Cheesy Chicken and Rice

I really should look into a photography class. I just point and shoot and hope for the best. As you can see this is an ooey gooey cheesy ricey yummy dinner that really didn't pose well for the camera. This meal was great just the way it was but I thought it would have been fabulous with the addition of bacon or for a Mexican flair some cilantro and salsa. You really could add what you wanted to this and it would taste great. I found this recipe on Cassie Craves. She is quickly becoming one of my favorite sites. I have a few other recipes to share that I snagged from her. I'm sure I will snag several more. The best part is you cook this in your crock pot. Easy week night meal.

Cheesy Chicken and Rice
adapted from Cassie Craves

6, 1 cup servings, 9 WW points per serving

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2 to 3 boneless chicken breasts
2 to 3 tablespoons light butter
1 medium onion, diced
1, 10.5 oz can 98% fat free cream of chicken soup
1 cup fat free sour cream
2/3 cup Weight Watchers shredded Mexican cheese or reduced fat shredded cheese
1, 15 0z can whole kernel corn, drained
1, 8 oz box Zatarain's Yellow Rice Mix, cooked according to the package directions

Place the chicken breasts in the bottom of the slow cooker. Top each breast with a tablespoon of butter. Sprinkle with onion. In a bowl mix together the cream of chicken soup and sour cream. Pour over the chicken. Cook on low for 7 to 8 hours or high 3 to 4 hours. A few minutes before serving stir in cooked rice, corn, and cheese. Stir to combine. Serve hot.

Skinny Zucchini Ziti

I got this recipe from my cousin Stephanie. She got it from the website Skinny Crock Pot which I think goes by Skinny Ms. Slow Cooker now because Crock Pot got upset they were using their brand name. I really liked this dish. My only complaint was the noodles were a little mushy. The recipe says to cook for two hours on low or until the noodles are Al Dente. I told Will to unplug this when he got up today but I'm not sure what time that was so I have no idea how long this cooked for. This would be great to cook in a slow cooker that has a timer that shuts off but I only have one that has a timer that goes from cooking to keep warm. I think that keep warm might still cook and the noodles were well done. Other than that I enjoyed it. Will said it was just okay. But I can't please him all the time.

Skinny Zucchini Ziti
from Stephanie from Skinny Ms. Slow Cooker

8, 1 cup servings, 5 WW points per serving

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1 jar Prego Light (you can use any kind of spaghetti sauce but it will make the point value more)
1 13.25 oz. box whole wheat penne, uncooked
2 cups fat free cottage cheese
2 cups skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 medium zucchini cut into 1/4" slices
1 T fresh oregano (finely chopped)
1 T fresh basil (finely chopped)
(I used dried Italian seasoning instead of the fresh oregano and basil)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

In a large mixing bowl combine the cottage cheese, mozzarella, oregano, basil, and black pepper. In the slow cooker, spoon in a layer of Prego, penne, zucchini slices, and cheese mixture. Repeat layers ending with Prego. As you spread the cheese layer be careful to keep it away from the edge of the slow cooker about an 1". Cheese tends to burn if touching the sides while cooking. Cover and cook on low for approximately 2 hours or until penne noodles are Al Dente. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Black Bean and Beef Chili

I made this chili awhile back and loved it but I didn't get a picture. I don't like posting recipes without pictures. The weather is getting colder and making chili for the chill seemed fitting. I got to use my first jar of canned tomatoes I helped can this year. What I like about this recipe is that you can brown the meat and throw everything into your slow cooker and let it cook all day. This time when I made it I let it simmer on the stove. But whatever method you choose will taste fantastic.




