Crockpot Zucchini Chicken Parmesan

During the Holiday season, I try to cook as little as possible. I want to leave all my kitchen time for making cookies. That I might not make this year. It's hard for me to avoid eating the cookies. And everyone loved the rainbow sprinkle cookie and I need to find like 7 pounds of sprinkles.

So a new crockpot dish I recently discovered is this one. And it's delicious. It came out a little more like a soup, but it works really well in the crockpot, sans the cooking of the noodles in a separate pot. It's also 21 Day Fix Friendly! 

Crockpot Zucchini Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds (about 4) chicken breasts, cut into cubes
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 large zucchini, diced
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, pressed
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• 2 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 2 tablespoon oregano seasoning
• 15 ounces cups pasta or pizza sauce (or tomato sauce)

For after cooking:

• 24-30 ounces marinara sauce
• 16-ounce box of pasta (I used Mezzi Rigatoni), cooked to al dente
• 1 cup low fat shredded cheese (mozzarella or Parmesan)

Instructions:

1. Spray your slow cooker with non-stick spray. Line your crockpot with a crockpot liner. Combine first 10 ingredients and stir to combine.
2. Cover and cook on high for about 3-4 hours or low for about 6-8 (or until chicken is cooked through). 
3. In the last 30 minutes of cooking, add cooked pasta, marinara sauce, cheese and stir well.
4. Split into 6 servings. I added some extra cheese.

21 Day Fix Count: 1 Red, 2 Green, 1.5 Yellows, and 0.5 Blue

Notes: 

Get crockpot liners. They are lifesavers. They are made with a special heat resistant material that holds in even the heartiest ingredients without breaking or puncturing. -Reynolds. And they aren't kidding. And when you are done, you throw away the liner. And then your crockpot requires a quick scrub, no overnight or two-day soaking. They are perfect for potlucks. Tip - I still spray the inside of my crockpot with non-stick spray before putting down the liner. Just in case. 

Use whole wheat noodles instead of white. Any type of pasta would work. I liked the larger noodles. You won't be able to tell the noodle color once the pasta cooks in. 

Add extra veggies if you want. Mushrooms are great, or another pepper. Adjust the 21DF count accordingly. 

Turkey Meatloaf - 21 Day Fix - Revisited

Updated 11/4 - I first made this in January and it has turned into one of my favorite recipes. I even started making it in the crockpot. I added a few new steps in order to keep it from falling apart. 
This is also one of my most viewed recipes - so welcome to my page! I hope you enjoy this quick healthy recipe as much as I do. 

I originally got this recipe from the Team Beachbody website. Each recipe tells you how they "count" for each program you might be doing. This recipe for Turkey Meatloaf is loaded full of veggies and uses ground turkey instead of ground beef. And it is delicious. Even though it looks suspicious AND the first one fell apart. But, it is good and I would recommend it.

Turkey Meatloaf 

Yield: 10 servings
21 Day Fix - 1 Red, 1 Green

Ingredients: 

• 2.5 lbs. raw 93% lean ground turkey breast 
• 3 large eggs, slightly beaten 
• 1 medium onion, chopped in food processor
• 2 medium celery stalks, chopped in food processor
• 1 medium green (or any color) bell pepper, chopped in food processor
• 1 cup old­fashioned rolled oats 
• 1 (14.5­oz.) can petite diced tomatoes (drained)
• ½ tsp. sea salt
• ½ tsp. ground black pepper 
• dashes of other spices - garlic powder, paprika, chili powder, oregeno
• 1 cup all­ natural marinara sauce, no sugar added 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. (or see Crockpot instructions note below)
2. Chop everything really fine. In the picture above, things are not chopped with a food processor, and the meat loaf fell apart. I now use the food processor in order to chop everything into the smallest pieces possibly. However, this could result in extra "juice", so squeeze out the juice before adding the ingredient to the meatloaf mixture. 
3. Combine turkey, eggs, onion, celery, pepper, oats, tomatoes, salt, pepper, and spices in a large bowl; mix well with clean hands or a rubber spatula. 
4. Line two 9x5 inch loaf pans with parchment paper. Spray the paper lightly with non-stick spray. Divide the meatloaf mixture between the two pans.  Bake for 45 minutes; spread marinara sauce evenly on top of both loaves. Bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes or until cooked through.

