Mulligatawny Soup - Crock Pot

So I am not sure if you have noticed lately, but I LOVE MY CROCK POT! If you don't have one I would highly recommend it. It is a lifesaver for a busy family. As a result of this and as a recommendation from a friend I checked out another blog which features 365 crock pot recipes. It is a pretty awesome blog if you ask me.

So on the menu today is Mulligatawny Soup. It is a curry based soup that adds nutmeg as well as apples, raisins, chicken and is thickened with rice. Simply put it is delicious!!! I tried it a few years ago and although not a huge curry fan, was in love! I found this recipe and had to try it! The awesome part is "most" of the ingredients are staples in our home so it is something that can "usually" be whipped up in no time at all.

This recipe serves 6. Weight watchers points plus is 3 points per serving. I think that is pretty awesome for a super yummy soup. Check back later for the result :)

INGREDIENTS

2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (frozen is okay)
1 cup peeled and chopped apple (mine were fuji)
1 cup chopped carrots
1 (15-ounce) can fire roasted tomatoes
1 tablespoon dried minced onion flake
1/4 cup raisins
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons curry1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup long grain white rice (to add later)

DIRECTIONS

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Put the chicken thighs into the bottom of your cooker, and add apple, carrots, the whole can of tomatoes, onion flakes, and raisins. Then add the lemon juice, spices, and broth. Stir to mix the spices.
Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours. If you'd like, shred the chicken with two big forks, and stir in the uncooked rice. Flip to high for 30 minutes, or until the rice is tender. If you live in a high altitude, the rice will take longer and you might want to consider using instant or already cooked rice---it's up to you.

Ladle into soup bowls.

Raspberry Balsamic Chicken

So today I have put the crock pot away! I did, however, do 100% of the prep work for dinner tonight while the kids were resting. This recipe is weight watchers friendly and it sounds delicious! Look for comments after to hear how it went!

INGREDIENTS

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1/2 cup red onions, chopped

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon salt, divided

4 (4-6 ounce) boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oil in a large non stick skillet over med-high heat, add onion and saute for 5 minutes.

2. Sprinkle thyme and 1/4 teaspoon salt over chicken.

3. Add chicken to pan, saute 6 minutes on each side.

4. Remove chicken from pan, and keep warm.

5. Reduce heat to medium, add 1/4 teaspoon salt, preserves, vinegar and pepper to pan, stirring until preserves melt.

6. To serve: Spoon sauce over chicken and serve immediately OR return chicken to pan and coat chicken evenly, serve immediately.

Mexican Cheesy Chicken with Black Beans - Crock Pot

This recipe is somewhat similar to the Salsa Chicken I made last week sometime, but it includes more than just salsa. It has the addition of cream cheese and salsa. It sounds pretty yummy!

We will serve it with rice and salad. Check comments below for the outcome.

INGREDIENTS

4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained

1 (15 oz) can corn, drained

1 (15 oz) jar salsa

4 oz fat free cream cheese

4 oz non fat sour cream

DIRECTIONS

1. Place chicken, black beans, corn and salsa in crock pot.

2. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours.

3. Add sour cream and cream cheese for last 45 minutes.

ROOT BEER PULLED PORK - slow cooker

So, in case you don't know I have a husband who I refer to as the BBQ king. He is a certified BBQ judge and has competed in a BBQ competition. He plans to do more competing. Aside from that he cooks up a pretty AMAZING pulled pork or ribs.....mmmmm..... and I don't mean your typical steaks on the grill. I have learned your normal BBQ at home is not really BBQ, but rather a grill. With that said, one would think I would be nervous to try a slow cooker pulled pork, however I know he will appreciate the attempt :)

Our kids were so sick last week that my shopping and meal planning didn't go so well, so that now leaves me in the morning searching for what I have to see what I can come up with. I found a Pork Shoulder in the freezer and thought root beer pulled pork. I had only heard of it and apparantly it is yummy.

Then I went searching for a recipe. I found a super easy one. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/slow-cooker-pulled-pork/

INGREDIENTS

1 pork tenderloin (I used a pork shoulder)

1 can root beer (I am trying out using diet root beer as this is all I had, hopefully it turns out & I used about 2 cans as my pork shoulder was big)

1 bottle of your favourite BBQ sauce (I am using Sweet Baby Rays, Honey Chipotle flavour)

buns (the kids will have it on toast and the hubs and I will have Pulled Pork Caesar salads)

DIRECTIONS

Simply put your pork in the slow cooker, add the root beer (I did add an onion as well) and cook for 6-7 hours (I said 8 hours on my crock pot as my pork is larger and frozen). Drain the Root Beer, pulled your pork and stir in BBQ sauce.

Sounds too easy if you ask me but we will see how it goes.

