Homemade Beef Stock in the CrockPot

Day 147.

mmmm. Doesn't that look appetizing? It's a big pot of cold swirly beef juice. Yum.

Like a bunch of things I've done this year, I've never before attempted to make my own beef stock. I've made chicken--but not beef. It was Erin's idea, because I wanted to make her Pho (coming tomorrow!) Homemade beef stock tastes much better than the canned stuff. It is well-worth the effort involved.

I used a combination of a recipes that Chris and Kalyn posted as a guideline, but with ingredients I had on hand. I put the broth on at 5am, and had a sick kid in the house. Running to the grocery store was not an option.

The Ingredients.

--4 lbs oxtail (leftover package from when I made oxtail stew)

--1 cup baby carrots

--1 onion

--head of romaine lettuce (supposed to be celery)

--8 cloves garlic

--1 T Italian seasoning

--1 t kosher salt

--1 t pepper

--1 T apple cider vinegar (not pictured)

--water

The Directions.

This will take two days. Prepare yourself.

I used oxtail because I already had it in the freezer. Ox tail is rather expensive to use for beef stock---I ended up cutting the meat off the bone and mixing it with barbecue sauce to have over rice for lunch. Kalyn recommends saving scraps of meat for a few months in the freezer, and Chris recommends asking your butcher for free bones, or stealing them from the neighborhood dog. Your choice.

Roast whatever meat or bones you are going to use in a high-ish sided cookie sheet in the oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

While the meat is roasting and releasing a bunch of flavor, wash and coarsely chop your vegetables to put in the crockpot. They do not need to look pretty.

When the meat is done, let it cool a bit, then scrape the meat and the juices into the crock. Add your spices and vinegar, and cover with enough water to fill the remainder of the crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours.

--about the vinegar-- My broth was half-way through the cooking time and I received an email from Chi who mentioned that a nutritionist recommends adding the vinegar to help suck out the flavor from the bones. So I added it then. You should add it with the spices.

Let your crockpot cool down on the counter top, and then place the removable stoneware in the refrigerator overnight.

In the morning the fat will all have floated to the top. It will be really gross.

Pick off the fat with a wooden spoon. Put a colander inside of a large pot or bowl, and pour the contents of the crockpot into the strainer. Discard the bones and vegetables.

Your stock is now ready to be used in your favorite soup or stew, and can be frozen for later use.

The Verdict.

I used this beef stock the next day for Vietnamese Pho--coming tomorrow! It worked well, and was full of flavor. But it was a lot of work, and took a lot of time. I'll probably make stock again, but not for quite some time. Touching the gelatinous fat is not something I am eager to do anytime soon.

CrockPot Strawberry Jam Recipe

Day 150!

yay! only 216 (because of leap year) to go! Not that I'm counting or anything...

I made jam in the crockpot, and it's delicious. The above photo was taken out in the grass because the inside photos came out really dark and the jam looked brown.

Making jam in your crockpot is super easy, and super sticky. Keep a container of wipies near by---the stick seems to spread.

The Ingredients.

--4 pounds of fresh strawberries

--3 cups of sugar

--1-2 boxes (1.75 oz) of pectin

The Directions.

Wash all of the strawberries, and cut out the stem. Quarter them and throw into your crockpot. I gave all of the strawberry leaves and stems to the guinea pigs and they were so excited they did back flips.

Use a potato masher to squish the strawberries and to create some liquid. We didn't have a potato masher so my helper used the hand mixer attachments.

Add the sugar and pectin and smash some more.

Cover and cook on low for a hundred million years.

Or 10-12 hours; same thing. I used one box of pectin because that is what I bought. After about 10 hours, if your berries are still not jelling the way that you'd like them to, add another 1/2 box to a full box. You can test the "jell" by putting a small amount in the freezer for about 5 minutes.

I don't have enough Little House on the Prairie in me to fuss with proper jarring, so I used a well-washed jelly jar and made tupperwares to give away to family. If you would like to can, here's a great resource.

Keep your jam in the freezer if you'd like it to top toast and sandwiches, or in the refrigerator for more of a syrup or ice-cream topping.

