1001 Low-Carb Recipes: Hundreds of Delicious Recipes From Dinner to Dessert That Let You Live Your Low-Carb Lifestyle and Never Look Back (21 page)

½ green pepper, diced

1 small onion, sliced

cup (75 g) cooked, crumbled, drained chorizo

cup (173 g) salsa

8 eggs, beaten

6 ounces (170 g) shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack

Preheat the broiler.

In a large, heavy skillet over medium heat, heat the oil and sauté the green pepper and onion for a few minutes until tender-crisp. Add the chorizo and the salsa, stir well, and heat through.

Spread the mixture into an even layer on the bottom of the skillet and pour in the eggs.

Turn the heat to low and cover the skillet. (If your skillet doesn’t have a cover, use foil.) Let the frittata cook until the eggs are mostly set (7 to 10 minutes).

Top with the shredded cheese and slide the skillet under the broiler, about 4 inches (10 cm) from the heat. Broil for 2 to 3 minutes or until the eggs are set and the cheese is melted. Cut into wedges and serve.

Yield:
4 servings

Each with 8 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of fiber, for a total of 7 grams of usable carbs and 32 grams of protein.

Don’t think Mexican flatbread, think eggs. In Spain, a “tortilla” is much like an Italian frittata— a substantial egg dish, cooked in a skillet and served in wedges. This one is my version of a traditional dish served in tapas bars all over Spain. As bar food goes, it’s a heckuva step up from beer nuts and stale popcorn!

¼ head cauliflower

1 medium turnip

1 medium onion, sliced thin

3 tablespoons (45 ml) olive oil, divided

6 eggs

Salt and pepper

Thinly slice your cauliflower—include the stem— and peel and thinly slice your turnip. Put them in a microwaveable casserole dish with a lid, add a couple of tablespoons of water, and microwave on high for 6 to 7 minutes.

In the meanwhile, start the onion sautéing in 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of the olive oil in an 8- to 9-inch (20- to 23-cm) skillet—a nonstick skillet is ideal, but it’s not essential. If your skillet isn’t nonstick, give it a good squirt of nonstick cooking spray first. Use medium heat.

When your microwave goes beep, pull out the veggies, drain them, and throw them in the skillet with the onion. Continue sautéing everything, adding a bit more oil if things start to stick, until the veggies are getting golden around the edges—about 10 to 15 minutes. Turn the heat to low and spread the vegetables in an even layer on the bottom of the skillet.

Mix up the eggs with a little salt and pepper and pour over the vegetables. Cook on low for 5 to 7 minutes, lifting the edges frequently to let uncooked egg run underneath. When it’s all set except for the top, slide the skillet under a low broiler for 4 to 5 minutes or until the top of your tortilla is golden. (If your skillet doesn’t have a flameproof handle, wrap it in foil first.) Cut in wedges to serve. A sprinkling of chopped parsley is nice gainish.

Yield:
6 servings

Each with 6 g protein; 4 g carbohydrate; 1 g dietary fiber; 3 g usable carbs.

When both omelets and frittatas are too much trouble, just make a scramble. The ways of varying scrambled eggs are endless, so you could have them several times a week and never get bored. These have been analyzed assuming a three-egg serving, but if you want a lighter meal, leave out one egg and subtract 0.5 gram of carbohydrates and 6 grams of protein from my analysis.

This fast-and-filling family-pleaser is a great way to use up leftover ham.

1 tablespoon (14 g) butter

¼ cup (40 g) diced cooked ham

¼ cup (38 g) diced green pepper

2 tablespoons (20 g) diced onion

3 eggs, beaten

Salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the ham, green pepper, and onion and sauté for a few minutes until the onion is softened.

Pour in the eggs and scramble until the eggs are set. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Yield:
2 servings

Each with 7 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of fiber, for a total of 6 grams of usable carbs and 23 grams of protein.

Don’t look at the number of servings and assume you can’t feed a hungry family with a scramble— these recipes are a snap to double, as long as you have a skillet large enough to scramble in.

Chiles Rellenos—green chilies stuffed with cheese, dipped in batter, and then fried—are irresistible, and very time-consuming to make. However, since the traditional batter is egg-rich, it occurred to me to incorporate the chilies and the cheese into a scramble. It’s delicious! If you haven’t tried canned green chilies, you should know that they’re only slightly spicy—this recipe won’t leave you gasping and reaching for a glass of water.