Slow Cooker Sweet & Sour Pork/Chicken

I LOVE CHINESE FOOD! Yummy! I am a huge fan of chinese food and I am always on the hunt for good healthy alternatives to having chinese takeout. I have been wanting to try out a healthier option of sweet and sour chicken or pork for a while but wasn't satisfied with many of the recipes I have found. This one seemed to be a good one so thought I would try it out. I do have to mention though, I did add red food colouring (just a few drops) to the mixture as my kids LOVE sweet and sour as well and mine just didn't have the "I was made in a chinese restaurant red colour" so I am trying to trick my kids a little bit here! This was a tip from my amazing BBQ man! Love you hunny!

I also must mention I did double this recipe as we have company coming over tonight so I hope that doesn't mess it up too much! Blessings and I will update later on how delicious (or lack of delicious) it was!

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 pounds chicken (I used pork roast)

1 (16 ounce) can of pineapple chunks in syrup, drained and liquid reserved

1 (14 ounce) can low-sodium low fat chicken broth

1/4 cup vinegar

3 tablespoons brown sugar (or 1 and a 1/2 tablespoons Splenda brown sugar blend)

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 teaspoons reduced sodium soy sauce

1 large red bell pepper - cut into 1 inch chunks

1 medium onion - cut into 1 inch chunks

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 cup cold water

DIRECTIONS

1. Spray inside of crock pot with cooking spray (I personally am a huge fan of Reynolds slow cooker liners, so easy for clean up. http://www.reynoldspkg.com/reynoldskitchens/en/product.asp?prod_id=3200)

2. Place chicken or pork into slow cooker.

3. Combine pineapple juice, broth, vinegar, brown sugar, garlic and soy sauce in small saucepan.

4. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until sugar dissolves.

5. Pour mixture over meat.

6. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour.

7. Add pineapple chunks, onion and peppers. Cover and cook for 6-8 hours on low heat.

8. Combine cornstarch and water in a small bowl and mix until smooth.

9. Add mixture to crock pot and stir to mix. Cover and cook on LOW for 30 minutes.

10. ENJOY!

No Noodle Lasagna

So today we are trying something new....No Noodle Lasagna.

I am a HUGE fan of lasagna and have been wanting to try this recipe for a while now. Instead of noodles you use zucchini and/or eggplant. I have heard many complaints about this recipe that the zucchini turns to mush so I found a recipe that requires you to bake the vegetables first. So I am going to try this one. This is my first time ever cooking with eggplant so I hope it goes okay!

As for the rest of the lasagna, I would say to simply use your favourite lasagna recipe. So here goes.

So it was absolutely DELICIOUS!!! I even have possibly one of the pickiest eaters living at my house and she took seconds, so I think it is a winner!!! Sooo yummy!!! Did I mention it was yummy?

HERE WE GO!!!

1 large eggplant & 2 large zucchini cute thinly lenghtwise (should be enough for a 9 X 13 pan)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat baking sheets with cooking spray. Place eggplant and zucchini on baking sheets and coat with cooking spray. Roast for 8 minutes; turn over vegetable and roast for 8-10 more minutes. Do not exceed 20 minutes or they will get mushy.

Then make your lasagna with vegetables instead of noodles. We will see how this goes :)

Easy Salsa Chicken - Crock Pot

So the kids have been super sick this week and due to weather our meal plans for a few days have gone out the window (One day we were supposed to have a potluck which was cancelled, another day we were supposed to have plans on the Tuesday night and those were also cancelled so this led me to change up my plans. Don't get me wrong I LOVE THE SNOW!

After spending the better portion of my evening in emerg with my daughter I wanted something fast and easy! So for dinner we are having crock pot chicken.

The recipe is SO EASY - put chicken in crock pot, put salsa in crock pot. Turn on for 6-8 hours. I will then pour the salsa over rice and add sour cream. SO YUMMY! SO EASY!

Fauxtatoes update

So I did not "blend" the cauliflower and I think next time I will try blending it. Mine was quite chunky and I wanted smooth. Will try again! The chicken was AMAZING though!

Creamy Ranch Chicken & Mashed Fauxtatoes

So, we were supposed to have people over tonight, but due to the weather we aren't. This caused me to have to make tomorrow's meal today. Today on the menu is Creamy Ranch Chicken and Fauxtatoes. Creamy Ranch Chicken is taken from food.com and Fauxtatoes is taken directly from Eat, Shrink and be Merry. The crock pot was SOOOO easy to put together. I love recipes taht allow me to simply throw the items in the crock pot and leave it. My kind of cooking right there. A simple stir every once in a while during the day and we are done in time for dinner. The fauxtatoes might be a little more interesting.

I am looking forward to feeding this to my kids as they apparently LOVE mashed potatoes and chicken. We will see how dinner time goes.

Creamy Ranch Chicken - INGREDIENTS

4 boneless skinless chicken breast

1 package ranch dressing mix

1 cup light sour cream

1 can low fat cream of chicken soup

1/2 chopped onion

1/2 cup water

pinch of salt

pepper

DIRECTIONS

Put all ingredients into crock pot. Cook on low for 6 hours, stirring occasionally.

