15-MINUTE LOW-CARB RECIPES - by Dana Carpender

Tell us which recipes you've tried from this book and what you thought of them, whether they were great or duds. Don't post the actual recipes here because of copyright issues. If you've tweaked one of the recipes to come up with your own version, feel free to post it in the recipes section at the top of this forum.

NOTE: Let's use a separate thread for each cookbook that we review.

All-American Turkey Burgers - page 66

I left out the thyme and cut back a bit on the onion to save carbs. They aren't all that great and really need some salt and pepper. Also, the crunchy celery bits are a bit of an odd texture in a burger. These aren't worth making again. I rated them a 2 out of 5.



Unstuffed Cabbage - page 145

I thought the combination of spices sounded interesting so I gave this recipe a try. I have to say that I didn't care for it much. It tasted nothing like any cabbage rolls that I've eaten and the spices were a little odd tasting. It took quite a bit longer than 15 minutes to prepare this dish and I even gave it a head start by having all of the ingredients out and ready. It took 27 minutes from start to finish and the cabbage still wasn't quite as tender as I would have liked. However, that's still pretty fast for a complete meal in one pot. I rated it 2 out of 5.



Chicken Chili Verde - page 171

I doubled the recipe and made a few other changes. I left out the bay leaf and cumin because I thought those flavors would overpower the green salsa, which I love the taste of. Instead of using 3 cups of the green salsa, I used two 7-ounce cans. I also cut back on the chicken bouillon to save a couple carbs. Dana suggested cooking this for 9-10 hours, but that's not necessary. I cooked mine about 6 hours then set the slow cooker on LOW until I was ready to eat. I do suggest that you partially shred the chicken after about 5 hours to allow the sauce to flavor the meat all the way through. By the time I served this, most of the liquid had been absorbed, but the meat wasn't dry at all. I rated this a 3 out of 5.



Whipped Topping - page 231

Although vanilla pudding mix makes the whipped cream taste a little like pudding, this is very good and would make great substitute for Cool Whip in recipes. It almost reminds me of the filling in a Hostess Twinkie (not that I'd know what that tastes like!). I also tried a batch with white chocolate pudding mix and I like that even better. It doesn't turn yellowish like the vanilla pudding mix does and it has less of a pudding flavor and more of a whipped cream taste. I think it would also work very well as a frosting for a cake if you add a little Splenda to make it sweeter. I rate this 4 out of 5.

Apricot Ginger Dipping Sauce - page 212

I wasn't too sure about the mayonnaise in this sauce, but it is really quite tasty.



Cinnamon Splenda Nuts - page 234

I used all walnuts, added another 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon and a dash of salt. The recipe states to cook them on medium heat for 5-6 minutes, but after about 2-3 minutes, they had started to burn so I quickly took them off the heat. I recommend cooking them on low heat, watch and stir them constantly. The flavor was ok, but I thought the cinnamon was a bit weak, so I might add yet another 1/4 teaspoon if I make them again. I ate mine warm and I got a bit of an odd sensation in my mouth. It kind of dried my mouth out. Maybe it was from the nuts getting a bit burned.

The "Cauliflower Parmesan" is a great go-to receipe. I usually just slice it up myself instead of using a food processor, less clean-up!