WIAW: Slow Cooker White Bean Chicken Tortilla Soup

Happy Wednesday!  I can't believe it's almost officially Fall!  

Cooler weather means more time spent outside.  We took Bizzy the Dog on her first hike ever this past weekend.  She loved it!!!

She looks so grown in this picture!

She also started a training program this week, so I'll be sure to update you on how she's doing with that down the road.  She is so smart and loves learning things, so I know she will make me proud.

Ok, sorry.  I'm one of those ladies who loves to talk about her fur-babies :)

On to the eats!!

source

Breakfast: Waffles & Berries

I had plans to get up a few minutes earlier to make some oat and banana pancakes, but that didn't happen.  So, freezer waffles it is!  These are my favorite (and lowest calorie I've found) waffles: low fat Eggo Nutrigrain waffles (140 calories for 2 waffles).  I enjoyed them with some sliced strawberries and sugar free syrup.  Coffee on the side!

Morning Snack: Oranges & Crisps

For morning snack I had opened a can of mandarin oranges (in fruit juice-no sugar added) and portioned them out in the fridge.  So, this is half a can of oranges.  I also had this little 100 calorie pack of pastry crisps.  They aren't bad, kind of taste like a thin Poptart.  I just wanted something extra with my oranges.

Lunch: Salad

For lunch I made salad (again).  I've been making at least 2-3 salads a week.  I'm back on my salad kick!

In the mix today: spring mix lettuce, oven roasted deli turkey, a hunk of goat cheese, shelled edamame, chopped green beans & a lite balsamic dressing (not pictured).  Delicious!

After lunch, I had an iced coffee.  Trying to lay off the Starbucks, so my bf brewed up some super strong coffee and we mixed it with a little sweetener and creamer.
Perfection!

Afternoon Snack: Apple

I packed this apple for snack and I'll tell ya, my brain did not want this apple.  My brain wanted chips, crackers, peanut butter, etc.  But I got hungry around 4 p.m. and sliced the dang apple.  It was delicious, so jokes on you, brain!

Dinner: Slow Cooker White Bean Chicken Tortilla Soup

I had forgotten how nice it is for dinner to be made for you in the crockpot!  I came home after boot camp and everything was done, so I didn't spend any of my evening preparing food....actually that's not entirely true.  I baked cookies to take to work (but that's another story).

Ok, so this soup--holy yum!  I was going to make my Crockpot Chicken Taco Soup, but didn't have the same ingredients, so I just made a different soup and it was soooo tasty!  I recommend that you make it ASAP!

Slow Cooker White Bean Chicken Tortilla Soup
serves 8

1/2 red onion, diced
1 large zucchini, chopped
2 ears of corn, sliced off the cob
1 bell pepper (I used 3 mini sweet peppers)
1 can canellini white beans
1 can chickpeas
1/2 can of diced tomatoes with chiles (aka Rotel)
1/2 cup verde (green) salsa
3 large chicken breasts
1 box chicken broth
2 tbsp spice rub (or 2 tbsp taco seasoning)
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
salt & pepper to taste

Spray crockpot with non-stick spray & lay the chicken breasts in the bottom of the pot.  Add in the veggies, beans & salsas.  Cover with chicken broth until there's about 1/2 inch of liquid above all the ingredients. Cook in the crockpot on low for 8 hours.  Shred the chicken with forks.  Stir in reduced fat sour cream. Top with avocado, tortilla strips & cheese (if desired).

After I ate my already prepared soup, I made a few dozen cookies.  Luckily, I only ate one tester cookie...for scientific research purposes...
I used the back of the Ghiradelli package recipe with a few modifications.  I lessened the sugar and made them with more brown sugar than white sugar, added 2/3 cup of oats and my fillers included chocolate chips, Heath toffee bits and pumpkin spice M&Ms.  So they are more like a monster cookie.

That does it for me.
Check me out later today or possibly Thursday on Endless Simmer...maybe they'll post my baked taco roll up recipe this week...

Crockpot Challenge: Santa Fe Chicken and Rice

This is as pretty as this meal is gonna get.

