Cashew Chicken

For Girl's Night last weekend my friend made us Cashew Chicken.  I love this dish!! So I thought I would try to make it with my slow cooker.  There are a few changes I would make in the future but it still turned out really good! :)
Ingredients:
1.5lb Boneless Chicken
1 Can Fat Free Cream of Mushroom
3 Tablespoons Light Soy Sauce
1 Package California Blend Frozen Vegetables
1 Package Fresh Mushrooms, Sliced
1/2 Cup Cashews, Chopped

In the slow cooker you can stir the soup and the soy sauce together.

Next I put the frozen chicken on defrost in the microwave for two minutes.  This thaws them enough to let you cut them.  I sliced them into pretty big chunks.  Then I mixed the chicken, vegetables and mushrooms into the sauce.

I cooked this for seven hours on low and then it sat on warm for a little while.

I couldn't believe how mushy the vegetables got!  Next time I would definitely wait to add the frozen vegetables until about a half hour before you are going to serve the meal.  It was still really good, but would have been better with a little more crunch.  After this you can chop up your cashews and toss them in.

I served this over whole grain rice with a side of crab wontons.

If you try this one let me know how it turned out when you add the vegetables later.  Also, maybe doubling the vegetables would be a good idea to make it more filling.

Nutritional Info:
Servings: 6
WW Points Plus: 5
Calories: 254
Fat: 9g
Carbs: 10
Protein: 29

Bean Enchilada Casserole

I was getting a little bored with the soup and chicken recipes so I decided to try to create one of my favorite Mexican dishes. However, this one is a lot healthier than the one I order at the restaurant...

Ingredients:
1 Green Pepper
1 Onion
1 Can Black Beans
1 Can Pinto Beans
1 Can Diced Tomatoes
1/4 Cup Water
1 Teaspoon Cumin
1/2 Teaspoon Chili Powder (add more if you dare..)
1/4 Teaspoon Pepper
2 Cups Shredded Taco Cheese
6 Whole Wheat Tortilla's

Begin by chopping up the pepper and onion and sauteing them. I sprayed the frying pan with Olive Oil Pam to cut down on some of the fat.

While these are cooking empty your beans into a strainer so that they can be rinsed and drained. (My strainer got into a little fight with the oven... The oven won!)

After the vegetables are cooked you can add the beans, water, tomatoes and spices to them. Bring them to a boil and then let them simmer for 10 minutes.

Now is the fun layering part! :)  Start by spooning about one cup of the bean mixture onto the bottom of the slow cooker.

Place a tortilla on the mixture and then spread 1/3 cup cheese on top of it.

Add one cup of the bean mixture on top of the cheese.

Continue this pattern until everything is gone.  Try to end it with just a torilla and cheese on top.  I messed up and had the mixture on the top layer so it wasn't so pretty...

I baked this for 7.5 hours on low and let it sit on warm for 4.5 more hours.  I don't know what I was thinking when I set the programmer.  I should have only cooked it for 5 hours.  It was over done when I got home...

It was so good though!! It really broke me out of my cooking rut!! I may need to revisit this one for Cinco de Mayo! :)

I just had some leftovers for lunch and it was so filling and great even reheated! :)

Nutritional Info:
WW Points +: 12
Calories: 403
Fat: 20
Carbs: 30
Protein: 26
**Using a reduced fat cheese will probably help make it healthier in the future.

Asparagus Risotto

I have tried to make risotto twice in my life. It was a pain having to stir it for so long over the stove. I decided that I wanted to see how it would turn out in a slow cooker. I am so happy I tried!

Ingredients: (Serves 4)

1/2 Onion

2T Olive Oil

1/4c White Wine

1c Arborio Rice (short grain rice)

1 Bunch of Asparagus

3c Chicken Broth

2 Cloves of Garlic

1/4c Grated Parmesan or Asiago Cheese

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Chop the onions

Chop the asparagus. I usually throw out the bottom couple inches because they are so tough.

In a pan, saute the onions in the olive oil until the onions are translucent.


Add the white wine to the frying pan and let it cook for 1 minute.

Mix the rice with the onion and wine. This will coat the rice with oil, which helps the rice to not stick together while cooking in the slow cooker. Cook for 2 minutes.

Put rice mixture in the slow cooker.

Add asparagus, broth, and garlic to the slow cooker.


Cover and cook on high for 2 hours. No need to stir while cooking.

Stir in Parmesan before serving.


Dinner is served. This was so good! It was so much easier than standing over the stove for a long time continuously stirring the risotto. It can be served as the main entree or a side dish. I can't wait to make it again! It'll be fun to switch it up with different veggies each time.

Nutrition:

293 Calories

9g Fat

4g Fiber

10g Protein

48g Carbs

8 WW PointsPlus

Pork Chops and Sweet Potatoes

We had extra sweet potatoes around. So I decided to find a recipe that I could use them in. This recipe is nice since it doesn't have a ton of ingredients. It was very simple to make.

