Ingredients:

• 1 onion thinly sliced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced (4 tsp)
• ¼ tsp of ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp of ground cumin
• ½ tsp of crushed red pepper flakes (or to taste)
• 2 tsp of curry powder or turmeric
• 6, 6-8 oz skinless chicken breast pieces
• 1 cup of chicken broth (approx)
• ½ cup of diced green onions

Instructions:

Toss all ingredients except the green onions in your slow cooker. When pouring in the chicken broth make sure you cover the chicken but don’t go all the way to the top rim of the pot. Leave at least an inch of room to it doesn’t boil over.

Set your pot to LOW and cook 6 – 7 hours. It’s done when the chicken is no longer pink in the middle. This is not a spicy meal. It’s a definite curry kick though. It will satisfy your craving for Indian food while on ZReduction. Garnish with the green onion bits.

A good dessert with this would be chilled mandarin orange slices dusted on top with cinnamon.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbl of butter
• 1 shallot minced
• 1 tsp of minced garlic
• 8 oz of mushrooms, sliced
• 8 to 12 oz of scallops, rinsed and drained. If you use bay scallops you leave them alone. If you use sea scallops cut each one into 3 or 4 pieces.
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 1 tsp of lemon juice
• 1/3 cup of grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp of minced parsley
• 1 tsp of minced thyme (for either of these you can use dry herbs. Just lessen the amount)
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Begin by preheating your broiler.

Put the butter in a large sauté pan. I use a cast iron pan so I can just transfer it into the oven when I need to broil it later. Add the shallot and minced garlic. Heat until beginning to bubble. Add the mushrooms and cook them until just before they begin to brown. Then add the scallops and continue to cook on medium high until the scallops are no longer translucent.
Add the cream and lemon juice.
Cook on medium high until the sauce thickens. This should not take more than about five minutes. The cream will be bubbling.
While this is going on, in a small bowl, add the parmesan cheese, the herbs and a good grind of salt and pepper. Stir.
When the sauce on the scallops is nice and creamy take it off the heat. Pour the parmesan cheese mixture all over the top. Put the pan in the oven under your broiler and cook it until the parmesan is browning and the edges you’ll see the cream bubbling along.

IMPORTANT: If you don’t use a cast iron pan you will need to use a pan that can handle the heat of the broiler. Transfer your scallop mixture before you put on the grated cheese mixture and then proceed.

When the broiling is complete carefully remove the pan from the heat and set it on a safe surface. Let it cool down for a few minutes before serving. If you serve it too soon you may burn your mouth so give it a rest first.

Ingredients:

• 2 six ounce tenderloin steaks. Ask your butcher for center cut steaks. Those will be whole; (no strings holding them together). They are also the most tender and just the right size. They should be 1.5” – 2” thick.
• olive oil spray
• sea salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Heat your oven to 375 degrees.
Take out your cast iron pan and begin to heat it on the stove.
Spray your steaks with olive oil spray on both sides. Season with sea salt and pepper.

A couple of notes: Many experts say to take the steak out of the refrigerator and let it get to room temp before you cook it.  I don’t bother with that but I do try to take them out maybe 10 minutes ahead. 

Some experts say don’t season the steak until it’s cooked. I go the opposite way with this too because I find that searing the meat with the salt and pepper crust makes it taste more like official steakhouse cooking. 

Put the steak in your cast iron pan and cook it on medium high for 3 minutes. Do NOT mess with it. No moving it around. You want a solid sear on the first side so it tastes like a steakhouse made it.

Then flip the steak and put it in your oven at 375 degrees. If you have a convection oven put it on 375 degrees convection.

Let the steak roast at 375 for approximately 12 minutes. Check it with your Insta-read meat thermometer. When it’s about 119-120 degrees it’s done (if you like your steak medium rare). Let it sit on the counter in the pan for about 5 – 7 minutes more. The steak will continue to cook and reabsorb some of the juices.

A couple more notes: if your steak is thinner, adjust the cooking time down a bit. 

If you like your steak more well done, just add 3 minute increments and check again for how done you like it. For medium you want to take it out at about 125-130 degrees because, again, it will continue to cook while it sits in the pan after you take it out of the oven. 

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds of top round steak
• grated sea salt and pepper to taste
• 3 Tbl of butter, divided
• 1 medium onion sliced into half rounds or chopped
• 2 Tbl of flour. I use gravy flour so it doesn’t clump and I can use less this way.
• 12 ounces of beef broth/stock. I use low sodium so I don’t get an overload of processed salt. Just season with grated sea salt.
• 2 Tbl of Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp of mustard (your choice)
• 8 – 12 ounces of fresh, sliced mushrooms
• 4 ounces of cream cheese
• 1/3 cup of sour cream

Instructions:

Cut any large fat pieces off of the meat. Then slice into strips or large bite chunks. Season with sea salt and pepper. Melt 2 Tbl of the butter in a large saute pan. Put in the meat and brown it on both sides. You don’t need to cook it through but get some nice brown edges. When done, transfer the beef to a medium soup pot.

Don’t wash the pan. Just add another Tbl of butter and add the onions and the mushrooms. Cook them both until they just begin to brown. Stir regularly. Again, you don’t have to cook them through. Just get them going so they get a bit of color. Then sprinkle on the flour and stir.  Now add those to the pan with the meat too.

Pour in the beef broth. Bring to a boil. Then turn the heat down to a low simmer. Add the Worcestershire and the mustard. Cover and simmer on low for about 45 minutes when the meat will be more tender and all will be cooked through. Keep an eye on it. I check it every 15 minutes to make sure my liquid is not totally boiling away. I have to caution you on this because our stoves all operate a little differently.

