300 Low-Carb Slow Cooker Recipes (50 page)

We adore rutabaga, but it can take a long time to cook soft. What better job for a slow cooker? This is how I cooked my rutabaga for Thanksgiving this year.

4 tablespoons (55 g) butter

1 large rutabaga

Salt and pepper

Throw the butter in the slow cooker and turn it on to low. Cover and let the butter melt.

Peel the rutabaga and cut it into 1/2-inch (13 mm) cubes. This takes a big sharp knife and some tough talk.

Dump the rutabaga cubes in the slow cooker—by now your butter should be melted. Toss the cubes to coat with the butter. Cover the slow cooker and let them cook for a minimum of 12 hours, and 14 isn't too much.

Toss with salt and pepper and serve.

Yield:
6 servings, each with: 76 calories, 8 g fat, trace protein, 2 g carbohydrate, 1 g dietary fiber, 1 g usable carbs.

Bonus Recipe:
Make Rutabaga Hash Browns! If you have any rutabaga left over, the next day you chop a little onion and throw it in your big, heavy skillet with the leftover rutabaga cubes and plenty of melted butter. Fry them, chopping up the rutabaga more with your spatula, and keep cooking until they're getting brown and crusty. YUMMY!

Maple-Mustard Turnips

4 medium turnips

2 tablespoons (28 g) bacon grease, melted

2 tablespoons (40 g) sugar-free pancake syrup

1 tablespoon (11 g) brown mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt or Vege-Sal

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 dashes Tabasco sauce or other Louisiana-style hot sauce

Peel and cube the turnips and throw them in the slow cooker. Drizzle in the bacon grease and toss to coat.

Mix together everything else, drizzle over the turnips, and toss to coat again. Cover the pot, set to low, and cook for 5 hours.

Yield:
6 servings, each with: 67 calories, 5 g fat, 1 g protein, 6 g carbohydrate, 2 g dietary fiber, 4 g usable carbs. (Analysis does not include the polyols in the sugar-free pancake syrup.)

Cheesy Neeps

This would make a great holiday side dish. If you're serving buffet style, just plug in the slow cooker and they'll even stay warm for you. (In case you're wondering,
neeps
is an old Scots term for turnips.)

2 large turnips

6 ounces (170 g) Swiss cheese (Gruyère is even better, if you can find it.)

1/2 medium onion

3 tablespoons (45 g) butter

1 teaspoon salt or Vege-Sal

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Peel the turnips, whack them into hunks, and run them through your food processor's shredding blade. Run the Swiss cheese through, too. Chop your onion pretty fine—I find my shredding disc doesn't work for this, so I just used a knife and a cutting board, but you could swap out the shredding disc for the
S
-blade and use it to chop your onion fine, if you like.

Coat your slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Put the turnips, cheese, and onion in there and sprinkle the salt and pepper over it all. Toss until everything is well-combined.

Smooth the top. Now cut your butter into little bits and dot the top of the turnip mixture evenly with it. Cover the pot, set to low, and let it all cook for 5 hours or so.

Yield:
6 servings, each with: 172 calories, 14 g fat, 9 g protein, 4 g carbohydrate, 1 g dietary fiber, 3 g usable carbs.

Mashed Turnips

2 large turnips, cubed

1/4 cup (40 g) chopped onion

3/4 cup (175 ml) beef broth

Put the turnips and onion in your slow cooker and add the broth. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 6 to 7 hours.

I like to mash these right in the pot with my hand-held blender, but if you prefer, you can transfer them to your food processor or regular blender.

If you're going to serve these plain, you might add some butter, salt, and pepper, but if you're serving them with a gravy, they're great as is.

Yield:
4 servings, each with: 31 calories, trace fat, 3 g protein, 5 g carbohydrate, 1 g dietary fiber, 4 g usable carbs.

The Simplest Slow Cooker Mushrooms

You want simple? We got simple.

1 pound (455 g) sliced mushrooms (You'll buy them that way, right?)

8 ounces (225 g) cream cheese with chives and onions

2 cloves garlic crushed

Dump everything in the slow cooker. Cover the pot. Set to low. Cook for 5 to 6 hours. Stir. Serve.

Yield:
8 servings, each with: 110 calories, 9 g fat, 3 g protein, 5 g carbohydrate, 1 g dietary fiber, 4 g usable carbs.

Lemon-Parmesan Mushrooms

8 ounces (225 g) mushrooms

1/2 cup (125 ml) chicken broth

1/4 cup (60 ml) lemon juice

1/2 cup (40 g) shredded Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup (15 g) chopped fresh parsley

Wipe the mushrooms clean with a damp cloth or paper towel and put them in your slow cooker. Pour the broth and lemon juice over them. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 6 to 8 hours.

Remove the mushrooms from the slow cooker with a slotted spoon and put them on serving plates. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and parsley.

Yield:
4 servings, each with: 65 calories, 3 g fat, 6 g protein, 5 g carbohydrate, 1 g dietary fiber, 4 g usable carbs.

Blue Cheese Mushrooms

These are perfect next to a steak or slab of prime rib.

8 ounces (225 g) fresh mushrooms

1/4 cup (30 g) crumbled blue cheese

2 ounces (55 g) cream cheese

1 clove garlic

Wipe or rinse your mushrooms and throw them in a slow cooker. Sprinkle the blue cheese over them and add the cream cheese cut into little hunks, so you can distribute it a bit. Crush the garlic and throw it in, too. Give it all a quick stir. Then cover, set to high, and cook for 2 hours or set to low and cook for 4 hours.

Yield:
3 servings, each with: 126 calories, 10 g fat, 5 g protein, 4 g carbohydrate, 1 g dietary fiber, 3 g usable carbs.

Spinach-Mushroom Gratin

Mushrooms, spinach, and cheese—what's not to like? This is great with take-out grilled or rotisserie chicken.

1/2 head cauliflower

1 onion, chopped

4 tablespoons (55 g) butter

8 ounces (225 g) sliced mushrooms

3 cloves garlic, crushed

10 ounces (280 g) frozen chopped spinach, thawed

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon oregano

2 teaspoons salt or Vege-Sal

1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 1/2 cups (173 g) shredded Cheddar cheese

Chop the onion. Melt the butter in your big heavy skillet and start sautéing the onions with the mushrooms; use the edge of your spatula to break the sliced mushrooms up into smaller pieces as they cook—you want them in chunks a little bigger than a pea.

Run your cauliflower through the shredding blade of your food processor.

Drain the spinach very well—I dump mine a colander in the sink and use my hands to squeeze it dry.

When the onion is translucent and the mushrooms have changed color, stir in the crushed garlic and then put all the vegetables in your slow cooker.