Cranberry Sauce (Thanksgiving Trial #8)

There are only three more days until Thanksgiving!! I normally only like the Jellied Cranberry Sauce; however, since we are all getting into the Thanksgiving spirit I figured I would try making the Cranberry Sauce in the slow cooker.  This was so easy to make!! I was able to throw it all together and cook it in under three hours.

Ingredients:
12 oz bag of Cranberries
1/2 cup Water
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Brown Sugar (packed)
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 tablespoon Orange Zest

I had to run out and get the Orange while it was cooking

Rinse off the cranberries and check them for stems when adding them.  Then mix all of the ingredients (besides the orange zest) together in the slow cooker.

Place the cover on top and cook on high for 2.5 hours.

Take a big spoon and mash up all of the cranberries and mix in the orange zest.

Now you can just let this cool and it will be ready to serve!

It gets really thick after it has cooled to room temperature.  I tried it last night and I really liked it!  It has sooo much flavor!  It will really wake up everyones senses on Thanksgiving.  Plus it looks so much nicer than the standard cranberries that are served with the can rings around the edges. :)

Stuffing (Thanksgiving Trial #6)

Stuffing is my all time favorite Thanksgiving dish!! So I figured it would be helpful to master the recipe in the Crock so that you could make extra for the big day!! :)

Ingredients:
7 cups Bread
1 cup Celery
1 cup Onion
8 oz Sliced Mushrooms
1/2 cup Butter
2 teaspoon Parsley (2 tablespoon if fresh)
1 teaspoon Poultry Seasoning
3/4 teaspoon Sage
1/2 teaspoon Thyme
1/4 teaspoon Marjoram
3/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
1 Egg (1/4 cup Egg Beater)
1 can Chicken Broth

Begin by tearing the bread into little pieces and setting them in a bowl to dry out over night.  Next, melt the butter in a saucepan and saute the chopped up onion, celery, mushrooms and Parsley.  I prepared this the night before as well.  I put it in a separate bowl and left it in the fridge overnight.

In the morning the bread was nice and stale.  I warmed up the sauteed mixture in the microwave for about a minute and mixed it in with the bread pieces.  Then I added in the rest of the seasonings, the egg and a can of broth.  You should always mix it together in the bowl and then pour it into the slow cooker.  The end result was a little too soupy.  Next time I will only add a half can of broth.

I let it cook in the Slow Cooker for 7 hours and then it sat on warm for 3 hours.

The edges seemed a little over done but it just needed to be mixed together.  (The burnt parts ended up being my favorite!)

This Stuffing tasted so good!! I can't wait to try it in my Chicken and Stuffing recipe I have ready to go in the Slow Cooker tomorrow! :)

Pumpkin Pie Pudding (Thanksgiving Trial #5)

This is a great lowfat crustless pumpkin pie recipe you can make in the slow cooker. It is also very simple to make. We love making it anytime in the fall. It's perfect even as a snack if you're craving something sweet in the evening.

Ingredients: (Serves 8)
15oz Can of Pumpkin
12oz Can of Evaporated Milk
3/4c Splenda
1/2c Lowfat Buttermilk Baking Mix
6 Egg Whites
2t Pumpkin Pie Spice
1t Lemon Zest

I doubled the recipe to serve more.


Combine all the ingredients in the slow cooker sprayed with cooking spray.


Stir until lumps disappear. I ended up using a wire whisk. It made it a lot easier to get the lumps to disappear.

Cover and cook on low for 3 hours.

Serve warm or cold.

I love to use cool whip to top it off. So yummy!

Nutrition:

140 Calories

3.5g Fat

2g Fiber

7g Protein

21g Carbs

4 Points

Squash (Thanksgiving Trial #4)

This recipe was so easy to make that I almost feel weird posting it.  It would be a great dish for an inexperienced cook to bring to Thanksgiving Dinner because there is nothing hard about making it.  Recently I have really liked Acorn Squash.  I normally cut them in half and take the seeds out.  Then I pop it in the microwave with a little water for 15 minutes.  When the Squash is cooked all day in the slow cooker it brings out so many flavors.  It was fantastic and I didn't need to add butter or any flavorings!

Before work I threw two of them in the slow cooker with a little bit of water on the bottom.  You can add in as many as will fit in the Crock if you are hosting a big dinner or want to reheat it for leftover all week long.

