Quick, easy, no phaff low carb recipes - from scratch

[Brunneria]

Hi,

Low carbing can seem very daunting to newbies.
Most people nowadays have learned to rely more and more on pre-made, pre-packaged foods, and the thought of switching to a way of eating where they have to plan, shop and organise more can be off putting.

But I have to be the laziest, quickest, can't-be-bothered-to-slave-in-the-kitchen cook ever, and I turn out meals fairly quickly - and I can't be the only one!

So I thought this thread would be a good place to put the one-pot, slow-cooker, easy roasting, quick cooking, throw together meals, things that we enjoy, and make from scratch*.

It would be lovely to see a group of quick fixes that are just as easy to make as the average ready meal, but without the nasties...

* make from scratch = within reason. I'm not suggesting we go to India to pick our own spices.

 

[Brunneria]

Pulled Pork
4-10 portions, depending on the size of your pork joint.
Freezes really well.

Got a slow cooker? Then it is easy! (they only cost about £20)

Ingredients
a recently boiled kettle
shoulder joint or roll of belly pork
an onion
a carrot. courgette and or pepper (optional)
pork stock cube or three (depends on your slow cooker's size. use 1 cub for every 500ml water)
spices and/or seasonings

(first recipe, and I am already going to cheat. I don't make my spices from scratch. lol. I buy good quality, unsweetened pre-prepared spice mixtures such as Pataks curry pastes, or jerk seasonings, they are pre-cooked and have a mellow and more rounded flavour than the raw spices, and they are a lot less phaff)

Instructions
Boil kettle
put joint of pork into slow cooker
chop onion and any other veg into quarters (take out pepper seeds)
add veg, stock cube(s) and garlic to slow cooker
pour boiling water over everything until meat is almost covered
switch slow cooker on and walk away for 6-8 hours.

When you come back, lift lid. pork should be cooked through, and easy to break up with a fork. If not, give it another hour or so.

Once the pork is ready, fish the meat and veg out of the liquid onto a large plate. The skin peels off easily, and can be discarded, or mushed into the meat, whichever you prefer. Now 'pull' it the meat. You can use forks or your fingers, though it might be too hot for fingers.

The veg will be soft and falling apart, so just mush it all up with the pork.

Then stir/massage in your curry/jerk/whatever paste.
I use my fingers for this too, tasting as I go.
Season to taste.

Serve hot, with any veg you like, but coleslaw works surprisingly well...

How long does it take?
Well, the first step, filling the slow cooker probably takes 5 mins max.
The second step, pulling the pork, takes maybe 10 mins, max.

 

[Brunneria]

Ginger, garlic or lemon chicken

Serves as many as you like - just increase the number of bits of chicken until you run out of pan space!


Ingredients
chicken (can be breasts, whole or chopped, or thighs, whole, boned or chopped)
onion (optional)
ginger (root, powdered or frozen grated) or garlic or lemon juice
butter and/or coconut oil
salt and pepper

Get a big frying pan, saucepan or wok and put it over a medium heat
roughly chop the (optional) onion and throw it in with the butter/oil
when the (optional) onion is soft, add the chicken, stir, and lower the heat a bit.

then add the ginger, garlic or lemonjuice.
- It is ENTIRELY up to you how much you use, whether the garlic is whole, or powdered, or whether the ginger is in lumps or grated or powder. Try adding some, then just before the end of cooking taste it. Add more, if necessary. This is trial and error. Better to be cautious the first time, than blow your head off and never want to eat it again. If you find the lemon is too sharp, add in a smidge of sweetener, at the end of cooking.

The cooking time is going to depend on how big your chicken pieces are, and whether there are bones.
As a guess, on a low heat, I would allow 20 mins for bone-in chicken thighs, or breasts, and 10 mins for cubed breast meat.
Always check the meat is cooked before serving (just cut a piece open and if it still looks uncooked in the middle, it needs more cooking)

Season to taste.