It's really tasty, though.  I swear.  It's super filling and full of good things.  Plus, it's not spicy on its own, which would be great if feeding picky people.  Each person can just add their own toppings to make it as spicy as they like.

Santa Fe Chicken and Rice

Serves 6-8

1 cup brown rice, rinsed

4 chicken breasts

1 can black beans

1 cup salsa

1 1/2 cups water or broth

salt & pepper

Cheese

Spray the crockpot with non-stick spray and add the wet rice, black beans, salsa and liquids.  Season the chicken with S&P and add that in as well.  Top each chicken breast with cheese (if desired).  I used 2 % sharp cheddar.  The original recipe used mozzarella, but I did not have that.  

Cook on low for 7 hours.  Check on the rice and if it looks crunchy, you need to add more liquid.  The rice gets really creamy from slow cooking.  It's a little like a risotto texture.

I'm going to include these terribly gross looking pics so you can see how it looks once cooked.

Then you shred that chicken with two forks.

Serve it up!  I put mine over some spinach and topped it with enchilada sauce and guacamole.  Yum!

This is part of the Crockpot Challenge.  You can read more about it here.

Recipe adapted from A Year of Slowcooking blog

See ya' for WIAW!

How to Roast a Chicken in the Crockpot

So, I pinned this awesome picture of rotisserie chicken made in a crockpot pretty recently.  Turns out that I had all the ingredients and I decided to give it a go.

above photo, recipe & idea from Busy Mommy

Um, best idea ever.

Roasting a chicken could not possibly be easier or tastier than this.

Aw, I wish I had styled mine as pretty as hers, but you can see the awesomeness in these crappy photos, I'm sure.  

I was nervous leaving the chicken in the crockpot for like 8 hours while I was at work.  I thought it would get all dry and be like the turkey on National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

The opposite happened.  I barely touched it with the knife and it just fell apart with juicy goodness.

Crockpot Roast Chicken

1 roasting chicken (3-4 lbs)

1 Tbsp Chili powder

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 1/2 tsp onion powder

2 Tbsp garlic powder 

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 onion (or a whole shallot)

Place spices in a small bowl and stir in water by the teaspoon until a paste forms. Spray your slow cooker with cooking spray and place the chicken in, breast side up. Cut an onion in half and put it inside the chicken.

Coat the chicken inside and out with the paste. Cover and cook on low 6-7 hours. Make sure the thickest part of the thigh registers at 180 degrees.

Crockpot Chicken Taco Soup

If you have ever done Weight Watchers, you know all about some taco soup.  This is kind of like that.

The flavor is similar, but not all the ingredients are the same.

If you are looking for a hearty, healthy, protein packed bowl of yum~you must make this now.

Crockpot Chicken Taco Soup

serves 6-8

1 15 oz can black beans

1 15 oz can pinto beans

1 15 oz can corn (or use frozen corn)

4 stalks celery,chopped

1/2 bag of baby carrots, chopped (or use 3 regular carrots)

1/2 onion, diced

bell pepper diced (I used yellow)

tiny can of tomato sauce

1/4-1/2 cup salsa

1 packet taco seasoning

3-4 frozen chicken breasts

about a can of chicken broth (enough to cover everything)

Toss all of this in your crockpot (don't drain the cans) and cook on low for 8 hours.  Shred the chicken with some forks.  Serve with whatever garnish you want.  I used fat free sour cream and low fat cheese.

To make this quicker, you could use a frozen pepper and onion blend and a frozen soup blend instead of chopping stuff.

Recipe adapted from: Family Fresh Meals

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Soup

A letter to my slow cooker:

Dear Crockpot,

You are awesome, and I totally don't appreciate you enough.  I love that you slow cook any meal to perfection while I'm away at work.  Thanks for making the house smell so good when I get home and for taking care of dinner for me.  You're the best.

Love,

Renee

This soup is healthy and hearty with a little spice.  Feel free to add more buffalo sauce if you like it really spicy.

