300 Low-Carb Slow Cooker Recipes (23 page)

In a bowl, mix together the tomato sauce, water, vinegar, soy sauce, and Splenda.

Put the ribs in your slow cooker. Place the onion on top of the ribs. Pour the sauce over the onion and ribs. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 8 to 9 hours. (Because it's more convenient to use frozen ribs, that's what I assumed you were using for this recipe. If you put the ribs in thawed, cut about 1 hour off the cooking time.)

When the time's up, thicken the sauce with guar or xanthan if you prefer. (This recipe gives you tremendously tasty ribs in a thin but flavorful sauce—it's more like a broth. You can thicken it a bit with guar or xanthan, but I rather like it as it is.)

Yield:
7 servings, each with: 559 calories, 31 g fat, 61 g protein, 5 g carbohydrate, 1 g dietary fiber, 4 g usable carbs. (This analysis is for 3 pounds (1.4 kg) of ribs. The total carbs will vary with how much of the sauce you eat because most of the carbs are in there. Furthermore, that calorie count assumes that you eat all of the fat that cooks off of the ribs—which I wouldn't suggest.)

Short Ribs with Mushrooms

Short ribs can be pricey, but man, are they good!

2 pounds (900 g) beef short ribs

8 ounces (225 g) crimini mushrooms (Buy them sliced if you can.)

1/2 onion

2 cloves garlic

1 cup (235 ml) beef broth

1 teaspoon beef bouillon concentrate

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

2 tablespoons (28 ml) dry white wine

2 tablespoons (28 ml) dry sherry

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon tomato paste

Guar or Xanthan

Lay the short ribs on your broiler rack and slide them under a high flame, about 4 to 5 inches (10 to 13 cm) from the heat. Set your timer for 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, slice the mushrooms if you didn't buy them sliced and put them in the slow cooker. Slice your half onion, crush the garlic, and throw them in with the mushrooms. Stir everything together to distribute evenly.

Somewhere in here, the timer will go off. Use tongs to turn the ribs and broil the other side for another 8 minutes.

Okay, the ribs are browned. Put a bay leaf on top of the mushrooms and onions and the ribs on top of that.

Mix together everything else and pour it over the ribs and mushrooms. Cover the pot, set to low, and cook for 5 to 6 hours.

When it's done, fish the short ribs out with your tongs. Remove the bay leaf and then use your guar or xanthan shaker to thicken up the liquid in the pot to heavy cream consistency. Ladle the sauce, mushrooms, and onions over each serving.

We ate this as is, but it would be wonderful over either
Fauxtatoes
(see recipe
page 343
) or shirataki fettucini.

Yield:
6 servings, each with: 348 calories, 18 g fat, 38 g protein, 4 g carbohydrate, 1 g dietary fiber, 3 g usable carbs.

Short Ribs with Wine and Mushrooms

Short ribs are very flavorful, and this is a simple way to make the most of them.

4 pounds (1.8 kg) beef short ribs

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon (15 ml) Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon (18 g) beef bouillon concentrate

1/2 cup (120 ml) dry red wine

1 can (8 ounces, or 225 g) mushrooms, drained

Guar or xanthan

Place the ribs in your slow cooker. Add the bay leaves, Worcestershire sauce, and bouillon. Pour the wine over everything. Place the mushrooms on top. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 8 to 10 hours.

When the time's up, use a slotted spoon to scoop out the ribs and mushrooms and put them on a platter. There may be a fair amount of grease on the liquid in the pot; it's best to skim it off. Thicken the sauce to taste with guar or xanthan.

Fauxtatoes
(see recipe
page 343
) are the ideal side with this, so you have something to eat all that gravy on!

Yield:
10 servings, each with: 388 calories, 22 g fat, 42 g protein, 1 g carbohydrate, trace dietary fiber, 1 g usable carbs.

Insanely Good Slow-Cooker Barbecued Beef Ribs

These really are insanely good. And they are so easy, too. I only find beef ribs at my grocer's now and then, and I always grab a couple of slabs to stick in the freezer.

3 1/2 pounds (1.6 kg) beef ribs

2 tablespoons (14 g) paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt, Vege-Sal, or hickory smoked salt

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

1 tablespoon (13 g) sugar

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

These are super-easy and so good! Whack your slab of ribs into as many sections as it takes for them to fit in your slow cooker—I just cut mine in half.

Lay the ribs on your broiler rack, set your broiler to high, and slide the ribs underneath, about 4 to 5 inches (10 to 13 cm) from the heat. Give them about 7 to 8 minutes per side until they're browned.

While the ribs are browning, mix together everything else. When the ribs are done browning, pull them out and sprinkle this mixture liberally all over them, both sides.

Throw the ribs in the slow cooker—you can put one section on top of the other, that's fine. Cover, set to low, and cook for 5 to 6 hours. Serve with any leftover seasoning mixture and a big roll of paper towels.

Yield:
8 servings, each with: 632 calories, 54 g fat, 33 g protein, 2 g carbohydrate, 1 g dietary fiber, 1 g usable carbs.

Short Rib Stew

3 pounds (1.4 kg) beef short ribs

2 tablespoons (28 ml) olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

8 ounces (225 g) sliced mushrooms

1 1/2 cups (355 ml) beef broth

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram

1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds

1 tablespoon (15 ml) lemon juice

2 tablespoons (28 ml) red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon beef bouillon concentrate

In a big, heavy skillet, brown the ribs all over in the oil over medium-high heat. Transfer the ribs to your slow cooker. In the skillet, over medium-low heat, sauté the onion and mushrooms until they're just softened. Transfer them to the slow cooker, too.

In a bowl, mix together the broth, pepper, marjoram, caraway seeds, lemon juice, vinegar, and bouillon. Pour the mixture over the ribs. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 7 to 8 hours.

You can thicken the pot liquid if you like, but I rather like this as is, especially with
Fauxtatoes
(see recipe
page 343
).

Yield:
6 servings, each with: 955 calories, 87 g fat, 36 g protein, 5 g carbohydrate, 1 g dietary fiber, 4 g usable carbs.

Chuck with Avocado Aioli

This was a big hit with our tester's family!

3 pounds (1.4 kg) boneless beef chuck roast

1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup (120 ml) water

1 teaspoon beef bouillon concentrate

3 tablespoons (45 ml) Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 clove garlic, crushed

Avocado Aioli
(See recipe on next page.)

Season the beef with salt and pepper.

In a big, heavy skillet, sear the beef all over in the oil. Transfer the beef to your slow cooker. Add the onion.

In a bowl, combine the water and bouillon. Pour it over the beef. Add the Worcestershire sauce, oregano, and garlic. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 8 hours.

Serve with the
Avocado Aioli
.

Yield:
8 servings, each with: 381 calories, 28 g fat, 27 g protein, 3 g carbohydrate, trace dietary fiber, 3 g usable carbs.

Avocado Aioli

You don't have to reserve this for use with the
Chuck with Avocado Avioli
(see recipe on previous page). Serve it as a dip with vegetables, too. California avocados are the little, black, rough-skinned ones, and they're lower in carbs than the big, green, smooth-skinned Florida avocados.