Recipe: Low Carb Recipes (5) for Natalie, FL

Hi Natalie:-) Here are a few recipes for you to try. I have not tried any of them. Also, there are many low carb recipes that have been posted here at Recipelink. If you type "low carb" in the "Find a recipe" box you will find many more ideas.

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Tuscan Chicken with Tomato-Basil Relish and Toasted Almond Broccoli
Chicken with Bacon, Tomato and Thyme
Easy Philly Steak Salad
Vegetable Stir-Fry
Cobb Salad: Double the Meat and Hold The Lettuce!

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TUSCAN CHICKEN WITH TOMATO-BASIL RELISH
AND TOASTED ALMOND BROCCOLI
Source: More Low-Carb Meals in Minutes: A Three-Stage Plan for Keeping It Off by Linda Gassenheimer, Bay Books, 2003
Yield: 2 servings

A fresh tomato-basil relish tops this simple chicken dish. The broccoli takes only minutes to cook in a microwave oven. It's topped with toasted almonds.

1/2 cup diced plum tomatoes
2 tablespoons diced red onion
1/4 cup sliced, drained sweet pimientos
1/4 cup snipped fresh basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Olive oil spray
Toasted Almond Broccoli, recipe follows

Mix tomatoes, onions, sweet pimientos, and basil together in a small bowl. Add vinegar and toss to mix. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.

Place chicken between 2 pieces of waxed paper or aluminum foil and flatten with a meat mallet or the bottom of a heavy skillet to 1/2-inch thick.

Heat a large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat and spray with olive oil spray. Add chicken and saute 3 minutes per side.

Sprinkle salt and pepper, to taste, on the cooked sides. Divide between 2 dinner plates and spoon the tomato relish on top.

TOASTED ALMOND BROCCOLI:
4 tablespoons sliced almonds
1/2 pound broccoli florets (4 cups)
2 teaspoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat a nonstick skillet on medium heat and add almonds. (This can be done in the same skillet used for the chicken.) Saute 1 minute or until almonds are golden, not brown. Remove and set aside.

Steam the broccoli in a collapsible steamer, set up in a pot filled with 1 inch of water. Alternatively, place broccoli in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 4 minutes.

Remove and add oil and salt and pepper, to taste. Toss well. Sprinkle almonds on top.

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CHICKEN WITH BACON, TOMATO AND THYME
Recipe courtesy George Stella

8 pieces bacon, par-cooked half-way (may use precooked)
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into halves
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove fresh garlic, minced
2 tablespoons red onion, chopped
2 Roma tomatoes, sliced
1 bunch fresh thyme

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

To par-cook bacon, lay slices on a sheet pan and bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven for about 10 minutes until half-cooked. Remove and reserve.

Working on a sheet pan, coat the chicken breast with olive oil and minced garlic. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.

Next, wrap 2 pieces of par-cooked bacon strips criss-cross around each piece of chicken, forming an "x" pattern in the center. Sprinkle with the diced onion and place a thick slice of Roma tomato and a couple sprigs of fresh thyme in the center of each breast, tucked in behind the bacon.

Arrange chicken a little apart from each other on the sheet pan and bake until the chicken is completely cooked and reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 30 minutes.

Yield: 4 servings
Nutritional Analysis per Serving: Calories 396, Total Fat 21 grams, Saturated Fat 6 grams, Carbohydrates 1 gram, Net Carbohydrates 1 gram

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EASY PHILLY STEAK SALAD
Recipe courtesy George Stella

2 tablespoons unsalted butter or canola oil
1 cup fresh or frozen sliced red and green bell peppers
12 ounces any leftover cooked steak, shredded
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (may use any cheese you like)
10 ounces salad mix (salad in a bag or shredded iceberg or romaine)

Heat butter or oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add peppers, steak, and seasonings and cook for about 5 minutes, or until peppers are tender. Turn heat off and top the hot steak and peppers with the cheese and let melt.

Meanwhile, divide salad mix evenly between 2 bowls. Divide the hot mixture evenly over the bowls of salad, and serve immediately.

Yield: 2 servings
Nutritional Analysis per Serving: Calories 829, Total Fat 72 grams, Saturated Fat 15 grams, Carbohydrates 7 grams, Net Carbohydrates 4 grams, Fiber 3 grams

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VEGETABLE STIR-FRY
Recipe courtesy George Stella
Yield: 6 servings

2 tablespoons canola oil
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and julienned
1 yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded, and julienned
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
1 cup half-moon sliced yellow squash
1 cup small broccoli florets
1 baby eggplant, cut into chunks
8 ounces firm tofu, cut into large chunks
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce (check the label: no more than 2 grams sugar per serving)
2 cups sliced bok choy
1 cup fresh mung bean sprouts
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup snow peas
2 tablespoons sesame oil

Start by preparing and cutting all the vegetables and measuring your ingredients so that they are ready to go. Once you begin stir-frying, it goes very quickly.

In a wok or large skillet, heat canola oil over high heat until almost smoking. Add the peppers and onion while stirring constantly. While continuing to stir, add successively the squash, broccoli, eggplant, tofu, garlic, and teriyaki sauce. Cook, stirring, constantly for 2 minutes.

Add the bok choy, sprouts, pepper, and salt and cook, stirring, until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes more.

Stir in snow peas and sesame oil and remove from heat. Serve immediately.

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COBB SALAD: DOUBLE THE MEAT AND HOLD THE LETTUCE!
Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray

Yield: 4 servings

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons grill seasoning blend (recommended: Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick)
2 tablespoons hot sauce, eyeball it
4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, eyeball it
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus some for drizzling
2 pounds flank steak
8 pieces "thin cut" chicken breast cutlets
2 slightly under ripe Hass avocados - dark skinned, but still firm
2 vine ripe tomatoes cut into wedges
2 bunches watercress, trimmed and roughly chopped
8 strips bacon, thick sliced
1 lemon, zest and juiced
Salt and pepper
1/3 pound blue cheese, crumbled (recommended Maytag Blue)

Heat a grill pan or outdoor grill to high heat.

Mix garlic, steak seasoning, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce and vinegar. Whisk in the extra-virgin olive oil. Divide the mixture between 2 shallow dishes. Add the flank steak to one and the thin chicken cutlets to the other. Toss to coat all of the meats thoroughly and marinate for 5 minutes.

While the flank steak and chicken are marinating, cut the avocados in half lengthwise cutting around the pit. Separate the halves then, using a spoon, scoop out the pit, then use the spoon to scoop the avocado from its skin. Chop the avocado flesh into bite size pieces add to a mixing bowl. Add the tomatoes, watercress and crisp chopped bacon. Dress the salad with the juice of 1 lemon and a generous drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.

Grill flank steak 6 to 7 minutes on each side. Grill the thin cut chicken cutlets 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Remove both meats from the grill to a cutting board to rest for about 5 minutes.

Thinly slice the flank steak on an angle, cutting the meat against the grain. Cut the chicken into thin strips. Add both meats to a platter or dinner plates. Top the meats with a mound of the salad.

To make the dressing, combine in a small bowl the lemon zest and juice, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, crumbled blue cheese, whisk in 3 tablespoons EVOO. Pour the dressing over the salad. Eat and enjoy the lack of lettuce getting in your way!

"A Cobb Salad is usually a big mound of lettuce topped with strips of chopped chicken, bacon, avocado, tomatoes, hardboiled egg and blue cheese. I love it, but I've noticed that once I mix it up and start eating, my fork is busy fishing around the lettuce trying to catch all the chicken and bacon. So, I decided to hold the lettuce. I did add some watercress, but that's for its great peppery flavor!"