Turn heat off. Taste to see if you want more sea salt and pepper. Then add the sour cream and the cream cheese. Stir around until it gets all melted and smooth.

Serve with your choice from the recommendations above.

Ingredients:

• 2 acorn squash, cut in half and seeded. Use a sharp knife to cut it and a spoon to scrape out the seeds.
• 4 Tbl of butter
• 1/2 tsp of grated sea salt
• 1/2 tsp of chili powder (I use smoked)
• 1/2 tsp of garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp of cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp of cayenne (optional. I wanted an extra kick)
• 1 tsp of stevia

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Prep the squash and stand them up on their “backs” so you can fill the middle. I usually put them in 2 bread-baking pans to hold them securely, but a 9″ X 13” pan can work too.
Put the pats of butter in each squash piece. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a small bowl and then sprinkle evenly on the squash pieces.
I like my squash thoroughly roasted the old-fashioned way so depending on the size of your squash this might take 1 hour or more. I also like my squash cooked to the point of browning on the edges.
Carefully remove the pan from the oven when they are cooked to your liking. Then carefully remove each squash piece from the pan with a tong.

Ingredients:

• 1 large butternut squash. I try to look for the ones with the longest necks. The longer neck means you get plenty of squash flesh without having work around the seeds and fiberous part

Instructions:

Peel your squash. I use a regular vegetable peeler. Cut off each end. Be careful. Cutting squash can be dangerous.
Cut the non-fibrous portions of the squash into ½-1” cubes. Put them in to an oven-proof pan. Try to have the pan be big enough so they can all sit in it without too much crowding.
Add the coconut oil. Stir it around. If the coconut oil is hard, don’t worry. As the coconut oil warms in the oven you can bring the pan back out and stir the cubes around and coat them in the oil.
Sprinkle with grated sea salt.
Roast at 375 degrees for 45 min to one hour. I turn mine at the 30 minute point. I also like mine to get browned on the edges. The longer they are in there the more caramelized they get and the sweeter they will be.
This is ONE dish that tempts me to nibble at it even before I put it on the plates. You can catch me popping a cube in my mouth while I’m stirring a sauce that goes with the entrée. It’s THAT good.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of ground sirloin
• 1 cup of chopped onion (yellow, white or red)
• ½ of a green bell pepper, diced
• ½ of a red bell pepper, diced
• 15 oz can of diced tomatoes. I used fire-roasted.
• 15 oz can of pinto beans in sauce. I use Bush brand chili beans. They have a nice gravy. Choose mild to hot.
• 3 – 4 cups of beef broth. This just depends on how thick you like your chili or if you like it more like soup.
• 2-1/2 Tbl chili powder
• 2 Tbl ground cumin
• 1 Tbl garlic powder
• 1 tsp of grated sea salt or to taste
• ½ tsp of ground pepper
• ¼ tsp of ground cayenne pepper (optional)
• cheddar cheese, grated (optional)
• olive oil spray

Instructions:

Spray your soup pot with olive oil on medium high heat Add the ground beef. Break it up as it begins cooking. When it’s about ½ way cooked (about 5 minutes), add the onion and the bell peppers. Cook a few minutes more just to loosen up the veggies. When no pink remains in the beef, add the rest of the ingredients except the cheese. Bring the chili to a boil and then turn down to simmer. Cook for 15 – 20 minutes. Add grated cheddar on top to serve.

Ingredients:

• 12 oz of salmon. Ask your fish monger to take off all of the skin and remove the bones. Try to get line-caught, wild salmon. Salmon that has been raised in a pen is actually not good for you.
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• 3 Tbl of dry white vermouth
• ½ cup of fish stock. You can buy fish stock in a high end grocery store. It will likely be in the freezer section with the sea food. If you cannot get fish stock you can make this with vegetable broth
• 1 shallot, minced
• ½ cup of heavy cream
• 2 Tbl of butter or ghee
• 1 Tbl of minced, fresh herbs. I used tarragon and thyme
• 2 small tomatoes, diced

Preheat oven to broil.
The first thing to do is to slice the salmon on a diagonal so you get ¼” – 1/3” thin slices. Use a sharp knife and just gently move it along. If you don’t get this exactly right, don’t worry. You can see from the picture that the sauce covers any mistakes. You’ll have several slices. You just want to make sure they are not too thick or they won’t get cooked.
Lightly spray a cookie sheet with sides (I used a small one) or oven proof 9″ x 13″ pan. Spread the salmon pieces across the pan. Lightly grate on sea salt and pepper and set aside.
In a heavy sauce pan, add the vermouth, fish stock and shallots. Reduce on a medium boil until it becomes syrupy. Reducing it by half will just about do it. Only takes a few minutes. Then add the cream and reduce again until the cream begins to thicken. This is pretty fast too.
Add the herbs and the tomatoes and bring just to a boil.
Turn off heat, add the butter and stir. Then pour the sauce over the salmon. Put in the oven near the broiler element and cook under the broiler just until the sauce begins to lightly brown. This will only take a couple of minutes. The salmon should be done but it will also continue to cook in as you transfer it to your plates.
The only other trick with this is to use a large spatula and carefully transfer the pieces to the plates. You can just layer them on the plate (see picture).  Even if it’s not picture perfect, this is so yummy no one will care how it looks.
I served this with simple grilled Japanese eggplant. You can choose any veggie.