Serve.

How long does it take?
I would say 5-10 mins to lob it all in the pan and be ready to turn it down to low
then 10-20 mins simmering gently while you ignore it
then 2 mins to check it is cooked and seasoned.

Serve with veg, cauliflower rice, or anything that takes your fancy...

 

[Brunneria]

The easiest cauliflower cheese in the world!
choose a big cauliflower - you are going to want to have this the next day too, and it will freeze well too.

Grab a whole cauliflower
Roughly chop it into big florets
cook it (microwave it with a drop of water, or steam or boil it)
make sure it is 'tender' enough to mash with a hand masher
drain
hand mash til it is the consistency you like
add handfuls of cheese (cream cheese, edam, gouda, red leicester, cheddar, stilton, parmesan, all work. use one or more). No need to grate it. Just break it into inch sized lumps or roughly slice.
stir the cheese in - it will melt in the heat from the cauliflower, and cover all the bits.
season to taste
serve

You get to choose the type of cheese, the consistency, and the seasonings. I find that a little mustard, horseradish, worcestershire sauce, black pepper, piri piri, powdered garlic and a lot of chopped garlic sausage or chorizo all work in this, though perhaps not all at once!

How long does it take?
5 mins to get the cauli prepped
cooking time
5 mins to drain, add cheese and season.

I made this for some friends once, and I was doing that last steps as we chatted. My friend insisted that I had hidden some vital magic step, and that nothing this good could be that easy. So I had to make it for her again, the next week.

 

[Nethers66]

Sausage n Mash with veg

Simple, easy & tasty

Choose your favourite 90%+ meat sausage ( Heck brand are good high meat content)
Cauliflower mash, boil cauliflower till soft, mash with butter, cream, salt & pepper
Boiled veg like cabbage, kale etc
Gravy pick the lowest carb you can find, Lidl/Aldi brands see to be the best.

Hey presto

 

[Hedonista]

Celery soup -
Chop an onion, crush some garlic, chop a load of celery, fry until soft in olive oil, add light stock and grate in plenty of nutmeg. Simmer for a while, then whizz up, add a dollop of cream, gently reheat, add plenty of black pepper.
If you're in a real rush, or knackered, skip the frying and just put everything in a pot together and simmer.
Takes no time at all.

 

[Chook]

Mix together some salt, a couple of crushed cloves of garlic (I often use that lazy garlic), crushed fennel seeds, five spice powder and (optional) chilli flakes.

Rub oil over pork belly with the skin slashed, pork belly slices or meaty pork ribs then sprinkle over the spice mixture and then rub it in. Put meat in to an oven proof dish or baking pan SKIN SIDE UP. Pour in half a glass white wine around the meat, being careful not to pour it over the meat. Then cover in foil and bake in a low oven for 3-4 hours removing the foil lid and turning the oven up a bit to crisp up the skin for the last 15 mins.

My daughter tells me the same mix of spices works well with bone in chicken pieces but cook for only 90 mins.

Great with courgette 'pasta' or cauliflower rice.

 

[Chook]

Lidl Protein roll pizza - takes about 7 minutes.

Slice one lidl protein roll in to two flat triangles. Toast lightly then spread with a pizza topping. I used Napolina as its quite low in carbs. Sprinkle over a touch of oregano and possible a little spread of lazy garlic if you like it garlicy, maybe a few black olives or salami, top with some mozzarella (slices or grated) then pop under the grill until golden and bubbling.

 

[vintageutopia]

Cabbage Sausage "Stuff"

Sauté a head of chopped cabbage in bacon fat with minced garlic. Can add onions too, if you feel so inclined. Once the cabbage is softened, throw in sliced, uncured Italian sausage (already cooked) with some Italian spices, salt, and pepper. Continue to cook until the sausage is heated through. Sprinkle with grated parmesan reggiano cheese.

My kids love this and it takes less than 15 minutes from start to finish.

