Slow Cooker Pasta e Fagioli

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OH...MA...GAWD!!!!  Okay listen, I don't always get to go to Olive Garden but I'm all about the soup, salad and bread sticks when I go and my soup du jour is always the pasta e fagioli...I loooooove that stuff!  My mom even makes an amazing one with sausage instead of ground beef and it is DEEEEEEElicious!

Anywho, color me excited when I realized I could make one myself AND make it in the slow cooker!  The meal was a quick prep and a delicious eat!

First thing's first: I cooked some ground beef and chopped onion in a skillet until the meat was no longer pink, and then I drained it.  Once that was done, I put it into my slow cooker, adding in the following ingredients: chicken broth, diced tomatoes (canned and undrained), cannellini beans (canned, drained and rinsed), chopped carrots, cabbage, celery, minced garlic, dried basil and salt and pepper.

Once I mixed that together I set my slow cooker to low and allowed it to cook while I was at work, about 8 hours.  Then I stirred some ditalini pasta into the soup, turned the slow cooker to high and allowed it to cook for another half hour, to cook the pasta.  When that was done, voila!!  Dinner was served!!

This soup was warm and delicious and yummy!  The best part was it made 8 servings at only 258 calories/serving!  AAAAAAAAAAAND it was only $1.74/serving!  Whaaaaaaa???  I know!  Here's the recipe:

1 pound ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

32 ounces chicken broth

2 (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

2 medium carrots, chopped

1 1/2 cups finely chopped cabbage

1 celery rib, chopped

2 teaspoons dried basil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 cup ditalini pasta

Happy cooking everyone!!

Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas

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So listen, I know I made this meal before, but it's THAT delicious that I felt I needed to make it again and YUM-MY was it still just as good.  Plus, I think I got better pictures this time.  ;)

Anyway, first thing's first: I took three chicken breasts and cooked them in some boiling water for about 15-20 minutes, until they were cooked and I was able to shred with a fork.  Once that was completed, I preheated my oven to 375 degrees and sprayed a baking dish with cooking spray.

I then poured some enchilada sauce into a bowl and added some buffalo wing sauce, stirring it and then setting it aside.  Then I took another bowl and put the shredded chicken in it, along with some green onions and Monterey Jack cheese.  After I mixed that, I added part of the enchilada sauce mixture and mixed everything together.

I took a bit more of the enchilada sauce mixture and put it on the bottom of my baking dish and started putting the enchiladas together.  I filled whole wheat tortillas with tablespoons of the chicken mixture, rolled them up and put them, seam side down, in the baking dish.  Then I poured more of the enchilada sauce mixture on top of the enchiladas and topped it with more Monterey Jack cheese and then cooking the enchiladas for about 25 minutes.

I then immediately took it out of then oven and topped it with Gorgonzola cheese, green onions and cilantro and VOILA!!  Dinner was served!

This meal is just SOOOOO good and so low calorie!  Two enchiladas were only 204/calories and it made 8 enchiladas total!  I was also able to make some homemade tortillas chips too, AND stay under my 500 calorie limit!  WHOOP!  The meal also only cost $2.84/serving!  Yay!!!

Here's the recipe:

8 whole wheat tortillas

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

28 ounce can red enchilada sauce

1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

4 ounces Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

5 green onions, chopped

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

Happy cooking everyone!

Slow Cooker Pork and Green Chile Stew

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Happy new year all!  What a crazy holiday schedule it has been for me, so I apologize for the lack of food, as I still have so much to catch up on!

So this one I made quite a while ago, but I still remember how easy and delicious it was!  First thing's first: I took a pork loin roast and cut it into 2-inch pieces and seasoned those pieces with salt and pepper.  Then I heat a skillet on high heat, sprayed it with cooking spray and browned the pork, allowing it to cook for about 3-4 minutes.  I then sprinkled 1 tablespoon of flour over the pork and cooked it for another 30 seconds.

Once that was done, I put the pork into the slow cooker, along with the following ingredients: diced onion, 2 cans of diced green chilies, chopped jalapenos, 1 can of diced tomatoes with green chilies, chicken broth cumin and garlic powder.  I mixed the ingredients together, set my slow cooked to low and let it cook for 8 hours on low.

When it was completed, I seasoned the meal with salt and pepper, served it over some rice and voila!  Dinner was served!

This meal was easy, delicious and made 6 servings at only 253 calories per serving!  It was so low, that's why I chose to make it over rice, which added only 50 more calories anyway!  It was also only $2.12/serving!  Yay!

Here's the recipe:

2 pounds boneless pork loin roast

salt and pepper to taste

cooking spray

2 tablespoons all -purpose flour

3/4 cup diced onion

2 cans (4.25 oz) diced green chilies

2 tablespoons chopped jalapenos

1 can (10 oz) diced tomatoes with green chilies

1/2 cup fat-free low-sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Happy cooking everyone!