Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Cabbage Roll Casserole

Brown 1 pound of hamburger.  Spray crock pot with non-stick spray.  Put the hamburger in the crock pot.

Add:

1 chopped bell pepper (red or green)
1 or 2 peeled and grated fresh carrots
2 cups chopped onions (I did NOT add this)
3 minced garlic cloves
1 head green cabbage chopped or shredded

Sprinkle top of cabbage with:

1/2 tsp onion salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
1-2 tsp sugar to cut acidity of tomatoes

Top with one 14 or 15oz can of cut tomatoes and one 14 or 15oz can tomato sauce.

Cover and cook on low for about 7-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.  Stir all together before serving.

Monday, January 13, 2014

Chicken Packets

I got this one from my new husband, so good!  I'm currently experimenting with different variations.

Tear off pieces of foil, size of a small cookie sheet.  In the center of each sheet of foil layer:

2-3 fresh chicken tenderloins or 1 chicken breast
drizzle with olive oil
pepperoni slices, single layer to cover chicken
halved cherry or grape tomatoes
sliced and diced bell peppers
diced onion if you like them (not me!)
chopped basil or cilantro

Fold and seal up foil packets, place on cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for at least 30 minutes or until chicken is done and veggies are tender.  These can also be cooked on the BBQ grill if you don't want to turn your oven on.

Remove from oven, open packets and top with parmesan and mozarella cheese.  Refold and place back in the oven for another 10 minutes or so.  Voila!  Dinner is served.

First variation - Fajita chicken packets:

chicken
olive oil
sprinkle with taco seasonings
halved cherry or grape tomatoes
sliced and diced bell peppers
diced onion if you like them (not me!)
chopped cilantro

Use shredded mexican cheeses instead of mozarella and parmesan during the last ten minutes.  Serve with sliced avocado and/or sour cream and shredded lettuce if desired.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Italian Sausage on Spaghetti Squash

Cook spaghetti squash. Click here for directions.

Remove spaghetti squash from the oven.

In large skillet on the stove:

Brown 1 lb of sausage

Add:

1 whole diced onion or 1/2 tsp onion powder
1 whole diced bell pepper - no seeds
1 whole zucchini - sliced
1 can cut tomatoes - NOT drained
1 can Great Northern White Beans - drained
1 clove garlic - minced
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook on medium heat until the vegetables are tender.

Serve over the Spaghetti squash strands that you scooped out of the squash.

*This was so flavorful! A wonderful hot meal with lots of veggies.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Chicken Marinara and Squash

Place 8-9 boneless, skinless chicken breasts into the crock pot

In blender, blend marinara sauce:

2 14oz cans of drained, cut tomatoes
2 8oz cans tomato sauce
1 small can tomato paste
2 tsp minced garlic or 3-4 garlic cloves
1 tsp onion powder
2 tsp basil
1/2 TBSP honey

Pour sauce over the chicken and cook on HIGH for 4-5 hours or LOW for 6-7 hours.

For the REST OF THE FAMILY:
30-45 minutes prior to dinner, remove the chicken breasts leaving the marinara sauce in the pot. Put setting onto HIGH and add 3 cups (16oz) of dry pasta. (Stir every 10 minutes until the pasta is soft.)

Put chicken onto a shallow baking pan and top with parmesan cheese or mozarella cheese or both. Broil for a few minutes to melt and brown the cheese.

Saute zucchini and yellow squash slices in a skillet on the stove with olive oil or butter. Sprinkle with salt and parmesan cheese to taste and serve with the chicken.

*This worked really well for the family because what kid doesn't like pasta or spaghetti, right? And what else would I have done with all of that marinara sauce left over from cooking the chicken? The marinara chicken and the sauteed squash was a great combination for dinner. We never missed the pasta.

Taco Salad

Brown hamburger on the stove and simmer with your favorite taco seasoning.

Serve over green salad with:

kidney or black beans
shredded cheese
sour cream
diced tomatoes
2-3 taco chips - crushed (optional)

And any other favorite taco topping that you like.

*Between the meat, sour cream and juicy tomatoes...I never add salad dressing to this. I suppose you could, but I don't know what kind. Maybe a mix of sour cream and salsa? This one works out great for dinner because ALL of the same toppings can go on top of a baked potato and my kids are happy and satisfied. I just cook my potatoes in the crock pot or oven to be done in time for dinner. Fast and easy. I love it.

Vegetable Garden Soup

Add to the crock pot:

1 15oz can red kidney beans, undrained
2 14oz cans cut tomatoes or fresh tomatoes, chopped
4 carrots, sliced or shredded (my kids prefer shredded)
2 small zucchini, diced
2 small yellow squash, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced - no seeds (optional)
4 TBSP parsley
8 shakes of paprika
3 shakes cayenne pepper (red pepper)
4 TBSP Au Jus Gravy powder or 2 1oz packets

Pour over the top: 3 cups boiling water
Cover and cook on HIGH for 5-6 hours or LOW for 7-8 hours, or until your veggies are tender.

*This is one of my most favorite vegetable soups on earth, and sooooo easy to do in the crock pot. All your chopping and dicing is done and cleaned up well before dinner time, you know I LOVE that! This soup just speaks "summer garden" and makes me feel so healthy...haha! Just make sure you cook it long enough to get all of your veggies tender. To make it more low-carb friendly: I have removed some of the beans and totally removed the corn and potatoes from this recipe.

The original recipe with more carbs in it can be found here:
The Family Crockpot

Chili - Basic

On the stove, in a large pan, cover 4 cups of dry, small red beans or pinto beans with water. (I use red)

Boil for 5 minutes. (This breaks the seal and releases the GAS - no beano needed!...at least that's what my Mom told me.)

Drain the beans and rinse in a colander.

Put the beans into your crockpot (6 quart) and fill to 1 1/2" from the top with hot water.

Cook ALL DAY on HIGH until your beans are tender. This can be started the night before on LOW if you don't like to get up early and make beans...my usual method. Just check it the next day to make sure you don't need to add more water, just enough to cover the beans.

Once the beans are tender, at least 2 hours before eating add:

1 lb hamburger. If you're lazy like me, just crumble the raw hamburger into the hot beans and water and stir it in. Your meat will be so tender this way. If that bugs you, brown it on the stove first.

If your family is not as picky as mine, add:

onion, jalapeno, diced bell pepper, diced anaheim pepper, etc. when you add the meat. Obviously, we don't add any of these.

About 1 hour before dinner, after the meat is cooked, add:

1 small can tomato paste
1 tsp oregano
onion powder, cayenne? (how hot do you like it?)
1-2 packages of taco seasoning OR Chili seasoning from Sam's
1 Tbsp salt - taste to see how much you need
2 14oz can cut tomatoes, puree in blender if you need to for picky kids - use tomatoes with chilies if you like some kick.

For a delicious bowl of low carb goodness, serve over a diced tomato and top with a small amount of shredded cheese and a dab of sour cream.

*This really hits the spot on a cold day. Only have about 1 cup of chili for your serving. The beans have carbs but are also a GREAT source of protein. 1 cup of beans is a serving. Again, this is versatile for the family because they can have the chili with taco chips for nachos or I can bake several potatoes and they can top their potatoes with chili, cheese and sour cream.