300 15-Minute Low-Carb Recipes (37 page)

Okay, this isn't really Spanish. It's not even authentically Mexican. And of course it's not rice. But it is passingly like the “Spanish Rice” my mom used to throw together to make a quick, one-dish meal out of hamburger! Feel free to used canned, diced tomatoes without the chilies if you don't like spicy food, although this is really quite mild.

1 pound (455 g) ground round or other very lean ground beef

1 to 2 tablespoons (15 to 28 ml) oil

1/2 head cauliflower

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 can (14.5 ounces, or 410 g) diced tomatoes with green chilies

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup (60 ml) water

Salt and pepper

Start browning the beef in the oil over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, run the cauliflower through the shredding blade of your food processor. Put the cauliflower in a microwavable casserole, add a tablespoon or two (15 to 28 ml) of water, cover, and microwave on High for just 5 minutes.

Go back to the beef and start breaking it up. When you've got just a little fat in the pan, add the pepper and onion and sauté them, too. When all the pink is gone from the meat, add the garlic, tomatoes, cumin, Worcestershire sauce, and water, and bring the whole thing to a simmer. Stir in the cauliflower “rice,” cover, and let the whole thing simmer for 3 to 5 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Yield:
4 or 5 servings. Assuming 4 servings, each will have 7 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of fiber, for a total of 6 grams of usable carbs and 23 grams of protein.

Fried “Rice”

This recipe is infinitely variable, and it is particularly good for using up any sort of leftover meat you have hanging about. If you don't have any leftovers, feel free to use cooked ham you bought at the grocery store, a can or two of chunk chicken or salad shrimp, or what-have-you.

1/2 head cauliflower

Oil

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups (340 g) diced or shredded leftover cooked meat, canned meat, or seafood

1 cup (225 g) vegetables
^*

8 to 10 scallions, sliced, including the crisp part of the green

2 tablespoons (28 ml) soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon Splenda

^*
Use snow peas (chopped into 1-inch [2.5 cm] pieces), bean sprouts, shredded cabbage, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots—whatever is on hand and sounds good. One or two kinds are better than a mish-mash of half a dozen.

Run the cauliflower through the shredding blade of your food processor. Put the cauliflower in a microwaveable casserole, add a tablespoon or two (15 to 28 ml) of water, cover, and microwave on High for 5 minutes.

Spray a medium-size skillet with nonstick cooking spray and place over medium heat. Add a tablespoon (15 ml) of oil to coat the bottom of the skillet. Pour in the eggs and cover for a minute or so. Let the eggs cook in a flat sheet on the bottom of the skillet. When cooked through, remove and set aside.

Remove the cauliflower from the microwave and drain it. Put a few tablespoons (45 to 60 ml) of oil in a large, heavy skillet or wok, Stir in the meat, vegetables, and scallions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies are tender-crisp. Add the cauliflower rice and stir to blend. Shred the sheet of eggs and stir in the egg strips. Combine the soy sauce with the Splenda and stir into the fried “rice.”

Yield:
2 or 3 servings. Obviously, the carb count on this will vary a little with what ingredients you use. However, assuming that you use the remains of a rotisserie chicken and half bean sprouts, half snow peas for your vegetables, and that you make 3 servings, each will have 8 grams of carbohydrates and 2 grams of fiber, for a total of 6 grams of usable carbs and 27 grams of protein.

Chicken Chop Suey

4 tablespoons (60 ml) soy sauce

2 teaspoons Splenda

1 1/2 pounds (680 g) boneless, skinless chicken breast

8 to 10 scallions

3 to 4 tablespoons (45 to 60 ml) oil—peanut or canola is best

3 cups (312 g) bean sprouts

3 teaspoons (45 ml) toasted sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules

Guar or xanthan

Mix together the soy sauce and Splenda in a little dish and set aside.

Slice the chicken breast into strips as thin as possible (this is easier to do if it's half-frozen). Cut the scallions into pieces about 1/2-inch (1.3 cm) long, using all the crisp part of the green.