Crockpot Directions:

1. Spray a large crockpot with non-stick spray. 
2. Line the crockpot with foil and spray with non-stick spray. 
3. Place the meatloaf mixture inside the foil. 
4. Turn crockpot on. Walk away. 
5. Come back! About 1-hour before done, spread the marinara sauce over the meatloaf. 
6. When done, cooked to an internal appropriate temperature, dish out. I haven't perfected how to *get* the entire meatloaf out of the crockpot. Expect another update when I do! 
7. It turned out super moist and very favorful. 

Leftover meatloaf is even better than the first day! I either heat it in the toaster oven or a skillet in order to give it a little more "crust". Every once in a while, I add an over-medium egg because I need more protein. 

Meatloaf Royale

21 Day Fix Turkey Chili

Just in time for fall weather, chili!! I already have a great turkey chili recipe but decided to try the one listed in the FixAte cookbook, which is full of 21 Day Fix approved recipes. I love the recipes, they are all pretty basic and easy to make, and the container values are listed. I added a few extra things and doubled the recipe. This is one of my new favorite chili recipes! 

21 Day Fix Turkey Chili
Ingredients & Directions (because it's Chili, it's *not* that hard)

• 2-3 lb cooked 93% lean ground turkey breast (or lean grass-fed ground beef)
• (I add chili powder, cumin, and paprika to my turkey while it's cooking.) 

Saute the following ingredients ~10 minutes: 

• 2 tsp extra virgin organic coconut oil, melted
• 1 large or 2 small onion, chopped
• 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, diced (optional)
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or crushed

Then add:

• 4 cans (15 oz each) kidney beans (or pinto beans) drained, rinsed
• 4 can (15 oz) fire roasted tomatoes, no salt added if available
• 2 cups red wine (I choose red cooking wine)
• 1 Tbsp ground chili powder
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground paprika
• 1/2 tsp sea salt (or Himalayan salt)
• 2 tsp crushed red pepper
• Cooked ground turkey

Bring it to a boil and let simmer around 30 minutes on low.
2 cups of this chili counts as 1 green, 1 red, and 1 yellow.


It is very filling, and my version is very spicy. If you can't handle the spice, cut out the jalapeno and cut back on the cumin.

My favorite is to serve it over 1/2 a baked potato.
My son loves to eat the pinto beans with cheese and elbow macaroni.

The FixAte cookbook has been one of my favorite new tools to help me sustain the 21 Day Fix lifestyle. Autumn Calabrese has created some amazing recipes that you will actually want to make! Just like the rest of the 21 Day Fix plan, preparation is the number one key to succeeding with this plan. 

Autumn gives us her 4 ingredients to maintaining a healthy lifestyle:

1. Enjoy the foods you eat, 
2. Have a fitness routing you can commit to, 
3. Eat foods that are highly nutritious, and
4. Know how much of it to eat. 

These four easy steps is how I've managed to lose the weight I have. And it's why I keep making some of the same recipes over and over again, I love the foods I love.

RockCrok Sausage & Cheese Tortellini

This is quite the indulgence meal on 21-Day Fix. Though I don't think it's any worse then what you might find eating out though. We planned to have this for Valentine's Day dinner this year, but we both weren't feeling well so we had a few days later. Serve it with a nice french loaf bread.

I made it in the RockCrok but you could also alter it to make it in a sauce pan on the stove or maybe the crock pot. 