The Verdict.

YUM! This is very good.

did I mention the stick?

Super Easy CrockPot Spaghetti Sauce

Day 185.

I have no idea why I waited so long to make this. It is so terribly easy, and I was able to get 3 very nice-sized plastic containers of sauce, which now live in the freezer. There isn't anything wrong with jarred sauce---I use it quite often, but there isn't much to brag about when you open a jar.

This? This you can brag about. "oh yes. Of course I make my own pasta sauce."

I kept this simple, and did not add a lot of spices, or even onion and garlic. I usually throw in onion and garlic whenever I make something using marinara, anyhow, and prefer the crunch when added freshly. But like a lot of what I do: There are NO rules. Throw in your favorite spices, and customize how you see fit. There are also no rules about the tomatoes. I used what I happened to have in the pantry at the time. Buy what's on sale, and have at it!

The Ingredients.

--1 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes
--1 15oz can of tomato sauce
--1 12.5 oz Italian flavored diced tomatoes.
--16 oz fresh mushrooms
--1 T Italian seasoning (and a bit more to taste when cooking is done)
--1 lb super lean ground turkey meat

The Directions.

Add the thawed (or fresh) turkey meat to the crockpot. Dump in all the cans of tomatoes, and break the ground meat up with a large spoon. Stir in the spices and mushrooms.

Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

When done cooking, break up the ground meat a bit more and season to taste. Jarred pasta sauce is awfully salty; I didn't add any salt, but your tongue might desperately want to.

Serve right away, or package for freezing.

The Verdict.

This is very tasty. I shared a bunch with my grandparents, who enjoyed it also. It has been rather warm, so I let this cook overnight on the counter in front of an open window. I'm sure the neighborhood dogs were quite happy!

The kids and I had a small bowl for breakfast. I loved that I didn't need to brown the meat, and that turkey meat is so lean that there was very little fat that floated to the top during cooking. If you decide to use a different type of meat, you can chill the sauce, and scrape off the collected fat.

CrockPot Refried Beans Recipe

Day 236.

We eat a lot of refried beans in our house. The kids love them in simple bean and cheese burritos, and Adam I like them covered in salsa for an afternoon snack.

We also have also have a 25-pound sack of pinto beans that lives in our garage. I think we've probably moved with the beans twice.

I bought the bag at a restaurant supply store when I taught preschool and was planning on starting a preschool or homeschool co-op in our home. Kids really like playing with beans---it's a great sensory activity and it's soothing to pour the beans back and forth between measuring cups and feel them falling through fingertips.

Anyhow, we were out of refried beans the other day, so I decided to make my own. Don't worry, I didn't use the beans the kids had been playing with. The rest of the bag was tightly sealed.

The Ingredients.

--2 cups of dried pinto beans that have been picked through to get all the broken and funky-looking pieces taken out
--water

--1 1/2 yellow onions
--1 1/2 red onions
--10 whole garlic cloves
--2 tsp cumin
--1 tsp coriander

The Directions.

You will need to soak the beans overnight. Not only will this soften them better, but it will help release the gas.
Rinse the beans well in a colander, and dump into the crockpot. Add enough water so the beans are fully immersed, with an two to three inches of water on top. Put the lid on your crockpot. Do not turn on.
Let them soak.

In the morning, drain and rinse the beans under cold running water.

Put them back in the crockpot with enough clean water to cover the beans with about an inch of water.

Stir in the cumin and coriander.

Peel and cut the onions in half, and put them in the crockpot. Peel all of the garlic, but toss them in whole.

Cover the crock and cook on low for 8-10 hours, or until the beans are tender.

I cooked ours for exactly 9 hours. The were soft, and some of the beans had split.

Fish out the onion and the garlic cloves. If you want to keep some of the garlic in for flavor, you may. It's your choice. If the beans are soft and you still have a bit of liquid left, carefully drain it, saving a little to help with the smooshing and for added flavor.

Using a potato smasher, or hand mixer, mash the beans.

