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!

California Turkey Burgers

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Hi!!!!!  So as I mentioned the other day, I have a bunch of recipes to catch up on from the weeks past and this is one of them!!  I made this a few weeks ago and boy was it delicious!  I love anything with fresh veggies piled on top, and these have three of my favorites.  Looking at it makes me want to mash it all up into some guacamole!!!  Anyway, let's get back on track!

First thing's first: I warmed some olive oil in a skillet in medium heat, then I added some scallions and cooked for about two minutes until softened.  When that was done, I put them into a bowl and seasoned it with salt and pepper, and then I added some sour cream, Worcestershire and ground turkey, mixing until combined.  I formed that mixture into 6 patties and set it aside.

Then I heat my grill pan to medium-high heat, sprayed with cooking spray and then cooked the patties 5 minutes on one side and 3 minutes on the other.  I then topped the patties with some blue cheese and allowed it to cook for another 2 minutes, to finish cooking the patties and melt the cheese.

Once those were cooked, I placed them on some whole wheat hamburger buns, topped it with sliced red onion, tomatoes and avocado and VOILA!!!!!  Dinner was served!!  This meal made 6 servings at only 370 calories/serving!  Whoa!  It was also only $2.13/serving!  Yay!!

Here's the recipe:

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 cup scallions

3/4 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

3 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream

4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 pounds lean ground turkey

Cooking spray

3 ounces blue cheese, crumbled

6 whole wheat hamburger buns, split

2 tomatoes, sliced 14-inch thick

1 medium red onion, thinly sliced

Happy cooking everyone!!

Tex-Mex Calzones with Black Bean Salad

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Happy black Friday everyone!!  Although I'm not too sure how happy black Friday can be...I definitely made sure to avoid stores like the plague today!

Anyway, since it has been a while, I have quite a bit of meals stored up to send your way but fear not!  They will get to you all in due time!

This meal I maybe two weeks ago at the latest and yummmmmmmmmmy this was delicious!

First thing's first: I preheat my oven to 425 degrees and then started to cook my ground turkey while the oven was heating.  I let that cook about 3 minutes and then added some onion, red and green bell peppers, cumin, chili powder and some garlic cloves that I had minced earlier and allowed that to cook for another 4 minutes.  When that was done I removed it from the heat and added some salsa (woo!).

After I had cooked that, I unrolled a can of refrigerated pizza dough and cut them into 4 equal portions, rolling them into 6x4 inch rectangles.  I then put about 1/2 cup of the turkey mixture onto one side of each rectangle, topping the mixture with 2 tablespoons of Mexican blend cheese, and then folding the other half of the dough over and pressing the edges together and sealing it with a fork.

After those were assembled, I placed them on a baking sheet I had sprayed with cooking spray and put it into the preheated oven to bake for 12 minutes.

While that was baking, I assembled the black bean salad by combining the following: black beans that had been rinsed and drained, some quartered cherry tomatoes, some chopped red onion, some chopped celery, fresh lime juice and cilantro and some olive oil.  Then I tossed all of that to coat and put it in the fridge until my calzones were ready to serve.

Once the calzones were baked and browned, I cut them in half, served them with a dollop of sour cream and some of the black bean salad and VOILA!!!!!  Dinner was served!!!

This meal was easy but very delicious and filling.  The best part (I know this is what you wait for!) is that the calzones were only 416 calories aaaaaaand the black bean salad was only 90 calories!!!  So listen, I know this puts us over my usual 500 calories (we came in at a whopping 506 calories) but sometimes you have to splurge!  :P  This also was only $2.84/servings, and the meal made 4 yummy servings.  There were actually some black bean salad left over, so I think it made about 8 servings.

