300 Low-Carb Slow Cooker Recipes (27 page)

1 teaspoon instant tea powder

1 can (4 ounces, or 115 g) mushrooms, drained

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Heat oil in a big, heavy skillet over medium-high heat and sear the beef until it's brown all over. Transfer the beef to your slow cooker.

In the oil left in the skillet, fry the onion for a few minutes and add that to the slow cooker, too.

Pour the tomato sauce and beer over the beef. Sprinkle the tea over it and add the mushrooms and garlic. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 8 to 9 hours.

This is good served with
Fauxtatoes
(recipe
page 343
).

Yield:
6 servings, each with: 374 calories, 24 g fat, 28 g protein, 7 g carbohydrate, 2 g dietary fiber, 5 g usable carbs.

Chili-Cocoa Pot Roast

This can be placed somewhere between barbecue and a chili, with pot roast thrown in as well! Chocolate and chiles are a classic combination in Mexican cookery, dating back to the Aztecs, at least.

2 1/2 pounds (1.1 kg) rump roast

3 tablespoons (45 g) bacon grease or (45 ml) olive oil or (45 g) coconut oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, crushed

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

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

3 tablespoons (24 g)
Chili-Cocoa Rub
(see recipe
page 159
.)

1 tablespoon (6 g) cocoa powder

1 tablespoon (1.5 g) Splenda, or other sugar-free sweetener to equal

1 tablespoon (13 g) sugar

1 teaspoon beef bouillon concentrate

In your big, heavy skillet, over high heat, start searing the rump roast in the grease. You want it browned well on all sides.

While that's happening, chop your onion and crush your garlic. Coat your slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray and throw the onion and garlic in there. Go turn your roast.

Mix together the tomatoes, tomato sauce,
Chili-Cocoa Rub
, cocoa powder, Splenda, and beef boullion concentrate until the boullion concentrate is dissolved.

When your roast is well seared all over, put it on top of the onions and garlic and pour the tomato mixture over it. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.

Serve with the tomato mixture spooned over the meat. A dollop of sour cream on each serving is wonderful, but it's not essential. We also like sliced avocado and a green salad with this.

Yield:
6 servings, each with: 365 calories, 16 g fat, 44 g protein, 10 g carbohydrate, 2 g dietary fiber, 8 g usable carbs.

Chili-Cocoa Rub

Once you have this on hand, you'll find lots of uses for it.

1/4 cup (72 g) salt or Vege-Sal

2 tablespoons (3 g) Splenda

1 tablespoon (15 g) erythritol

2 teaspoons cocoa powder

3 tablespoons (27 g) garlic powder

1 tablespoon (7 g) onion powder

3 tablespoons (21 g) cumin

2 tablespoons (16 g) chili powder

2 tablespoons (12 g) pepper

Stir everything together and store in a used spice shaker bottle. Use on steaks, pork chops, burgers, or ribs—you name it. It's so good!

Yield:
16 servings, each with: 17 calories, trace fat, 1 g protein, 3 g carbohydrate, 1 g dietary fiber, 2 g usable carbs.

Cocoa Joes

You've no doubt noticed a little beef-with-cocoa theme going on here. That's because cocoa ain't just for breakfast and dessert anymore! It's a great source of antioxidants, too. These are somewhat different from the Sloppy Joes you grew up with.

2 pounds (900 g) ground chuck

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon (6 g) cocoa powder

1 teaspoon instant coffee granules or powder

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

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

In your big, heavy skillet, over medium heat, start browning and crumbling the ground chuck.

In the meantime, chop your onion and crush your garlic.

When the meat is browned, drain it a bit—leave maybe a third of the fat. Dump this in your slow cooker.

Add everything else and stir. Cover the pot, set to low, and let it cook for 5 to 6 hours.

Yield:
6 servings, each with: 424 calories, 32 g fat, 28 g protein, 5 g carbohydrate, 1 g dietary fiber, 4 g usable carbs. (Analysis is exclusive of coleslaw.)

Coffee Beef

This is so tender and just so good!

2 pounds (900 g) beef chuck

2 tablespoons (28 g) bacon grease or (28 ml) olive oil or (28 g) coconut oil

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1/2 cup (120 ml) water

1 rounded teaspoon instant coffee granules or powder

1/2 teaspoon molasses

2 tablespoons (3 g) Splenda or other sugar-free sweetener to equal

2 tablespoons (26 g) of sugar

2 tablespoons (28 ml) balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons (22 g) brown mustard

2 tablespoons (28 ml) soy sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons hot sauce—Tabasco or Frank's, or other Louisiana style

2 cloves garlic, crushed

In your big, heavy skillet, over medium-high heat, start searing your beef in the bacon grease or oil.

In the meantime, chop the half an onion and throw it in your slow cooker.

Measure everything else and stir it all together.

When your beef is seared on both sides, place it on top of the chopped onion. Pour the coffee mixture over it, cover, set to low, and cook for 5 to 6 hours.

Thicken up the pan juices just a little with your guar or xanthan shaker to the consistency of heavy cream and serve over the beef—and
Fauxtatoes
(see recipe
page 343
), if you have some.

Yield:
6 servings, each with: 374 calories, 28 g fat, 25 g protein, 4 g carbohydrate, trace dietary fiber, 4 g usable carbs.

chapter five
Slow Cooker Pork

This is one big chapter and with good reason. Pork is delicious, nutritious, versatile, and slow cooks really well. You'll find everything from simple family suppers to company food in this chapter!

Braised Pork with Fennel

This was one of my first great slow-cooking triumphs, and it still ranks as one of the two or three best dishes I've ever cooked in my slow cooker. This is easily good enough to serve to company. By the way, some grocery stores label “fennel” as “anise.” It looks like a bulb at the bottom, with celery-like stalks above and feathery foliage. The stems are tough, but the foliage can be chopped up in salads or used as a garnish. It has a wonderful licorice-like taste.

4 pounds (1.8 kg) pork shoulder roast

2 tablespoons (28 ml) olive oil

1 medium onion, sliced

1 bulb fennel, sliced

1 cup (235 ml) cider vinegar

3 tablespoons (4.5 g) Splenda

1 cup (180 g) canned diced tomatoes, drained

1 cup (235 ml) chicken broth

1 teaspoon chicken bouillon concentrate

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste

Guar or xanthan

In a big, heavy skillet, sear the pork in the oil over medium-high heat until it's brown all over. (This will take 20 minutes or so.) Transfer the pork to your slow cooker.

Pour off all but about 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of fat from the skillet and reduce the heat to medium-low. Sauté the onion and fennel until they're just getting a little golden. Transfer them to the slow cooker, too.

In a bowl, mix together the vinegar and Splenda. Pour the mixture over the pork. Add the tomatoes.

In a bowl, mix together the broth and bouillon until the bouillon dissolves. Stir in the garlic, thyme, and red pepper flakes. Pour this over the pork, too. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 8 hours.

When the time's up, remove the pork from the slow cooker and place it on a serving platter. Using a slotted spoon, scoop out the vegetables and pile them around the pork. Cover the platter with foil and put it in a warm place.

Ladle the liquid from the slow cooker into a saucepan. Place it over the highest heat and boil it hard for 5 to 7 minutes to reduce the sauce a bit. Add some guar or xanthan to thicken the sauce just a bit. (You want it to be about the texture of half-and-half, not a thick gravy.) Serve the sauce over the pork and vegetables.