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Pork Verde

Season a pork shoulder/butt with salt & pepper and place fat side up in slow cooker. Add a jar of green salsa. Cook on low all day. About 30 minutes prior to serving time, shred pork and return to slow cooker and juices. Use on warm salads, wrap in low carb tortilla, or just throw some on a plate and cover with sour cream, cheese, and shredded lettuce.

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Bone Broth

Place two pounds of turkey or chicken bones in 6 QT slow cooker. Cover with 12 cups of water, a few stalks of celery, celery tops, a quartered onion (skins on), peppercorns, 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar. Can add additional seasonings if prefer. Cook on low for 24 hours.

This is so good on its own, I am unwillingly to use it as a base for other soups. Instead, I just add salt and drink it plain or whisk in an egg for egg drop-style soup. Throw a few chopped green onions on top to make it pretty.

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BLT Roll Up

Crisp up some cottage bacon...or any bacon really. Lay a few pieces over wide lettuce leaves, add a slice of tomato and some mayo and roll up. Don't forget the pepper!

 

[Larissima]

LC Fajitas (beef or pork) - serves 2

Peel & thinly slice an onion whilst heating up 1T olive oil in a frying pan

Fry onion whilst slicing 2-3 peppers

Add pepper to onions, stir occasionally whilst slicing a cooking-type steak (beef or pork) into strips

Add meat to veggies, stir occasionally, when browned add salt and spices (cumin, coriander and smoked paprika). Add a bit of water if starting to stick to the pan, put the lid on for 5 minutes - done. Total 20 mins.

Serve with sliced avocado, Greek yogurt, grated cheddar and large lettuce leaves for wrapping.

 

[Brunneria]

Roast Chicken Soup x 2

So, you Sunday Roasted a chicken, and only ate half (the best bits).
And there is now a cold chicken congealing in the fridge. Meat, skin, bones and all.
And leftover cold veg.
And it REALLY doesn't appeal.

Sound familiar?

Well, in a few mins, you gan get some great meals out of it.

Option 1:
Roll up your sleeves, rip as much meat off it as possible, breaking it into bite sized pieces.
Put the meat in a saucepan.
Add boiling water
Add 1 chicken stock cube per 500mls of water (thats approx 3 stock cubes for a full kettle)
Add the cold veg.
Bring the pan to the boil and simmer for 5 mins to make sure everything is heated through.
Season to taste (you can add curry paste, piri piri, lemon juice, crushed garlic, double cream, whatever you like)

It is ready to eat at this point, but if you want a smooth soup, you can blitz it with a hand blender, if you like.

How long does it take?
It would take me less than 5 mins to get everything into the pan and heating.
Then cooking time.
Finishing it off is probably a 3 minute job.

Option 2:
So now you have a pile of chicken bones left.
Just follow @vintageutopia 's bone broth recipe above.

Can also be done with leftover turkey, lamb, pork...

 

[Chook]

Stuffed posh burger

Buy 500g of the most expensive minced beef/steak you can afford. Divide in to four and mould gently in to balls. Make a hole in each one with your finger and put in a walnut size piece of stilton, gorgonzola or your favourite cheese (even works with philadelphia garlic & herb) then mould the mince around the cheese and flatten slightly. Season with salt and pepper. Then fry, bake or grill them until done to your preference.

In the Chook household we have two each of these with loads of green salad and a little sliced red onion. Very filling!


Easy Chicken

There isn't really a recipe to this - its just chicken pieces (preferably skinless) put in to a slow cooker or casserole dish then pour over a jar of Salsa (hot is nice but cool is good, too - just make sure it doesn't have sugar in it) drizzle with a little olive oil and, if liked, some garlic (lazy, granules or crushed cloves). Cook for 4-5 hrs in a slow cooker or 90 mins in a low to medium oven. Nice served with roasted vegetables, cauli rice or courgette ribbons.