Saturday, October 1, 2016

Healthy Recipes

Week 1

Monday – Honey Dijon Chicken
Tuesday – Freezer to Slow Cooker Chicken Chili
Wednesday -  Crockpot Lime Shredded Pork – tacos, burritos, or salads
Thursday –  Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce
Friday – Crockpot Mandarin Chicken
Saturday – Crockpot Chicken Teriyaki with Vegetables
Sunday - Crockpot Balsamic Beef Roast with Carrots



Week 2

Monday – Slow Cooker Spicy Beef and Bell Pepper
Tuesday – Crockpot Salsa Chicken
Wednesday -  Hamburger Soup
Thursday –  Slow Cooker Apple Cider Pork
Friday – Italian Beef Sandwiches
Saturday – Pineapple Chicken
Sunday - Chicken Fajitas
Easy Ham & Potato Soup
Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken
Easy Prep Meals
Baked Chicken and Veggies
Easy Fajita Chicken Bake
Bruschetta Chicken
Chicken and Pineapple Fried Rice
Whole Wheat Pizza
Easy Taco Soup

Favorites

Vegetable Lasagna

I am preparing for the next Great in 8 Weeks challenge, by taking some time to put together some Great in 8 approved Crockpot/Freezer Recipes.  Many of these are taken from New Leaf Wellness.  She has great recipes, tips, and also shopping lists.  Check it out.  Preparation is the key to success for busy people.

Here are the ones I am working on for this weekend.
**Vera’s Tip – I prefer to freeze mine standing up (rather than laying flat), in case I forget to put them in the fridge the night before, it is easier to get them to fit in the crockpot frozen.
Honey Dijon Chicken
Freezer-to-Slow Cooker Chicken Chili
Crockpot Lime Shredded Pork
Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce
Crockpot Balsamic Beef Roast with Carrots
Slow Cooker Spicy Beef & Bell Pepper
Crockpot Chicken Teriyaki
Slow Cooker Apple Cider Braised Pork
Hamburger Potato Soup
Chicago Style Shredded Beef Sandwiches
Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers
Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Crockpot Italian Chicken

Honey Dijon Chicken
Yields: 3 servings
INGREDIENTS
• 1 pound of boneless skinless chicken breasts, fat trimmed • 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (or whole grain mustard)
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
• 1/2 cup water* not needed until day of cooking

MATERIALS
• 1 gallon-sized plastic freezer bag (you can use a quart-sized freezer bag, if you have one)

PREP
1. Label your freezer bag.
2. To your gallon-sized freezer bag, add all ingredients (except water).
3. Remove as much air from the gallon-sized freezer bag as possible, seal, and lay flat in your freezer.

COOK
1. The night before cooking, move freezer bag to your refrigerator to thaw.
2. The morning of cooking, pour contents of freezer bag into your crockpot and add water.
3. Cook on low setting for 3-6 hours or until chicken is cooked through and tender.

Serve with rice and steamed broccoli or a salad.
Freezer-to-Slow Cooker Chicken Chili
Ingredients
o   1 medium yellow onion (one cup), chopped
                  1, 15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
                  1, 15oz can cannellini beans (white kidney beans), drained and rinsed
                  1, 14.5oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained (my family likes medium-heat)
                  1, 14.5oz can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
                  1 cup frozen medley of green & red peppers & onion strips
                  1 2/3 cup frozen corn
                  4 cloves garlic, minced
                  1 tablespoon paprika
                  3 teaspoons chili powder
                  2 teaspoons ground cumin
                  1 1/2 teaspoon oregano
                  1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
                  1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
Prep
            Place onion, 2 cans of beans, 2 cans of tomatoes, frozen pepper medley, and corn into a gallon-sized plastic freezer bag.
            Add garlic and seasonings.
            Add chicken. (It’s important to add the meat last so it’s the first ingredient to go into your slow cooker.)
            Remove as much air as you can, and lay bag flat in your freezer. (If you have a standard freezer, the “use by” date will be 3 months from now.)
Cook
            Thaw overnight in your refrigerator.
            Add to slow cooker and cook on low for 10-12 hrs or until chicken is tender.