Now you have two options. You can just start using the beans (the way I did, because I'm pretty darn lazy), or you can scoop hunks of smooshed beans out of the crock and fry them on the stove top with a bit of butter or olive oil (or lard (ick)). Your choice.

No salt was added, so you'll need to season to taste.

The Verdict.

These were surprisingly easy and tasty. The kids have been eating them for lunch. The next day they were a bit dried out, but a touch of warm water fixed that. I needed to add quite a bit of salt to make them taste like the canned variety. I have 4 baggies of ready-to-go beans in the freezer, which is great for after-school snacks.

not-too-spicy bean dip
chicken nachos
smoky refried bean soup

CrockPot Apple Butter Recipe

Day 275.

Finally! I made apple butter! You can stop emailing me now!

ha ha ha. :-) thank you.

Thank you for pushing me to make this. This beats the lid off of store-bought apple butter.

The Ingredients. --apples. 14 large apples fit in my 6.5 quart crockpot
--2 tsp cinnamon
--2 cups white sugar (see note below)
--1 cup brown sugar (see note below)
--1/2 tsp cloves
--1 T vanilla

The Directions.

This is a 2-day process. Quarter the apples and take out the core. I did not peel, and picked out the skin later. If you enjoy peeling, or have one of those cool apple tools that peels easily, you should peel.
Although my picking out the skin later idea worked, it was kind of a pain. But (for me) it was easier than peeling all of the apples by hand.

Put all of the quartered apples into your crockpot. Add 1 tablespoon of vanilla. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

When the cooking is done, mash the apples with a fork. Pick out the skin with the fork. Stir in the sugar, cinnamon, and cloves.

NOTE: I think this was too much sugar. It's good, and my kids really like it, but I feel I went too heavy with the sugar. Next time I will use 3/4 cup of each kind. My mistake came from reading other recipes that called for 3 cups of sugar, instead of going with my gut.

Cover again and cook on low for 6 hours. Pick out more apple skin. If you prefer your apple butter to be velvety-smooth, blend with an immersion blender, or blend in small batches in a traditional blender. I did not do this.

The Verdict.

Very very good. Very sweet, but the sweetness did mellow after a night in the refrigerator. This made enough for 3 jars of apple butter. We gave a container to my mom and grandma. It tastes wonderful with peanut butter on an apple rice cake.

mmm.

Cooking Dried Beans in the Slow Cooker

Day 292.

It's day 292. And I finally have cracked the cooking-with-dried vs. cooking-with-canned-beans code.

Why did it take me 292 days?

Sheer laziness. I have no other reason.

1 bag of dried black beans costs $1.89 at the fancy-pants grocery store, and it costs $0.89 at our local produce stand.

1 can of organic black beans at Trader Joe's costs $0.99.

1 dried bag of black beans (16 oz) = 3 cans (15 oz each).

Which means even if you buy over-priced dried black beans you will save some money making them at home yourself.

The Ingredients.

--bag of black beans (or other beans. but remember that kidney beans have that freaky toxin --  see note below.)
--water
--crockpot (4 quarts and up)

The Directions.

Pour the entire bag of dried beans into a colander and rinse under cold water. If you see any beans that have broken in half, or skin that floats to the surface, get rid of it. Also pick out any beans that look shriveled and gross.

Dump all the beans into your crockpot. Add enough water to cover all the beans and an additional 2 inches.

Cover. Do not turn on. Let the beans soak for at least 6 hours, or overnight. If you live in a very warm area, and the crockpot won't be in a room that is climate-controlled, put the stoneware in the fridge. You don't want bacteria to have the opportunity to grow.

In the morning, dump the water, and rinse your beans. The water will be bean-colored.

(NOTE: if you are using red or kidney beans, you need to boil your beans rapidly on the stove for at least 10 minutes to kill a possible toxin lurking in the beans. It's better to be safe than sorry!)

Put the beans back into your crockpot and cover with enough fresh water to completely cover the beans with an extra 2-3 inches.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

The beans are done when they are bite-tender. Don't worry if the water hasn't all absorbed. You're going to dump it, anyway.

Drain the beans.

