Healthy Crockpot Recipes

creativefrugalmom

Definitely got the slow cooker lines. They make cleanup so easy!!!

Thanks for the recipes. Can't wait to try them.

creativefrugalmom

Cilantro Lime Chicken....Sounds great! I have all of this at home and it will be going in the crockpot for tomorrow night's dinner.

Thanks!

bcl003

Bump!!

joyce0624

bump!

Nessiechickie

Did this on the weekend


Chicken Breast
can of diced tomatoes
can of tomato sauce
can of kidney beans
frozen corn & peas
half an onion minced
cumin/chilli powder/ garlic powder
and i have jalapeno flakes so i throw that in there... make it really spicy.

jazchlo

Great ideas! Will be trying some.

nmncare

A. I love this website for healthy recipes B. This is one of my favorites- http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/02/crock-pot-santa-fe-chicken-425-pts.html, I serve on brown rice, with lettuce, little cheese and dap of sour cream on top! Sooo good!

This. I put the chicken in corn tortillas with diced up jimaca and avocado. SO GOOD.

Go_Mizzou99

Sante Fe Chicken is awesome. My wife, kids, and friends love it. 200 calories per cup.

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/02/crock-pot-santa-fe-chicken-425-pts.html

I think this was the most downloaded recipe of 2012.

Briargrey

I've been doing a lot of crockpot recipes the last few weeks. I'm fairly loose on it -- mostly toss it in and cook and see if it turns out ok, and they all have

Crockpot Chicken Soup
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken, cut into chunks
1-2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 large onion, chopped
1-2 cups carrots, chopped
1-2 cups celery, chopped
1 head garlic, chopped
2 cups kale, chopped [don't use baby kale, you want the heartier kale]
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

Put the vegetables in first, put the chicken on top, pour in the broth (you could probably use water if you wanted), season to taste, cover and put on Low for 8 hours. I stir about every 2-3 hours, make sure the meat is now getting covered by broth so it can fully cook. If I want a bit more heat or to finish it sooner, I'll turn it up to high for 2 hours in the middle of cooking.

If, like me, your crockpot gets a bit full -- wait to add the kale, let items cook down a bit and settle into the pot, then slowly incorporate kale over the first few hours.

Seasonings I use: rosemary, thyme, seasoning pepper, salt (I add less of this because I would rather everyone salt to their own taste and keep sodium levels low), tarragon.

Briargrey

Moroccan Lamb Stew
I got this from here: http://seasonedtotaste.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/crock-pot-moroccan-lamb-stew/

And I didn't modify it at all. I cooked on low for 8 hours, and I served it over couscous (which I made per the package directions, fairly similar to the directions on that link). My only modification is couscous -- I also toast some pine nuts and then wilt some spinach and stir it into the couscous and then stir in some crumbled goat cheese.

And this one...

Crockpot Lamb Soup:
2-3 pounds lamb, cut into bite-sized chunks
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 large onion, chopped and caramelized
1-2 cups carrots, chopped
1-2 cups celery, chopped
loads of garlic cloves, chopped
4 cups low-sodium beef broth
Seasonings to taste

Roux: 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup flour

Put everything in the crock pot except the roux. I recommend putting vegetables first then meat then just enough broth to partially cover [it will cook down and into the broth and as it cooks, moisture will come from the meat to add to the broth -- if it looks like, about 4-5 hours in that there isn't enough broth, add some more or some water].

I stir every couple hours, and on this one, I turned it up to high about 5 hours in and let it stay there until I served it 2-3 hours later. Just my quirk though, totally not necessary. If you're going to leave it cooking all day and not be around, probably best to ensure you get the meat covered by moisture so it doesn't dry out or not cook thoroughly.

About 4-5 hours in, I made the roux and added it. I then stirred about every hour to keep incorporating it in (the extra fats separate a bit). The purpose of the roux is to thicken this up to a more stew-like texture and of course, it adds great flavour.

Making the roux: melt the butter over medium-high heat in a non-stick saucepan or skillet, get it nice and bubbly. Add in the flour and stir to fully incorporate, get out lumps, and let it bubble and maybe start to brown. Then just scrape the whole she-bang into your crockpot. [Note: this is how I make gravy too, I start with that roux then add 4 cups of broth, preferably pulled off of whatever meat I am cooking so it's fresh and flavourful, but out-of-the-box broth works, work out any lumps, add in my seasonings of choice for the gravy, stir frequently, and let it reduce down -- takes about 10 minutes to make a rockin' gravy. Just cut everything in half to make less]

Seasonings: I used Callendar's Greek Seasoning, a bit of extra garlic powder, touch of salt, bit of seasoning pepper.