Crockpot Lime Shredded Pork

From my No Cook Freezer Recipes Cookbook http://newleafwellness.biz/product/cookbook-ebook-bundle/
Yields: One gallon-sized bag of Lime Shredded Pork with 4-6 servings. (I doubled this recipe and made two bags.)
INGREDIENTS
·       2.5lb bone-in pork shoulder roast (sometimes labeled as a “Boston butt” or “pork butt”)
·       The juice from two limes
·       1 tablespoon honey
·       1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne red pepper
·       1/4 teaspoon salt
1.    Label freezer bag.
2.    To your freezer bag, add lime juice, honey, cayenne pepper, salt, and pork shoulder. (Add the pork shoulder to the bag last, so it’s the first ingredient poured into your slow cooker.)
3.    Remove as much air from the freezer bag as possible, seal, and lay flat in your freezer.
COOK
1.    The night before cooking, move freezer bag to your refrigerator to thaw.
2.    The morning of cooking, pour contents of freezer bag into your crockpot, and cook on “low” setting for 8-12 hours, or until pork is cooked through and falls off the bone.
3.    Remove pork meat from the bone.
4.    Shred and serve with tortillas or rice, next day make lime pork quesadillas.

Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce

Prep Time 10 minutes Yield 6 servings Cook Time 8 hours, 5 minutes
Total Time 8 hours, 15 minutes
**One of my FAVORITES - A rich and meaty spaghetti sauce easily made in the crockpot - it makes enough to feed an army and you can freeze the leftovers! I combined all the ingredients with cook ground beef in a freezer bag.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound ground beef

1 pound Italian sausage, casings removed

1 onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, drained

2 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce

3 bay leaves

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add ground beef, sausage, onion and garlic. Cook until browned, about 4-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef and sausage as it cooks; drain excess fat. Place ground beef mixture into a slow cooker. Stir in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, bay leaves, oregano, basil, salt and pepper, to taste. Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours.
Stir well and serve immediately.
  
Adapted from The Cooking Photographer http://damndelicious.net/2013/11/08/slow-cooker-spaghetti-sauce
Crockpot Balsamic Beef Roast with Carrots
Modified from The Chic Site http://thechicsite.com/2013/07/16/slow-cooker-balsamic-pot-roast/
Yields: One gallon-sized bag of Balsamic Beef Roast with 4-6 servings. (I doubled this recipe and made two bags.)
INGREDIENTS
·       2 pound boneless beef chuck shoulder roast
·       2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
·       1/2 cup honey
·       1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
·       1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
·       1 teaspoon salt
·       1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
·       3 cloves of garlic, minced
·       Zest of 1/2 an orange
·       2 cups of beef broth – NOT NEEDED UNTIL DAY OF COOKING
PREP
1.    Label your freezer bag.
2.    To your freezer bag, add all ingredients except beef broth. Add beef roast to the freezer bag last so it’s the first ingredient poured into your crockpot.
3.    Remove as much air from the gallon-sized freezer bag as possible, seal, and lay flat in your freezer.
COOK
1.     The night before cooking, move freezer bag to your refrigerator to thaw.
2.     The morning of cooking, pour contents of freezer bag into your crockpot and add beef broth.
3.     Cook on “low” setting for 8-12 hours, or until beef shreds easily and carrots are soft.
4.     Shred beef and serve.