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Soup

makes about 6 cups

4 small carrots

4 stalks celery

1/2 yellow onion

small red pepper

3-4 large chicken breasts

1 box chicken broth (32 oz)

Chop all the veggies (I did this the night before for quick preparation), toss them and the other above ingredients in the crockpot.  Cook on low for 8 hours.

Once everything has cooked for 8 hours, shred the chicken using two forks, drain a little broth into a small bowl and whisk in 1 tbsp of flour then stir it back in the crock.  

You'll also need:

1/4 cup buffalo wing sauce

1 handful of shredded jack cheese

1 handful of shredded parmesan cheese

Toss all this in the crock and stir around.  Give it a taste & add more sauce or cheese if you want.

Garnish with reduced fat bleu cheese and serve with bread.

This soup was awesome!  I had leftovers for lunch today.  I'm thinking you should make this as soon as humanly possible.  You can thank me later ;)

Recipe slightly adapted from How Sweet It Is blog

Crockpot Beef Stew

Well, it is officially Fall and it's getting a little cooler outside. Once the temperature dips below 75, my husband and I switch over to comfort foods for dinner: soups, stews, casseroles, etc.

I was mulling over my weekly menu (yes, I plan a menu-sometimes it pays to be a nerd) and I needed something I could throw together really quick. "Why?" you ask. Well, because every spare second I have had for the last 3 days has been devoted to scraping wallpaper. Apparently in the 70's, people just slapped wallpaper up directly on the sheet rock, making it harder to take off 40 years later.
Whatever.

So, this stew. It's awesome. And super easy. You should make it.

Here's what you need:



Cubed beef (sometimes called "beef stew meat" in the store)
Potatoes (I used 4 good sized yellow potatoes)
Carrots ( I used 3/4 bag of baby carrots)
Onion (I used 1/2 red onion, diced)
Beef Broth
Seasoning (I used steak seasoning-it was good)
Flour

Throw your beef in the crock pot. If it is in too big of chunks, you can cut them down. Season the beef with a healthy sprinkle of seasoning salt. Put some flour (about 1/4 cup) on the beef and toss it to coat. Cut your veggies to desired size (don't do them too big, because you are going to be eating this with a spoon) and toss them in the crock pot, too. Top with enough beef broth to cover everything (I used a box of broth and a little water). Cook on low for 8 hours. It might look a little soupy at this point, so here's what I did.
Scoop some of the broth with no chunks into a measuring cup (or bowl) and add some flour to it. Whisk it up then add it to the stew. This will make it thicker.

Yum-comfort in a bowl. We ate ours with crusty bread.

Crockpot Pork Carnitas (Tacos)

We love taco night in our house. There are so many different ways to make tacos (different meats, corn or flour tortillas, varied toppings, etc.) and they usually come together quickly.
My love for tacos is only matched by my love for Crockpot cookery. How great is it to already have dinner mostly ready when you drag in the door at the end of the day? Love it!

Ok, so here's what you need to get this deliciousness started:



*2- 3 lbs pork shoulder (or another cut if your store only has the most giant pork shoulders imaginable--I used pork butt)
*6 cloves garlic (you know I used my already prepared garlic from the fridge)
*3/4 c chicken broth (or more...I just made sure the meat was covered)
*3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
*Cajun seasoning (original recipe called for adobe seasoning, which I could not find)

Rub your pork with seasoning. Toss in crock with peppers, broth and garlic. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. The recipe called for browning the pork in the pan first, but I did not have time for that this morning, nor did I want to smell like meat all day. Do it if you have time, I guess.

Ok, so after the pork cooks for several hours, break it apart. I just stabbed it with a meat fork and it fell apart. Then when you are ready to put it all together, get a skillet on the stove hot with 1-2 tbsp oil (medium high heat). Then drain the pork and toss it in. This will give it crispy edges and make it taste like authentic carnitas meat (which I think is deep fried).

You can fix your tacos with whatever toppings or sides you want. My husband and I differ in sides and wraps, so I took a pic to show you what we like:



Prepare your tacos however you want and serve with whatever you want. I had mine with rice, beans and corn. Yum!


Pork recipe adapted from : http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/03/mexican-slow-cooked-pork-carnitas.html