300 Low-Carb Slow Cooker Recipes (54 page)

1/3 cup (107 g) low-sugar apricot preserves

2 tablespoons (28 ml) lemon juice

2 teaspoons Splenda

1 1/2 cups (355 ml) Carb Countdown dairy beverage

1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy cream

4 eggs

2/3 cup (16 g) Splenda

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 pinch salt

Whisk together the preserves, lemon juice, and the 2 teaspoons of Splenda. Spread them over the bottom of a 6-cup (1.4 L) glass casserole dish you've sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

Whisk together the Carb Countdown, cream, eggs, 2/3 cup (16 g) Splenda, almond extract, and salt. Pour into the prepared casserole gently, so as not to mix in the apricot preserves.

Place the casserole dish in your slow cooker. Pour water around the casserole to within 1 inch of the rim. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 4 hours.

When the time's up, turn off the slow cooker, uncover it, and let it cool until you can remove the casserole dish without risk of scalding. Chill well before serving.

Yield:
6 servings, each with: 165 calories, 12 g fat, 7 g protein, 7 g carbohydrate, trace dietary fiber, 7 g usable carbs.

Peaches with Butterscotch Sauce

These are delectable. You can serve them as is, with a little heavy cream, with
Whipped Topping
(see recipe
page 342
)—or, the Big Casino, with a scoop of low-carb vanilla ice cream.

1 pound (455 g) frozen, unsweetened, sliced peaches

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/3 cup (8 g) Splenda

2 tablespoons (42 g) sugar-free imitation honey

1/2 teaspoon blackstrap molasses

2 tablespoons (28 ml) heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons (28 g) butter, melted

Guar or xanthan

Place the peaches in your slow cooker. (I didn't even bother to thaw mine.)

In a bowl, stir together the lemon juice, Splenda, honey, molasses, cream, cinnamon, and butter. Pour the mixture over the peaches. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 6 hours.

Thicken the sauce to a creamy consistency with a little guar or xanthan and serve hot.

Yield:
6 servings, each with: 86 calories, 6 g fat, 1 g protein, 9 g carbohydrate, 2 g dietary fiber, 7 g usable carbs. (Analysis does not include polyols in the imitation honey.)

Rhubarb Flummery

Because it's so sour, rhubarb is low-carb. This is a simple, old-fashioned dessert.

1 pound (455 g) frozen rhubarb

1/2 cup (12 g) Splenda

1/2 cup (120 ml) water

1/8 teaspoon orange extract

Guar or xanthan

Place the rhubarb in your slow cooker and stir in the Splenda, water, and orange extract. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 5 to 6 hours.

When the time's up, the rhubarb will be very soft. Mash it with a fork to a rough pulp. Thicken the sauce to a soft pudding consistency with guar or xanthan and serve hot or cold.

This dessert is great with a little heavy cream or
Whipped Topping
(see recipe
page 342
).

Yield:
6 servings, each with: 16 calories, trace fat, trace protein, 4 g carbohydrate, 1 g dietary fiber, 3 g usable carbs.

Hot Cinnamon Mocha

Assemble this in your slow cooker before going skating, caroling, or to a football game and have a winter party waiting when you get home!

1/2 gallon (1.9 L) chocolate-flavored Carb Countdown dairy beverage

2 cinnamon sticks

3 tablespoons (18 g) instant coffee granules

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Combine everything in your slow cooker and give it a stir. Cover the slow cooker, set it to high, and let it cook for 3 hours. Turn the slow cooker to low and serve from the slow cooker.

If it's a grown-up party, put a bottle of
Mockahlua
on the side for spiking! (See recipe
page 342
.)

Yield:
10 servings, each with: 92 calories, 4 g fat, 10 g protein, 5 g carbohydrate, 2 g dietary fiber, 3 g usable carbs.

There were so many cheesecake recipes in
500 More Low-Carb Recipes
that I only did three for this book. However, cheesecake works very well in the slow cooker, so feel free to experiment with baking your favorite low-carb cheesecake recipes this way.

You'll notice I've called for light cream cheese (or Neufchâtel, which is, so far as I can tell, the same thing) and light sour cream in these recipes, instead of the full-fat versions. There's a reason for this: The light versions generally have no more carbohydrate than their full-fat counterparts, and they are, of course, lower calorie. I consider that a gain, and the cheesecakes come out very well. However, feel free to use the full-fat versions if you prefer.

(Since writing the above paragraph, my feelings have changed. I now deliberately aim for 75 percent of my calories to come from fat and prefer full fat cream cheese.)

Mochaccino Cheesecake

This cheesecake is extraordinary, as good as any dessert I ever had in a restaurant. This alone is a good enough reason to go buy a large, round slow cooker and an 8-inch (20 cm) springform to fit into it! It's also a good excuse to make some
Mockahlua
(see recipe
page 342
), but who needs an excuse to do that?

Crisp Chocolate Crust
(see recipe on the next page)

16 ounces (455 g) light cream cheese or Neufchâtel cheese, softened

1 egg

1/4 cup (60 ml) heavy cream

1/2 cup (45 g) + 2 tablespoons (12 g) unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup (12 g) Splenda

1/4 cup (60 ml)
Mockahlua
(see recipe
page 342
)

2 tablespoons (28 ml) brewed coffee

Using your electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese, egg, and cream until quite smooth. (You'll need to scrape down the sides of the bowl several times.) Now beat in the cocoa powder, Splenda,
Mockahlua
, and coffee. When it's all well blended and very smooth, pour into the crust. Cover the springform pan tightly with foil, squeezing it in around the rim.

Take a big sheet of foil, at least 18 inches (46 centimeters) long, and roll it into a loose cylinder. Bend it into a circle and place it in the bottom of your slow cooker. (You're making a rack to put the pan on.) Pour 1/4 inch of water in the bottom of the slow cooker and then put the pan on the donut of foil. Cover the slow cooker, set it to high, and let it cook for 3 to 4 hours.

Turn off the slow cooker, uncover, and let cool for at least 20 to 30 minutes before you try to remove the pan from the slow cooker. Chill well before serving.

It's nice to make the
Whipped Topping
(see recipe
page 342
), with a little
Mockahlua
in it, to serve on top of this, but it's hardly essential.

Yield:
12 servings, each with: 284 calories, 24 g fat, 11 g protein, 10 g carbohydrate, 4 g dietary fiber, 6 g usable carbs. (Analysis includes Crisp Chocolate Crust. You could cut this into eight, more generous servings if you'd like.)

Crisp Chocolate Crust

1 1/2 cups (218 g) almonds

1/4 cup (6 g) Splenda

2 squares bitter chocolate, melted

3 tablespoons (45 g) butter, melted

2 tablespoons (20 g) vanilla whey protein powder

Preheat the oven to 325°F (170°C, or gas mark 3).

Using the
S
-blade of your food processor, grind the almonds until they're the texture of corn meal. Add the Splenda and pulse to combine. Pour in the chocolate and butter and run processor till evenly distributed. (You may need to stop the processor and run the tip of a knife blade around the outer edge to get everything to combine properly.) Then add the protein powder and pulse again to combine.

Turn the mixture into an 8-inch (20 cm) springform pan you've coated with nonstick cooking spray. Press firmly and evenly into place. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool before filling.

Yield:
12 servings, each with: 164 calories, 15 g fat, 6 g protein, 5 g carbohydrate, 3 g dietary fiber, 2 g usable carbs.

New York–Style Cheesecake