When cool, put 1 2/3 cups of beans into storage containers or freezer bags (you're adding this amount because you aren't adding filler-liquid like the cans have). The beans will store nicely in the refrigerator for 1 week, or in the freezer for 6 months.

Use as you would canned beans in your favorite recipe.

The Verdict.

I like knowing what is in my food. I like the idea that we can save money and reduce consumption by using dried beans.

This takes a while. When I do this again, I'm going to get quite a few bags of beans and do them all at once in a few crockpots. The kids liked picking through the beans to weed out the undesirables, and they will munch on black beans (and garbanzo and pinto and kidney) for a snack, which makes me happy.

I've found a chart that breaks down the energy consumption of kitchen appliances.

The chart states that the energy consumption is equivalent to a desktop computer---which many of us leave on round-the-clock.


neat!

CrockPot Rotisserie-Style Chicken Recipe

Day 295.

We love rotisserie chicken in this house. Costco clearly labels their chicken as gluten-free, so I usually pick up 2 when we go.

But I haven't been going.

I find myself grocery shopping a few times a week now with this crazy crockpotting year, and it just isn't feasible to go to Costco. I'm only meal planning a few meals at a time, and since I have Trader Joe's, Safeway, and a produce stand all within walking distance, it seems wasteful to drive to another city to buy a carload of food and other stuff (it's so hard not to impulse-buy at Costco) without truly having a plan.

So I stay away.

To satisfy our rotisserie chicken cravings, I threw a whole chicken in the crockpot last night covered in an awesome seasoning blend. I also took off all of the chicken skin. The result? A moist, delicious rotisserie-want-to-be with virtually no fat.

The Ingredients.

--1 whole chicken, skinned (4-5 pounds)
--2 tsp kosher salt (if you'd like it as salty as the ones in the store, add another 1 tsp.)
--1 tsp paprika
--1 tsp onion powder
--1/2 tsp dried thyme
--1 tsp Italian seasoning
--1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
--1/2 tsp black pepper
--pinch of chili pepper (probably not necessary)

--4 whole garlic cloves (optional)
--1 yellow onion, quartered (optional)

The Directions.

I used a 6 quart crockpot for a 5 pound bird. It fit nicely.

Skin the chicken and get rid of the neck and other stuff from the cavity. This takes a while, and is gross. Keep small children away so you don't freak out about salmonella. I skin whole chickens because I hate the idea of the chicken fat simmering all day in the crock---it also looks disgusting when the chicken is cooked because it's all slimy and icky.

I get it that I'm weird. If chicken skin makes you happy, then by all means, ignore me.

In a bowl, combine all of dried spices. Rub the spice mixture all over the bird, inside and out. Plop the bird breast-side down into the crockpot.

If desired, shove 4 whole garlic cloves and a quartered onion inside the bird.

Do not add water.

Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours, or on low for 8. The meat is done when it is fully cooked and has reached desired tenderness. The longer you cook it, the more tender the meat.

The Verdict.

Very tasty. I used 2tsp of kosher salt, and the meat was no where near as salty as a store-bought rotisserie chicken. I was surprised at how not-spicy the meat was (even the part coated in the mix) although I added a bunch of pepper. We were pleased with the flavor, and the kids ate their portions without saying anything---which is always good.

The four of us ate almost all of the chicken for dinner last night. There's a bit leftover for today's lunches.

I really like cooking with whole chickens in the crock. If you're looking for other flavors, you can try

--Myron's Whole CrockPot Chicken
--Lemon and Herb CrockPot Chicken

and then keep the bones/carcass to make Homemade Chicken Broth in the CrockPot!

You Can Make Yogurt in Your CrockPot!

Day 297.

You can! You really, really can!

Posts like this get me so excited. I love finding new ways to use the crockpot. My friend Jessica has always made homemade yogurt for her kids, and after looking up what a yogurt maker did, I had the idea that a crockpot could work. But I never found a source that would walk me through the steps.

Until Debbie. Debbie (who needs to start a blog because she is an almost-debt-free homeschooling mom to six) came to my rescue and held my hand (virtually) through yogurt-making.

Thank you, Debbie! xoxo

The Ingredients.

