Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup

I love secret ingredients!  Something that makes a recipe really different and stand out.  The secret to this soup is... a bottle of beer!  Beer instead of broth, now that's my kind of recipe! (especially if you throw this together in the morning and take a little taster before dumping it in the pot..who doesn't like a little beer breath in the morning?).

You can't really 'taste' the beer but it does add a certain depth of flavor.  If you don't drink alcohol, you can substitute chicken broth...but try the beer, the chances of any alcohol being left after 5 hours in a slow cooker are pretty slim.

You can also substitute kidney beans for chili beans, regular canned diced tomatoes instead of those with green chilies, I  think you could go with just about anything you got in your cupboard on this and not mess it up too bad!

 

 

 

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Slow Cooker Bolognese Sauce via risataspotola.com!

Maybe I should change the name of my blog to risataspotola.com?  That's laughingspatula.com in Italian!  Now you know what I did with my morning :)

Is there anything you can't find on the Internet?

This sauce was so rich and flavorful.  With only a few ingredients and your trusty slow cooker you can make a big old batch of some of the most tasty Bolognese I have ever had.  Use an immersion blender to create a very smooth sauce, or leave as is if you prefer a chunkier sauce.  Eat half then freeze half for another time. 

I added nutritional information for this, but it will vary greatly depending on the fat content of your beef.  I used 15%.  I think any less and you will miss out on the real beef flavor that it develops while slow cooking.  I buy my ground beef at a local butcher shop.  Ground chuck, really flavorful compared to mega mart beef.  I know, I know, not everybody has the time to go find a butcher...but if you can, you won't be disappointed...and I do love supporting the small business man/woman/person...it's so hard to be butcher PC anymore!

Servings - about 20

Serving size - 1/2 cup

Calories: 146

Fat: 8.7

Carbs: 6.8

Fiber: .4

Protein: 6.7

WW Points+: 4

Ingredients

4 oz pancetta, chopped (or center cut bacon)
1 tbsp butter (or olive oil)
1 large white onion, minced
2 celery stalks (about 3/4 cup), minced
2 carrots (about 3/4 cup), minced
2 lb 95% lean ground beef
1/2 cup beef broth
2 - 28 oz cans good crushed tomatoes 
salt and fresh pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup half & half cream

Directions

On medium heat, saute  pancetta until lightly brown and all fat has been rendered.

 Add onion, celery and carrots.  Saute for about 5 minutes or until tender.

Add ground beef and saute until cooked.  Drain all but one tablespoon of fat.

Add meat and vegetable mixture to slow cooker.  Add tomatoes and beef broth.  Stir well. Cook on low heat for 4-5 hours.

Add cream and parsley.

Serve over your favorite pasta!  Mangia!

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Slow Cooker Pork Posole

Must be winter in Seattle!  Everything I post latley is hot and in a bowl! 

Posole is a hearty stew from Mexico.  Traditional accompaniments include chopped lettuce, cilantro and lime, but a dolop of sour cream would'nt hurt either.
An unusual ingredient in this dish is hominy. Hominy is corn that has been processed to remove the hull and germ.  When ground, you get grits!  So if you are a grit or polenta lover, you will love this stuff!   It adds a great deal of flavor to this stew and although you can substitute corn if you prefer, you won't get near the same results.

Servings: 6

Serving size: heaping 1 cup

Calories: 260

Fat: 12 grams

Carbs: 16

Fiber: 4

Protein: 22

WW Points+: 7

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds boneless pork, cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves
1 chipotle en adobo, minced plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce (*see note below)
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 14 oz can chopped tomatoes
1 15 oz can hominy, rinsed and drained
Chopped romaine, radishes and cilantro
Lime wedges

Chop pork and sprinkle with salt.
Heat olive oil in skillet on medium high heat.  Add half the pork and cook, turning occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes.  Transfer pork to 6 quart slow cooker and repeat with remaining pork.

*(For those not familiar with Chipotle: Chipotle are smoked jalapeno peppers that have been cooked in a thick sauce.  Personally I like the sauce more than the hot peppers themselves.  If you don't like a lot of heat, remove as many of the seeds as possible.  Remaining Chipotle can be kept frozen for several months. In a pinch, a decent substitute for Chipotle is smoked paprika.)

Add the broth, onion, garlic, chipotle, adobo, chili powder, oregano and cumin; mix well. Top with tomatoes and then the hominy in even layers.

Cover and cook until the pork is fork tender.  4-5 hours on high or 8-10 on low.

Serve the posole in soup bowls with the lettuce, radishes, cilantro and lime wedges on the side.

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Stewfato (Chicken Stew)

A simple to prepare Italian chicken stew with a middle eastern flare...huh?  Italian and mid-eastern?  Crazy Kathi has lost her foodie mind!  I'm not sure how they both work, but they just do!  Stewfato is an Italian name but the couscous, a slap of cinnamon and some crumbled feta are definitely mid eastern!  Just take my word on this, it's easy, quick and very tasty.  Low in calories and WW points.  You can throw this all in a crockpot and get the same results.

The nutritional info does not include couscous or feta but I find a 1/3 cup of whole wheat couscous and 2 tablespoons of crumbled feta is plenty and that would add 3 WW Points+ (oh, and don't use fat free feta...yucko!)

Servings - 6

Serving Size - 1 1/4 cups

Calories - 261

Fat - 11.9

Carbs - 17.7

Fiber - 3.6

Protein - 17.5

WW Points+ - 6

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Marinara Primavera

 This is a simple marinara packed with veggies (hence the Primavera)...now why would you make a homemade marinara when there is all that bottled stuff on the grocery store shelf, you ask?  Quite simply, flavor, texture and nutrition...it is low in calorie and has half the sodium and who doesn't need more vegetables in their diet.  I sometimes wonder how they get so much salt in some of those prepackaged foods!
 This makes a very large batch and can easily be frozen in several containers so you have fresh marinara on hand anytime!  

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Crockpot Turkey Chili with Sweet Potatoes

Great start on a Sunday morning when you know you won't feel like cookin' on Sunday evening! The sweet potatoes add a punch of flavor but can be excluded if you prefer. Chili is a dumping ground for your fridge...if you've got some carrots, zucchini or most any other vegetable that has seen better days ...throw them in the pot! For those of you who like to cook using exact recipe's this one will work without any changes every time. Basic, flavorful and feeds about 8. I served it with the left over Bacon, Cheese and Onion biscuits I made the other day. Yumbo!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey (ground chicken or beef will work as well)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pepper chopped
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 jalapeno, seeded, deveined and chopped
• 2 cups chopped sweet potato
• 2 16 oz can's of kidney beans
• 2 15 oz can's of chopped tomatoes
• 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar or molasses
• 4 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons cumin p
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons pepper

Heat olive oil in large non stick frying pan. Add ground turkey, onion, pepper and jalapeno. Saute until meat is cooked through and vegetables are tender.

Pour into crock pot. Add remaining ingredients, stir well and cook on low 5-6 hours.
Serve with your favorite toppings...sour cream, grated cheese or over a bed of rice or noodles .

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