Black Bean and Beef Chili
from Smells Like Home

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10 one cup servings, 4 WW points per serving

3 cans (14-15 oz) black beans
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes or pint jar of canned tomatoes
1 diced chipotle chili pepper (canned in adobo sauce) or a pinch of ground chipotle chile powder
1 – 2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb very lean ground beef (less than 10% fat)
1 medium red onion, very finely diced
1 tbsp regular chili powder
1 1/2 tbsp ancho chile powder
Pinch ground chipotle chile powder
2 1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 cups beef stock or 1 (15 oz) can beef broth
2 tbsp tomato paste
Juice of 1/2 lime
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. Drain 2 cans black beans into colander and rinse well, until no more foam appears. Let beans drain while you use a food processor to puree the third can of undrained beans, diced tomatoes and liquid, and the diced chipotle chile pepper (or chipotle powder). Process the beans and tomatoes about 1 minute, until they are fairly smooth.
2. In bottom of heavy soup pot or large Dutch oven over medium heat cook the beef and onions until the beef is no longer pink, drain. Add all the chile powders and cumin and saute about 30 seconds.
3. Add beef stock, browned ground beef, pureed bean mixture, drained beans, and tomato paste and simmer over low heat, uncovered, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Stir the chili occasionally to prevent any sticking on the bottom of the pot. After 45 minutes, check the seasonings and add more chile powder, salt, and/or pepper as needed. Or if using slow cooker add all the ingredients and cook on low for 4 hours.
   
4. Just before serving Chili, stir in the chopped cilantro and lime juice and cook about 5 minutes. Serve chili hot with toppings of your choice.

Oven Baked Stew

I'm the type of person that can eat ice cream all year round. I'm also the type of person that can eat soup or stew all year round. When I saw this recipe I knew I needed to try it. It sounded great and it seemed very easy. I planned it for Wednesday. I was going to get it ready and have Will put it in the oven to bake. Then I remembered Will is working a different shift now and doesn't get home until 7pm and this dish takes 2 hours to cook in the oven. I didn't want Will to have to wait until 9pm to eat. So I decided to put everything in the crock pot and let it cook all day so it would be ready to eat when Will got home. All Will had to do was throw in the brown in serve rolls in the oven to go with the stew. This was a great meal and making it in the crock pot worked out just fine.

Oven (Crock Pot) Baked Stew
adapted from Life as a Lofthouse

6 servings, 6 WW points per serving

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1 (1 oz) package of Dry Onion Soup mix

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoon Paprika

1 pound lean Beef Stew Meat (cut up into bite sized pieces)

2-3 medium Potatoes, peeled and diced into 1 inch pieces

3 large Carrots, peeled and diced (I used a small bag of petite baby carrots)
1/2 an Onion, chopped

1 can 97% fat free Cream of Celery Soup
1/2 cup Ketchup

In a gallon zip lock bag place the beef stew meat and the onion soup mix, salt, and paprika. Seal the bag and shake to coat the meat. In a large crock pot layer the meat, potatoes, carrots, and onion. In a small bowl combine the celery soup and ketchup together and then pour over the mixture in the crock pot. Cook on low for six to eight hours.

Crock Pot Whole Chicken

This is a whole chicken in a crock pot. It's kind of hard to tell. But it is oh so good. The chicken is moist and very flavorful. Pair it with mash potatoes and gravy and you have a really good meal.









Crock Pot Whole Chicken
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1 whole chicken small enough to fit in your crock pot, thawed with giblets removed
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon pepper
1/2 tablespoon salt
3 sheets of foil

Take each piece of foil and form it into a ball. Place the balls into the bottom of the crock pot. Mix the seasonings together. Feel free to add or subtract any seasoning you want to. Rub the seasoning under the skin and over the skin of the chicken. Place the chicken into the crock pot and place the lid on it. Turn it on low and cook for 6 to 8 hours or until cooked through. I let it cook all day while I'm at work. The house smells wonderful when I get home and the chicken is falling off the bone.