Sausage & Cheese Tortellini

Ingredients

• 1 package of chicken broth (32 oz)
• 1 package of your favorite tortellini (20 oz, we used three cheese)
• 1 lb spicy italian sausage
• 2 Cans Diced Tomatoes (seasoned with basil, garlic & oregano), not drained
• 8 oz. Cream Cheese (try low fat).
• Grated Parmesan Cheese for toppings

Directions

1. Take your cream cheese out of the fridge, and let it sit while you brown your sausage in your RockCrok.
2. Add tortellini, tomatoes, and broth to the RockCrok and stir. Cook for 12 minutes in the microwave. 
3. Dice the cream cheese into small cubes. 
4. Remove from microwave, add the cream cheese, put lid back on. Let sit 5-minutes. Stir and serve!

If making in a crockpot: 

1. Take your cream cheese out of the fridge, and let it sit while you brown your sausage. 
2. Add the sausage, tortellini, tomatoes, and broth to your crock pot and stir. 
3. Dice the cream cheese into small cubes and place on top. 
4. Cook on LOW for a total of 4 1/2 hours. Stir at 2 hours, and again at 4 hours, removing the lid for the last 30 minutes of cooking. This will give the sauce some time to thicken up.

CrockPot (RockCrok) Buffalo Chicken Chili

This is one of my new favorite soups. I shared the recipe with a coworker and he raved about it. Additionally, it was requested at our work potluck. I'm trying to dig up a picture, but it's orange. The wing sauce turns it orange.  

The original recipe can be found here. I've added a few extra things and noted my actual measurements. Additionally, while you can do it in the crock pot, I made it in the RockCrok!! 

Buffalo Chicken Chili

Ingredients

• 1 pound of ground chicken
• 1 can white navy beans, drained and rinsed
• 14.5 oz can fire roasted tomatoes, drained
• 4 cups chicken broth
• ¼ - ½ cup buffalo wing sauce (start with ¼ cup and add more at end if needed)
• 1 package ranch dressing mix
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon celery salt
• ½ teaspoon dried cilantro
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 8 oz cream cheese
• Blue cheese crumbles (optional)

Crockpot Instructions

• Brown ground chicken until fully cooked, place in crockpot (or brown ahead of time and store in fridge until ready to assemble)
• Add remaining ingredients except for cream cheese and blue cheese and stir to combine
• Add block of cream cheese on the top and cover
• Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8
• Stir to incorporate cream cheese and add additional wing sauce as desired
• Top individual bowls with blue cheese crumbles if desired

RockCrok Instructions

• Brown ground chicken until fully cooked (or brown ahead of time and store in fridge until ready to assemble)
• Add remaining ingredients except for cream cheese and blue cheese and stir to combine
• Cook in the microwave (with LID) for 13 minutes. 
• Add the block of cream cheese on the top and cover
• Stir to incorporate cream cheese and add additional wing sauce as desired
• Top individual bowls with blue cheese crumbles if desired

Hearty Beef Stew - 21 Day Fix

I went searching through the Team Beachbody website and found a recipe for beef stew. I figured I'd give it a try. The only downside to this is the prep + cook time is almost 90 minutes. It takes an hour to cook after you get all your vegetables and meat chopped. Plan accordingly! I prepped it and then worked out while it cooked. 

It's very delicious and feels like a cheat meal! You wouldn't know you are "dieting" when you eat this.

Ingredients:

• 1½ lb. raw lean beef stew meat, boneless
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 (15 oz) can of diced tomatoes
• ¼ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. hot pepper sauce (like Tabasco)
• 1 (14 oz) can of low-sodium beef broth (or vegetable broth)
• 14-oz of water (use the beef broth can)
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ medium green bell pepper, chopped
• ½ medium red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, sliced
• 4 large red potatoes, cubed
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Place beef, onions, tomatoes, soy sauce, hot sauce, 1/2 cup broth, and bay leaf in large stock pot.

2. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers, carrots, and potatoes. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, covered, for 60 minutes, adding additional broth as needed.

Yield: 6-8 servings

A two-cup serving counts as 1.5 Green, 1 Yellow, and 1 Red. 

You can serve it with quinoa, but take the serving/container into consideration.

Crockpot Chicken Fajitas - 21 Day Fix

I found this recipe somewhere -- and it's not a difficult recipe to follow. Unless you're doubling it. And you double it, and you get to the end of the recipe and it says "Divide among 2 bags.". UGH! I doubled an already doubled recipe? Crud. So lots of leftovers.

Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas
Ingredients

1.5 – 2 lbs. Chicken Breasts, boneless and skinless 

1/2 medium – large white onion, sliced vertically 

3-4 Bell Peppers, any color, sliced into strips 

2 cans (10 oz.) Rotel diced tomatoes, undrained (I used “Mild”) 

2 cloves garlic, diced or pressed

2 tsp. chili powder 

2 tsp. cumin

2 tsp. paprika

*Divide all ingredients into 2 large freezer bags

Directions
Cut things up. Put in crockpot for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high.

Dish out 1 cup of veggies and 3/4 cup of chicken for 1 green and 1 red.
Add some whole grain torillas (yellow), and lettuce and homemade salsa (green).

Here's what mine looked like. They were SUPER filling. It counted as 1 Red, 2 Green, 2 Yellow, and 1 Blue (Cheese). I can't wait to eat them again!!!

Crockpot Chicken Taco Soup - 21 Day Fix

I made this last week and it doesn't even feel like a "diet". You can add cheese and greek yogurt to it. Eat it with a salad for a very filling dinner or by itself as a nice lunch. If you're not on a diet, indulge with some tortilla chips! 

Chicken Taco Soup

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 (16 ounce) can chili beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer (or broth)
• 2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
• 1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
• 3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
• greek yogurt or sour cream (optional)
• crushed tortilla chips (optional)

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients and cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-6 hours (can we say Super Bowl!).
2. Once it's done cooking, pull out the chicken and shred. I used the Mix 'n Chop to do it. Add the shredded chicken back to the crockpot and let cook another 15-minutes. 
3. Serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, a dollop of greek yogurt (or sour cream), and crushed tortilla chips, if desired. 

Approx 6-7 1-cup servings. 

Measure 1.5 cups and count as  1 Green, 1 Red, 1 Yellow 

Make sure if you add greek yogurt and cheese you count those in addition! 

Lasagna Soup

I thought I had blogged this, but can't find it. 

I made this very delicious soup last February. And I aim to make a soup every Sunday because well, I have time on Sundays, and it gives us leftovers for lunch for a few days. And soup is delicious. 

So here's the recipe for Lasagna Soup. It's a Paul Dean recipe. I left out the extra stick of butter. She makes it in a Dutch Oven. I do it in a stock pot and plan to do it in my new RockCrok once I get one. 

Shameless Plug - Need anything Pampered Chef related? I'm hosing a show on November 22. You can order on and have it delivered to my house or your house. You can go here and type in my name and then place your order. No pressure people. None. :-) 

Anyway, the soup. It's tasty! I'll update with a picture shortly. 

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground chuck
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced, plus 2 cloves smashed
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 (32 oz) box chicken broth
• 2 (14.5 oz) can petite diced tomatoes
• 1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups lasagna noodles, broken
• 1 (5 oz) package grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1 thin French baguette
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions
In a large Dutch oven, combine ground chuck, onion, bell pepper and 3 cloves minced garlic. Cook over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until beef is browned and crumbles. Drain well.

Stir in thyme, brown sugar, broth, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Add noodles, and simmer until noodles are tender. Stir in Parmesan cheese.

Preheat broiler. Ladle soup into 8 to 10 ovenproof bowls. Evenly sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Broil soups, 6-inches from heat, 3 to 4 minutes, until cheese is browned and bubbly. Add a garlic crostini slice on top. Serve immediately.

For the garlic crostini:

Preheat oven to 350°.

Cut bread into 1/4-inch round slices. Place on baking sheet and brush each slice with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper; place in oven and bake until golden and crisp, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Rub each side with 2 smashed garlic cloves.

Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

These past few days I have concentrated more on meal planning, and thinking a week ahead for dinners. This helps in using what we have in the deep freeze, especially as I make more freezer meals and fill it up!

When I make crock-pot meals, I usually don't start cooking them until around noon. I try to prep the crock-pot ingredients (chopping) the night before. It makes it easier to throw together. 

Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients

• 6 cups of low-sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
• 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes (I only found this in large cans.) 
• 1 7-ounce can tomatillo salsa verde
• 3 TBSP tomato paste
• 2 (15 oz) cans black beans
• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 4 small corn tortillas, torn or cut into small pieces 
• 2 small onions (approx 2 cups)
• 2 jalapenos (seeds and veins removed)
• 1 large bell pepper
• juice of a fresh lime
• 2-4 TBSP fresh cilantro
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• pepper, to taste
• salt, to taste
• shredded Mexican cheese blend
• crunchy tortilla chips

Directions

1. Get out the big crock-pot. 
2. Add the chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, salsa verde, tomato paste, pepper and spices to the crock pot and mix together. 
3. Add the chicken, onions, peppers, and tortilla pieces. 
4. The soup will cook either 6 hours on high or 10 hours on Low. During the last hour or two, add the lime juice and cilantro. 
5. Dish into bowls and add cheese, crushed up tortilla chips, avocado, anything else you want! Serve with Sweet Corn Cakes.

Beef Sandwiches

Have I mentioned how much I love watching The Pioneer Woman on Sunday mornings? And last Sunday was no exception! I need to start recording her show. I could go through her recipes online, but watching her show helps me better visual if I can actually make it. 

After Christmas, Jason and I went to the Lake of the Ozarks with my parents. Hell froze over and I got to control the remote control a few times! So Sunday morning, we all watched my favorite show. My mom even liked how she makes her spaghetti sauce. (I did too, I might try it sometime.) 

Searing the chuck roast in oil & butter

Since I still have meat from Crooked Creek Beef that I am trying to get through before my next cow is ready (like in a week or so...), I've been keeping my eye out for good recipes to use what I have left. 

We watched her make Drip Beef Sandwiches. They looked delicious! And since I had a chuck roast, I figured I'd give it a try! I varied it a bit to make it in the crock pot. The following instructions are Crock Pot - while she made it all in a Dutch Oven and same day. Next time I will probably just make it same day in the crock pot. 

Beef Sandwiches

Ingredients

One 3-4-pound chuck roast

Salt and black pepper

3 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 cups beef broth (One 14.5 ounce can)

1 cup of water

1 jar pepperoncinis, juice and all

1 yellow onion, sliced

3 tablespoons butter

garlic powder, salt & pepper, Italian seasoning

Buns of your choice (Sams Club has these 12-inch hoggies that work well.
Swiss Cheese Slices

Directions

Sprinkle the chuck roast with salt and pepper.

Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter and the canola oil in a skillet over high heat. Sear both sides of the chuck roast until very browned, about 5 minutes in all. Move chuck roast into the crock pot. Pour in the beef broth and 1 cup water. Then pour in the jar of pepperoncini with their juices. Cook until the meat is tender and falling apart, 4 to 5 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low.

Note - You can eat this that night or save it for the next day. I followed TPW's lead. 

Separate the meat and pepperoncinis from the juice. Place in two separate containers. 

The Following Day

The next day, remove the solidified fat from the "juice container." Shred the meat and place the juice, meat, and pepperoncinis in a stock pot on the stove. Simmer on low for an hour. 

Meanwhile, heat a skillet over medium heat and add 3 tablespoons of butter. Add the onions and spices, and saute until light golden brown. Set aside.

To serve, slice bread in half and slightly toast. Heap a generous portion of meat on each roll, and then spoon some of the cooking liquid over the meat. Top with a few peppers from the pot and plenty of caramelized onions. Top with Swiss Cheese. I then placed mine in the toaster oven to melt the cheese.

Easy Crockpot Chicken Fajitas

Some meals are so simple it's stupid.

Easy Crockpot Chicken Fajitas
Chop 1 white or yellow onion into long thin strips
Cut into strips 3-4 peppers (Green, Red, Yellow, Orange)
Cut 2 pounds of chicken (skinless/boneless). Chop each breast into 2 pieces.