Here's the recipe:

Tex-Mex Calzones:

8 ounces ground turkey breast

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

12 cup chopped red pepper

3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup fat-free fire-roasted salsa verde

1 (11 ounce) can refrigerated thin-crust pizza dough

3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded Mexican cheese blend

Cooking spray

1/4 cup fat-free sour cream

Black Bean Salad:

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

1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1/4 cup chopped celery

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon olive oil

Happy cooking everyone!

Huevos Rancheros

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Let me tell you, I've always wanted to try this meal, whether I made it or got it in a restaurant, but man was it yummy!  Oh, and really filling, I was really surprised by how full I was afterwards!

So anyway, first thing's first: I heat some oil in a small saucepan and cooked some onions I had minced beforehand, and then added some minced tomatoes, green chiles, cumin, salt and pepper and let that cook for a few more minutes.

When that was done I set it aside and kept it warm, and then I got another pan and lightly sprayed some corn tortillas with cooking spray and allowed them to cook on both sides until crispy, and then I set THAT aside.

Once THOSE were done, I sprayed the same pan with more cooking spray and cooked each egg individually (sunny side up!).  Then VOILA!!!  Dinner was served by topping the cooked tortillas with the eggs, followed by the tomato mixture, the lettuce, some pepper Jack cheese and finally with cilantro!  Yummy!

This meal was soooooo flavorful, and only 194 calories/tortilla with egg and sauce, AND only $1.14/serving!  Whoop whoop!!!

Here's the recipe:

1 teaspoon oil

1 onion, minced

2 medium tomatoes, minced

4 tablespoons green chiles (whichever canned brand you like!)

cooking spray

salt and pepper

2 pinches cumin

4 large eggs

1/2 cup shredded lettuce

2 ounces shredded pepper Jack cheese

4 teaspoons chopped cilantro

4 corn tortillas

Happy cooking everyone!

Shredded Chicken and Corn Tostadas

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Howdy!!!!!  So listen, I know it's been another minute since I've posted something and let me tell you, my new (can I call it new anymore??) has kept me BU-SY!!  Not to mention, hubs' birthday was yesterday (yes Halloween, be jelly!) AND we had our boys doing fun stuff also, so it has been hectic.  PLUS, I actually made some awesome meals but FORGOT TO TAKE PHOTOS!  Sometimes after work I'm just so tired, and hungry!, that I just devour the food before I remember I should've taken a photo.  Not today, my friends!!

All of my boys really enjoyed this meal, and I believe hubs called it an 'alien/Mexican awesomeness', or something like that, haha!!

So anyway, first thing's first: the meal called for 'shredded chicken' (I know, duh), so I decided to boil the chicken because that always seems to be the best way for me to 'shred' my chicken, but do it any way you choose!  While I boiled that, I got a cookie sheet and baked some soft taco sized flour tortillas (it fit two at a time on my cookie sheet) in my oven preheated to 375 degrees for about 7 minutes (this seemed to work the best for my oven).

While those were all cooking and baking, I also shredded some lettuce and sliced some green onions for later.  I also pre-mixed some sour cream and milk until thin, oh yeah!

When my chicken was done (I apologize, I was prepping so many other things that I didn't even bother to check how much time it took,  I'd say 10-12 minutes, maybe?  Don't quote me on that, though!), I took two forks and shredded it, and then put some into a saucepan with some Mexicorn and salsa!  I let that cook on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes.  Then I topped my cooked tortillas with the lettuce, and then the chicken mixture, followed by some Monterey Jack cheese, the sour cream mixture and finished with the green onions and VOILA!!!!!!!  Dinner was served!!!

This meal was fun to eat and SUPER yummy.  It was only 270 calories/tostada and was only $1.82/serving!  Yeah buddy!!!

Here's the recipe!!

8 soft taco sized flour tortillas

1 can (11 ounces) Mexicorn, drained

1 1/2 cup shredded chicken

1 jar (16 ounces) salsa (any kind!)
1/2 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons milk

2 1/2 cups shredded lettuce

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1/4 cup sliced green onions

Happy cooking everyone!!!