Assemble all the ingredients by the stove. Place a wok or heavy skillet over highest heat and add the oil. Give it 30 seconds to 1 minute to heat and then add the chicken. Stir-fry for 4 to 5 minutes or until the pink is gone. Add the scallions and bean sprouts and stir-fry for another 1 to 2 minutes. Add the soy sauce mixture, sesame oil, bouillon granules, and a sprinkle of guar or xanthan to thicken the juices. Stir-fry for just another minute and then serve.

Yield:
4 or 5 servings. Assuming 4 servings, each will have 9 grams of carbohydrates and 3 grams of fiber, for a total of 6 grams of usable carbs and 42 grams of protein.

Hamburger Chop Suey

1 pound (455 g) ground round or other very lean ground beef

2 tablespoons (28 ml) oil

1 medium onion, sliced

2 cups (140 g) sliced mushrooms

2 stalks celery, thinly sliced on the diagonal

1/2 green pepper, diced

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic or 1 clove garlic, crushed

2 cups (208 g) bean sprouts

1/3 cup (80 ml) soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon liquid beef bouillon concentrate

In a wok or large skillet over high heat, start browning the beef in oil and breaking it up. When it's about halfway browned, add the onion, mushrooms, celery, green pepper, and garlic. Continue breaking up the meat while stir-frying the vegetables. When all the pink is gone from the beef and the veggies are almost tender-crisp, add the bean sprouts, soy sauce, and beef bouillon concentrate. Continue stir-frying until the bean sprouts are just barely starting to wilt and then serve.

Yield:
4 servings, each with 8 grams of carbohydrates and 2 grams of fiber, for a total of 6 grams of usable carbs and 24 grams of protein.

Crack Slaw

There are about a million versions of this recipe kicking around the internet, some low carb, some full of ramen noodles. It's filling, cheap, quick, and good. Feel free to play around with this—add green or red peppers, celery, or bean sprouts, whatever appeals. The essential parts are the ground beef, shredded cabbage, soy sauce, and sesame oil.

1 pound (455 g) ground chuck

8 ounces (225 g) sliced mushrooms

1 packet tofu shirataki, spaghetti or angel hair width

3 cups (210 g) bagged coleslaw mix

4 tablespoons (60 ml) soy sauce

2 tablespoons (28 ml) dark sesame oil

2 teaspoons chopped garlic

3 teaspoons (1.5 g) Splenda, or its equivalent in sweetness

10 scallions, sliced

Sriracha hot sauce to taste

Put your biggest skillet over medium-high heat and start the ground chuck browning. As soon as a little fat starts to cook out of it, dump in the sliced mushrooms (you bought them sliced, right?) and break them up some more with the edge of your spatula. Stir and cover with that tilted lid.

Snip open your packet of shirataki and dump them in a strainer. Rinse and snip them a few times. Go back and stir your meat! Re-cover, of course.

When the beef is about 3/4 browned, stir in the cabbage, the drained shirataki, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, and Splenda. Re-cover with that tilted lid.

Slice up your scallions. Stir the meat again!

When the beef is done and the mushrooms are softened, stir in the scallions and hot sauce and serve.

Yield:
4 servings, each with 412 calories, 31 grams fat, 24 grams protein, 11 grams carbohydrate, 3 grams dietary fiber, and 8 grams usable carb.

Casual Chan's Special

In my first cookbook,
500 Low-Carb Recipes
, I included a recipe called
Joe,
involving hamburger, spinach, and eggs. The original name of that recipe—found in many versions, in many places—was Joe's Special or Casual Joe's Special. This is a similar recipe with a slight Asian accent, hence the name. This is easy to double, by the way.

1/2 pound (225 g) ground round or other very lean ground beef

1 tablespoon (15 ml) oil

2 scallions, sliced

1 cup (104 g) bean sprouts

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon soy sauce

Salt and pepper

Start browning the beef in the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. While it's browning, you can slice the scallions, measure the bean sprouts, and whisk up the eggs together with the soy sauce.

Go back to the stove and start breaking up the beef. When it's crumbled and there's no pink left, add the scallions and sprouts. Stir for a minute or two—just long enough for the veggies to get hot through, but not long enough for the bean sprouts to get limp and soggy. Add the eggs and soy sauce and scramble until set. Salt and pepper to taste and serve.