Ingredients: (Serves 6)

6 Pork Chops

4 Sweet Potatoes

1 Can Whole Cranberry Sauce

Salt and Pepper to taste

I peeled the sweet potatoes the night before to save myself time in the morning. I placed the potatoes in a bowl with water and salt to prevent them from turning brown.

Place the pork in the slower cooker. Layer the cranberry sauce with the pork.

Chop the sweet potatoes. I just quartered them, and it worked out great. Now that I think about it, I should have chopped them the night before also.


Place the sweet potatoes in the slow cooker also.


Cook on Low for 6-8 hours or high for 4 hours.



The sweet potatoes were so soft and easy to mash. I love to eat mine with butter and brown sugar. Mmmmm.... The pork was dry though... I ended up cooking mine for 8 hours on low plus 4 hours on warm. This may be the reason the pork was dry. I suggest trying 6 hours instead of 8. The flavor of the pork was great though. Interesting how the cranberries disappeared.

Nutritional Information: (for Pork and Sweet Potatoes)

398 Calories

12g Fat

4g Fiber

30g Protein

42g Carbs

10 WW PointsPlus

Recipe found on Sparkpeople.com from JENNIW70.

Vegetable Stew with Cornmeal Dumplings

This was one of my favorite receipes when I gave up meat last lent.  It didn't turn out quite how I remember it last night but it was still good.

Ingredients:
Stew
1 Acorn Squash
2 Packages Fresh Mushrooms
4 Cloves Garlic
1 Pint Stewed Tomatoes
1 Can Great Northern Beans
1 Cup Water
1 Teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
Dumplings
1/2 Cup Flour
1/3 Cup Cornmean
2 Tablespoon Parmesan Cheese
1 Tablespoon Parsley
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Egg
4 Tablespoon Milk
1 Bag Frozen Green Beans

Make sure to spray your slow cooker before you begin.  The hardest part of this for me what peeling the squash and then chopping it up.

Chop up the squash, mushrooms and garlic and add them to the slow cooker.

Next, mix in the beans, stewed tomatoes, water, seasoning and pepper.

I let this cook on low for 10 hours and then it sat on warm for 1.5 hours.

Mix together the flour, cornmeal, parmesan cheese, parsley, baking powder, salt, egg and milk.

Turn your slow cooker to high and stir in the green beans.  Then drop five mounds of the dumpling dough into the stew.  I meant to make six dumplings but I guess I got too excited when making it.  I adjusted the nutritional info to five servings.

Leave the cover on and let it cook for 50 minutes.  (I forgot to take the after picture of the whole meal)

This was great but I might try making more dumplings next time.  Also, the green beans were still kind of tough.  Maybe I will use canned or add them earlier.

Nutritional Info:
5 Servings
WW Points Plus: 6
Calories: 319
Carbs: 60
Fat: 5
Protein: 14

Pork Tenderloin and Sweet-Spiced Onions

This is a "quick" slow cooker recipe. It only takes 2 hours to cook. I made it on Saturday while I was home.

Ingredients:

1/2 tsp Coarsely Ground Black Pepper

1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon

1/4 tsp Ground Allspice

1/8 tsp Salt

1 lb Pork Tenderloin (I would change this to 1.5 or 2 lb)

2 tsp Canola Oil

1 Large Onion, chopped

1/2 tsp Finely Shredded Orange Peel

1/4 c Orange Juice

2 Tbsp Soy Sauce

2 tsp Cornstarch

2 tsp Sugar

2 c Hot Cooked Whole Wheat Couscous

1/2 c Frozen Peas, thawed

1 oz Sliced Almonds (about 1/4 c)

Combine black pepper, cinnamon, allspice, and salt in a small bowl


Sprinkle evenly over the pork and press onto meat

In a large nonstick skillet heat 1 tsp of the oil over medium-high heat. Brown pork for about 4 minutes, turning occasionally to brown evenly.

Place pork in the slow cooker


Heat the additional 1 tsp of oil and cook the onions until they are browned.

Spoon the onions around the pork.

Pour orange juice over the onion.

Cover and cook on Low for 2 hours or High for 1.5 hours.

Transfer pork to a cutting board and cover to keep warm.

Turn the slow cooker on high.

Whisk together the soy sauce, cornstarch, sugar and orange peel in a small bowl until the cornstarch is completely dissolved.

Stir the mixture with the onions in the slow cooker. Cover and cook for 15 minutes to thicken.

Mix cooked couscous, peas, and almonds together.

Serve the couscous along with the pork. This was a great meal! The pork had a wonderful cinnamon taste. It was also the first time I have ever mixed something in the couscous. I loved the combination.

The recipe called for 1 pound of pork, but I would recommend using 1 1/2 to 2 pounds if you prefer more protein.

Nutrition: (Pork and couscous)

340 Calories

10g Fat

4g Fiber

29g Protein

33g Carbs

8 WW PointsPlus

Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens Diabetic Slow Cooker