--8 cups (half-gallon) of whole milk--pasteurized and homogenized is fine, but do NOT use ultra-pasteurized. (Debbie recommends starting with whole milk until you get the hang of yogurt-making)

--1/2 cup store-bought natural, live/active culture plain yogurt (you need to have a starter. Once you have made your own, you can use that as a starter)

--frozen/fresh fruit for flavoring

--thick bath towel

--slow cooker (scroll down for the ones that I recommend)

The Directions.

This takes a while. Make your yogurt on a weekend day when you are home to monitor.

I used a 4 quart crockpot. This is so exciting. My fingers are shaking!

Plug in your crockpot and turn to low. Add an entire half gallon of milk. Cover and cook on low for 2 1/2 hours.


Unplug your crockpot. Leave the cover on, and let it sit for 3 hours.

When 3 hours have passed, scoop out 2 cups of the warmish milk and put it in a bowl. Whisk in 1/2 cup of store-bought live/active culture yogurt. Then dump the bowl contents back into the crockpot. Stir to combine.



Put the lid back on your crockpot. Keep it unplugged, and wrap a heavy bath towel all the way around the crock for insulation.


Go to bed, or let it sit for 8 hours.

In the morning, the yogurt will have thickened---it's not as thick as store-bought yogurt, but has the consistency of low-fat plain yogurt.

Blend in batches with your favorite fruit. I did mango, strawberry, and blueberry. When you blend in the fruit, bubbles will form and might bother you. They aren't a big deal, and will settle eventually.

Chill in a plastic container(s) in the refrigerator. Your fresh yogurt will last 7-10 days. Save 1/2 cup as a starter to make a new batch.


The Verdict.

Wowsers! This is awesome! I was completely astonished the next morning that the yogurt thickened. I was so excited to feel the drag on the spoon---and sort of scared the kids with my squealing.

They each ate a huge serving that morning (they added honey to their servings) and have eaten it for every meal for 2 days. I'm actually kind of worried they're over-doing it, but whatever. They're happy and are eating real food.

This is so much more cost-effective than the little things of yo-baby I was buying for them. I haven't run the numbers, because I sort of suck at math, but it's huge. Seriously huge.

Updated 10/23 8:45 pm:
 
I have gotten quite a few emails alerting me that yes, you can use lower-fat content milk with this method. To thicken the best, add one packet of unflavored gelatin to the mix after stirring in the yogurt with active cultures. Some have had good success mixing non-fat milk powder in as well.

The way I created fruit-flavored yogurt was by taking a cup or so of the plain and blending it in the stand blender (vitamix) with frozen fruit. Although this tastes great, the yogurt never thickened back up the way the plain did. I think maybe keeping the plain separate and adding fruit daily is your best bet. Or you can try the gelatin trick.

I was able to achieve a Greek-style yogurt this afternoon by lining a colander with a coffee liner and letting the liquid drip out of the leftover plain I made. The remaining yogurt was as thick as sour cream.
 
updated again: NEAT! Tricia made an allergen-free yogurt, and you can read about it here.


A HUGE honking THANK YOU to Johanna (banana?) for doing the math:

Here’s your milk/yogurt math…you have to add the cost of electricity, starter and fruity stuff:

Where I live (Seattle area):

One 6-pack of yo-baby is $6.50 (24 ounces)
One gallon of almost totally organic milk is $3.00 (128 ounces)
One gallon of yobaby would be $34.67 or 10 times what it cost you to make it, more or less.

THAT’S A BIG DEAL.

	yobaby	milk	yobaby would be
cost	$6.50	$3.00	$34.67
ounces	24	128	128
cost/oz	$0.27	$0.02	$0.27

Save Money By Using Your CrockPot Slow Cooker

The economy is all whacked out right now and it's scary. I'm not watching the news.

I get an email almost every day asking if I am saving money by using my CrockPot daily.

No. What I am doing is not normal. Most people do not try to do what I'm doing in the crockpot. We are pretty much breaking even on the grocery bills, thanks to BlogHerads. I am grocery shopping more than I ever have before, and am cooking way too much food. I am also buying ingredients that cost more than I would normally spend because I'm trying so many new things.