Mashed Fauxtatoes - INGREDIENTS

1 large head cauliflower

1/2 cup low fat cream cheese based onion dip

1/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

Cut your cauliflower into small florets. Steam it for about 15-20 minutes until it is very tender but not mushy.

Transfer cauliflower to a blender. You will need to work in small batches. Whirl it until smooth (no lumps). Add onion dip and salt. May need to be reaheated if you have taken awhile getting it all smooth.

Baked Spaghetti Carbonara

This recipe totally easy to make. I actually made it last night and it took about 20 minutes to prepare followed by 35 in the oven. Then I popped it in the fridge and will reheat tonight. So I just nuked it today for about 10 minutes and then broiled it to melt the cheese again. It was decent, however the egg/milk mixture needed more flavour. I would possibly add more garlic and/or onion to it, or possibly just add some herb and garlic seasoning from Epicure (or whatever brand). I will try again in the future and see how it goes. This recipe was taken directly from the Weight Watchers website and I made no revisions (except for using a 9 inch square pan rather than a pie pan). For those interested it makes 6 pieces worth 6 points plus each (sorry no other nutrition on it)

Ingredients

	8 oz uncooked whole-wheat spaghetti
	4 slice(s) uncooked turkey bacon
	2 medium uncooked leek(s), chopped (white parts only)
	3 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), minced
	1 tsp dried oregano
	1/2 tsp table salt
	1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly chopped
	1 1/4 cup(s) fat-free skim milk
	1 cup(s) fat-free egg substitute
	1/4 tsp garlic powder
	1/4 tsp onion powder
	1/4 cup(s) grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375ºF.
  
  
• Cook spaghetti according to package directions (without added oil); drain and transfer to a 9-inch, deep-dish pie plate.
  
  
• Meanwhile, cook bacon in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Add leeks and garlic; cook 2 minutes. Stir in oregano, salt and pepper; cook 1 minute. Spoon bacon mixture evenly over spaghetti in pie plate.
  
  
• In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, egg substitute, garlic powder and onion powder; pour over spaghetti mixture and sprinkle with cheese.
  
  
• Place pie plate on a baking sheet and bake until filling is set and top is golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes. Cool slightly before slicing into 6 pieces. Yields 1 piece per serving.

Cheeseburger Casserole

Okay, so today's recipe was pretty easy to prepare. It is currently in the oven so we will see how it turns out. I made it during quiet time, then stuck it in the fridge until it was time to start making dinner. This usually means the cooking time is slightly longer but that is ok. I do have to admit that this is the first time I have ever cooked with mushrooms as I am not a mushroom fan myself but we will see how it goes.

So it was good. I would probably not make the cheese sauce next time but rather sprinkle cheese on top and add the small amount of milk in the bottom of the container. But overall it was very good!

The recipe was taken from a Weight Watchers site, I simply made a few of my own revisions. For those interested this recipe will serve 6 and the points plus value is 6 points per slice.

INGREDIENTS

2 sprays cooking spray

4 small potatoes (cooked and cooled already)

1 clove of garlic (minced)

1 small onion, chopped

1 small green pepper, chopped

1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 pound uncooked ground beef

1/8 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

2 oz cheese

1/4 cup evaporated milk

8 tortilla chips

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat a 9-inch square baking dish with cooking spray.
  
  
• Peel and thinly slice potatoes; layer in prepared baking dish. Bake potatoes until slightly crisp, about 10 minutes; remove baking dish from oven and set aside.
  
  
• While potatoes are baking, coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and warm over medium-high heat; add garlic, onion, green pepper and mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are tender, about 7 to 10 minutes; remove to a plate, cover to keep warm and set aside. Add beef to skillet; cook until browned, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon as it cooks, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add cooked vegetables, cumin, salt and pepper to beef and stir to combine; spread mixture over potatoes in baking dish.
  
  
• In a small microwave safe bowl, combine cheese and evaporated milk; cover and microwave on high power until cheese melts, about 1 to 2 minutes. Spoon melted cheese over turkey and sprinkle with tortilla chips. Bake for 35 minutes; remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes before slicing into 6 pieces. Yields 1 piece per serving.

Meal Planning Mama starts out

So to start, I need to introduce myself. I am a child (of 29 years), a daughter and sister (also of 29 years), a wife (of 7 years), a mom (of almost 4 years) and a daughter of our Lord and Saviour.

This year I decided I wanted to start cooking more, its better financially and better for our health. I have been on a weight loss journey for a while now so as I continue I am hoping to make it a little easier.

So started the recipe hunt. I have gone through multiple books and websites and have come up with a number of recipes I wanted to try. Then comes the shoppings lists, shopping with a list and then the cooking.

I am 2 weeks in and thoroughly enjoying it. Now comes to my decision to start this blog. I have always admired bloggers. People who can post every day (or almost every day) and have something worth posting. I also hope that by doing this it will centralize all my recipes. So here I am, I hope I have found my niche. :) Enjoy....

Hopefully some of you get inspired to cook more as well and hopefully I can help you find some good (and healthy) recipes.