I set the slow cooker on low for 7 hours and then they stayed on warm for 3 more hours.

They were very soft when I got home so be careful when you pick them up.  Now all you need to do is cut them in half and take the seeds out.  A lot of water did come out of one of them so be careful not to burn yourself.

After the seeds are removed scrape the insides into a bowl and mix it up!

I volunteered to bring Squash to Thanksgiving dinner.  I want to add a little more excitement to it.  I wonder if you can use a mixture of different kinds of Squash together?  Has anyone tried that?

Points Plus: 0

Roasted Turkey Breast (Thanksgiving Trial #3)

I decided to try out another Thanksgiving meal this week. The most important part: Turkey

Ingredients:

1 - 4 to 5 lb Boneless Skinless Turkey Breast

1/4c Chopped Fresh Parsley or 4t Dried Parsley

1T Fresh Thyme Leaves or 1t Dried Thyme

1T Grated Lemon Rind

2 Tart Apples, peeled, cored, chopped

4 Medium Leeks or Green Onion (white part & 1 inch pale green), rinsed, sliced thinly

1c Chicken Broth

1/2c Dry White Wine

2T Butter, room temperature

2T All-purpose Flour

Please ignore the blurry finger print on the lens. :p

Core and chop apples. I left the skin on to save time. It worked out fine with the skin. We were able to strain out the skins after it was done cooking.

Place apples and leeks in the bottom of the slow cooker.

Combine parsley, thyme, and lemon rind.

Rinse turkey breast and pat dry

Rub turkey inside and under the skin with the herb mixture.

Place turkey breast in slow cooker on top of apples and leeks.

Drizzle lemon juice over the turkey breast.

Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or on high for 3.5 to 4 hours.

Check the temperature of the breast when it is finished. It should be at least 165 degrees F.

Transfer breast to a serving platter. Let stand for 10 minutes before carving.


Turn setting to high. Whisk broth and wine into the juices in the slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine the butter and flour. Whisky into the slow cooker and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thickened and bubbly, about 15 minutes. Cook and stir for another minute. Pour sauce into a serving dish and spoon over breast slices.

We cooked the gravy as described above, but it did not thicken. The slow cooker didn't heat the gravy to a boil. I believe this would be easier/faster if you just bring the gravy to a boil on the stove.

This meal was so great. I actually heard my parents say "This is sooo good" about 7 times. LOL My mom says that she is planning to use this recipe for the extra breast she will make on Thanksgiving.

Recipe found at southernfood.about.com

Mashed Potatoes (Thanksgiving Trial #1)

My friends and I take turns hosting a monthly "Girls Night In".  Since this was the November edition we decided to have an early Thanksgiving.  I wanted to try making Mashed Potatoes in the Crock since they turned out so good with my Meatloaf.  I also love garlic so I added a lot of it to the mix! :)  My mom always makes mashed potatoes with red skins and keeps the skin on them and I love them!

First gather all of your ingredients:
4 lbs Red Skin Potatoes
1/2 c Butter
1/2 c Water
1/2 c Milk (I think I used a little more than that)
Garlic
Pepper

I didn't actually use the salt.

Place all of the potatoes in the bottom of the Slow Cooker.  I sliced the large ones in half so that they would all cook in the same amount of time.  Then pour the water over them and cover them with slices of butter.  Next I kind of went to town with the Garlic but use your own judgement.  I probably put at the very least a tablespoon on them and sprinkled the pepper on too.  You also have to remember that the spices simmer down as it cooks. 

I set this when I went to bed for 8.5 hours so that it would be ready to take along to work with me  This way I could go straight to the party after work.  When I woke up my entire house smelled like garlic goodness! :)

They mashed really easily and then I realized I didn't have a mixer so I added the milk and tried to mix it by hand.  I tested them and they tasted really good but they were thick.

I moved them to a bowl so they would be more presentable and easier to take to the party.

I think they would have been a lot better if I had served them right here.  I took them to work and refrigerated them all day.  Then when I got to my cousin's house I heated them up for a while in the microwave and added about another 1/2c of milk.  She had a mixer so I was able to make them smoother.  I normally like them still a little chunky...

Everyone said they were great!  They didn't look as yellow as the pictures are making them out to be... they just had a slight tint.  We had so much food... It was a great pregame to Thanksgiving!

I didn't do the nutritional info because this is a holiday dish which automatically makes it calorie free.. Right? lol