But you can save money. You don't need to cook a different something every single day. You can cook a big pot of beans, stew, or a casserole and eat it for a few days in a row. You can stock your freezer with homemade broth, stock, and cream of something soup. You can freeze your own cooked beans. You can make yogurt. You can make baby food. You can cook a whole chicken and pick off the meat for future meals. You can even make playdough, crayons, or use the crockpot as a footbath (not really. this one is just for fun.)

When I was first married, I stunk at cooking. I still kind of do, but at least the crockpot allows me a bunch of wiggle-room. I would make Taco Soup every other week, and Adam and I would stretch the food to last for days by making burritos, or adding it on top of rice.

I've put together a round-up of money-saving CrockPot ideas for you. I will continue to add more posts when I come up with them.

homemade chicken broth
homemade beef stock
homemade cream of mushroom soup

Myron's famous whole chicken
lemon and herb chicken
rotisserie-style chicken

How to make canned beans
or refried beans
How to make yogurt
How to make babyfood
Playdough recipe
Recycle crayons in your crockpot
Recycle Candles, too!
Use your crockpot as a rice cooker
Make homemade chicken nuggets in the crockpot
Skip the coffee house and make pumpkin spice lattes at home or peppermint mochas.
Having a party? Stretch your wine by turning it into mulled wine.

Extra food? Make fried rice in the crockpot!
You can make applesauce or apple butter, or homemade granola.

And my favorite way to use my crockpot: the lazy way. Plop in a hunk of frozen meat---it really doesn't matter what kind---and cover it with a bottle or jar of your favorite sauce. Cook on low all day, and serve the shredded meat over rice or pasta. I've used spaghetti sauce, barbecue sauce, A-1, salad dressing, and bottled marinades.

If you are concerned about the amount of energy consumed by using a crockpot (which is a very valid concern!) here is a pamphlet put out by First Energy Corp., in Ohio. The chart on page 5 says that a crockpot uses $0.02 power per hour.
Here's another energy usage list put out by the Northeast Utilities System, that says the monthly cost of using a slow cooker is $1.17.

For more frugal dinner ideas, visit Erin at $5 Dollar Dinners.

Slow Cooking During a Recession
Meal Planning With the CrockPot
Alphabetical Listing of Recipes
Frequently Asked Crock-Pot Questions
Help! My CrockPot Cooks Too Fast!
An Important Note About Safety
My New Year's Resolution

CrockPot Granola Recipe

Day 315.

I found oats! yay! They were hiding out at the fancy-pants grocery store.

We were all quite pleased with this granola, and have eaten almost all of it already. The kids and Adam ate a bunch warm, right out of the pot. I'm making some more today.

There's no right or wrong way to make granola. Feel free to switch around ingredients depending on your family's tastes/wishes.

The Ingredients.

- 5 cups oats (if gluten free, make sure the oats are certified GF.)
- 1/4 cup honey * (see note below)
- 1/4 cup melted butter * (see note below)
- 1 T flax seeds
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds
- 1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut
- 1/2 cup dried fruit (I used raisins and cranberries)

The Directions.

Put all the dry ingredients into your crockpot. You'll need at least a 4 quart.

Melt the butter in the microwave, and add. Add the honey. Toss well.

*note: if you add this amount of honey and butter, the granola will be cereal-like, and not trail-mix like. If you'd rather the granola clump together in pieces, you'll need to add more honey and butter. I tried it with the honey and butter doubled (1/2 cup each) and it still didn't clump much--so if you'd prefer your granola that way, you'll need to add at least 3/4 cup of honey. I didn't want that much sugar, and my kids are cool with eating it like this.

Cover, but vent with a chopstick. Cook on high for 3-4 hours, stirring every so often.

If you can smell the granola cooking, go stir. It will burn if you don't keep an eye on it. But it won't burn as quickly as it does in the oven!

(ask me how many batches of granola I've had to throw out after burning in the oven. go ahead, ask. )

7. at least 7. I am no good with the oven.