6 eggs

¼ cup (30 g) canned diced green chilies

1 tablespoon (14 g) butter or oil

4 ounces (115 g) Monterey Jack cheese, cut into small chunks

Beat the eggs with the chilies. Spray a large, heavy skillet with nonstick cooking spray and put it over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the butter or oil, and move it around to coat the bottom of the skillet.

Pour in the beaten eggs with chilies and scramble them until they’re about half-set. Add the chunks of Monterey Jack, continue scrambling until set, and then serve.

Yield:
2 or 3 servings

Assuming 2 servings, each will have 4 grams of carbohydrates, a trace of fiber, and 31 grams of protein.

True Machaca is made with beef that you’ve salted and dried, then rehydrated in boiling water, and pounded into shreds. It’s very tasty, but I don’t know a lot of people who want to do that much work. The beef shreds from the Ropa Vieja work beautifully in this scramble!

2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil

1 cup (200 g) Ropa Vieja (page 380)

½ green bell pepper, diced

½ onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 cup (240 g) canned tomatoes with green chilies, drained

5 eggs

¼ cup (16 g) chopped fresh cilantro

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet and add the Ropa Vieja, diced pepper, onion, and garlic. Sauté them together, stirring often, until the onion and pepper are becoming a little soft. In the meanwhile, measure your tomatoes and beat your eggs.

Okay, your onion is translucent, and your pepper’s starting to soften. Add the tomato, stir it up, and then pour in the beaten eggs. Scramble until the eggs are set. Divide evenly between two plates, top each serving with half the cilantro, and serve.

Feel free to add some chopped jalapeños or more green chilies to this, if you’d like it spicy. Or you could use a pasilla or Anaheim chili in place of the green pepper.

Yield:
2 to 3 servings

Assuming 2 servings, each will have 30 g protein; 12 g carbohydrate; 2 g dietary fiber; 10 g usable carbs.

I’m in love with curry. With a green salad, this makes a great light supper whether you’re a devoted curry lover or not.

1 tablespoon butter

¼ teaspoon curry powder

½ clove garlic, crushed

3 eggs

1 tablespoon (15 ml) heavy cream

3 slices bacon, cooked until crisp

Melt the butter in a heavy skillet and sauté the curry powder and garlic over medium-low heat for a minute or two.

Beat the eggs and cream together, pour into the skillet, and scramble until the eggs are set. Crumble bacon over the top.

Yield:
1 serving

3 grams of carbohydrates, a trace of fiber, and 23 grams of protein.

This sounds fancy, I know, but it takes almost no time and is very impressive. It’s terrific to make for a special brunch or a late-night supper. A simple green salad with a classic vinaigrette dressing would be perfect with this.

4 eggs

½ cup (120 ml) heavy cream

1 teaspoon dried dill weed

4 scallions

¼ pound (115 g) chevre (goat cheese)

¼ pound (115 g) moist smoked salmon

1 to 2 tablespoons (14 to 28 g) butter

Whisk the eggs together with the cream and dill weed. Slice the scallions thin, including the crisp part of the green. Cut the chevre—it will have a texture similar to cream cheese—into little hunks. Coarsely crumble the smoked salmon.

In a big (preferably nonstick) skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. (If your skillet doesn’t have a nonstick surface, give it a shot
of nonstick cooking spray before adding the butter.) When the butter’s melted, add the scallions first and sauté them for just a minute. Add the egg mixture and cook, stirring frequently, until the eggs are halfway set—about 1 minute to 90 seconds. Add the chevre and smoked salmon, continue cooking and stirring until the eggs are set, and serve.

Yield:
3 servings

Each with 5 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of fiber, for a total of 4 grams of usable carbs and 27 grams of protein.

4 stalks asparagus

8 fresh snow pea pods

1 scallion

3 eggs

1 teaspoon olive oil

Snap the bottoms off your asparagus where they break naturally and then cut the stalks into ½-inch (1.25-cm) pieces on the diagonal. Pinch the ends off the snow peas and pull off the strings. Then cut them into ½-inch (1.25-cm) pieces, too. Put the two in a microwaveable bowl, add a couple of teaspoons of water, cover, and microwave on high for just 3 minutes. Uncover as soon as the microwave beeps! While this is happening, slice your scallion, including the crisp part of the green, and whisk your eggs.

Okay, pull your asparagus and snow peas out of the microwave. Spray a medium skillet with nonstick cooking spray and place over medium heat. Add the olive oil and let it start heating. Drain the asparagus and snow peas and throw them in the skillet, along with the scallion. Now pour in the eggs and scramble until set. That’s it!