300 Low-Carb Slow Cooker Recipes (19 page)

You know the deal: Dump the turkey, pork rind crumbs, chopped onion, crushed garlic, salt and pepper, feta, Italian seasoning, and tomato paste in a big mixing bowl. Use clean hands to smoosh it all together really well.

Take two pieces of heavy-duty foil, long enough to reach down into your slow cooker, across the bottom, and back up the other side, and fold each into a strip about 2 inches (5 cm) wide. Put your basket steamer in the slow cooker and criss-cross the foil strips across it, going around the stem in the middle.

Dump the meat in the slow cooker and form it into a nice, even loaf on the steamer. Cover the slow cooker, set to low, and let the whole thing cook for 6 to 7 hours.

Use the foil strips to lift the meat loaf out onto a platter and serve. If you want, warm the no-sugar-added spaghetti sauce and top each serving with a couple of tablespoons (28 g).

Yield:
8 servings, each with: 284 calories, 15 g fat, 29 g protein, 8 g carbohydrate, 2 g dietary fiber, 6 g usable carbs.

Simple Turkey Drumsticks

You can't really fit a whole turkey in a slow cooker, but drumsticks fit nicely, and I love them. The serving size on these is huge, because carving a turkey drumstick into multiple servings is tough. We wound up with leftovers, but that's hardly a tragedy.

2 1/2 pounds (1.1 kg) turkey legs—2 drumsticks

1/2 teaspoon salt or Vege-Sal

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup (60 ml) chicken broth

Mix together all the seasonings and sprinkle them liberally over the drumsticks, covering all surfaces. Lay the drumsticks flat on the floor of your slow cooker. (This takes a large size slow cooker. My big one fits two drumsticks, flat.) Pour in the broth. Cover the pot, set to low, and cook for 5 hours.

Yield:
2 servings, each with: 689 calories, 32 g fat, 93 g protein, 1 g carbohydrate, trace dietary fiber, 1 g usable carbs.

Chipotle Turkey Legs

This dish has spicy, rich Southwestern flavor.

3 turkey drumsticks, about

2 pounds (900 g) total

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon dried, powdered sage

1 teaspoon minced garlic or 2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1 or 2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, plus a couple teaspoons of the sauce they come in

1 can (8 ounces, or 225 g) tomato sauce

1 tablespoon (15 ml) Worcestershire sauce

Guar or xanthan

6 tablespoons (42 g) shredded queso quesadilla
*
or Monterey Jack cheese (optional)

Place the turkey in your slow cooker. (If you can fit more, feel free. My 3-quart (2.8 L) slow cooker will only hold 3.)

In a blender, combine the cumin, chili powder, sage, garlic, red pepper flakes, turmeric, chiles, tomato sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. Run it for a minute and then pour the mixture over the turkey. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 5 to 6 hours.

When the time's up, remove each turkey leg to a serving plate, thicken the sauce with guar or xanthan, and spoon the sauce over the turkey legs. If you like, sprinkle 2 tablespoons (14 g) of shredded cheese over each turkey leg and let it melt for a minute or two before serving.

Yield:
3 servings, each with: 451 calories, 22 g fat, 54 g protein, 9 g carbohydrate, 2 g dietary fiber, 7 g usable carbs. (Analysis depends on the size of the turkey leg.)

 

^*
This is a mild, white Mexican cheese.

chapter four
Slow Cooker Beef

Are you tired of steaks and burgers? Use your slow cooker, and you'll be on your way to beef stews, pot roasts, chili, and other classic comfort foods—all waiting when you get home!

New England Boiled Dinner

This is our traditional St. Patrick's Day dinner, but it's a simple, satisfying one-pot meal on any chilly night. This is easy, but it takes a long time to cook. Do yourself a favor and assemble it ahead of time. If you have carb-eaters in the family, you can add a few little red boiling potatoes still in their jackets to this.

6 small turnips, peeled and quartered

2 large stalks celery, cut into chunks

2 medium onions, cut into chunks

3 pounds (1.4 kg) corned beef

1/2 head cabbage, cut into wedges

Spicy brown mustard

Horseradish

Butter

Place the turnips in your slow cooker along with the celery and the onions. Set the corned beef on top and add water to cover. There will be a seasoning packet with the corned beef—empty it into the slow cooker. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 10 to 12 hours. (You can cut the cooking time down to 6 to 8 hours if you set the slow cooker to high, but the low setting yields the most tender results.)

When the time's up, remove the corned beef from the slow cooker with a fork or tongs, put the lid back on the slow cooker to retain heat, put the beef on a platter, and keep it someplace warm. Place the cabbage in the slow cooker with the other vegetables. Re-cover the slow cooker, set it to high, and let it cook for 1/2 hour.

With a slotted spoon, remove all the vegetables and pile them around the corned beef on the platter. Serve with the mustard and horseradish as condiments for the beef and butter for the vegetables.

Yield:
8 servings, each with: 372 calories, 25 g fat, 26 g protein, 9 g carbohydrate, 2 g dietary fiber, 7 g usable carbs.

Maple-Glazed Corned Beef with Vegetables

This is a trifle less traditional than, but just as good as, the
New England Boiled Dinner
(see recipe on previous page). The pancake syrup and mustard, plus last-minute glazing under the broiler, give it a new aspect.

6 medium turnips, cut into chunks

2 medium carrots, cut into chunks

1 medium onion, quartered

5 pounds (2.3 kg) corned beef brisket

2 cups (475 ml) water

1 medium head cabbage, cut into wedges

3 tablespoons (60 g) sugar-free pancake syrup

1 tablespoon (11 g) brown mustard

Horseradish

Place the turnips, carrots, and onion in your slow cooker. Place the corned beef on top. Scatter the contents of the accompanying seasoning packet over everything and pour the water over the whole thing. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 9 to 10 hours, and a bit more won't hurt!

When the time's up, carefully remove the corned beef and put it on your broiler rack, fatty side up. Use a slotted spoon to skim out the vegetables, put them on a platter, cover, and keep in a warm place.

Place the cabbage in the slow cooker, set it to high, and let it cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until just tender. (Or you can pour the liquid from the pot into a saucepan and cook the cabbage in it on your stovetop, which is faster.)

While the cabbage is cooking, mix together the pancake syrup and the mustard. Spread the mixture over the corned beef, just the side that is up. When the cabbage is almost done, run the corned beef under your broiler for 2 to 3 minutes until glazed.

Transfer the cabbage to the platter with a slotted spoon. Slice the corned beef across the grain and serve immediately.

Serve this with horseradish and mustard.

Yield:
12 servings, each with: 416 calories, 28 g fat, 29 g protein, 10 g carbohydrate, 3 g dietary fiber, 7 g usable carbs. (Analysis does not include the polyols in the sugar-free pancake syrup.)

3-Minute Slow Cooker Pot Roast

This recipe, originally from
15-Minute Low-Carb Recipes
, is very 1965, but it's still incredibly easy, and it tastes great.

8 ounces (225 g) sliced mushrooms

2 to 3 pounds (0.9 to 1.4 kg) boneless chuck pot roast

1 envelope (1 ouncek, or 28 g) French onion soup mix

1/2 cup (120 ml) dry red wine

Guar or xanthan

Place the mushrooms in the bottom of your slow cooker and add the beef on top of them.

In a bowl, mix together the onion soup mix and wine and pour it into the slow cooker. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 8 hours.