SLOW COOKER SPICY BEEF & BELL PEPPER
2 lbs beef chuck, thinly sliced
2 cups chopped to 1 inch squares bell pepper
1/2 medium onion, peeled, cut in half, sliced
1 cup broth or 1 cup water + 3 bullion cube
2 Tbsp corn starch
2 tsp freeze dried garlic
1/3 cup chopped parsley
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp – 1 Tbsp Sriracha sauce

1.   Place the meat on the bottom of the slow cooker. Top with sliced onion. For even better flavor, sauté onion in skillet until golden brown, then add it to the slow cooker.Top with cut up bell pepper. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic.
2.   Mix the broth with Sriracha, or water, bullion cubes and Sriracha. Pour over the peppers and beef.(if using bullion cubes, add only 1 tsp salt).
3.   Set on high heat for 3.5-4 hours.
4.   Mix ½ cup water and 2 tablespoons corn starch. Add 1 cup of liquid from the meat & pepper mixture and cook on medium heat until boiling, then cook 2 minutes past boil to remove the cornstarch flavor. Add this mixture back to the meat and bell peppers. Sprinkle with chopped parsley, stir and serve.
5.   Serve hot over rice, noodles or mashed potatoes.

Crockpot Chicken Teriyaki
Modified from The Taylor House http://www.thetaylor-house.com/slow-cooker-chicken-teriyaki/2/
Yields: One gallon-sized bag of chicken teriyaki with 3 servings. (I doubled this recipe and made two bags.)
INGREDIENTS
·       One pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
·       1/2 cup honey
·       1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
·       1/4 cup rice wine vinegar (I subbed red wine vinegar)
·       1 small onion, diced
·       1 large clove garlic, minced
·       1-inch ginger root, peeled and minced  or ½ tsp minced ginger
·       1/4 teaspoon black pepper
·       One bag frozen stir fry veggies (Mine was 14.4 oz)
1.    Label your freezer bag.
2.    To your freezer bag, add all ingredients. Add chicken to the freezer bag last so it’s the first ingredient poured into your crockpot.
3.    Remove as much air from the freezer bag as possible, seal, and lay flat in your freezer.
COOK
1.    The night before cooking, move frozen bag to your refrigerator to thaw.
2.    The morning of cooking, pour contents of freezer bag into your crockpot.
3.    Cook on “low” setting for 4-8hours, or until chicken is cooked through.   
**Vegetables come out quite mushy, for firmer veggies microwave until tender and add the last hour.
More info can be found on http://www.NewLeafWellness.biz

Chicago Style Shredded Beef Sandwiches
Prep time: less than 30 minutes
Servings: 8
Ingredients:
3 cloves garlic, minced or 3 tsp
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 (4 lb.) beef roast
1 tbsp. instant beef bouillon granules
1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. dried oregano leaves
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper (optional)
1/4 c. water
green pepper slices (cooked)(optional)
sauteed onions (optional)
Whole Wheat rolls
8 slices provolone cheese
Assembly:
If Roast is not frozen – braise first and then freeze.  Or Cook as directed and divide up meat into portions and freeze, for a quick dinner. 

**Tip-The secret to tender meat is to brown it first on all sides in a little olive oil before putting it in the slow cooker.
Combine garlic, salt and pepper, bouillon granules, Italian seasoning, oregano, red pepper and water in slow cooker. Place braised roast in slow cooker and flip to coat both sides with sauce. Cook on low 8-10 hours until meat is easily shredded with fork. When meat is ready, cut buns open and spread with butter - toast in oven. Put meat on whole wheat roll. Add cooked green peppers and/or onions if desired. Place cheese on top. Place in oven on 350 until cheese is melted. Serve and Enjoy!!

Hamburger Potato Soup
Yields: 6 servings
Ingredients
• 1/2 pound carrots, peeled and sliced (about 1.5 cups or 4 large carrots)
• 2 small potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks (about 8oz or 1.5 cups)
• 1 small onion, diced (1 cup)
• 28oz can of diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasonings
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 pound 85% lean ground beef
• 4 cups of fat-free lower-sodium beef broth* (not needed until day of cooking)
Materials
• 1 gallon-sized plastic freezer bag
Prep
1. Label your freezer bag.
2. Add all ingredients to your freezer bag (except broth). To keep potatoes from browning, chop them last and add them to the top of your freezer bag.
3. Remove as much air from the freezer bag as possible, seal, and lay flat in your freezer for up to three months.
Cook
1. The night before cooking, move frozen bag to your refrigerator to thaw.
2. The morning of cooking, pour contents of freezer bag into your crockpot and add beef broth.
3. Cook on “low” setting for 8 hours or until beef is cooked through and carrots are soft.
4. Break apart beef, stir, and serve.
Serve with rolls.

