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

Creamy Chicken and Mashed Potatoes

Last week I had made the Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes for girls night and had quite a bit left over.  I decided to use them in the Crock again and make a super simple dinner.  I didn't take an ingredients picture because I was just winging it...

Ingredients:
Mashed Potatoes (enough to cover the bottom of the Crock)
1 lb frozen chicken
1 can corn
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon meat tenderizer
    (Could have used a little more of the spices because I couldn't really taste them)

I alway spray my Slow Cooker with Pam before I do anything to try to help the cleaning process.  Evenly spread out the mashed potatoes on the bottom of the Crock and layer the chicken on top.  Next sprinkle the chicken with the celery salt, poultry seasoning and the meat tenderizer.  After this is finished cover the chicken with the corn and then the cream of chicken soup.  Try to spread the soup out so that everything is completely covered to avoid drying out the chicken.

I put everything together the night before and then set the slow cooker in the morning on my way to work.  I cooked it on low for 7 hours and then let it sit on warm for 4 hours.

It looked a little scary but it was perfect once you mixed it up!  The one side got a little browned but it wasn't burnt.  You could probably cook it for 6 hours instead of 7.

 My friend Melissa came over and we enjoyed it before our Monday night shows.  It was a great meal for a cold night.  We thought adding mushrooms would be a great idea for next time though.

Green Bean Casserole (Thanksgiving Trial #2)

I also made a dish for our Girls Night In - Thanksgiving Edition this week. We were making all of the traditional dishes, so I choose green bean casserole. This was my first time making it in the crock pot. I think making the casserole in the crock pot is a great option when your oven is filled other dishes leaving no room for your green bean casserole.


Ingredients: (Serves 6)
1 - 14.5 oz Can of French Style Green Beans
1 - 14.5 oz Can of Cut Green Beans
1 - 10 3/4 oz Can of 98% Fat Freen Cream of Mushroom Soup
2 - 4 oz Cans of Mushroom Pieces
1/2c Nonfat Milk
1t Worcestershire Sauce
1/2t Black Pepper
Package of French Onion Soup
1/4 - 6oz French's Fried Onions

The ingredients shown above serve 6. Just multiply the recipe to make it large enough for your Thanksgiving Feast. I doubled the recipe to serve 12.



1. Spray crock pot with cooking spray
2. Drain the green beans and mushrooms
3. Combine canned green beans with a can of mushrooms in the crock pot




4. Mix cream of mushroom soup, milk, worcestershire sauce, black pepper, and french onion soup mix in a seperate bowl

5. Cover green beans and mushrooms with the sauce. Do not stir

6. Cook on low for 6-8 hours

I love having the crunchy fried onion topping on my green bean casserole. So I added an additional step that requires using the oven for a few minutes after the casserole is done cooking.

7. Cover the casserole with the fried onions

8. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 5 minutes

Your green bean casserole is ready for the party! I got quite a few compliments on the dish. Personally, I thought it was a little salty and would leave out the french onion soup next time. I love the crock pot alternative to the Thanksgiving classic!

Nutritional Info: (1 cup serving)
157 Calories
8g Fat
4g Fiber
2g Protein
19g Carbs
4 WW PointsPlus


Recipe found on food.com from smilyus

Mediterranean Vegetable Soup

Lately I have been loving Mediterranean food! So I thought I would try to make a super healthy soup that would be filling and pretty much point free... It may need a little work in the future!

Ingredients:
2 lb Mini Yellow Potatoes
1 large Onion
1 large Eggplant
1 Green Pepper
1 Red Pepper
3 Zucchini
3 Garlic Cloves
1 qt Stewed Tomatoes
Salt
Basil
Thyme
Cumin

I didn't end up using the Olive Oil or Oregano

Start by placing all of the potatoes in the bottom of the slow cooker.  Chop up the onion and spread it out on top of the potatoes with the minced garlic.  Next peel and cube the Eggplant and sprinkled it over the onions and then top this with the sliced up Peppers.  Cut the Zucchini's into about 1" pieces and place them on top.  Finish it off by pouring the Stewed Tomatoes on top.  I read that it would add more flavor if you sprinkled salt on each layer.  You can also randomly add in the Thyme and Basil.

Of course I made this the night before and stored it in my fridge until morning.  I set it for 7.5 hours but I don't think it needed that long.  It was also on warm for about 3.5 hours.  The house did smell amazing when I walked in the door!

My friend came over to try it with me, but I wasn't that impressed with it.  I kept asking her if she wanted me to order pizza instead but she said that she liked it.  It was pretty bland and tasted like watered down vegetables.  I was pretty bummed because I was really looking forward to it all day. I definitely did not add enough seasoning to it.  We sprinkled some salt and cumin on it to add some flavor.  Next time I think I will definitely add salt to each layer and a lot more garlic and cumin.  I think sausage would be a great addition as well.

Servings: 6

Points Plus: 3