This was awesome out of the pot. It seemed even better last night, 3 days later, after it had thickened then settled. I reheated it on the stovetop instead of the microwave - just like you would regular soup.

Briargrey

I recently typed a bunch of these out for my Nerd Fitness Academy peeps, so sorry for the recipe spam, but figured I'd copy/paste here too since people were asking for recipes! Here's another...

Chicken and Sweet Potato stew (slow cooker)
1-2lbs. chicken (I use boneless skinless thighs)
2 cans El Pato tomato sauce (in your Mexican food aisle)
1-2lbs. sweet potatoes (to match the chicken)
1 large bunch of shredded kale
1 large yellow onion, minced
1 medium head cauliflower (optional - provides more "filler")

Peel and roughly chop the sweet potatoes. Cut large florets from cauliflower. Throw everything into a slow cooker, add enough water to just cover everything, and cook on low for at least 6 hours. When it is cooked enough, pull the chicken out and shred it with fork/fingers and then put it back in.

I cooked this for 8 hours and I left out the cauliflower because 2 pounds of chicken and sweet potatoes and 1 large onion took up the bulk of my crock pot. I had to wait 2 hours before I could add in the kale! I also missed the 'add enough water' step in the directions and felt like there wasn't enough liquid with just 2 cans of El Pato (and it is Pato, not Paso) so I went back to the store and found a can of El Pato mild enchilada sauce and used part of that to beef up the liquid in the recipe. Using the water is just as good I chose to add the mild sauce instead of more cans of the original sauce, because the one listed is kind of spicy and I've got 2 spice-picky people in the family. Oh, I also did 2 cups of water. So the 2 original cans (they are smaller cans) + 2 cups water + about 1/2 of the large can of enchilada sauce = enough flavour and liquid for my purposes. I also added in a bit of cilantro about 5 hours in just to incorporate it throughout. I love cilantro.

I served it with chopped fresh tomatoes and avocado on top, sprinkled lightly with fresh cut cilantro. The sour cream lovers in the family whined because I didn't think far enough ahead to have that. I wished I'd thought about getting some cotija cheese to sprinkle on top too.

This was really good and also lasted really well. You can vary the liquid to make it thicker and serve with beans or rice or in a tortilla, etc. And I'm thinking it would freeze really well.

christi_03

love these!

Briargrey

Okay, last one!

3-bean chili

5 oz dry black beans
5 oz dry white beans
5 oz dry kidney beans (or other red bean)
1 large sweet onion, chopped
Several diced cloves of garlic
4 tomatillos, chopped
1 large red pepper, chopped
1 large poblano pepper, chopped (or other peppers of choice)
Handful of cilantro, chopped
1.5 # boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or other meat of choice 1-2 pounds - next time, cooked ground bison!)
2 cups vegetable broth (I use low sodium organic because it's lower than regular low sodium typically)
1 jar Newman's Own salsa (I used mild but would prefer medium or hot) -- this was like 15.4 oz about
1 cup Macheezmo Mouse boss sauce [going to be rare someone has this, but 1 can of tomato sauce would be fine or 2 jars of salsa]

Night before: rinse the beans thoroughly and put in a pot, fill pot with water and cover, let sit overnight, at least 12 hours.
Day of: drain beans, put in crock pot. Add everything except cilantro. Cover, cook 8 hours on high. About 4-5 hours in, pull out the chicken thighs and shred roughly with a couple of forks (or your fingers, whatever) and put back in. Add cilantro about 30 minutes before it's ready.