Slow Cooker Apple Cider Braised Pork

INGREDIENTS:
1 (4 pound) boneless pork
shoulder roast
salt and freshly ground black
pepper to taste
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 shallots, sliced
1 rib celery, chopped
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 1/2 cups apple cider or apple juice
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or more
to taste
2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into
small pieces
1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs
(Italian parsley, sage, or thyme)
DIRECTIONS:
1.
Season pork with salt and black pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Sear pork on all sides in the hot oil until browned, about 3 minutes per side. (At this point add all ingredients to Freezer Bag – and Freeze.)
(Remove from freezer and put into slow cooker.) Transfer pork to the slow cooker.
2.
Reduce stovetop temperature to medium; cook and stir shallots and celery in the skillet until they begin to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Pour in apple cider vinegar and cook, scraping up any browned bits, until liquid is nearly evaporated, 4 to 5 minutes.
3.
Pour shallot mixture over pork shoulder in the slow cooker. Add apple cider, garlic cloves, and bay leaf. Cover, set slow cooker to Low, and cook until fork-tender but not falling apart, about 6 hours (or 8-10 if frozen). Turn pork over every 1 to 2 hours if possible. Remove pork roast to a plate and cover loosely with foil.
4.
Pour remaining liquid from the slow cooker through a fine mesh strainer into a large saucepan; place over high heat. Discard bay leaf.



Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers

http://newleafwellness.biz/2015/04/08/slow-cooker-stuffed-peppers-freezer-friendly/
Yields: 4 servings
Ingredients
• 1lb ground turkey
• 1 onion, peeled and diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 4 small green bell peppers, tops cut off and cleaned
• 24oz jar of your favorite pasta sauce (reserve 2T)
• 1/2 cup water
Materials
• 1 gallon-sized plastic freezer bag
• 1 quart-sized plastic freezer bag
Prep
1. Label your freezer bag.
2. In large bowl, mix ground meat, onion, garlic, and 2 tablespoons of pasta
sauce.
3. Separate mixture into four equal parts and firmly stuff into peppers.
4. Add remaining pasta sauce to quart-sized bag. Add water to empty jar and
shake it around to get all of the sauce and add to quart-sized bag. Seal.
5. Add bag of sauce to gallon-sized bag and add stuffed peppers. Remove as
much air from the freezer bag as possible, seal, and lay flat in your freezer for up to three months.
Cook
1. The night before cooking, move frozen bag to your refrigerator to thaw.
2. The morning of cooking, add stuffed peppers to bottom of slow cooker.
3. Cover with sauce.
4. Cook on “low” setting for 6-8 hours or until meat is cooked through and
peppers are soft.
Serve with rice.

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Yields: 6 servings Ingredients
• 2 pounds of ground chicken
• 1 medium-sized red bell pepper, diced
• 2 large carrots, grated (1 cup)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1 tablespoon honey
Materials
• 1 gallon-sized plastic freezer bag
Prep
Cook
1. Label your freezer bag.
2. Add all ingredients to bag.
3. Seal and freeze for up to three months.
1. Thaw.
2. Cook in slow cooker for 4-6 hours on “low” setting.
3. Break apart chicken and spoon onto lettuce.
Serve on big pieces of iceberg or Boston bibb lettuce.