Layer in crock pot:
Onion
Chicken
Peppers

Add on top 1 packet of fajita seasoning mixed with ~1 cup of Chicken Stock or Water.

Let cook on low all day long. Shred the chicken.

And BAM, this is what you have!

 

Ok, maybe there's some extras in there. Like finding low-carb tortillas (La Tortilla is your best choice) and adding some extras like avocado, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and sour cream. You can add beans & rice if you wanted, but I didn't want to bother with the extra carbs.

 

The meal is really simple. I would also recommend this a freezer meal. Pre-chop the onion, peppers, and chicken, add the fajita seasoning and freeze. Then you just have to pick up the extra fixens. And we cheated by buying already shredded lettuce. I don't mind chopping tomatoes, but eh, lettuce.

Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken

 Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken from SkinnyTaste
Servings: 8 servings Calories: 190 • Fat: 1.5 g • Fiber: 5.6 g • Carbs: 23.1 g • Protein: 21 g

Ingredients:

24 oz (1 1/2) lbs chicken breast, diced

14.4 oz can diced tomatoes (recommend fire roasted, not drained)

4-oz can diced mild green chilies, drained 

15 oz can black beans, rinsed & drained

8 oz can corn, rinsed & drained

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

14.4 oz can fat free chicken broth

3 scallions, chopped

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1tsp salt

Or other spices to taste

 

Directions:

Combine chicken broth, beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, scallions, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt in your crock pot. Lay chicken on top and season with salt & pepper. Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving,  adjust salt and seasoning.

Serve with rice, and/or in a tortilla with sour cream, guacamole, cheese. Think "Chipolte Burrito Bowl" Nutrional info above stolen from SkinnyTaste and doesn't incude the extras. The crock pot conconoction tastes great by itself.

The rice above was a recipe from skinny taste, but I added too much cilantro. Chipotle's Cilantro Lime Rice

Crock Pot Veggie Burritos - V2.0

A very simple recipe that anyone can make!
 

My recipe. Makes an estimated 25-30 Servings (1/2 Cup Scoops)

2 Cups Brown Instant Rice

3 Cups Chicken Broth

2 Cups Salsa

3 Tblsp of Taco Seasoning

3 Peppers sliced thin

1/2 Red Onion Sliced Thin

2 Cans (15oz)  Black Beans

2 Cans (15 oz) Diced Tomatoes (Choose your own flavor.)

1 Can Diced Chilis (4oz)
I also added 4-5 Jalapenos and a couple Tblsp juice.

Place in order listed (stir together Rice/Broth/Salsa/Seasoning) in crockpot and cook approximately 6 hours.

I added 3 Tblsp of Taco Seasoning, but you can add a mixture of of Paprika, Cumin, and Red Pepper Flakes.

I used Spark to estimate the nutritional content of it. It is only based on the ingredients in the in the crockpot. Adding shells, cheese, guac, and sour cream adds the extra calories!

I use Mission 96% Fat Free Tortilla, Wholly Guacamole, Daisy Reduced Fat Sour Cream, and some Colby Jack cheese.

Baked Potato Soup

Last week I made Baked Potato Soup.               It's very simple.

• 5 lbs russet potatoes, diced, NOT peeled
• 5 tablespoons garlic
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 64 ounces chicken broth or stock
• 16 ounces cream cheese
• bacon, sour cream, chives or shredded cheese for garnish

Put the potatoes, garlic, onion, and chicken broth in a crockpot All. Day. Long. (8 hours)

You can put the mixture in the food processor, but I used my Cuisinart immersion blender to mix it. If you don't own an immersion Blender, well, there's no reason not too. I use it for EVERYTHING.

After getting the onion & potatoes pureed, mix in the 2 bricks of cream cheese. This recipe was originally reported as "amazing" on Pinterest because it didn't have a heavy cream or milk product in it. Um... ok. Cream Cheese = Milk Product in a Heavy Cream form. Ok.

The soup is amazingly bad for you. If you weren't able to tell by the one whole pound of cream cheese. 