Modifications and notes:
1. 2 14-ish oz cans of diced tomatoes, undrained instead of the salsa and boss sauce.
2. Cook on low. It may have been okay on low. I just really wanted my beans soft, so I kept it on high and stirred every two-three hours.
3. FRESH dried beans -- argh! My white beans were older and they stayed a bit chewier no matter how long I cooked them. It was the only thing keeping this from being awesome.
4. I served with sour cream, guacamole, and shredded cheese (I found some specialty smokehouse onion white cheddar that was pretty rockin' with it, but monterey jack would totally be awesome). It would be fine without that and just be itself. Or with more fresh cilantro sprinkled on top.
5. Oh, you could do canned beans too if you didn't want to use dry ones. I just like dry ones. I was aiming for 1 pound dry beans total (so 3 kinds of beans at 5-6 oz = roughly 16 oz dry beans). Get something equivalent and you'll be fine.

funluvintw5

Creamy Pork Chops
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup water
4 pork loin chops
Rosemary
Black Pepper

Pour the two cans of soup and water in the crock pot and mix. Put pork chops in the crock pot and then season with rosemary and black pepper to taste. Cook on low for 8 hours.

I used the Campbell's Healthy Request soups for less fat, and sodium. Recipe is pretty low in calories, I even splurged and had a serving of Stove Top with it.

cmk9191

BumP!

caveninit

Just posted this one
Crockpot Quinoa Chili

1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed
1 15-ounce can (preferably no salt added) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 15-ounce can (preferably no salt added) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 14-ounce can (preferably no salt added) diced tomatoes
1 4-ounce can diced mild green chiles or 1 small can rotel
1 cup frozen corn
2-3 cups vegetable or chicken (low sodium) broth (use the higher amount if your crockpot runs hot or you'll be cooking it longer than about 6 hours)
1 medium onion, diced
1-3 garlic cloves minced
1 bell pepper (I used red), diced
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder or tex mex spice
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp+ hot pepper flakes (optional)


Combine all ingredients (except the toppings, obviously) in a crockpot. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Stir to combine, salt and pepper to taste, and serve with your choice of toppings.

Ingredients Calories Carbs Fat Protein Fiber

Per Serving: 274 49 3 13 11

I entered the recipe to serve 8 generous portions.

Optional For Garnish: Shredded Cheddar Cheese, Sour Cream, Chopped Cilantro, Avocado Cubes, Guacamole, Tortilla Chips

This sounds amazing...How much would a serving be? Thanks for sharing

aNewYear123

I've gotten several really good recipes from these two sites

http://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/.
http://crockpotladies.com/

I particularly like - http://crockpotladies.com/crockpot-balsamic-roast-beef-dip-sandwiches/

wonderwoman234

This is so delicious and super easy - not too hot and just the right spice! My sister gave me this recipe and her son refers to it as "Sauce Chicken", so that's what I will call it!

Sauce Chicken

2 Tbs. Garam Masala (see recipe below)
8-10 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (or try pork loin or lean lamb tips)
1 onion, chopped
28 oz. can chopped tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth (low sodium)

Throw everything in the crockpot but the chicken and stir to blend the spices. Add chicken and cook for however long you have, high or low. I use chicken thighs because chicken breasts dry out and get stringy. It is delicious served over brown rice, cous cous, or sauteed veggies if you are watching your carbs. It makes a lot of delicious sauce and I have used any leftover sauce, after all the meat has been eaten, as a sauce for veggies.....think sauteed zucchini, eggplant, onions, and peppers.

Garam Masala recipe (makes enough for 2 or 3 "Sauce Chicken" recipes, so don't use it all at once!)
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1 1/2 tsp. ground pepper
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

Stir to combine and enjoy!

wonderwoman234

The other recipe I love is Salsa Chicken. This version is sweet and spicy:

Skinless, boneless breasts or thighs (thighs if cooking all day)
1 jar Salsa (I like Pace)
2 Tbsp. dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. brown sugar

Combine ingredients and cook in the crockpot high for breasts or low for thighs. Shred chicken if you like and stew it a bit more in the sauce before serving. I never get sick of this recipe.

wonderwoman234

Okay, one more......

Mediterranean Chicken

Chicken breasts or thighs for 4 people
1 Tbsp. tapioca
1 large jar of marinated artichoke hearts, drained
1 large jar of roasted red peppers, drained
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 cups chicken stock, low sodium
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup black or green olives
Thyme, rosemary and Oregano to taste
Crumbled Feta to garnish once plated (optional)


Combine in a crock pot and cook high for breasts or low for thighs. The tapioca is supposed to slightly thicken the sauce. Feel free to omit and use corn starch at the end instead. Yummy over brown rice, cous cous, quinoa, etc.