Crockpot Italian Chicken
http://newleafwellness.biz/2015/03/30/organic-crockpot-freezer-meals-from-costco-10-meals-in-60- minutes/
Yields: three servings INGREDIENTS

• 1 small onion, diced
• 4oz fresh baby spinach (about 2 handfuls)
• 2 cans of tomato sauce (15oz each)
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasonings
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
MATERIALS
• 1 gallon-sized plastic freezer bag
PREP
COOK
1. Label your freezer bag.
2. To your freezer bag, add all ingredients.
3. Remove as much air from the freezer bag as possible, seal, and lay flat in your freezer.
1. The night before cooking, move frozen bag to your refrigerator to thaw.
2. The morning of cooking, pour contents of freezer bag into your crockpot.
3. Cook on “low” setting for 4-6 hours, or until chicken is cooked through.
Serve with spaghetti and a salad.




One Pan Garlic Ranch Chicken and Veggies
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Yield 4 servings


Crisp-tender chicken baked to absolute perfection with roasted carrots and potatoes - all cooked in a single pan!
Ingredients
1.     ¼ c honey, divided
2.     4 – 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
3.     16 ounces baby red potatoes, quartered
4.     16 ounces baby peeled carrots, halved
5.     2 tablespoons olive oil
6.     1 (1-ounce) package Ranch Seasoning and Salad Dressing Mix
7.     3 cloves garlic, minced
8.     Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
9.     2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves


Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or coat with nonstick spray.
Drizzle the honey over the chicken breasts, spread with back of spoon. Place chicken, potatoes and carrots in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with Ranch Seasoning and garlic; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Place into oven and roast until the chicken is completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 20 - 25 minutes.* Then broil for 2-3 minutes, or until caramelized and slightly charred.
Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Notes
*Cooking time will vary depending on the size and thickness of the potatoes and carrots.

Homemade Ranch mix - http://www.bakeyourday.net/homemade-ranch-dressing-mix/

Slow Cooker Enchilada Stack
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours, 5 minutes
Total Time 4 hours, 20 minutes
Yield 6 servings

The easiest enchiladas you will ever make. Simply turn on your crockpot and forget all about it until you have the cheesiest, creamiest enchiladas ever!
Ingredients
1 pound lean ground beef or turkey
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup corn kernels, frozen, canned or roasted
1 cup salsa, homemade or store-bought
1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green Chilies, drained
2 teaspoons taco seasoning mix
1 (10-ounce) can mild enchilada sauce, divided
4 9-inch whole wheat flour tortillas or (corn tortillas lightly baked with non-stick cooking spray)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and diced, for serving
1 Roma tomato, diced, for serving
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Instructions
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add ground beef and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks; drain excess fat and remove from heat.
Stir in black beans, corn, salsa, green chilies, taco seasoning and enchilada sauce, reserving 1/2 cup.
Lightly coat the inside of a slow cooker with nonstick spray. Place 1 tortilla on the bottom of the slow cooker. Spread 1/3 ground beef mixture evenly over the top; sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese. Repeat with 2 more layers; top with remaining tortilla, enchilada sauce, and cheese.
Cover and cook on low heat for 3-4 hours or high heat for 2-3 hours.
Serve immediately, garnished with avocado, tomato and cilantro, if desired.

Honey Garlic Chicken Ginger

Slow cooker chicken with a sweet honey garlic sauce.
Author: Gina Matsoukas
Recipe type: entree, chicken
Serves: 3-4

INGREDIENTS
1 lb. chicken breast, cut into cubes
2 tablespoons honey
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch of fresh ginger, minced
2½ tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons natural maple syrup
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 teaspoon sriracha
¼ cup pineapple, diced
sesame seeds for garnish
green onion for garnish
salt & pepper

INSTRUCTIONS
Season chicken with salt & pepper.
Combine honey, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, maple syrup, ketchup & sriracha in a small bowl and whisk together.
Place chicken in the slow cooker and pour sauce over top.
Cook on high for 2 hours.
Remove chicken and place in a side dish.
Pour sauce into a small sauce pan and reduce over medium-low heat until thick and syrupy.
Pour sauce over chicken.
Add pineapple, sesame & green onion for garnish.


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