Recipe of the Day - Low Carb Redux

[patgund]

abbybob asked for SCA recipes that could be South Beach or the Zone friendly. I don't have any, but I do have a batch of low-carb recipes I posted while in Doha.

So here's a repeat, since more and more of my friends are on low-carb diets due to weight loss or diabetes,

Low Carb Asian Noodle Dish With Pork
This low carb noodle dish can made with shirataki noodles or tofu noodles.
INGREDIENTS:

* 2 12 oz packages shirataki or tofu noodles
* 1 lb ground pork
* 1/2 cup soy sauce
* 1/4 cup dry sherry
* 1/3 cup peanut butter
* 1 tablespoon rice vinegar or cider vinegar (rice vinegar can be sugary)
* 1/2 teaspoon Asian chili sauce or other hot sauce
* 8 cloves garlic - minced, pressed, or grated
* 2 Tablespoons grated fresh ginger
* 2 Tablespoons sesame oil
* l lb bean sprouts
* 6 green onions or scallions, chopped
* Pepper
* 1-2 Tablespoons mild oil, such as peanut or high oliec safflower oil

PREPARATION:
1. Mix ground pork, 2 Tablespoons of the soy sauce, and the sherry together, and set aside.

2. Mix the rest of the soy sauce with the peanut butter, vinegar, and hot sauce together, although with 1/4 cup water.

3. Heat skillet or wok until hot. Add peanut or other mild oil to the pan and cook pork, breaking it up into small bits as it cooks.

4. Meanwhile, rinse noodles in hot water in a colander, and cut them up into shorter pieces with kitchen or regular scissors. (I just stick my scissors in and cut a few times.)

5. When meat is brown, add the ginger and garlic, and cook another minute or so, until fragrant.

6. Add sauce mixture, and the noodles. Toss together and heat through.

7. Add bean sprouts and toss again. Sprinkle top with scallions.

Low Carb Chicken Pot Pie

INGREDIENTS:

* 3 C cut-up cooked chicken or turkey meat
* 1/4 C butter (half a stick) or oil
* 1/2 C minced onion
* 1/2 C chopped green or red Bell pepper
* 1/2 t pepper
* Flour and/or low carb thickener (see note below)
* 2/3 C unsweetened soy milk
* 1/3 C heavy cream
* 1 C (or so) chicken broth, or use chicken soup base
* 1 bag frozen green beans - any kind you like
* Salt to taste

PREPARATION:
Note: The thickener in this dish, is really up to you, since they are all specialty products. The easiest to get is probably guar gum or xanthan gum from a health food store. You need to sprinkle it slowly so it doesn't clump.

Then there are products such as ThickenThin from Expert Foods. I like to use a little flour - like a tablespoon (I use bean flour, but it could be any) as a "starter" and then add the specialty products - I like the texture of the sauce better that way.

Preheat oven to 400 F.

1. Put butter in large saucepan and melt.
2. Cook onion in butter until it begins to soften.
3. Add chopped pepper and the spice pepper, and let it cook a minute.
4. Add the flour here if you are going to use it, let it cook a minute and then add the ThickenThin, if you are using that. I use a T of bean flour and a heaping T of ThickenThin.
5. Add the liquid. If you are using guar or xanthan gum, use these here. I use Better than Bouillion soup base, and make it about double the concentration the package calls for, then use no salt.
6. When the sauce is the thickness you want it, add the chicken or turkey and then beans (if there isn't enough liquid, add more broth - but some water will come out of the beans). While that heats back up, make the biscuits.
7. When the biscuit dough is made and the pot pie mixture is bubbling hot, dump the contents of the saucepan into a 2 quart casserole dish. Spoon the biscuit dough on the top, leaving room for expansion. (You can drop extra biscuit dough on a piece of foil to cook alongside the pot pie.)
8. Bake about 10 minutes, until biscuits are golden brown.

Easy Thai Coconut Curry Chicken

INGREDIENTS:

* 1-lb skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut in bite-sized pieces
* 1/2 medium onion (optional, but I like it), chopped
* 1 medium red Bell pepper, chopped
* 12 oz fresh or frozen green beans
* 1 can coconut milk (can use light or regular)
* Thai spices as described above to taste (depends on heat)
* Salt or seasoning salt to taste

PREPARATION:
For maximum efficiency:

1. Heat some oil (I included 1 T in the nutritional info below) in the pan - olive, coconut, peanut, or high-oleic safflower oil all work well. Amount depends upon size of pan - you want a thin coating on the bottom.
2. Chop onion, and add.
3. Chop pepper and add. Stir. Cook until onion is getting soft, if it isn't already.
4. While that is cooking, chop the chicken.
5. Add the spices (including the salt). The amount will depend upon the spice. For example, with Penzey's Sate' Seasoning, I use about 4 t, but for a hot paste, more like 2 t. It just depends upon how spicy the blend is and how spicy you like your food. Stir until the you start to smell the spices.
6. Add the chicken. Stir until almost cooked through.
5. Add the coconut milk. (Note: this makes a fairly soupy curry. If you want it thicker, just add maybe 2/3 of the can.) Bring it to a boil, and simmer for 3-5 minutes.