Crock Pot Asian Beef and Veggies

I made this last year for the first time and I loved it. Not only is it easy but it's pretty healthy to. When I made it this time I didn't have everything so I improvised, which I seem to have to do a lot. I substituted La Chow Original Stir Fry Sauce for soy sauce and I only had 1 pound of meat. The WW points are for these substitutions. I would imagine it would be a little higher if you used 2 pounds of beef.




Crock Pot Asian Beef and Veggies
adapted from Bluestar on The Tasty Kitchen

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8 one cup servings, 4 WW points per serving
Brown rice is 5 WW points per cup

1/2 cup water
1 cup soy sauce or La Choy Original sauce
2 pounds beef stew meat or 1 pound beef stir fry meat
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 cups packed brown sugar
6 cups chopped veggies of choice, make sure whatever you use can hold up to cooking in the crock pot for several hours. I used fresh stir fry veggies, fresh green beans, green peppers, and onions.

When I went to make this I discovered I was out of soy sauce so I used the La Choy and I think it turned out pretty good. I only had a pound of meat. If your not a huge fan of veggies like my hubby make sure you have two pounds of beef. It was fine for me but Will would have liked more meat.

In the crock pot place the meat, water, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and brown sugar. You want the meat covered so it will get tender. Place the veggies on top of the meat mixture. Cook on low for 6 hours. Serve with rice.

Very yummy dinner and the crock pot does all the work. You can't beat that.

Mexican Beef Stew

I got this really yummy recipe from my friend and co-worker Laurie. Thank you Laurie because I really enjoyed this stew. Unfortunately my hubby thought it was to spicy. I didn't think it was spicy at all so I'm a little confused by that but I did eat it with cheese, sour cream and crackers. If it was spicy maybe all my extras cooled it off. But even if it had been spicy I still would have loved it. This recipe is so easy and cooks in your crock pot which I love. Crock pots are your friends. At least I think so anyway.




Laurie's Mexican Beef Stew

8 one cup servings, 4 WW points per serving

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1-2 cups cubed leftover beef or pork
1 (14 oz) can pinto beans rinsed and drained, I used kidney beans
1 (14 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 little can mild chopped green chiles
1 cup coarsely chopped onion
1 cup chunky salsa
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin

I added a can of diced tomatoes.

Put all in your crock pot, stir to blend. Cook on low 4 to 8 hours. Serve with crackers, crushed tortilla chips, cheese, and sour cream if desired.

The Best Chicken Tortilla Soup I Have Ever Made

Okay, okay I realize the title is really long and yes I just posted a chicken tortilla soup recipe last month but I can't keep quiet about, The Best Chicken Tortilla Soup I Have Ever Made. I loved it this much! Just envision me with my arms spread wide open. You can't, well it doesn't matter I think you get my point. I have been craving this soup lately and before you ask no I'm not pregnant. I'm just having a craving so I indulged myself and this soup doesn't cost me a lot of WW points. This recipe isn't to different than what I posted last month but I modified it some and it turned out so good. This will be how I make chicken tortilla soup from this day forward. Did I mention how easy it is since you cook everything in your crock pot? I didn't, shame on me. So easy and so yummy. I think the only thing missing is a little heat but if you don't like any level of spicy than this is for you. My hubby and his boys even liked it.



The Best Chicken Tortilla Soup I Have Every Made
12 to 15 one cup servings, 2 WW points per serving w/o extra tortilla chips or cheese

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2 frozen chicken breasts
2 containers chicken broth
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 medium onion, cut into big pieces
1 Tb. minced garlic
1/2 cup cilantro
1 ts. sugar
2-3 carrots
2-3 stalks of celery
11 tortilla chips crushed

Slice up the carrots and celery into medium size pieces, set aside. In a food processor or blender, blend together the tomatoes, onion, garlic, cilantro, and sugar until almost smooth. You want to leave it a little chunky. Place the carrots, celery, tomato mixture, chicken breasts, and chicken broth into a large crock pot. Cook on low for 4 hours or until chicken is cooked through. Mine cooked for about 8 hours while I was at work. Take out the chicken and chop it up or shred it. Put the chicken back in the crock pot and add crushed chips. Cook for another 1/2 hour. Serve with more tortillas chips and shredded cheese. I think the cheese is a must but that could just be me. If you want your soup spicy blend as many chipotle peppers that you want to the tomato mixture. I think I would add one chipotle pepper without the seeds to this soup next time. With a little heat I think this would be the perfect chicken tortilla soup.

