir until the nuts are evenly coated with the dressing. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 3 hours, stirring once halfway through.

Stir in the garlic salt just before serving.

Yield:
16 servings

Each with 8 g protein, 4 g carbohydrate, 2 g dietary fiber, 2 g usable carbs.

3 cups (300 g) walnuts

1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon (14 g) butter, melted

¼ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

cup (78 ml) sugar-free pancake syrup