Slow-Cooker Liners

Just wanted to put in a little plug for this wonderful product! If you've never tried slow-cooker liners, this is a must! Cleaning the inside of crockpots can really be a long task. I'm totally hooked to these now. I've only seen these in one size-- fits a very large crockpot. They are soooo handy! I have heard that if you put the heat on high for a really long time, they can melt a little. But I always cook my food on low and have never had this problem or any breakage. These make clean-up soooo easy!

Slow-Cooker Salsa Chicken

This one couldn't be simpler, folks! This recipe is pretty self-explanatory. The chicken will shred very easily when finished cooking and you can serve on tortillas, if desired. Also good with black beans and corn mixed in later on. A much lighter meal than most Mexican food.

Hope you enjoy!

Slow-Cooker Salsa Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup salsa
1 package low-sodium taco seasoning
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup light sour cream

Add chicken to slow cooker.
Sprinkle taco seasoning over chicken.
Pour salsa and soup over chicken.
Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.
Serve with rice and black beans.

Campbell's Crockpot Chicken and Rice

I can't remember where I got this recipe since it was quite a while back, but I made this for the first time tonight and this was pretty tasty. And of course, as with most crockpot recipes, SOOOO easy! The chicken was falling apart when I took it out.

My only changes were:

Margarine instead of butter- and only about 2 tablespoons

Low-sodium version of the chicken gumbo soup

Only used three chicken breasts

Even though it said not to stir, after 2-3 hours of cooking, I stirred and everything still turned out great!

Campbell's Chicken and Rice in Crockpot

1 box Uncle Ben's Wild Rice
2 cans Campbell's Chicken Gumbo Soup
2 cans water
4 - 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 TBLS butter melted
Spray crock pot with nonstick spray, pour in box of rice, pour melted butter over rice, place chicken breasts on top of rice, pour soup and water over chicken, sprinkle season packet from rice on top - don't stir, cover and cook on low for about 6 hours.

Ultimate Barbeque- Rubbed Chicken

Here's what I made for dinner tonight. We both loved this- the perfect summertime meal! I have made the coleslaw before and have posted it on here. Here's the recipe if you didn't see it -

Cole Slaw Recipe.

For the chicken, changed up this recipe in order to get more flavor. Instead of just rubbing the spices on right before grilling and then dipping the cooked chicken in the sauce... I decided to marinate the meat in the sauce AND spices for about 4 hours in the fridge before putting it on the grill. The chicken was *perfect*! Lots of flavor! Hope you will give this one a try.

Here's the chicken recipe

Herbs

Here's a new product that I found in the produce section of Target recently that I had to share. The brand is "Litehouse". They are freeze-dried herbs and they are very close to the taste of fresh ones, in my opinion. I have bought their dill, chives and basil and all have been great. Here is their website if you are interested in seeing what all they make:

http://litehousefoods.stores.yahoo.net/freezdriedhe.html

I really like them and they don't go bad like fresh ones do. No need to refrigerate and no chopping! YAY! :-)

Chicken Vegetable Pizza

I made this tonight for dinner and it was soooo good! What a yummy way to get your veggies.

Here's all I did:

Spread out a store-bought pizza crust on a rectangular cookie sheet. (Or make your own if you are more patient than I am!) Lightly drizzle with olive oil and spread out minced garlic all over the top. Bake this by itself for only 5 minutes on 400 degrees.

Meanwhile, cook or boil one boneless chicken breast until done and cut into small cubes.

Take crust out of the oven, and add desired vegetables and cubed chicken. I used fresh mushrooms, roma tomatoes and roasted red peppers. I didn't use tomato sauce because sometimes it can make it a little soggy. Then, I topped it with about 2 cups of shredded 2% mozzerella. (This kind is lower fat.) I also sprinkled it with some basil.

Then, bake for an additional 10 minutes on 400 and cut into squares.

Healthified Ravioli and Summer Squash Toss

Just had this for dinner tonight and this is a winner, folks! Hope you will give this one a try! I loooove squash so when I saw this, I knew I would be making it. I think I used two large squashes just because I like it so much. I don't really like chickpeas too much so I put in sliced white mushrooms instead. I also added about 1/2 cup of chicken broth to the veggies while they were cooking. Parmesan over the top is the perfect way to garnish this meal!

This is a perfect light, summer, vegetarian meal! And sooooo delicious!

Here's the recipe

Low-Fat Raspberry Summer Sensation

I made this today to have for dessert and Chris and I both loved this! So refreshing, cold and creamy! We definitely recommend this one. And it couldn't be easier. This link actually has a vide to show you every step. I couldn't find raspberry sorbet at Target, so I got raspberry sherbet instead. (Basically the same thing.)

All I have to say is - YUMMY!!

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/low-fat-raspberry-summer-sensation-74024.aspx

Crockpot Red Wine/Cranberry Glazed Pork Tenderloin

I know I have posted this a long time ago but it is so delicious that I think it deserves a second post. Try it out and let me know what you think :)

I've made this probably 4 or 5 times in the last year or two and it's always SO tender and juicy! Crockpots are wonderful!!!

I have changed the original recipe and used a 1 pound pork tenderloin instead of a pot roast. This helps to save on fat and calories, big time!

Since I use a smaller, skinnier cut of meat than what is called for, I usually only cook it for 4-6 hours on low. (But I have a pretty quick cooking Crockpot, so use your own judgement on that.)

Also, another tip for those of you that don't have a lot of bottled wine around the house-- Buy the small boxes of wine, like the ones in the picture above. They are perfect for individual portions and for cooking.

This recipe is just about fool-proof and turns out perfect every time!

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/03/crockpot-red-wine-cranberries-glazed.html

Lower-Fat "Fried" Chicken w/ Creamy Gravy

I made this tonight and it was pretty good. Definitely didn't have a fried taste at all. My only complaint about the directions is that they tell you to cook the chicken for quite a while and that really wasn't necessary. Mine was done in about 25 minutes since you put a lid on it for a while. Don't know why they said to cook it for so long.

Also, don't use very much flour at all in the gravy. I accidentally did and it made it super thick and sort of gelatin-like. It tasted decent but the texture was driving me crazy. I had never thought to use evaporated skim milk in gravy before. Very smart idea!

I served this with Ore Ida Steam 'n Mash potatoes and green beans. It was a great combo!

Here's the recipe