The soup without fancy toppings is not that flavorable (I added pepper to the crock pot also). I would recommend the chives and bacon bits. This recipe would make a good Pot-Luck side dish. You could add less broth and make it more chunky. It was super easy (aside from making Jason scrub 5 pounds of potatoes, and dicing the potatoes... and using the immersion), and is a hearty meal for the winter. Next time I make this, I'll make half the amount, and keep it a little thicker. It'll make a good side dish with chicken or steak.

Crock Pot Veggie Burritos

Good - Tracking the past three days. Got in 3 amazing workouts too! I've earned 19 Activity Points so far this week. Tuesday night was a double - I ran at home (1.7 miles) before being handed my lungs by Dave the Trainer.

Bad - Mint M&Ms. :(

I got a new crock pot for Christmas. It's larger and much better than my small one. Mostly because of size. Some because of the timer feature. It'll will auto-shut off and stay on warm so things aren't overcooked. I did learn to start my crock-pot meals at lunch (Noon) when I'm home from work instead of 7am when I leave at work.

So I made crock-pot burritos this week. I've made burritos before, on the stove. It takes awhile to cook and put them together. I had PT at 7pm and knew I wouldn't feel like putting together dinner, so the crock-pot was my savior!

My recipe. Makes an estimated 25-30 Servings (1/2 Cup Scoops), 2PP+
2 Cups Brown Instant Rice
3 Cups Chicken Broth
2 Cups Salsa (We had Pace Picanta Sauce, a very running salsa.)
2 Cans (15oz)  Black Beans
2 Cans (15 oz) Diced Tomatoes (Choose your own flavor.)
1 Can Diced Chilis (4oz)
3 Peppers sliced thin
1/2 Red Onion Sliced Thin
I added 1 Tblsp of Paprika, Cumin, and Red Pepper Flakes.
I also added 4-5 Jalapenos and a couple Tblsp juice.

I let that all soak overnight and until noon in the crock pot (in the fridge.)
I popped it in at lunch and it was more than ready after my workouts.

I used Mission 96% Fat Free Tortilla, Wholly Guacamole, Daisy Reduced Fat Sour Cream, and some Colby Jack cheese. TOTALLY YUMMY!!! Dinner was 14 points. More than usual, but great after some high calorie burning.

Tortellini Soup & Cookies

This is my all time favorite soup to throw together. It doesn't take much time, it's 4 ingredients and so simple!

 

10-12 Ounces of Tortellini (this is Trader Joe's Spinach Tortellini. I like using fresh, not frozen.)
64 oz Vegetable Broth (Chicken broth works too.)
One or Two cans Tomatoes. I like diced, they are easier to eat.
3 handfuls of spinach leaves OR one frozen container of spinach. Fresh is better, but not always an economical option.

Cook 1st three ingredients to boil. Cook tortellini until cooked. (Yea, I said that.)

Add spinach, simmer until wilted.

You can make this Italian style or Mexican style depending on tomatoes used and additional spices.

I get 6 servings, around 3-5 WW points each, depending on the tortellini and broth combo. (This one is 4 points.)

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Tomorrow is another weigh-in, and for all fat girls everywhere, it's one of the most important ones -- the weigh-in after Thanksgiving Feasts. I'm doing great so I'm not worried. Whether I post a loss, gain, or stay the same, I am confident with the food choices I have made and the cardio workouts I have completed. Yes, sure, I can work out more, I can choose wiser foods, but it's a lifetime of change and I can't do it overnight.

I started making cookies for Christmas. Jason helps me roll them into balls. As in, I'm sitting on the couch typing this Blog and Jason is balling the cookie dough I mixed last night. He's a great help! I actually have a lot of willpower when it comes to cookies and cookie dough. My trainer told me I shouldn't make them and shouldn't eat any of them. I explained that I will eat cookies and that I have the willpower to not eat all of them. We were discussing Thin Mints. Jason will put Thin Mints away by the sleeve. And I'll eat two. I like sweet things, but honestly, I like bread more. A LOT more. So my PP goes to bread, not cookies.