Crazypotato98’s T-Bone Soup

You bought a great steak yesterday but the grill out was cancelled due to rain. Don’t freeze that steak, turn it into soup!

Use the wonderful Calorie Count Conversion Tool to translate grams into ounces. It’s easy! The nutrition facts were also designed at Calorie Count - the smart place to log your calories.

Crazypotato98’s T-Bone Soup

Ingredients:

2 zucchini, chopped

5 red potatoes, diced

5 cups water

27 1/2 grams {2.5 cubes} knorr beef bouillon

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp chili powder

8 oz steak, t-bone, fat trimmed

1poblano pepper, seeds removed, chopped

Directions:

Put water, bouillon, brown sugar, chili powder, poblano and steak in the crock pot.

Cook on low for one hour.

Add tiny chopped red potatoes and zucchini. Cook on high for at least one-two hours more.

Serve.

Marie's Crockpot Mushrooms

Stressed with party preparations? This is one appetizer that can handle being left alone.

The nutrition facts were designed at Calorie Count.

Marie’s Crockpot Mushrooms

serves eight

Ingredients:

16 oz fresh mushrooms, cleaned and trimmed but left whole

1 envelope Ranch Dressing Mix

8 T Butter

Directions:

Put everything in a crockpot, stir well and heat on high for one hour.

Super good appetizer!

skil829757939's Easy Weekday Ribs

This is a fantastic idea for getting a normally time consuming meal on the table fast - even if you've been at work all day! Many thanks to skil829757939, one of the awesome people at Calorie Count! Here's the nutrition facts for pork ribs.

Easy Weekday Ribs

Ingredients:

Ribs

Water

BBQ Sauce

Slow Cooker

Grill

Directions:

Put your ribs in water in the slow cooker in the morning on low.

Throw them on the BBQ for 5 minutes with your preferred BBQ sauce when you get home.

Voila!Done!

Crazypotato98's Mild and Easy Crock Pot Chili

Mild and delicious. Adding mushrooms means you don't need to use as much ground beef. It also lowers the calories significantly. When making a recipe from Crazypotato98, you may need to use the unit conversion tool on the right hand side of this blog. Just change the amount of the beef from kg to ounces. Enjoy. 

The nutrition facts are at Calorie Count!

Mild and Easy Crock Pot Chili

Ingredients 

(Makes 8 servings)

2 cups dried pinto beans

6 cups water

4 Knorr tomato bouillon cubes

1 poblano pepper, diced

2  green bell peppers, diced

2 cups diced raw mushrooms

7/20 kg beef, ground, 90% lean meat

14 oz canned diced tomatoes

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

Directions:

Just throw it all in the Crock Pot and simmer for 6-8 hours on low. That's it!

Wharis124's Slow Cooker Spinach Chicken Feta Quiche

Yes, quiche in a slow cooker - with the wonderful nutrition of spinach! Wendy said that this delicious dish began with a recipe from Family Circle online, but that she tweaked it a bit. I think you'll find her version as yummy as she did.

The nutrition facts are at Calorie Count!

Spinach, Chicken, and Feta Quiche

Ingredients:

2 1/2 chicken breasts (approximately 1 pound), raw, cut into 1 in chunks
1 pkg (10 oz) frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
6 oz fat free feta cheese
1/3 cup fresh dill
2 Tbsp onion flakes
6 large eggs
1 can fat free evaporated milk
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup Heart Healthy Bisquick
  
Directions:

1. Coat slow cooker bowl with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In large bowl, combine chicken, spinach, feta, dill, and onion flakes. Stir until evenly blended.

3. In another bowl, whisk eggs, milk, and pepper. Stir into chicken mixture. Fold in Bisquick.

4. Pour into slow cooker. Cook for 6 hrs on LOW.

5. Remove slow cooker insert and turn out onto wire rack. Cut quiche into 8 wedges and serve.

LlThomas43's Low Sodium Black Bean Soup

Yes, you can enjoy flavorful broth rich dishes even on a low sodium diet! The nutrition facts for this easy soup are at Calorie Count!

Low Sodium Black Bean Soup

Ingredients:

2 cups dried black beans, sorted, rinsed and soaked overnight (drain the water from the beans before adding to the crock-pot)
6 cups unsalted non fat chicken broth  or low sodium vegetable broth (Progresso is good, so is Pacific Organic low sodium vegetable broth)
1/2 c chopped onion
4 large baby carrots, chopped (or one small regular carrot)
14.5 oz can Hunt's stewed tomatoes, no salt added
2 large stalks celery with leaves, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups water
Mrs Dash Extra Spicy seasoning (I use about a teaspoon, please adjust this to suit your tastes)

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a crock-pot and mix well.

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

Delicious with a slice of whole grain bread.

Makes 8 hearty servings

Sheila's Crock Pot Apple Pie

The nutrition facts for this easy as crock pot pie are at Calorie Count!

Crock Pot Apple Pie

Ingredients:

8  apples*

1 ¼ teaspoon  ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon  allspice

¼ teaspoon  nutmeg

¾ cup  milk

2 teaspoon  butter

¾ cup  sugar

2  eggs

1 teaspoon  vanilla

1 ½ cups Bisquick, divided

1/3 cup  brown sugar

3 teaspoon  cold butter

Directions:

Peeled and core apples. Cut into 1/2 inch slices lengthwise. Toss apples in large bowl with cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg. Place in lightly greased crockpot.

Combine milk, softened butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and 1/2 cup Bisquick. Spoon over apples.

Combine 1 cup Bisquick and brown sugar. cut the cold butter into mixture until crumbly.