Chicken Parm Soup

I was looking up something the other day and came across a food blog called The Food in My Beard. I was like hmmm, what's this all about? I found out it is a really awesome blog done by gasp a man with a beard. Most of the blogs I stalk are done by women so finding one by a man is a welcome change. And he has a beard which I love. I'm definitely a beard loving woman. Just look at my handsome beard wearing husband. I told him the day he shaves off his beard I'll know he wants a divorce. If the beard goes, he goes. I kid I kid, not really. His beard just does it for me.

On this blog I found a soup called Chicken Parm. It looked really good and sounded easy enough. It was really good and was really easy since I cooked it in my beloved crock pot. I had to modify the recipe due to I didn't have everything I needed. That seems to happen to me a lot. Every week before I go grocery shopping I decide what recipes I would like to try. I check to see what I have and write down what I need. I forgot to buy diced tomatoes. I thought I had some at home but I'm out. I solved that dilemma by using a jar of marinara sauce. I think it worked out pretty well but since I haven't made it true to his recipe before I'm not sure how it compares.

Chicken Parm Soup
adapted from The Food in My Beard

15 one cup servings, 3 WW Points per serving

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2 containers of chicken broth
2 frozen chicken breasts
1 jar marinara sauce
1 cup uncooked orzo
shredded Parmesan, for serving

In your crock pot pour in the broth and marinara sauce. Add the chicken breasts and cook on low for 4 hours. Take the chicken breasts out and chop them up. Place back in crock pot. Add one cup of uncooked orzo and cook for another 1/2 hour to an hour or until pasta is cooked. Serve with Parmesan cheese and cheese croutons, recipe below.


Cheese Croutons

6 servings, 3 WW Points per serving

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1 french baguette, cut into 32 slices
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Place cut bread on a baking sheet. Sprinkle each slice with cheese. Bake for about 10 minutes or until cheese has melted.

If the bread is hard, like mine was, before baking that's fine because you will be putting them in the soup. I think this would be really good made into cheese garlic croutons as well.

Salsa Verde Enchiladas

A few weeks ago I went with some friends to Ikea for the first time. I was in heaven in the kitchen accessories section. They had some really neat things for reasonable prices. I tried to control myself. The rooms they have set up to give you ideas are awesome. One room had book shelves all the way up to the ceiling. You needed a ladder to get to the top. The librarian in me was in heaven. I would love to have that in my house one day. The foodie in me was drooling over the kitchens. If I had an extra $10,000 to spare I would so do a kitchen makeover. Not in the home I live in now because I plan on moving in the near future but my future home. Unless I'm lucky to buy a house with my dream kitchen in it. Then that would be great.

Anyway after shopping we stopped at Hoolihan's to eat. I have never been to a Hoolihan's and I really enjoyed the food there. I will definitely go back. They had a three course special going on so we each ended up doing that. The first course you got to choose salad or soup. The second choice was an entree and the price varied depending on what entree you chose. The third course was dessert. I got the Chicken Tortilla Soup to start, Smoked Chipotle Chicken Enchiladas for my entree, and the Chocolate Cappuccino Cake for dessert. Everything was really good and I wanted to try and recreate the enchiladas. The menu's description of the enchiladas is Enchiladas filled with tomatillo-marinated chicken, onions, garlic and queso fresco atop a spicy, chipotle-smoked mozzarella sauce. Served with pico rice, black beans and sweet chipotle slaw. I have no idea how to make chipotle-smoked mozzarella sauce. I searched the internet with no luck. Since I couldn't make the sauce I improvised. The enchiladas I came up with are not the same but I thought they turned out quite tasty. A little too spicy for my hubby but I didn't find them to be too spicy for me.