Dump out on some parchment paper and let cool. Eat with milk like cereal, warmed with milk like oatmeal, or as is. Seal well in an air-tight container or in a ziplock. Granola freezes well.

The Verdict.

This is one of the only times I haven't burnt granola, and my kids have been eating it non-stop since the first batch came out of the crock. I'm going to go have some more right now.

The Thanksgiving recipes start tomorrow! I'm so excited.

The CrockPot Diet

We're home, safe and sound. Disneyland truly is the happiest place on earth. We couldn't have had a better time, and coming home to all of your lovely comments and emails has turned me into a weepy blubbery mess.

Thank you. You are all wonderful people. And! Evidently quite opinionated about DVD players...

While vacationing, I got to thinking that if I gained 8 pounds (down 4 thanks to the extra walking at D'Land) by eating from a crockpot every day for a year, surely I could lose this newly found weight with my crockpot(s).

Right?
yes, steph. It will be easy. Just stay away from this and this and this. And by all means, this.

I folded a lot of laundry the past few days, which means I watched a lot of daytime TV (that's a natural correlation, no?). And since it's the first few weeks of the year, all daytime TV revolves around health, wellness, and weight loss. There's really no escape. I used the tools I learned to comb through the archives and came up with a bunch of recipes that seemed to fit the criteria touted on TV.

Since I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination about nutrition, use your best judgment, talk to your own doctor, and all that other stuff they tell you in fine print.
I have no idea the caloric content for any of these dishes, nor do I know the "points." But, if you do, feel free to let me know.

Soups.
Using your crockpot for soup is a no-brainer, and I have certainly made a bunch over the past year. These are all oil-free, loaded with fiber and veggies and freeze well. I like to make a big ol' crock of soup on the weekend, then eat on it for lunch during the upcoming week. There's tons of research pointing out how soup can help kick-start any low(er) calorie eating plan.

Many of these soups can be made vegetarian or vegan if you opt for veggie instead of chicken broth. I happen to always have a lot of chicken broth on hand. For an extra boost, you can make your own chicken broth.

16 Bean Soup. Lots o' fiber. You can skip the shredded cheese on top if desired. Vegetarian.
Bean Stew. Can be vegetarian (I used chicken broth). Uses split peas for extra fiber.
Black Bean Soup. You can use fat free sour cream if you'd like for the dollop on top.
Butternut Squash Soup. I am always blown away at how buttery and rich this soup is without any added oil.
Cabbage Soup. The original from the Cabbage Soup Diet, which I've never really done, but Amie has and lost 45 pounds.
Canned Soup. Don't laugh--it totally works. If you don't have time/energy to make your own soup, use your Little Dipper or a mini crockpot. Check labels carefully for hidden gluten. Opt for broth based soups with not-too-much sodium.
Corn Chowder. No cream, butter or oil!
Hot and Sour Soup. I love this soup. I mean I really, really, really love this soup.
Lentil Minestrone Soup (and it has HEALING powers!!)
Moroccan Lentil Soup. A very cheap, fibrous meal. I can't believe how long it took me to embrace the lentil.
Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Soup. Everyone who tries this soup really likes it. It tastes good and is light and healthy.
Smoky Refried Bean Soup. Vegan. Delicious.
Sweet Potato Soup. Sweet potatoes are super foods, which makes this a super soup.
Sausage and White Bean Soup. Use 2 turkey or chicken sausage.
Turkey and Wild Rice Soup. I couldn't stop eating this soup. It totally rocks.

Lean Meat.
Packed with protein, iron, and other good for you stuff.
5-Spice Steak Strips. Eat on top of salad, rice, or on their own.
Ginger Beef with Onions. mmm. ginger.
Pineapple Chicken. Tropical.
Rotisserie-style chicken. You can have lean meat to pick at for the entire week.
Lemon and Herb Chicken. Company-worthy.
Salsa Chicken. No cream cheese, just good lots of good-for-you stuff.
Turkey Cutlets in Mango Salsa. gobble gobble.
Broccoli Beef. A healthier alternative to take-out.