Serving Suggestion: Serve over Cauliflower Rice.

Makes 4 servings

Kofta Kebabs - Middle East Grilled Ground Meat

INGREDIENTS:

* 1 lb ground meat (beef, lamb, etc.)
* 1 Tablespoon coriander
* 1 teaspoon cumin
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon allspice
* 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
* pinch of cayenne or other hot pepper (or a little Harissa paste)
* 2 cloves minced garlic or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
* 3 Tablespoons finely minced onion or 2 teaspoons onion powder
* 3 Tablespoons chopped parsley
* Salt (about 1 and 1/2 teaspoons works well)

PREPARATION:
The easiest thing to do is to just mix all the ingredients together, which is what I used to do. But I have found that the flavors come out and blend together better if I warm the spices in about a tablespoon of olive oil, just until it sizzles.

Traditionally, these are molded into sort of long meatballs (about 3 - 4 inches long and 1 1/2 inches in diameter) and put on skewers to grill.

Serve with Tzatziki with Mint

Cincinnati "Chili" (no, it's not real chili, nor is it bean stew. It's not bad though.......)

INGREDIENTS:

* 2 lbs ground meat (I use half turkey and half beef)
* 1 medium onion, chopped finely
* 4 cloves garlic or 2 teaspoons garlic powder
* 3 T chili powder (depending upon the heat of the powder and your taste)
* 1 teaspoon allspice
* 1/8 teaspoon cloves
* 2 teaspoons cinnamon
* 1 T paprika
* 1 T Worcestershire Sauce.
* 1 oz unsweetened chocolate
* 2 bay leaves
* 1 Tablespoon beef Better Than Bouillon or 3 bouillon cubes
* 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
* 1 T red wine vinegar (optional and traditional)
* 1/4 C red wine (very optional and very non-traditional)

PREPARATION:
Originally, the meat for the chili was boiled instead of browned. This gives a different consistency to it - the pieces of meat are very small and separated - no clumps. Most recipes I've seen do brown the meat with the onions, though.

Put the meat and onions in a stock pot or large deep frying pan, and cook for 5 minutes, then add about 2 cups of water and mix and chop with a spatula until the hamburger is pretty well broken up. Then add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 45-60 minutes. Correcting the seasoning at the end is important. Although Cincinnati chili isn't supposed to be super-spicy, you can add heat if you like, or a little vinegar to perk up the flavor, or salt, or a bit of sweetener if it's harsh.

In Cincinnati, you can have it as above with or without cheese and/or onions. Or you can have:

Two-way chili - on spaghetti (we use spaghetti squash)
Three-way chili - on spaghetti with cheddar cheese
Four-way chili - on spaghetti with cheese and onions
Five-way chili - all of the above, plus kidney beans

Chinese Five Spice Chicken

INGREDIENTS:

* 3 lbs chicken (any combination - ideal if they are similar sizes - works great for thighs, but I've done a variety)
* 1/3 cup soy sauce
* 1/4 cup oil, such as light olive oil or peanut oil
* 1 teaspoon garlic powder (or two garlic cloves, pressed)
* 2 teaspoons five spice powder
* 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
* 1 Tablespoon dry sherry

PREPARATION:
Combine all ingredients except chicken, and use as marinade. Marinade at least an hour, but can be as long as overnight. Bake in a 375 F. oven (baste once or twice), or grill, for about 45 minutes or until done.

Chicken Marsala

INGREDIENTS:

* 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
* 1 small onion
* 1 cups mushroom slices
* 3 T (or so) olive oil
* 1/2 cup dry Marsala wine
* 2 T minced Italian (flat leaf) parsley
* Chicken broth or Better than Bouillon

PREPARATION:
1. If desired, pound chicken between two pieces of wax paper or plastic (use anything from an old wine bottle to a small heavy pot for this). Season chicken with salt and pepper.

2. Heat oil in skillet and add chicken. Cook until done, remove, and cover with foil.

3. Add onion and mushrooms, cook until soft. Add wine to pan and cook for 1-2 minutes.

4. At this point, judge the amount of liquid for sauce for chicken. If you need more, add a bit of broth. Taste, and adjust seasonings. If it needs more salt, this is a good place to add a little Better Than Bouillon, if you have it, for the chicken flavor and salt.

5. Pour vegetables and sauce over chicken, and sprinkle with parsley.

Comments

[dragonessfaire.livejournal.com]

I hit the scroll to fast and I swear I thought the title said- Low carb REINDEER... I think it is time for me to go to bed. The eyes and the brain are clearly not working as a team...

[kk1raven.livejournal.com]

Interesting recipies - thanks for posting them.