Salsa Verde Enchiladas
11 Servings, 4 WW points per enchilada

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2 lbs. chicken breast
1 jar salsa verde
1 small onion, chopped
1 ts. minced garlic

11-15 corn tortillas
1 can mild enchilada sauce, red
1 cup reduced fat Mexican shredded cheese

In a crock pot place the chicken, salsa, onion, and garlic. Cook on high for 1 hour and turn down to low. Cook 2 hours more or until chicken is done. Take the chicken out and cut in up into chunks. Place back in the crock pot and turn down to keep warm. If your chicken breasts are frozen the cook time will be longer.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat up the tortillas before trying to roll them. This is an important step because trying to roll cold tortillas ends up in disaster. They just break apart. You can heat them in a dry skillet on medium high heat or place damp paper towels between them and heat them up in the microwave for about a minute.

In a 9X13 pan pour half of the can of mild enchilada sauce on the bottom. Take a heated tortilla and fill it with 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture. Roll it up and place face down in the pan. Repeat with the rest of the tortillas. I was able to fit 11 in my pan. I might have been able to squish more but I wanted to be able to get them out of the pan hopefully intact. I should have squished them because they didn't stay intact very well. I had about a 1/4 of the filling leftover since I could only made 11. Pour the remaining mild enchilada sauce on top and top with the cheese. Bake for 30 minutes.

Serve with sour cream and salsa if desired.

Zuppa Toscana

Olive Garden is my favorite place to eat at. If you give me 100 choices and Olive Garden is one of the choices I will choose Olive Garden every time. I love their soups, salad, bread sticks, and Chicken Parmigiana with Alfredo sauce. Their Alfredo rocks.

The menu describes Zuppa Toscana as spicy sausage, russet potatoes and cavolo greens in a creamy broth. It is so good. It's funny because when I was younger I wouldn't touch this soup. Sausage wasn't my favorite. My mom loved it and could eat bowl after bowl after bowl. I love that they put Romano cheese on everything. I make them grate it onto a plate so I have a pile of cheese and I can distribute it on my soup for every bite. Extravagant you say, but oh so worth it. Their Pasta e Fagioli is really good too but the Zuppa is my favorite. Don't get me started on their bread sticks. I could eat ten of them at a time if I allowed myself. I knew I wanted to try and make this soup at home because you can't always get to Olive Garden. I searched the Internet and found a copy cat recipe and it tastes just like their soup. I use Italian turkey sausage instead of regular but I can hardly tell the difference.

I cook this soup in the crock pot. I brown the meat the night before and then put it all together in the crock pot the next day. The crock pot does the bulk of the work and leaves us with delicious soup when I get home. I decided to make this soup on Tuesday. Tuesdays are my WW nights and I go to Kim's house to weigh and then we go out to eat. I wanted to have dinner ready for Will so this soup sounded good and I knew there would be plenty of leftovers for the both of us to enjoy over the next few days. Since I wasn't going to be home to add the cream and the kale I texted Will to add both around 2pm. I told him to just tear up two or three pieces of the kale since the bunch I bought was huge. Later that night when I got home from Kim's I looked in the crock pot and noticed only a few small pieces of greenery. I thought Will had ate most of the kale but upon further inspection I realized he added cilantro to the soup instead of the kale. I asked him if it made it taste weird but he said no and that he only put a few leaves in the soup. If you are familiar with cilantro you know the leaves are little. He probably thought I was crazy for telling him to only put in two or three of the leaves. So I scooped out what little was left of the cilantro and put in the kale let it cook for another hour. Next time I'll put the kale next to the crock pot so we don't end up with cilantro again but it didn't affect the flavor the soup. Cooking with help from hubby is always an adventure. But he's a good sport.