Fish. Although I have a new-found fondness for Nemo, I still like to eat fish once a week if I can. Cooking fish in the crockpot results in moist, flaky fish with no need for oil. The crockpot also ensures that your house doesn't get an icky fish smell.
Cedar-planked salmon. Fish! on wood!
Lemon and Dill Salmon. A great combo of herb and tang.
Mahi Mahi with Asparagus, Broccoli and Spinach.
Jamaican Salmon.
Sweet and Spicy Salmon.
Salmon and Green Beans. we eat a lot of salmon.

Tofu. I was hesitant to try tofu for quite a while, but got over it when I realized it only tastes like what you put it in. Tofu is low in calories, high in protein, inexpensive, and doesn't fall apart in the crockpot. I promise.

Indian Tofu with Spinach. There are garbanzo beans, too!
Sweet and Sour Tofu. Using jarred sauce.
Honey and Orange Tofu. Somewhat similar to the sweet and sour tofu, but with a homemade sauce.
Ginger Teriyaki Tofu. I loved this, but no one else did.


Lettuce Wraps. I've made two varieties in the past year, and we liked them both.

Traditional Chicken Lettuce Wraps. Inspired by PF Changs.
Sweet and Sour Chicken with Mango Lettuce Wraps. All that is good in the world.


For additional information:--Here's additional recipes that I labeled "light and healthy" throughout the year (scroll through, some are repeats from above listings).
--Kalyn Denny has a bunch of South Beach Diet CrockPot recipes.
--Carmen Stacier lost 80 pounds with a New Year's Resolution and blogs at The Elff Diet
--Miz Fit will help jump-start your workout routine
--Jennette Fulda lost 186 pounds through diet and exercise alone. She blogs at PastaQueen.com and has written Half-Assed, the funniest weight-loss memoir, ever.
--Melissa Henning rang in 2009 with her own 365 day challenge: to exercise every day for a year. Please visit and send support; this is such an admirable goal, and one I would like to do myself some day.


Okay! Who's in? Let me know if you try anything out. I'm going to make a big batch of Black Bean Soup this afternoon. And maybe take the shrink wrap off of the 30 Day Shred. baby steps.

Old Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup Slow Cooker Recipe

I sat down at the computer and tried to write this post about 47 times in the last few days. Sorry to leave the icky chicken and sweet potato fiasco up for so long!

I made some yummy soup the other night that the kids adored and they each had THIRDS.

DID YOU HEAR ME?!

THIRDS!

I think my head may have exploded.

The Ingredients.


1 store-bought rotisserie chicken carcass, or 1 1/2 cups already cooked chicken meat
6 cups water
1 or 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chunked
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules (check for gluten, this was clearly labeled gluten free)
1 cup broccoli florets
1 small onion, diced
1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
kosher salt to taste (probably a good 1 teaspoon, since the base is water)
50-cent piece size, or so, handful of raw spaghetti noodles to add at the end (I used Trader Joe's brown rice)
1 large handful raw spinach leaves to add at the end
Parmesan and Asiago cheese, optional garnish

The Directions.

If you're going to use a chicken carcass, cook it on low overnight in the water. In the morning, unplug the crock and let it cool before digging in with CLEAN hands to pick out the bones. Strain through a colander (retaining liquid!) if desired.
Or, start with a slow cooker with 6 cups of water, and add chicken. Add all vegetables except for the spinach leaves. Stir in the bouillon and vinegar. Salt to taste. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours, or until sweet potatoes are tender and the onion is translucent.

15 minutes before serving, put in raw spaghetti noodles and a large handful of spinach. Cover and flip to high.

Garnish with parmesan and asiago cheeses, if desired.

The Verdict.

This is such a wonderful, comforting soup. The balsamic vinegar does two things: 1, it really darkens the broth which provides a nice color, and 2, it brings the chicken flavor out so nicely while providing a touch of a tang. The tang is nice, because it fools your tongue into thinking it's tasting salt----which is mostly what you taste in canned chicken noodle soups.

Absolutely delicious. This fed our family of four for dinner, with just a bit leftover (and the kids were able to have 3rds!)

other yummy soups:

chicken and rice
Albondigas soup
black eyed pea soup
borscht
butternut squash