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.

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.

Spaghetti Squash

Prick the spaghetti squash with a large knife to prevent it from bursting in the oven. Place it on a cookie sheet and roast at 375 degrees for 1 hour.

Remove from the oven. Cut it in half, scrape the seeds out with a fork or spoon taking care not to scrape out the meat of the squash.

**For microwave and crock pot directions to cook your spaghetti squash, click here

Drag a fork along the sides of the squash and pull the 'spaghetti' strings away from the edges. There are MANY options for the squash at this point:

1. Toss with butter, cinnamon and nutmeg, sprinkle with salt and pepper
2. Top with your favorite spaghetti sauce and parmesan cheese
3. Toss with butter or olive oil, parmesan cheese and basil
4. Toss with olive oil, garlic, sun dried tomatoes, parsley, salt and red pepper flakes
5. Italian Sausage Recipe. Click here for the recipe.

*This vegetable is great as a side or used for a hearty meal of spaghetti. I usually make enough sauce to go around. Meat sauce on the squash for some of us and on the noodles for the rest of the family.

Asian Sesame Chicken Salad/Dressing

Place 6-7 boneless skinless chicken breasts into the crock pot

Mix together 1 recipe of Asian Sesame Salad Dressing and pour over the chicken:

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 tsp garlic or 1-2 minced cloves
1 TBSP sugar or 1/2 TBSP honey
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Cook on HIGH for 4-5 hours or LOW for 6-7 hours.

We scoop out the chicken to cool and serve on top of green salad along with:

toasted slivered almonds
toasted sesame seeds
mandarin oranges or pineapple
Asian Sesame Salad Dressing (recipe is above for this)

*The great part about this recipe is that I can make a batch of rice to go with this meal and the ENTIRE family is happy. The dressing was slightly salty, I will probably use low sodium soy sauce the next time I make it.

Asian Braised String Beans or Asparagus

Heat wok or skillet over high heat.
Add 2 TBSP peanut oil and heat for a minute or two.

Then add:

2 TBSP minced garlic
1 TBSP grated fresh ginger

Saute for 1-2 minutes. Add:

1 lb string beans, ends trimmed or asparagus
1/4 tsp hot red pepper flakes (optional)

Saute for approximately 5 minutes, until the skin bubbles. The beans should be tender, but still a little crispy.

Add:

1/4 cup soy sauce

Saute for another 30 seconds or so. Serve immediately.

Italian Sausage Soup

Brown in a skillet:

2 TBSP Olive Oil
1/2 to 1 lb of sausage (I used Jimmy Dean's regular sausage roll)
1 1/2 cups chopped onion (I did NOT add onions, I used onion powder instead)

In VitaMix Blender, mix just enough to create small carrot chunks:

2 large peeled carrots or 2-3 cups baby carrots
1 14oz can cut tomatoes, undrained
1 14 oz can of chicken broth (2 cups)

Put all in the crockpot and add:

2 stalks celery, chopped
1 chopped garlic clove
1 tsp basil
1 tsp rosemary
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp dried sage
4 more cups chicken broth
1-2 cans 14oz can kidney beans, undrained
1 more 14oz can cut tomatoes, undrained

Cook on LOW 5-6 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours.

In the original recipe: about 30 minutes before dinner, add 1 uncooked cup of elbow macaroni or pasta of your choice. I obviously will leave this out when eating low carb. This recipe can also be done on the stove top. Bring to a boil and then simmer until the vegetables are tender.

Original recipe can be found on our crock pot blog: The Family Crockpot

Green Goddess Salad Dressing

4 scallions or 1 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
Juice from 2 limes (or 1/4 cup of bottled lime juice)
1 tsp sugar (optional)

Trim the ends of the scallions of you're using those. Roughly chop the white and green parts and place in a blender. Chop until coarsely ground.

Add the mayonnaise and lime juice and puree until smooth. Dressing will store in the fridge for a week in a sealed container.

Lemon-Garlic Salad Dressing

2 TBSP lemon juice
2 cloves garlic
salt and pepper
6 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil

Place the lemon juice, garlic and salt and pepper to taste into a mixing cup. Add the olive oil in a slow stream, constantly whisking until the oil is emulsified OR mix it all in the Magic Bullet blender. (this is quicker)

Stracciatella Soup

8 cups chicken broth (4 cans)
10 oz spinach: fresh, or frozen - thawed and drained
4 eggs, lightly beaten
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
4 oz cooked chicken (optional)

Bring chicken broth to a boil. Add spinach and chicken and simmer for about 4 minutes. Quickly stir in eggs and continue to stir vigorously until eggs have coagulated and turned white.

Ladle into soup bowls and season with salt and pepper. Spoon Parmesan cheese on top if you like. Serve immediately.