Zuppa Toscana
About 14 servings, 4 WW points per cup

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1 lb. Perdue Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage Links
1 1/2 ts. red pepper flakes
1 large onion, diced
2 Tb. real bacon bits
2 ts. minced garlic
10 cups water
5 chicken bouillon cubes, low sodium
1 cup heavy cream
1 lb. potatoes, sliced
1/4 bunch kale, chopped

Take each sausage link and remove the casing. Discard casings and place the loose sausage, onions, garlic, and bacon bits into a skillet. Cook the sausage mixture, breaking up the sausage as it cooks, until the sausage is cooked through. Drain the meat mixture.

In a crock pot place the meat mixture, water, bouillon cubes, and potatoes. Cook on low for seven hours. In the last hour of cooking add the heavy cream and kale. I like to sprinkle on cheese if I have it but it's not necessary. I serve with bread sticks.

Yummy Olive Garden in the comfort of my home. You can't beat that.

Link to original recipe: Copy Cat Zuppa Toscana

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I really like chicken tortilla soup. I have mainly had it in restaurants but I have made it at home. I made a really good recipe a few months back but of course I couldn't find the recipe for it and didn't remember all the ingredients. So I started looking online for one. I found a recipe by a Pastor Tom, called Pastor Tom's Tortilla Soup. I liked how he blends tomatoes, onion, garlic, cilantro, and sugar together. So I printed it out to give it a try. Then of course I found the other recipe I was looking for so I decided to use elements of both recipes.


Chicken Tortilla Soup

8 t0 10 servings
2 WW points per cup w/o tortillas

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1 can diced tomatoes
1 medium onion, cut up
2 clove garlic, or tablespoon minced garlic
1 bunch cilantro
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Two containers low sodium chicken broth
2 cans white chicken meat, undrained
2 or 3 chipotle peppers and little adobo sauce
2 t. lime juice

tortilla chips, I used a brand called Texas Toast Tortilla Strips Chipotle Cheese flavored they were 1 point per 11 strips
shredded cheese

In a blender or food processor combine undrained tomatoes, onion, garlic, cilantro, and sugar. Cover and blend until nearly smooth. Put mixture in a stock pot with chicken, chicken broth, and chipotle peppers. I only used two chipotle peppers and I removed the seeds. Next time I will blend the peppers up with the tomato mixture because I didn't like the big chunks. Add the lime juice. Bring to boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve soup with crushed tortillas and cheese if desired. Cheese adds on WW points as well.

Next time I think I will add another can of chicken and double the tomato mixture. I think I will cook it in my crock pot.

Italian Beef

I love Italian beef. What's not to love? Slow cooked beef in yummy spices until it falls apart served on a crusty french roll with melty cheese. If you like it moist serve with a side of Au jus. I like mine on the dry side. I don't like to dip the bread in the juice. The meat is juicy enough.

When I was deciding on what freezer meals to make I figured Italian beef would be perfect. I froze all the ingredients without cooking them first in a freezer bag. On the day of cooking I dumped it all in the crock pot and let it cook all day. The meat was even better the next day.

Italian Beef
as seen on The Pioneer Woman

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1 beef roast, 2lbs
1 can beef broth
3 tablespoons Italian seasoning
1/4 cup water
1/2 jar pepperoncini peppers, with juice
1 gallon freezer bag

Directions on Freezer Day

In the gallon freezer bag place the beef roast and the remaining ingredients. Let air out of bag and seal. Label the bag and place in the freezer.

Directions for Cooking Day

The night before take out the beef roast freezer bag and place in fridge to thaw. Even if it is not totally thawed out that is fine. Place the contents from the freezer bag in the crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours. When done cooking shred beef with two forks and you are ready to make sandwiches.

I toasted my sandwich in the toaster oven. This is the before picture and the above is the after.