Sprinkle this mixture over top of apple mixture.

Cover and cook on low until apples are soft - around five hours

Check to see if they are soft after five hours. If you go too long and the edges will be burnt.

Note:

*Granny Smith Apples work the best

Susan's Turkey in a Crockpot

This is one of those very basic "recipes" that each cook needs to take as a starting position only. Vary each ingredient to your individual tastes. Like all white meat? Don't use the thighs. Prefer different veggies? Go for it! Season as you prefer as well. If you are a calorie counter, make sure you take a weighed portion and count up those calories using these nutrition facts for white meat turkey or the nutrition facts for dark meat turkey from Calorie Count! The meat will have absorbed sodium, but to be honest I have no idea as to how one would count those numbers.

Turkey in a Crockpot

Ingredients and Directions all Mixed Up:

Put a whole bunch of "new" (small) yukon gold potatoes in the bottom of the crock. Rub the turkey parts of your choice* liberally with poultry seasoning and place them on top of the potatoes. Pour in some chicken or turkey stock - enough to make it about an inch deep. Cover and let it cook for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low. 

When you are done you have potatoes cooked to perfection in drippings so they are super flavorful for mashing or eating as they are. The meat is tender. Tons of "drippings" for turning into gravy too.

Laura K's Spaghetti Squash with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Two cups of of spaghetti squash has only 84 calories. Two cups of regular spaghetti has 442 calories. Eat a larger serving, get more nutrition, and enjoy it with your preferred sauce. Laura K's idea of layering marinara with roasted red peppers makes a tasty and lovely presentation.

The nutrition facts for this beautiful healthy recipe can be found at Calorie Count!

Spaghetti Squash with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Serves 2

Squash Ingredients:

1 spaghetti squash
2 C water

Topping Ingredients:

2 cups marinara sauce (your favorite from a jar)
1 cup roasted red peppers, cut into strips
1 t olive oil
ground black pepper to taste (more is great!)
ground crushed red pepper to taste
2 T Feta crumbles

Place the spaghetti squash whole into a slow cooker with 2 cups of water. Heat on low for 8-9 hours. Before the squash is removed, heat the sauce. Slice the red peppers and mix with the olive oil, the black pepper, and maybe a shake of red pepper if you like your dinner to bite back a bit. Do not open the squash until all of this is ready.

Prepare the squash immediately before serving by cutting in half lengthwise as this ensure long strands. Remove as many seeds as you can from the center. Then run a fork through the squash to remove the strands. Mound the squash on a plate and top with the olive oil and peppers.

Ladle on the sauce. Add feta crumbles and serve immediately as the squash will cool quickly.

Notes:

If you don't want to use the marinara, toss the squash with a couple tablespoons of olive oil and pepper, lay the roasted red peppers on top, add feta and serve. 

Alternative Squash Cooking Methods:

Quick Microwave Whole Squash Method - poke 10-12 holes in the squash with a knife about 1" deep (be careful to not stab yourself, the squash is hard - us a very sharp knife only). Microwave on high for 10 mins, flip sides (careful - super hot) and microwave side 2 for 10 minutes (until soft and easily pierced with a fork), cut lengthwise and proceed as directed above.

Relaxed Microwave/Oven Whole Squash Method - Poke the squash several times with a knife or sharp fork. Then nuke it for 10-15 minutes. Then forget about it for a bit. Just let it sit for an hour or more. (I find a good way to do this is to start the microwave when I am on my way out - by the time I get back from shopping or whatever it is done cooking and sitting). This can make it pretty easy to cut in half. The secret to easy slicing in half is the letting it sit part though so don't skip that step. After slicing it in half then drizzle the olive oil on it and let it bake at 350 degrees, cut side down for 40 minutes or so. Scoop out the squash while it is still HOT.

Oven Only Whole Squash Method - Pierce the whole squash several times with a sharp knife. Bake an hour at at 375 degrees. Slice in half lengthwise, scoop seeds and pulp, and proceed as directed above.

Oven Only Half Squash Method - Use a large very sharp knife and cut the squash in half lengthwise. If this is not something you can do because of arthritic fingers or lack of strength, just do one of the whole squash methods. After Cutting the squash in half, scoop out the seeds and pulpy stuff. Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes or until the squash is softened and easily pierced with a fork.

Crazypotato98's Crock Pot Tex Mex Chicken and Beans

Here is a delicious crock pot recipe that's super-easy and versatile. The original recipe was intended to be a stew, but Crazypotato98 thinks it that it is far too thick to be a stew and works great as a tostada topping, tortilla filling, or even on top of a piece of whole-wheat toast. Adjust the liquids if you want it to remain a stew!

The nutrition facts can be found at Calorie Count! This recipe gets an A- at Calorie Count and provides a nice distribution between fat, protein and carbs at only 386 calories a serving! Click the link below the picture to find out what The World's Healthiest Foods thinks of this little bean!

Tex Mex Chicken and Beans

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 cup dried pinto beans, rinsed
1 jar (11 oz) mild or medium salsa
2 tbsp chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Salt and pepper
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper (ribs and seeds removed)
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream (for serving)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (for serving)

Directions: 

Stir together beans, salsa, chiles, flour, and 1 cup water in slow cooker. Season chicken with salt and pepper; arrange on top of bean mixture. Scatter onion and bell pepper on top of chicken.

Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours (do not open lid or stir).

Remove chicken from stew; shred into large pieces and return to stew. Serve topped with sour cream and cilantro.

*notes: Crazypotato98 added one more cup of water the following evening (cooked it the night before), let it cook on low a bit longer, and used it as topping for baked tostada shells. Delicious!